Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Phelan wanted to look around the Fairy Pool more. It was the real Fairy Pool, not the tourist pools on Skye that were named after this one.

Aisley’s gaze was trying to take it all in as Corann led them toward the cliff facing. Corann waved his hand in a wide sweeping motion and the rocks began to shimmer. Phelan’s body raced with excitement when the entrance to a cave appeared.

Corann stepped through without looking back at them. Phelan put his hand on Aisley’s lower back and urged her forward when she hesitated. Phelan wasn’t sure how many Druids surrounded them since they remained hidden, but a young black-haired Druid that had spoken to Aisley earlier was the last to enter the cave.

Phelan caught sight of hundreds of Celtic symbols marked along the walls of the narrow entrance before it opened into a low-hanging cavern.

“This is as far as you go,” Corann said as he stopped and faced him.

Fire flared between Phelan and Corann, the flames hopped erratically and danced in Corann’s black eyes that watched him. Phelan had nothing to hide. He remained still while Corann finished his inspection.

“You could’ve done this outside,” Phelan said.

Corann grunted and lowered himself to a log that had been cut to make a stool. He kept his hand on the walking stick and placed his other on top of his thigh. “I could’ve. I preferred no’ to.”

“You wanted to see if I could enter the cave,” he said as realization hit.

A smile flitted across Corann’s aged face. “Aye. Does that anger you, Warrior?”

“Should it?”

“Hmm.” Corann ran his left hand down his beard. “Sit. We’ll talk.”

Phelan lowered himself to another log stool. When Aisley didn’t follow, he turned his head to find her staring at Corann. Phelan took her hand and tugged her down to the stool beside him.

“What is it?” he asked in a whisper.

Aisley shook her head, not meeting his gaze.

“You’ve been attacked,” Corann said to Aisley.

She covered the tears in her shirt with her hand. “Phelan healed me.”

“We saw.”

“You watched as I was attacked and did nothing?”

Phelan was glad Aisley asked the question, because it had been on the tip of his tongue.

Corann shrugged. “We were too far away.”

“Ballocks.”

Aisley said it softly, but the impact was like a punch. Phelan inwardly smiled at the spirit of his Druid.

“Would you rather hear that we didn’t want to help you?” the black-haired girl said.

Corann’s head whipped to her direction. “Ravyn.”

That’s all it took. One word and the young girl didn’t say another.

“You doona trust us,” Phelan said. “We understand this. As I told you, we’ve come for your help and nothing more.”

“Is that right?”

Phelan felt Corann’s question was directed at him, but the old man’s eyes were on Aisley. Phelan leaned forward to brace his elbows on his thighs. “You know of the selmyr.”

Corann gave a single nod.

“Can you tell us nothing of them?” Aisley asked.

“I can tell you that you’ll be safe on Skye. For a time. The selmyr will feed elsewhere until there is no more. Only then will they dare come to Skye.”

Phelan ran a hand down his face, his mind running with possibilities. “How do magical beings fight the selmyr?”

“You can no’. No’ unless you’re a Warrior.”

That wasn’t what Phelan wanted to hear. “So Druids are at risk?”

“Aye,” Corann said.

“How did you contain the selmyr last time?”

“It took my ancestors years. The selmyr should’ve remained trapped. What happened?”

“You seem to know everything else,” Aisley said. “Why don’t you know this?”

Corann said not a word as he looked from Aisley to Phelan.

Phelan cocked his head to the side. “Things happen. We were busy fighting droughs. While we were searching for a spell that could bind the gods within us once more, a Druid accidentally released the selmyr.”

“That is unfortunate.” Corann stood and began to pace in slow strides. “As I’m sure you’ve known since arriving on Skye, Warrior, our Druids are powerful. We doona have the same potent magic as my ancestors, but we’re still a force.”

“Aye,” Phelan agreed.

“Even with our magic, I doona know if it’s enough to capture the selmyr again.”

“I see.” And Phelan did see. Corann was fearful of the selmyr, which told him that it had taken an incredible amount of magic and skill to trap the creatures before. “Is there any way Warriors can help capture the selmyr?”

Corann halted and faced him. “We lost hundreds of Druids the first time. We doona have those to sacrifice now.”

“I know where there are more Druids.”

“Those at MacLeod Castle, you mean?”

Phelan nodded, not surprised Corann knew. “It seems you know quite a bit, old man.”

“No’ as much as you may think. I know of MacLeod Castle. I know there are Druids who live with Warriors there.”

There was something in Corann’s tone that set off alarms in Phelan. He narrowed his eyes on the Druid. “You might want to watch your tone. Those Warriors you’re so ready to hate are the ones who’ve kept Deirdre and Declan from taking over the world. Those Druids you speak of have done the same while finding mates with the Warriors. For centuries some of them have lived waiting for the time when Deirdre would reappear and we could kill her.”

