He huffed softly. "Didn't do too good a job there, did I? He found you first."
"You're acting like he hurt me. All he did was get me out of a pretty uncomfortable situation." She felt a flutter of something like guilt… she'd had a lot more in mind when she was spending time with Glimmerbright than just gratitude for getting her away from those wolves… but why on Earth was that bothering her right now? Because of Galen? Because of this stupid idea she'd gotten into her head somehow that there might be something between them? No way. He'd been nothing but rude to her. But now, alone with him on the back of a horse in the middle of the night in the woods… well, there was something here that reminded her a little of the tension she'd felt with Glimmerbright.
This was ridiculous, she knew that. With everything going on, was she really thinking about romantic prospects right now? But she couldn't shake how she felt about Galen… couldn't shake the feeling that despite how unpleasant he'd been to her, she was still interested. Old habits, she thought, shaking her head with dismay. Bad habits, too. But you couldn't control your feelings, could you? You could only control your actions. And she wasn't going to let herself do anything that might lead to her getting hurt further down the line… and she was definitely not going to encourage any more unpleasantness from Galen.
"You don't know what they're like," Galen said softly, shaking his head. "The things they're capable of. The way they trick your mind, manipulate what you see, even what you feel and think… this is what I mean when I say you don't know what you're dealing with, Julia. I know I've been a little condescending about it, but… well, that's my fault entirely. I should have explained more clearly, been more patient."
"Yes," she said coolly. "You should have. But thank you, for acknowledging that." She sighed. "It's not that I don't want to believe you, Galen. Quite the opposite. I want to know more about the Sidhe – I want to know everything you know about them. But all you were giving me were warnings and instructions. Tell me why he's so dangerous. I'll hear you out."
Galen was quiet for a long moment… then he turned around to look at her for the first time in what felt like an hour. His face had lost the scowl, lost the furrowed brows – to her surprise, he looked years younger. And was that a smile on his face? It was – an honest, real smile in the torchlight. She couldn't help but return it, feeling her heart do a familiar little backflip.
"Right," he said firmly, turning back to look ahead of them between the horse's pointed ears. "I've got a few things to show you, then, Julia Andersen."
Chapter 28
The trees began to thin out as they rode, and more and more starlight was shining down, making it a great deal easier to see… not that Julia really recognized anything around them. Once or twice, in the distance, she could make out low buildings, and realized with gratitude that they seemed to be more or less back in civilization… or at least, the farms that lay on the outskirts of the village. When she asked, Galen explained that they were a few miles outside the village, on the far side from where the Loch was, and she widened her eyes a little. She'd traveled further than she thought. And there she'd been convinced that she'd been running in circles, mostly.
"Aye, it's quite an achievement to get to the part of the forest where the wolves run," Galen said with something suspiciously close to a laugh in his voice. "When you get lost, you get properly lost, hm?"
"I've never been the kind of person who does things by half measures," she said drily, torn between embarrassment and gladness that they were at least joking about this. Part of her had been expecting him to be angry with her forever – after all, she'd defied his most emphatic instruction to remain in the castle grounds. But she couldn't help but feel that something had changed between them – that he was different now, that they'd broken through some kind of barrier. And as they rode, quiet and comfortable, she realized that she could see more than even the starlight should account for.
"Dawn's close," Galen said softly, looking up at the dark gray sky – and she smiled, remembering the first night she'd been here, the way the light had slowly filtered into the freezing air.
"Just like the day we met."
"Aye, that it is," he said, and though he didn't turn around, she could hear the smile in his voice. "Well, good. We'll have more light to see by."
A few minutes later, he reined the horse to a stop. Julia waited obediently for him to speak – then glanced around, curious as to why he'd stopped them here. They were outside a paddock, or a field – she wasn't exactly clear on the difference, not being much of a farm girl – and she peered over the fence, trying to make out whatever it was that had caused him to stop. "What?"
