Spellbound-Legend

by Claudy Conn

  Well, a new development to think about. Lamia DuLaine now knew that Julian was alive and residing in Scotland. She doesn’t know about me yet, but she knows about Julian. What are we going to do?

  Maxie’s visions had always come in sporadic fashion over the years, but never as detailed and real as they had been over the past few months. This vision was of the recent past, but when? How long did they have before Lamia discovered exactly where they were? Did she already know? Answer? Obviously, Maxie thought and then whispered, “We are screwed!”

  Julian and Breslyn had not confided their war plans to Maxie, but she did know that they weren’t expecting this and weren’t ready for it yet. They needed more time to set up their positions, sharpen skills, and then pull in the reins. This was going to come at them now helter-skelter. Maxie didn’t like this, not one bit.

  The face off with the DuLaine was supposed to be a choreographed dance that would end in her destruction. Well, looks like the black Fae has given her star power over us, Maxie thought with a grimace. She jumped to her feet and hurriedly made her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

  It was nearly eight in the morning. She heard laughter in the kitchen and went in to find Tally and Uncle Kennet already there and seated at the table, their shoulders close to one another as they chatted.

  The scene gladdened her heart, and for the moment forgotten was the terror of evil Fae and bloodsucking women. Tally laughing with Uncle Kennet made Maxie smile inside and out. Uncle Kennet was enjoying one of Tally’s superb pastries, and Max was sure they both blushed when she walked in on them. Tally got up hurriedly and started to pour Maxie a cup of coffee, and Max put out a hand to her arm and roundly told her to sit. “I can get my own coffee Tally.” Then Max saw the muffins in the basket. “Oh, heaven help my weight … chocolate muffins!”

  “Aye dear, your uncle told me they were your favorite, so I baked them with you in mind, but gracious, shouldn’t you be resting?” She pulled out a chair. “Sit…sit.”

  “Oh—it turned out to be just a flesh wound. It’s sore, but that’s all.” Maxie waved it aside and took the offered chair. She bit into the chocolate muffin and began making swooning motions, telling herself she would have to walk vigorously for two hours to work off the calories.

  She needed to share her news with Uncle Kennet but couldn’t do so with Tally present, so she resigned herself to the fact that she would have to put it off till later. For the next half hour the three enjoyed a lively conversation. Finally, Maxie couldn’t stop herself, and she brought the subject round to ask, “Where is Julian?” He was an early riser, and she was surprised he had not come in for coffee.

  She had told herself that his coming and goings didn’t matter. She had told herself that she knew he was not meant for her. She had wagged a finger at herself in the mirror and roundly told herself it couldn’t possibly work between them. There was no getting past that. So anything she might think she felt for Julian was a waste of time.

  “Oh, he grabbed a cup of coffee to go and said he was going to have breakfast in town. Had a few things to do before ten,” said Uncle Kennet

  “Before ten? What is at ten?”

  Uncle Kennet shrugged. “He said something about his solicitor … one of …”—he looked meaningfully at Maxie—“one of Shamon Moore’s staff.”

  Maxie nearly spluttered coffee all over herself. She got control, and although she wanted to know more, she could hardly discuss the subject with Tally present. She said, “I see … I think.” She gave Uncle Kennet a look she felt was significant, but he ignored her.

  She got up from the table and excused herself. She needed to discuss what she had just seen with Uncle Kennet, but that wasn’t going to be possible at the moment. So, she opted for walking. First she headed for a closet she had seen in the hall. Her jacket no longer serviceable, and with only one other jacket too lightweight for the Scottish chilly mornings, she was going to have to drive into Inverness and shop. In the meantime, she had seen an array of jackets, of course all men’s jackets, in the hall closet. None of them would fit, but at least she could stay warm. “Ah,” she murmured as she pulled a pilot-styled black nylon jacket off its hanger. “This will do. It had a nice warm wool lining.”

  It hung to the middle of her thighs, and its sleeves needed rolling up, but it was comfy and cozy. It looked and felt new. Of course. All of Julian’s clothing would be new.

