Midnight's Promise (4 page)

It had been so very long since anyone had intrigued him that it took his brain several minutes to realize what the emotion was.

Once he did, Malcolm took a step back. The emptiness, the deadness inside him he’d gotten used to. Any emotion other than guilt, he couldn’t process.

The Druid stumbled to her car as she stared at it in horror. She shoved aside her wet hair and looked from the broken window and then over her shoulder to where she’d woken.

She then looked around the trees. “Hello? Is someone there?”

Malcolm gripped the tree. She appeared so lost and vulnerable that he found himself considering stepping out of the shadows and offering his help. That was the old Malcolm, the one who still had a soul. He released a breath and glanced down to see it wasn’t his fingers gripping the bark, but his claws sunk into the tree.

How had Daal been released and he hadn’t even known it?

“I know you’re out there!” she shouted over the rain. “Thank you for helping me.”

The hair on the back of Evie’s neck stood on end. Someone was watching her. Was it the same someone who had helped her? Or someone else? Perhaps the ones looking for her?

She dropped to her knees, wrinkling her nose in distaste as mud and water soaked into her jeans. Evie found her purse, laptop, and keys before she walked around to the trunk. When she unlocked the trunk, it fell open and both suitcases tumbled to the ground.

A look around showed her she had a heck of a climb back up to the road, and a several mile walk to return to Aviemore. In the rain.

Evie dragged all her stuff into the trees where their thick limbs kept most of the rain away. She sat huddled on one of her suitcases, her arms wrapped around her to fight off the chill.

She knew someone had pulled her out of the car. Somehow she recalled strong, kind hands that had held her. She pressed her fingers to her cheek, wondering if she had dreamed the man’s touch there as well.

Evie leaned her head on the tree next to her and closed her eyes. She was so tired, and her head hurt almost as much as her lip. At least she hadn’t broken anything, which by the look of her car was a small miracle.

The call of the stones had grown louder since the accident. She couldn’t hear her own thoughts over the voices.

Her bank account had suffered greatly over the last few months after she left her job. She thought she would’ve tracked down whoever searched for her by now, but they were good. Better than she expected, actually.

If she used the last of her money to fix the car, then Brian wouldn’t have tuition for the next semester. Evie would have no choice but to return to work.
If
they allowed her to return.

Her gut churned painfully at the thought of going back to Edinburgh. She was exposed and easily tracked there. Yet, it wasn’t just herself she had to worry over. There was Brian, and he counted on her.

With his disability, he needed to stay at his school. He’d finally found a place he felt he belonged, and Evie knew how important that was.

“I can’t go back to Edinburgh,” she whispered. “I just can’t.”

She knew in her heart it was the wrong thing to do. Something bad would happen to her. Then where would Brian be? No, she had to keep moving.

The how of that was the question with a wrecked car. If she wasn’t going to use her savings to fix it or buy another, what option did she have?

She wasn’t the woodsy type. Hiking, of any kind, certainly wasn’t her cup of tea. And camping? There were bugs out there.

“Bugs out here,” she corrected herself as she looked around for anything that might be crawling on her or toward her.

It was too bad she couldn’t deal with the camping because it would be the perfect place for her to hide. She even mulled the option for a minute or two before she thought of having to go to the bathroom, meals, and washing.

“Come to ussssssss!”
the stones called.

Evie lifted her gaze to the dark sky and the mountains surrounding her. What did she have to lose?

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll come.”

With nowhere else to go, Evie slid her laptop, surrounded in its sleeve, in her oversized purse. Then she grabbed a suitcase handle in each hand after she slung her purse over her head to settle across her body.

She took a deep breath and said, “Tell me where to go.”

The silent humming of the stones kept her on as straight a path as she could manage through the dense forest and uneven terrain.

All around her stones were whispering. She didn’t understand why the ones she was walking toward were louder, or why they wanted her to come to them so desperately.

