Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel

by Alisha Ashton

  I’m alone in the crowd, she noted with a hint of sadness.

  It seemed that thought had just crossed her mind when she caught those Irish eyes watching from across the room.

  My confidant. My dark one, she heard her wolf whisper adoringly in her thoughts.

  She quickly tore her gaze from him, telling her outspoken wolf as gently as possible to shut the hell up already. She did not want to risk another round of hormonal mutiny by offending it.

  It’s true, though, she realized as she stole another glance in his direction and caught his knowing smile.

  She gained such comfort from Taran’s touch and presence at her side, but she was still in awe of him. He gave her butterflies in her stomach and left her struggling to form coherent thoughts. She was falling in love with him. Despite the fact that they had already slept together, she was still in the blissful awkwardness of a crush.

  But with Ciaran, the words came effortlessly. For the first time in – hell, her entire life – she felt at ease expressing her feelings verbally to someone. Her body might want him as a lover, but her mind and heart saw him as a friend, an equal. With as confusing as things were, she wanted the comforts of both men in that moment – Taran’s presence and touch as well as Ciaran’s words and smiles.

  Climbing up onto a stool once they finally reached the crowded kitchen, she watched Miko open every cabinet in the room trying to find something for her to eat. Taran was behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder as he chattered away happily in Gaelic to Drostan and several others. Christie was there amid the sea of men, huffing indignantly and asking why none of them seemed to understand what she was paid for.

  Miko’s ears perked up hearing her complaints about feeling useless. Apparently, he was quite the charmer when it came to mother-types. He turned to her, using a deadly combination of flattery, courtesy, feigned bashfulness, and those soulful, puppy-dog eyes of his to get exactly what he needed.

  “Well I don’t know about these guys, Ms. Christie, but I’m just trying to show my hero over there how much I appreciate her help earlier,” he confided. “I figured the least I could do after she saved me from getting beat up was make her lunch.”

  Christie looked over at Skye in surprise at his words. Seeing the smile of confirmation on her lips, she took Miko under her wing. The two of them got to work putting together a sandwich that could have fed a small nation. A plate was placed in front of her a short time later with the finished product, presented by Miko with a beaming grin. She struggled not to laugh and gave him an impressed nod as she counted the layers of the sandwich. She had not realized until she started in on it just how hungry she was. With Miko as her personal dietary alarm clock, it seemed she would never miss a meal again. As she finished the last bite, something caught her attention.

  A noise – it was faint, but definitely something new.

  Taran smiled down at her, watching in amusement as she tried to place the sound in the distance.

  Thump... thump... thump... she could feel it.

  She closed her eyes and let her new senses focus on it. It was a rhythmic thrumming that was completely out of place here. If she did not know any better, she would have sworn it was bass pounding from a car stereo.

  “Here comes trouble,” Drostan groaned and Skye jumped in surprise.

  As intent as she had been on the distant sound, his voice seemed impossibly loud beside her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Taran inquiringly.

  “The Americans have landed,” he elaborated and took her hand. “Come, I’ll introduce ya.”

  “More introductions?” She whimpered.

  Taran coaxed her to stand, laughing as she dragged her feet and tried to talk him out of it the entire way.

  “Can’t we just do this in stages?” She tried. “I mean like, maybe I could meet a thousand today, then another thousand tomorrow...”

  29: Meet the Clan

  Buses were rolling up once Taran and Skye stepped outside. They parked one after another along the expansive drive. Several SUVs were in the lead, each blasting its own choice of rock as doors began opening down the line. Men poured out, hundreds of them smiling, wrestling, and horsing around. Thousands more walked out of the castle to greet them.

  Skye realized in horror that she had only spoken with a small fraction of the ones that had already been present – like less than 10%. She shook her head in disbelief. It looked as if every male team of every professional sport from every country was gathering in one place.

  “The guys from the U.S.,” she began, her brows drawing together when she focused on the sleeveless leather jackets that most of them wore. “Are they... ?”

  “Bikers?” Taran finished. “Aye, a fair lot of them. From what I’m told, it’s one of the easiest ways to find suitable pups there these days.”

