Haunting Desire (19 page)

Tiarnan had his sword in one hand and ax in the other. Like ghosts, Reyes and Zac stepped silently from the trees behind them. Tiarnan gave them a quick shake of his head, answering the silent question that passed between.
What was out there?

Fear tightening every muscle, Shealy waited to meet the next monster of Inis Brandubh.

T
IARNAN stepped protectively in front of Shealy. Liam fell into place beside him.

Ahead Jamie motioned with his hands to get their attention and then gave one of his signals to alert them about what he’d seen. Two fingers at his eyes then to the forest at his left. Five fingers. Eyes again, forest to his right, four fingers. Whatever was coming, Jamie could see nine of them.

“Stay close,” he said to Shealy. He took her hand and hooked her fingers into the leather at his waist. She nodded and followed like a shadow.

Liam turned and flashed Jamie’s hand signal back to Reyes and Zac, who moved up in silent unity. As they neared, Jamie closed in and crouched down. The others did the same, keeping voices low and heads down.

“What did y’ see?” Tiarnan asked, afraid to even think of facing nine
ellén trechend
.

“Men,” Jamie said. “Nine of them. And a wolf.”

“Hunting them?”

Jamie shook his head. “Like a pet.”

“Fuck that,” Zac said.

Tiarnan stared at the others, confounded. The only men they’d seen on Inis Brandubh were here with them now or had been killed by the
ellén trechend
that morning. “Who are they?” Tiarnan asked.

“No clue. They look dangerous, though. They’re armed.”

Nine men and a wolf to their five, a woman, and a child. Men who’d never shown their faces in all the time Tiarnan and the others had been here. In the beginning, they’d scouted, searching for others, banding together, and even recently, there’d been exploration teams sent out each day to monitor the shifting world they lived in. The possibility existed that chance had kept them from meeting this group, but Tiarnan didn’t like the odds, nor did he like the timing. These men appearing
now
, after Shealy’s father had opened the door between the worlds, did not sit well.

He looked at Jamie’s face, seeing the hard look in his eyes. Jamie shared his misgivings and, knowing the other man as he did, Tiarnan was certain he’d want to take the offense.

He’d seen the man at battle too many times not to understand the way his mind worked, but Jamie wouldn’t think of Shealy and Ellie. He’d want to leave them behind, hidden. Alone. Perhaps that was the best plan. Certainly Tiarnan didn’t want them in the thick of a fight, and with the odds at almost two to one. But what if they were defeated? That would leave Shealy and Ellie unprotected.

“It looked like two parties,” Jamie was saying. “Moving fast and parallel to each other. I think they’re tracking us, but it was hard to tell from the angle they took.”

There would be only one reason for the strangers to be tracking them. They must be working for Cathán. Somehow, Cathán had found these men, recruited them, and sent them out in search of Shealy and her father. If that was true, he could assume they would be ruthless. Tiarnan had fought Cathán before. He knew the man had no conscience, no qualm about slaughtering innocents to get what he wanted.

Tiarnan glanced at his brother, who watched him with steady eyes. Liam would do what he asked, no matter what he asked. But how many times had Tiarnan been in just such a situation? How many times had he made the wrong choice? Seen the wrong options? Led his people to destruction?

In his head, he heard Shealy’s soft voice.
If you made some wrong decisions, then it’s probably because there weren’t any right ones.
But she hadn’t been there. She didn’t know the full extent of his mistakes.

At his right, Shealy knelt close beside him, waiting. Her eyes shone with intelligence, and he knew she’d seen the options ahead of them as clearly as he. Her fingers were still tucked into his belt, and he felt her hand clench over it, trying to hold on to him. He wanted nothing more than to keep her beside him, keep her safe.

Tiarnan sensed Jamie testing him, seeking an answer that would determine what came next. If Tiarnan chose Shealy now, he might do so again, and that could put the others in danger. He respected Jamie, was proud to fight beside the man, but he lived by inflexible standards that didn’t always fit the situation.

“Can we avoid them?” Tiarnan asked.

Jamie shook his head. “They’re too close. Besides, if they’re looking for her, they’ll just keep coming. We need to know who these guys are. We could get away, but next time the odds may be worse.”

He was right and Tiarnan knew it, though he wished the situation could be sidestepped altogether.

