Shadow Highlander

FOUR

Galen took a deep, calming breath and followed Reaghan through the pillars. Once through, he was able to see the village. It wasn’t hidden by the same shielding magic Isla used at MacLeod Castle, but it was similar.

Logan halted beside him as they surveyed the small settlement. Dotted along the slope of the mountain were cottages built around trees or between clusters of trees.

“This wasn’t what I expected,” Logan said under his breath.

“If their magic is waning, as Reaghan said, this is probably the best they could do, but it also means it willna keep the wyrran from finding them eventually.”

“We doona have much time. Deirdre knows there are Druids here.”

Galen clenched his jaw and nodded. “If she was coming to take the artifact, then it means she will most likely send wyrran here in the hopes of finding Druids.”

“We need to convince the Druids to leave with us.”

“You know that willna happen.”

Logan turned hazel eyes to him. “Even if we get the artifact, I cannot leave Druids here to await their death by Deirdre’s hand.”

Galen agreed with Logan, but he could tell by the way the Druids lived that they were entrenched in the land. Galen didn’t even want to entertain the thought of forcing them to leave.

Reaghan turned and waved for them to follow. Galen tried to tamp down his growing desire and started toward Reaghan and the elders. He, like Logan, had anticipated something different. For one, he had envisioned more Druids.

He counted just over a score. And many of the twenty-three were old and frail. The only younger ones were women who didn’t stand a chance against wyrran.

“We have guests,” Mairi’s voice rang out when Galen and Logan came to stand behind her. “They’ve come from MacLeod Castle and are looking for ways to destroy Deirdre.”

At the mention of the MacLeods the people began to talk, no longer paying attention to Mairi. Galen couldn’t fault them. He’d felt much the same way when he’d learned the MacLeods had been found and were taking a stand against Deirdre.

The MacLeods were the eldest of the Warriors, the initial ones to have their gods unbound. And they were the first to escape Deirdre.

“How did you find us?” someone shouted.

“A Druid told us where to locate you,” Logan answered. “There are four Druids at MacLeod Castle.”

At their obvious skepticism Galen said, “There are still groups of Druids in Scotland. They are hiding, just as you are, but they are out there.”

“We feared Deirdre had captured everyone except us,” Odara said.

Galen couldn’t believe they thought their magic was strong enough to outlast Deirdre, but it was clear they did. What did they have that gave them that kind of protection? Even as Galen stood near the elders, he felt little magic coming from them.

With such insignificant magic, they had to have something they felt could keep them safe. Something like the artifact. And if they had it, there was no way they would willingly give it to him or Logan if it left them vulnerable.

The only choice Galen would then have would be to convince the Druids to return with him and Logan to the castle.

“I’m afraid we don’t have an extra cottage for your use,” Nessa said.

Logan smiled charmingly. “Doona fash yourself. Galen and I enjoy sleeping under the stars.”

Nessa humphed and turned on her heel to walk away.

“She is wary of strangers,” Odara said.

Galen looked at Nessa’s retreating back, her white hair showing a few dark strands, and her plump figure. Her lips were constantly puckered, as if she had bitten into something sour and never got the taste out of her mouth. “It’s understandable. In these times, you have to keep yourself safe.”

“We may look weak and frail, but we can defend ourselves,” Mairi stated.

Logan leaned a shoulder against a giant oak and winked at the women. “We’ve encountered the magic of Druids before. We know better than to anger you.”

“If what you say is true and you have Druids at MacLeod Castle, what kind of magic do they have?” Odara asked.

Of the three, she was the most curious. Her bright red hair had faded, but he could still see the color through the silver that now colored her hair. Her green eyes regarded him steadily, as if waiting to see if he lied.

“We have a healer who is also able to communicate with trees. Another was raised in a nunnery and had no idea of her magic until she came to the castle. She’s learning, and quickly. We also have a Druid who can use her magic to take people’s emotions from them unto herself,” Logan said.

Galen nodded. “Then there is Isla, who led us here. She and her sister were captured by Deirdre five hundred years ago. Deirdre forced her to the drough ceremony, but she did it unwillingly so the evil never took hold of her. Her magic is the strongest I’ve ever seen.”

Mairi twisted her lips in revulsion. “And you trust this drough?”

“The MacLeods trust her, so aye. We trust her.”

Galen could sense magic, luminous and intoxicating. Reaghan’s magic. She was near, just behind him to the left. She hadn’t gone far once she had taken them to the elders. She stayed close enough to hear their conversation, and he wondered if she had anything else to add to the elder’s comments.

