Page 24

T his feeling, this completely foreign emotion, filled his chest, almost painfully, causing his breath to shudder past the odd thickening in his throat.

Jesse studied the face of the woman sleeping in his arms, memorizing every little detail. He hesitated to wake her, fearing the tenuous bond formed between them last night would crumble and disappear, like dried leaves blown away in the wind.

He knew how strongly Destiny felt about going with him when he left here today to rescue her sister, how much she wanted to be physically present when he reached the people who held Leah. And yet, in spite of that, she agreed to remain behind.

For him.

With the possible exception of his sister, no woman he’d ever known had put his feelings ahead of her own. None had given him a gift as precious as the gift of trust Destiny had handed him last night. Not ever.

It almost made him want to take her along with him, just to see her eyes glow with happiness.

Almost.

Not enough to take a risk with her safety, though. Not enough to risk her life.

His body betrayed him with another shuddering breath and he could have sworn his heart actually skipped a beat at the thought of losing her.

How had he allowed this to happen? Allowed her to crawl under his skin and burrow in so deep he couldn’t imagine life without her.

A tiny moan escaped her barely parted lips. Her eyes moved rapidly under her closed lids and a single tear slowly slid down the side of her face, as if the dream she was lost in upset her.

He considered not waking her, wondering if what she experienced now was simply a normal nightmare or one of her visions. But the sun was already shining in through the cracks in the wall and there was little doubt that Devlin would arrive soon.

“Come on, babe. Time to wake up.” He nuzzled against her neck, breathing her sweet scent deep into his lungs and holding it there for safekeeping.

Her eyes flickered open, a mixture of panic and sorrow skittering through them before she caught herself and shuttered away her emotions.

Guilt gnawed at the edges of his resolve. Though he might try to convince himself it was only the remnants of her dream reflected in her waking expression, he couldn’t make himself believe it. He was responsible for those emotions.

Still, he’d rather have her sad and worried than falling into the hands of the Nuadians. If anything were to happen to her… No, he couldn’t even think about that. He’d find a way to make it all up to her later, just as he’d find some way to keep her near him when all of this was over.

She was up and dressed, huddled on a bench against the wall by the time Devlin arrived, misery shining around her like a halo.

What a perfect pair they were, Jesse reflected. Her misery and his guilt.

“As soon as Devlin has shown me the portal, he’ll be back to take you to his family’s home. You’ll be safe there until I come back for you.” Jesse watched Destiny for any response.

She nodded, not meeting his eyes.

It was as they’d agreed when Devlin made the suggestion, an excellent plan. If only he could drive that haunted look from her expression. Even when she bravely tried for a smile, she still looked as if tears would follow shortly.

“Here.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out the flat little flashlight he always carried. “Take this.”

“How long do you think I’m going to be here?” she asked, the doubt in her eyes reflected in her voice as she clutched the tiny piece of metal in her fist.

“Not long enough to need that. But you have it.” It was the only thing he had with him other than his phone. The only thing he had to leave with her.

This was so much easier with a typical client. He’d never given their responses a second thought when it came to leaving them behind to wait.

But Destiny wasn’t just a client. Somewhere in the last twenty-four hours, he’d finally given up pretending, even with himself, that their relationship was purely business. When the one you left behind was someone you cared deeply about, the logical action wasn’t necessarily the easy one.

“Try to finish your breakfast, babe. Devlin will be back before you know it.” He kissed the top of her head and walked away, out the door Devlin held open.

The thought of her sitting there in the murky light of that little shed alone for the next few hours hung heavy on his heart. So quiet. So miserable. So compliant.

So unlike Destiny.

He’d gone less than three yards from the cabin when his suspicions kicked in. It was the quiet, compliant part that had gotten to him.

If she were a woman like all the others he’d known, one who would willingly do anything to keep his checkbook open, those actions might have made sense.

But that wasn’t Destiny. She’d already shown that neither his money nor his name impressed her.

No, when Destiny got quiet and compliant, things were not as they seemed. If his experience with her had taught him anything, those behaviors in her simply meant she was busy plotting.

“Wait a second.” Spotting a long wooden bench in front of the cabin, Jesse made his decision.

He motioned for Devlin to come along as he backtracked to the shed, stopping to lift one end of the heavy bench. Devlin followed, and shortly they managed to block the doorway with the heavy slab of wood.

His concern might have been without merit, but now he wouldn’t have to worry. If she truly planned to sit and wait for Devlin’s return, it made no difference.

But if his gut was right on this one, and she tried to come after him, he’d nipped that little problem in the bud. There was no way Destiny would be able to open that door and follow.

On her feet, pacing, Destiny scrubbed at her face.

