Midnight's Warrior (12 page)

It filled him, merging with the power of his god until Ramsey could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. It was a heady feeling, but one that also filled him with trepidation.

“Bloody hell,” Arran muttered beside him. “I can feel your magic as I would a Druid’s.”

Ramsey opened his eyes and found himself smiling. When he looked at Arran it was to see how the Warrior blended in with the snow while he stood out like a beacon.

“How come I never felt your magic before?” Arran asked.

“Because I tamped it down. No’ to mention there were always other Druids around us, so you assumed what magic you did feel came from them.”

“No one ever knew?”

Ramsey remembered the time Larena had questioned him. “Larena suspected.”

Arran shook his head in bewilderment. His gaze shifted away from Ramsey and focused on the sky. Flurries of snow began to swirl around him. The clouds bulged as if wanting to spill the snow, but they were held back.

Magic, potent and fierce, flowed down Ramsey’s arm to his hand as he placed it onto Arran’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” Arran muttered as the magic and power shifted from Ramsey into him.

The snowflakes increased as they fell from the sky, but it wasn’t enough. Ramsey knew he was going to have to use more of his magic, and if he did, it would put him past the safe limit he knew he could use.

“I can handle it,” Arran said, as if reading his mind.

Ramsey was about to refuse, then he thought of Tara, of what he knew Declan to be capable of, and his decision was made. He released more magic.

His god bellowed with approval, and euphoria filled Ramsey at the feel of his magic rushing through him. It had been so long. He’d forgotten how good it felt, how wonderful it was to have such a potent ability.

Ramsey closed his eyes as memories assaulted him from his childhood. Memories of his family, of training to be one of the powerful Torrachilty Druids. Of facing his people, knowing his magic exceeded those around him, and that was saying something.

Suddenly, Ramsey was hit from behind and taken down into the densely packed snow.

“I said enough, dammit,” Charon bellowed in his ear.

Ramsey pushed up on his hands and tried to dislodge Charon from his back. “Get off me.”

“No’ until I know you’ve reined in that magic of yours.”

“Aye.”

“I can still feel it, Ramsey.”

Ramsey paused, and realized it had gotten away from him as he’d feared. He tried to pull his magic back in, and to his fury it took three different tries before he was able to.

Charon rose off him, and Ramsey jumped to his feet. He noticed two things at once. One, the snow was once more coming down thick and fast, and two, Arran was lying in the snow unmoving.

“Shite,” Ramsey said as he rushed to his friend. He shook his shoulders. “Arran?”

“He’s no’ moved since I took you down,” Charon said.

Ramsey ran a hand down his face, wishing he hadn’t sent more magic into Arran. “This is my fault.”

“Aye, it is,” Arran said, his eyes still closed as his white skin and claws faded. “I feel like horse shite.”

Charon leaned his hands on his knees and he bent over Arran. “Are you hurt?”

“Nothing that can no’ be mended.” Arran’s eyes opened to stare at Ramsey. “You nearly went nuclear. You couldna hear.”

Ramsey gave a quick shake of his head. “Now you both know why I doona like to use my magic.”

Charon helped Arran to his feet. “You did what had to be done, and as Arran said, he’s immortal. He’ll be fine.”

Ramsey climbed to his feet and followed them back to his cottage. They were nearly there when something stirred in the air. He halted in his tracks and softly called to the other two.

Charon and Arran turned, silent questions on their faces.

“Did you feel that?” Ramsey asked.

“You mean something besides the snow?” Charon asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Arran shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ramsey, I didna feel anything.”

When Ramsey didn’t respond, Charon gazed over Ramsey’s shoulder and looked around.

“Where did you feel it?” Charon asked.

“Behind me.”

Arran moved the shoulder where Ramsey had held him and frowned. “Was it Declan?”

“Nay,” Ramsey said with a slight shake of his head. “It was no’ Druids I felt. It was different. I can no’ put my finger on it.”

Charon’s hands fisted by his sides. “Do you still feel it?”

“Slightly. I doona think it’s dangerous.”

“But you felt it,” Arran stated.

Charon loosened his hands and snorted. “It looks as though your mix of magic and power is going to be useful. As soon as we all figure out what it is you just felt.”