  He hadn’t needed much while in a coma up in Faeryland.

  Outside, she looked for and found another wooded trail and had been walking only a few minutes when the prince appeared right in front of her and made her scream to the heavens. “How do you do that—find me wherever I am?”

  He laughed and put an arm around her. “Radar.”

  Maxie gave him the once over. His appearances ‘poof in, poof out’ were most disconcerting. And then before she had a chance to recoup, the muscle-bound, huge, absolutely breathtakingly hot male was taking her into his arms as though no other woman would do for him. Yup, works for me, Maxie thought with a smile. Then she reminded herself, Illusion—the foundation is based on fascination, curiosity, and perhaps … something more than friendship? Certainly my feelings are tinged with desire. Is that love?

  “Lia …” He whispered as he nibbled along her neck, “I missed you. I missed your scent …”

  My scent? He had a pretty potent scent all his own. He smelled as always of pines and vanilla and aromatic herbs. She wondered once again if it were natural, a part of his being, or if it was some exotic cologne. She decided it was his natural scent. Hmmm. He calls me ‘Lia’, and I like it. It is all part of the exotic net he has been weaving around me. Is it magic—what I feel—is he tricking me into feeling something I don’t? She didn’t think so, but she wasn’t sure. She put her hand to his hard, rippled chest and pushed him back. “Good to see you too …” she tried saying as casually sweet as she could, putting him off, but not entirely. “Come on then, keep me company while I walk.”

  He smiled and took up her hand. She had forgotten to put on gloves, and her hands were cold. He remarked upon it with a frown. “My Lia’s wee hands are cold.” He rubbed them both between his large hands, and then they weren’t cold anymore. Okay, his plusses were much higher than his minuses.

  She looked at him. He was dressed in a dark brown leather jacket with fleece trim. Underneath the jacket the cowl collar of a cream bulky knit sweater circled his wide, masculine neck. His jeans were a faded shade of dark blue, and his boots were dark brown leather like his jacket. On the end of the toes and at the heels of those boots were what looked like gold slats in a design she had no doubt was his own and had something to do with his ‘Royal House’. The boots like the jacket were obviously custom made. This Fae was fond of the good things.

  “Breslyn, I haven’t told Julian yet because he isn’t here—”

  “Where is he? I expect him to watch over you when I am not present.” Clearly the prince was annoyed.

  She looked at him quizzically. “Well … I am perfectly safe here at MacTalbot with all the wards in place, am I not?”

  “I don’t know. There is more at work here than just a beast on the way.” He was grimacing. “I don’t like leaving you with Julian, but I like even less the notion of you wandering out here alone and not protected.”

  “Well, for that matter, there is the fact that I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She blinked flirtatiously at him. Fun, it’s fun, and a girl just wants to have fun—so said the song. She heard her mom singing along with Cindy Lauper in her head. She wondered what her mom would say to all of this.

  “When I am not with you, as much as I dislike relegating your safety to Talbot, Julian is a high Druid priest capable of much …” He hesitated. “And his knowledge of the magic you two might need is extensive. The time will come for you both to call on powerful magic to defeat DuLaine.”

  She was momentarily diverted. “What kind of powerful magic?”

  “The kind
that will save you from her …” was all that the prince wanted to tell her at the moment.

  “Dark Magic?” Persistence drove her.

  “Some … not enough to … discolor the soul.”

  “Do I have Dark Magic in me?”

  He touched her cheek. “There is no need to answer that Lia. You know that you possess some … mixed in with light magic. You have found your Druid compartment in your mind.” He sighed. “But Julian … is quite another thing. I respect his abilities and I respect him, for he restrains himself from using the dark power he has. When the time comes, the beast will find him a worthy foe.”

  “The beast …” She clutched at Breslyn’s arm, and he put his hand over hers as she remembered and rushed to tell him. “She knows!” She felt the words leave her breathless.

  “Yes. I know. Now, what I should like to know is how you know?”

