Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (22 page)

Garrick smiled at her with a shrug and stepped aside as the bigger man led her the rest of the way into the circle.
Dani frowned, anxiousness creeping through her body.
Angus took her other hand and looked down at her with a bright smile. “You don’t want him. You deserve a
man
,” he growled, looking at her with a big, friendly smile.

Dani’s head fell back as she laughed, her cheeks starting to hurt from all the smiling.

“
Ach
, my pride,” Angus said, faking an attack on his heart. “Can’t you see he’s not half the man I am?

“Is that so?” she asked, incapable of keeping the laughter from her voice.

“It is,” he replied, nodding. And with that they were off, dancing around the other Fairies, laughing all the way. If she’d thought he was fat before, she mentally scratched that idea. He moved as quickly and every bit as spryly as the others.

This, she thought, was going to be a long night. A fun one for sure, but definitely a long one.

They had danced for hours, and Dani found that she’d actually warmed up to the Fairies and Pixies around camp. A few of the Pixies had tried their hand at tricking her, or pulling the skirt of her dress up, but she quickly learned to keep a cautious eye out for the little creatures. A few of them were friendlier, landing on her shoulder and staring at her with shy grins. Those, she liked.

“Oh,” she breathed, sitting down in a chair next to Garrick. “I’m pooped.” She reached down and gripped the goblet resting on the ground next to her chair and raised it to her mouth. She drank its entire contents in three gulps, wincing at the burn she felt as it flowed down her throat. She’d lost count of how many drinks she’d had. She thought she could remember five
…
maybe six so far?

“You seem to be having a good time,” Garrick said, looking her over with a single eyebrow raised.

“You too.” She grinned. Garrick had done every bit as much dancing, if not more. He knew the customs here, knew the choreography that the other Fairies would have known their entire lives.

He took a drink of his own beverage, licking his lips after he gulped it down. “I am. It’s been a long time.”

They watched the others dance for a while, until slowly the others started to tire. Her eyes traveled upward, past the tree line and up into the night sky. No stars shined brightly down on them. Instead, the sky was field with wisps of colors, reminding her of the Northern Lights in
Alaska
. She’d never been there herself, but had seen pictures of the phenomenon. In this realm, that
was
the night sky. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Garrick replied. He was looking into the sky as well, his face and body language showing how peaceful he found the si
gh
t.

By the time the dancing was through, it seemed that old Angus had drummed up another bit of entertainment in honor of Garrick and Dani.

This time, he was the entertainer.

He took the space in the center of the circle, his back to the large bonfire that burned so brightly that every face was clearly visible.

“Tonight I tell of the Cailltes, the ones who’ve been lost and few who’ve been found. For it is an old folktale that I’ve found to be true. Throughout the years, few have seen a Caillte, and even fewer are left to tell their tale.”

A Fairy handed Dani a blanket, and she
gladly
wrapped it around her shoulders, and stole a quick peek at Garrick. He was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and he had a surprised look on his face.

“The legends of our fathers say that there are others who walk and talk like us, only that the hold no essence of their own,” Angus continued. “The Cailltes come to our land at night; some of them to take us away, to take our children and our brothers and sisters. Some, to live amongst us as spies for their people.
‘
Twas a night much like this one when I came upon one myself. I had had a long journey that day so I decided to settle for the night. I found a spring and knelt next to it so I could wash my hands and face, and that is when I saw a reflection in the water. I looked up quickly to see a young boy staring at me, silent as
a
ghost. I rose to my feet, startled to see him, and I asked him his name. He spoke, but I couldn’t understand him. I could also tell he did not have an essence within. He was scared and alone, his clothing strange. He stuck by me as I made a fire for the night, and all along I recalled the legend of the Cailltes. I wondered who the boy was, where he had come from, and if there were others nearby. There wasn’t though, so far as I could tell. I asked him if he was a Caillte, and the boy understood. He nodded eagerly and pointed in the direction he had come from.
M
y blood ran cold
, and
I wondered if he’d come for me, if I was soon to be lost myself.

“The boy took off in that direction, waving me to follow him. I left my fire behind and followed the boy, though only out of curiosity. I chased after him, having to trace to keep up. When I finally did, he had stopped running. He stepped slowly with his hands outstretched as he touched leaves and flowers. I watched him silently, not daring to move and not daring to even breathe. And then he was gone. One second he was there, the next he’d vanished. He didn’t trace; there was no longer any presence of him left. I still don’t know if he’d meant for me to follow him, if he meant to take me to where all Cailltes go. I sat there for a time, wondering if I’d had so much drink that I had been hallucinating all along. But no, I wasn’t. I saw a Caillte that night, and almost became one myself.”

Everyone around camp was silent, eyes wide with fear. Dani looked at each of them, taking in their expressions as their gazes stayed locked on Angus. It wasn’t until she looked at Angus herself that she found that he was staring at
her
. She looked away quickly, darting her gaze at Garrick. He still leaned forward, though now appeared to be lost in thought.

Slowly others started to speak, the anxious silence making way to quiet chatter as everyone regained their bearings.

“Cailltes,” Garrick said quietly. “I forgot all about that.”

“Hmm?”

He looked at her then, his brows drawn low. “My sisters used to tell me about the Cailltes when I was little, and how one day one would come and take me away, and live out my life here, pretending to be me. I hadn’t heard anyone speak of them in so long that it didn’t even occur to me
…
w
hen I stepped through the portal
…
Cailltes are humans.”