  “How come?” She asked curiously.

  “Well, I s’pose it’s because tha sort of life draws young men searching for the freedom to roam as they please,” he offered. “They are nah bound by the expectations of society. They want to be part of the brotherhood a pack provides.”

  “So, you’re telling me that all the bike clubs in the States... are... ?” She asked in astonishment and he shook his head.

  “Nah all,” he laughed. “But aye, a great many. Just aboot every club with a Celtic leader is ours. And there are numerous other groups checked frequently for candidates. War veterans, fire-fighters, police, construction workers, miners, and such – professions tha bring men from all walks of life together to work as one. Those situations form a bond tha is difficult to find, they bring out the very best in men.”

  “Aaahhh!” A gruff voice called excitedly behind them.

  They turned to find a heavily muscled man with a shaved head and beard of blonde stubble rushing toward them.

  “But speaking of ancients with an affinity for motorbikes,” Taran laughed.

  The leather-clad Scotsman grinned as he stopped and held out his arms dramatically.

  “Taran, ya big, gorgeous bastard! Get over here and give us a kiss!” He urged in a gravelly voice.

  While Taran and the new arrival clapped one another on the back and exchanged excited greetings in Gaelic, Skye busied herself surveying the Tour de Testosterone commencing around her. Once they had finished, she turned back to face them.

  “Oh, would ya have a look at this wee beauty?” The man said, draping an arm around Taran’s shoulders. His blue eyes twinkled merrily as he smiled down at her. “Ya must be the young Lady Skye I’ve heard so much aboot. Came along and swept my brother here right off his feet, did ya?” He asked with a wink before dragging Taran closer and kissing his forehead roughly.

  “Skye, I’d like ya to meet Eògan. In case ya were wondering, yes – he is every bit as crazy as he looks,” Taran joked and pried the man’s arm from around his head.

  “Nice to meet you, Eògan,” Skye greeted as she shook his hand.

  “Pleasure’s all mine, li’l sister,” he insisted with a warm smile. “Would ya believe my pups have been placing bets the whole trip on whether ya’d be larger than a man or frightful enough to scare a hungry dog off a meat wagon? I can nah wait to show them how beautiful ya –” he motioned over to his pack, only to trail off and scowl when he focused on their current antics. “Oi!” He bellowed angrily.

  Skye winced at his unexpectedly deafening volume.

  “Ryan! Kevin! Owen! For cryin’ out loud, quit beating on one another for a moment and come say hello! I swear to Chreest, you’re worse than children, ya are!” He screamed. As he turned back to face Skye, his expression fell from annoyance to guilt. “Uh, real sorry aboot tha,” he offered apologetically. “It’s what I get for starting a pack in America, I s’pose,” he breathed before thinking it through. Recalling that Skye was a yank as well, he added quickly, “Oh, but no offense to ya, of course!”

  “None taken,” she laughed.

  “Young country, young blood,” he grumbled as he ran a hand over his sm
ooth scalp. “I tell ya, traveling with them is a nightmare. They’re draining away my immortality, I swear it. D’ya know, even with as fast as we heal, they still manage to give me ulcers? Can ya believe tha? Like leading around a class of preschoolers high on pixie-stix, it is. And can any of my pack’s elders keep our pups in line? Noooo. Just as useless as teets on a porcupine, they are. They look to me to set’em straight. Every bleeding time I take my eyes off... Oi!” He shouted again angrily and Skye struggled not to laugh. “William! Connor! Put him down! All right, tha’s it. Tha’s all I could take. Ya’ve really done it now,” he snarled as he rolled up his sleeves.

  Hearing the suddenly severe tone of his voice, the group of men in question stood upright and waved at him innocently. Skye covered her mouth to conceal her smile as they smoothed their clothes and tried to make themselves look presentable. Putting on their most charming smiles, they all tried to shirk the wrath of their faol father.

  “Aww no!” Eògan said, wagging a finger at them. “No acting well behaved after the fact. I’m breaking something this time,” he warned the pack of unruly pups and offered Skye a soft, “Excuse me a moment, lass,” before stalking off toward them.

