by Candace Sams
He walked through the evening forest toward the castle. What could he say to this woman, this outsider? Nothing in his life had prepared him for this task. Maybe he could turn his head and let her escape. But he wouldn't put it past Shayla to go find her. Or find someone else to take her place.
A guard outside the main entrance unlocked the door as he approached. He made his way to Kathleen's room, knocked and heard Shayla's voice bid him enter. Evidently, the Sorceress had been speaking to the woman. When he entered the room, Shayla gave him a stern look and then stalked out. Since their altercation, she didn't even take time to act civilly. That was a bridge best left burned.
Kathy noticed the tension between the two people. She filed it away for future reference, thinking it might get her closer to freedom. “Is this what you people normally wear?” She lifted a hand to indicate her clothing and his.
Tearach was surprised to see her wearing black leather pants, matching doe skin boots and a black, long-sleeved jerkin. The garments hugged every curve of her slender body. Front strands of her hair had been pulled back and tied. The rest cascaded down her back in a golden cloud. His mouth went dry and the lower part of his anatomy responded to her. The thought occurred to him that, if he had to eventually lie with her, some carnal part of him might enjoy it.
Kathleen wondered what activity these people were involved in that required them to wear medieval garb. But the leather was soft and would offer protection if she had to escape through the woods.
"This is the traditional clothing of those who live here. If you'd rather have something else to wear, I can have someone..."
"No,” Kathy interrupted, “these clothes will do."
Tearach watched her run one graceful hand down a shapely thigh. Something in his veins heated. Did she have to be so damned beautiful? Where was his resolve? “We'd better go before I change my mind about this."
Kathy nodded and followed him out the door. She gasped when they got outside and she turned back to see her prison. “So, I've been in some kind of renovated castle?"
"Comes with the clothes.” Tearach shrugged and began to walk. He didn't alter his long stride, but she kept abreast of him with no problem. She seemed interested in her surroundings, and Tearach wondered if she was making mental notes for her escape. He walked for several minutes and finally stopped in a small clearing. The moon was out in force, and the stars vied with it for attention. He ached to be in his true form. The Sorceress would have his head on a parapet if he changed. But that would be one solution to his problem. The outsider would take one look at him in his alter ego and either run or go crazy.
"You aren't very talkative, are you?” Kathleen remarked.
"I'm your captor. What could I say that you'd want to hear?"
"If you feel that way, why did you offer to let me out in the first place?” She stopped, sat on a rock, pulled one leg up and hugged her knee.
He stopped and took a seat upon a nearby tree stump, crossing his arms over his chest. “Perversity. Maybe I want to keep you guessing about what's to be your fate."
She snorted. “My fate? Unless you're going to offer me as a sacrifice to some god, I don't think I've got too much to worry about."
Now that dug deep into his masculinity. He was large enough to break her swan's neck with one hand, and she sat there declaring she hadn't too many cares. “And why wouldn't you worry?"
"Do you know what that Shayla person did today? She had someone come to my room to do my nails and hair. Then she let me pick out my clothing from a large assortment of medieval attire, served me another sumptuous meal and offered to let me use the library.” She reached down, pulled a long blade of dried grass from the ground and thoughtfully chewed on the end. “You know, if this is someone's idea of kidnapping, I should have gone jogging more often."
He swore under his breath and stood. “Do you think this is all a game, woman? Whatever Shayla does has no bearing on me or what I'm capable of doing. It might serve you well to remember that. This can be a deadly place. Especially since not everyone here wants...” He stopped talking and turned away.
She jumped up and moved in front of him. “I knew it! You don't want me here, do you? I've been listening to Shayla tell me how wonderful everything is around here. Then you come along and tell me there are guards everywhere and paint this picture of doom."
"I never said as much,” he denied.
"Yes, you did, if not in words, then certainly by your expression and body language. You didn't even want to be in my room."
