Shadow Highlander

THIRTY-ONE

Logan braced his hands on the cool stones of the battlements and watched the peregrine falcon soar through the air.

The gray and white striped feathers of the bird’s underbelly made it easy to recognize. Which only confirmed to Logan that it was the same bird that had followed them from the castle and back again.

Logan found the falcon majestic to watch as it soared so effortlessly in the sky, its cry touching a chord deep inside him, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to capture it.

There was magic with the bird. The only thing that kept Logan from killing the falcon right then was that he recalled Quinn saying it wasn’t Deirdre’s magic.

At least they knew this bird and what it was about. Better to have a known enemy than an unknown one, Logan’s father had always told him.

The softest of sounds, which only his enhanced hearing discerned, alerted Logan he wasn’t alone. He knew without turning it was Hayden. Logan had wondered how long it would take his friend to find him.

“Did your time away help?” Hayden asked.

Logan smiled. Hayden always got right to the point. It was one of the things that had bonded them so early on. Logan turned to face the man he considered his brother and shrugged. “I could say aye.”

“But it would be a lie.”

“Is it so obvious?”

Hayden sighed, his black eyes filled with concern. “To me it is, but then I know you better than most.”

“That you do.”

“Yet I doona know everything, do I?”

Logan looked away. “There are some secrets best kept locked inside.”

Hayden walked until he stood beside Logan, his gaze now tracking the falcon. “So much happened during the few days you were gone. I tried to deny what I felt for Isla and what she meant to me. I hurt her badly, Logan, and in the end I nearly lost her.”

“What happened?” Logan had known that if Hayden could accept Isla, then good things awaited both of them.

“My past. I couldn’t stay away from her, yet I denied her with every breath I took because she was drough.”

“And a drough murdered your family.”

Hayden grew silent. “It was Isla.”

Logan could only stare at his friend as his words sank in. “And yet you are with her. Hayden, you searched for droughs so you could challenge and kill them.”

“I know,” Hayden admitted. “When Isla told me it was her, it didna matter anymore. I had almost let my god take control of me. That was enough to make me realize I needed to take a hard look at my life. And then when Deirdre tried to take over Isla’s mind, it all became clear to me. My life meant nothing without her.”

Logan turned to the side and leaned his hip against the battlement wall. “I gather you told Isla all of that.”

“Nay. I was too afraid of losing her still. So much had happened and been said between us, most of it my fault. I wanted to gain her trust so she would believe me when I told her how I felt.”

“That you loved her,” Logan said.

Hayden nodded. “That I loved her. I held her while Deirdre tried to take over her mind. I’d never felt so powerless. The Druids did all they could, but even Sonya’s magic couldn’t help.”

“Because it was Deirdre?”

“Aye. Deirdre’s hold on Isla was strong, but Isla fought it. Until I woke up and she was gone.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “Gone? She left you?”

“To save all of us. She was afraid Deirdre would gain control, so Isla planned to sacrifice herself. I went crazy when I found her gone.”

Logan grimaced. He’d seen Hayden at his worst, and somehow he knew it had been so much more with Isla gone.

“Fallon managed to get through to me, and Broc found Isla. By the time I got to her, Deirdre had nearly killed her. Still, Isla found the strength to tell me she had slain my family, but I knew it wasn’t her. Deirdre had taken over her mind and body and done the deed. Isla was blameless, as were all the droughs I executed over the years.”

“I’m glad the others were here for you.” Logan blew out a breath and knew he should have been there for his friend. But he would have been useless. Just as he was now.

Hayden chuckled. “And all I kept thinking was how I wished you were here to make a jest, to make me laugh.”

“I wish I could have been.”

They were silent for a moment, and then Hayden asked, “Are you leaving?”

Logan shook his head and tapped the stones. “Nay. Deirdre and her evil is a festering wound over our land. She needs to be destroyed, and it will take all of us.”

“Tell me what sent you from here.”

“The past and memories that willna loosen their hold.”

Hayden’s large hand came down on his shoulder in a gesture of understanding, of brotherhood. “If you need me, you know I will be there for you.”

“I know.” Logan looked into his friend’s eyes and forced a smile.

With a sigh, Hayden dropped his hand. “Now, what are we going to do about that bird?”

Logan saw the clarity in Hayden’s eyes, eyes that had held the demons of his past for so long. Logan wondered if he’d ever be so content.

As soon as the thought went through his mind he knew it would never be possible. Some transgressions of the past refused to die, and soon one of them would rear its ugly head.

“Logan?”

He shook himself and shrugged. “So far the peregrine hasn’t come too close to the castle. If it does, I’ll be there waiting for it.”

Brenna knew she shouldn’t bring the peregrine so close to the castle, not with the Warrior watching so intently. Yet there was something about the Warriors that called to her.

Maybe it was the sadness she glimpsed occasionally in the Warrior’s eyes. They were dangerous. She’d seen that in the way they battled the wyrran at Loch Awe.

The power of their gods, the savagery that had taken hold of them, should have scared her. But in the safety of her isle as she peered through the falcon’s eyes, she was awestruck by them and the Druids who trusted them.

Brenna mentally asked the falcon to hunt and then return to the forest. With just a thought, Brenna severed the connection she had with the bird.

“Well?”

It was no surprise her father once more waited impatiently to hear what she had seen. “They do nothing.”

“Nothing? I cannot believe that,” Kerwyn said as he paced around her, using the walking stick carved out of an oak and inscribed with ancient Celtic writing.

Brenna glanced at Daghda before she rose and faced her father. “They do nothing. I believe they await an attack from Deirdre.”

