by Unknown
Wait.
You know, it’s possible to use more than one word and actually tell me something useful, I thought huffily. Wait for what?
The men were talking now, their voices loud and full of excitement.
“I told you it would work, brother,” crowed the dark-haired biker, clapping Alec’s shoulder.
“Aye, but I think I’ve found more than my maiden.” Alec fixed his hazel gaze on me, eyes narrowed as he tried to take my measure. “She’s in trouble.”
“I can leave,” I said. “In fact, it’s better if I just go.” I took a step toward the door, but Alec was already there, blocking me. I blinked up at him. “You’re really fast. What are you?”
“You first,” he said. “After all, I saved your arse back there. There’s magic about you. What is it?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said, panic making my heart drum in my ears. Telling my secret was what made me the most wanted on everyone’s list. The truth had destroyed my life and I’d learned to shut up out of self-preservation.
“You can’t hide from us, lass. We can sense your power.” The weight of his gaze pressed against me, heavy and palpable and telling me Alec was not a man easily swayed from his course. When I didn’t answer, he loomed over me and roared, “Tell me what danger I’ve brought to my home, lass. Tell me so I can protect us all.”
“Alec,” said one of the men from behind me. “Perhaps we should explain our side to her first. She needs to know we can be trusted.”
“If she’s in trouble as you say, brother, she must be scared out of her mind to have you charging at her like a wild boar,” said someone else.
“Let’s sit in the kitchen, shall we?” suggested a third voice. “Gavin and I just made cookies.”
I half turned around. The bad ass bikers baked? No way.
Alec grunted. “Och, Niall, no biscuits again?” He sounded aggrieved.
The man with the fiery orange hair, who I took to be Niall, grimaced. “Donna be giving me trouble, mate. Not unless you want to be the one doing the cooking.” He smiled at me, the gesture warming his brown eyes. “Donna be afraid of us, lass. We roar a lot, but we donna bite.”
“I do,” said the blond, snapping his teeth at me again.
I frowned at him. “If you bite me, I’m going to smack you.”
Alec cut in front of me, glaring darkly at the blond. “Touch her, Gavin, and I’ll kill you.”
Gavin appeared unimpressed. “Och, she really must be your maiden if you’re willing to turn on blood.”
Alec’s gaze flickered back to me and his body stiffened as if surprised by Gavin’s observation.
“What’s this about a maiden?” I asked.
“Well,” said Niall, running a hand through his orange hair. “That’s a long story. To tell it proper we’ll need a snack. Come with me.” He walked purposefully out of the room, the hem of his black kilt rippling as he moved.
Not knowing what else to do, I followed after him, the rest of the biker gang falling in line behind me. A narrow hallway with a low ceiling wound its way through the castle. The men had to duck, but my height matched that of whoever had built the castle way back when and I passed through unhindered.
When I lost track of Niall, who walked so fast he left the rest of us behind, and went to turn down a new hallway on the right, Alec caught me by the elbow and pulled me back. “Straight, lass. That’s the way to the turret stairs.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, feeling clumsy. I stepped back and motioned him forward. “Why don’t you lead?”
“Aye, mate. You lead and then I can stare at her arse. You’ve been blocking my view.” This was Gavin, the blond, his pale blue eyes alight with mirth.
Alec whirled around, face contorted into fury. He raised his hand and my jaw dropped when a fireball blinked into existence.
“What the hell…” I started, but no one was paying attention to me. The men were too intent on their imminent firefight to hear anything I said. I could practically see the steam shooting from their ears.
Launching the fireball toward Gavin with a heave of his powerful shoulder, Alec roared, “You will leave her alone or I will make you pay for that smart mouth of yours.”
I flinched as the fireball flew toward Gavin, growing bigger as it went, but the blond stood his ground, not even attempting to evade the thing. The fireball sizzled as it hit his chest and then disappeared as if he’d absorbed it into his body.
“Come now, mate,” Gavin said, raising his hands. “Don’t be so tetchy.”
