Echoes of Magic (27 page)

Grayson shook his head. “Why would you want
me?”

“
Because your magic grows
each day. Don’t you know you’ve great power in you?”

“
Nay,” Grayson said. He
glanced at Adrianna to see her brow furrowed in
confusion.

Nigel laughed. “Leoma
managed to fool me. I didn’t realize the power you had then. I
should’ve killed her and raised you as my own.”

“
Males don’t have
magic.”

“
They aren’t supposed to,”
Nigel agreed. “But there have been instances where some were able
to use it.”

Grayson sliced his hand through the air.
“Enough of the lies. I hold no magic.”

“
You do. Come with me, and
I’ll show you.”

“
Never,” Grayson said
between clenched teeth.

Nigel pushed a broken tip of his blade into
Adrianna’s neck. Blood welled and rolled down her creamy skin
between her breasts. “Come with me. Or she dies.”

Adrianna was the one thing Grayson would do
anything for. It was the reason he had begged her to stay inside
the castle away from Nigel’s gaze. She should have realized it
sooner.

The blade in her neck didn’t compare to the
pain in her heart. She struggled against Nigel, sending the point
deeper into her skin, but she didn’t care. Grayson couldn’t give in
to Nigel, he couldn’t turn over his soul.

“
You can try to lie,” Nigel
said to Grayson. “Tell me she means nothing to you. Tell me that I
don’t smell your scent on her. Tell me you would rather see her die
than to give me your soul.”

Adrianna clawed at the hand that gripped her
jaw. Nigel’s fingers tightened, sending waves of blackness at the
corners of her eyes. She stilled, and he instantly loosened his
grip.

“
Don’t make me kill you,”
he whispered in her ear. “You want to see your lover live, don’t
you?”

“
If you take his soul,
you’ll kill him.”

Nigel’s hand lowered to cup her breast.
“He’ll live. You can as well if you do as I say.”

“
You disgust me.” She
closed her eyes, hating Nigel’s touch.

“
Not very smart of you,” he
said, his voice as cold as ice.

“
Leave her be,” Grayson
commanded, his voice low and lethal.

Nigel chuckled and continued to fondle her
breast. “Or you’ll do what? Kill me?”

No sooner were the words
out of his mouth than a sword embedded in his throat. Blood sprayed
Adrianna as she turned her head. When Nigel’s arm loosened, she
moved away and found herself enveloped in Grayson’s
arms.

“
How badly are you hurt?”
he asked as he tilted her head to the side to look at her
neck.

“
I’m all right. Who threw
the sword?”

“
My mother,” he
whispered.

The gurgling from behind drew their
attention. She turned and found Nigel slowly pulling the sword from
his throat. Her blood turned to ice and her stomach dropped to her
feet.

“
You need to run,” Grayson
whispered in her ear as he stepped away from Nigel.

She let Grayson push her behind him.

“
Run.”

She gripped his hand. “I’m not leaving
you.”

His silver gaze captured
hers. “I will die here, Drina, but you don’t have to. Don’t let him
use you against me again. I’ll do anything he asks as long as he
has you.”

Tears gathered in her eyes. She knew he was
right, but the thought of leaving him, of never seeing him again,
was too painful to imagine.

“
Please,” he
begged.

She nodded.

“
Run, and don’t look back,”
he said and gave her a little push.

Adrianna spared one last glance at Nigel.
His helm faced her, and she swore she could feel his smile of glee.
But she didn’t stop. She lifted her skirts and raced as fast as she
could to the castle.

But she wouldn’t go alone. She was
determined to take Leoma with her.

“
Leoma,” she shouted as she
slammed the castle door closed. “Leoma, we must leave.
Now.”

Adrianna started for the stairs when she
glanced up and skidded to a halt. On the stairs with Leoma was a
man who looked like Grayson only with dark blond hair that was
streaked with gray.

She backed away from Leoma and the man.
There were too many secrets, too much evil.

