Stone Heart (37 page)
Authors: Candace Sams
- "How do you remember so much?" she asked as she squeezed his
- "I can recall a great many of the things my parents taught m
- It was the first time he'd spoken of his family and she want
- Angus suddenly stood and looked down the path. "It's time, l
- She glanced in the direction he stared, then back at him. Th
- He took a very deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Aye."
- Karen was glad when he looped her arm through his and slowly
- "The men you see are faction or clan leaders, though I am un
- "Of course you don't," she responded. "Why would they think
- He shrugged. "My reputation precedes me, and my size makes m
- She noted the men's expressions. They were concerned. They s
- They walked about halfway across the clearing and stopped. A
- "Do you come among us in peace?" Shayla asked as she stepped
- "Aye," Angus replied, using those same powers in response. H
- "You have once spoken fealty. I will ask you again in the pr
- "I so swear."
- "So be it. Blessed Be." Shayla raised her hands, the wind ro
- The Sorceress turned to the three men behind her and Hugh st
- Hugh nodded, then motioned the blond man forward.
- Karen could see he was about Angus' age. His bare arms were
- "This is Lore. He is head of the Fairy Clan. You will see hi
- Lore held out his hand and smiled the sweetest smile she'd e
- "You're a Fairy?" she gasped and gawked at his wall-like fra
- "Small?" The second of the three men finished for her and st
- "This is Gryphon O'Connor, leader of the Druid Clan." Hugh w
- Gryphon took Karen's hand and grinned. "You'll meet my handf
- Karen liked this new man immediately. Where Lore's coloring
- "My wife," Gryphon supplied. "That's how we refer to our lif
- Karen didn't miss the hesitation in the large Druid's introd
- "I'm Tearach Bruce, leader of the Goblin Clan." He looked at
- Obviously, the last part of his statement was emphasized to
- Angus sensed the man's animosity and immediately stepped in
- "Yes, they do," Shayla pronounced in a clear voice.
- "I'll abide by her wishes. But the southernmost part of the
- Shayla nodded. Tearach and several other men and women strod
- Shayla sighed in resignation before speaking. "Forgive his r
- Karen was overwhelmed when the rest of the forest denizens c
- Angus wondered what the members of the Order knew about him,
- Shayla, Hugh and the others led them to wooden tables which
- "Merry come," she greeted him in the ancient way. "Bitter th
- "The old place still stands?" he asked in wonder.
- "With a few improvements, yes. Druid ancestors handed the bu
- "No' even the King, himself?"
- "Not even the Queen," she corrected. "To outsiders, the Earl
- "You must be powerful indeed to have kept the secret of the
- Shayla laughed and patted his arm. "Eat hearty, Angus. And t
- "Aye," he nodded in agreement as the Sorceress walked away.
- "No!" Angus shouted before he could think. "You must no' dri
- "It wasn't Fairy Wine, MacGregor," the younger man quietly r
- Angus realized the drink had been meant to help Karen's hear
- "I am sorry, friend. My mouth sometimes governs my thoughts,
- "No worries." The Fairy nodded in acceptance of the apology.
- Angus shook the man's hand. Everyone appeared to go back to
- "What's Fairy Wine?" Karen glanced between the two men.
- "It's magical and only drunk by our kind," Wade explained. "
- Karen glanced at the goblet she now held. What the hell. It
- "The Highlands, of course. There's no better plant for the f
- "How is it that each of you knows what the other is?" Karen
- Wade shrugged. "We can sense each other's emanations. To you
- Angus tried to compare the matter to something he knew of th
- Karen nodded. There were people she'd met, like Tearach Bruc
- Angus watched the people milling around him and filled a lar
- "Do you like it?" Wade asked.
- "'Tis a fine drink," Angus grinned and refilled the mug.
- For a time, they ate in companionable silence. Pluck occasio
- "I hope I'm not being rude, but I wanted to know something,"
- Wade grinned. "We're not and we do."
- "Pardon?" she asked, glancing at Angus for support.
- Angus attempted to explain. "Fairies have the ability to cha
- Wade nodded. "Exactly. You'll see us as we really are when t
- "You really have wings and can fly?" Karen gasped.
- Wade took her hand in his. "Yes to both questions. Although
- Something in the way the Fairy took her hand bothered Angus.
- "All right. I don't want to miss anything," she agreed and s
- "I'll see you tonight then." Wade smiled at her. "I'll give
- "Oh, yes. Please!" She smiled at him.
- "Come, Karen," Angus insisted, and took her by the elbow as
- "Angus, this is all so amazing. I can't wait to see everythi
- Angus' disturbance over Karen's camaraderie with Wade was qu
- He leaned back against a tree and pulled Karen into his embr
- Karen noticed others were lying nearby. It was kind of like
- "Hush, you. Sleep." He stroked her hair.
- "Why do they light fires in the woods? Don't people in nearb
- "'Tis a type of magic, lass. The firelight can only be seen
- Chapter Eight
- Angus woke with the sunset. Birds had ceased their calling t
- She sighed and turned into his chest, burying her face again
- "The Pixies are on a Rade. You dunna' want to miss this." Sh
- "Watch." He pointed toward the approaching lights and was aw
- "Ohhh, Angus. What are they doing? It's so wonderful!"
- "'Tis called a Rade. The smallest of the Fairy world gather
- "What event?" Karen asked as she kept her gaze glued to the
- "They need little if any excuse. Sometimes it is the bronzin
- "What do you suppose they celebrate tonight?"
- Angus turned his head so he could see her expression. Her ey
- "Can we do that?" she whispered.