*   *   *

“I swear he knows we’re here,” Hayden whispered to his friends.

Fallon shook his head. “There’s no way. Warriors sense Druids, no’ other Warriors.”

“Aye, but Ramsey isna just a Warrior,” Logan pointed out.

Ian sighed. “At any rate, we’re going to have to keep hidden. I doona want them to know we’re here.”

“Good idea,” Quinn said. He turned to Fallon and said, “I thought Charon and Arran were supposed to keep their distance from Ramsey?”

“Apparently Ramsey had other ideas,” Fallon said. “See if you can determine what they were doing out here so far from the castle.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll return tomorrow, but if you need me before then, call.”

Quinn rolled his eyes and shoved his brother. “Get out of here.”

Once Fallon had jumped back to the castle, Quinn turned to the others. “Hayden, I think you’re right. I think Ramsey knows we’re here.”

“Or at least that something happened,” Logan said.

Ian nodded. “Just moments after we arrive he stops, and then Charon and Arran are looking behind him to the exact place we are.”

“Ramsey didna believe whatever it was he felt was dangerous or all three would have investigated,” Hayden added.

Quinn glanced at the sky and the rate of the falling snow. “It looks as if we’re in for a cold one, mates. Let’s split into two groups. Ian, come with me. We’re going to have a look around here as well as the road. Ramsey said he thought Declan was close.”

“Let’s find the bastard,” Ian said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

“Logan and I will get closer to the castle,” Hayden said.

Logan smiled and said, “We willna get too close. We promise.”

Quinn grinned as they all clasped forearms. They had been in enough battles together to know anything could happen at any time. They were always prepared, and not once did they head into battle without saying farewell to those they cared about.

Which included everyone at the castle. They had become one huge family, and like all families they had their disagreements, but the evil they had been fighting for centuries bonded them deeply.

Though Fallon and Lucan were Quinn’s brothers by blood, he considered every Warrior at the castle his brother and every Druid his sister.

“Hayden. Logan,” he called before they could move away. “There is a reason Ramsey wanted to take this mission alone. If he discovers we’re here after sending Charon and Arran, he’ll likely try to take Declan out by himself at a later date.”

“I ken,” Hayden said, his black eyes somber. “At least here we can keep an eye on him and help if needed.”

Quinn nodded. “Exactly.”

“We’re all worried about Ramsey,” Logan said. “He willna know we’re here.”

Quinn watched them move away, a nagging feeling of doubt in his mind.

“What is it?” Ian asked.

“I doona know. Ramsey shouldna have been able to sense our arrival.”

“Maybe there’s more to his mix of magic and powers than we know.”

“I suspect that’s the case. Let’s just hope Ramsey doesna do anything stupid.”

Ian’s face scrunched up. “Ramsey? Nay. He’s the last one to do something reckless.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ramsey was going to do something stupid, of that Tara was certain. It was probably the talk Charon had given her, or maybe it was the way Ramsey’s silver eyes had held hers, but she knew it as certainly as she knew the world of magic existed.

Though she was afraid and distrustful of the Warriors, there was no doubt Charon hadn’t been lying to her. Neither had Ramsey if she were honest with herself.

She hadn’t wanted to see that at the time he’d been trying to tell her, but she’d reflected on it since then.

Still, could she trust a Warrior? Did she dare?

“How can I not when I know Declan is coming?” she muttered.

Tara rose from the bed and reached for the coat she’d discarded earlier. A glance out the window showed the snow was once more falling rapidly. She tied her scarf snugly around her neck and tugged on her gloves before she walked out of her room and then left the castle.

With each step that brought her closer to the cottage all she could think about was the kiss Ramsey had given her. It wasn’t as if it had been her first kiss. She’d been kissed before. Not often, or even in the past year, but there was no reason for it to hold her attention the way it did.

Especially after learning about Ramsey. It shouldn’t matter that someone wanted to help her against Declan, though it was wonderful not to feel as if she were alone in the world.

But that didn’t erase the lies and omissions of the truth. Trust was how she survived. Without trust, there was nothing.

There was the kiss.

Tara kicked at the snow, hating herself for coming back to the kiss time and again. And it wasn’t as if the kiss knocked her off her feet.

