A Dark Guardian

by Donna Grant

  “Ever the charmer,” she said and followed Theron.

  Aimery slapped Hugh on the back. “I don’t know why, but they both really like you.”

  “As the queen said, I’m a charmer.”

  Hugh’s smile died when he saw they were headed into the chamber behind their thrones. That meant whatever they wished to discuss was extremely important.

  * * * *

  Mina found Gabriel in the bailey looking around as if he had lost something.

  “Take me to the monastery.”

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  “Now?”

  “Now,” she said and walked to the stable.

  “I don’t think that wise.”

  She stopped and looked at him. “Why? The creature isn’t about during the day.”

  “It isn’t that,” he edged and reached for her arm. “Let me take a look at this.”

  “Then what is it?” When he wouldn’t answer she moved so that he had to look at her while he unwrapped her bandage. “What aren’t you telling me? Has Hugh told you to keep me here?”

  Gabriel shook his head and looked closely at her arm. “Actually, I’m waiting on Hugh. It is looking much better,” he said of her arm. “The green tint is completely gone.”

  “Good, then he can go with us,” she said as Gabriel rewrapped the bandage on her arm. “Where is he?”

  “I still don’t want you overexerting yourself. The dark magic used on you isn’t something I’ve dealt with before.”

  “Gabriel,” she said slowly so that he would know she was at the end of her patience. “Where is Hugh.”

  “Ah…not

  here.”

  She raised her eyebrow at his words. Something was going on, of that she was most sure. “I know he’s not here with us. Is he in the castle?”

  “Not

  exactly.”

  She took a deep breath and tried again. “Is he still in the stable?”

  “Nay,” he said and looked down at his shoes.

  “Is Hugh even in this realm?” she asked in exasperation.

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  Chapter Twenty

  Several heartbeats went by before Gabriel answered Mina. “Nay. He’s with the Fae.”

  Mina licked her lips and faced the stable. “I’m going to the monastery, and I would like you to come with me.”

  “I’m going to regret this,” he said as they walked to the horses. “What do you hope to find?”

  “I’m not sure. I just have a feeling we need to look around there.”

  Once their horses were saddled, they rode from the bailey, through the gates, and to the forest.

  “Is Hugh coming back?” she finally asked when she could hold it in no longer.

  Gabriel glanced at her. “I honestly don’t know.”

  She could tell by the way Gabriel answered that he was as worried as she was.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him watching her. “What?”

  “How do you feel?”

  She looked at him, wondering if he knew of her night with Hugh.

  “Your arm,” he said when she didn’t answer.

  “’Tis fine. Did you get a chance to look at the wounds on Hugh’s back?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I barely got a chance to speak to him this morning before Aimery took him. I had no idea he was injured.”

  “He’ll be back,” she said though she wasn’t sure if she said it to reassure him or herself.

  They rode the rest of the way in silence, her thoughts on Hugh and why the Fae would take him to their realm when it was so vital that he be here. She barely took notice of the birds and their vibrant songs that she usually enjoyed hearing.

  She regretted leaving Hugh that morning. Now she wished she had stayed and watched him wake. Would they have made love again? Or would he have rolled away from her? She wondered if she would ever learn the answers to those questions.

  When they reached the monastery, they dismounted and tied the horses to the gate.

  “Wait,” Gabriel said as she started to walk through the gates. “Let me go first.”

  She let him go ahead and could have sworn he mumbled something about Hugh having his head if something happened to her, but she couldn’t be sure if that is what he said or not.

  Instead of asking, she walked behind him and let her eyes wonder around and take in the sights she hadn’t bothered to notice when she and Hugh had been there. Weeds and wild plants mingled with limbs and piles of leaves littered the courtyard. She could only imagine how nice the grounds had once been before the monks had abandoned the A DARK GUARDIAN

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  monastery.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She tilted her head and looked at the outside walls of the monastery. “I just had a feeling we should come here.”

  Gabriel sighed. “Then let’s look. Outside or in?”

  She looked at him and shrugged. “Inside?”

  He shook his head and led the way into the old monastery. “I wish I had an idea of what you were looking for.”

  “You grumble worse than a woman.” She pushed past him and stepped inside the door.

  “I take exception to that,” he protested.

  She laughed and stepped over some fallen stones. Sunlight filtered through a stained glass window to shed a rainbow of color throughout the dusty room.

  “I bet this place was magnificent in its day.”

