Highland Pull (Highland Destiny 2) (27 page)

“He was a Master Druid, and it had been arranged, he said, that I was to be trained in Druid ways, but not with my brother, but in ways that were separate, in an attempt to protect the knowledge. Gav and I were not to speak of this with each other, and Gav was not going to be told of my training at all, even though I knew of his. This man was to be my trainer and I would call him Master. He would visit during times Gav was absent, and we could communicate at any time using the mirror.

“I wanted to protest, to stand and shout, to run, but the strength of his magick was powerful, even through the mirror. Before he released me, he told me one more thing, something that gave me pause. He said this training had been agreed to and arranged by my father. I took comfort from the fact that although he was no longer with me, my father had cared to make special arrangements.

“We trained together for years, mostly here, although occasionally I went to his castle for brief visits. All training effectively ceased whenever Gabhran returned home for holidays, however, those times became increasingly rare, as he oft elected to remain with the Gailtry.

“As we neared the end of my initial training phase, the Master began to speak of things such as time travel, typically subjects reserved for more experienced Druids. He was worried about a future in which Druidry had all but disappeared from Scotia, and warned that it was up to Gav and me to save the knowledge, to save all of Druidry, thereby saving all of world. For the world could be at great risk from the Tuatha Dé Danann if they ever thought all Druids were truly gone.

“Do you know the story of the Tuatha Dé Danann, lass?”

Randi nodded, spellbound by his story.

“Aye, so you may know that many millennia ago the Fae Queen
Morrighan sought to break the ties between Druid and Fae, by scattering the Druids throughout the world, breaking apart families and alliances in her folly. Many of the Druid families simply ceased to exist over time, while others kept to the old ways, kept the traditions and sacred vows safe.

“The Master foretold that sometime in the future a family of Druid would emerge from one of those who lost their way. They would be dark and align themselves with the dark Tuatha Dé Danann, the
Unseelie, in an effort to regain their powers. It was to fight this family that Gabhran and I were being trained. He knew not their name, for the time had not yet emerged, but he believed it was critical that the MacLachlan and MacGailtry be preserved and united in the future to prevent something so awful it might well destroy Scotia.

“I
couldna understand how Gabhran and I were to help this future time, unless ‘twas to breed and raise more children to be trained as Druid. Nay, his plan was far more complicated and difficult for me. Gabhran was to be sent to future times, to live his life in ignorance of his Druid ways, until the dark Druids contacted him, for they would find him. The Master was positive the strength of Gav’s Druid powers would work like a beacon, drawing those with special magick to him.

“Once he knew the time of the betrayal was at hand, Gabhran would be returned to his full
Druid powers, and others, if there were still others—” He paused for a long moment, his gaze was unfocused, as if he were seeing something in his head. He blinked rapidly, gave a small shake of his head. “Others would join him. I was to remain in this time, so someone could move Gabhran, someone who could keep him safe, and pull him back if necessary.”

Randi’s questions fought with each other, each trying to be asked first, “What about— how could—dimensions?”

Alex’s eyes sparkled for a minute, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Lass, I know you must be fair bursting with questions and I have more than a passing few for you, myself. Let me finish telling you the basic parts then we can begin again with our stories and answer questions as we speak.”

Randi mutely nodded her head, knowing there was really only one question she needed to know:
Can you send me to Gabhran?

“The spell that the Master taught me in order to move Gabhran was very specific to our family, and had to be spoken within some standing stones on our estate. If one is not very careful with how the spell is spoken, or attempts to move someone else with it, the danger is significant. The other person could become trapped between dimensions.” His voice broke and his eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Randi suspected he thought not of Gabhran, but of his beloved Alysone.

In a voice tight with grief, he continued, “I moved Alysone to another place in this time to protect her from me, because I deemed her too young. When she returned, I could no longer deny what we felt for each other, yet I feared for her safety while we waited to locate the dark Druid family. We kept our relationship secret, although if what you say is true, if she was to bear my child, we would not have kept it secret any longer. If those we must fight discovered me in this time, anyone for whom I cared would be in mortal danger.