“I’ll sort it out when I get there,” she said with a grunt when she had to yank her luggage over a sharp rise of earth. “I just want to be dry. And warm. Bloody hell, it’s cold as death.”

The chuckle she gave quickly turned into a groan when she sunk into a patch of mud. It took all her effort to keep her foot in her boot and get it extracted.

She wiped her wet sleeve across her forehead and began trudging forward again. That’s when she saw the range of mountains through a break in the trees. “Is that why you’re so loud? Are you one of the mountains?”

“
Yesssss.
”

Evie had never lived on a mountain before, but there was a first time for everything. But man did she miss her mani and pedi times, hot bubble baths, and her shows on the telly.

It seemed she walked for three lifetimes before she found herself wincing at the loudness of the stones. She’d finally reached them.

She blinked through the rain with a smile. “I’m here,” she said and bent to place a hand on a small rock protruding from the ground. “I’m here.”

To her surprise, she felt the ground rumble beneath her feet. About fifty feet up a slab of granite that looked suspiciously like a door opened.

Evie knew this was her one chance to turn around. The idea of warmth and dry clothes, not to mention being hidden and keeping Brian safe was too good to pass up though.

What was inside? Why were the stones so adamant about her being here?

Evie had already made a terrible choice by putting the necklace on her site. She didn’t want to make another bad decision.

“Cold, wet, and homeless,” she mused. “Or dry, warm, and protected from the elements. Please don’t let this be a bad choice.”

She hurried to the door and stepped inside before she changed her mind.

*   *   *

Malcolm let out a long breath as he watched the Druid walk into Cairn Toul Mountain. “Well, well, well. What do we have here? Just who are you, Druid, to take over Deirdre’s home?”

CHAPTER
FOUR

Wallace Mansion

Ullapool, Scotland

Jason Wallace smiled as he leaned back in his chair, the burgundy leather soft and cool. He drummed his fingers on the top of his desk while he stared at the computer screen.

“So, Evangeline Walker, you doona trust easily. No’ to worry, lass. You’ll soon come to see my side of things. I’ve got you on the run, trusting no one. Just as I knew you would. You’ll be desperate soon, and that’s when you’ll find me.”

Jason chuckled and reached for the crystal tumbler where a splash of whisky waited. He drained the glass, letting the smooth amber liquid slide down his throat to settle warmly in his stomach.

He left the instant messenger page up and blank, the cursor blinking as it waited for him to type. There was nothing else he needed to say. Not yet, anyway. He’d done just enough to set her on edge.

Jason smiled slyly when Evangeline disconnected from their chat. She would be on the run again. Not that he was worried. With just a simple spell he could pinpoint her location.

It wasn’t time to see her yet. That would come soon, but there was more work to do first. Right now she thought someone was out to hurt her. He would come in as a savior, giving her no choice but to trust him.

Once he did, she would be his. Jason wanted the necklace and whatever properties it held, but it was Evangeline herself that would be his prize. And what a prize she would be. She had no idea how she fit onto the chessboard he had laid out, but she was much more than a mere pawn as he was using her now.

It was later, when she became exactly what he needed her to be, that the true Evangeline Walker would show herself.

Through the keys of the computer he could sense her magic, her
mie
magic. He’d known before he contacted her, however. No
drough
in their right mind would put anything out onto the Internet about magic, Druids, or Warriors. Only a naïve, inexperienced
mie
would make such a crucial mistake.

Jason clicked a key on the computer and the screen popped up from Evangeline’s site, including the page she had taken down regarding the necklace. He read over the passage about the necklace for what must have been the twentieth time.

She put it out there to lure potential visitors, and she made sure to add just enough to entice. But there was more to the pendant than she let on. Discovering what it was would be a bonus for all his plans coming together so easily.

It was difficult to keep his excitement in when all of his pawns were falling into place without them even knowing he was leading, nudging, and pushing them. By the time they found out, it would be too late.

How he relished the idea of seeing the faces of all those at MacLeod Castle when they ascertained the truth. Or, he should say when he
allowed
them to learn the truth.