“These MacLeods,” Odara said. “Are they men? Or are they … something else?”

“You mean are they Warriors?” Logan asked.

Galen sighed heavily and ground his teeth together. Logan gave him a small nod to let Galen know he thought they should tell the elders the truth. There was no reason not to, Galen supposed.

“The MacLeods — Fallon, Lucan, and Quinn — were the brothers Deirdre captured three hundred years ago. She unbound the god inside them and turned them into Warriors. They escaped and have been fighting her ever since,” Galen answered.

Mairi fisted her hands before smoothing her palms down the front of her gown. “You cannot trust Warriors. They are pure evil.”

Logan pushed off the tree and folded his arms across his chest. Gone was his easy smile. His hazel eyes were dangerously hard, his nostrils flaring. “Just like with people, some are evil and some are good. The MacLeods had their entire clan and family destroyed. Why would they align themselves with Deirdre?”

“The gods inside them are evil. Everyone knows what happened with the first Warriors,” Odara said.

“The gods are no’ in control of the MacLeods,” Galen answered. “The spell Deirdre found only freed the gods partially.”

Odara snorted. “Surely you’ve seen what they change into?”

“Aye,” Galen said. “We have. Every time Deirdre has attacked the castle it’s the MacLeods in Warrior form who have beaten her back and protected the Druids.”

Mairi softly touched Odara’s arm before she could say more. Mairi then turned her brown gaze to Galen and Logan. “We need to think over all that you’ve told us.”

Galen watched them stride away. He scrubbed a hand down his face, unsure if they had done the right thing by admitting the MacLeods were Warriors. It didn’t matter now. What was done was done.

“I knew it was going to be difficult, but not like this,” Logan muttered testily.

Galen nodded in agreement. He surveyed the village but all the Druids looked away from him when he caught their eye.

Reaghan’s magic seemed to envelop him, and he turned to her, careful not to touch her. His gaze discovered her hiding behind a tree. He could tell by the set of her mouth she wanted to ask questions, and he was willing to answer, especially if she could tell him something about the artifact.

She moved from behind the tree and started toward them when Mairi shouted her name. With one last look at him, Reaghan turned and disappeared behind a cottage.

“Shite,” Galen grumbled as he leaned an arm against a pine trunk.

Logan, his feet braced apart and his arms at his side, said, “What now?”

“I doona know. I’ve no’ wish to frighten them, but we cannot just sit around waiting for them to tell us anything.”

“We doona wait. We start to ask questions.”

Reaghan grudgingly went to Mairi. She had wanted to speak to Galen more, but she couldn’t ignore a summons by Mairi. Reaghan would talk to Galen and learn more about the MacLeods, these Warriors they spoke of, and more importantly the Druids they said were there.

What the two men had told her had reinforced Reaghan’s belief that she could find more Druids. She wasn’t fool enough to think she wouldn’t have to keep a watchful eye out for Deirdre and her wyrran, but she could do it.

She would do it.

Maybe she could go to MacLeod Castle. Whoever these MacLeods were, they put their lives on the line to protect Druids from Deirdre. Maybe she could help them in some small way. Someone certainly had to.

Reaghan entered Mairi’s cottage and quietly shut the door behind her. It was one of the roomiest cottages in their village and had a gorgeous view of the loch. Mairi stood looking at that view now, her back to Reaghan.

“What do you think of the newcomers?”

Reaghan clasped her hands behind her back. “Why do you wish to know my opinion?”

“You found them. You spoke with them first.”

Reaghan licked her lips and thought of Galen, of his striking features and blue, blue eyes. She thought of how her body had come alive, how an awareness of him had stolen over her. “I believe they were sent by a Druid. I saw the truth of it in their eyes. I also believe they are fighting to keep Deirdre from winning.”

Mairi turned to face Reaghan, her wrinkled brow furrowed deeply and her hands fisted in her skirts. “There is much you do not know.”

“You mean about the Warriors? I’ve heard the tales. If there can be good and evil Druids, why couldn’t there be good and evil Warriors?”

“Because Druids are born with nothing but good in them. The gods inside the Warriors are the purest form of evil, Reaghan. They were so malicious, so destructive, that they were locked away in Hell by their own kind. What does that say?”

“That the gods are very powerful.”

“And the Warriors cannot be trusted.”

