by Candace Sams
It was late when they reached the cottage. Cairna bounced up the stairs inviting Kathy to follow. He didn't want to be there. Without telling Cairna his intentions, he left the cottage to replace the first man he found on guard duty. He decided to stay on duty every night until the Sorceress saw this new tactic wouldn't work. He'd sleep during the day when Kathy was awake and guard the woods while she slept. They'd see very little of each other. Cairna would be upset with him, Shayla would be incensed, and Kathy ... probably wouldn't give a hang either way. The woman might even attempt her escape, and Shayla would have to pronounce judgment. Except for Cairna's welfare, it made very little difference what happened to him. His niece was old enough to care for herself. The girl would eventually take a mate, and then she wouldn't need him at all. What would he have left? He'd be the leader of a doomed people, Cairna included.
As he saw it, things were going from bad to worse. The Sorceress seemed so intent on this latest plan, and she was unwilling to take any other course of action into consideration. Each day that passed meant less time to discover the reason why their children died. For the thousandth time in eight years, he questioned why his people were being persecuted. So far, he'd done nothing—not one single thing—to give his people a reason to hope. And he didn't have a clue what to do next. Mating with Kathy was not only inappropriate, it was impossible.
He found a Fairy guard to replace and let the man go home to his warm mate. Positioning himself next to a giant oak, he peered into the darkness. By the time all this was over, he'd be very popular with the men who stood nightly guard duty. The darkness was peaceful, and in its presence, he might be able to contemplate the utter chaos Shayla had made of his life.
* * * *
Three days later, Kathy was standing in the lovely pale green and white guest room she'd been given. Her window overlooked the garden, and flower scent permeated the air. But no matter how enchanting the cottage and the scenery were, she was still a prisoner. Escaping was out of the question since doing so would endanger Tearach. She told herself her abductor's welfare shouldn't matter. Under any other circumstances, the very hounds of hell could have been tied outside and not stopped her from leaving. But Tearach was as unwilling a partner in this ordeal as she, and she didn't have it in her to hurt Cairna. Shayla's maneuvering had firmly entrenched her into Tearach's home, but he had instituted his own bit of strategy and stayed away most of the time. While she noticed his absence, the affect it was having on Cairna was devastating. The girl constantly stared toward the forest and moped. Kathy helped with the garden and housework and tried to stay out of the woods. On several occasions, people stopped by. But as Cairna introduced them, she explained that they were in human form, and they never stayed long enough for Kathy to get to know them. Kathy's innate curiosity about the place, its origins and the people kept her asking hundreds of questions. Cairna answered those she could. Other things, she seemed to want Tearach to explain.
She was in the garden, helping Cairna gather herbs, when Shayla and several men appeared at the edge of the woods. Cairna shaded her eyes from the sun with one hand. She ran forward, met Shayla halfway across the little meadow, and walked with her to the cottage. Kathy only caught the last part of their conversation.
"Yes, child. I'll see to it,” Shayla said to Cairna and then turned toward Kathy. “Are you settling in well enough?"
"Why does it matter? I'm here against my will,” Kathy quickly replied. She was tired of being outmaneuvered by the older woman.
"I've promised Cairna that her uncle will be home more often. It's poorly done of him to leave you when he knows what must be done."
Kathy opened her mouth to ask Shayla just exactly what she meant. Tearach had promised to enlighten her about this relationship between them, and then he'd disappeared into the greenery. And Cairna was a clam on the subject. Kathy held her questions when the subject of their discussion came walking across the meadow with four large men. It looked as though he was being escorted, and the expression on his face could only be described as thunderous.
"I was told you wanted to speak with me?” Tearach bit out as he neared their location.
"You'll cease these nightly wanderings of yours, stay home and take care of business, Tearach. When it's your turn to stand guard, someone will be sent to fetch you. Do you understand?"
He responded with a silent glare.
"Furthermore, Cairna will be staying at the castle,” Shayla informed him. She raised her hand to stop his ready protest. “When you've done your duty to your people, Cairna may return home and not before."
Tearach couldn't believe what he was hearing. What would the Sorceress have him do? Throw Kathy to the ground and have his way with her? Forcing them to live together wasn't going to solve the problem. Kathy wasn't ever going to comply even if he wanted to. And he most certainly did not.
"Cairna, get some things together. You'll be leaving with me,” Shayla instructed.
Cairna murmured her response and went inside the cottage. Kathy kept quiet, trying to ignore her growing sense of apprehension. She'd been alone with Tearach before, but not in such close proximity as the cottage allowed. Still, his mutinous expression at Shayla's pronouncement should have calmed her fears. To get the situation over with, however, he might just do whatever he deemed necessary.
Kathy stood on one side of the garden gate and Tearach on the other. Neither of them spoke as Shayla, her staff, and Cairna left. His glacial expression assured Kathy that he found the scene distasteful, embarrassing and infuriating. Would he take that anger out on her?
Ignoring Kathy, Tearach stormed through the gate, threw the door to the cottage open and went inside. In the kitchen, there was a large bottle of very old whiskey. Assuming Cairna had replenished his stock, he only intended to have one drink to take the edge off his roiling emotions. The whole Order would hear of this. He'd either be the object of pity or a joke. People would talk for weeks about how the Sorceress had forced him home to bed the outsider. It was too humiliating for words. The last of his pride was being stripped away like old wall paper.