  “Makes you wonder what happened to them,” he said and drew his sword.

  “You won’t need that.”

  He turned his gaze to her. “How do you know?”

  She let him hold her back and once again fell in step behind him. He did have a point, though she hated to admit it. Movement to their left had him spinning around and holding his sword out. She spotted the cat hiding behind some stones. “’Tis just the cat Hugh found the last time we were here.”

  “What a relief,” Gabriel said while rolling his eyes.

  She ignored him and let her gaze wander. “What secrets are you hiding?” she whispered to the walls.

  * * * *

  Hugh waited for Theron and Rufina to begin. He was anxious to return and speak with Mina. Not knowing if she hated him or not was driving him daft with worry.

  “She will still be there,” Theron stated as he took a seat at the small square table.

  “Be seated, Hugh, there is much to be said.”

  Hugh glanced at Aimery to see his worried gaze on him as well. “Is something wrong?” Hugh asked as he took the chair opposite the king.

  “More than you know,” the queen said. “We have recently come upon some interesting news that we need to share with you.”

  Hugh waited for the worst.

  Theron leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his shiny white tunic sparkling in the sunlight that trickled through the window above him. “No weapon in your possession will kill the creature while it is awake.”

  “You tell me something I already know,” Hugh said, more restless than ever to return to Stone Crest.

  “Do you think this information is something to take lightly?” Aimery thundered as he stepped forward.

  Hugh rose to his feet to stare eye to eye with the Fae. “Nay, I do not, but as I already said this information we know.”

  Rufina, her hand on the back of her husband’s chair, said, “Then you did not A DARK GUARDIAN

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  listen well enough, Hugh.”

  Hugh looked at her while he replayed Theron’s words in his head. While it is awake. “It has to be sleeping for me to kill it.”

  “Exactly,” Theron said. “But therein lies the problem.”

  Hugh once again sat. “How so?”

  Theron didn’t answer but looked away.

  “How many times have
you sent in men like me to kill these creatures?”

  “Too many,” the king finally answered in a voice filled with doubt and resignation. “You and your men are the last that we have. If you fail, then everything fails.”

  This news stunned Hugh. He didn’t know if it was the king’s words or his tone, but regardless the concern was now there. “Why can’t you send Aimery and his men?

  They are more lethal than the Shields.”

  “I would go in an instant,” Aimery said. “If I could.”

  Theron held up his hand to quiet his commander. “We cannot interfere.”

  “Seems to me you have already interfered,” Hugh said as his irritation grew. “Not only have you trained us, armed us, informed us, but you have also moved us through realms and time.”

  “And that is the extent that we can do.”

  Hugh looked from one to the other. “Who set the boundaries on you?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Rufina said. She ran her hand through Theron’s long, blonde hair. “If your realm is destroyed, then so is ours.”

  Hugh laughed and rose to pace the room. “Was it just a rumor that I heard while training that a trio of Druids was all that was left to save your realm and ours from total domination?”

  “It was no rumor,” Aimery said. “It was a prophecy that was fulfilled.”

  “So they saved you?”

  “Aye.”

  “For a race that is all knowing and all powerful, you rely heavily on my people and my realm to keep yours alive.”

  Hugh must have hit a nerve for all three Fae refused to meet his eyes. “First the Druids, now me and my men. What happens if we fail?”

  “Our realm and yours will cease to exist,” Theron answered softly.

  “Cole,” Hugh murmured suddenly thinking of his friend. “His realm was destroyed. Was it by the same people?”

  Theron rose and went to a table next to the door. He uncorked a long slender white bottle that was rounded at the bottom and poured the liquid into four small goblets.

  He gave one to Rufina and Aimery, then turned and offered Hugh a drink. “In truth we cannot be sure, but we have our suspicions.”

  Hugh eagerly accepted the small silver goblet. He didn’t know what it contained, but he needed something strong to cope with this new knowledge. He lifted the goblet to his lips and inhaled a sweet, heady fragrance before it reached his lips. It tasted of honey and liquid fire as it slid easily to his stomach.

  Immediately, he felt the affects of the liquid as it eased some of his fears. He A DARK GUARDIAN

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  wondered if he could bring a bottle back with him when he returned to Stone Crest.

  “Can you give me any clues as to where to find the creature then?” he asked Theron.

  “Find the one that controls it and you will find the creature,” Rufina answered.

  “Time is running out, Hugh. For all of us.”