“I don’t believe that,” Reaghan argued. “Aye, we were born with pure magic, but inside every man and woman there is both good and evil. The choice a man or woman makes decides whether they will live a life of good or evil. A drough makes a choice to become evil. The Warriors didn’t have a choice when the gods were put inside them. I don’t see why some couldn’t fight on the side of good.”

Mairi let out a long, frustrated breath. “Mayhap you’re right, but regardless, you cannot trust these men.”

“They spoke of an artifact. You acted as though you knew exactly what they sought. Why have I never heard of it before?”

Reaghan didn’t bother to tell the elder she had known of this “artifact” for some time, after reading the markings on the pillars just as she hadn’t told Galen she could read the markings. Again, she wasn’t sure how she understood what the markings said, only that she did. She was excited that someone else could read them as well.

Mairi turned her back to Reaghan once more to look at the serene loch. Her knuckles had turned white as they gripped her skirts. “There are many things only we elders know. And it must stay that way.”

Reaghan knew she had been dismissed. If she didn’t know better she would think Mairi had turned around so Reaghan couldn’t look in her eyes and see if she was lying.

Reaghan left the cottage and paused. Mairi hadn’t forbade her from interacting with their guests, but she knew that’s what Mairi wanted. But it wasn’t what she wanted.

She had only to follow the stares of the women to find Galen and Logan. To her surprise she found Braden hiding behind a tree as he watched their visitors. The men sat facing each other, both lounging against a tree. They spoke in hushed tones, but their gazes missed nothing.

“Would you like to meet them?” she asked Braden.

He spun around and looked at her with wide, brown eyes. “I was told to stay away from them. Are they bad?”

“I don’t believe so, but you must listen to your mother, Braden. She is doing what she thinks is best for you.”

“You’ve talked to the men, haven’t you? I heard you were the one who found them.”

She smiled down into his upturned face, so full of life and innocence. It was curiosity that made him ask that question, not ulterior motives as she would suspect of others. “Aye, I did. They are rather imposing, aren’t they? But they are just men.”

He glanced over his shoulder at them and frowned. “They doona have weapons.”

“Because they knew we wouldn’t allow them into our village with them. Weapons or not, they are Highlanders, Braden, and I’ve no doubt they have stood in many battles.”

His face brightened then. “Oh, aye. I bet they have.”

He ran off, leaving Reaghan smiling. Braden had a way of brightening her days. She was sure having men around would help the lad, and she regretted that his first real look at a Highlander, a warrior, kept him from interacting with them.

Someone needed to teach Braden to use a sword, and it wouldn’t be any of the women. He would need someone like Galen.

As soon as the thought went through her mind she knew it could never be. Braden’s mother was very protective. At the forefront of every Druid’s mind was hiding from Deirdre and surviving one more day. The magic of their village kept them safe.

Reaghan tucked her hair behind her ear and wished she had taken the time to braid the unruly mess before she saw Galen again.

She wasn’t the only one who found the men appealing. The younger women, the ones still of childbearing age, had gotten up the courage to approach Galen and Logan.

Reaghan hesitated. Logan was smiling, and whatever he said had the others laughing as well. The five women were hanging on his every word and practically rubbing against him.

Her gaze shifted and clashed with a cobalt-blue one. Her stomach fluttered as if birds were trapped inside. She was nervous and restless to be near Galen. A heady combination for a woman who knew nothing of men.

Galen’s lips tilted in a grin. He motioned her over with a wave of his hand. His gaze was warm, welcoming and beckoning her closer.

Reaghan was about to go to him until she remembered the other women. She didn’t want them to overhear her questions. Maybe it was better as Mairi said to leave Galen alone. She dropped her gaze and hurried to her cottage before she changed her mind and went to the tempting Highlander.

Galen frowned as Reaghan disappeared from view once again. She had been about to come to him, he was sure of it. What could have kept her away?

She had seemed concerned about the other women, but surely that wouldn’t have kept her from asking the questions he knew burned inside her.

Reaghan was like a caged bird. She longed for freedom, could see it, taste it, but was afraid of it just the same. These Druids were the only thing she knew, and with most of her memories gone, she was afraid to trust anyone but them.

He could understand her reluctance, but eventually, he knew she would break free of her restraints, she would shake away the fear that kept her rooted in the village. And she would sprout her wings and fly.

Strange that he wanted to be there when she did it. He imagined she would be magnificent when she became the woman who answered to no one and bravely went out into a world filled with cruelty and evil.

But she would shine, and she would live.