by Donna Grant
“Duncan?” Ian whispered.
He hadn’t heard his brother’s voice in hours. He’d been concerned the first time he’d heard it, but now that Duncan wasn’t there, Ian didn’t know what to do.
“Aye, brother. I’m here.”
“Where have you been?”
“You’ve no’ needed me.”
But Ian knew that wasn’t true. He did need Duncan. He’d never lived apart from his twin until Malcolm had killed Duncan.
“Follow your heart, brother.”
Ian lifted a lock of Danielle’s silvery blonde hair in his fingers. It was cool to the touch and as smooth as silk. He knew the rest of her felt just as good, better even.
His cock throbbed as he recalled how tight and wet she had been when he slid inside her. She’d been wanton and eager while they’d made love.
Ian dropped the strand of hair and sighed. Whether he’d wanted it or not, he was now tangled securely in Danielle’s life. And he found he didn’t mind it.
He’d probably be overjoyed if he wasn’t battling his god or running from wyrran.
Just the thought of the ugly creatures had Ian walking to the window. With his superior eyesight he saw three of Charon’s men in the dark.
Farmire had begun to push against his mind, steadily and solidly. That normally happened right before a battle. All seemed quiet and normal in the night, yet Ian had a sense something was off.
Ian’s blood went cold. A battle was coming.
Farmire bellowed inside his head, as if in agreement.
Ian spun on his heel and looked at the bed where Danielle lay asleep. The wyrran wouldn’t get her. He’d make sure of that.
He stalked to the door and soundlessly opened it. He hurried to the front of the hotel and grabbed one of Charon’s men by his shirt.
“Stand guard outside Danielle’s door. Doona let anyone but me enter.”
The man narrowed his eyes, but nodded. “Are we expectin’ someone?”
“Aye.” Ian turned to the second man. “Alert the others. There’s something coming.”
Ian kept his back to the inn and faced the bare expanse of valley before him. There was no movement, but he knew something was out there.
“What is it?” Charon asked as he strode up.
Ian shrugged. “A feeling.”
“I’ve learned to trust my feelings. Do you want to try to get the Druid out before whatever is coming gets here?”
Ian was surprised Charon would offer, and even though Ian had considered it, he shook his head. “This town and its people will fare better with two Warriors.”
Charon smiled, his dark eyes filled with excitement. “I was hoping you’d say that. And Danielle?”
“I will no’ allow anything to happen to her.”
* * *
Danielle wasn’t sure what woke her. She sat up in bed, alert and on edge. A glance to Ian’s side of the bed showed she was alone.
She touched the bed and found his spot cool. He’d been gone for some time, but where? Ian wouldn’t leave her, of that she was sure. He could be with Charon.
Danielle threw back the covers and swung her legs over the bed. She winced when her bare feet touched the icy, wooden floor. Ignoring the biting cold and creaking floors, Danielle wrapped a blanket around her and hurried to the window to look out.
For the briefest of moments, fear spiked within her. Then she remembered Ian’s words, the solemn vow she had seen in his beautiful eyes that he wouldn’t leave her.
She spotted Ian as well as Charon as they directed men about the town. The men moved in the shadows, their legs bent and bodies hunched.
Something was going on.
Danielle desperately wanted to run to Ian, but maybe she’d be safer in the hotel. It could be Deirdre out there for all she knew.
Then she remembered she was a Druid. She had magic she could use. She could aid Ian, even from a distance.
As if sensing her gaze, Ian turned and looked up at her. For several moments they stared at each other before Charon said something in Ian’s ear.
Ian glanced away a moment before he started toward the inn. Danielle tossed aside the blanket and reached for her new clothes. She had her new bra, panties, and socks on in less then a heartbeat.
She ripped the tags off her jeans and jerked her legs into them in a matter of seconds. She had just buttoned them when the door to her room opened and Ian entered.
Danielle pulled on the tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt before she tugged the thick sweater over her head.
“Who is out there?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.
Ian quietly shut the door and leaned his back against it as he watched her. Danielle finished putting on her hiking boots and grabbed a ponytail holder.
“Tell me,” she urged as she gathered her hair at the back of her head and quickly worked the ponytail holder in place.
When she was finished she slapped her hands on her legs and lifted a brow at Ian.
“I sense something is coming. I doona know what,” he finally answered.
“I assumed that much when I saw you and Charon directing the men. I want to help. I can help with my magic.”
Ian dropped his chin to his chest and blew out a harsh breath. “Danielle, I’ve seen the wyrran destroy villages in a matter of moments. They leave no one alive and burn everything.”
“Just another reason to have me aid you.”
He lifted his gaze to her as one side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “Charon said you’d say that.”
“Then he’s a smart man. An even shrewder man would allow me to help.”
Danielle looked at the man standing before her. Ian had changed. Before her stood not just the protector, but the warrior. His masculinity. The unadulterated virility that promised pleasure, satisfaction.
And sin.
