Midnight's Captive(119)
“It’s time,” Charon said.
Phelan’s smile was deadly as he focused on the Jaguar XF following the small car that held Aiden, Galen, and Quinn. “Wallace dies today.”
Aiden eased off the accelerator as the car began to fishtail. The road was nothing more than a trail, barely wide enough for the small Fiat they drove.
Just as Galen and Quinn had predicted, Jason Wallace caught up with them ten miles ago. Aiden would have preferred to keep a bit of distance between them, but his father had other ideas.
“Slow down, we’re losing them,” Quinn said as he kept a lookout through the back window.
Aiden clenched his jaw, wishing they had stolen a vehicle with newer tires. The car’s engine whined as they went up a steep part of the road that would take them over a mountain.
“Soon,” Galen said.
Aiden glanced at him to find the Warrior’s eyes were still trained dead ahead. An hour past, both Galen and his father had shifted into their Warrior forms, as if they were eager for the battle.
In some ways, so was Aiden. Jason Wallace did nothing but cause trouble. But Aiden’s hatred for all Wallaces went far deeper than just Jason’s current spree of evil.
It was Delcan Wallace and his band of mercenaries who had killed Aiden’s closest friend, Braden. They had grown up together at MacLeod Castle, learning who they were and their magic. For hundreds of years, they were inseparable.
But all that changed in one single night. Aiden knew how precious a life was. He’d taken it for granted before then because of the magic of Isla’s shield.
He no longer took life for granted. With his thoughts on Britt, he pressed hard on the accelerator and gunned the car up the last few hundred yards of the mountain.
“Where the hell is everyone?” he asked. “I thought there was supposed to be a big battle and we were bait.”
Quinn’s head appeared between Aiden and Galen’s seats. “They’ve been waiting for us.”
Aiden was about to ask what he meant when they crested the hill and a line of ash-skinned creatures stood before them.
“Ram them!” Galen yelled.
Aiden didn’t hesitate. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw Wallace’s car skid to a halt and the selmyr surround them.
But Aiden wasn’t in the clear yet. He winced when he barreled through the selmyr, but the creatures simply latched on to the car.
“Keep going!” Quinn shouted. “Doona stop, Aiden!”
Aiden locked his elbows and put the accelerator on the floor just as an arm busted through his window and an ash-skinned hand with unnaturally long fingers clamped around his throat.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Laura was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the chanting and drums that sounded as if they were all around her. She recognized them immediately. She’d only had a fleeting touch with the ancients, but they had left a mark upon her soul. One she knew she would never forget.
And now she was with them again. Laura breathed deeply, contentment filling her as her magic touched every fiber of her being.
It wasn’t just the ancients she felt. Laura could sense the magic of the other Druids in the room. The sheer force of it all left her reeling.
There was no wonder why the droughs feared a group of mies gathering together. The amount of magic that was coming from them was more than Laura thought possible.
“Focus,” Reaghan said. “Think of our men. All of them. We need to keep them protected from the selmyr.”
Laura’s mind instantly filled with visions of Charon. The voices of the ancients pulled her to them, protecting her from the war that waged just a few miles from them.
She didn’t want to be protected though. She wanted to be out there with Charon.
“You are,” the voices of thousands of ancients said at once. “Your magic is with him, even now shielding him from being seen by the selmyr.”
It was as close as Laura could come to battling with Charon, and it would have to do. She poured every ounce of her magic into the room to mix with the others.
“Steady,” Isla whispered.
Laura’s breaths were coming in great heaving gasps from the effort it took to keep her magic focused. It never occurred to her to quit. Charon’s life hung in the balance, as did every Warrior who fought against Jason Wallace.
She might not know a lot about her magic, but Laura knew she could do this much for Charon. She would do so much more if it meant he would come back to her.
He had to come back to her. There was no way she would lose him. Not now. Not after finally having him in her life.
With that thought, Laura dug deep for more magic. The drums and chanting became so loud they drowned out everything else. She didn’t know how long she listened to them, and then it no longer mattered.