How long was long enough to wait? She’d never tried to trail after someone before and seriously doubted her ability to find their tracks. Which meant she needed to be close enough behind to hear them or see where they’d gone without being so close they caught her following them.

They were on foot, though Devlin was taking his horse so he could return more quickly. Maybe she’d get lucky and the horse would be a noisy companion.

Her sense of time passing was off, thanks to a raging case of nerves. It already felt like the men had been gone forever, though she knew it was only minutes.

Long enough.

Decision made, she strode to the door to peek out. Just to make sure they were out of sight.

Quietly, stealthily, she turned the knob and pushed.

The door didn’t budge.

“What the heck?” she muttered, shoving harder, putting her shoulder into it.

No movement at all.

Next to the door, she bent over, placing her eye to one of the knotholes in the wood of the wall. Though her vision was obstructed, she could see what looked like half a tree trunk with legs blocking the doorway.

They’d locked her in?

“Aargh!” she yelled in frustration, straightening to stomp across the room. Turning, she crossed her arms under her breasts and stared at the offending door.

He hadn’t trusted her. The nerve of that man! Here she’d been willing to give up what she wanted most for him and he hadn’t trusted her. Granted, she had planned to follow him anyway, but he hadn’t known that.

Or he shouldn’t have.

“Dammit,” she muttered, pacing again. Trapped like a rat in a box. Stuck in this Faerie world.

Her steps slowed. Faerie world. Just like her own world, Jesse had said, except with magic.

Magic?

Before she allowed herself time to scoff, she remembered Robert’s advice to accept and move on.

It didn’t have to be logical. It just was. She accepted that.

She was Faerie. Half, anyway. Enough that she had Faerie magic flowing in her veins. Magic strong enough to manifest itself in the Mortal World. Her dreams proved that.

So how could she use it here?

If her power lay in her sleeping thoughts at home, perhaps here, in a world filled with magic, it would inhabit her waking thoughts as well.

She stared at the door, concentrating. She imagined she could see through it, as if it were glass. Imagined the bench moving away from the door. Imagined she could hear the scrape of its heavy wooden feet digging small trenches into the dry earth as it slid along the wall.

Not allowing herself to think on the impossibility of what she’d just imagined, not even for a moment, she strode to the door, turned the knob, and pushed, putting her whole weight into the process.

The door swung open and Destiny fell through, landing with a thud on her hands and knees. Not graceful, but effective.

Standing up, she brushed the dirt from her hands onto her pants and scanned the little clearing where the cabin stood, refusing to let her eyes stray to the bench by the door. She didn’t want to spend much time thinking about what she’d just done or even really want to try to understand it.

If she could make things move in this world simply by thinking about it, with no knowledge or training, what kinds of things could the people who lived here their whole lives do?

It was too scary to let her mind wander down that path for long.

Instead she needed to put her energy into figuring out how to find the men and the doorway she needed. She might have threatened to try every door in the Realm of Faerie until she found the right one, but that would take time she didn’t have. Besides, they were headed to the exact door she needed.

How on earth was she going to follow them? She had no idea which way they’d gone. Trails led off in three directions and they could have taken any one of them. Tracking someone through the wilderness was hardly her forte.

A few worrisome moments staring down the different trails and Destiny slapped a hand over her mouth to smother a chuckle.

To think she’d hoped the horse Devlin led along behind him would help her by being noisy. The animal had done much better than that. He’d left physical evidence of the track they took.

Soft, smelly evidence, plopped right in the middle of the trail.

Carefully stepping over the fresh pile of horse dung, Destiny headed out, hurrying to catch sight of the men who’d thought to leave her behind.

“I will see to her care, Guardian. She will be safe with my family.” Devlin spoke as he pushed aside a chunk of shrubbery, revealing an opening into the world of man.

“Thank you.” Jesse ducked his head as he stepped through the portal, back into the Mortal World.

“No need to thank me. It is the least I can do. Until your return, Guardian.” Devlin bowed his head as he backed away.

Jesse found himself staring at the face of the weathered, moss-covered stone where his friend had stood only seconds before. It was easily as large as a normal-sized woman. A carving stood out on the rock face, clearly visible to him now that he’d passed through the portal. A carving that matched the mark on his arm.

The stone was part of an abandoned circle, overgrown and long forgotten. The circle still sat in a mostly wooded area but through the trees Jesse could see a new home under construction, though no workmen were around at the moment.

He shook his head in sorrow at the loss of history. In time, man would unknowingly eliminate the majority of the remaining portals between the worlds.

He flipped open his cell phone as he made his way through the forest, hunting the nearest road. He punched in a speed dial code, and two rings later, Peter’s greeting crackled across the line.

