A Kind Of Magic (21 page)

Roderick caught her as she flew into his arms and kissed his cheek, but his smile vanished when she kissed Val’s cheek as well.

“I did it,” Elle said as she danced around the ruins.

“Keep at it,” Val advised as he walked to the horses, a huge grin on his face as he winked at Roderick.

Roderick glanced at Hugh and Mina and found her progress had gone just as well.

He was anxious to see the monastery and plan their attack now that Elle had learned her bow well enough. She still needed practice, but she had skill, and the bow reacted to her nicely, which helped.

“Thank you,” Elle said as she stood beside him, her breath coming in great gasps and billowing between them.

Roderick put his hands on his hips and regarded her. “How will you thank me?”

“Oh, I’ll think of something,” she teased.

“Ready?” Hugh asked from the horses.

“Ready,” Roderick answered. With his hand on Elle’s back he guided her to the horses and helped her mount.

“To the monastery,” Hugh said and kicked his horse into a run.

“About time,” Elle said and followed Hugh and Mina.

Elle snuggled deeper into Roderick’s cloak. If the harpies didn’t kill her, the cold would. Thankfully she didn’t have to guide her mare. The horse followed the others on her own, leaving Elle to gaze around the forest.

It really was a beautiful sight and was probably even more glorious in summer where she could actually see things instead of shivering.

The elation she had of learning to use her bow had quickly worn off, but the trepidation of soon encountering the harpies was growing by leaps and bounds. At least she felt a little safer having a weapon and being able to use it.

They arrived at the monastery much sooner than she anticipated. By the looks of it, it had been abandoned for a very long period, and though Elle had little doubt that ghosts inhabited the crumbling stones, anything was preferable to freezing to death.

She didn’t wait for Roderick to help her dismount, though she should have since she misjudged the distance and nearly fell. His large hands clasped her arms and held on until she regained her feet.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

He sighed and shook his head. “I’m really going to have to do something to keep you warm.”

She could only nod in response. Her feet stumbled over rocks hidden beneath the layers of snow, and each time Roderick was there to help her. Finally, he kept his arm around her in an effort to keep her steady.

“Elle?”

She heard the worry in his deep voice and wished she could soothe him and tell him she was all right, but the fact was, she was far from all right.

“Cold,” she said between her chattering teeth.

In an instant, she was lifted into his arms as he shouldered his way past the others and into the dark monastery. Though it was still cold inside, it held more warmth than the snow.

“Get a fire lit,” Roderick thundered as he sat and wrapped his arms around her to lend her his heat.

She rested her head against his shoulder and tried to lick her lips. Big mistake.

They were dry and cracked open immediately.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw men gathering wood to start a fire. As soon as the flames gathered enough strength, Roderick moved them closer. The heat penetrated Elle instantly. She sighed and let the warmth envelope her. When she had warmed enough, she raised her head to find everyone sitting around the fire.

“I’m sorry,” she said and tried to scoot off Roderick’s lap.

He held onto her tightly, refusing to let her move. “Stay and get warm,” he whispered.

“I’ve kept everyone waiting.”

“Nonsense,” Mina said. “’Tis unforgivable of us to continue on when you aren’t adjusted to our climate. I keep forgetting that you are from somewhere extremely hot.” Hugh laced his fingers through Mina’s and nodded. “Once you’ve warmed yourself, we will proceed.”

“There isn’t time,” Elle argued.

“There is,” Val said as he walked behind her and Roderick.

Elle was embarrassed and grateful to the people around her. Though she knew time wasn’t on their side, they were waiting for her to thaw before going forward.

“Next time, warn me,” Roderick said as he rubbed his hands up and down her arm.

She smiled. “I will.”

“How many levels does the monastery have?” Val asked as he looked around the room.

“At least six,” Hugh said. “Mina and I came through the underground tunnel the first time.”

“Underground,”

Roderick

and Val said in unison.

Elle nearly laughed.

“Aye,” Mina said. “On the return trip to Stone Crest I will show you the entrance.”

“Or what is left of it,” Hugh said.

