Stone Heart (13 page)

He turned to look back at the frail figure standing beside the car. "Is it safe for my friend to approach? Will you permit her to step onto this sacred land?"

"Bring her to me," Shayla told him. She watched as Angus walked to the pale looking woman and brought her forward.

Even from a distance, the Sorceress could see there was something very wrong with MacGregor's companion.

"Look at the lass. She's a wee, fragile thing." Hugh nodded toward Karen. "How do you think she came to have the spell to undo MacGregor's punishment?"

"We'll soon know, my love. Right now I'm worried that if that man hasn't learned anything from his ordeal, he'll be a danger to us all. Look at the size of him!" Shayla knew the power Druid men possessed was often directly proportional to their size. And Angus MacGregor was enormous.

Angus walked toward Karen, forcing himself to relax and smile. Karen was the most intelligent person he had ever met. She would detect a lie or ruse if he was not careful. He did not want her to know how frightened for her he was. "'Tis all right, lass," he said in a low soothing voice. "The Sorceress, the Order's leader, asks you to come and meet her."

Karen swallowed hard and gratefully accepted Angus' large hand when he offered it. It felt wonderfully strong, rough and warm. She clung to it with all her failing strength.

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"Come here, girl," the woman she assumed was the Sorceress said, motioning her forward with a graceful wave of her hand.

Karen walked forward and knew she'd never seen such a lovely woman for all her advancing years. "My name is Karen Matthews. I guess you'd better know that I'm the one who released him from his ... uh ...
spell
."

Shayla took Karen's hand and tried not to show emotion as she sensed how truly ill the young woman was. She smiled brilliantly and introduced herself. "I'm Shayla Gallagher, Sorceress of the Ancients. I'm but the most recent leader."

She turned to her left. "This is my companion and trusted advisor, Hugh McTavish."

After shaking both their hands Karen addressed them. "I'm overwhelmed at this honor. Despite what Angus has told me, I'm certain I'm not supposed to be here."

"And what did he tell you?" Shayla asked in a friendly tone.

Angus stepped forward, but Shayla bid him stop with a mere look.

"He said that I'd been
invited
, but I'm not crazy enough to believe you'd really want me here. From your perspective, I'd be a threat. Though I have no intention of causing you or your Order harm, there's no way you'd know that. And I'm sure you haven't survived so long by taking unnecessary risks."

Hugh and Shayla looked at each other. This woman wasn't a fool. She wouldn't mince words and was responding honestly. Shayla attributed this to one of two things. Karen 111

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Matthews was used to speaking her mind, or her illness gave her courage and a sense of necessity. Shayla felt more at ease with her for it. A rational mind could be reasoned with.

"Were you the person who hacked into our computer files?

The knowledge that Angus existed was only recently discovered, and his whereabouts entered into our database.

Our people thought their files were quite secure."

Karen shook her head. "They're not all that secure, and I
was
the hacker," she admitted. "I'm very good at finding information I want."

"Succinctly put, my dear. You quite amazed and frightened our archivists," Hugh smiled at her. "Does anyone else have knowledge of what you've done?"

"No, and that's the God's truth!" Karen looked Hugh straight in the eyes. "I made what seemed like a
ridiculous
promise to find some statue in a Scottish village, then recite an old poem to it on a specific day. To keep from going on a wild goose chase, I wanted to verify the information I was given. There's no better way to find information that old than by accessing the Internet. Though I had to unscramble a few things, I finally got into your records. I took only the information I needed, and I never saw any harm in it. All your entries look like a lot of folklore cataloged for research. Of course, I didn't believe anything would come of all this." She turned and looked at Angus. "Guess I was wrong."

"And where is this person to whom your
promise
was made?" Shayla asked.

"That was my Aunt Agatha and she's dead. I have no other family. There's no one who knows what I've done. Nobody will 112

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be looking for me." This comment was directed to Shayla herself. Under other circumstances, admitting there was no one who'd miss her was stupid. But her own future didn't matter. She didn't want Angus being blamed for something he couldn't control. If this Sorceress believed she was telling the whole truth, that what she had done hadn't compromised the Order's safety, things might go better for his future.

"You realize that if I wanted to silence you, you've just given me carte blanche?" Shayla asked and waited for Karen's response.

Angus stepped forward and placed his hands on Karen's shoulders.

Karen looked up into his face and shook her head, silently warning him.

Shayla watched this silent exchange with interest. Angus was clearly afraid for Karen. Anxiety was etched into his strong features. Something she would not have attributed to a man with his reputation.

"I'm dying, Ms. Gallagher. There's nothing you can do to me that time won't."

Defiant words, bravely spoken. As the minutes passed, Shayla was becoming more and more impressed with the woman. She was articulate, poised and strong-willed. More, the woman had computer skills that were extraordinary.

"What are your plans?" Shayla questioned using a softer, less demanding tone of voice.

Angus stepped protectively in front of Karen. "I would ask a boon of you, Sorceress. Karen's family have guarded the secret of my existence for three hundred years. From the 113

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beginning, one of them knew the words to undo my enchantment and passed that knowledge from one generation to the next. During my darkest hours they came to where I stood and kept me company. I have known scores of them.

And, since you invited Karen into this ancient place, perhaps she would be allowed to see what no other outsider has? She and her kin have always kept their promises. If she tells you so, she will do the Order no harm."

Hugh raised his hand in a questioning gesture. "Even if that's true, what about
you
, MacGregor. Records tell us you were a complete scoundrel and a blackguard. The worst wretch to ever defile the Highlands. The Sorceress who enchanted you did so for good reason. How do we know we can trust you?"

