Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Phelan knew something troubled Aisley, and he doubted it was his story. The lost look he’d seen in her fawn-colored eyes vanished for a time. It had returned with a vengeance.

“Logan was one who volunteered to have the Druids move him through time,” Phelan continued. “He looked for Ian while on his way to Mallaig for the artifact.”

“He expected it to still be there?”

“He hoped it was. Turns out it was. He discovered that with the help of Gwynn. She was a Druid who knew nothing of her magic. She was a descendent of those on Mallaig, and the Keeper of the artifact Logan searched for. She was the only one who could get it.”

Aisley’s lips lifted in a smile. “And she did. We Druids are strong.”

“Without a doubt. Yes, she retrieved it, and Logan and Gwynn returned with it to the castle.”

“Are they … did Logan and Gwynn get together?”

Phelan stretched his legs in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. “Noticing a pattern, are you?”

“Looks that way.”

“It seems Warriors are destined to be with Druids. Each of the Warriors felt the magic of their woman differently than others.”

Aisley crossed her legs in the chair. “Was there just the three artifacts?”

“Nay. In the burial mound Broc and Sonya found there were two, a pendant and a sword. The Tablet of Orn that Gwynn and Logan found was part of it. Ian knew the code to unlock the Tablet, but they still lacked a key.”

She chuckled. “Let me guess. The key was the next artifact?”

“They didna know. Turns out, Danielle, who was searching for MacLeod Castle, had the key. With the Tablet fully unlocked they found a map. That map led them to the location Deirdre’s twin was hidden.”

He paused, wondering how he would have factored in on things had he joined the MacLeods after escaping Cairn Toul.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” Aisley said. “Finish.”

Phelan watched the way the afternoon sun danced over her mocha-colored skin. “They were able to find the opening that led beneath the ground just as Deirdre arrived. It took all the artifacts to get them through the maze. However, the toughest part fell on Camdyn and Saffron.”

“Who are they?”

“Camdyn is, of course, a Warrior. Saffron a Seer. Declan Wallace kidnapped her, blinded her, and tortured her to get to her visions. It was when the MacLeods attacked the Wallace mansion that Camdyn found Saffron and brought her back to the castle.”

Aisley’s forehead was creased in a deep frown. “Is she still blind?”

“Dani was able to use her magic of finding things to search Saffron’s mind for the spell Declan used. It took some doing, but Dani, with the help of the others, was able to reverse Declan’s spell. When they found Deirdre’s twin and woke her, the MacLeods were missing one last item. A Torrachilty Druid.”

“Which is?” she asked with a wrinkle of her nose.

“I’d hoped you’d know. They were the most powerful of all Druids. They were also known as warrior Druids. The magic was so unstable and potent, that if it passed to the women, they went mad with it.”

Aisley rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s the men’s way of looking for an excuse to kill the women and keep the magic for themselves.”

“Mayhap you’re right.” Phelan couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. “The Torrachilty Druids were wiped out by Deirdre.”

“So the MacLeods didn’t have the last item they needed.”

“No’ true. Turns out there is one Torrachilty Druid left. Ramsey. Who also just happened to be a Warrior.”

Aisley’s eyes grew huge. “And Deirdre didn’t know it?”

“She had no idea. With everything in place, there was one last battle. Deirdre was killed, but Declan escaped.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

Phelan snorted. “It was anything but. Declan brought his mercenaries who had bullets filled with drough blood. They were called X90s. Deirdre had her wyrran that she created. By the saints how I hated those yellow-skinned buggers.”

“You were part of this battle?”

“Me and Charon both. Neither of us joined the MacLeods earlier, and when I discovered there was another Warrior about, I approached him. He convinced me to help the MacLeods with him.”

Aisley lowered her mug to her lap. “I gather the battle was bad.”

“Any battle is awful. With Laria, Deirdre’s twin, now risen, she and Deirdre were locked in combat. Deirdre was betrayed by one of her own, Malcolm, who just happened to be cousins to the only female Warrior, Larena. Who is married to Fallon MacLeod, the eldest of the brothers.”

Aisley seemed to retreat at the mention of Larena’s name. He frowned as she looked down at her lap, more interested in her mug than the story she had urged him to tell.

“Does it surprise you there is a female Warrior?”

She shrugged.

“Deirdre unbound Malcolm’s god and promised him Larena would be spared if he did as she commanded. So Malcolm agreed. In the end, he betrayed Deirdre just as Saffron said someone would.”

Aisley lifted her gaze back to his. “Deirdre died then.”

“Aye, and her twin with her. None of us could rest, however, since there was still Declan.”

“How was he killed?”

“Agonizingly,” Phelan said with a smile. “It was Ramsey who ultimately killed Declan. But the magic Ramsey had to use to do it took him. The only one to save him was Tara, his woman, who happened to be a descendent of a Torrachilty Druid.”