Roderick’s face was thoughtful for a moment before he asked, “What is in the lower level?”

“Storage chambers,” Mina answered. “’Tis very dark in them. No windows.” Roderick and Val exchanged a glance. “Could be useful,” Val said.

“Most of what you see here is how the rest of the monastery is,” Hugh said.

“Someone came in and tore through the place in search of something.”

“A pity,” Elle said, and everyone nodded.

Elle listened as Hugh, Val, and Roderick discussed different strategies to use against the harpies until she could no longer sit on Roderick’s lap comfortably. She had more than warmed herself, and it was time to get moving.

She slid out of his lap, managing to evade his hands. “I’m much warmer,” she told him.

“Are you sure?” he asked as he stood.

She smiled, loving the concern he had for her. “I’m sure.”

“Then let us explore,” Hugh said as he walked to a door towards the back of the large room.

Elle hastily looked around her. The room was at least three stories high with gorgeous stained glass windows, though the majority of them had been broken.

She didn’t mind when Roderick put his hand on the small of her back to guide her. His strength gave her comfort on a level she couldn’t begin to describe.

With all the twists and turns they took going into each room, up the stairs and down the stairs, Elle had lost her sense of direction. All the rooms began to run together in her mind. It wasn’t until they ventured to the level below ground that Elle knew where she was.

The hallways were extremely narrow and short. The men had to duck their heads for the most part. They came to the first room to see the door broken into pieces.

“I was in here,” Mina said. “My brother, or who I thought was my brother, had me locked in here.”

“How awful,” Elle said as she peered inside the tiny room.

Mina visibly shuddered. “’Twas.”

They moved on, and every room they came too looked exactly as the first one did.

Elle lost count of how many rooms, but she estimated about a dozen or so.

“To the roof,” Val said as he hurried out of the tight hallway.

The last thing Elle wanted to do was venture back outside, but she wasn’t about to complain. It might take her awhile, but eventually she would become accustomed to the weather.

If you live that long. Not to mention, no one said you would be staying.

True, but it wasn’t as if she could easily return to her time. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to anymore.

She climbed the stairs to the roof, Roderick at her back. Several times she thought she heard him say something, but each time she looked back he would give her an innocent look.

Finally, she stopped and faced him. “I know I heard you that time.” He gave her a heart stopping smile and turned her around, then gave her a gentle nudge to continue up the stairs. “I’m just admiring the view,” he whispered to her.

Warmth spread through Elle like syrup over pancakes. The urge to turn and kiss Roderick was strong, very strong. And since she couldn’t do that, she did the next best thing, she swayed her hips more as she climbed the stairs.

She heard his hiss as he sucked in air and smiled to herself. Teasing him was such a joy that she regretted when they reached the top.

“Thank the gods,” she heard him murmur.

“Something the matter?” she asked him innocently.

His gaze smoldered. “A few more of those stairs and I would have had to throw you down and ravage you.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Sounds interesting.” He growled, causing her to laugh and draw the looks of the others. She left Roderick and walked to Mina.

“So this is where you destroyed the gargoyle.” Mina nodded. “Aye.”

“Show me,” Elle urged her.

She followed Mina to the far left corner and looked over the side, ignoring the biting cold of the snow on the edge. With the heavy snow she couldn’t see anything though. Her toe hit something, and she looked down to find a piece of stone the size of a softball at her foot.

Her gaze rose to Mina. “The gargoyle?”

“Oh,

aye.”

Elle turned and braced her hip against the edge of the roof. “Aren’t you afraid he will come back?”

Mina shook her head. “We ended his life. Another could come back to take his place, but this one is gone.”

“I hope the harpies are as easy,” Elle said, though she knew they wouldn’t be.

“Do not fear,” Mina said softly. “The Fae chose the men well. They will succeed.”

“They better,” she said and let Mina pull her back to the group.

“’Tis big enough,” Val was saying as they approached.

“For what?” she asked.

“Battle,” Roderick answered.

She looked around, not liking the idea at all. “This gives them too much room to fly. I think we should keep them below, hinder them all we can.”

