The Third Fate (6 page)

Cael headed for the library, anxious to delve into texts on Druid magic, needing to refresh his memory to discern from which of the Houses the magic surrounding Paige stemmed. The pattern was a mixture of old and new, some of the imbedded charms hiding her true nature reminiscent of a cloaking formula used long before the Romans gained power in the Isles.

“
I canna believe my eyes!” Alden, one of the few Cael counted a friend, boomed. “What brings ye to Fife House this night?”

Falling in step with Cael the vampire cheerily slapped him on the back.

“
I doona wish my presence announced to all in the house, Alden,” Cael spoke quietly, his friend shaking his head in understanding.

“
Aye, Maccinnis. Ye want to avoid the Douglas. I know well. Why are ye here tonight? It’s unlike ye to venture in when Kaiden’s here.”

“
Druid magic. I’ve run into an enchantment that puzzles me, Alden.”

The two exchanged hushed whispers, Cael explaining that he believed the enchantment to be a derivative of a charm used by the Fates themselves.

“
Be careful, Maccinnis,” Alden warned. “Just earlier Rowan informed me that Kaiden was summoned to a Council meeting. It seems the Council is nervous about a ripple in the psychic link shared by all vampires. Yer an ancient. Did ye feel it?”

Cael at once intuited it must have been the moment he and Paige had become connected, thankful he had trusted his gut and cloaked her so well. But why would his link with a mate – mortal or otherwise – be felt in the common psychic pool of vampire connection. It didn’t make any sense.

“
Vaguely. But that’s fer them to worry on. This matter is verra, verra important to me, Alden. Can I count on ye to keep silent about it?”

“
Doona ye know the answer to that question, Maccinnis?”

“
I do,” Cael sighed, sorry to have hurt his friend by asking.

“
Then doona shame me by askin’.”

“
Forgive me, friend,” Cael offered, his friend’s smile the acceptance of his apology he hoped to find.

“
I hold no grudge against ye, Cael,” Alden confessed. “We’ve been through too much for that foolery.”

A true friend was more rare than gold, and he counted Alden as his oldest and dearest. Leading the way to the library, Cael explained as much as he dared without exposing Paige. He knew Alden would never tell a soul, living or otherwise, but he lacked ability to cloak his friend’s knowledge from another ancient if he were to be questioned.

Opening the dusty tome on Druid spell-casting, Cael probed Paige’s mind, seeing her still safely tucked away in her little apartment before delving into his research. Changing the incantations surrounding her ever so slightly ensured no one could get near her without first alerting him. Confident that he could devote full attention to study he brushed her mind with his presence, gladdened at her response yet simultaneously worried by it.

Come to me.

He wanted to do nothing more. First he needed answers.

Rest now, lass. I will come to ye.

Sensing her return to deep sleep, Cael began to read.

*

Days bled one into the next as Cael discovered the woman he now believed to be his future. Amazement filled him at her deep psychic connection to the realm of the undead, re-enforcing his belief that Paige was more than mortal. Not an evening passed without his sharing her company, and he had learned much.

Underneath her awkward and shy exterior existed a woman of superior intelligence, great humor, and generous heart. Paige threw herself into her work with zeal, maintaining a positive attitude despite the devastating events she’d lived through. A small tendril of guilt wound its way round his heart, for he was also digging for clues to her past. He wanted to be honest with her but needed to discern what he was dealing with before turning her world inside out.

Walking the streets of the West End and chatting, Cael probed for more details of her childhood. Being near her remained a constant battle. Separation was unthinkable, yet his desire for her blood, her body, threatened to over-run his self-control constantly. Fighting the instinct to simply steer her onto a dark side street and take what he wanted, Cael reached for her hand and continued strolling.

“
Do you want to go inside any of the shops?” she asked, looking up at him.

His gut tightened every time he looked into her eyes.

“
The walkin’ is good if that suits ye,” he answered easily.

When a smile broke over her face, hidden as it was in the night, his heart beat faster.

“
Truth is, Cael, I don’t really like clubs and parties much. I’d rather be somewhere quiet.” She sighed, still walking beside him, hand held fast with his. “I’m sure a guy like you has a lot more interesting people to hang out with,” she laughed at herself then, surprising him with her ease at the topic. “My cousins tell me how boring I am, how I should live it up a little. I guess what I’m trying to say, Cael, is that I like life simple. If you’re looking for someone who loves the night life or lots of excitement, I’m the last woman in Scotland you should be with.”

It was his turn to laugh.

“
I like things simple too, Paige.”

He stopped, pulling her in front of him. Her eyes lowered, conveying her shyness.

“
Look at me, lass,” Cael rasped.

A moment passed. Slowly she raised her gaze, meeting his, the uncertainty and questions plain in her eyes. He bent, his lips meeting and moving over hers in gentle exploration. Soft and pliant in his arms, Paige’s sweetness had Cael battling his hunger. He broke their kiss and hugged her to himself, willing his desire be patient, for she knew naught of his kind, his world.

Looping around, they headed back toward her apartment, the damp night sending her snuggling into her coat against the chill. Noticing, he snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side, encouraging her nearness.

“
Is it yer aunt and cousins that ye have for family then? No others?”

He tried to sound nonchalant without causing her any pain.

“
That’s it,” she said. “I’ve no one else. What about you?”

“
It’s a long time I’ve been alone. I’ve no family to speak of.”

“
That’s awful!” Paige shuddered. “I’ve always feared being alone,” she confessed.

After a moment’s pause Cael answered, touched that she freely shared something so personal. It further proved that she was honest and open, that the Druid magic was another’s doing.

