Midnight's Captive(30)
“Why the hell no’?” Phelan demanded.
“Last year when Deirdre attacked, I lost men. People learned what I was. The secret I had been keeping from them was exposed.”
“And?” Phelan asked wearily. “What’s your point? The cat’s out of the bag, brother.”
“This … war … is between Wallace and us. It’s bad enough Druids have been brought in on this, but I willna sacrifice more innocents.”
“You mean Laura.”
“Innocents, but especially Laura.”
“Then what do you plan?”
“I need you to take Laura to the MacLeods. She isna a Druid, but Jason has targeted her, so they’ll give her sanctuary.”
Phelan gave a quick shake of his head. “Bad plan. Call Fallon and have him use his power to teleport and take Laura. That’ll leave me here to help you.”
Charon caught Phelan’s blue-gray gaze. “Jason wants me. Doona put your life in danger. It’ll be there soon enough. Besides, the MacLeods will need you with the others. The more Warriors there to fight, the better. Just take Laura.”
“No,” Laura said from behind him.
He turned to see her standing in the doorway with steely determination in her pale green eyes.
“No,” she said again. “No one tells me what to do anymore.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Laura had woken to the sound of male voices. For several minutes she was content to simply listen to the cadence of Charon’s voice, the sexy timbre and how it put her at ease knowing he was near. Until she heard her name.
Then she began to pay attention.
The mention of Druids, Jason Wallace, and the MacLeods was of interest. Something big was going on, and somehow it involved her. She could hardly wrap her head around the idea of Druids, let alone hearing Charon and the other man speak of them as if they were a part of their everyday lives.
But when Charon asked the man to take her away, Laura could no longer sit back and listen.
“Laura,” Charon began.
She held up a hand to stop him. “No. I left England because my family kept running my life. I made a promise to myself then that I wouldn’t let it happen again. Ever.”
“You doona understand,” the man said.
Charon sighed and motioned to his friend. “Laura, this is Phelan.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, and turned her gaze back to Charon. “Are you listening to me? The only one making decisions about my life is me. When I left England, I left that part of my life behind.”
“Maybe if she knew what was going on, she might change her mind,” Phelan said.
Laura gave a nod of thanks in Phelan’s direction. “A capital idea. Charon?”
Charon lifted his deep brown eyes to her, and she saw the indecision and worry that filled them.
“I recognize you’re concerned for me, and I appreciate that,” she said. “What Ben did was … well, it was unconscionable. However, that doesn’t give you the right to decide my life.”
“It does if I’m trying to save it.”
“Tell me what’s going on. Talk of Druids and teleportation. What the hell, Charon? You’re beginning to freak me out a little.”
When he didn’t answer, Phelan rolled his eyes and pushed away from the wall. He walked to the table and poured whisky into a glass.
“Druids are real,” Phelan said.
Laura frowned. “Yes, I’m sure they were. Once.”
“Nay, as in now,” Phelan insisted.
Charon sank onto the couch. “He’s right. They’re real. We know several.”
“You mean like the fanatics they show on the news sometimes, dancing naked during some old Celtic holiday?”
“Nay,” Charon said softly. “These are real Druids, Laura. They have magic, good magic. They’re called mies.”
She stared at him for several beats, unsure what to think. The fact that he believed every word was evident in his body language and his tone.
Then something struck her. “If there are good Druids, are you telling me there are evil ones?”
“Aye. They’re called droughs,” Phelan said.
Charon rubbed his hands slowly together, his brow furrowed deeply as he stared at the floor. “They give their blood and their souls to Satan, and in exchange they use black magic. They’re evil to the core. It was one of those who was behind your attack tonight.”
“Ben?” she asked.
Phelan gave a snort as he turned away.
“Nay,” Charon answered, and lifted his gaze to her. “Jason Wallace.”
Laura put a hand to her forehead as her mind began to spin. If it were anyone else but Charon, she would think it was all a jest. But she could see by the penetrating way his eyes held hers that it was far from a jest. “You both believe this?”