Midnight's Surrender

by Donna Grant

He squeezed her hand. “Then you might want to prepare yourself, because I think we’ve found what it is Harriet wants.”

  Rennie had no choice but to follow Dale when he kicked aside snow to reveal hidden steps that led into darkness. His hand never released hers, and she wasn’t sure if it was to help keep her steady or make sure she didn’t run away.

  Running away was very tempting, she mused when the darkness fully covered her. All she could think about was booby traps, bugs, and something waiting for them that was better left alone.

  “I can’t see a damn thing,” she whispered.

  Dale’s chuckle bounced off the rocks to echo around them. “I can. Warrior, remember? Stay here.”

  “Wait!” she cried, but Dale had already released her hand and disappeared.

  Every sound was magnified in the darkness. She could hear something off to her right and realized it was Dale’s boots as he walked around.

  The sound of rocks falling shattered the silence suddenly, causing her to duck and cover her head with her hands. A second later she made out a shape coming at her as her eyes adjusted.

  “It’s just me,” Dale said.

  Rennie let out a relieved breath and straightened. “I don’t like this place.”

  “You will once you see it. Now, can you use your magic to create fire?”

  “Yes, why?”

  He put something long and heavy in her hands. “Light the torch, Rennie.”

  She called to her magic, letting the feel of it consume her before she channeled it into fire. The sensations ran down the length of her arms, through her fingers, and then light flared brilliantly from the torch.

  Rennie gasped when she saw the small chamber they stood in etched with Celtic carvings and knotwork—all of them holding magic.

  Chapter Seven

  Rennie was aghast at the perfection of each emblem carved into the stone. Some of the carvings were as small as her finger, and others as large as a person. They encompassed the walls and even the low-hanging ceiling.

  Dale had to duck to stop from hitting his head on the smooth ceiling. He winked at her when she turned to him. “Now this is an adventure.”

  “Who did these?”

  “Your ancestors.”

  She was awestruck, spellbound. “Why?”

  “I think for you and any generation of MacBeths.”

  Rennie whipped her head to him. “Me? I’m nobody.”

  “Aye, but the important ones always think that.”

  She made a sound at the back of her throat and started to argue when he held out his hand.

  “Shall we see the rest?”

  There was no way she was turning back now, no matter how hard her heart thumped. Dale’s fingers entwined with hers and she felt a current of something charged, something exhilarating rush along her skin.

  He stepped close and wrapped his other hand around hers that was holding the torch. His body filled the area, enclosing her back against the wall. Rennie lifted her head, welcoming the kiss she knew was coming.

  The kiss was savage in its claiming. And she embraced the raw, primal need that swept through her. The hard, rigid length of his arousal pressed into her stomach, reminding her of the sensual and decadent night she had spent in his arms.

  Rennie took her free hand and pulled at his shirt, wanting to feel his skin. He tore his mouth away, his breathing harsh in the silence.

  “Och, but I want you,” he said and ground against her.

  “Not nearly as much as I want you. It scares me, this hunger I have. It’s all for you, and it’s like I can’t ever get enough.”

  “Aye. I feel it as well.” He leaned his chin atop her head and simply held her. “I either take you now, Rennie, or we go deeper into the tunnel.”

  “Don’t make me choose.”

  “If you doona do something quick, I’ll no’ be responsible for the ripping of your clothes,” he said, a note of laughter in his voice.

  It took every ounce of will for Rennie to drop her hands from both Dale and the torch, letting him know they needed to continue on. “I have this pressing need to know what it is Harriet wants,” she explained. “The more I know, the more I can be prepared.”

  Dale faced the narrow opening and held the torch high. “Then let’s get to the bottom of this.”

  Rennie quickly followed and reached for his hand. She felt safer with him, even if she had only known him less than a day. Dale glanced back at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

  As they walked deeper into the earth, the ground continued to slope down. “How come my aunt never told me this was here?”

  “Maybe she didna know,” Dale said.

  Rennie didn’t believe that. “She knew every inch of this land. She knew. I just don’t understand why she didn’t tell me.”

  “Maybe she wanted you to find it on your own.” He ducked as they exited the tunnel into a large cavern. “Maybe she was hoping you would find it.”

  “It would’ve been easier had she just told me. That way I could have told Harriet to go to Hell and leave me alone.”

  Rennie came out of the tunnel and could only stare once more. If the etchings in the anteroom were impressive, the ones gracing the walls of the cavern were breathtaking. Intricate knotwork designs made a continuous circle around the room, the design at least four feet tall.

  But it was the writing that caught her attention. It, like the beautiful knotwork, went all the way around the cavern. “I don’t recognize the wording.”

  “It’s Gaelic,” Dale said as he walked into the center where large stones had been used to construct a fire pit. He lowered the torch into it and flames shot upward.

  Rennie stepped back as the fire lit the entire cavern, showing her the high ceiling above them. Then she realized what Dale had said. “Gaelic. You can read Gaelic?”

  “I’m a Warrior, Rennie, I’m able to learn things quickly.”

