Midnight's Seduction (16 page)

Malcolm clenched his teeth and started walking along the long, thin peninsula. He could barely breathe because of the force of the beautiful, pure, magnificent magic that filled the air.

He’d been around such magic at MacLeod Castle, but then he’d been mortal and hadn’t felt the magic. The heavy, cloying feel of
drough
magic made him want to shred his skin from his bones with his own claws.

But the feel of
mie
magic … It wouldn’t last long, only until he returned to Deirdre. But he would savor this small piece of heaven, this tiny relief from the hell that was his life.

The wyrran saw him approach and gathered around him. Malcolm didn’t spare them a glance as he walked past the first ring of standing stones.

Littered throughout the peninsula were remnants of more stones that had either fallen over or had been knocked down through the centuries. It was a shame. Malcolm would have liked to have seen it when all the stones stood tall and brilliant against the sky.

By the time he reached the large center stone where the MacLeods and his cousin Larena had disappeared, Malcolm could feel the pulse of magic grow.

He knelt at the base of the stone and ran his hand over the grass. Nowhere did he see evidence that the ground had been disturbed. Then again, Camdyn’s power was the ability to move the earth. Yet Malcolm had the suspicion this was done by Druid magic, not Warrior power.

Malcolm lifted his head and looked at the imposing stone before him. The moon had shifted but some of its light still fell upon the stone. And that’s when he saw part of what looked like a spiral.

“A Celtic symbol,” he muttered as he stood and ran his fingers along the spiral.

It wasn’t etched in the stone. It was like it appeared only by the light of the moon.

Malcolm smiled. “Druid magic, of course.”

He glanced down at his feet again. Somehow the moon upon the stone had allowed the earth to open and the others to enter. But it couldn’t be that simple or anyone could have stumbled upon this earlier.

Then he remembered how Reaghan had told them she was the key to finding Laria. So it was Reaghan who had opened the doorway.

“Good luck, my friends,” he whispered to those below him. He couldn’t call out to the MacLeods or any of the other Warriors by name. The wyrran would hear him and report back to Deirdre.

So he kept his hopes to himself and turned on his heel to run back to Deirdre. As usual he kept all expression from his face.

It wasn’t that hard to do. He had no feelings inside him. Deirdre had killed all of them when she’d unbound his god.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Saffron dearly wished she was able to tell the others which way to go, but no matter how hard she tried, no vision came to her.

It was so frustrating, especially when she knew how desperately they could use the information.

“Go right,” Reaghan suggested.

It was Hayden and Isla who were the closest and began to go down the right-hand hallway. The light from Hayden’s fireball showed what looked like holes in the rectangular stones that made up the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Saffron rose up on her tiptoes and looked over shoulders so she could see what was going on. Fallon and Larena were the next to follow them. Hayden was in front of Isla and walking with slow, measured steps when his foot landed on a stone that cracked beneath his weight.

The sound was like a shot in the silence.

“Son of a bitch,” he yelled and grabbed Isla in his arms as he raced back to the crossroads.

“Hayden,” Isla cried out as she reached over his shoulder and pulled out a small arrow.

Saffron’s mouth fell open as Hayden turned and she could see a dozen or more poking from his back. Isla began to yank them out, and thankfully Hayden healed almost instantly.

“No
drough
blood,” Fallon said as he inspected one of the arrows. “The tip is made of stone, no’ metal.”

“Which means they booby-trapped this place when they built it,” Gwynn said.

Arran snorted, his lips twisted in resignation. “Just what we need.”

“Shall we go left then?” Camdyn asked.

Saffron had intended to stay near Camdyn because he’d promised to keep her safe, but if he was going to lead the way down a dark, dank, small tunnel, she’d prefer to stay behind.

She’d never been claustrophobic before, but three years in Declan’s prison had changed all of that. Now, she couldn’t stand to be closed in.

Already her scalp tingled and her nerves were stretched tight from every little sound she heard in the labyrinth. And they hadn’t even really gotten started yet.

No one had any idea how big this maze was or how long it would take them to reach Laria.