He simply stared at her, wondering if Shayla's researchers had an inkling of how intelligent this woman was or that she was as crafty as a vixen. She'd been sizing them up since her arrival and had correctly perceived his unwilling participation in this whole ordeal. And he'd expected a weeping, tormented victim. “All right, I don't want you here and never did. The idea of having you in my presence is ... is..."
"Revolting, isn't it?” she finished and smiled slyly.
He took a deep breath and looked in another direction. He'd have not been so ungallant as to use that particular word in her presence but, since she'd said it, it was fine with him.
She stepped in front of him, trying to force him to look at her. “Why would I be so distasteful to you? Vanity aside, not many men have used that word to describe me. But this is a very special circumstance, isn't it? There's something about you that just isn't quite ordinary. I can't put my finger on it, but I'll figure it out.
"And what about that Shayla person?” Kathy walked around him thinking out loud. “Shayla does want me here. Very badly. Everyone who came into my room seemed a little in awe of her. Unless I've missed my guess, she isn't just some kindly older woman helping me acclimate to my terrifying ordeal.” She punctuated the terrifying part with sarcasm. “I think ... I think she's in charge of the whole operation. She wanted me here, and she's forced you into helping her."
Tearach watched her walk and listened to her analyze. She'd have made a magnificent general. She had a tactical mind that rivaled any Order leader he'd ever read about. “So what do you intend to do with this knowledge?"
"We could strike a bargain."
"What kind of bargain?"
"You don't want me here. I don't want to be here. Regardless of the fine accommodations, I've still been kidnapped and I want to get back to London.” She paused and looked him straight in the eyes. “It's simple. Help me get away. Your problem is solved and so is mine."
He slowly shook his head. “I can't, Miss Parker. The situation isn't as simple as you think."
She stared at him for a long time. “Why? What could she possibly have on a man like you to force you into committing a major felony?"
The woman started pacing again. He could almost hear her mind compiling details, critically reviewing the information to which she'd been exposed. It was a little frightening. Were all outsiders this astute? He quickly discarded that ridiculous idea. This one was an exception.
She stopped and faced him. “Why hasn't the other man who helped kidnap me been to see me? He had as much a role in all this as you."
Tearach kept silent. For some odd reason, warning bells went off in his mind. She remembered Lore, and he wouldn't go to see her because his contribution to the scheme was complete.
She began to tick off a list on her fingers. “You don't want me here. I'm revolting to you, but you came to see me anyway. Shayla wants me here, but she doesn't seem to care about the other man's role in this. When she talks, she speaks of you, not him. I know you and she are angry with each other for some reason. When you're in a room together, the looks you exchange could kill."
Kathleen chewed on her lower lip and tapped the fingers of one hand against her face. Suddenly, she stopped and glared at Tearach. “She wants you and me together for some reason, doesn't she? And you don't like the idea at all."
He swallowed hard and gave up. That computerlike brain floored him. “Yes, she wants us together. No, I don't like the id
ea one bit.” He watched her expression change from contemplative to downright outraged.
"Could you please define the term together?” she snapped.
"You're a smart woman. I think you've got the picture,” he solemnly replied. He watched Kathleen's head turn back toward the castle. Anger emanated from the top of her blond head to her leather clad feet. She fairly shook with it.
"Why ... that ... sick ... old..."
"Careful!” Tearach warned and pulled her away from the tree line. “We're being watched and our conversation is probably being overheard as well."
Like conspirators, they moved closer together and lowered their voices.
"What hold does she have on you? You look like a man who can take care of himself. Who is she?” Kathy put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"Nothing here is as it seems, Kathleen,” he said, using her given name. “You've no idea how powerful Shayla is."
"She's one woman. Why would she want us, two complete strangers, to enter into a sexual relationship? That is what we're talking about, isn't it?"
"I don't think I can explain. But trust me when I say that Shayla could summon more power than any army on Earth. Don't anger her. And don't let anyone hear you speak ill of her,” Tearach warned. A second later, he wondered why he'd given the warning. She could have hung herself by saying something tactless to Shayla and he'd have been rid of her.