  “What does the writing say?”

  “‘We’re waiting.’”

  She looked at him, expecting him to continue. “And?”

  “And what? That’s what it says over and over again.”

  Rennie looked at the words, seeing the same symbols repeated until she came to a section where the lettering was smaller and more difficult to see. “What does this say?”

  Dale walked to her and peered at the wording. “It says, ‘Find us and find the answers.’”

  “Wow. That isn’t cryptic or anything.” She shivered, suddenly more cold than when she’d been in the snow.

  “Look around you. This is where your ancestors gathered.”

  For the first time, Rennie pulled her gaze from the walls and truly looked at the place. Around the fire in a perfect circle, placed exactly two feet apart were twelve stones that had been carved in a concave to make a seat.

  “Your family has always been mies, have they no’?” Dale asked.

  She nodded, still taking in everything. “Yes, always.”

  “And Harriet’s?”

  Rennie lowered herself onto one of the seats. “A few decided to remain mies, but most became droughs. My family didn’t make them leave because of some pact made between the families.”

  “You doona know what that pact was?”

  “No.” She rubbed her eyes as she tried to think of all the family history she had learned as a child and quickly dismissed as unimportant. “The more Harriet’s family left, the less it became significant, I guess. I don’t know. I wish I’d paid better attention to my aunt’s stories now.”

  Dale continued to walk around the cavern. “This place is magical. Many spells were done here, but there is something else that I’m feeling.”

  “What?”

  He turned to face her. “You.”

  That made her sit up straight. “Um … but you said you’ve always felt my magic.”

  “Aye. It feels different here. Do you no’ feel different?”

  “Disoriented. Shocked. Speechless. Take your pick.”

 
“Nay, lass. Concentrate on your magic.”

  Rennie gave half a thought to her magic and felt a tidal wave of it rise within her. It frightened her so badly she jumped up and started to run out of the cavern. As she reached the narrow doorway, she slammed into an invisible force that knocked her on her back.

  “Rennie!” Dale yelled and was at her side in a second.

  “Damn, but you move fast,” she murmured as she shook off the effects of the fall. “What just happened?”

  “I doona think they want you to leave.”

  She sat up and looked at the doorway. “Are you telling me I can’t leave?”

  Dale stood and easily walked from the cavern before he turned and walked back in. “Try again.”

  She accepted his hand up and tentatively approached the doorway, but once again something pushed against her as she neared.

  Rennie took a step back and the pressure instantly ceased. “I can’t leave.”

  “I’m telling you, you were meant to find this place. It’s why your aunt left the land to you and no’ your mother.”

  Rennie shook her head. “No. She left it to me because she knew my mother wouldn’t return.”

  “Are you sure of that?” Dale asked as he cocked a brow.

  She wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “I doona know. Perhaps your magic can tell you. What about the ancients?”

  She stared at him, aghast. “How do you know of the ancients?”

  “I was with droughs, remember?”

  “The ancients don’t talk to the droughs.”

  “Ah, but the droughs know of the ancients because before the Druids chose the evil path, they spoke with the ancients when they were still mies.”

  Rennie once more sat on one of the seats. “I didn’t think of that.” Silence filled the void as they both stared into the flames of the fire. She couldn’t deny the strange feeling of her magic. “You were right,” she finally said. “My magic is stronger here. Why?”

  “That I can no’ answer. The ancients can, however.”

  Rennie knew she had no choice but to contact the ancients. She shifted her gaze to Dale who hadn’t moved from his spot near the door. “Will you stay with me?”

  “If that is your wish, lass.”

  She waited until he took a seat across the fire from her. Rennie removed her coat and took a deep breath before she slowly released it.

  Then she called to her magic once more as she stared into the fire. It answered instantly, the power of it making her tremble. Deeper and deeper into her magic she went. This wouldn’t be the first time she had spoken to the ancients, but it had been a long time.

  They had never told her anything before. In the past, they had all but refused to tell her why others got visions from touching her. Would she get answers now?

  Did she want them?

  Now that Dale was with her, it didn’t seem to matter. Then she recalled Harriet and her bid to buy Rennie’s land. Answers were definitely something Rennie needed, even if she didn’t like what she heard.

  Her head cocked to the side when she heard the distant beat of drums. They grew louder and louder until they deafened her. Rising to meet them was the chanting of thousands of ancient Druids long dead.

  “Thereeeeeee you are,” they said in unison. “What took you so long, Rennie?”

  “I didn’t know I was supposed to find you.”

  “You brought a Warrior. He fought for the side of evil with the drough Jason Wallace.”

  “He’s chosen our side now.”

  “That remains to be seen.”

  “What is this place?”

  “A holy place,” they said together. “We’ve been waiting for you to find it.”

  “Why?”

  “Your destiny, Rennieeeeeee.”

  She began to grow frustrated with the lack of in-depth answers. “What destiny? I have to know more, please.”

  “Your ancestors practiced magic here, anticipating a Druid who would come who could grant freedom to someone.”

  “Freedom? Freedom from what?”