Karen pressed her lips together to keep from saying something totally tactless. Nothing she'd hacked into indicated that Angus was so bad. There were just general bits and pieces of information about how he'd angered someone and had been cursed. If she was to be honest with herself, however, she really hadn't read all that much about Angus himself. She had perceived his enchantment as a silly legend.

Wanting to save time, there wasn't a reason to really go into his background. As she had told the Sorceress, her only real interest in their computer files was in making sure a statue, as her aunt described, was located in Glen Darach. But Angus was being too quickly judged. They didn't even
know
him.

These people hadn't seen the smile on his face when he looked at a bird or when he ate a French fry. They hadn't seen him build her a fire, or seen the gratitude in his eyes 114

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over a simple gift of clothing. Deep in her soul, she knew Hugh's characterization of him was a mistake. And if they thought Angus would cause trouble, would they do worse than turn him into a gargoyle?

"I pledge my life on my promise to do no harm," Angus offered.

That
got Karen riled. Angus shouldn't have to justify himself based upon a lot of trumped up garbage someone might have written three centuries ago. As far as she was concerned, it was a lot of crap used to defend a curse placed on this sweet, gentle man. How did they know the person who wrote all that, if the records existed at all, wasn't lying?

"He has had ample opportunity to hurt
me
and hasn't lifted a finger to do so," Karen angrily defended.

"Perhaps three centuries gave you time to think, eh, MacGregor?" Shayla asked.

"Aye, to think. And to feel the blackness forever cast upon my soul for those I did harm." He hung his head in shame. "I wasted that time. Karen has given me another chance."

Shayla studied him for a few minutes before speaking again. Waves of despair flooded her senses. The man who stood before her felt great remorse and pain. The emotions she sensed were so strong they were almost crippling. He wasn't trying to hide anything. To worsen matters, he would soon suffer the death of his only friend and that was breaking his heart. She looked at Hugh and knew he pitied them both as much as she did. Heartache had its own special aura, and its overwhelming presence struck Shayla and Hugh like a hammer. Even the most insensitive creature could feel the 115

Stone Heart

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sorrow Angus felt about his past and would feel again when Karen died. The girl, on the other hand, had accepted her fate with courage. Shayla sensed dignity and loyalty from Karen Matthews. In keeping such a seemingly silly promise to find a statue and utter idiotic words, she showed a faithfulness beyond measure. Very rare in the world, at
any
time.

"What American State are you from?" Shayla asked.

"Indiana," Karen replied. She knew there was no mistaking her American accent.

"Are you sure that no one knows you entered into our database?" Shayla asked once more. She had to be sure. To
sense
what the girl said was, in fact, true.

"No one knows anything about it."

Shayla nodded. She was convinced the girl was telling her the absolute truth. The overwhelming power of something spoken from the heart was, in this case, indisputable. Hugh's words confirmed her own senses.

He smiled and softly said, "You're a brave lass to come so far. To a strange place and with no companion."

"I have a companion," she said as she looped her arm through Angus' and smiled up at him. "I was never afraid while I was with him."

Angus looked down into her upturned face and had to grin.

She was a little liar. She had been frightened almost literally to death that first night. But she had persisted despite her fears. And she had been frightened
for
him. He put his free hand over hers. He would never have such a fine, devout friend.

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"I'll make a deal with you," Shayla addressed them both.

"Angus, you may show Karen everything within the forest she wants to see, if she'll agree to shore up the holes in our computer system. I don't want anything like this to ever happen again."

Karen looked up at him and eagerly nodded. Her blue eyes reflected confidence and the expectation of a wonderful adventure. He didn't know what this
computer
was. Much of their conversation about it confounded him. But her response satisfied him it was something well known to her. There was only one question in his mind. He did not want to ask it in front of Karen. "Excuse me one moment while I speak with the Sorceress," he told her.

Shayla walked a short distance with Angus while Hugh stayed behind and talked with Karen.

"What's on your mind, MacGregor? The girl seems quite willing to enter into this agreement," Shayla said.

"When she has done what you request of her ... What
then
, Sorceress? Will you no' pass judgement upon her for coming into the sacred forest and seeing members of the Order? Will she then be put to death?"

"I see no point in
that
, MacGregor."
She hasn't got much
time anyway.
"She'll be left in peace to wander where she will, and I will command that no one harms her in any way.

Does that satisfy you?"

"So, it is as I thought. The old ways are still enforced.

Outsiders who find their way here are still put to death." He paused, looked back at Karen and saw that she was still speaking with Hugh. "I surmise it is the way you have 117

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survived all this time. But tell me, Sorceress, you
would
have put her to death if she had no' been dying. Would you not?"

Outsiders
would
be brought into their realm under very specific circumstances. And only when necessary. But Shayla wanted this powerful man to understand that protection of the Order from the outside world would always take precedence. Because of his history, Angus mustn't do anything to ever jeopardize their security. "Our survival is paramount. But this is a very special case. Because she poses no threat, I won't pass judgement on either of you. As I see it, you had no control over who freed you."

Angus looked away from Karen and brought his gaze back to the beautiful silver-gray eyes of the Sorceress. "I will tell you the full truth of the matter, lady. I care no' what you do to me. I want to live and was grateful to be free of my imprisonment. But I know how fragile Karen's health is. When she was amazed by the magic during my transformation, I offered to bring her here. If she had been healthy, I would have tried to send her away and would never have let you know who had freed me. It would have been poorly done of me to place her in danger after she and her kin had befriended me for so long. I now treasure my life, but no matter what eventually happens to me, I will never let anyone harm her. Never!"

Shayla was impressed. The man had been willing to give his own life to keep his companion safe, no matter what had happened when he'd reached the Order. "If she'd insisted on coming here and hadn't been so ill, you would have brought her anyway." It was a statement rather than a question.