“‘Twas one reason I moved Gabhran so often rather than return him here periodically. I needed to appear isolated in case the dark Druids were also able to travel through time and sought to harm me. So when I returned last evening from my journey, I cast a spell to
scry my brother and was stunned to find him here, in this time, lying in his bed. I immediately spoke the spell to send him to the place he needed to be, and as the final words were spoken, Alysone came into view and was touching him in his bed.

“The spell had been spoken and before my eyes, Gabhran and Alysone were gone. Gabhran has surely gone to his most recent reality, but Alysone—”

His voice choked off, and he turned away. He didn’t have to voice his worst fears, Randi understood. He was afraid that his Alysone was lost forever.

****

The Queen was both fascinated and repelled by the emotions that roiled within Kheelen. He had been typical of their race before he discovered Rhyannan lying with a mortal lover. Then he had been visited by Unseelie, tainted, befouled. The Seelie were not incapable of dark emotions, yet typically they avoided cruelty, and a vengeful death was meted out swiftly, keeping honor in balance. He had not upheld the Seelie code of honor, and death was the prescribed punishment.

Yet her hand was stilled by an insidious thought, one she knew she should put aside, one that caused the first ripple of excitement in her breast in thousands of years. She would keep
Kheelen as her own, he would be bound to her side until she had her fill of him, until she extracted every bit taught by the Unseelie, until he was lost forever. Then he would die a soulless death.

Elena walked through the farmhouse opening shutters and then the windows, letting in sunshine and fresh air, while Faolan carried in their luggage and supplies. She stopped at the large window in her favorite room, the library. Standing with her hands on the sill, she looked out at the rolling fields that led to a copse of trees and rocky outcroppings. It was good to be home, but there was a palpable tension between them. She thought she knew what it was about and wondered if they would ever completely trust each other again.

She and Faolan had only recently reunited, and the boat trip they’d interrupted to come here had been more than a honeymoon. It had been an opportunity for them to heal, both physically and emotionally. In the middle of their belated honeymoon, Elena had begun to dream of another man, a man she barely knew, a man who had saved her life…Gabhran.

The Druid Master of the Bresal Etarlam, Martin Worthington, was minutes away from killing her as part of a ritual sacrifice, when Gav risked his own life to save hers, even though they were mere acquaintances. In the chaos of the escape, Elena had been shot and
Gabhran had been possessed by a dark spirit. From that moment on, her life had been a living hell, and she’d believed she’d lost everything. She and Faolan had been kept apart through the lies and machinations of the dark Druid Master. Elena had lived here at her beloved farm alone for months, believing she had lost everything, had lost her reason for living. When she allowed herself to think of it, it still hurt beyond measure that Faolan had believed the lies. Dear God, they had lost so much.

Deep in thought, Elena didn’t hear him approach, until Faolan snaked a massive brown arm around her waist, and pressed his lips to the top of her head. She leaned back with a sigh, wondering if their lives would ever be simple.
Not likely.

“Lass, doona be sad. ‘Tis true, we have lost much, however, we also have gained much in return. We willna be separated again. Doona forget
, we are destined to love for all eternity.”

Faolan kept one arm around her waist while he cupped her chin with his large hand, and angled their faces in such a fashion that he was able to easily reach her lips and he kissed her gently. Softly, almost hesitantly he kissed her
again, as if he was testing the reception he would receive. His firm lips rubbed against hers, back and forth, creating an irresistible friction.

She tried to turn in his arms but he tightened his grip and deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing with hers, and she tasted the sweetness, felt the heat. He held her close against his body, pressing his hard shaft against her backside, dominating her with his size. She responded by pressing her hips back and it was his turn to moan into her mouth.

The kiss took on a life of its own; he stole her breath one moment and returned it the next. She thrust her tongue deep into his mouth and reached her arms around his neck, pulling him even further into the inferno of their kiss.

He slid his hands under her shirt and traced a pattern over her flat stomach. She savored the feel of his rough hand against her skin. Silk and sandpaper,
he roughened her edges, she smoothed his. They were destined to mark each other forever.

His words had touched a secret place within her soul, igniting a primordial fire, repairing another chink in their bond. When he said words like that, Elena felt the power of them at the very core of her being. She felt filled with hope for the future, cloaked in a sense of destiny, her earlier despair vanquished through the power of their love.