It had been soft, sensual. But she had sensed his hunger and his passion in his firm lips. Just thinking about it made her stomach flip.

If Ramsey could make her feel like this with just a brief meeting of their lips and tongue, what would it be like if he really kissed her? If their tongues mated and she tasted him as she longed to do?

And God help her, she desperately wanted to find out.

“I’m so pathetic,” she said to herself. “Pathetic and lonely.”

She neared the cottage and heard the sound of all three male voices within. Tara paused outside the door for a moment as she tried to distinguish what they were saying. She had to press her ear closer to the door to hear.

“Stop being so dramatic, Ramsey,” Arran said. “I’m fine.”

“You are no’ fine. I almost killed you.”

“You know it takes a lot more than that to kill a Warrior. Decapitation works best, as you know.”

“Stop kidding around, Arran,” Charon said gruffly. “I happen to agree with Ramsey. I didna understand what he was saying until I saw it with my own eyes.”

“And I was the one who urged him to use his magic,” Arran said, his voice rising. “I’m the one who sat there and had that jolt of magic and power go through me.”

“Maybe so, but I saw it,” Charon argued. “I saw Ramsey standing there, his magic blasting into me even from that distance. I saw you yelling at him and the pain on your face from his magic. I saw that he didna hear you.”

“Enough!” Ramsey bellowed. “It’s over and done with. Arran suggested it, and I did it knowing the consequences. It was the only way to ensure that Declan stay away so we could have a few more hours with Tara to try and earn some of her trust back. I apologize to both of you for what happened today.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Arran said, his voice deep with emotion.

Tara’s heart ached for the pain she heard in Ramsey’s voice.

“There is,” Ramsey said. “Fortunately, it willna happen again. I’ve a favor to ask of both of you.”

“Name it,” Charon said.

“I need one of you to stay at the road, and the other to return to MacLeod Castle.”

The sound of a chair scraping over the floor filled Tara’s ears. She could just imagine one of them jerking to his feet at Ramsey’s statement.

“I’m no’ leaving you here alone,” Arran said.

Another chair scraped back and then Charon’s voice said, “Me either.”

“I willna be alone for long.”

Tara frowned, not understanding Ramsey’s words. Of course he wasn’t alone. Though the guests had departed the castle, there were still the owners and staff.

“Why do you want one of us to return to MacLeod Castle?” Arran asked.

Ramsey sighed. “To take Tara away from here, away from Declan.”

“So you can fight Declan yourself,” Charon said at the same instant Tara grasped it.

She opened the door and stepped inside the cottage without any of them realizing she was there.

*   *   *

Ramsey stared at his two friends, wondering how he could make them understand how important it was that he fight Declan alone.

“No one is dying for me.”

Ramsey’s body jerked as if he’d been struck. He slowly turned to see Tara’s form filling the doorway, her blue-green eyes filled with fury.

“Tara,” he said, and took a step toward her.

She held up a hand and said, “No.” She turned to glare at Arran and Charon as she softly closed the door behind her, belying the fury he saw coursing through her.

“No,” she repeated. “No one is dying for me. I want you all to leave.”

“I can no’ do that,” Ramsey said.

She leaned back against the door and shrugged. “I always knew Declan would catch me one day. I’m tired of running and looking over my shoulder. I’m tired of distrusting everyone. And I’m tired of the lies.”

“You can give all that up but no’ give yourself to Declan.” Ramsey swallowed and took a small step toward her. He had to convince her, and he knew he had just one shot. “You’ll be safe at MacLeod Castle. Declan can no’ reach you there.”

“Oh, but he can, Ramsey.” Her smile was sad. “He can reach me anywhere.”

“There will be Druids there to help you,” Charon said.

Arran nodded. “And other Warriors who would die before they allowed harm to come to any Druid.”

Ramsey watched Tara carefully, hoping for some sign that they were getting through to her. Her eyes moved back to him, where she held his gaze.

“If I go, will you?”

Ramsey wanted nothing more than to go back with her and the others, but he couldn’t. If he did, it would mean a battle with Declan at a later date that would involve the others. At Dunnoth Tower, he could take care of Declan once and for all.