Behind him, the dark-haired one, whose name I still didn’t know, sighed and brushed past Gavin. “I’ll walk in front of him if that will help.” When Gavin started to protest, he scowled. “Shut it, brother. I’m hungry and we have important business to mind. Stop causing drama.”
Gavin frowned. “Drama? I’m not causing drama. He’s the one who’s got his bollocks in a twist.” He snickered and shot an impudent wink my way. “You’re going to have to help him with that.”
Now I wished I had some fire to throw at him myself. Instead, I laid a hand on Alec’s shoulder, surprised at the anger vibrating under his skin. “Can we just put the fireballs away and go to the kitchen? Please?” I wanted to ask him the how and why he could lob fireballs at people, but it seemed more important to calm everyone down before we all went up in smoke.
Alec swallowed hard and nodded, his jaw clenched tight. Turning on his heel, he marched off. I ran after him, wanting to leave the troublesome Gavin behind.
The kitchen was a cheerful room with a wooden beamed ceiling, a wide hearth and shelving instead of cupboards. Where the main room had square wood panels, the kitchen walls were made up of natural gray stone. An assortment of kitchenware filled the shelves. I counted at least three different china patterns, and there was a selection of copper and steel pots ranging in size from smaller than a teacup to big enough to bathe children. In one corner, an old refrigerator hummed and wheezed as if on its last leg. The far end of the room had a large window under which stood a wooden table flanked by benches on all four sides.
The orange-haired biker, Niall, was already there, arranging a plate of cookies. He waved me over to the table. “Just have a seat, anywhere will do. Cookies and tea coming right up.”
I settled onto a bench, startled when Alec sat right next to me. The other men each took one of the other benches and we all waited quietly for the food to be ready. Even Gavin, who looked like he might want to say something once or twice, but quickly shut his mouth when Alec glared at him. Taking their lead, I bit my tongue too, acting like nothing weird was going on.
“Come on, Niall,” Alec said. “It doesna matter how the cookies look on the plate, mate.”
“Coming,” he said, hurrying over with the plate of cookies and another plate of what turned out to be finger sandwiches. Apparently, bikers in Scotland observed high tea.
Niall passed out plates with an elegant pink floral pattern and teacups with purple thistles running around the edge. The china’s delicacy made me blink as it clashed against the contrast of their leather jackets and tough-guy machismo. Who dressed like these guys did and then served food on platters fit for the queen? No one I knew.
After the plates came the food followed by a tea pot and a decanter of some kind of alcohol. Given our location and its amber color when poured, I surmised it must be Scotch. The men all added a healthy dose of the booze to their tea. Alec held the decanter over my dainty teacup, but I covered it with my hand and shook my head.
“No thanks. I don’t drink.”
Alec raised an eyebrow as if he’d never heard of such a thing.
“I’m a terrible drunk,” I said and then I stuffed a cookie in my mouth to stop myself from saying anything more. No one needed to know what the voice was like under the influence of alcohol. That little piece of information could be used against me.
The cookie had a bright lemon flavor with a sugar crust that gave it texture and sweetness. I made an appreciativ
e ‘mmm’ sound which caused Niall’s face to light up with pleasure. “Glad you like it. It’s an American recipe.”
I washed the cookie down with some tea, enjoying the way its bitterness served as a foil for the sweetness of the cookie. Niall had balanced flavors nicely. “They’re really good. I’d love the recipe.”
“You would? Do you cook?” He sounded absolutely delighted.
“I run a cupcake shop in Inverness. Right on the main drag,” I said, leaving out the part where I’d abandoned ship.
“Oh excellent.” Niall beamed at me. “Since you’re a professional, I’ll tell you the secret is to dip the cookie dough in water first and then the sugar. That’s what makes the crust.” He topped off our tea, pouring from a dented copper kettle. All the men quickly added more booze while I went for one of the sandwiches.
Catching me peeking between the bread to see what it was, Niall said, “It’s chicken salad with watercress and cucumber.”