- He grinned. "We can do anything we please, lass. You are wit
- "Ho, People of Peace. Where go you this fine night in such s
- To Karen's surprise, several of the little people stopped, l
- "We go to a nearby burgh to sign a pact made between us and
- "Your safety has been threatened?" Angus asked in alarm.
- "All of the Order is at risk. Outsiders close in on us more
- "No offense taken," Karen replied. "I hope you don't find of
- "Shayla is wise beyond measure. If she says you are welcome.
- "I thank you for the welcome, sir." Angus' heart felt like i
- "Here is your official welcome back to the Order and a speci
- Karen saw a momentary flash of light, then glittering dust f
- "Merry Meet!" the Pixie cried as he landed back on the groun
- "Merry Part!" Angus called after him and laughed.
- "Ohhhhh, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed, holding up her g
- "Consider yourself Pixie dusted, lass. It will last the whol
- Karen felt as if she'd never stop smiling. "Like it?" She ra
- Angus felt like singing, so light was his mood. "Come, littl
- "Just try and stop me." She stood up and held out her hand t
- The gesture was a small one. But the thought of such a small
- "What did the Pixie mean by 'your lady'? Is that how I'm con
- "'Twas a way of identifying you. Men who walk through these
- Karen's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, there are men a
- He grinned and could easily see her asking about that for th
- "Did you ever..." She stopped in mid-sentence. "I'm sorry, t
- He wanted to be honest with her. For some reason it was impo
- "I don't understand. You're a Druid, aren't you?"
- "Aye. But I left this place with my parents."
- "Where did you go? I thought the Sorceress at that time impr
- "So, you dunna' know what happened before I reached my prese
- She shook her head, then wished she hadn't probed. The momen
- Angus turned away from her before he spoke. His shoulders sl
- Karen placed a hand on his arm. "What happened, Angus?"
- "The Sorceress dinna' want to kill my parents. I believe 'tw
- "But they eventually did?"
- "Aye. They tried to take me back to the Order as I grew olde
- "But you were just a little boy. How did you survive all of
- The tone in her voice was tender. He wished he had heard it
- "So the Sorceress..."
- "Bespelled me as punishment," he finished. He did not want t
- Karen stepped in front of him. "Angus, all of this happened
- But she did not know all of it. Judging by the reaction of t
- "Karen, there is more..."
- She stood on her toes, reached very high and placed her fing
- When he wouldn't speak, she took his hands in hers and pulle
- Dumbfounded by her actions, Angus could barely speak. "No ..
- "Then take me to see the rest of your world. And, if anyone
- Her smile was so sweet. His heart would break into thousands
- He gripped her shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace
- Karen heard the barely concealed break in his voice and hugg
- They silently broke the embrace and walked toward the cleari
- Before they entered the circle of firelight and could see wh
- "Why? Is it some kind of tradition or something to do with m
- Her eyes widened in expectation and Angus smiled. He knew he
- "All right." Karen grinned and did as he asked. The man exhi
- "You may open your eyes now and see wonders to dream of," An
- "Oh, Lord!" she gasped, and swallowed hard. Before her, scat
- All the men seemed to sport hair that was much longer than u
- "Karen!" Angus dropped to his knees along with her.
- She groped for the pocket deep within her Druid robe and fou
- "I'll be okay in just a minute," she gasped. "Just w-wasn't
- "Will she be all right?" a soft, feminine voice asked from b
- "Yes," Karen replied as she turned her head. "Just give me a
- The most lovely women Karen had ever seen stepped toward her
- "I'm Amber. I saw her collapse. Can I help?" she asked.
- "Please," Angus nodded.
- "Pluck," Amber called, "bring some heather ale."
- In a moment, the small Elf appeared with a pottery mug. "I s
- Karen noted the concern in all their voices, and she was det
- "I'm sorry. Please, don't fuss over me. The pain is gone."
- "Maybe you'd like to find a table where you can sit and watc
- "Yes, that would be fine, thank you." Karen turned toward th
- Amber smiled warmly. "And Shayla was right. You're very inte
- The two women smiled at each other and Angus knew Karen had
- "Come with me. You can sit at my table." Amber took Karen's
- "I'll set extra places and bring food," Pluck said as he spr
- "You've made quite an impression upon that Elf, Karen." Ambe
- "I can only imagine," Angus half-grinned. "'Tis obvious the
- "Yes. She has also said that you're to begin training tomorr
- To Karen, it seemed incongruous to speak of such modern thin
- "Angus needs to be reintroduced to our ways, find something
- Karen felt her eyes widen. "This is all so amazing. Tell me
- Amber laughed at Karen's enthusiasm. "One question at a time
- "I remember more than I believed possible," he replied as he
- "The large hulking creatures are Ogres. They dunna', as I re
- "Change their appearance?" Karen choked out as she swallowed
- "Aye. Fairies and Goblins are among those who can shape shif
- Karen's breath almost left when several of the Goblins turne
- "It appears Tearach and some of the other Goblins have a bon
- "That's Tearach Bruce? The man I met today?" Karen asked.
- Pluck nodded. "It is."
- Karen watched the tallest of the men. It was true. He was as
- "Will you and your friends join us, Tearach?" Amber motioned
- "We keep to our own, Fairy. You know that. Or are you alread
- "Hold your tongue and be civil, Roland." Tearach held up his
- "You said yourself that..."
- "I know what I said, man. I'm the leader of our clan and I'l
- Angus watched as the Goblin Leader turned and looked each of
- "I don't approve of having an outsider among us. Everyone kn
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