His light touch raised goose bumps on her flesh and she shivered under the heat of his kisses and the lightness of his touch. Never had he kissed her like this, with such demanding possessiveness, with such molten heat. Her knees felt wobbly, yet he wouldn’t let her turn to face him, wouldn’t even let her suggest they go elsewhere. He was keeping her right where he wanted her.

He kissed her to the very depths of her soul, as though making up for their lost time, sealing their fate for eternity, proclaiming her as his. She wanted him to claim her, she realized, as she reached back to put her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Threading her fingers into his hair, lightly scraping his scalp with her nails, she pulled his hair loose from its customary thong and it spilled around her, curtaining her in waves of russet silk.

She pulled his head down, sealing their kiss even tighter. She found his tongue with hers and drew it into her mouth, thinking of what she would do to him once he let her go. She felt her knees weaken, threatening to give way completely when he pushed his hard cock against her. He began a gentle thrusting rhythm with his hips, and she pushed back, resenting the clothes that separated them.

He pushed his knee between hers, forcing her to move her feet wider apart, and the hand that had been holding her chin moved to her breast. Oh yes. He pinched and rolled a nipple
, then his other hand reached the vee of her thighs and palmed her mons, pressing the seam of her jeans against her clitoris. Her orgasm was explosive. Her legs collapsed completely, and in this position she was helpless to do anything but experience the pleasure he gave her, just as he intended. 

He took all her weight, and continued to move his hands, wrenching wave after wave of pleasure from her, swallowing her moans, making throaty growls of his own.

Faolan swept Elena into his arms and turned toward their bedroom. As they entered the hallway, a knock on the back door startled them. Then without pause, the door flew opened, and a very familiar voice cried out.

“Faolan, Elena, you’re home!”

****

It seemed like hours later, they were all seated at the kitchen table, and stories had been exchanged bringing everyone up to date on each other’s adventures. Lilly had served tea and scones while they sat at the big kitchen table. The brother cats, Rascal and Shadow, had reunited in an impressive show of raised fur and hisses, before sauntering off together, tails straight in the air.

Faolan looked at Elena and saw her lips were still swollen from his kisses, and he longed to pick her up and carry her off to their bed, manners be damned. When Lilly had burst through the door, followed more slowly by Red, Faolan nearly groaned aloud with frustration. He’d stolen a glance at Elena’s face and saw she hadn’t yet grasped the fact they’d been interrupted. Eyes closed, lips parted, and lightly panting, she was still experiencing residual shudders from her orgasm.

He gave her a little shake in his arms and returned Red and Lilly’s greeting before setting her on back on her feet. He held on to her while she came out of her sex-induced stupor enough that she was able to support most of her own weight. Keeping his arm around her waist, he’d led her toward the kitchen so everyone could talk.

Red, tall, thin, with a graying crop of short red hair must have noticed the look on Elena and Faolan’s faces, for he suggested they come back a little later.

“Oh nonsense, Red,” Lilly had overridden his suggestion. “‘Tis plain to see they are happy to see us.”

Truth be told, other than the timing of their arrival, he was happy to see them. With Red and Lilly living back in their flat, he and Elena back at the farm, everything felt right for the first time in a very long while.

****

As they neared Inverness, Lissa felt the tension between them start to rise again, and she knew the cause of their discord. He wanted to drive straight through to the Gailtry Farm; she wanted to stay in Inverness for the night. It was late, she was hungry, and there was no telling what they would find when they got there. It quite likely was a ruin, long since abandoned, another crumbled pile of stone on the Scottish countryside. Even if someone lived there, who knew what type of reception they’d receive.

The other concern was Gabhran’s physical condition. They had stayed up late talking the previous night, and this morning it had taken
Lissa quite a while to pack suitcases and load his SUV. Gabhran simply did not have the strength to carry anything; he was still shaky on his feet from his injuries. Unfortunately, he’d had to drive as Lissa had not learned during her time in Louisiana.

His face was pinched and gray, even in the dim lights of the dashboard and
Lissa knew he was at the end of his capacity for any further adventure. She started to appeal to his common sense, when he spoke first.