Jason rolled back his chair and rose from behind his desk to walk to the roaring fire. He stood before the hearth staring into the flames.

He had used magic to learn Evangeline’s name, but that wasn’t all he’d learned. She wasn’t alone in the world. She had a brother.

Perhaps it was time he took a drive to Brian’s school and had a look around. If things worked out properly, Jason would have no need to use Brian. But Jason hadn’t gained his position without always having a backup plan in place.

Jason shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants and spoke two quick words in Gaelic. Instantly an image of Evangeline Walker’s face appeared in the flames.

Long curls in a glorious shade of the deepest brown hung well past her shoulders. A pretty enough face with clear blue eyes stared back at him.

She wasn’t the beauty Mindy had been, but then again, Evangeline didn’t need to be to accomplish what he wanted. There would never be another like Mindy again.

Jason turned away from the flames, anger simmering in his gut as he thought of Phelan Stewart, the Warrior who had killed his precious Mindy.

And Aisley, his cousin who had betrayed him and married Phelan.

Their time would come. Every Warrior and Druid at MacLeod Castle would pay for his suffering, but none more than Aisley and Phelan.

And Evangeline would help him.

*   *   *

Evie dropped her bags and closed her eyes as she was surrounded by the stones that seemed to … purr. Her magic swelled around her, twisting and turning faster and larger with each second that passed.

The sensation was heady, the power … intoxicating. She could feel her magic grow stronger just by entering the mountain. Could the reason be having the stones all around her?

“Finally!”
the stones seemed to shout over each other again and again.

There hadn’t been a time in her life when Evie had ever felt so wanted. It brought a smile to her face as she opened her eyes.

The granite slab of a door closed behind her with a soft thud. Then she was enclosed in darkness so deep and thick she couldn’t see her hand before her face.

“Torchesssss. Light the torchesssssssss.”

“Light the…” Evie trailed off as she swallowed.

She concentrated on her magic and the torches. A few minutes later and suddenly the torch on her left blazed to life. One by one down the long corridor the torches flared, shining light into the darkness.

“Where do I go?” she asked.

“Here,”
came a distant reply.

Evie reached for the handles of her luggage and started down the hallway where the voice had sounded. If she’d thought it would be an easy walk, she was wrong. The ground was slippery and damp, and the floor itself was wide but rolling with many valleys and peaks.

The fact that some sections of the floor were worn smooth by footsteps made her apprehensive, yet she knew the rocks wouldn’t call to her unless she was safe with them.

For someone who hadn’t communicated with the stones, they wouldn’t understand her conviction or confidence in what they could do for her. She never had to explain it, and she wasn’t sure if she could.

It was deep in her soul, this faith she possessed in the rocks. It was part of her DNA, and went hand in hand with her magic.

As she walked the corridor, she passed many doors. “Am I the only one here?”

“
Aye. Only you.”

“All the rooms are for who, then?”

“From the past.”

The past? Maybe now she could gain some answers to her numerous questions. “Who was here before?”

“Druids. Warriors. Wyrran. Mortals. Many,”
the stones answered in unison.

Evie halted. “There were Druids here?”

“Aye. Powerful Druids.”

“Where are they now?”

“Gone from us. She left ussss!”

The anger in the voices of the stones caused her to wince. “How long have you been alone?”

“Hundreds of years. We’ve been so lonely waiting for you.”

Evie released one of the luggage handles and put her palm on the wall. “I’m here now. You’re not alone anymore.”

“Not alone. Not alone. We’re not alone.”

She smoothed her hand over the stones, feeling their pain and loneliness. They were emotions she understood all too well. Though this wasn’t a place Brian would enjoy, the mountain would be her haven.

For now, it would be a refuge. The stones needed her, and she needed them.

Evie took a deep breath and reached for her luggage once more. The stones led her down an ever ascending slope of a hallway that curved time and again as she went higher and higher into the mountain.