“
Ye willna end up alone, Paige Kinnell. Trust me.”

Cael was going to make certain of that.

*

Malcolm of Clan Gaunson paced the limestone floor, oblivious to its beauty. Preoccupation with last night’s event crowded all else from his mind. The Council would hold a meeting in less than an hour on the subject, and he had to have his thoughts and memories locked away, hidden, with no trace that he had done so before then. He needed special security. But what price would he pay for it?

Pilar Michaels was on her way at his request. Malcolm walked a precarious line, he knew, in inviting the Druid priestess. A strange energy, tense and dark, sparked within him when she was near. After their last encounter he swore never again to summon her, but this could not be helped. Last night’s disturbance, the ripple felt by every member of their Council, had come from a powerful source. He believed it was his daughter.

His daughter…

A daughter he believed to be dead. A daughter born of a mortal woman.

It was not possible, was it? That after twenty-seven years he would discover the babe had lived? His precious Agnes, lost in birthing his child. He had never forgiven himself. By his hand she had died, more or less, for it was carrying his seed that ultimately robbed her of life. Such a foolish choice, yet one he could not entirely regret.

He had loved her.

He should have changed her, had thought they possessed all the time in the world.

The Fates could be cruel at times.

Last night he had heard, felt her – if only for the blink of an eye. Blood of his blood, hers had cried out to him in acknowledgment. Just as quickly the link had closed. It had been enough to arouse the suspicions of every Council ancient. Half-vampire, his child would go through an Awakening, which should have occurred at the onset of puberty. But if the child lived, as he now suspected, he was sure that Agnes’ sister, Anna, would have hidden the babe and used whatever means necessary to mask her true nature. She had hated him, resented that he put her sister at risk. Half-borns were killed upon discovery unless they had already undergone Awakening and become fully vampire. The Council would not permit them to remain alive in half-mortal state, fearing their existence would eventually dilute vampire bloodlines and weaken their race. If mortals then mated with these half-breeds, they would inherit the genetic key-codes for stealth, speed, and psychic ability which would alert them to the vampire presence, enabling them to effectively remove the vampires’ ability to feed without detection, a necessary component to the race’s survival. He could not risk exposing her.

A faint knock interrupted his brooding.

“
Enter,” he commanded.

The gold-leafed handle turned silently admitting Pilar Michaels, her head held high, shoulders straight. Pride marked her features, the Roman nose, dark, mysterious eyes, small bow-like mouth with full lips.

By the Fates she was beautiful to look upon.

She was also his enemy. Supposedly.

Malcolm ceased his pacing, greeting her formally.

“
Welcome to my home. I hope you will be comfortable during your visit.”

Her head tipped in deferential reply, a slight action with mammoth implications.

“
You have need of my skills, Malcolm of Clan Gaunson. I, too, have need of yours,” Pilar Michaels reasoned. “Perhaps we can help one another.”

“
Do you propose an alliance of sorts?” Malcolm returned smartly.

“
An alliance?” she mocked, yet humor glinted in her shining eyes. “Surely reciprocity is a more apt term, Malcolm. Or would you prefer we enter into a more permanent agreement?”

Malcolm caught her innuendo, breathing deeply. He would make no reply. It was safer that way.

She sighed, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly.

“
As you wish,” she stated, neither disappointment nor relief evident in her tone. “Now explain to me what it is I am to hide for you.”

Malcolm returned to the beginning, telling of Agnes, their love, and her eventual refusal to see him. At the time he hadn’t known that she carried his child, and their separation had devastated him. After learning of her death and of the child, he understood. Agnes had been protecting him. If she had only trusted him things may have turned out differently, for he would have turned her at once. But for Agnes, the thought that he would be disdained for taking a turned mate because of his being a natural born vampire strengthened her resolve to be no hindrance to him in his world.

Pilar listened silently, allowing him to finish before turning the conversation to strategy; Malcolm would not forget the kindness.

“
I will weave an enchantment the Fates themselves will admire, if ever they discover it. But you must trust me completely, Malcolm. For the enchantment to stand firm in the face of the Council, it must contain nothing of you.”

“
I understand, Pilar. Too well. That is why it is you who are here.”

Malcolm dared not say more.

“
Then we must begin at once.”

Casting her brocade cloak to the floor carelessly, Pilar began her work. Her long, slender hands cupped his temples, easing him to the chair as she closed her own eyes and sought the memories she would mask. Long moments allowed doubt to creep into Malcolm’s mind that even she would be unable to successfully cloak his mind from the Council. Pilar ignored his worry, if she sensed it, continuing on in quiet inspection. After prolonged study, her lips began their first, soft incantations, slowly weaving the layers of protection that would hide his daughter’s existence away from those who may seek to destroy her. Twisting and turning the memories in his mind, closing off portals to the past and hiding the pathways which led to them, Pilar Michaels practiced her craft in expert fashion.

In rapid succession the Druid priestess repeated her charms, reinforcing their bonds in her mind’s eye, suddenly slumping to the floor in front of him, exhausted.

“
It is finished,” she whispered weakly.

Malcolm was beside her instantly.

“
This was too great a risk for you! I should never have summoned you!”

His voice was strained with emotion, both joy in knowing that his daughter would be protected – at least for now - and worry for the woman in his arms. He was a fool for inviting her. Her presence reminded him of what he could not have.

Scooping her into his arms, Malcolm carried her to the suite of rooms prepared for her stay. Being under the same roof with Pilar frightened him almost as much as facing the Council.

“
Malcolm,” she said softly, her hand reaching up to graze his bearded cheek, “Your daughter will be safe…”