"Here I was thinking she was a kindly woman, just trying to help.” Kathy glared back at the castle, her hands clenched.
His conscience prompted him to defend the Sorceress. Even though her current plans had him half mad, she'd kept the Order safely hidden for years. “She is trying to help. It's just that when she's fixed on an idea, she won't let it go."
"And what, exactly, is she fixed on that involves you and me getting ... together? We're total strangers. I'm not some whore off the street."
The acidic tone of Kathleen's voice had him worried, although he couldn't imagine why. If the Sorceress was angry enough, this particular outsider would never be seen or heard from again. But Kathleen had courage and the uncanny ability to correctly size up a situation. He could respect those attributes, even if they were exhibited by someone he considered an enemy.
"Listen to me,” he urged. “I know you're furious. I was bloody crazy over this whole thing. But I've already got Shayla angry with me. There's no sense in you jumping into that particular fire. Believe me, Kathleen, you do not want her after you."
Kathleen watched Tearach sit down on a stone, run his hands through his hair and hang his head.
"You feel helpless. She's got you trapped somehow, hasn't she?"
"This isn't just about me. This has to do with all my people. Shayla is just trying to stop a tragedy. But it can't be averted by kidnapping you and forcing us to do something against our will. There has to be another way to solve the problem."
"Your people?” She sank down beside him. “I don't understand."
"I know, and I can't explain right now. The whole thing is so damned complicated."
"You may as well tell me everything. So help me, I'm going to figure it all out anyway."
"You will, won't you?” he acknowledged with a nod. “You've got all the rest of it right."
He stood up and held out his hand. Without hesitating, she placed hers within it and followed where he led. They walked away from the clearing into a dense part of the forest. Moonlight flooded even the thickest growth. Finally, Tearach turned and placed his hands upon her shoulders. “Shayla is going to have my head for this, but you may as well see who you're really dealing with."
He stepped away from her, lowered himself to the ground and made the change. Up to this point there had been no histrionic outbursts, no crying or complaining about her situation. She'd had a perfect right to indulge in any of those behaviors, though they wouldn't have gotten her anywhere. Instead, the woman had chosen to use her head and logically work things out. But what she was about to see had no place in the world of logic. If Kathleen could deal with him in his true form, she could handle anything.
He slowly stood, faced her and waited for the inevitable scream or for her to faint. She backed against a tree and stared. In the sunlight, his appearance would be even more startling, but she could see well enough to know he wasn't like her. Wasn't like anything else on Earth. For a long time, Tearach waited. He didn't move a muscle or speak. He just stood and let her have a good, long look.
Kathy tried to slow her breathing. Hyperventilating would get her nothing but a face full of grass and leaves when she passed out, and a headache from hitting the ground. Everything in her told her to run like hell and not look back. But some part of her brain—she assumed it was the hemisphere where curiosity and obstinacy originated—wouldn't let her go. The thought that had been in her consciousness all along seeped in. He doesn't want to hurt me. A creature the size of three normal men could surely have pulled her apart if he'd wanted to. She pushed herself away from the tree and, still breathing hard, walked right up to him.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?” she choked out.
He tilted his head in wonder. “You're not going to scream?"
"While that might do something for you, it won't help my situation one bit. And I'm not giving you the bloody satisfaction. Now, answer my question!"
She had more nerve than sense. Once again, he grudgingly awarded the little outsider points for courage and control. “I'm a Goblin. One of the very last, as it so happens."
"That's crazy. There's no such thing."
"I should damned well know what I am, woman!"
"Well, you'd better think harder and try another story, because there's no such thing as Goblins,” she repeated and thrust a finger against his chest.
"You just saw me change,” he gasped and spread his hands in frustration.
"If you're a Goblin, then I'm the bloody Queen of England,” she snapped and placed her hands on her hips.
