Torched

by Donna Grant

  Con glanced at Asher before he continued. “You’ve worked your way up in the ranks.”

  “My daddy always preached that if I wanted something, I needed to work for it.” She chuckled softly. “I knew after a month of being here that this was where I belonged.”

  “Aye. It’s always nice to find a job that you enjoy.”

  She gave a nod of her blond head. “Exactly. Live to work, not work to live.”

  Con had thought long and hard about how he was going to fire her. He’d briefly toyed with the idea of letting her know he’d discovered her spying. Then he realized that it was better to leave it alone.

  By not saying anything, it might push Mikkel to make another mistake. Like sending someone else to spy. It also helped that Con had a valid reason for dismissing Alice.

  Con leaned forward and put his arms on the desk. “You’ve been a great asset to this company, Alice. That’s why it’s so hard to tell you that we’re going to have to let you go.”

  Her smile dropped as her face went white. “What? I … I don’t understand.”

  “For months now, we’ve caught you stealing whisky from the warehouse. I let that go since five generations of your family have worked for this company. I also turned a blind eye when you began taking other items from the store, but you got greedy and stole money from the register, as well.”

  She stared blankly at him, her mouth gaping open.

  “I pay you well,” Con continued. “I pay all of my employees well. I doona understand why you had to steal, but I’ll no longer tolerate such actions.” He rose to his feet. “Asher will walk with you to gather your things and see you off the property.”

  “I … I,” she began, but couldn’t finish.

  Con walked around the desk as she stood and pulled out an envelope from an inside pocket of his jacket. “Here is your final paycheck.”

  He wanted to make sure there was no reason for Alice to ever return to Dreagan.

  Asher opened the door and waited for Alice to walk numbly past him. He gave Con a smile and followed her out.

  Con blew out a breath and strode to the doorway to watch them. It wasn’t long before Kellan joined him.

  “There’s one problem out of the way,” Kellan said.

  “Aye. I allowed her to remain too long. I believed she worked for Ulrik, so I planned to use her. I realized that plan wouldna work once Ryder discovered payments to her from one of Mikkel’s shell companies.”

  “Which meant there was no more need for Alice,” Kellan stated and crossed his arms across his chest.

  Con had to admit it felt pretty damn good to get a step ahead of Mikkel. Even if it was only a baby step, it was more than they’d had the day before.

  “I feel like celebrating,” Kellan said.

  Con spun the gold dragon head cufflink on his wrist. “It’s a small win, but we’re going to celebrate.”

  Kellan slapped him on the back. “One down.”

  “A hundred other problems to go,” Con said.

  “Which one is next?”

  Con shrugged. “We still have Stanley Upton in the dungeon.”

  “You should deal with Usaeil.”

  “Rhi is still reeling from the banishment. I need her head clear before we face the queen. My problem with Usaeil will come to a head soon enough. Let’s focus on Upton.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  No.

  The word echoed in Ulrik’s head with all the force of an exploding star. He stared at Broc, hoping the Warrior was joking about not being able to find Eilish.

  “It’s happened before.”

  The female voice jerked Ulrik out of his stupor. He looked at the flame-haired woman who’d walked up beside Broc. Sonya. A Druid who not only had special healing skills but was also able to communicate with trees.

  Ulrik took a step back. For the first time, he wasn’t sure what to do next. He’d counted on the Warriors helping him. He’d planned to beg, and if that didn’t work, he’d make them. Now … well, neither option was available.

  “Ulrik.”

  He blinked, his gaze focusing on a petite Druid with black hair and ice blue eyes. It took him a second to recall who she was. Isla. She belonged to the fire-happy Warrior who had yet to stop scowling.

  Her hand lifted, and he watched as she went to touch his arm before hesitating. It made him want to laugh. Few mortals—or Fae for that matter—got near enough to touch him, and even fewer did it willingly.

  Then her hand came to rest on him. “There’s magic blocking Broc from finding Eilish. It’s occurred a few times before.”