  “You know, how do you know? What does that mean—you know? What are we going to do? What is the next step?”

  “Hush, wee lass … hush … first things first. I have my ways. Now, how did you find out?”

  “This morning. It came to me in three-D, like a movie playing out right in front of me. I knew at once it was taking place in the past, and something, I am not sure what, makes me think, it happened last night.”

  The prince put the back of his hand to her cheek in a gentle touch. “Yes, wee Lia, and I have decided to take you back to Tir with me. The incident you witnessed in your vision took place last evening.”

  “Faeryland? Oh no. I don’t want my entire century to slip by while I am playing with creatures—no matter how darling in Faeryland. No, oh no.”

  “Lia, just for a little while.”

  “I know how long those little whiles of yours are up there … down there … wherever!” She shook her head furiously. “Nope. No can do. Not me, not I … bye bye.”

  He hurried to keep step with her. “Lia, let me show you my world. Let me finish this thing with Julian and DuLaine while I know you are safe.”

  “You have a traitor Fae roaming freely in Faery … Come on, be serious. You don’t know who he is. You can’t keep me safe there.”

  “He cannot get to you where I plan to take you. It is my own private world. None may enter without my leave.”

  Diverted, Maxie stopped and looked at him. “Your own private world?”

  “It cannot be described. I must show you. Believe me, my love, there are humans all over your universe trying to find our realms. Here I give you the opportunity so few have ever had. Trust me, Lia. Allow me to show you my universe, my world … me. If you are not happy, you have but to ask and I will return you here. I know you trust me to do that.”

  She nodded. “I do trust you, Bres … but … how would you get me there? I don’t care for that ‘poof’ thing you do. What do you call it—shifting?”

  Laughing he shook his head. “We call it shifting, but in reality it is not so. We do not shift our bodies—we shift space to allow our bodies through. You have a scientist, Hawkins I think, who writes of wormholes and such—think of it in those terms only far more advanced.” He took her hand to his chest. “Let me, Lia … let me take you to my home.”

  Then just like that, she felt a moment’s rush and they were standing at the peak of a rolling hill. The valley of farmlands stretched out beyond their view, all different shades of green, in perfect harmony with one another in the quilting of their landscape.

  She turned, and standing in all their ancient glory was a set of dolmans. She could hardly breathe as she pointed. For a moment she wondered if she were in Faery. Everything seemed so in sync. It was earth to trees, trees to sky, and it took her breath away. Indeed, she couldn’t speak.

  The prince beamed happily as he looked around and then at her. “You see, that did not hurt—my ‘poofing’ as you call it—did it, Lia?”

  She had felt a dizzy awareness of colors and cold, of stars and blackness, but it was so fast, over so quickly that she couldn’t be sure of anything she had just experienced. He was right though, no real discomfort. Now she was pointing at the Standing Stones and finally found her voice. “Where is this? Where are we?”

  “These are the MacTalbot Dolmans … the Standing Stones. At one time, our kind traveled through the portals of the dolmans. As time progressed and we evolved, so did the ability to use a good part of our brain—something humans will learn to do in the distant future.” He grinned mischievously. “It is a bit more complicated than that, but that explanation will serve now. Here at these dolmans the MacTalbot clan has always conducted the Fae rituals … four times a year for over a thousand years.”

  Max was overwhelmed. She was staring at him, staring at the dolmans, and still pointing. He laughed and touched her nose. “Lia. Humans don’t use quite enough of their brain mass because they are not quite ready to accept things that seem impossible. One day, perhaps? You, Lia, use quite a bit more than your fellow humans. It isn’t that the Fae have larger brains, it is that we use more of our minds than you can possibly imagine.”

  “Why?” Maxie’s voice came out a squeak.

  “Why do we use more brain power?” He was surprised for the moment.

  “No, why do you want to take me to your ‘Otherworld’?”