"What are you doing?” Kathy asked as she watched him toss down half a tumbler of the whisky.
"I should have thought that was obvious.” He reached into the cupboard, pulled down another glass and offered it to her. To his surprise, she took it and poured herself a large measure of the golden liquid. For some strange reason, the whiskey sent a tingling sensation down his windpipe long after it had been swallowed. He'd never remembered spirits affecting him thus. Uncharacteristically, he found he wanted yet another glass of the strong alcohol.
"What's this all about? Why does Shayla seem so intent on getting you and me into bed?"
He picked up the bottle and moved toward the living room. Kathy waited as he lowered his large frame onto the sofa, and then she sat in a comfortable chair across from him. Tearach stared into his glass and seemed to contemplate his response. She sipped her own drink and winced as it burned its way down her trachea. But the stuff immediately warmed her whole body. It seemed she'd never had whiskey that was so full-bodied and inviting. She immediately wanted more.
"Eight years. Eight long, damnable years,” he muttered.
"Tell me,” she encouraged. It seemed like he wouldn't answer. He filled his glass a second time before the story began.
"Eight years ago, my people journeyed to a sacred site in Exmoor. It was the time for celebrating Lughnasadh, or the festival of first harvest. Our traditions mean everything to us. The way we dress, our religion, the length of our hair, and our rites of celebration are all that's left of our ancient ways. We cherish and honor them even unto death.” His voice softened, and he stared into the distance as he took another drink. The alcohol was amazingly enticing.
Kathy kept very still. Tearach was in another place and time. She desperately wanted to know the reason for her being in this strange situation. What was her part in it? Why her?
"Part of the ceremony requires drinkin
g water from a sacred pool. The children fill their cups first, then the adults. When the leader gives the signal, everyone drinks together. Those who are too old or too young to drink by themselves are assisted.” He gripped his glass tighter. “I and a small band of Goblins were to attend a handfasting, or wedding ceremony, near Stonehenge and then join the rest at Exmoor. Heavy rain slowed us down. The others must have thought we wouldn't get to the sacred pond at all."
He stood and walked toward the window. The next part was so painful he believed he'd die in the telling of it. He sipped yet more whiskey and found it comforting. “When we arrived, there was this horrible, shrieking sound. Not knowing what had happened, I ordered some of the men and women to stay with the children of our group and protect them. The rest followed me to the pond. We ... there was ... death. Everywhere! Those who weren't dead yet writhed in agony. There was nothing we could do. It was only later we found out the pond had been poisoned. Our people drank, not knowing that outsiders from a nearby chemical company had dumped pollutants into the water. Every man, woman and child who drank that water died. There were less than fifty of us remaining. It took us days to secretly transport the bodies back here and burn them. My father, mother, and three siblings were all there. My oldest brother, Traed, was our new leader and Cairna's father. Cairna would have been dead as well, but she begged her parents to let her come with me to Stonehenge. She was only ten years old."
"Tearach,” Kathy whispered, “I'm so sorry!” She gulped down more of the exotic whiskey which seemed to dull the horror of the story only a little, and moved toward him.
"I found the men who did it!” he continued as if he hadn't heard her. She placed a hand on his arm, but he took no notice.
Kathy could not imagine what he'd done to them, and she didn't want to know. He turned his face away and his entire body shook. She couldn't tell if his response was due to rage, grief, or a mixture of both.
"Since that time, our women haven't born a single child that survived. The babes either die at birth or shortly thereafter. There are Druid doctors who have practices in the outside world. They've used their laboratories to secretly run every conceivable test that exists, and there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with any of us. But our children die. Sometimes, the mothers also die while trying to give birth."
For Kathy, his explanation didn't make sense. Scientifically, it wouldn't follow that future births or the lack of them would hinge on the events of that day. Still, she was in a world where some kind of environmental catastrophe might cause Tearach's people mental and physical stress so great as to affect the birth rate. Knowing very little about the psychological outcome of such events and even less where Goblins were concerned, she simply accepted the facts as they were. “Shayla thinks an outsider has to put a stop to the deaths?” It would follow, in their world of magic and myth, that the source of a presumed curse might also hold the cure.
He nodded.
"She believes one of you has to mate with an outsider and try bearing a child?"
He turned and stared into her blue-green eyes. “You're finally beginning to get the gist of it."
"You ... and ... me?” Kathy choked.
"Yes."
"Tearach, that's crazy! Why on Earth would she think a child from such a union could survive any better than the others?"
He threw one hand up in frustration. “That's what I keep asking. But the Sorceress insists it's the only way. She thinks that Goblins are afraid to go on living with outsiders surrounding us. That only an outsider can give us back the life force taken from us."
Kathy shook her head in disbelief. “That's just ludicrous."
"I know. That's why I've been trying to thwart her at every turn. As leader of my people, I promised I'd try to do what I could, but this won't work. Obviously, the woman who'd do such a thing should be ... agreeable. Since I can't ever see that happening, Shayla has had you kidnapped unnecessarily. And she's neglecting any other option which might offer a solution."