  So they were going to help him.

  He turned his head to Broc. “Have you located her before this?”

  “I never knew her full name before. I need it to be able to locate someone unless I know them,” the Warrior replied.

  Something squeezed Ulrik’s arm. He was surprised to find that Isla still had hold of him. And by the anger contorting Hayden’s face, the Warrior wasn’t pleased by it.

  “That magic blast we felt was hers,” Isla said.

  Ulrik nodded. “Aye. I’d know it anywhere. How do you know that?”

  “The Ancients told me.”

  “Can you locate her like that?” he asked, hope burning in his gut.

  Sonya said, “No.”

  Ulrik briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them, he spotted the rest of the Druids from the castle standing with their Warriors.

  Was his attention so caught up with Eilish and not being able to find her that he wasn’t noticing such things? He needed to get his head on straight in case Mikkel used this time to attack.

  Isla dropped her hand from him. “I’m surprised to see you here. We all are.”

  “I have to find Eilish.”

  “So you said.” Fallon tamped down his god.

  Ulrik watched as the black eyes of Fallon’s god that filled his entire eye faded and were replaced by dark green irises that pinned Ulrik.

  “Now that we know the Druid’s name,” Fallon continued. “We can find her whenever we want. And we’ll bring that information to Con.”

  Ulrik wasn’t surprised by the statement. “I expected you to say that.”

  “And still, you came,” Isla said, her eyes watching him with a mix of curiosity and unease.

  Ulrik looked at the Warriors and Druids, recognizing the community, the family they’d established. He also knew there were children on the grounds.

  “If I know of your existence, then so does my uncle. He’s no’ as strong as a Dragon King, nor does he have the favor of the Dark Fae anymore. But he could still bring about destruction here.”

  Hayden growled as he took a couple of steps closer. “Are you threatening us?”

  “Warning you,” Ulrik said, looking down at Isla. “I plan to stop Mikkel before anything happens.”

  Isla’s head cocked to the side as she released him. “And you need Eilish for that?”

  “No.” In fact, she was more hindrance than help. But he still had to find her.

  Fallon crossed his arms over his chest, the moonlight glinting off the torc at his neck that he and his brothers wore. “Then why do you seek the Druid?”

  “Because I offered her my assistance.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie.

  “I—” Sonya began before her eyes took on a faraway look as she raised her gaze to the trees.

  Ulrik turned at the sound behind him and saw the trees swaying back and forth, leaves rustling and branches bending. All with no wind.

  “She’s not here,” Sonya said.

  Ulrik looked back at her. “I didna think she was at the castle.”

  “No,” Sonya said with a shake of her red head. “She’s not on this realm.”

  Fear spiked through Ulrik. “The trees told you that?”

  “Yes,” she confirmed.

  “Who took her? Was it a Fae?” he demanded, walking toward her.

  Because if Balladyn were involved in any way, Ulrik wo
uld tear him limb from limb—their pact be damned.

  Broc held up a hand, stopping Ulrik’s advance. “Easy, Dragon King.”

  “Who took her?” Ulrik asked through clenched teeth, ignoring Broc.

  Sonya shook her head. “No one. She left herself.”

  It was like a kick in the teeth. Each time Ulrik thought he had a way of finding Eilish, the rug was yanked out from under him.

  “How?” he asked, more to himself than the others.

  Eilish could teleport, but he didn’t think her magic was strong enough to move her to other realms. Even the Dragon Kings needed a dragon bridge to do that. The Fae needed their doorways. So how the hell had she done it?

  And then he wondered how he was going to find her. At least she was no longer in a place where Mikkel could hurt her. Or her family could find her. Perhaps he should leave her be.

  But he knew he couldn’t.

  With no other reason to be at MacLeod Castle, he decided it was time he departed their company. No doubt the Warriors would contact Con immediately. Not that Ulrik cared.

  “Wait,” Isla hurried to say before he touched his cuff.

