CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Laura smiled and Charon forgot all about Banan as he walked past him.
“How are you feeling?” Charon asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
She paused as if taking stock of her body. “Rested. What happened?”
“The selmyr hit the Range Rover, and there was a bit of an accident.” He heard the sound of the door closing, which signaled that Banan had left.
She looked away, her hands fiddling with the edge of the blanket. “How badly was I injured?”
“No’ bad. Just a few bumps.”
“Liar,” she said softly, and met his gaze.
He could never look into her green depths without drowning, and now was no different. “You’re healed now. That’s all that matters.”
“Who healed me?”
“Con.”
Her eyes widened. “He can heal?”
“Apparently. And quickly, as well.”
“I must have been bad off.”
“It’s over now,” he said and entwined his fingers with hers.
The fingers of her other hand lightly caressed his forehead. “Then tell me why you’re frowning. What has you so worried?”
She knew him well, possibly much too well. “Everyone is gone from the castle.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. It’s the one place the Warriors and Druids always stayed when they had a choice. It was the one place they knew they were the strongest.”
Her arm lowered to the bed, and she used it to help push herself into a sitting position. “Have you spoken to Phelan?”
“Nay.” Charon rose from the bed and paced. “Aiden is waiting on me as well. I’ve tried to call them both. Neither answers.”
“Call again,” she urged, and motioned to the phone.
Charon looked at the mobile phone resting on the bedside table. He reached for it and dialed Aiden’s number. Just as before, it went straight to voice mail.
He hung up and dialed Phelan’s number. Charon let out a sigh of relief when Phelan answered on the second ring.
“Phelan,” he said.
“Where the bleeding hell have you been?” Phelan yelled. “I couldna get ahold of you.”
Charon sank onto the bed and leaned forward, his head resting in his hand as he braced his elbow on his leg. “My phone was crushed, and then when I got a new one, I couldna reach you.”
“What’s going on?” Phelan demanded.
Charon closed his eyes when Laura’s hands rubbed his back as she sat up. “So much. The selmyr attacked again. They got Laura’s sister and mother.”
“So Laura has her magic back?”
Charon glanced at Laura. “Aye. We got her away safely, though.”
“We?” Phelan repeated, his voice holding a note of concern over the phone.
“I’m at Dreagan.”
There was a long pause before Phelan let out a string of curses. “If they helped you with the selmyr, that means they know of us.”
“Aye.”
“And the Druids?”
Charon smiled into the phone. “Aye.”
“What are you no’ telling me?” Phelan asked in a deadly calm voice.
Charon looked out the window in time to see an amber dragon fly near the mansion. “They’re dragons, Phelan.”
“No’ possible,” he said immediately. “There’s no way they could have kept that a secret from us.”
“They did. For a verra, verra long time, too. Trust me. I’ve seen them in action. The selmyr doona like them, and I think they’re the only things that can stand against the selmyr.”
Phelan sighed loudly into the phone. “I’m glad you and Laura are all right. I was getting worried.”
“Join us here.”
“I can no’. Fallon sent me to Oban to meet up with Galen, Quinn, Aiden, and Britt.”
Charon stood, his hand clenched at his side. “So Wallace didna get Aiden and Britt?”
“No’ yet. I’m checking the perimeter around the cottage where the group is to hole up, and Quinn told me Wallace did something to prevent Fallon from jumping them away.”
Charon didn’t like what he was hearing. Their one advantage was the powers they were able to use as Warriors. The Druids already had an influence in that they could stop a Warrior. If Wallace took away their power, the Warriors were no better than the mortals walking around.
“Fallon could teleport himself away, but no’ the others,” Phelan said. “Fallon plans on coming here in a bit and trying again. He thinks the farther away from Wallace, the better their chances.”
“What do you think?”
Phelan chuckled. “I think I’m itching for a fight. Wallace has done enough. Now, thanks to Aiden, we have Britt, who is making headway with discovering what it is about drough blood that hurts us so much. When Galen told her how you reacted, she said she wanted a sample of your blood.”