  “The confines of a spell.”

  Rennie immediately thought of Dale.

  “Aye,” the ancients said. “You can free him from his god and make him mortal once more. That is your gift.”

  “I could do it now?”

  “It comes with a price.”

  “What kind of price?”

  “One your Warrior must pay.”

  “Can you tell me more?”

  “You will know what to do when the time comes.”

  Rennie fisted her hands. “Why am I here, really? Why has my magic increased, and why can’t I leave?”

  “You’ll be able to leave once you accept who you are.”

  “I have!”

  There was a beat of silence before the drums pounded louder. Then the ancients said, “You haven’t, child.”

  “Why has my magic increased while here?”

  “It’s your destiny. Embrace it!”

  Chapter Eight

  Rennie looked away from the flames as the ancients’ words echoed in her head. Her destiny. What, exactly, was her destiny?

  She looked across the fire to see Dale with his hands clenched and his head down as if he were in tremendous pain. Rennie rushed to him.

  “Dale? What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked as she kneeled beside him, smoothing her hands over his arms and chest, looking for some wound.

  When his head lifted she found herself looking into Warrior eyes. They were a pale green from corner to corner. The stark contrast to his normally dark irises took her aback for a second. Then she placed her hand on his cheek.

  That’s all it took for him to grab her and yank her roughly against his chest. His arms were like bands of steel wrapped around her as he kissed her as if he’d die without her. He was thorough, sensual as he explored her mouth before deepening the kiss and demanding she relent.

  Rennie wound her arms around his neck. The passion had barely been contained from the moment she had woken that morning. No one had ever made her feel such a burning need, such a feverish hunger that only Dale could quench.

  With every look, every touch the desire had grown. The kiss earlier had set her ablaze. The craving, the excitement consumed her, engulfed her.

  Seized her.

  She moaned as his hand cupped her breast. When he bent her back over his arm while he kissed down her neck, Rennie clutched at his shoulders as desire pooled between her legs.

  “This is a holy place,” Dale said between kisses.

  “Shut up and keep kissing me.”

  He chuckled and nipped her skin with his teeth. “Such demands.”

  Rennie flexed her fingers against his shirt, loving the feel of his hard muscle beneath. “How can you think right now?”

  “Because if I doona, I’ll lay you down and claim your body once more.”

  She lifted her head to look at him. “And the problem with that is?”

  His lopsided smile made her stomach flutter even as his green eyes vanished so she was once more looking into his dark irises. “This is a holy place.”

  “You’ve said that already. People have been having sex and religious ceremonies in the standing stones since they were first constructed. How is this any different?”

  “Because this is your family’s place.”

  Rennie watched as his gaze lowered to her mouth, and she knew for all his talk, he wanted her as much as she wanted him. It sent a thrill through her, and for the first time in her life she was going to take the lead with a man.

  She reached for the hem of his shirt and slid her hand beneath the material to run along his warm skin. “You would deny your desire?”

  “Nay,” he answered tightly.

  Using both hands, she yanked his shirt over his head and took in the impressive sight of his torso. She caressed him from shoulder to waist, loving the sound of his quickening breaths when she got close to his crotc
h.

  “You’re playing with fire, Druid,” he warned.

  But that was exactly where she wanted to be.

  It wasn’t until she reached for the button of his jeans that he reacted. In a split second, he had her on her back on the ground as he leaned over her.

  “This is what you want to do after talking to the ancients?” he asked in a low, seductive tone.

  Rennie swallowed as she shook her head. “This is only about you, about us. You make me want this. All I can think of is you and how you feel against me, inside me.”

  There was a low growl that rumbled from his chest. “You doona know what you’re saying.”

  “I know exactly what I’m saying. I want you. I want what’s between us. I want to push whatever this is to the limits and see just how far it will go.”

  His forehead furrowed. “It could be wonderful, but it could also destroy us.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “You should.”

  She gave a shove to his shoulder and rolled him onto his back so that she straddled him. Rennie knew he allowed her that control, but his strength was one of the many reasons she was drawn to him. “I’d rather you stop talking,” she said as she rotated her hips, grinding against his hard rod.

  His hands gripped her hips, but he didn’t halt her. “What did the ancient’s say?”

  “Why did you look like you were in pain when I saw you?” she asked instead.

  The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Do you really need to ask?”

  “Yes. Say the words, Warrior,” she whispered.

  His gaze grew serious as he stared. “Your magic. I’ve never felt such peace or happiness mixed with an irresistible yearning to claim you all rolled into one.”

  Rennie saw the uncertainty in his gaze, and it broke her heart. She lay atop him, resting her head on his chest. “The ancients said I couldn’t leave until I embraced who I was. They said I had a destiny.”

  “What destiny?” His hands wrapped around her, holding her firmly against him.

  “I don’t know. They wouldn’t say.” She briefly thought about keeping what they had said about him to herself, but she wanted Dale to know. “They knew you were here.”

  His large hands rubbed her back in slow circles. “I gather they were no’ happy.”