“She has a point,” Val said.

Mina turned toward the stairs. “Now that we have the layout of both the ruins and the monastery, let us return to Stone Crest and plan.” Elle was all for that idea. By the time they reached the main room, someone had put out the fire. She hurried outside to her mount and reached for the reins when Roderick’s hand encircled her waist and lifted her.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly once she was in the saddle and had arranged both her cloak and Roderick’s.

He gave her a wink and vaulted onto his horse. The journey back to Stone Crest took even longer since Mina and Hugh took them to the entrance of the underground tunnel.

Elle gawked at one wall that remained of the once small cottage. “What happened?”

Hugh cursed, and Mina laughed nervously. “The gargoyle chased me here,” Mina explained. “Hugh followed and while I found the door to the tunnel, Hugh kept the gargoyle out.”

“I would have loved to see that,” Val said as he walked his horse around the cottage.

Roderick nodded in agreement and nudged his horse toward the cottage. “Where is the door?”

“Under the roof,” Hugh answered.

Elle looked at the roof that now lay on the ground as if the walls had been kicked out from under it. She didn’t fancy lifting it to find the door.

The men, however, seemed to have other ideas. Roderick, Hugh, and Val talked privately far enough away that Elle couldn’t hear.

“I hate being left out, too,” Mina said from beside her.

Elle fidgeted with the reins. “Yes, but you will find out later what they spoke of.”

“So will you.”

Elle turned to find Mina smiling at her. “Not sure if I’ll remember to ask.” Mina burst out laughing, causing the men to stare at her oddly. Elle managed to control hers to only a giggle, but it was hard. Every time she and Mina would look at each other they would start laughing.

She watched Hugh roll his eyes and turn his mount away from the cottage.

“To Stone Crest,” he said and nudged his horse into a gallop.

Elle waited for Roderick to reach her. “What was that about?” he asked.

“Girl

talk.”

“Girl talk?” he repeated.

She nodded, a smile on her lips. “That’s right. Girl talk.”

“Think you can manage a gallop?” he asked.

She took a deep breath. “I’m willing to try,” she said and clicked to the mare who instantly moved into a gallop.

Elle managed to hang on and after a few moments, she felt comfortable enough to loosen the reins and give the mare her head. The horse didn’t bolt, but she moved from a gallop into a run.

The cold air pierced Elle’s face like little needles, but it was worth it to ride again.

She had forgotten just how much she missed it until that moment.

She pulled gently on the reins to slow the mare to a cantor as they neared the giant gate of Stone Crest. The mare again responded instantly, never giving Elle the least bit of a problem.

“Impressive,” Roderick said as he came up beside her.

Elle laughed. “I used to ride when I was younger. It’s different here, especially with a dress on. I had forgotten just how much I loved to ride.”

“We’ll have to remedy that,” he promised.

A smile pulled at Elle’s lips and stayed there until they were seated in the great hall. She stayed huddled in hers and Roderick’s cloak, wishing for a hot cup of anything to drink. She would even take hot chocolate if they had it, despite her dislike of chocolate.

But hot drinks were dismissed as they began to plan.

“We all ride to the forest where the rope is,” Hugh said.

Roderick steepled his fingers. “Once we get one of the harpies to follow us ….” “And hopefully beheaded,” Val interjected.

“—then we split up as planned.”

Hugh nodded. “I think we need to lead them on a chase, tire them out if we can.”

“They fly faster than the horses run,” Elle pointed out.

“Not through the trees,” Roderick answered.

Roderick barely tasted the food at the noon meal. He inhaled and breathed Elle’s sweet fragrance that was solely hers. After the morning riding through the forest and inspecting first the Druid ruins and the monastery, he was eager for some time alone with her, though he knew it wouldn’t come until night.

Which wasn’t good for his aching rod. He closed his eyes and recalled the feel of her tight sheath as he thrust in her.

Sweat beaded his upper lip as he clenched his hands under the table in an attempt to gain control of his raging body. No one had ever affected him like this. A feather light touch brought him back from the brink. He cracked open his eyes and turned to find Elle watching him.