“
Adrianna,” Leoma called
out to her. “There’s no need to be frightened.”

She shook her head and continued backwards.
“Grayson has bade me leave.”

“
And you must,” the man
said. “Immediately. Nigel cannot get his hands on you again. Take
the secret passage.”

Her gaze shifted to Leoma. “Why didn’t you
tell Grayson his father was alive?”

“
Not even Nigel knows
William isn’t dead,” Leoma said. “We knew the day would come when
Grayson returned. We counted on him being strong enough to survive
until this day.”

“
We just didn’t expect
you,” William said with a soft smile, his silver gaze locking with
hers. “Thank you, Adrianna, for saving my son’s life.”

She watched as his father descended the
stairs and walked from the castle.

“
You should
leave.”

Adrianna turned to find Leoma beside her.
“You should come with me.”

“
Nay. My place is here,
defending my son beside my husband. Now, go, Adrianna.”

This time, Adrianna didn’t look back. She
hurried down the stairway, counting each one as she went until she
reached the tenth stair. Just as Leoma had explained, Adrianna
reached her foot down and felt the lock. She raised her toe and the
hidden door slid open.

She rushed inside and a
heartbeat later the door closed behind her. Adrianna lifted her
skirts and walked as fast as she dared down the pitch-black
corridor. She never thought it would hurt so bad to leave
Grayson.

Tears fell unheeded down her face. Several
times she tripped, catching herself on the jagged rocks of the
cave. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered without Grayson.

* * * * *

Grayson let out a sigh of relief when
Adrianna entered the castle. He would make sure she had enough time
to get to the secret passage before Nigel went looking for her. He
shifted his gaze to Nigel. The bastard still stood, as if he hadn’t
just had a sword through his neck.

“
Does it hurt?” Grayson
asked.

Nigel tossed aside his broken sword and
tested the weight of the one he pulled from his body. “I feel
nothing.”

“
I think you’re lying.
Whether you die by a wound or not, you still feel the
pain.”

“
Care to find out?” Nigel
asked.

Grayson snorted. “Never.”

“
You keep saying that, but
if I still had that tasty little morsel in my hands, you wouldn’t
be so cocky.”

“
How can you be sure? You
think I cared about her enough to hand you my soul?”

“
If it meant she was able
to live? Aye, I do. How about we see if your wound has healed
enough for you to fight me properly?”

Grayson lifted his sword to block a downward
swing of Nigel’s blade. Amazingly, Grayson’s leg felt almost
normal. He lunged and pivoted, and not once was there a twinge of
pain.

He almost smiled. Almost. But Nigel’s attack
had quickened. Grayson found it more and more difficult to defend
himself, and not once was he able to give an attack of his own.
Nigel kept him on the defensive, and it was wearing him out
quickly.

Grayson managed to duck a blow and, as he
did, he dropped his shield and caught Nigel’s arm. With a mighty
bellow, Grayson elbowed Nigel in the throat before backhanding him
with his fist, denting Nigel’s helm.

Nigel staggered backwards, but didn’t fall.
Grayson blew out a breath and waited for the next attack. Just as
Nigel lifted his sword and took a step, someone bellowed Grayson’s
name, halting Nigel.

Grayson looked over Nigel’s shoulder and
stared dumbfounded. Nigel growled as he turned to face the man.

“
Well, William. It seems
your bitch of a wife lied to me twice.”

“
She deceived you, Nigel.
Give credit where credit is due.”

Grayson’s knees almost
buckled.
William? My father?
He couldn’t believe his eyes, not even when he
heard his father speak.

“
You should have died that
day,” Nigel said.

William shrugged a thick shoulder. His dark
blond hair was shorn to his shoulders, his silver eyes filled with
anger. “Did you think I didn’t know of your treachery?”

“
I always thought you a
fool. Why did you never attack before now?”