  Hayden jerked his gaze to her, looking as if she’d sprouted a trunk.

  That was enough to make Ulrik hesitate to see what Isla wanted. Because he really didn’t like the Warrior.

  “What is it?” Ulrik asked the Druid.

  “If Eilish wants to return, she’ll be able to.”

  He wasn’t sure what that meant, and it did nothing to calm his need to locate her. But he recognized that Isla was attempting to help.

  It was a curious feeling that swirled around him. He was used to manipulating others, forcing, or even paying for them to do his bidding. For someone like Isla to freely give him information was new. And unexpected.

  “How do we know you willna send the Dark our way?” Hayden questioned as he still held the two balls of fire.

  Ulrik looked at the fire and then back at the Warrior. “You do realize dragons are made of fire, right? If you’re trying to scare me, you’re no’ doing a verra good job. However, I understand you’re protecting your woman and your home.”

  The fire disappeared, and Hayden tamped down his god so that his red skin faded.

  Only then did Ulrik say, “If I wanted to harm any of you, I could’ve done it anytime over the last several centuries.”

  “But we are human,” Sonya said.

  Ulrik looked at each of the Warriors and Druids. At one time, he’d considered Druids nothing more than mortals with a dash of magic. He wasn’t sure when his thinking had changed, but it had.

  “When the dragons were sent away, most of this realm’s magic went with them. You want to know why Druids are losing their magic?” he asked. “It’s no’ just because they’re diluting their blood, though that is a big reason. It’s because they no longer believe in magic.”

  He jerked his chin to the castle. “There’s power here. On this land. It’s here because all of you are. It’s a gift for humans, but to my kind, it was a way of life. Each of you has been chosen to keep magic alive, and it’s that I protect. Because without it, I’m no’ sure what will happen to this Earth.”

  With a nod to Isla, and then another to Fallon, Ulrik touched his cuff and returned to the cottage. He sank onto the bed and dropped his head into his hands.

  His mind was wandering as he desperately tried to figure out where Eilish could’ve gone, when it suddenly hit him. He jerked his head up and got to his feet. If he couldn’t locate Eilish, he could find where the ripple of her magic originated. That might help him determine where she was—and if she’d been forcibly taken.

  He closed his eyes and thought about Eilish and her magic. The potency of it was strong, but instead, he thought about the tinge of darkness that made it distinct. It was that thread that set her apart. Because she could become drough with little effort, but she didn’t give in to the darkness.

  She didn’t fight it either.

  Eilish accepted it like someone would a missing limb. It was just a part of her. Thanks to that tinge of darkness, he was able to trail her magic over Ireland to a place about an hour from Dublin. As soon as Ulrik arrived at the estate, he hid behind some bushes to get a lay of the land.

  He didn’t need confirmation to know that this was Mikkel’s place. It had all the markings of other properties that his uncle owned. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to run into the weasel and end him.

  Once Ulrik was sure the manor was abandoned, he walked closer to the building. That’s when he noticed a room on the second floor where every window had been broken. Curtains billowed in the breeze, and shards of glass littered the ground at his feet.

  He looked at the front door but decided on a quicker entry. Ulrik jumped, landing with bent knees on a windowsill. He glanced into the room before he put one foot and then the other on the floor.

  The room looked as if a tornado had ripped through it. The large bed was broken in half, chairs were smashed, tables shattered. But it was the black spot in the middle of the vintage rug that caught his attention.

  He squatted beside it, testing the spot. Magic sizzled up his arm. More importantly, it was Eilish’s power he felt.

  The black wasn’t soot from a burn, but the remnants of a blast from a truly powerful Druid. What concerned him was that the darkness within it had grown significantly.

  “What have you done, Uncle?” Ulrik murmured as he straightened. “And where have you gone, Druid?”

  Eilish’s was the only magic he felt, but he knew she hadn’t been alone. Something must have set her off. Had it been Mikkel? Or someone else?

  Someone like her family?