“I think they’re trying to get behind us, maybe circle us,” Jamie went on. “We’re not going to let them.” To Reyes and Zac, he said, “You two go around and flank them.” The two men moved out without question, but Tiarnan stopped them.

“Wait. What about Shealy and the child?”

“They stay here and hide,” Jamie replied.

“Not alone,” Tiarnan said.

“We’ve got two to one odds, T. We can’t leave anyone back. Besides, chances are they’re coming for her. We need to keep her out of sight.”

“All the more reason not to leave them alone,” he insisted.

“You’re not running the show. I am. Liam, get someplace high where you’ve got a clean shot.”

Liam didn’t move and Reyes and Zac both hesitated, waiting for the orders to be cleared. Tiarnan kept his gaze steady, his voice low.

“Not alone,” Tiarnan said once more.

“Fuck me,” Jamie said under his breath. “You picked now for this? Really? You think this is the time or place for a pissing contest?”

“It doesn’t have to be a contest. Leave Liam with Shealy and Ellie,” Tiarnan said. “Y’, Reyes, and Zac circle around. I’ll meet them in the middle.”

Jamie looked stunned. “You’ll meet them in the middle,” he repeated. “What? You’re just going to saunter out and make friends? There’s nine of them that I saw, probably more that I didn’t. You hearing me?”

Tiarnan didn’t answer, afraid his voice would betray how uncertain he felt. Put in black-and-white terms, it sounded ridiculous. The kind of
plan
that was doomed to fail. He’d helmed more of them in his lifetime then he wanted to own. But the choices were few, and if the enemy was strong enough to take on Tiarnan, Jamie, Zac, and Reyes, then leaving Liam behind wouldn’t make that much difference to the outcome, but it might save Shealy and Ellie. Liam would be there to help the females survive if the rest of them died.

And in his mind, Shealy spoke again.
You were unbelievable. You were like five men.

Once before he’d heard the same thing said of him. When in battle, Tiarnan lost all sense of himself, so he could only guess at what they’d meant, what he’d done, what they’d seen in him as he fought. But he could hope to be so strong again, now, when it was needed.

He held Jamie’s eyes, unwavering. Inside his heart thumped hard and he felt hot and cold at the same time. He’d sworn that he would never try to take charge again, that he had learned from the past that he was not made to lead others. He was
happy
to follow, he’d assured himself. But he didn’t back down now.

Shealy pressed closer as if in silent support.

Jamie shook his head and cursed. “Okay. Okay, we’ll play your way. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

So did he. Tiarnan let out a shaky breath, his chest locked tight. If he got them all killed, well, he’d probably deserve it.

“Liam,” Tiarnan said, glancing at Shealy and away. Every time he looked at her, he had the strange feeling that she knew what was going on inside his head. If she was a seer, then she probably did, and he liked that not at all. Bad enough to be wracked with indecision, but to have this woman witness it was torture. “Take Shealy and Ellie back through the trees. Ye’ll come to the rock hills. Y’ can wait there by the three balancing stones. Y’ know the place?”

Liam nodded without question, hefted the weight of his ax, and adjusted his quiver and bow so that he could reach it quickly. Without a word, he signaled to Shealy and her sister.

Shealy eased her fingers out of Tiarnan’s belt, leaving a cold wash where the heat of her touch had been.

“I’ll be back for y’,” he said.

She shifted her gaze to Jamie’s face, met impassive eyes that couldn’t have told her much, and then looked back to Tiarnan. Her chin came up. Holding her sister tightly, she brushed her fingers against his heart and softly said, “I know. Be careful,” before she turned away.

Without even knowing what he meant to do, he caught her trailing fingers and tugged her back. His hands cupped her face and he kissed her, right there in front of the others. Kissed her like it was the first time . . . the last time. She held herself still for a moment, and the bitter bite of rejection cut him deep, but then she was leaning into him, into the kiss, and the sweetness of it flooded him with heat and passion. Ellie was still in her arms, the only reason he didn’t gather her closer and print his body with hers. He yearned to hold her so tight that they’d become one. He pulled away reluctantly, lips clinging for a charged second.

“I will come for y’,” he murmured against her mouth.

Her thunder-and-lightning eyes flashed at him, and he caught a glimmer of hope, the rumble of fear in the storm brewing within them.

“I will,” he said again.

