A Dark Guardian

by Donna Grant

  To him and his men, the evil was so strong they smelled it not long after leaving A DARK GUARDIAN

  Donna Grant

  22

  the castle. There was more to these ruins than what the surface held.

  He followed Mina through the stones that had once been an entrance. They found Cole staring at something on the ground.

  “You found it,” Mina said.

  Cole’s gaze jerked to his, and Hugh knew he had indeed found something.

  “This is where the earth opened up and the creature came from,” Mina said when they reached Cole.

  Hugh stared at the burnt patch of earth that was about two strides in width.

  Around it in a perfect circle were flawlessly smooth bright blue stones. Those stones gave him pause. He stared at one of the oval stones.

  “Mina, did you put those stones there?”

  She shook her head, wisps of blonde hair with a hint of red gathered around her face. “Those stones were scattered throughout the ruins, and I took one back to the castle with me once, but it soon disappeared. I think someone took it.”

  “You have no idea who?”

  “Nay, I’m sorry.” She looked down at the burnt earth again and wrung her hands.

  “Are Bernard and Theresa correct? Did I unleash that creature?”

  “I don’t know,” Hugh answered as he stared at the ground.

  “Hugh,” Roderick called out.

  “Stay here,” Hugh told her and Cole as he hurried to Roderick.

  Instead of walking around the huge stone, he jumped from stone to stone and landed beside Roderick. “What is it?”

  “Trouble,”

  Roderick

  answered.

  Hugh looked up and suddenly found Aimery before him. Whenever the Fae visited, it did mean trouble. “We’ve only just arrived, Aimery. Give us a few days.”

  “’Tis not that,” the commander of the Fae army said. “It’s something else.”

  The haggard look on the face of the ever regal Faerie alerted Hugh. “What is it?”

  “More creatures have been released.”

  Hugh ran a hand down his face and leaned against a fallen stone. “What is going on, Aimery? We’ve been tracking these creatures for so long now that I have lost count.

  Their numbers aren’t dwindling like ours. They grow stronger. Just how many more are there to be released?”

  “I wish I had an answer for you.”

  “We can’t leave here yet. There is more to this than we’ve yet to uncover.”

  “You mustn’t leave until this is finished,” Aimery said. “Choose two men and send them on the next mission.”

  Hugh opened his mouth to answer him when he saw Aimery’s gaze move over his shoulder. Hugh turned and found Mina staring at them.

  “Can she see you?” he turned and asked the Fae.

  Aimery gave him a droll look. “Of course she can. Invite her over. ‘Tis time we meet.”

  Anytime the Fae said those prophetic words it brought a chill to Hugh’s bones.

  “Leave her out of this.”

  The intense blue eyes of the Faerie landed on him. “Her Fate is out of my hands.”

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  “Mina,” Hugh called without taking his eyes off Aimery. He smelled her fresh, clean scent as she approached.

  “Aye?” her soft voice questioned.

  He moved his gaze to her face and saw the doubt shine brightly in her blue-green gaze. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Aimery is a friend.”

  “Who just appeared out of nowhere?”

  He would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. Most people, when they saw a Fae, immediately forgot them because their minds wouldn’t allow them to believe what they saw.

  “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Mina,” Aimery spoke, taking a step toward her. “You have shown much courage over the years.”

  Hugh almost groaned aloud, especially when Mina took a step away from Aimery, which brought her up against his chest. “Mina,” he said as he took hold of her arms. “He is a friend. Trust me.”

  She stared at Aimery for a time before she finally moved toward him. Hugh dismissed the anger her absence brought. After all, no mortal could withstand the pull of the Fae.

  Mina watched the stunning blonde man before her. Nay, stunning didn’t describe him correctly. There was something about him that pulled her to him. He was incredibly handsome, so much so that he was perfect. Everything was perfect, down to the shiny leather of his mid-calf boot.

  He wasn’t human, of that she instinctively knew. But what he was she didn’t know. “What are you?”

  “You know what I am,” Aimery said, his unearthly blue eyes intent on her.

  “What am I?”

  The answer came immediately to her lips, but she disregarded it.

  “Don’t ignore your instincts,” he warned.

  Her gaze drifted to Hugh who watched her just as carefully. “Fae,” she said and looked to Aimery. “You are of the Fae.”

  He smiled, displaying even bright white teeth, and nodded. “Very good. You learn quickly.”

  His praise should have boosted her spirit, but the silence of the men around her disturbed her. “What is going on?”

  “These men, The Shields,” Aimery answered, “have been sent to destroy the creature that terrorizes your village.”

