Stone Heart (19 page)

"All right. I don't want to miss
anything
," she agreed and stood up to stand by Angus.

"I'll see you tonight then." Wade smiled at her. "I'll give you a close up look at my wings, and even show you some Fairy dust if you like."

"Oh, yes.
Please!"
She smiled at him.

"Come, Karen," Angus insisted, and took her by the elbow as she nodded good-bye to Wade. He walked to a nearby stand of rowan trees, and gently helped her sit among some soft young ferns.

"Angus, this is all so amazing. I can't wait to see everything. And Wade is so friendly. Just like Pluck. I hope I can meet so many more of your people. I wish my Aunt could see this." She realized she was babbling a bit, but everything was so phenomenal. She couldn't get enough.

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Stone Heart

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Angus' disturbance over Karen's camaraderie with Wade was quickly forgotten. Her excitement added to his own. It had been so long since he had seen these things himself.

"Aye, little one. You'll see everything you wish to. Just rest now. You'll need your strength for tonight."

He leaned back against a tree and pulled Karen into his embrace. She turned to him, and it felt quite natural to him that she did so. Then she snuggled against his chest. Her head rested over his heart, and Angus wanted to hold her there forever. Her life was worth so much more than his own.

He protectively tightened his arms around her.

Karen noticed others were lying nearby. It was kind of like having a nap after a picnic and the fireworks would come later. Everyone was storing up energy for the night. "Angus?"

she murmured as fatigue and heather ale caught up with her.

"Hush, you. Sleep." He stroked her hair.

"Why do they light fires in the woods? Don't people in nearby towns see the flames?"

"'Tis a type of magic, lass. The firelight can only be seen by those in The Shire. Rest now." She sighed and he cocooned her within the safety of his arms. He could never remember holding something so delicate and, as he was beginning to understand, so very precious to him. He tried to clear all thoughts of the future from his mind. Karen and he still had time together. But was she becoming more than a friend? Before long, he could not help drifting into a relaxed state of slumber himself. Her warmth was like a spiritual blanket to a man so long without contact of any kind.

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Chapter Eight

Angus woke with the sunset. Birds had ceased their calling to one another in lieu of nocturnal creatures which would take their place. Already, he sensed the Pixies, Nymphs, Gnomes and Trolls nearing the clearing. Even when he was a boy, he was taught the clearing had been a gathering place for centuries. Karen rested gently against his chest. He was loathe to wake her, but she would see the wonders he had promised only by night. Distant lights of varying colors heralded a Rade or a procession of wee folk. Such processions were held for any number of reasons. Any excuse was usually appropriate, for the smallest of all the Fairy Clan loved their Rades. He did not want Karen to miss such an event. Indeed, he felt his own expectations arise. It would be the first Rade he had witnessed since leaving the Order. "Karen, awaken,"

he said as he gently stroked her cheek with one finger.

She sighed and turned into his chest, burying her face against him. "Hmmm?"

"The Pixies are on a Rade. You dunna' want to miss this."

She sat up, pushed her hair back and smiled up at him.

Angus' heart melted. She was so very sweet and frail. He helped her into a sitting position, then pulled her against him.

Her back was against his chest, her legs rested between his.

His whole body felt good just having her so near.

"Watch." He pointed toward the approaching lights and was awarded with a gasp of surprise and pleasure from her.

"Ohhh, Angus. What are they doing? It's so wonderful!"

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"'Tis called a Rade. The smallest of the Fairy world gather themselves together and go a-trooping in their finest garments. In this way do they celebrate some special event."

"What event?" Karen asked as she kept her gaze glued to the little band of Pixies flying, walking, leaping and running by them in a frenzy of merriment.

"They need little if any excuse. Sometimes it is the bronzing of the leaves. Other times they express joy at the making of a new wine or someone has given birth to a healthy child."

"What do you suppose they celebrate tonight?"

Angus turned his head so he could see her expression. Her eyes were like starlight in the passing lanterns of the Fairy procession. "Let us ask."

"Can we do that?" she whispered.

He grinned. "We can do anything we please, lass. You are with me."

"Ho, People of Peace. Where go you this fine night in such splendor?" Angus addressed them.

To Karen's surprise, several of the little people stopped, looked up and grinned. One of them, a little man in a brown jerkin with a pointed hat, held up a mug no larger than a thimble. Judging by the foam on top, it appeared to have some sort of ale in it.

"We go to a nearby burgh to sign a pact made between us and the large Fairies. They will allow us to dwell within and under their cottages this winter, and we will keep the vermin away for them. It seems a small thing, but we are safer nowadays living nearer larger protectors of the Order."

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"Your safety has been threatened?" Angus asked in alarm.

"All of the Order is at risk. Outsiders close in on us more each day. No offense meant to your lady," the little man doffed his cap to her.

"No offense taken," Karen replied. "I hope you don't find offense with my being
here
."

"Shayla is wise beyond measure. If she says you are welcome. Then you are. We will see you at the clearing later tonight." The little man turned to go, snapped his fingers, then turned quickly back. "I beg your pardon, MacGregor. I know who your are, and it was rude of me not to offer a welcome at once. I'll make amends if you'll allow it."

"I thank you for the welcome, sir." Angus' heart felt like it was doubling in size. So many had been kind. Apparently, they only knew of him what Shayla had chosen them to know.

Maybe he still had a chance to fit in.

"Here is your official welcome back to the Order and a special gift for your lady," the Pixie said as he jumped high in the air.

Karen saw a momentary flash of light, then glittering dust fell over both her and Angus. It had the consistency of fine powder and an opalescent glow.