She stared at him, not liking the expression on his face.

Garrick sat back, but kept his eyes trained on her. “Humans have been here.”

Dani sat back as well, wrapping the blanket closer around her. She
glanced
out into the circle where
the others
had
all
started their own conversations. Her gaze landed on Angus, who was now in a friendly conversation with Mr. McCray, and she wondered what made Angus decide to tell that particular
story
the night she was in their camp.

****

Dani fought the urge to wake up as light filtered in through the fabric of her tent. As consciousness finally graced her, she shot up, looking around.

She sighed.
Not the caves.

How on earth had she actually fallen asleep?

After all of the dancing and drinking of “ale” the night before, she was shown to the tent that she could use for the night. Garrick was to sleep in another tent so as not to ruin her maidenhood (according to Angus), but after Dani’s fearful plea to not leave her alone, he had agreed to return to her tent when the camp had fallen quiet.

She’d dazed for a while, waiting for the comforting feeling of Garrick, and had apparently fallen asleep as soon as he stepped inside the tent.

Now, she was mortified.

She’d never slept with a man before. Well, not when there wasn’t sound- and shatter-proof glass separating them.

This time, she’d slept
next to
Garrick. Her mind quickly catalogued all the reasons that had been wrong, but then had overr
i
d
d
e
n
those thoughts with all the reasons it was right—the traitor.

She looked over at Garrick now. He was lying on his stomach, his right arm curled under his face, squishing his cheek as he slept. He looked so peaceful like that, that she admired how beautiful he really was. She couldn’t help but think about how good it had felt when he’d healed her in the caves. She’d had her first orgasm because of him, when just the thought of his touch had felt so physical. How good would his real touch feel?

Rays of sun filtered in through the red cloth even more now, causing everything to have a reddish hue. The brightness caused her to cringe as she cupped her hands over her eyes. God, did she have a hangover?

“Good morning,” Garrick breathed, looking up at her with sleepy eyes. “How did you sleep?”

“Okay
,
I guess.
” Ha, she had the best night’s sleep in
forever
.
“
I have a pretty bad headache though.”

He smiled sleepily. “Can’t help you there. Self-inflicted.”

“What?”

“I can’t heal it if it’s self-inflicted.” He sat up slowly, brushing his fingers through his hair.

She watched as he ran his hands over his face, the stubble disappearing, revealing perfectly smooth
skin
. “How did you? Never
mind.”

He cocked a half
-
smile at her and stood up, careful not to straighten himself out else he smack his head on the tent’s ceiling. “Are you ready?”

She blinked up at him a few times, wishing that it wasn’t so damned bright in the tent
. Was their sun a freaking over
achiever? “For what?”

“We’re going to
Túir
Cathair,” he said as though she should know what he was talking about. “We’re going to the Castle.”

“Oh. I forgot.” She stood up and rubbed her temples, wishing she wouldn’t have had so much to drink the night before.
“Is it self-inflicted if someone else was handing me the drinks?”

Garrick snorted. He gave her a slight shake of the head before ducking out of the tent.

Dani followed. As she’d suspected, the sun was an overachiever, spotlighting her simply to make her head hurt worse than it already
di
d. Within minutes, they found Sharleigh McCray tying a horse to his carriage. Another was already tied to it, moving its feet restlessly and throwing its head up and down repeatedly. “Hmm,” she said. “Your horses look the same here.”

The fiddler’s eyebrows rose in question, but he continued with his work, not looking up at her.

“They are,” Garrick replied. “Sometimes a few of our horses end up in your realm, and some of yours end up here. You’ll probably see a few that don’t belong though.”

“
One of these things is not like the other
,” Dani sang under her breath, stopping when both Garrick and Sharleigh stared confusedly at her.

“Righ
t then,” Sharleigh said, the “r”
rolling
off his tongue
. He ran a hand lovingly down the horse’s neck before patting its tall, wide back. “We should be off soon, don’t you think
,
my prince?”

“I think so,” Garrick agreed.

“Would you care for breakfast first?”
he
asked, gesturing in the direction where last night’s festivities had taken place.

“Ooh, I don’t,” Dani said automatically, feeling a little squirmish from the alcoholic beverages that were still roiling in her stomach.
Mental note: stay away from ale.

“I’m good too,” Garrick added. “We should probably go see Angus and thank him though.”

Sharleigh nodded, and he and Dani followed Garrick until they spotted Angus in front of a green tent.

“You’re off then?” the big Fairy asked.

Garrick stepped forward and held his hand out, palm up, as the Fairy greeted him. “We are. We’v
e got a long journey ahead
of us, even after we reach the castle.”

Angus nodded, flicking a gaze at Dani then back at Garrick. “You’ll take care of the wee lass then?”

“I will. We just wanted to express our appreciation for your hospitality.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Oh
,
it was nothing.” He stood from his chair and walked toward the carriage, taking Dani gently by the elbow. “You change your mind yet?” he asked quietly, though not quiet enough that Garrick couldn’t hear.

Dani laughed. “I’m afraid not.”

“Well
,
that’s
fine
,” Angus said. “I know you’ll see reason soon enough.” They’d reached the carriage and he pulled the door open, holding a hand out for her to grab. She took it and stepped up, entering the cab. Garrick followed her inside, sitting beside her on the bench seat as Angus shut the door. “You have a good trip back home and give our best to your cousin.” Looking at Dani, he gave her a flirtatious wink. “And I’ll be seeing you again lass.”