  “Do nah let him deceive ya. He enjoys every second of their torment,” Taran assured her with a laugh.

  “I’d imagine it keeps him young,” she mused.

  “I told ya, Taran! Did I nah tell ya?” An Irishman shouted, interrupting their all-too-brief conversation. Skye turned to see a man with closely cropped red hair cutting through the crowd to reach them. “More than 200 years later and I won the wager! I said when I was leaving, ‘I bet ya fifty gold pieces tha she turns up in the new States’ and where did she turn up? Oh, victory is sweet, brother! Pay me!”

  Skye immediately spun toward Taran in confusion. “What? Why would you guys be placing bets on... ? Wait, why were you guys looking for me in the first... ? Did he just say 200 years ago? That doesn’t make any sense. What the hell’s he talking about?”

  “Umm,” Taran tried, struggling to come up with a response before finally sighing and shaking his head. “I can nah... uh... get into it... exactly.”

  Skye narrowed her eyes on him challengingly.

  “It goes along with what the pardon ya already granted, wee one,” he insisted. “Just a few days and it’ll all be clear, I swear it to ya.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed and grumbled under her breath, “Only because you’re cute.”

  Taran gave her an appreciative smile for her leniency before scowling over at the inbound red head. “Lorcán, I see nah a damned thing’s changed. You’re here less than a moment and already you’ve said too much.”

  “Oops, sorry!” He offered sheepishly. “So’s this her then?” Before Taran could even attempt to answer, Lorcán was shaking her hand exuberantly. “Glad to finally meet ya, me sister. Hope I’ve nah caused too much trouble. Me mouth tends to run a bit, I’m afraid. Gets me into all sorts of –” He stopped abruptly when he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. “Drostan? Is tha you? Holy shite, it is you!” He called, wandering off before she had gotten a single word in.

  Skye rolled her eyes at the retreating man with the attention span of an average fruit fly. There was precisely enough time for her to sigh and look over at Taran suspiciously before they were interrupted again.

  “Tar! Skye! Oh thank God!” Miko cried as he skidded to a halt.

  “Ow, you big bastard!” Skye shouted when he barreled into her. “What is your major malfunction? Did someone feed you sugar again or –?” She demanded, but trailed off when she spotted the reason for his panic.

  “You gotta help me, Tar... or Skye, whichever of you can take that guy down!” Miko pleaded, pointing out the bald goliath that was lumbering along after him. “He keeps following me around, pawing at me, and throwing up weird gang signs. I don’t know if he wants to eat me or hump my leg!” Miko whined before dropping his voice to a whisper and asking, “What’s wrong with him?” He yelped in surprise as two enormous hands were placed on his shoulders.

  The ‘guy’ in question was a giant, towering over the others with shoulders easily as wide as Skye was tall. He was easily over 7 feet. She could not help the way her jaw dropped open and eyes bulged as she gaped up at him. His size alone was enough to cause people to keep their distance, but his gaze was something altogether more frightening. While one eye was brown, the other was such a pale shade of blue that it appeared nearly white. He kept the pallid eye squinted, apparently far more sensitive to the light on that side.

  Despite her instinctual desire to retreat – or at least, to get to higher ground – Skye stood totally still. And it was as she stared up at the giant warily that she noted something unexpected. Even though his gaze was unsettling, it was also... shy. She frowned at the discovery and tilted her head to the side, studying his posture. He was timidly – not to mention completely unsuccessfully – trying to hide behind Miko in order to get a better look at her. It was adorable. He was so bashful about being in her presence that it brought her a step closer without hesitation. She smiled reassuringly as she gazed up at him, and was surprised by what she gained in response.

