Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (35 page)

She gasped at how e
asily he captured and made her a prisoner
as his face became oddly stern, yet gentle.
I won’t let anything happen to you.

Shona’s eyes widened
. She swallowed and began to fidget in her chair to fi
ght the hold he had on her.

His eyes narrowed slightly.
No, no, no…

Bewilderment covered her face as something inside her reacted to the simple scold, submitting. She sat perfectly still, not wanting to displease him further. The action prompted a warm smile from him and she noticed the dimple on his left cheek. Automatic
ally, she smiled shyly back.

He smiled at her again, a knowing smile.
Come here.

She immediately shook her head, eyes wide.

He raised a brow in question.
Surely you’re not afraid?
His face became somber, his head straight.
I won’t hurt you, I promise.
Th
e man’s face
softened as his eyes reached across the tables to hold her.
Nay, little one, I
could never hurt you.

Shona’s breath suddenly left, her heart caught in her throat as he wrapped his gaze around her. It was a gentle embrace, and though she couldn’t breathe or feel her own heart beat, she felt strangely peaceful, secure. Safe.

Why did
you come?

Shona’s mouth opened, but her voice had traveled deep inside her, speaking from her heart.
I had to come.

Why?

I do not know why, but I had to come.

He smiled at her, a rich, warm smile.
As did I.
He nodded his head
and looked away from her briefl
y, taking the security of his gaze with him.

What is wrong?

He turned to her.
Why are we here? How can I understand you? How can you hear me?

Shona shook her head helplessly.
I do not know.

He
sighed,
then
placed his forearms on the tabl
e resting them there.
Weel, let us make the best o’ it then, eh?

Her eyes widened. What she just heard, felt, seemed clearer, yet was strange, as if his thoughts had an
accent.
Make the… best of it?

He smiled again, his dimple deepening.

Shona
shook her head and looked away from him.
No, no I do not
unde
rstand this. It frightens me. Th
is can
not be happening, it cannot! Th
is is
not possible.
She looked back to him, “I can
not really hear you, can I?” She mouthed the last words, no sound escaping, but the communication they had shared was now clearly broken.

He suddenly stood, his hands fl
at on the table and leaned toward her. A desperate look governed his face and his eyes quickly captured her
own
.

She gasped at th
e suddenness of it and froze as
h
e slowly sat.

He swallowed
, his eyes
fusing them together even harder
. 
Please, talk to me.

Though the sp
ell had been broken only briefl
y, it was enough. Fear engulfed Shona as Julia’s warnings erupted to crush what she had just shared with this man.
He will hurt you, he will do bad
things to you,
he
doesn’t care about you. None of them will ever care about you. To them you are nothing, a possession to be bought and sold.
Merely a prize
and no more.

She choked back her fear and quickly stood. Oh, why had she come? It was just like Julia said. Who was she trying to fool? None of this was real. How could it be real?

The man stood slowly, carefully.

Pain, Shona, they will cause you great pain. You will never survive the
pain, Shona. Th
ey will hurt you, hurt you,
hurt
you!

The man came slowly around the table
, never taking his eyes
off her. He continu
ed
his s
trange hold,
he
ad slightly cocked,
eyes
now
fi
lled with pain.

Shona shook her own head and began to tremble.

He again motioned with his hands, brow raised, eyes pleading.
Please
sit down. Dinna leave yet. I wilna hurt ye.

Her legs suddenly weakened, not from fear, but
from the security of his gaze
. Unable and unwilling to fi
ght him, she let herself be magically embraced
and sat
again, calmed by the look on the man’s face.
A tender, protective look.
A safe look.
One able to snuff out Julia’s words.

Shona
leaned back in her chair to put more distance between them. The action prompted a light smile from him, one of understanding. His eyes then gripped her harder.

Shona, knowing herself defeated and utterly trapped, sighed weakly.

So did he.

She cocked her head, wondering what was wrong.

He cocked his head as well, but playfully.

She sent him a bemused look and tilted her head the opposite way.

As did he.

Shona smiled. Ah, a game. She raised a
single eyebrow at him to confi
rm.

He copied the action.

Feeling braver, she ever so slowly raised the other one.

He again copied her.

She sat a moment, thinking.

He lowered his brow, waiting.

Her mind made up, Shona sat straight in her chair, leaned forward, craned her neck, and for lack of a better id
ea, quickly stuck her tongue out
.

He copied the action and crossed his eyes to boot…

* * *

“Eaton, is he doing what I think he’s doing?” Lany’s voice was low, as their concealment was sparse.

John tried his best not to laugh as he reluctantly tore his gaze from the couple seat
ed several rows away. “He’s flirting, Lany. Didn’t you ever fl
irt this way with Cari?”

“Well, not that way.”

“I fi
nd
tha
t
hard to believe.”