Grayson moved around Nigel to see his
father. He waited, his breath locked in his body, to hear what his
father would say.

“
I’ve waited for the day my
son could best you.”

“
So you’ve come to watch me
kill him, have you?”

“
Grayson won’t be the one
to die this day.”

“
Have you used your magic
then?” Nigel asked. “Did you seek the future as your wife has done
for me?”

Grayson jerked. His father
had magic? His father was a
bana
‐
bhuidseach
? He looked from his
father to Nigel, so many questions swimming in his head.

William laughed, the sound void of humor.
“I’ve done much as I’ve waited.”

“
You were too cowardly to
challenge me yourself. You let me take over your castle, your
people and your wife.”

Grayson’s chest began to ache at Nigel’s
words. He couldn’t believe his father had sat idly by and let Nigel
infect Hawksbridge. His father had let him wander alone, his father
had let his mother be abused. He had let his people crumble to
almost nothing.

It was nearly too much for Grayson.
Returning to Hawksbridge was supposed to give him answers, not
bring more questions. He’d longed to know his parents, to have them
by his side, now he could barely look is father in the eye.

William, however, ignored his son, his gaze
focused on Nigel. “You know nothing.”

“
I know what I’ve seen.
Where were you when your wife called out while she was being
beaten?”

William smiled then, a smile full of malice
and anger. “I was by her side. I was under your nose all these
years, Nigel. You just never took notice of me, and that’s how I
wanted it.”

“
You lie.”

“
Do I?” William asked, his
body primed for an attack.

Grayson took in every word, every movement
of both men and waited. Just as Nigel stepped toward William the
ground began to shake.

Nigel barked with laughter. “My army has
arrived. You will all be defeated.”

Grayson was about to order the people inside
the castle to take shelter when he heard a familiar battle
yell.

“
It’s Drogan,” he shouted
and motioned to his men to open the gates. “Drogan of Wolfglynn has
arrived. Your days of ruling Hawksbridge are at an end,
Nigel.”

Grayson began to turn toward the incoming
horses when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nigel move. It
was by sheer instinct that made Grayson duck as Drogan shouted his
name. Nigel’s sword whizzed over Grayson’s head, breaths from his
face.

Fury erupted in Grayson. He’d had enough.
His sword longed for blood, and he was going to make sure it was
Nigel’s on his blade before the sun sank.

“
You think an army can stop
me?” Nigel asked him. “Nothing can.”

Grayson gripped his sword and strode to
Nigel. “Fight me.”

“
I think not.” Nigel’s helm
tilted back as if he were sniffing the air. “I’ve a much prettier
quarry to catch.”

Adrianna!

Grayson’s heart leapt into his throat, but
before he could move, there was a great bang. Everyone covered
their eyes and turned away. By the time Grayson turned back, Nigel
was gone.

“
Adrianna,” he said and
rushed to the stables for a fresh horse.

“
Grayson.”

He slipped a bridle on his grey. “I don’t
have time,” he told his father.

“
If you want to save her,
you’ll listen to me.”

Grayson sighed and stilled. He didn’t know
whether he could trust his father or not, but it was a chance he
had to take to save Adrianna. He shifted his gaze to William. “What
do you know?”

“
Adrianna has had time to
make it out of the tunnel. I know a short cut that will get us to
her.”

“
Quicker than
Nigel?”

William compressed his lips into a thin
line. “I don’t know, son.”

Grayson had heard all he needed. “Get a
horse. I ride now.”

He didn’t look back as he nudged his horse
into a canter. Grayson stopped beside Drogan in the bailey.

“
I’m anxious to hear this
story,” Drogan said.

“
And you will, just as soon
as I find Adrianna.”

“
Lead the way, my
friend.”

Chapter
Thirty
‐
Two

Adrianna moved aside the
thick branches that covered the entrance to the cave and stepped
into sunlight. The sky was clear and bright. Such a beautiful
morning for such an awful day.