“You better,” was all she said in return.

Watching her go, he found his throat closed tight with dread and he couldn’t have spoken if he’d wanted to. It divided him, having Liam moving away with Shealy. Tiarnan had always fought side by side with his brother, there to defend him, there to keep him from falling. Now he had Shealy and her sister to protect as well. The looming moment when he might be forced to choose between them taunted him like the approaching enemy.

Tiarnan gave the remaining three men a nod and watched them move off, intent on circling the invaders they’d seen. Jamie cut through the foliage at a distance. He’d be watching, ready to attack.

Tiarnan waited another moment, giving Liam a chance to find shelter for Shealy, Ellie, and himself. Then he faced the dark, shadowed trees and moved ahead, aiming for the place where Jamie had seen the others. Wherever they’d gone from there, he’d be able to track them.

The forest grew very quiet, and Tiarnan felt as if it watched him with invisible eyes. Maybe it did. Everything on Inis Brandubh was alive right down to the dirt, the weather, the plants. He didn’t know what he would meet in this wooded battleground. It could be Cathán’s men, it could be the Druid’s minions, it could be another beast that defied the imagination.

He took some strength from thinking that Liam and Shealy were safe and refused to let himself consider that they might not be.

To his right he heard a low whistle. Jamie, letting him know he was in place. Tiarnan didn’t glance his way in case he was being watched. He paused now, straining to hear movement. Nine men had to make some noise. And what about the wolf Jamie had seen? Surely he’d mistaken its behavior—no wolf of Inis Brandubh had ever been tamed.

Ahead a twig snapped and Tiarnan turned to meet his enemy.

A
S the words
spread out
reached Tiarnan, he felt his heartbeat accelerate, his skin grow tight. He tested the weight of his ax, rested his palm against the knife still in the scabbard at his waist, and crouched down low.

The shout came sudden and fierce, and then it seemed that the forest was alive. He saw five men bolt from cover. Dressed in the mismatched clothing of all those who lived here, they seemed intent on something hidden in the bushes. From the other side, two more pounced out, flushing a seventh from hiding. Still more spilled from the trees. Jamie had counted nine, but Tiarnan’s quick assessment put it closer to twenty.
Twenty.

The loosely formed theory that these men belonged to Cathán solidified as he saw familiar faces mixed in with those of strangers. Some of these men had fought against Tiarnan before Inis Brandubh. Tiarnan’s shock mixed with rage, but there was no time to dwell on it.

The lone man they’d chased from hiding ran toward him, and Tiarnan formed a plan of action. The other men still hadn’t seen him, but soon they would. There was no way for him to get out of this unnoticed. Running wasn’t an option, and even if it had been, he didn’t think he could stomach fleeing from Cathán’s vermin, no matter what the odds.

Through the branches, he caught sight of the one they chased and had a flashing impression of a big man—nearly as tall as himself and broad, though not so heavy through the shoulders. A fit man, but not one who depended on his strength for survival. He wore a white tunic with short sleeves and buttons down the front. A queer black inset at the collar rode tight to his neck, and torn black trews covered his legs. He carried a satchel slung across his chest, and it flopped at his back as he ran.

“Just kill the bastard and be done with it,” one of Cathán’s men shouted as he led a pack of eight to cut off the fleeing man’s escape. “We’ve got the girl. We don’t need him.”

“And if Cathán disagrees?” another answered just before he came to a skidding stop and stared in shock at Tiarnan.

Tiarnan only heard
We’ve got the girl
, and that was enough to turn his dread into a harsh inferno. He couldn’t reason out how they’d found Shealy so fast, but their meaning was clear. As the man in black and white dodged to his left, another man came straight at him with a long, shining sword raised over his head, and Tiarnan’s rage wiped all else from his mind.

Tiarnan feinted to the side and then caught the man hard in the gut with his shoulder, plowing him back until he rammed into a tree trunk. Without hesitation, Tiarnan spun, slamming his body against the pinned man and using the man’s own arm to lift his sword and impale a second man who’d charged. There were more coming now, attacking from all sides at once. One gnarled face with mean eyes caught in Tiarnan’s sights and froze him for an instant. Tiarnan recognized him. His name was Paidric, and he’d once been of Tiarnan’s people before he’d turned traitor with Tiarnan’s brother Eamonn.