She knew the strength of his hands and arms. She knew the gentleness he could exhibit. But she had also seen him fight the wyrran. It had been brutal, and that’s exactly the type of man she wanted protecting her.
“Are you going to let me help?” she asked.
Ian pushed off the door and stalked toward her with long strides. He stopped before her and wrapped his large hands around her arms. “Is there nothing I can say that will keep you in this chamber?”
“Nothing.”
“As I feared.” Ian dropped his arms from her and ran a hand through his light brown locks. “Have you ever battled someone with your magic before?”
“Just the wyrran that attacked.”
“So you doona know how long your magic will last.”
Danielle lifted her chin. “My magic will last as long as you need me.”
“I know you think so, but you’ve no’ been in battle, Danielle. You doona know how hard your heart will beat or how fast the blood will pump through your body. Fear will take hold, and your magic may no’ come.”
She took one of his hands in both of hers. “If my magic came to me when I was chased by creatures I didn’t know with my blood pumping and my heart pounding, and fear swallowing me, I know I can do this.”
“I just want one promise from you.”
“All right. What is it?”
“If your magic falters, hide. Doona wait for me. Return here and do whatever you can to keep the wyrran out until I can get to you.”
Danielle could see her vow was important to him by the way his sherry gaze held hers. “I promise, Ian.”
“Good,” he said, and briefly closed his eyes. “I want you somewhere out of the heat of things.”
“You don’t even know where the wyrran are attacking, or if it is them attacking.”
“Precisely. Which is why I want you on the roof.”
Danielle blinked. It made sense. She would be able to see well no matter where they were being attacked from and use it to her advantage. It would also keep her out of the fighting.
“One of Charon’s men will be with you,” Ian continued. “He’ll be using a weapon.
A rifle Charon showed me.”
She nodded. “They’re effective. The ammunition they use can be shot from a great distance.”
“Good. Now, come. I’ll take you to the roof.”
A smile formed when his hand grasped her. They left after she had grabbed her jacket and scarf and made their way to the roof. The night was cold with light flurries beginning to fall.
They were alone on the roof, and Danielle took that time to voice a worry that had been niggling at her. “You said Charon’s men might react differently when they realize what he is. What do you think they’ll do when they see you?”
“I’m hoping they’ll be too occupied fighting whatever is coming to pay much attention,” Ian said as he stood still as a statue.
Danielle knew his words were meant to calm her, reassure her. And they did to an extent. The fact she knew Ian didn’t fully trust Charon gave her pause.
Ian turned to her and cupped her face with both his hands. “If anyone, and I mean anyone, attacks you, use your magic. Promise me.”
“I promise,” she said, shaking, and not just from the cold.
Ian leaned down and gave her a quick, hard kiss. He pulled back and stepped away. “Remember your promises.”
“I will, but I have one as well.”
His head cocked to the side. “What is it you would ask of me?”
“Don’t die or get captured.”
His face softened for a brief moment. “I give you my word to stay as safe as I can, but I also promise I’ll do what I must to keep you from Deirdre.”
Before she could say more Ian leaped over the side of the roof. She leaned over the railing and saw him land softly, his legs bent, before he straightened and walked to Charon.
Danielle was left alone for just a moment before a short, stocky man came into view. He gave her a nod before he melded into the shadows to await the attack.
Danielle stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and wrapped her fingers around the key.
“MacLeod.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m a little busy at the moment trying to stay alive.”
“MacLeod Castle. East!”
Danielle rolled her eyes and released the key, praying she wouldn’t feel any pain. She was taking the key to the castle, just not fast enough for its satisfaction.
Not that she could help it at the moment. If Ian was correct, an attack would come that night.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she heard the deep, fearsome growl of a Warrior. Danielle rushed to the edge of the hotel and looked down to find Charon with his hand around a wyrran’s neck.
The wyrran was scratching at Charon’s copper-colored skin. Charon had thick horns sprouting from the side of his head and wrapping around to his forehead where the points curled upward.
With a sickening snap, Charon broke the wyrran’s neck and tossed the creature to the ground.
That’s when the battle began.
Wyrran poured into the small town, their shrieks piercing the night. Charon and Ian, both in their Warrior forms, were fighting multiple wyrran at once while Charon’s men were using guns and swords to kill them.
There was a boom from beside her as the man fired his rifle. It put Danielle into action. She called up her magic, felt it rise and swirl within her. The power of it was heady, intoxicating.
She gathered it inside her, and propelled it through her hands to a wyrran who ran toward one of the houses. Her magic drove the beast backward, and before he could rise, the man beside her fired a shot into the middle of the wyrran’s head.
The man lifted his head from his rifle and smiled at her. “Keep it going.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Danielle used her magic again and again to blast wyrran away from homes and businesses. The commotion had woken everyone, but fortunately, only a few dared to look outside.
Just a look was all it took to make anyone want to stay away.
Danielle glanced over to where she had last seen Ian. He and Charon were leaving a trail of dead wyrran in their wake, but there were still many more. Too many.