  “I

  know.”

  “They work for the Fae.”

  Now that did surprise her. “I don’t understand. Why do you not kill them yourselves?”

  The Fae smiled sadly. “If only we could, but we have our own demons to battle.”

  He turned to Hugh. “Choose your men. I will return later with the destination.”

  And in a blink he was gone.

  Mina turned toward Hugh. “You’re leaving?” The sudden apprehension of his departure frightened her in ways she couldn’t understand. “The creature still lives. You A DARK GUARDIAN

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  cannot leave yet.”

  “Only two of my men will be leaving. They have another assignment.” He stood and held out his hand for her. “Now come tell me what happened the day the creature came.”

  She didn’t hesitate a moment in placing her hand in his. His hand was warm and strong as it enfolded hers. She told herself it was just because he chose her over Theresa, but it was more than that. If she didn’t watch herself, she could find herself becoming besotted with him for the simple fact he paid her attention.

  But she had to remember the real reason he was with her was because she was here the day the creature had come, not Theresa.

  “What were you doing?” he asked when they were once again standing beside the burnt earth.

  She pointed to the stone over his shoulder. “I was sitting there.”

  “Doing what?” Cole asked.

  “I come here for solitude,” she said after a moment. She hadn’t wanted to admit she came to escape her sister.

  Hugh stepped closer to her. “Then what?”

  “The sky became black as if night had fallen in the middle of the day.” She looked up at the sky. “I looked up at the clouds and then the earth began to shake. It knocked me off the stone, and it began to lightening so fiercely that I knew I would be struck.”

  She stopped and wrapped her arms around her as she gazed at the burnt earth.

  “When the lightening stopped, I heard the most awful, bone chilling scream. When I looked up, it was to see the creature flying towards the castle.”

  “And that is all that happened?” Hugh asked.

  She nodded. “After that I ran toward Sasha and raced to the castle. Since then we’ve been plagued by the creature every night.”

  “How many has it killed?” Val asked.

  “So many that I have lost count. The castle and village used to be full of people, but they soon ran for their lives. The on
es that stayed have been picked off, one by one, every night.”

  “I find it odd that in a month it hasn’t destroyed everything,” Gabriel said as he put his foot on one of the fallen stones.

  She looked from Gabriel to Hugh. “What?”

  “The creature’s mission is to kill off everyone in your village,” Hugh explained.

  “Whoever is controlling it is keeping it from killing too much at once.”

  Gabriel turned and looked at the castle in the distance. “The question is why.

  The creature could have killed everyone in a week’s time.”

  “By the saints,” she whispered and slumped onto a stone.

  “Then ‘tis time we put a stop to it,” Hugh said and gently touched her hand.

  Hope blossomed in her heart. She raised her gaze to him. “Do you have a plan?”

  “I always have a plan.”

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  Chapter Four

  Hugh looked over his men once they were inside his chamber. They hadn’t been separated since their first assignment, and he wasn’t happy about this. But he also didn’t have a choice. Mankind depended upon them, whether they realized it or not.

  “Any of you wish to volunteer?” he asked.

  All five of them stared at him and waited. It was just as he expected. None of them wanted to go, but they all knew someone had to. It would be up to him to make the decision.

  The role as leader of The Shields had come upon him without him even wanting it. The decisions he made would affect them all for the rest of their lives, however long that might be. Truthfully, he didn’t want to send any of them. He should be the one that went, but as soon as that thought entered his mind it was replaced with the thought of Mina.

  He gazed at his men again and took a deep breath. “Roderick, you and Val will take Aimery’s new orders,” he said. And as he anticipated, neither man disobeyed him.

  “Aye,” they replied.

  His chamber suddenly seemed too small. He longed to stretch his legs and walk around without carrying weapons hidden in his clothes or wondering when the next foul creature that Hell spat out would attack.

  “Did Aimery say where we’re headed?” Val asked.

  But before Hugh could answer Aimery appeared next to him. “You will be going to the future,” the Fae said.

  None of them thought much about that. Hugh himself had been brought forward from 1036. Traveling through the realms of time was something that occurred often in their line of work.

  Roderick rose from his seat by the hearth. “Where exactly?”

  “To a place called Texas.”

  That got everyone’s attention.

  “I’ve never heard of this place,” Hugh said. “In what realm is it in?”

  “This one,” Aimery said. “Just nine hundred years from now.”

  Val whistled softly as he placed the dagger he had been sharpening back in his boot. “Then I suppose Roderick and I had better prepare. When do we leave?”