  “Why?” The prince chuckled. “Lia, I adore you. Because I want you to be mine. I want to take you to Tir, to my Dagda retreat. I know you. I know you want music, puppies, and horses, and I will give them to you. I will take you wherever you want to travel. You will have everything your heart desires. You will have riches beyond your imagination. And whenever you choose to visit your friends, your uncle Kennet, your world, you will have that freedom. I can give you so much. I can prolong your youth for centuries. Let me show you Tir.”

  He sure could talk the talk, Maxie thought, convinced on levels she hadn’t even recognized in herself, but … and there was the crux of it all. The but in everything he had proposed. The but that kept coming between what she felt for the prince and what she wanted to feel for the prince. The but that had been there from the start. There was always a but. She wanted to feel that she could—would—live anywhere, go anywhere, and do anything to be with the man that she loved.

  Perhaps all she needed was time? Perhaps she needed to spend time with the prince and let herself go? However, deep down inside, in spite of the fact that she really did adore the prince of Dagda, she wasn’t sure she could ever be in love with him.

  The next thing she knew, he had her in his arms, his mouth was covering hers, and he was giving her a taste of heaven! There was no other way to describe a kiss from the prince of Dagda. He didn’t just take; he gave. He breathed passion into her. He seduced with gentleness. He enchanted with expertise. She wanted to fall for him, and indeed, she got lost in the headiness of that moment, in the wish that this was it—that this was what she had been waiting for all her life. And still she knew that she was holding back. Maxie knew it, and he knew it.

  There was war ahead and a battle about to pop staring straight at them, demanding their full attention. She wanted to see this fight through. She wasn’t running away from it. She owed it to her namesake who had died at Lamia’s hands. She owed it to countless victims DuLaine would have if she weren’t stopped. And besides, running from problems wasn’t her style.

  She touched his delicious bottom lip and said, “My Prince, you know that this isn’t the right time. You know who I am, what I am, what I owe my name. I have to stay and see this through. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know that.” Breslyn’s hand caressed her cheek.

  “Come on …” Maxie smiled and took his hand. “I imagine it is a long walk back from here, and I have a chocolate muffin to walk off.”

  “Too long to walk, and you don’t need to walk off anything, beauty.” He chuckled as he took her fingers.

  Poof, they were at the kitchen door. She supposed that chocolate muffin was going straight to her hips. She wasn’t sure she liked the Fae’s f
orm of locomotion. When she finally got her bearings, she remembered and said, “Breslyn, I almost forgot. We have to tell Julian about Lamia discovering that he lives in Scotland.”

  “We will.” He patted her hand.

  “And, Bres … Shamon has sent one of his attorneys to meet Julian here at ten. What is that all about?”

  “It is nothing. Shamon is merely taking care of Julian’s estate business. I handed it over to their firm in total when Julian was released from Tir. For now, Julian will use Shamon’s legal services for his needs. Lia …”—the prince seemed very proud of himself—“over the years, I have made Talbot a very wealthy man.”

  Maxie a cocked brow at him. “Why did you take such good care of Julian’s estates? I didn’t think you liked him very much.”

  “It amused me to do so, and besides, my Queen wished it so.”

  “And why hand it over to Shamon?”

  “The queen wields things that do not appear clear all at once because she is farsighted. Shamon will play an important role in our fight against DuLaine … and even perhaps against our traitor Fae.”

  “You trust your queen without question.”

  Smiling, he nodded his handsome head. “Most of the time because she has never played politics with me.”

  Maxie looked at her watch and was amazed that it was already past ten o’clock. They went inside and hung their jackets on a wall coat rack near the kitchen door.

  There was no sign of Uncle Kennet or Tally, but Max didn’t have the time to wonder about that as they made their way to the library.

  ~ Seventeen ~

  THE FIRST THING Maxie noticed was that the set of double doors to the library was closed. Odd that. Those doors were always open—the room always held a lit fire that beckoned guests to enter.

  The shut doors made Maxie hesitate, but the prince scarcely blinked as he made the doors open wide before them. He went in first as Maxie, uncertain, hung back.