Dragon's Touch (Book 1 Linty Dragon Series) (18 page)

Outside, Daniel asked with a snicker, “Are you always that forthright?”

“Let’s just say I spent too much time in America,” I answered and laughed at his expression. He was aghast to think I had been so outspoken, but then, he didn’t really know me either, which made me chuckle.

We drove from place to place, viewing the town. Daniel showed me which side streets to use so I’d become familiar with Mevie. Not much had changed since I’d been a child, other than more people living in the area, that is. We’d passed the inn where my relatives and Cullen boarded. As I drove by, Cullen strolled out the door, saw me, glared, and got into his car.

“Time to return to the estate, Daniel. I want to be there when the alarm company does their installation. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all, lass. Are you sure you’re not returning because Vaughn is hot on the bumper of this car? He wasted no time in tearing after us.” His laughter was magical, charming, and a relief from the way others treated me. Especially my aunt and uncle.

We’d driven into the garage, got out of the car, and were walking toward the house when Cullen slid to a stop. He got out, gave Daniel a curt nod, and took my arm.

“What are you doing away from the house?” he demanded.

“Getting rid of Gran’s clothing and whatnot. I have to leave the estate sometime or other, you know,” I said flatly and pulled my arm from his grip.

“Have the service men been here yet?”

“How would I know? I got here less than a minute before you did,” I snapped.

“Testy, are we?”

“Not at all, I just don’t need you bitching me out. Get over yourself, Cullen. I’ve done fine up to now and can carry this load alone whether you like it or not.”

“We’ll see about that,” he mumbled.

Mrs. Douglas appeared at the door, said there was an emergency at home and she had to leave, but would return in the morning. She nodded at Cullen, gave Daniel a smile, and prepared to be on her way. I’d been about to ask what her emergency was, when Cullen pulled me toward the house.

We’d entered the foyer as the alarm people parked out front. I looked up at Cullen and grumbled, “Guess they’re here now. Why don’t you invite them in?”

Passing me, Mrs. Douglas muttered, “You’d do well to align yourself with that man, Linty. He could save your backside, if you don’t mind my saying so.” She took her scarf and her handbag and said, “The chicken and vegetables are in the oven for your dinner.”

The woman left, not waiting for a word of thanks, and gave me a wave of her hand as I watched her stride down the driveway. What was that about? I blew a sigh and went into the living room.

Within a short amount of time, the workmen had done what was necessary to install the alarm system and then they left. Cullen stood with the small scatter rug in his hand, a gleam of anger in his eyes.

“The stair broke, why are you upset?” I asked.

“Did you take the time to look at it?”

I shook my head. “I was in a hurry.”

“You’d better look now.”

I climbed the wide staircase and stared at sections of the wood he’d pulled apart. Inside lay dried, aged bones still dressed in a set of old clothes. It resembled a burial site. I stared at it, then looked at Cullen and stared downward again, my mouth agape like a fish trying to catch a breath. No sound came out, nothing, I just stood there for a moment, then everything went black.

Chapter 14

“Give me a hand.” I heard the shout as I returned to consciousness. My eyes flew open while I was jostled from one place to another. Cullen and Daniel were carrying me to the sofa and I demanded, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Saving you from tumbling down the stairs after you fainted,” Cullen remarked.

I glanced at Daniel, whose face was solemn and his eyes worried. He withdrew his hands from under my back, as I sat up, straightened my shirt and smoothed my hair.

“Sorry about that,” I said and looked at each man and then brushed a hand over my hair again. Were those bones I just saw?

I turned to look at Cullen, who said, “Yes, they’re bones. Human bones.”

“Can I see them again? I think I was shocked, but I’m all right now,” I said with a slight shiver and walked past him to revisit the skeleton.

They lay in the exact spot as I’d first seen them. They weren’t an apparition, but a real set of clothed bones. Why were they there? Who’d hidden them under the stair tread and why? I looked over my shoulder and noted the two men glance at one another before looking at me.

“Well? Any ideas why these would be here and not in the family cemetery, and who they belong to?”

I got a shrug from Cullen, while Daniel studied the floor in silence. Okay, then, he knew something, and I was certain he didn’t want to tell me.