  He sat down the goblet and turned to leave the chamber when Theron stopped him. “Don’t do anything stupid regarding Mina.”

  Hugh didn’t respond, and he could tell Theron wished to say more, but Rufina’s hand on the king’s arm stopped him. Hugh nodded and followed Aimery from the chamber, his mind heavy with unwanted information.

  * * * *

  Mina wanted to curse. Loud and long. But she was a lady, and ladies didn’t do such things. Fortunately for her, she was with a man that didn’t hold those convictions.

  She leaned against the monastery wall and listened as Gabriel used several curse words she knew and many she didn’t.

  “I just knew we would find something,” she said when Gabriel had finished his venting.

  Gabriel kicked at a small stone. “To be honest, you had pretty much convinced me as well.”

  She looked at the sun. It was high in the sky. “We’ve missed the noon meal. I suppose we had better return to the castle.”

  “Is there nowhere in your history that tells why the monks left?” Gabriel asked as he went down on his haunches and examined the earth

  “None that I know of.”

  “And the Druids?” he asked as he stood.

  “Again, nothing.” She watched as Gabriel looked thoughtfully around. “If there is a history of it, it has been kept quiet for I asked many people.”

  “The ruins from the Druid temple aren’t far from here?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all.” She pointed into the trees behind their horses.

  “Take the trail we used from the castle and venture to the left. It will take you to the Druids. Why?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Something doesn’t fit. Christians all but killed most of the Druids. Doesn’t it seem odd that they would be so close to the other here?”

  “I suspect that the Druids were here long before the monks.”

  Gabriel nodded. “Exactly. So, why would the monks build a holy place so close to the Druids before they had them eradicated?”

  “How do you know the Druids were here when the monks came?”

  “Because he is smarter than he looks.”

  Mina spun around at hearing that deep, melodic voice. Her heart pounded loudly as her gaze soaked up the sight of Hugh. He seemed somewhat different, as though he had a great weight to bear and was struggling with it.

  “Hello,” he said softly, his brown eyes staring at her.

  She grinned and nearly let out the giggle that bubbled up inside her. “Hello. I was hoping you would find us.”

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  He nodded to Gabriel and walked closer to them. “What brings you here?”

  Gabriel pointed to her. “She had a feeling we might find something here.”

  “There is nothing here but stone, dust, and a cat,” Hugh said.

  It was then she noticed something vastly different about Hugh. It was almost like a light had dimmed within him, and she had a notion that the Fae had told him something that wasn’t good. “Did everything go all right with the Fae?”

  She wanted to roll her eyes when Hugh glared at Gabriel. “He didn’t tell me,” she said. “I figured it out. I’m smarter than I look as well.”

  Hugh turned to Gabriel. He had no wish to delve into his conversation with the Fae just yet, not until he had a better grasp on it. Not to mention, he had many things he wished to speak with Mina about, the first of which was her virginity or lack there of it.

  “Go on about the Druids and monks. How do you know the Druids were still here when the monks came?” he asked.

  Gabriel shrugged. “I just know. Look around the growth of both places. If the Druids had departed this place before the monks, wouldn’t the growth of the weeds and such be greater there? If you take a close look you will see the growth is the same.”

  “So why did they both leave at the same time?” Mina asked.

  “More importantly, how long did they coincide with the other,” Hugh asked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “That, my friends, I cannot answer, not to mention I have little doubt that it has anything to do with the creature or the stone.”

  “This trip was a waste of time,” Mina said and walked past Hugh toward the horses.

  “Nay,” he said stopping her. “I had a sense that the stone was not within the walls of the castle. It was a good idea to look here.”

  “But it isn’t here,” she said.

  He smiled and stared into her blue-green gaze that was filled with frustration.

  “There are other places to look.”

  She looked around them. “Really? Where? It sure isn’t in the Druid ruins. And do you have any idea the size of this forest? We would be searching for years. I have an inkling that the creature won’t give us that long.”

  His smile widened. “Have you lost hope?”

  “I don’t think that is something you should ask while smiling.” She turned to Gabriel. “Does he always act so strange after speakin
g with the Fae?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Always. He even starts talking in circles like they do.”

  “Great,” she said and slapped her hands on her legs. “Everyone is daft but me.”

  “Maybe you should join in,” Gabriel taunted as he walked to his horse.

  Hugh waited for her to face him. She slowly turned to him. “Did you really think to find the stone here?”