“Nay, lass, doona say anything. You are
right, I am in no shape to go farther. We will stop for the night and reevaluate in the morning. Can you get by with room service?” he asked, as they pulled into the large hotel drive. “I fear I canna help with much tonight.”

“Gav, go inside and sit. I will register us, the bellman can take our things up and park the car.” By the time she had arranged for a suite and finally gotten Gav to the room, he was leaning on her heavily and shaking. She took him straight to his bed and helped him to sit. She got his medication and removed his shirt. The good news was they were stopped for the night, they were safe, and they were together. The bad news was, his wounds were tender and hot.
She gave him two each of his antibiotic and pain tablets, and by the time she finished cleaning and dressing his wounds, Gav was sound asleep.

There was so much to tell him, so many details he didn’t know yet. It broke her heart to think of telling him his brother had been lost at sea. He needed to be stronger first. She still didn’t believe deep in her heart that Alex was dead.
Lissa closed the door to his room, and took care of her own needs, with food and a shower, before going to her own room and falling into a deep and dreamless slumber.

It took two days before Gav was able to function normally. His fever was gone, the
wounds were a healthier pink, and his eyes had lost that sunken look they’d had when they checked in to the hotel. He still looked pale and his hands held a slight tremor as he drank his coffee, but Lissa knew he wouldn’t accept waiting another day.

The car was finally loaded and they were on the way to the Gailtry Farm, less than an hour away.

“What do you think we’ll find?” Lissa asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Gav smiled. “You did some good research yesterday, lass. We know the title is registered to a woman named Elena MacGailtry, but she is probably some ancient relative of the Gailtry clan. Perhaps she can tell us what became of the books and artifacts. I doona know if she will talk to us at first, so we will need to stay in Fairth or return here tonight. I doubt we will find much, but ‘tis the only place I can think of for the moment to start looking for answers.

“You know ‘tis strange to have such partial memories,” he continued. “I know deep down that the things you tell me are true. I remember some bits of them. I remember that I attended Druid training. For the life of me though, I canna remember anything about my training. Do you think those memories will come back? I think we need them to help us figure this out.”

“Aye, Gav, I believe you will remember. I have to believe you will.” She placed her hands on her stomach.

His look was stricken. “Och, lass, I have paid scant attention to you since we—” He stopped, as if to search for the right word, but gave up after a moment. “What
did
we do? Did we arrive? Anyway, I apologize. How are you feeling? Has a doctor checked you and the baby?”

“Nay, Gav, I was pregnant at the Lachlan Castle, I had yet to see the midwife.”

The doctor in him took over, and he peppered her with questions, determining she was twenty-four weeks into her pregnancy. He wondered aloud if he still had access to his medical offices and the ultrasound machine.

“You are too thin. We must get you started on some vitamins and a healthy diet, today. And you need more rest. That is my niece or nephew you’re carrying, after all.” Gav reached over to cover her hand with one of his. “Lass, did Alex know you were pregnant?”

“No,” she answered looking out the window at the heather fields stretching over the gently rolling landscape.

He turned his head sharply to look at her. “What is it lass? What aren’t you telling me?”

*

Lissa
sighed. She’d known this moment was coming, but it still wasn’t going to be easy. “Alex went to serve the king, sailing south to seek support for Scotland’s independence. His ship was lost at sea. ‘Twas assumed he was killed along with the crew. You were…are the Laird now…uhm…then…in Alex’s absence.”

Gav stared at the road ahead and silence filled the SUV. His brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. Then with a small shake of his head, he said, “I canna feel him. I suppose that’s not surprising since I didna even know I had a brother. Do you believe he’s gone,
Lissa?” he asked, his voice gentle.

Her voice choked with tears and her brogue was nearly as thick as
Gav’s when she answered. “Nay, I would know in my heart. I doona know what happened yet, Gav. But no, he is somewhere. We just have to find him.”

“I believe you,” he said quietly. “We will find him.” They had arrived at the Gailtry Farm.

They parked and Gav hurried to help Lissa out. He looked around and she wondered if he was seeing the stone farmhouse, the rundown barn, the rolling hills that seemed to stretch forever. Or did he see something from his buried past? “Everything feels familiar, even the ground seems to hum under my feet. I canna remember any of these buildings, yet I feel connected.”