“Sounds very English,” I said.
The men went still and all four of them gave me a look.
I straightened in my seat. “Was that a bad thing to say?”
“We’re not bloody redcoats,” said the dark-haired one with a frown. His intense blue eyes flashed with what I took to be irritation.
“Oh, my bad. Sorry guys, I’m from the other side of the pond,” I said with a shrug. The intricacies of the English-Scottish rivalry were not my strong suit. I took another sandwich and snagged one more cookie. If I didn’t, they would all be gone. These biker dudes ate fast. “So, who are you guys? What’s with the fireballs?” I gave Alec the side eye and he shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m Malcolm,” said the guy with the dark hair. “These are my brothers, Niall, Gavin and Alec.” He pointed to each of the men in turn.
Niall gave an amicable wave, which I returned. Gavin snapped his teeth again, which made Alec tense up beside me. I put my hand on his arm again. “Don’t worry, I’ve got his name and his number. Gavin, class A asshole.” I smiled sweetly at the blond. “Or would you prefer the term jackass?”
His face darkened with anger for a moment, but then cleared as he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m a good arsehole to have in a fight.”
“Well, maybe you should save it for the fighting then,” Alec growled, reaching for a cookie. Gavin got to the plate first, swiping the three remaining cookies and stuffing them into his mouth.
“God save ye, Gav.” Malcolm swatted the back of Gavin’s head. “Stop it. I mean it, or you’ll be looking for someplace else to rest your head, brotherhood or no.”
“What? I’m hungry.” Gavin’s eyes went wide with feigned innocence as he reached for the sandwiches, but Niall swiftly pulled the plate away.
“Brotherhood?” I asked over Gavin’s whining, finding the word odd.
The table went quiet at my question. Finally Alex sighed. “You ken there’s magic in the world, right?”
At my nod, Malcolm said, “We’re dragons.”
“All of you?” I looked at each of them in turn, squinting to see if I could spot scales or something dragon-y. All I saw, though, were four handsome men. If Alec hadn’t been throwing fire earlier, I would have doubted the truth of Malcolm’s words.
“Aye,” Alec said.
“And every dragon must find his maiden afore his fire burns him up inside,” Niall added.
“So Alec and I, you think we’re…” I trailed off, pointing from the big man to me and back again, unable to finish the sentence.
Malcolm nodded. “You’re his maiden.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I looked from Malcolm to Alex trying to make sense of what they were telling me.
“We’re destined to be together,” Alec said.
“What does that mean?” I asked again.
“In the old days, you would have been married the day you met,” Gavin said with a smirk. He reminded me of a cat that liked to toy with its prey. I wished I had a spray bottle I could shoot him with. That had always worked when my cat got out of line.
“I can’t get married,” I said, horrified. Suddenly, I wished I had some of that Scotch in my tea. I could have used the liquid courage. I looked at Alec who didn’t seem any more thrilled than I was.
“Don’t you feel it, lass?” asked Niall looking confused.
“Feel what?”
Alec cut me off. “Aye, she does.”
“How do you know what I feel?” I glared at the man.
“Because I feel it, too.” He turned his head, hazel gaze meeting mine square on. “What do you think that kiss was about?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said. The voice had pushed me into that kiss, literally shoving me into Alec like I was a dog in heat. My stomach sank as the truth hit me.
You set me up, I thought at it, furious. You knew this would happen. My hands curled into fists and I resisted the intense urge to pound myself in the stomach. The voice couldn’t be punished or hurt or touched, but I could. I’d learned that the hard way.
“We’ve been waiting on you for a long time,” said Malcolm.
“Me?”
“Not you specifically. Someone like you. A maiden. A true mate,” added Niall. “You’re just the first one to show up.”
“How many are you expecting?”
“One for each of us. That’s how I set the spell.” Malcolm added more scotch to his tea as he spoke.
My eyes widened. “You called me here?”