  Ulrik was grasping at straws, but the facts were pointing him in a certain direction. What he needed was to find out the truth, and Mikkel would never tell him what happened. Which meant that Ulrik had to locate Eilish.

  “Eilish, if you can hear me, I need you to come back. Come back to me.”

  He waited, hoping that she might appear. After several minutes, Ulrik left the room and walked through the estate, looking for anything that might tell him where his uncle had gone.

  As he made his way to the front door, he spotted something on the floor that had slipped beneath a table. He picked it up, turning it over to see the address of the estate.

  But it was the name at the top of the paper that caught his attention—Morna Duffy.

  Now he knew Eilish’s family had been there.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Something was very, very wrong. Eilish looked around in confusion. She was no longer in the bedroom, nor were Mikkel or the two women with her.

  In fact, Eilish had no idea where she was. Everything was hazy, as if she’d stepped into the remnants of a fire. Or mist.

  It clung to her, wrapping around her as if it were alive. She was able to breathe freely without choking, so maybe it wasn’t smoke. But she’d never seen mist move like this. It made nary a sound, but it was so dense, she couldn’t see through it. Which meant that anything could be out there waiting for her.

  She slowly turned in a circle. The last thing she remembered was letting her anger rise up. Always before, she’d kept her rage in check because she could feel how it changed her magic. Ulrik had said he could sense the darkness around her edges. It was that darkness she let in.

  Perhaps she should be worried about what she’d done to Mikkel and those women, but she couldn’t drudge up even the tiniest thread of concern. They’d wanted to hurt her. Of that, she was certain.

  She looked down, but the mist was wrapped around her legs, preventing her from seeing her feet, much less the ground. Unease began to grow, and soon, it festered into fear.

  Her thoughts focused on Ulrik. No doubt he’d stalk through the mist, demanding that whatever was out there show itself. Then Ulrik would shift into his dragon.

  What a glorious sight he’d been in his true form. When she followed Nikolai and Esther from the village, she’d never expected to
see Ulrik as a dragon. But she hadn’t been able to look away.

  He’d swooped down from the night sky with a ferocity that had made her take a step back. Moonlight had reflected off his silver scales that were darker on the back of his neck. His sheer size had made her heart skip a beat. It didn’t matter that Nikolai was just as large because she only had eyes for Ulrik.

  He’d moved with such speed and grace that she forgot he was in the air. But his massive wings were never a hindrance. He used them as weapons, just as he did his body and long tail.

  She couldn’t remember what Nikolai looked like, but she could describe Ulrik down to the last detail. His large dragon head held big, obsidian eyes that saw everything. He had long, muscular limbs with four closely mounted digits on each foot that ended in extremely long talons. His body was elegant and powerful. There was a row of dark silver spikes that ran from the base of his skull down his back to the tip of his tail.

  All in all, he was breathtaking. Utterly spectacular.

  Alarmingly menacing.

  And she wished he were with her. How silly she was to have fallen for Ulrik. Not just because he was broken or that he couldn’t trust. But because he’d never be able to care about anything, which meant he could never return her love.

  “Eilish.”

  She heard her name like a whisper, as if the mist tried to prevent the sound from reaching her. Yet there was no denying the voice. It was Ulrik.

  Most likely, it was a figment of her imagination. Ulrik had other things to worry about than her. She was just a pawn he wanted to use in his bid to take down Constantine.

  That train of thought brought a rush of anger that she tried to squash. But she was unsuccessful. It was Mikkel’s fault. He’d made her lose control. And for what? Who were those women? What had they wanted with her?

  Whatever they sought, it wasn’t good. All she had to do was look in their eyes to know that. That had prompted her to defend herself. If only she knew what she’d done. Or was it Mikkel that had put her here?

  She shook her head as she tried to look through the mist. Mikkel was giving her to the women. If he’d put her here, he would be her taunting her before handing her over. The fact that no one else was around meant either she was dreaming, or she’d done this to herself.