This outcome had never occurred to him. He was standing in the middle of the sacred forest with an angry woman who demanded that he tell her anything but the truth. “I ... am ... a ... Goblin.” He enunciated each word as clearly and precisely as he could. “My race is thousands of years old, and I'm the leader of all those like me."
Kathy had seen and heard enough. She turned on her heel and stalked back the way she'd come.
"Where do you think you're going?” He caught up with her, grabbed her arm and held on.
"You people are in so much trouble it isn't even funny! I'm going to start out by filing every criminal charge I can. Then, I'm going to get the best attorney in London and sue all of you back into the Stone Age. When all that's finished, I'll make sure you're locked so far away that not even God will find you!"
He dropped his hold on her arm and began to pace. “What deity in what forest did I piss off enough to deserve this? You are the most contrary woman I've ever met in my entire life!” He stopped long enough to point a finger at her and continued his agitated walking. “I can't believe Shayla put me in the middle of this insane situation. Out of all the women in the world, I have to be saddled with you. Hang it all!” He threw his hands up in despair.
Kathy watched the man's tirade come to an end. She'd seen circumstances where all kinds of people had come to the end of their proverbial rope. Tearach Bruce, whatever he thought himself to be, was at such an end. He stood with his back to her, shaking his head. He was in the same wobbling boat as she, and neither of them would come any closer to solving their problems by losing control.
"I'm sorry,” she quietly relented, “but I haven't had a lot of experience with green people. I'll bet you don't get to see much of my kind, either."
He turned around and stared at her. The last time he'd been this close to outsiders was eight years ago. It was an experience he never wanted to repeat. “No. My people avoid yours at all costs."
"Is Shayla one of you?"
"She isn't Goblin, if that's what you
mean."
"Then what..."
"Direct the rest of your questions to her. We've both had enough for one night.” He wrapped his fingers around her arm and began to walk back toward the castle.
Chapter Four
"So, how did it go?” Cairna asked.
Tearach drank his morning coffee and looked across the table, noting her anxious expression as she chewed on her bottom lip. “She doesn't think I'm a real Goblin; she wants Shayla's head on a spike; and as soon as she gets back to London, she's filing a lawsuit. Any more questions?"
Cairna's dark eyes widen in shock. “She knows about us?” Cairna ignored the rest of his sarcastic remark. “I thought the Sorceress said we weren't supposed to..."
"I know what the Sorceress said, Cairna. Shayla Gallagher doesn't have a clue as to how intelligent this woman is. That outsider probably has an I.Q. that's out of orbit. In the short time she's been abducted, Kathleen Parker has just about figured out the full extent of what goes on here. I can practically hear the gears turning when she thinks.” And that could make her very dangerous, he reminded himself.
"And she knows about ... about ... you know...” Cairna shrugged and lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Yes. She even knows Shayla plans to breed the two of us like livestock. She's as furious about it as I am.” He threw down his napkin, left the rest of his breakfast untouched and walked to the door.
"When may I meet her?” Cairna stood and walked toward him.
Tearach looked at his niece in surprise. “Why would you want to?"
"Well, she'll sort of be my aunt, won't she?"
He took his hand off the doorknob, placed it on Cairna's shoulder and gently pushed her into the nearest chair. Kneeling so they were at eye level, he tried to explain the situation yet again. She just didn't want to see the full impact of this entire mess. “Cairna, this woman doesn't want to be here, and I don't want her here. Don't make something romantic out of this situation. If she won't cooperate Shayla may see her as a threat. And if by some miracle she does cooperate, I'll be in a relationship with someone I don't even know and consider an enemy. And Kathleen will hate us all. She won't see us as friends or family. If a child should come from this farce, it will likely die as all the others have done. Then, probably, so would Kathleen. There would be no reason for Shayla to keep her safe anymore. So, there's no way out of this for any of us. But I will keep my promise to you. I'll try to do the best I can."