He nodded. “You seem to be more than a maiden, though lass. Why don’t you tell us what you are and why you’re in trouble?”
“Mayhap we can help,” Niall added.
I dodged Malcolm’s question by draining my teacup. I barely knew these men. There was no way I could tell them what I was. No way that wouldn’t lead to more problems for me. Worse, they were meddling in my life with their spells.
Tell, said the voice.
Are you crazy? Not happening, I seethed at the voice. Outwardly, I smiled as Niall jumped to refill my cup while the other men sat patiently waiting for my response.
The voice kept pushing. Tell. Tell. Tell.
I shoved back. No way in hell.
Power surged through me, spreading from my gut until it covered all of me. The voice was taking over, forcing me to do things its way. I bit back a scream, turning it into a grunt instead. All the men instantly went on high alert, aware that something was happening.
“I havna felt such power in a long time,” Malcolm said, his eyes narrowed and expression guarded.
I gave in, letting the voice have its way. If I didn’t, it would tell its own version of the story and I wanted control over how my secrets came out. That didn’t mean I liked it, though, and when I spoke, it was through gritted teeth. “I was hit by lightning ten years ago.” I lifted my shirt to show them the white lines that criss-crossed my stomach. The lines ran up and down the right side of my body, marking the ripples of electricity that had shocked me. “I died three times. At least that’s what the doctors told me. When I came to, I had this voice, this thing inside me.” I gestured to my stomach, where I most often felt its presence.
“What was it?” asked Gavin leaning forward, his attention rapt.
“It’s the future.” I rushed the words out, afraid if I gave myself time to think I wouldn’t say them at all.
“You have the sight then,” Malcolm said, calm save for a spark of excitement in his eyes.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, but I know what I can do.”
“Tell me.” Malcolm motioned for me to continue.
“I read energy, like the vibe of people and things around me.” I waved my hand to indicate the room. “This voice talks to me and sometimes I have visions.”
“Is that why those men were after you?” Alec asked.
I nodded. “I made the mistake of telling people and showing them what I could do.” I worried my bottom lip, gathering my thoughts, trying to decide how much I should say. “I turned down all the
job offers, but there are people and…other things out there who aren’t interested in employing me. They want to own me and make me serve their purposes. I’ve been on the run for years, trying to keep away from them.”
The men gulped down their tea in unison, taking a moment to digest everything I’d said.
“Can you take it away with your magic?” I asked Malcolm, curious. “Can you turn me back into a regular human that no one would want?” I didn’t know a lot about magic, but if he’d brought me here with a spell, maybe he could get rid of the voice.
He pursed his lips and thought for a long moment and then said, “I donna know, lass. I will have to research it.”
Alec put an arm around me. I stiffened at the contact at first, feeling a violation of my personal space but that soon gave way to a sensation of comfort. Giving me a squeeze, Alec said, “But I do know we can keep you safe, lass. You don’t have to run anymore.”
“And in return, you can break our curse,” Malcolm said with a smile.
I went still for a moment and narrowed my eyes at Malcolm’s words. “Excuse me?” Just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised, something else popped up to prove me wrong.
“We’re cursed,” Alec said. “And without our maidens we will remain so.”
The food I’d eaten turned leaden in my stomach. “You think I’m going to save you?”
“Aye, we do,” Malcolm said with a decisive nod.
Chapter Three
Alec took me to the turret after we finished the dragon biker version of tea and crumpets, curses and fireballs (oh my!). His brothers had abruptly left after dropping the curse bomb on me, filing out of the kitchen and shooting pointed looks at Alec as they went. I had a feeling he’d been given the task of filling me in on the rest of the story. I should have run earlier and I should have run then, but I stayed, mostly because I was tired. The castle seemed safe enough for me to risk one night. I would find a way out tomorrow. Until then, I would play along.
Outside, the sun managed to push a few meager rays through the gray cloud cover. The wind helped by blowing strong enough to make the clouds roil, creating gaps for more sunlight to pass through.