“Daniel?”

He faced me. “I don’t know what that’s about.” He pointed to the step.

“I have a problem with people who aren’t honest with me, Daniel. I didn’t think you’d be one of them. Your face shows your reluctance to tell me what you know. So spill it, right now,” I demanded.

He shook his head and shrugged. “Someone might tell you what you want to know, but I have nothing to say.” Daniel turned and exited the house before I could stop him.

“That went well,” Cullen remarked sarcastically. “In order to get information, you might remember that
tact
would bring better results than anger and demands.

“Oh really? Is that how you do it, Cullen?” My hands on my hips, I snapped, “Oh, wait, you work your way into a person’s confidence and then move in for the kill, right? Is that what you did with Gran? Is that what you’re doing now, with me?” I was on a roll, my temper had risen out of proportion, and if the book search and the robbery hadn’t caused it, then the bones had done the trick. Cullen kept glancing from me to the step, and I guessed he wanted another look.

“You must be exhausted from all that conclusion hopping, Linty. I’m here because I had business to discuss with Essie. Now that she’s gone, I feel the need to help you find out what happened to her. If you no longer want my assistance, I can leave you to your own end. What’s it going to be?”

He was right, I did need help, I needed someone to give me a heads-up when it came time to make a decision where the dragons were concerned. Just because I’d heard him say he could turn someone, it didn’t necessarily mean me, I reasoned.

I ran a hand across my brow and said, “Sorry. From the moment I arrived on the estate, I’ve been bombarded with one thing after another, and it’s put me on edge. Please stay, I could use your assistance. And whatever business you had with Gran can now be taken up with me, Cullen.”

Okay, so I choked on the crow I’d had to eat over jumping to conclusions, so what? Did I trust him? Not completely. Was he helpful? To a point. Did he have his own agenda? Undoubtedly.

He’d come abreast of me, and together we stared at the bones. “For the moment, my business can wait. When all things are sorted, you and I will have a business discussion, until then, you’re not to worry about it
,
lass.”

“Who do you think it is?” I murmured.

“I have no idea, but we’ll have to notify the authorities. Daniel knows, and he’ll surely tell his family, who in turn, will tell the rest of the village, which means we’d have to own up if we hid these bones. The good thing being, that Daniel never saw them closely. He rushed forward to catch you when you dropped like a stone, but because the bones are in the deep recesses of the stairs, he barely caught sight of them.  He wasn’t close enough to see much more than that.” Cullen glanced at me. “You scared the shit out of us, by the way.”

“Now that you mention it, he was on the first floor when I came to see what you’d found.” I reached out to touch the bones that lay unevenly under the stair and drew my hand back to shake it as though it was dirty. My fingers tingled as they’d neared them, leaving me nervous. Wary of my reaction, I leaned in again and whispered to the uneven bones, “Pardon me, I’d like to see what’s underneath you.” This time, sparks snapped and my fingers burned as I moved an arm aside. I stood back, drew a deep breath, and looked up at Cullen.

He gripped my arm to steady me when I teetered on the fourth step. “Take a breath and relax, Linty,” Cullen advised. “You’re fine, they’re simply old bones. Don’t let them upset you.”

I drew a deep breath and said, “Did you see what’s under the bones?”

“Not yet.” He stepped closer to the open stair and gently moved the clothed arm that had slid back into place.

He stared down, looked up at me and then down again. Gently, he removed the dusty book from its bony grave.

My glance at the book was as curious as the one I gave Cullen. We walked to the desk and he carefully laid the book down. Used to working with aged treasures such as this, I was cautious when lifting the cover. Stained around the gold-clad edges, the pages were dog-eared from use, and on the brittle side. One page after another was written in an old language that appeared to be a form of long forgotten Gaelic. I surmised this from having heard Gran speak the language, and though a word here and there seemed familiar, this wasn’t a language I knew. At least, I thought not.

“It’s Gaelic, isn’t it?” Cullen asked as he leaned over my shoulder, studying the slanted script.

“It appears so, though I don’t know for sure.”

“You speak Gaelic, Linty, surely you’ll be able to read it,” he exclaimed.