“Left it is,” Fallon said. He held out his hand and Larena took it with a small smile.

It was better to have the Warriors go down a corridor first since they were immortal. But eventually the Druids would have to walk that same path.

Saffron had seen plenty of movies in her life. She knew how things could happen with one small misstep. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt.

But what they were doing was extremely dangerous. Not just belowground, but above as Deirdre awaited them. It would be a miracle if everyone returned to the castle hale and whole.

She looked at Camdyn. She couldn’t imagine him injured. He had always been so resilient and tough.

“We’re through,” Fallon called, breaking into Saffron’s thoughts.

The next to follow were Hayden and Isla, and when they made it through unscathed, the rest of them followed. When it was time for Saffron to walk the long corridor, she wanted to keep her eyes ahead of her to where the others waited to help ease her anxiety, but she was so worried about stepping on a wrong stone that her eyes were glued to the floor.

It seemed an eternity before she, Camdyn, and Braden reached the others. Saffron inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out.

Camdyn knew Saffron wasn’t handling being underground well, but so far she was keeping it together. At the rate they were going, however, he didn’t know how long that would last.

He noticed how she sidled closer to him when she thought there was a threat. Unfortunately, he quite liked having her so close.

Unlike the other Druids, Saffron hadn’t removed her jacket, though her gloves had been stuffed into her coat pockets and her scarf now draped loosely about her shoulders.

Her walnut-colored hair hung down her back, its thickness and silkiness causing him to lean close and inhale her moonlight and snow scent.

No matter what he did, no matter how he tried to walk away from her, he couldn’t seem to do it. And after holding her, tasting her, caressing her, he didn’t want to walk away.

Ever.

“Sonya,” Lucan called.

Sonya and Broc worked their way through the group until they stood at the next crossroads.

Broc scowled at Lucan. “Why did you call Sonya?”

Cara lifted her finger, and said, “Reaghan was the first artifact, and Sonya found the second in the amulet. We assume it’s the second to be used.”

“She has a point,” Sonya said. She pulled out the amulet she wore around her neck and lifted it over her head. “But what do I do with it?”

“Good question,” Quinn mumbled.

Dani stepped forward and moved Hayden’s arm to see more of the wall in front of them. “There has to be a place to put it, is my guess. What else would you do with it?”

“Maybe just wearing it will aid her,” Marcail offered.

Sonya returned the amulet to her neck. “We have to choose a way again. Left or right?”

It was decided to try left again. Camdyn kept Saffron beside him, though he made sure to move a bit in front of her to safeguard her.

They went through four more crossroads before they came to a dead end and had to turn back. Since they had gone left each time, it was easy to return to where they had been.

“It would be so much easier if we could split up,” Ramsey said.

Logan nodded. “And faster.”

“But we need the artifacts in certain places before we go forward,” Reaghan said.

Camdyn felt Saffron’s fingers tighten around his hand, and he answered with a slight squeeze of his own. “It’s with an understanding this could take a very long time, but we need to move forward.”

“Aye, we do,” Sonya admitted. She and Broc once more stepped forward and they turned right this time.

As before, nothing happened. It put Camdyn on edge. He’d been fully prepared for something to shoot out of the walls at Sonya and Broc since they’d gone through fine when they turned left. But the same had happened going right?

Never knowing if there was a booby trap or not was only going to make this expedition of theirs even more nerve-racking.

Sonya and Broc took a left at the next crossroads and had them walking down a hallway that Camdyn didn’t think would ever end.

When it did, they all thought they had reached another dead end until the fire from Hayden’s hand showed a massive double spiral that took up the width of the entire door.

“It’s the same as the amulet,” Sonya said. She lifted it over her neck to hold it up to the etching when a pulse of magic flew from the door over them, causing everyone to take a step back from the force of it.

At the same time, a slot in the door appeared that was the exact shape of the amulet. Without hesitation Sonya stepped forward and put the amulet in the hole.