She faced forward to find that a wyrran had climbed up the outside of the hotel and reached the roof. Danielle lifted her hands, and with barely a thought sent magic blasting toward the wyrran.
When she looked over the edge of the roof, the wyrran was on the ground, his arms and legs at awkward angles. And he wasn’t moving.
She could no longer afford to look for Ian. There were simply too many wyrran running about. Everywhere she looked there were wyrran.
There was a strangled scream as one of Charon’s men was taken down by three wyrran. Danielle was disgusted by how the creatures ripped the man to shreds. She added more power to her magic and lunged forward as she pushed the magic from her hands.
Her magic barreled into the three wyrran, leaving two dead. But the damage was already done. Charon’s man was dead.
Time slowed to a crawl as Danielle blasted her magic time and again into wyrran. Beside her, the rifle fired nearly as often as she used her magic.
Dimly, she heard the roars of Warriors and prayed Ian was unharmed.
Finally, the number of live wyrran dwindled. Danielle caught a glimpse of Charon chasing one as it ran from the village.
But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find Ian.
“Danielle.”
Her shoulders drooped when she heard his voice. She turned to find him walking toward her bare-chested with long gashes on both arms and over his chest. She knew there would be others on his back as well.
A glance down at his legs showed his jeans hadn’t come out unscathed either. There were slashes all along his pants.
“Are you all right?” Ian asked as he reached her.
She nodded, barely able to keep her eyes open from the exhaustion of using so much of her magic. “Is it over?”
“Nearly.”
“You’re wounded.”
He shook his head. “Look again.”
When she looked down she saw his wounds close and heal right before her eyes.
“Fuck me,” came a voice beside her.
Danielle and Ian turned to the man as he stood and slung his rifle over his shoulder.
“What are you?” the man asked Ian.
“I’m a Warrior. Men like me and Charon are here to protect innocents from the creatures we fought tonight.”
“Well then,” the man said and sniffed. “I suppose that’s all right.”
“And I’m a Druid,” Danielle said.
He smiled. “I thought ye might be. I gotta tell me wife I met a Druid and a Warrior. She’ll never believe it. I bet she slept through the entire battle.”
He continued talking to himself as he walked away. Danielle turned her head to Ian. “Were the wyrran after me?”
“They came for me, which means Deirdre has discovered where I am. We need to leave. Now.”
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Ian turned back to Danielle when he felt her sway toward him. She was shivering, and her hands were like ice. He looked down at her to find her face as white as the snow falling.
“Danielle?”
“So tired,” she whispered.
Without another word Ian lifted her in his arms and strode from the roof. He reached their room but before he could get inside, another of Charon’s men rushed out with their belongings.
“Come,” the man beckoned Ian.
Ian followed him out of the hotel to a car parked at the entrance. The man tossed their belongings into the back then shut the trunk. He opened the door and moved the seat forward to allow Ian to get into the cramped backseat. With a nod, the man walked away.
Cursing, Ian stared at the automobile. He had no idea how to drive one, and Danielle was in no condition to do it. But they couldn’t stay in the village. They had to get moving.
“Get in,” Charon shouted as he ran toward the car.
Ian laid Danielle in the back, pushed the seat back
into place, and slid inside by the time Charon had gotten behind the wheel. Ian barely had time to close the door before Charon had them moving at a speed Ian couldn’t fathom.
“I’m sorry, Ian. I couldna catch the last of the wyrran. The four buggers set off in different directions.”
Ian braced an elbow on the door and ran a hand down his face. “Deirdre will know then.”
“Bloody Hell,” Charon shouted and slammed his hand on the wheel.
“I doona blame you,” Ian told him. “We saved your town and the people.”
“Did we?” Charon’s lip curled in disgust. “Deirdre will retaliate. I have no doubt of that.”
“Then why are you coming with me? Should you no’ be with them?”
Charon glanced into the backseat then lifted a dark brow. “Were you going to drive, mate?”
Ian felt the warm air shooting from the vents. He pointed them back toward Danielle. “She used too much magic.”
“She helped save everyone, just as I knew she would. Her magic is strong. I’ve no’ felt magic like that in centuries.”
“Are there many Druids about?”
Charon shook his head. “Verra few. They are nearly gone. Only a small handful still practice. I suspect Deirdre will discover them soon.”
“And the others?”
“They doona know of the magic within them. Much has changed since you’ve been gone.”
“So I see,” Ian muttered. He turned his head to Charon. “Why are you helping me?”
Charon’s fingers tightened on the wheel so that his knuckles turned white. “I know you doona trust me, and you have every right to that mistrust. I never served Deirdre willingly.”
“I assumed as much when you broke her neck.”
Charon smiled. “God, that felt good. I want to do it again. I want her gone forever, Ian.” Charon glanced at him, his brow furrowed. “Life was good these past four hundred years without her. I doona know why Danielle needs to get to the MacLeods. It matters no’ to me. If it will help end Deirdre, that is enough.”
Ian blew out a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“Thank me when we reach the castle.”