  “What’s ‘wrong’ with... ?” Taran began. “There’s nah a damned thing ‘wrong’ with him! And what in the world would make ya think what he’s giving ya are ‘gang signs’?” Just as Miko drew a breath to explain, Taran thought better of it. He quickly held up a hand and shook his head. “Ne’er mind, forget I even asked. I do nah wish to know how your mind reaches its idiotic conclusions,” he grumbled before turning to his mate. “Skye, my love, this is –”

  “Thank you, Aodh. It’s very nice to meet you, too,” she said warmly, reaching over Miko’s shoulder to shake the timid man’s massive hand.

  “Aodh?” Miko repeated. “Why are you calling him that?”

  “Because that’s his name,” Skye laughed, as if it was obvious, and the giant took visibly braver steps toward her.

  “Aye, but... I thought he’d only just arrived with the others,” Taran commented. He could have sworn Aodh had just climbed out of one of the SUVs. “Aw well, so ya’ve already crossed paths then?”

  “No,” she answered distractedly. “He just told me.” She still had not broken eye contact with Aodh. “Philadelphia – born and raised,” she replied to an unheard question before asking curiously, “Where in the States are you staying?”

  Taran and Miko both turned to the giant, trying to find some indication of a response from him.

  None came.

  “Wow, NYC?” Skye laughed. “That must have been a major change of pace for you.”

  Aodh nodded excitedly before pointing up at the castle and giving her a sympathetic frown.

  “Well, that’s true. The quiet out here is taking some getting used to on my end,” she confessed. “So, you don’t have a pack, huh?”

  He gestured to the crowd, curled a lip, and shook his head.

  “I hear that. I’m usually a loner, myself,” she explained.

  “Uh... huh?” Miko breathed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He and Taran continued watching the exchange in bewilderment, their eyes passing back and forth between Skye and Aodh as they realized that they were missing half of this conversation.

  “Anyone sees Lorcán coming, be sure to give me a heads up,” Drostan pleaded as he ducked down beside them. He had just escaped what would have been an hour long, one-sided conversation with the Irishman. After ensuring that he had not been followed, Drostan focused on the other two men. Noting their perplexed expressions, he followed their gaze. “Why are we gawking?” He whispered in amusement.

  “Aodh is... talking... with Skye,” Taran managed in mystification.

  “Well, he’s nah signing,” Drostan observed. “Does she nah realize he’s a mute?”

  “Aodh’s not a mute,” Skye said, waving off the label dismissively. “If anything, I’d say you guys are deaf to his frequency, but for some strange reason, I’m...
not.” Her eyes widened in surprise at that. A smile came to her lips suddenly. “He says he’s always talked to you, but you’ve all got your ‘heids’ shoved too far up your ‘arses’ to hear him.”

  Aodh grinned over at them triumphantly, nodding that it was true. He signed to them quickly before putting an arm around Skye’s shoulders and drawing her to his side.

  Taran laughed and nodded in astonishment. “Aye, we all like ‘wee Skye’, as well, Aodh,” he assured.

  Ever slow on the uptake, Miko finally snapped and pointed at Aodh in understanding. “Oh, I get it! So, it’s sign language, right? But... hey, wait a minute... how the hell was I supposed to guess that? It doesn’t look remotely like sign language!”

  “Well, it’s nah the one you’re used to seeing,” Taran explained. “Aodh has his very own. Was created for him around the fire by drunken faoil over 4,000 years ago. I realize it may nah be the most eloquent of languages, but it’s worked just fine for us.”

  Aodh continued to sign to them happily, turning to Drostan and sharing his exciting news.

  “I see tha. She hears ya crystal clear, apparently,” Drostan said before leaning over to Skye. “Just found yourself a new friend, ya have.”

  “Well, I’m very happy to have Aodh as a friend,” she said, smiling up at the gentle giant and patting his hand. Without warning, he reached down and hoisted her up, placing her on his shoulder. “Whoa!” She yelped as she clung to him nervously. He looked up at her and frowned as she held on tight. “No... it’s okay,” she offered in response to his worry that he had frightened her. “I’m just not used to being so... tall.”

  “Aodh! What ya doing with tha lass way up there?” Eògan laughed as he returned with his sufficiently reprimanded pups. “How’s she s’posed to meet our packs when you have her 10 feet up in the air like tha?”