“Did
you
do this with Anwen?” Lany teased.

“Of course.”

“Crossed eyes and all?”

John looked back to Dallan, who now had his unbound hair pulled out to either side of his head with his hands and appeared to be trying to touch his nose with his tongue. “Worse.”

Lany glanced at Dallan and did a double take. “What could be worse than that?”

John looked his assistant right in the eye with the most serious Lord Councilor’s face he could muster. “I crammed an entire daisy up my nose once. All for the sake of love.”

Lany shook w
ith barely suppressed laughter. "Oh, I'm definitely going to have to ask Anwen about that!"  He peeked again
at
the couple.

“Why doesn’t he take her hand or something?” Lany whispered. “It couldn’t hurt at this point. I mean, see the starry look she’s giving him?”

John laughed quietly. “He’s afraid of her.”

Lany sat up straight, a stunned look on his face, his mouth half open.

“Kwaku says he can sense her Muiraran blood and heart, but doesn’t know what it is yet.
Don’t worry
,
he’ll come around
. Zara told me once he touches her, it’ll be all over. Her heart will fully waken.”

“C’mon Dallan, touch her then!”

“Patience, Lany.”

“Right.” Lany pressed his lips together as he turned his attention back to the couple. “The Maiden seemed pretty upset a while ago. What do you think that was about?”

John never took hi
s eyes off the couple as they
quietly gazed at each other. “I don’t know. Kwaku and Za
ra will be back today
. We’ll have to see what they’ve come up with.
There have definitely been things going on none of us were aware of."

 
Lany shook his head. “I should have gone with them
. I bet I know where I could fi
nd out a few things.

“I need you here.”

“I know.”

John fi
nally looked at him. “I told Zara to check the old records, as far back as one thousand years.”

Lany’s eyes grew wide as he smiled broadly.

John chuckled. “I still remember my assistant days and a few of my sources. Don’t worry. Th
ey’ll fi
nd out what they need to on this Dawson woman.
I definitely want to know if she and the woman you saw at STAN'S the other night are one in the same. 
By the
way, you’ve called her to confi
rm our interview this evening?”

“Five o’clock. Having a chance to question the Maiden should prove interesting to say the least.”

“Indeed it will. If we can get her away from Dallan long enough that is!”

They both laughed quietly before turning back to watch Dallan MacDonald silently court the Muiraran Maiden.

* * *

Dallan’s head wa
s bent to his chest his eyes fi
xed on the lass, holding her. He knew his look was intense, but he was curious as to how much she could take. She matched his look and posture, though not as boldly as expected, as if waiting to see what he would do next.

He lifted his head and smiled at her, giving in. It pleased him to see the corners of her mouth tug upward
shyly. He softened his look. They
had stopped communicating by the Saints-only-knew-what-method and he for one felt less shaken, it having unnerved him enough the day before. He didn’t want to go through that again when she left him this time. Besides, he’d used this form of communication often enough and knew he was good at it. What made it even better was the fact the
lass was
so easy to read.

He smil
ed at her tenderly, his eyes fi
lling with concern.
Such easy prey, so innocent and open, so… unprotected.

Dallan’s jaw twitched at the thought. How could she possibly save so many? What did she possess that was so important? And if it was so important, why did she not know about it?

Answers. No one thought it necessary he have any.

H
e
decided to see if she would perhaps play another game. He put his elbows on the table, his chin in his hands, and let go a long sigh.

She did not follow suit, but sat there, eyes wide, her gaze still locked with his, yet seeing something else as well. He studied her more closely.

Fear. She had fear in her eyes, but not because of him.

Dallan gently extracted his gaze, releasing her. She immediately looked down at the table and froze.

He looked around and saw nothing, yet the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Again he scanned the area. Still no one except John and Master Lany hiding behind a low bookshelf, but they were of no concern at the moment. He knew they had been there all along, and he didn’t mind.

He stood, walked to the nearest aisle, and suspiciously peered down it. Nothing, yet his feeling of warning would not leave. He looked to the lass at the table. She still sat as before frozen in place, head bent
low, looking as if she might fl
ee. He decided to see if John sensed anything and chanced leaving her a moment, but not before he let her know.

Dallan bent over the table to draw her attention. She slowly raised her face, looked quickly around, then swallowed hard.

He gave her a concerned look, mixed with the gentle sternness he’d created for her earlier. He pointed to where John and Lany hid, indicating
with a combination of hand signals
he would be over there and come
right back
.
He knew she would understand even without the gestures.

She swallowed again and gave him the barest of nods, her hands now gripping the seat of her chair. Dallan’s brow furrowed in concern and he again glanced around before heading over to the Councilor’s hiding spot.

John
and Lany
peeked over the shelf as he approached. “What is it? What’s w
rong?” John
whispered
as his eyes immediately sought the Maiden. “Is she all right?”