  “Immediately,” Aimery said. “Ride to the woods. I’ll meet you there.”

  And with that he was gone.

  It didn’t take Roderick and Val long to gather their few belongings. Hugh and the rest of his men walked to the bailey to see their friends off.

  After brief good-byes and Godspeeds, Val and Roderick rode their horses through the open gate toward the forest. Hugh didn’t know if he would ever see them again, but he sure hoped he would. These men had become friends. Family even.

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  They had lost men before, and they would again, but he refused to believe he would loose either of them. Val had seen much while fighting for the Romans and Roderick was immortal. They would survive.

  He turned to follow Cole, Gabriel, and Darrick into the castle when he spotted Mina atop the steps. He stopped when he came to her.

  “I won’t ever see them again, will I?” she asked.

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  She looked past him. “I wish them well.”

  He waited until she entered the castle before he followed. They had wasted most of the morning instead of preparing for the creature. The sooner they killed this one the sooner they could meet up with Val and Roderick.

  His men and Mina waited in the hall for him. “Tell me about your trap,” he told Mina as he sat down.

  “It didn’t work,” Bernard stated as he walked to the table. “That was proven last night.”

  “What was proven last night was that you told the men to return here,” Darrick said. “You left your sister to die.”

  Bernard’s pasty faced flushed with anger. “’Tis she the creature wants.”

  “How do you know that?” Hugh asked. “Did the creature tell you?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Bernard hissed and reached for a goblet a serving girl handed him.

  Hugh’s gaze flickered to Mina to see her eyes downcast. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or embarrassed. “Then how do you know?” he asked Bernard again.

  “It only makes sense.” Bernard drank deeply and slammed the empty goblet on the table. “’Twas she who let it loose. That creature will trouble us until he has her.”

  “We don’t know who let loose the creature.”

  Bernard laughed. “Do you think I would believe the word of a traveler? A Shield,” he said with contempt lacing his voice. “I am lord here.”

  “Frankly, I don’t care what you believe,” Gabriel stood and began to unsheathe his sword.

  “Gabriel,” Hugh said softly in warning. It would do them no good to kill the lord of the castle, regardless of whether Bernard was a pompous pain in the arse or not.

  To his relief, Gabriel resumed his seat though he kept his gaze on the baron.

  Hugh knew there would be trouble unless they could convince Bernard to help them.

  “Don’t you want to see your village free of the terror that hangs over you?” he asked the young baron.

  “Of course I do,” Bernard answered without raising his gaze from his goblet.

  Hugh rose to his feet and walked toward Bernard. “Then aid us instead of hindering us.”

  “But Theresa said I shouldn’t allow you to help,” he said and looked at Hugh, his bloodshot eyes staring coldly.

  Hugh looked into the blue eyes of Mina’s brother. “You are lord here as you said, not Lady Theresa. What does your instinct tell you?”

  For several tense moments, Bernard stared hard at the table. Then finally, he A DARK GUARDIAN

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  raised his eyes to Hugh’s. “It tells me not to stand in your way.”

  Hugh let out a breath and found himself smiling at his little victory. “Then let us plan.”

  For the next few hours they huddled around the table, plotting the evil creature’s demise. When their plans had been finalized, Hugh leaned back to find Theresa standing in front of him and directly behind Mina.

  “You all have been very busy,” Theresa said and let her eyes roam over the men until they reached Bernard. “I would see you privately, brother.”

  “Not just now,” Bernard said and poured himself more ale. “We’re busy. Find me later.”

  Hugh looked at Mina in time to see her flinch and then his eyes found Theresa’s fingers digging into Mina’s shoulders. But Theresa seemed oblivious to her actions as her gaze shot daggers at Bernard.

  In the silence, Bernard looked up. “You’re still here, Theresa? Run along. This isn’t a place for a lady.”

  “Mina is here,” Theresa said.

  Bernard rose and opened the map of the castle on the table. “Yes, well, Mina isn’t exactly a lady.”

  Mina bit her lip and tasted the metallic tang of blood as Theresa’s fingernails dug agonizingly into her neck. Just as she was about to cry out, Theresa loosened her hold and flounced from the hall.

  With her eyes
closed against the pain her sister had wrought, Mina thought over Bernard’s words. So, she wasn’t exactly a lady. His words shouldn’t upset her, but they did. More than usual.

  Mina opened her eyes to find Hugh staring at her. His dark gaze was always on her, and if she didn’t know how ugly she was, she would be flattered. In the end, she knew it was pity that brought his attention to her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.