“Wait. I didn’t think women could hold the magic of a Torrachilty without going insane.”

“It’s true. They can no’. Tara’s mother went insane because of it. Tara’s entire family are droughs, and when she refused to undergo the ceremony, her mother tried to kill her. It was the unstable magic within her that helped bring Ramsey back. If you talk to the women at the castle, they’ll say love had something to do with it as well.”

Aisley cut him a look. “Are you telling me you don’t believe in love? After hearing how all the Warriors are with Druids?”

Phelan sat forward in the chair and shook his head. “I see the love between them. I’ve never loved anything, so I doona know what they feel.”

“Love is wonderful,” she said. “Wonderful and amazing. It can lift you as high as the moon in one breath, and then rip your heart out the next. It can save. And it can destroy.”

The way her voice faded to a whisper made Phelan want to go to her and take her in his arms.

Aisley cleared her throat and swallowed. “The evil isn’t gone, is it?”

“Nay. I fear it never will. There was a year of nothing after we ended Declan. And then Jason Wallace showed up. He’s more ruthless than Declan, more cunning than Deirdre. It might take longer than we want, but we’ll kill Jason.”

“You don’t care about your own safety?”

Phelan grinned. “The ancient Celts considered Rome evil. The first Warriors were created to fight that evil. I was made for this, Aisley. Whether I live or die makes no difference.”

“That’s a load of shit.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “Ah, lass. You may be right, but it’s the truth. I know each time I go into battle I may never return. It was the way of my ancestors, and it’s my way now. What other choice do I have?”

“You said MacLeod Castle had Druids. Let them fight Jason.”

Phelan ran a hand down his face. There was no smiling for him now as he thought of the hell Charon had gone through when he’d thought he lost Laura.

“Nay,” Phelan finally answered. “The Warriors treasure their mates beyond all else. Every time the Druids leave the castle they chance death. For a Warrior, immortal and powerful, to stand aside and allow a mortal to fight is no’ even worth considering.”

“The Druids aren’t without resources. You said a group of mies is more powerful than a drough.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’re Scottish, beauty. You know how we Highlanders protect our family. A Warrior couldna call himself a man, much less a Highlander, if he allowed his woman to fight instead of him.”

“How many Warriors have been killed fighting evil?”

“Too many to count.”

She licked her lips. “You spoke of the X90 bullets. The evil you battle doesn’t have to get close to use them.”

“I know. It’s a chance we take to protect the world. A chance I willingly take, regardless of the consequences.”

Aisley sat there looking lost and so damned beautiful that Phelan had to fight to stay in his seat and not reach for her. He could turn her mind off their conversation with pleasure. She might have willingly come with him to his home, but he wasn’t sure if she was ready for more.

Phelan shifted in the chair to ease his aching cock. It seemed strange that he was even contemplating going to bed alone.

It had been over two months since he’d had a woman. Two months of following Aisley. Two torturous months of needing her, longing for her. But never having her.

Here she was, sitting just feet from him, and instead of seducing her, he was trying to think of ways he could gain more of her trust.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Before he would have charmed and seduced her, and had her in his bed before midnight. But it wasn’t just sex he thought about with Aisley.

He worried if she was warm enough, if the food he bought was to her liking, and if she felt safe with him.

Phelan contemplated calling Charon. His friend would know how to handle Aisley, but then Phelan couldn’t imagine sharing her with anyone else.

“Where were you going?” Phelan asked to take his mind off the constant flow of questions he kept asking himself.

Aisley’s fawn-colored eyes turned to him. “When?”

“Before the accident. It appeared you were headed out of Scotland.”

“I was,” she answered softly.

“How far were you planning to run?”

“As far as it took.”

Her evasive answer told him a lot. “You had a plan.”

“Yes. I was going to try and disappear in London for a bit before heading into France.”

He watched her thumb trace the top of her mug. Phelan thought of the accident. There had been no one in front of Aisley. No car she could have hit.

Phelan looked at her profile. She trusted him enough to be there with him, but not nearly enough to tell him what she was running from.

“How did the accident happen? I was several cars behind you and couldna see.”

For long moments, she sat there in silence. Phelan didn’t push her. If he knew who she was running from, he could better protect her.

As it was, he was probably putting her in more danger just by being with her. Wallace was back. He’d already made it clear he had no problem attacking anyone close to a Warrior for ultimate damage.

Phelan’s gut clenched thinking of Wallace harming Aisley.

“I heard a voice,” Aisley said.

Phelan was pulled out of his thoughts. “A voice?” he repeated with a frown. “I doona understand, beauty.”

“In my head. I heard a voice in my head.”

Phelan leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. All his attention focused on her. “What did this voice say?”

“My name.”