“Ah,” he said with a knowing look. “They go to great lengths to make others think they go against Deirdre.”

“And if they are going against Deirdre? Have you stopped to consider that?”

As soon as Kerwyn turned his dark eyes, cold and hard, to her, Brenna knew she shouldn’t have spoken.

“Do not question my word,” her father said between clenched teeth.

Brenna licked her dry lips and took a deep, steadying breath. “They could be taking a stand against Deirdre.”

“They aren’t. You know the tales of the Warriors after Rome was driven from our shores. You know the blood and death they delivered to our land. It is all a trick. No Warrior can be trusted.”

Reaghan awoke with a sigh as Galen’s fingers skimmed the sensitive skin of her back, leaving trails of chills in their wake.

“Morning,” he whispered.

She smiled and cracked open her eyes. “Good morn. You’re still here.”

“And where else would I be?”

She shrugged and scraped her fingers on his whiskers.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it. “I’ll rid my face of these whiskers so I doona scratch your face.”

“They are getting a bit prickly.”

His smile died as he let out a long breath. “Are you going to speak to the Druids today?”

“I have to. Most won’t listen, I’m sure. Mairi is a good leader, but her mind is clouded now. Whether by our travels or because of what we’ve always believed, I’m not sure.”

“You’ve been taught the same things. Why don’t you feel the same way about us?”

Reaghan rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. “Part of it is because you helped us against the wyrran and brought us here. You could have left us to face Deirdre alone.”

“It could all have been a ruse to bring you to Deirdre.”

“It could have been,” she said, and turned her head so she looked at him. “But I looked into your eyes, Galen, and I knew I could trust you. I knew you spoke the truth.”

He shifted to his side and propped up on his elbow. “You didna know me.”

“It felt right to go with you and Logan, to give you my trust. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gone.”

“It could have been my kisses,” he said with a lopsided grin.

Reaghan laughed and tapped his lips with her finger. “That could have had something to do with it.”

“You might want to consider taking Cara, Marcail, or Sonya with you when you speak with Mairi. I would say leave Larena since she’s a Warrior, and also doona include Isla because she was a drough.”

“I like Isla, regardless of whether she was a drough,” Reaghan said and frowned. “I don’t want to exclude either Isla or Larena.”

“I know, but your people need to trust us, and what better way to begin than with Cara, Marcail, and Sonya?”

Reaghan slowly nodded. “Now I understand how Deirdre came to be in power.”

“How?”

“The droughs were too concerned with growing their own black magic, and the mies weren’t able to realize that people change and sometimes you have to trust others to help. If the mies don’t band together, then Deirdre cannot be defeated. And the mies from my village have little to no power to speak of. Who will stand against Deirdre now?”

“We will,” Galen said. “And any Druid who wants to fight her.”

“I will stand with you.”

Something dark and possessive passed across his cobalt eyes. “Deirdre wants nothing more than to get her hands on any Druid she can.”

Before she could respond there was yet another knock on her door. Galen jumped from the bed and began donning his kilt. Reaghan sat up and reached for her chemise.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Marcail,” came a soft voice.

Reaghan smiled and hurried to finish dressing. She glanced at Galen to make sure he was clothed, and unbolted the door. As soon as it opened she moved aside so Marcail could enter.

Marcail’s gaze alighted on Galen sitting on the bed and a slow smile spread her lips. “Good morn, Galen.”

He pulled on his boots and winked as he stood. “Marcail. Is there plenty of food this morn?”

“For you? Always.”

“I’ll see you both downstairs then.”

Reaghan was surprised when he paused beside her on his way out the door to give her a quick kiss. Her gaze followed him until he walked through the door.

When she turned back, Marcail was staring at her. Reaghan licked her lips. “I suppose I should explain.”

“Think nothing of it,” Marcail said. “I came because Isla and Hayden told us what happened last night with Mairi.”

“What Mairi said was unforgivable.”

Marcail waved away her words. “Isla is a strong Druid. It will take more than hurtful words to bring her to her knees. Deirdre tried for five hundred years and never succeeded. I don’t think your village elder will do it in one night.”

“And Hayden? He was very angry.”

“When it comes to protecting their women, all Warriors get irate. Mairi would do best to stay clear of Hayden for a while.”

Reaghan glanced at the floor. “I told Isla not to serve my people again. None of you are servants, and you shouldn’t be performing such duties.”

“We were hoping that once a day or so went by, they would feel as if they could share a meal with us, but after what happened with Mairi, I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“This is very unlike Mairi or Odara. I don’t know what is wrong with either of them.”

Marcail linked her fingers together over her stomach. “They do plan to leave still?”

“Mairi does, but I know Fiona and Braden wish to stay. I want to talk to the others and see if I can convince any of them to stay as well.”

“I offer whatever help you need.”

Reaghan smiled. “Thank you. Galen suggested I take you, Cara, or Sonya with me.”

“Galen is often correct in his thinking. Ramsey said almost the same thing.”

“Ramsey?” Reaghan said.

Marcail laughed and motioned Reaghan out the door. “I keep forgetting you haven’t met many of the Warriors.”

“I know very few, in fact.”

“Then let’s rectify that, shall we? I’ll point out all of them while we break our fast.”

She walked alongside Marcail to the great hall. As soon as she spotted Galen sitting at the table, she felt her lips curving into a smile.

“He watches you even when you don’t realize it,” Marcail whispered from beside her.

Reaghan jerked her gaze to the Druid. “He does?”

“Always,” she said with a small nod and proceeded down the stairs.