"This was the first failed crop," Galen explained, gesturing to the field. She looked closer and realized what he was indicating – the tall stalks of what she assumed was wheat were stiff and lifeless, dried out and clearly dead. "We were utterly baffled by it. The weather's been fine, and there's no sign of blight or disease in any of the crops surrounding it… just this one. And the strange thing is… it happened overnight. The farmer explained that when he went to bed, the crop was growing fine, and in the morning, it was… well, like this."
"Overnight? But – it's dead as anything," she said, frowning as she studied the desiccated field. It reminded her a little of a pot plant she'd had on her window-ledge back home. She'd been in the habit of watering it every day… then she'd made the mistake of moving some furniture around, which blocked the little plant from her view. She'd forgotten about it completely for weeks, leaving it on the window ledge in full sun, and by the time she moved the wardrobe back and remembered the plant was there, it was far too late. Its sad little leaves had looked like the wheat in the field – dry and crackling to the touch, utterly dead, all of the life baked out of it. "No way this happened overnight."
"That was why the farmer called us," Galen said heavily. "The people of the village have a … well, a somewhat strained relationship with Clan Grant… but they know supernatural occurrences when they see them. And that's what this was. Unfortunately, it didn't stop here." He sighed, urging the horse on again, and she watched the dead field recede behind them. There was something ominous about it… like a graveyard. "The blight, or whatever it is, spread further. Just about every farmer in the area reported at least one field that dried up overnight just like this."
"That's not good," Julia said, frowning. "Are they going to have enough to eat over the winter?"
"We're not sure," Galen said heavily, shaking his head. "That's the worry. And just when we were caught up trying to handle the crops, the dairy farmers began reporting that their cows were giving spoiled milk."
She blinked. "Is that… something that they do? I don't know much about cows."
Galen shook his head. "I'm no farmer either, but from what the herdsmen said, it's unprecedented. Hard to tell which cows are giving the spoiled milk, too – none of them seem sick."
"So – there's some kind of … curse on the farms, is that what you're saying?" she wanted to know, biting her lip. They were riding past a field now, and she realized with a start that it was full of familiar shapes – a herd of cattle, their heads lowered as they slept. One or two lifted their curious heads as Galen and Julia rode past, and she gazed at their soft, intelligent eyes, feeling sorry for them.
"Aye, a curse is one way of putting it," Galen said darkly. "All this has been going on for weeks – well before you joined us. And we've known your friend Glimmerbright has been in the area for at least that long."
"You think he's got something to do with it?" She frowned. Why on Earth would Glimmerbright want to interfere with crops or dairy cows?
"The Fae have been known to have impacts like this on our world," Galen said, shaking his head. "Especially with the other symptoms…"
"Other symptoms?"
"Everyone in the village has had to keep their children indoors for weeks," he said, and she could hear the worry and anger in his voice. "They keep wandering off, so it's cl
aimed. Deeper and deeper into the woods… we had to carry more than a few home to their parents before the curfew was imposed. That's a big part of why the patrols have been so heavy lately. And why we found you," he added, a chuckle in his voice.
"So, I'm a child who wandered into the forest too, is that it?" She frowned. "But what does children wandering off have to do with the Fae?"
"You really don't know anything about them, do you?" Galen said, but instead of sounding judgmental, he sounded intrigued. "It's just about the most classic old wives' tale there is. The child, playing close to the woods, is drawn in by a light, or a curious sound… they follow what they've seen or heard into the woods, deeper and deeper, and are finally snapped up by the Fae and transported to their world. It's what happened to Maeve," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm surprised she didn't mention it."
"She told me she grew up there, but not how she got there," she said softly. "So – what, children just… disappear?"
"Aye, they do. Some of them come back later, often years later, though they've barely aged a day… but many more of them are simply gone for good. No way of telling how many are killed, how many are lost… and how many are simply living lives we couldn't imagine on the other side of the Burgh."
Julia shivered in the pre-dawn light, though it had nothing to do with the chill of the morning. "So – you think Glimmerbright is luring children away?"