"Merry Meet!" the Pixie cried as he landed back on the ground and ran to catch up with his friends.

"Merry Part!" Angus called after him and laughed.

"Ohhhhh, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed, holding up her glistening hands and arms. "What is it?"

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"Consider yourself
Pixie dusted
, lass. It will last the whole of this night and only disappear with the new day's light. Do you like it?"

Karen felt as if she'd never stop smiling. "Like it?" She ran her hand down the white robe she wore and watched the dust sparkle. "I
love
it. No one has ever given me anything so special. It's like wearing a million gems."

Angus felt like singing, so light was his mood. "Come, little one. We will see more if you wish."

"Just try and stop me." She stood up and held out her hand to help
him
.

The gesture was a small one. But the thought of such a small woman helping someone of his brutish size was laughable. So he grinned like an idiot and allowed her to take his hand. But he rose using his own strength.

"What did the Pixie mean by '
your lady
'? Is that how I'm considered?"

"'Twas a way of identifying you. Men who walk through these woods with a woman oftentimes ... Well, they have carnal knowledge of one another. They will seek some quiet glade or pond and..." He let that particular subject drop.

"Tradition dictates the man is usually the protector and needs to be acknowledged by name. The woman is referred to, by strangers, as his
lady
. Unless, of course, she has given permission to have her given name spoken aloud. 'Tis a custom I remember from my childhood, though I was no'

aware it was still upheld."

Karen's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, there are men and women out here having sex in the woods?" She 170

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ignored the customary greeting Angus explained in lieu of the juicier tidbit about sex.

He grinned and could easily see her asking about that for the rest of the night. "Aye. At least, that is the way I remember."

"Did you ever..." She stopped in mid-sentence. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."

He wanted to be honest with her. For some reason it was important that she have the answer to her half-phrased question. "I have never known a woman in these woods, Karen. I was but a child of five years when I was last here."

"I don't understand. You're a Druid, aren't you?"

"Aye. But I left this place with my parents."

"Where did you go? I thought the Sorceress at that time imprisoned you. That's the legend and what you've told me."

"So, you dunna' know what happened before I reached my present age? The reason why I became such a rogue?" he asked.

She shook her head, then wished she hadn't probed. The moment of happiness seemed to have passed.

Angus turned away from her before he spoke. His shoulders slumped and he hung his head. "My parents wanted to make contact with the outsiders, tell them who and what we are. But that is and always has been forbidden. The Sorceress in those days had the right to have them put to death." When he heard Karen's gasp, he quickly added,

"Keeping this place and those within it a secret is necessary.

Even the Pixie who we did see moments ago remarked upon 171

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how the outside world threatens. The magic of the Order could be used unwisely by outsiders were it not protected."

Karen placed a hand on his arm. "What happened, Angus?"

"The Sorceress dinna' want to kill my parents. I believe

'twas her intent to make of them an example. So she allowed them to live, but they were forever cast out of the Order and forbidden to use magic or speak of it to anyone. They were also ordered to leave me behind. Of course, they could do no such thing. The Sorceress sent her guards to retrieve me, but my parents kept them away. That same year the winter was bitter. In a plague which ravaged the countryside, my mother and father fell ill and died within hours of one another. I survived, but I dinna' let the Sorceress or her minions find me for a long time."

"But they eventually did?"

"Aye. They tried to take me back to the Order as I grew older, but I fought them and ran. I blamed them for sending my parents away without proper nourishment or coin for warm lodging. I became as hateful to them as I did the nearby villagers, none of whom would help as my parents lay dying. Then I began to use my powers over the elements to destroy the lives of all I would call enemy."

"But you were just a little boy. How did you survive all of this?"

The tone in her voice was tender. He wished he had heard it those many years ago. "I have always been a bully. My size guarantees I win most battles and that I could take what I want. As a child, I took from other children. As a man, I took from anyone who crossed me and many who dinna'."

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"So the Sorceress..."

"Bespelled me as punishment," he finished. He did not want to turn around and see Karen's expression. The sun would be down in a few moments. Only
then
would he face her. Such deliberate evasion was the act of a coward, but that was what he had really been. A brute committing cowardly acts.

Karen stepped in front of him. "Angus, all of this happened a long time ago. You had to spend lifetimes entombed. You've paid for your crimes. Besides, I said it before and I'll say it again, any man who would help a little girl the way you did can't be that bad. You just can't be."

But she did not know all of it. Judging by the reaction of the rest of the Order, they did not either. He could not hope they would be
that
forgiving. But the last thing in the world he wanted was to lie to the one person closest to him.

"Karen, there is more..."

She stood on her toes, reached very high and placed her fingers against his lips to silence him. "I know enough. I know you're kind, gentle, considerate and have a wonderful sense of humor. There are worse people in the world, Angus MacGregor. And you're damned well not one of them!"

When he wouldn't speak, she took his hands in hers and pulled him down to her level. Placing her palms against both of his cheeks, she bestowed a light kiss upon his full lips then smiled. "Are you saying that little girl you helped was wrong?"

Dumbfounded by her actions, Angus could barely speak.

"No ... She ... No."

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"Then take me to see the rest of your world. And, if anyone asks if I'm your lady, I'll say yes, whether you like it or not."

Her smile was so sweet. His heart would break into thousands of pieces the day she left the world. Perhaps that was what he had always been guarding against, why he had been so angry when his parents died. Was anger a way to avoid the pain of losing those he loved? But anger had not kept the pain at bay. Not when his family was gone, not when years of Karen's ancestors had kept him company and died.

And it would not help him when she left this life. Nothing would.

He gripped her shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace. "You
are
my lady. For we walk together this night and for as many nights as you please."