“Which they did,” Aisley added.

Corann seemed unimpressed. “Be that as it may, Warrior, the last time a Druid teamed up with one of your kind havoc reigned.”

“You’re referring to Deirdre.” Phelan fought to keep calm. “That bitch had set her plans in motion long before she unbound our gods.”

Corann sneered. “That is a story told to young Druids. Deirdre never had the magic for such things.”

Phelan came to his feet. It was only Aisley’s hands on his arm that held him still. “Doona tell me what you think happened, old man. I know the truth. I was there. She unbound my god and kept me locked in that awful mountain for over a hundred years.”

Aisley tugged on him to leave, but he remained rooted to the spot.

“There have been Druids who have refused the offer of help from us,” Phelan continued. “Those Druids are no longer. Deirdre wiped them out. Declan did his share as well. The new drough who has been playing havoc with things is Jason Wallace. He’ll know I’ve been here. He’ll come for you. Without our help, how long do you think you and your Druids will be able to stay alive?”

“Is that a threat?” Corann asked.

“It’s a statement. Do with it what you will.”

Corann slammed the end of his walking stick into the ground. “You’re evil.”

“The god inside me is, aye. I didna allow my god control. I’m in control. I call up my god when I need him.”

Corann lifted his walking stick and pointed it at Aisley. “What’s your excuse for being with a Warrior?”

Phelan glanced down at her to see Aisley’s pulse beat wildly in her throat. She feared these Druids. That in itself infuriated him. She was one of them. They should be welcoming her, not condemning her for being with him.

“He’s a good man. Not only has he helped me, but he’s protected me,” she answered in a clear voice.

Corann returned his stick to his side and leaned upon it. “What do you need protection from?”

Phelan had heard enough. If she wouldn’t tell him, she certainly wasn’t going to tell Corann. “There are things in her past. That’s all you need to know.”

“She’s a Druid,” Corann said. “She has magic to protect herself.”

That same thought had gone through Phelan’s mind. He knew how powerful of a Druid Aisley was, but that didn’t deter him from wanting her. “She’s … special.”

Corann’s bushy gray brows rose in response. “Is that so?”

“I didna come to give you a history lesson of my life or to validate what my friends and I have done to protect this world. I came for your assistance in trapping the selmyr. If you willna help, then just say it and stop wasting our time.”

“I’ll think on it. Stay here for the night. If I’m no’ back in the morning, you have your answer.” Corann then walked into the back of the cave with the black-haired Druid and both promptly disappeared.

“Wow,” Aisley said.

Phelan grunted. “I think we already have our answer.”

“So let’s start back now.”

He tugged on a lock of hair that hung next to her cheek. “We’ve had a long day. Let’s stay. Besides, I want a closer look at the Fairy Pool.”

“I knew you were going to say that,” she said with a sly look.

Together they set down their packs and looked out over the water. The sun was low in the sky, casting everything in a deep orange glow.

“What’s the legend?” Aisley asked.

“The Fae, of course.”

“Seriously? Fairies?”

“Fae,” he corrected. “And they are no’ what has been depicted in movies. They’re our size and doona have wings.”

She walked to the entrance and leaned a shoulder against the rocks. The waterfall was so loud she had to raise her voice when she asked, “So I gather they’re very magical?”

“Aye,” he answered from beside her. “Verra. But no’ all of them are good. There are the dark ones.”

The light faded a bit from her eyes, almost as if his words had saddened her. “There is evil everywhere.”

“In every dimension. There is also good.”

She slid her hands into her back pockets. “People think you’re evil. I know you’re not. How do you deal with that?”

“I ignore them.” When that didn’t bring a smile, he tried another tack. “Every person, every animal has the ability to be good or evil. They choose which side to feed the most.”

“How did you decide?”

He sighed and thought back to those long, lonely, dark-filled days. “I’m stubborn.”

“Do you think people can change?”

“Of course. I’ve seen it.”

Her tongue ran over her lips as she turned to look at him. “I’m not proud of my past or most of my decisions. I’ve not always done the right thing.”

“No one has. You can no’ expect to be perfect.”

“Others would disagree. Tell me more of the Fae,” she urged.

He let her change the subject. “It’s said the Dark Fae like to capture young girls. They’ll either terrorize and torture them, taking their innocence until nothing is left but a shell. Or they’ll kill them. The Dark Fae also like to tempt men.”

“Do I even want to know what they do to men?”

“The females use them for sex. They become slaves to the dark ones until their only way to survive is by sharing their bodies with the Fae.”

“And you want to get a closer look at these things?” she asked incredulously.

Phelan smiled. “Oh, aye. I do.”