There was a loud click, then a bang as the door began to lift upward. Dust and earth rained down upon them while the door slowly moved upward, allowing them entrance farther into the labyrinth.

They all hurried quickly through the door since they didn’t know how long it would stay open. When the last of them were through, the door began to lower.

“Wait,” Sonya said as the door shut with a boom. “The amulet.”

“The maze took it,” Reaghan said. “At least now Deirdre won’t ever get it.”

Camdyn had bent over to get the dirt out of his hair when he heard Fallon’s low hiss just before the sound of metal hitting stone filled the silence.

He lifted his head to find the sword they had stolen from Deirdre lying on the floor. “What happened?”

“It burned me,” Fallon answered.

Quinn wrapped his hand about it, and promptly released it. “Mine as well.”

Without pause Lucan tried, but just as with his brothers, he was burned.

“We all try then,” Ramsey said.

One by one the Warriors tried to touch the sword, and each time it rejected them. Camdyn was the last to step forward.

“Maybe a Warrior is no’ supposed to carry it,” Camdyn said as he studied the sword.

Hayden shook his head. “A Warrior is supposed to carry it.”

Camdyn released a breath and gripped the hilt of the sword. He expected to feel pain, but all he felt was the cool touch of metal against his palm.

“Bloody hell,” Galen muttered.

Fallon smiled. “Looks like the sword found who it wanted. You’re up next, Camdyn.”

Camdyn dreaded this part. He could either leave Saffron with Ramsey and Arran to watch, or take her with him. And he suspected she wouldn’t like either option.

“Aye,” he called. Camdyn felt a tremble run through Saffron. He turned to her and said, “Ramsey will keep you safe.”

He wasn’t finished speaking before her head was moving back and forth. “You promised,” she said.

Just as he figured. He let out a sigh. “All right.”

He walked forward, Saffron on his heels. Now, it was up to him to make the decisions. He looked to the left of the crossroads, then to the right.

Nothing could help him make a decision on which way to go. And there was no way he was going to put Saffron’s life in danger, not if he could help it.

Camdyn went down on his haunches and put his hand on the floor. He commanded the earth to answer him, to help detect patterns where there was something other than rock and stone to help keep them safe.

But the Druids had been too smart for him. Their magic coated every inch of the labyrinth. He rose with a curse and pointed to the right.

“I’m going to try this way.”

He took two steps and looked back at the others. On his third step, he felt the earth move in a way that had nothing to do with booby traps.

“Get clear,” he shouted as he reached out and grabbed hold of Saffron’s arms.

He yanked her out of the way before the rocks collapsed on her. For several more minutes dirt and rocks continued to rain around them, but Camdyn used his power to keep it away from him and Saffron.

When he lifted his head he found himself being attacked, but not by wyrran or Deirdre.

By Saffron.

It was all Camdyn could do to keep her from breaking out of his hold. Whether she knew it or not, she was using her magic mixed with her terror and it was a powerful combination.

Almost instantly Camdyn sensed the unmistakable feel of
drough
magic from above him. There was no doubt it was Deirdre. With Deirdre above him trying to break through his power, and Saffron in front of him doing her damnedest to get away, Camdyn was holding on by a thin thread.

He had to get Saffron under control somehow, someway.

“Saffron,” he called.

By the way she kept clawing at his face it was obvious she couldn’t hear him. If he couldn’t get through to her that way, he would have to use another.

Camdyn didn’t want to touch her with his claws and risk cutting her, and he needed his god unbound in order to keep the earth from crushing them.

With no other choice, he urged his claws to disappear before he grabbed first one wrist, then the other and held them above Saffron’s head. Her head thrashed from side to side as she screamed at him to let her go.

Somehow he managed to tamp his god down enough that his fangs vanished, but he was still able to use his power. That was all he needed to do to claim her mouth. She bucked against him and tried to turn her head, but he wasn’t about to give up. He had to calm her so they could fight Deirdre together.

He licked at her lips, pressing his mouth against hers hard and with all the passion he’d held in check until that moment. She took a breath, and when she did he swept his tongue inside her mouth and ran it along hers.