"Well, he lured you, didn't he?"
"Have you actually seen him doing it?"
Galen scoffed. "You never catch a Fae at their wicked work. Not the clever ones, at any rate. A goblin will snatch a baby straight from its mother's arms, but intelligent creatures like Glimmerbright operate much more carefully."
"So, what you're basically saying is you have no proof."
Galen sighed again, and she could tell by the tension in his posture that he was starting to get frustrated with her again. But as much as she didn't want to endanger the fragile peace that they'd built, by the same token she wasn't convinced by a bunch of circumstantial evidence that the kind, gallant, charming man she'd met was responsible for luring children into the woods and making cows sick. What benefit would it give him? Why would he bother in the first place? Of course, she didn't know what else he was doing on this side of the Burgh… he'd vaguely suggested that there were troubles back in the Fae world when they'd talked, but she'd been more than a little distracted by his handsome face and his luminous eyes…
"No proof," Galen admitted now, a grind in his voice. "But as proof generally takes the shape of dead men, I'm happy with that for now."
Chapter 29
She took a sharp breath. "Dead men?"
"Oh, aye. And we're on our way there, you mark my words." He spun the horse around and urged it down a path that seemed to lead downhill.
She wondered if they were heading back toward the castle. It had been a long, chaotic night, and part of her was yearning for a hot bath and her warm bed again.
"Over the last few weeks – ever since that creature's been sighted around here – we've had dozens of cases of elf shot."
"What's elf shot?" She blinked. This was the second time he'd called Glimmerbright an elf. The word always brought to mind Tolkien-esque images of slender, pale creatures with pointed ears… well, Glimmerbright was certainly pale, but he hadn't had pointed ears. Had he? The idea that he was a different species … well, it seemed strange to her. He was so much like her, so human in his movements, in his facial expressions, the way he'd spoke to her… was it really possible that he was another species entirely? What did that mean for her feelings for him?
"Elf shot is paralysis, basically," he said flatly. "Several villagers have been laid up in bed mysteriously, complaining of wounds that show no sign, unable to move parts of their body. It's hit a few of us guards, too – especially those who've been taking the deep patrols, late at night and deep in the woods."
She frowned. "Why elf shot?"
"It's thought to be caused by poison on their arrows. Invisible arrows, intangible," he added, shaking his head. "Which is why the lack of wounds… though a few of the men reported a feeling of being struck by something that came whistling through the trees, shortly before the paralysis set in."
Julia couldn't help but shiver, despite the warmth of the cloak around her shoulders and Galen's body so close to hers. The idea of being struck by an invisible arrow and paralyzed… "Did any of them see who'd shot them?"
"You're worse than Elena," Galen said through gritted teeth, and she hid a grin.
She knew the calm, pragmatic ex-cop wouldn't have let the guards get away with all of this conjecture. Evidence was evidence… but she couldn't help but think, if only to herself, that the list of evidence was rather unsettlingly large.
"She thinks we've no proof, that we shouldn't leap to the conclusion that this Glimmerbright is responsible for what's going on. But he's been here at least a month, and in that month, we've had blight, sick cows, injuries – and two deaths among the Guard, for that matter. That's not normal by any means. And I fail to see what other explanation exists."
She had to admit – it was difficult. But she didn't want to believe that Glimmerbright could be responsible for such unpleasantness – especially the deaths. Paralysis was one thing, but taking men's lives? "Who died?" she asked softly. "I didn't know –"
"Lost in the woods," Galen said heavily, shaking his head. "That was all we knew, at first. It was weeks ago – just after he'd been sighted in the woods for the first time. Two men on one of the deep patrols, before we'd increased the numbers… they simply didn't return from patrol one night. It happens occasionally that guards will stay the night in the village when the weather's bad and they don't feel like making the trek back to the castle, but there was no sign of them, nor had any of the villagers seen them. We found them a week later." His voice was bleak, cold, as though he was holding himself back. "Dead in the woods, slumped back to back with their iron blades drawn. No sign of any injuries."