"Maybe something will present itself in time..."
He interrupted by raising a hand to silence her. “We don't have time. There are only forty-six of us left."
Alarm filled her. “You mean forty-six in this area, right?"
"No, Kathy. Forty-six on the entire planet."
"Oh, my God!” She backed up and sat down on the sofa.
Her stricken expression confirmed that there was no way Kathy would agree to have a child with him. The whole idea was a terrible waste of time. Plus, there was an outsider among them. Someone who could bring the entire world right down on their heads. He knelt in front of her.
"Kathy, you have to listen. I'll get you out of here ... anything you want. But I'm begging you, don't ever tell anyone about us. If you do..."
"They'd lock me up and throw the key away, Tearach. No one would believe me."
"Someone might. There are those people who chase stories of strange phenomenon all over the country. It doesn't take much to get people with that mindset started. Can you imagine what would happen to us? To the children?"
She nodded and sighed. “Yes, I'm afraid I can. But there's no sense worrying over what I would or wouldn't do. I promised Cairna I wouldn't leave. Shayla would kill you if I did."
"There are worse things,” he muttered.
"Like getting into bed with me?"
"I didn't mean ... That is..."
"Never mind. I promised Cairna I wouldn't leave and that's an end to this particular discussion."
"You don't understand, Kathy. The Sorceress isn't beyond drugging us or ... or something equally heinous."
"Then we'll just have to be on our guard.” She arched a brow when an idea occurred to her. “What if we tell her we've ... you know ... done it?"
He shook his head. “She'll know if we're lying."
"How?"
"She won't be satisfied until she sees you're carrying my child."
"Shayla can't force me."
"No, she won't do that. Not exactly. Like I said, some night she'll slip us some herbal concoction or one of her people will. The next thing you know we'll be more than willing to..."
"I get the picture,” Kathy interrupted, stopping Tearach before he became too graphic. The scenes her mind were conjuring left her confused. The idea of Tearach making love to her was too erotically disturbing. The man was all male, despite the fact that he was green. Every muscle rippled when he moved. Unlike most large, well-built men, he had the grace of a large jungle cat. And the perfect face of a mythic god, even when he was angry or frowning—which was most of the time. All that only added to the mystical, untouchable quality he radiated. In any other situation, Kathy would have found herself physically attracted to him. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her hormones. Any woman with eyes and a normal sex drive would want such a man. To some, the green, Goblin thing might even be exciting. But to be kidnapped and brought here to breed like an animal was degrading, demoralizing, and damned maddening. The Sorceress had to be crazy. Crazy or very desperate. And why, of all the women in the world, was she chosen? Outside of the fact that no one would miss her, there had to be a particular reason.
They sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Tearach stood and poured them more whisky. It seemed that drinking the alcohol was making him less wary. Less depressed.
"We'll just have to think of something else to thwart Shayla's plans. In the meantime, just let her think she's getting her way."
They downed their drinks in unison and stared out the window. The bottle was finished by the time either of them was ready to speak again.
Kathy was feeling decidedly woozy. “What gets people so hung up on an idea they won't let it go?"
"Stubborn attitude, I guess."
For a while, Kathy thought about his plight. It explained why, at times, he seemed to hate her. “I am sorry, Tearach. I wish this hadn't happened to your people."
"There are times when I'd like to kill every...” He stopped, reali
zing he was speaking to an outsider about what he'd like to do to them.
"I don't blame you, but I'm not one of the outsiders who killed your people. We're not all the same."
"You sound like Cairna. She wants to believe the best about everyone. But she didn't see her father when he choked on his last words. Thankfully, I had her hiding so she wasn't there when we found the children, huddled next to their parents. Their mouths were foaming, bodies convulsing like dying insects..."
"Stop it!” Kathy cried out, dropping the glass. She stood and turned for the safety of her room. The explicit scenes Tearach related were too vivid and far, far too disturbing. The part about the children broke her heart. They all must have suffered horrendously. The symptoms he described were exactly like those of victims of herbicide or organic phosphate poisoning. She knew enough about the subject to realize that kind of death was ghastly.
Tearach's anger sought release. How dare she turn away as if she were the injured party! He stepped in her way. “Maybe I should just take you. Why should I show any more concern for you than was shown to my people?"
He stared at her and saw some flash of passion in her lovely eyes. He immediately recognized that his own ardor was out of control. Some instinct told him that something was wrong with this sudden surge of erotic reaction to her presence. His body was already responding, as if he were her lover. He couldn't stop his excitement from building and began to suspect they had, in fact, been drugged.
The alcohol Kathy had consumed was affecting her in a bizarre way. She'd had whiskey before, but it hadn't caused such wetness between her thighs. For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly found Tearach, even in his anger, more attractive than any man she'd ever gazed at. Unable to control her actions, she moved closer, grabbed him by the front of his jerkin and kissed him hard. Her mind told her she was behaving like an idiot, or maybe that should be strumpet, but her body seemed to crave his. The kiss might not make sense, but she had to taste him. She had to feel those full lips against hers.