“You’re daft. I don’t speak Gaelic, and I most definitely can’t read it. Even if I could, this may be an ancient version that only a person educated in the old language could understand,” I insisted and offered him a cold glare.

“You don’t remember speaking to your dragon in Gaelic, do you?”

“I think I would know if I could speak the language, Cullen,” I snapped. I studied the book carefully and then glanced up at him when he asked, “You’re the book expert, aren’t you?” Cullen gazed at me with a raised brow.

“One of the top few in my field, yes, but it certainly doesn’t mean I can read the language of every book I restore.

“You wouldn’t be holding back, would you?”

“Not in the slightest. If I could read this, we’d know whether it is the book that holds the key to the dragons,” I answered. Settling back in the chair, I considered what could happen should this book contain the means to bring the dragons to life, and how ruthless the gaunt people would become in their efforts to attain it. I trained my gaze on Cullen. Would he be as ruthless? Did he want the book as well? Or, was he fearful of what would happen if others had the power that might be within these pages? More questions without answers.

He left the desk and paced the room. His body language showed agitation, and I wondered why.

“You’re upset.”

His denial was immediate, and I knew he was lying. Why had he lied? Didn’t he believe me when I said I couldn’t read what lay written on the old, ragged pages?

I took a breath and said, “I’m telling the truth, you know. It’s as important to me, to know if this is
the
book, as it is to you.”

“I’m sure you’re not,” he said with a hint of disbelief in his voice. “I simply worry about what will happen if someone gets wind of the book. That’s when we’ll be in for real trouble. Are you ready for it?”

“I guess I’ll have to be. Good thing the security system is in place.”

“It’s likely we’ll need more than an alarm to ensure the book’s safety, and yours, as well.” He called the police station and reported we’d found a set of old bones. His face cold and forbidding, Cullen listened and then hung up.

 “The constable will be here shortly. Find a safe place to store that book, will you?”

I closed the volume with care, grasped it gently with both hands and placed it in the rear of the glass case that housed the dragons. As I passed Drake, his eyes fired up and he whispered,
“You can read it if you allow yourself to do so.”
The color in his eyes dimmed and he went quiet. I could feel my head grow light and feared I’d faint again.  Hurrying away from the book and Drake, I joined Cullen as he stared out the side window.

“Our main goal is to be prepared for what may come. That volume must be secreted away where it won’t be found, then we’ll work out a plan to fend off those who would take it from you, Linty.” Cullen turned his gaze to me as though summing up my capabilities.

“I’ve never been in this situation before, so I’ll have to rely on your advice,” I said, and knew that I’d do whatever was necessary to protect the dragons, and the book, from falling into the wrong hands. Did any of us have the slightest idea of what we’d unleash on humanity if the dragons came to life? Chaos might be the least of our worries.

A knock at the door brought us both around at once. I glanced out the window and saw my father on the doorstep. My pulse thrummed and my heart pounded. The last thing I needed was another argument with my father. Good Christmas.

Worried my father would see the book in the cabinet, I listened as Cullen greeted him.

“Taryn, good to see you. Linty will be right with us.” He pointed to the opposite living room from that of the beasts.

I entered the living room and Dad asked, “Are you all right? You look frazzled.”

“Just checking on the dragons. When you were a kid, were you allowed to touch them?”

He chuckled. “Not ever. Mother was fanatical about that. She mentioned you used to carry Drake around as though he were a puppy. You even talked to him.”

I glanced over his shoulder at Cullen, whose attention was centered on me. I laughed openly, and said, “I was sent to my room more than once for that. I lacked playmates, and Drake appealed to me, so I treated him as my best friend.”

His gaze drifted across the foyer toward the dragons, Dad asked, “Were you lonely?”

“Not at all. I had the dragons and they fired my imagination beyond what any childhood friends could ever manage,” she said with a quirk of a smile. “It was one of the reasons I became a restoration expert. I’d found a dilapidated book with stories about dragons, at the library while attending St. Augustine’s. It was a great book, but in sad shape. I was intrigued by the idea of fixing it. The librarian and I talked about returning the book to its original condition and that’s what prompted my interest in antique book restoration. It was the very first project I ever attempted.”