"Then how –"
"Elf shot," Galen said flatly. "He probably hunted them for hours, shooting at them from the trees, driving them mad with fear and panic before he finally shot to kill. That's the thing about elves that the fairytales miss out. They're glamorous and beautiful, sure – and they take pleasure in killing. The thrill of the hunt… they toy with their prey. Love to make them suffer."
"He didn't seem like that kind of a person," she said softly.
But Galen stiffened. "Haven't you heard a word I've said?" he asked, his voice plaintive. "For God's sake, Julia, how many times do I have to tell you how manipulative they are? How cruel, how clever, how many magics they have to disguise themselves? They can interfere with your eyes, with your mind, with your feelings. They can lead you smiling to your death, Julia. Please, believe me. I'm begging you."
They were riding through the village now, and she peered around at the cottages they were passing. She'd been wanting to visit the village for days, and at any other time, she'd be fascinated by what she was seeing… but right now, all she could think about was what Galen was telling her about the beautiful man she'd met. Was it really possible that he was so monstrous? That she'd just fallen for an illusion, a trick? She had to admit, deep down in her chest… she'd fallen for tricks before, hadn't she? Hadn't she spent her entire last relationship imagining the man to be better than he was?
But no, she thought firmly, with a burst of conviction. Glimmerbright was different. He'd saved her… he was kind, and thoughtful, and inquisitive, and ever so charming. He'd had her absolutely at his mercy. If he'd wanted to hunt her, hurt her, nothing could have stopped him. But instead, he'd kept her safe, spirited her away to somewhere that nobody could hurt her, and waited with her until the men of the Watch had come to retrieve her. The only reason she was safe right now, alive and well and not being digested by a hungry pack of wolves, was Glimmerbright. And she wasn't going to let herself be swayed by Galen's insistence that he was evil, just be
cause he was finally speaking to her like an intelligent adult – finally telling her the kind of information she'd been desperately trying to get hold of since she'd gotten here.
But she didn't want to pick a fight… so she stayed quiet. Let him assume that she believed him, that she'd been convinced that Glimmerbright was bad news. In the meantime, she'd do her own research, figure a few more things out for herself. Surely there was another explanation for the blighted crops, the unwell dairy cows, the children wandering off. What if it was some other Fae thing, and Glimmerbright was keeping them safe from it? There had to be another explanation that was all.
"I lost my brother."
They'd been quiet for a long time when Galen spoke, and she looked up with surprise at the raw tone in his voice. She'd never heard him sound like that… so unguarded, so hurt. And she could tell from the hunch of his shoulders and the tension of his body that it was hard for him to say what he was saying. Carefully, she lay a hand on his shoulder – and though he twitched a little in surprise, she could tell he appreciated it.
"It was a while ago. We were struggling against an infestation of Wisps – little fae-like creatures, intelligent enough in their way, but nothing compared to something like Glimmerbright. They… well, they don't fight fair."
"Your brother was a soldier? Like you?"
"Aye," Galen whispered. "We signed up together. We were close, he and I. We grew up with just the two of us and some distant cousins – it was always us against the world. He was always the cautious one," he said, a pained laugh in his voice. "Always calling me reckless, accusing me of charging in without thinking…"
"That doesn't sound like you," Julia said softly, smiling a little.
Galen shook his head. "Not any more. His death changed me."
"What happened? You were saying you were fighting Wisps?"
"Aye, we were. On the northern side of the castle, on patrol one night. He and I were always paired up. We saw the lights dancing in the trees. Eamon wanted to go back, to report it… but I had to get a closer look. When I approached the trees – the whole swarm attacked us. It's hard to describe how – disoriented they make you. Flashing lights, whirling around your head, spinning you this way and that to make you dizzy… and somehow, Eamon followed a wisp right off the cliff and into the Loch below."
Woken By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 7 Page 13