“Peter, I need your help.”

“Jess? Good God, man! Your tracking signal freakin’ disappeared. Where are you? We’ve been worried sick.”

“Scotland. And before you even ask, it’s a long story and now’s not the time for it.” His best bet was to keep Peter focused on the task at hand. “I’m near a stone circle called Achnatone. I’m going to need transportation and all the intel you gathered on any castles around Fleenasmore.”

“Switch on your GPS so I can track you.” Peter’s voice slipped from concerned friend into professional backup without missing a beat. “Hold on. You’re already there. I have you now. You’re roughly a mile and a half out of Fleenasmore, give or take. Nearest town is Auldearn, but there’s a village within about a mile of your location. Littlemill. Robert’s due to land in Inverness within the hour and the airport is within ten miles of there. I’ll send over coordinates for the two of you to meet up in Littlemill. You can plan your next move from there.”

“Good. Thanks, buddy.” Jesse ended the conversation to pick up the incoming message with directions to his rendezvous spot in Littlemill.

Leave it to Robert to stick to the plan to fly to Scotland, no matter what. His friend’s much-appreciated tenacity meant he’d have the backup he needed when he confronted Dermond and the redhead, Adira.

Reaching the road, just as Peter’s coordinates showed, Jesse headed for town. When Robert arrived, they’d head for Fleenasmore and check every possible location Peter had found. They’d go door to door if necessary, but he didn’t plan to let another day pass without finding Destiny’s sister.

After what she’d given up for him, it was the least he could do for the woman who meant everything to him.

Destiny crouched down behind the big tree, shimmying backward to hide under the ferns covering the forest floor. If there was anything down here under this foliage even remotely resembling a spider, she was going to be royally pissed.

Tracking hadn’t been nearly as difficult as she’d expected, probably because the men made no effort to hide their trail. After all, they had no reason to suspect they would be followed.

Destiny tried to ignore the twinge of guilt she felt at that realization. She was too close to her destination to let a little thing like a guilty conscience get in her way.

The doorway she sought had to be very close. She’d ducked behind this tree, hiding herself in the heavy forest growth because ahead of her Devlin had emerged from a thickly wooded area.

Alone.

That meant Jesse must have gone through the doorway already.

She’d had plenty of time to plan her next step. No more blundering blindly for her. After Devlin had passed by and she felt it safe, she’d search out the doorway. Then she’d wait, giving Jesse time to get far enough away from the portal that he wouldn’t see her exit.

Nothing could bring her plans to a screeching halt faster than his standing there when she emerged from the doorway.

Since she had no idea how far from Fleenasmore she would be when she entered her world, her first step would be to find someone who could give her directions.

The next step was finding the castle and her sister. At that point, her plans dwindled away to nothing, but she’d determined not to worry about what she’d do when she made it that far. There was still time to work on those plans.

For now she had plenty of obstacles at hand to overcome.

The pounding of hooves thundered past her hiding place and Destiny held her breath, releasing it only as the sound faded in the distance.

She would wait after she located the doorway, but not too long. Devlin would no doubt come looking for her as soon as he found her missing. Having him catch her on this side of the door would be just as bad as bumping into Jesse standing on the other side.

Crawling out of her hiding place, she peeked around the tree, emerging onto the trail only after she’d assured herself the Fae was indeed gone.

The doorway itself was easy enough to find once she entered the thicket of trees. Its carvings stood out like a beacon.

She paced back and forth, nervously trying to decide whether enough time had passed since Jesse had gone through. Finally, after what felt like hours, she pushed against the carving and stepped through the doorway to her own world, relieved to find herself alone.

The portal opened into a forest, but unlike the one in which she’d entered the doorway, this one was clearly in the Mortal World. Through the trees she saw a construction site and headed in that direction. If someone was building a house there might be people around doing the work.

The closer she got to the unfinished home, the more apparent it became that no one was working there today. None of the usual construction noise drifted her way.

“Okay, Ms. Strategy Queen,” she muttered to herself, walking around the empty job site. “What now?”

This was no more than a minor setback. She wouldn’t let it stop her. The dirt road from the house had to lead somewhere. The workers, when they did come, must use this way to get here from wherever they came from. All she needed to do was follow the road to a highway or street and she’d find people who could give her directions.

In spite of her best intentions, faith in her plan had begun to falter by the time she found herself near a paved road. Only when she spotted a figure on a bicycle headed her way did her spirits begin to lift.

She ran her fingers quickly through her hair, thinking for the first time that she must look as though she’d just rolled out of bed and gone for a hike.

“Hello,” she called out, waving her arm as the boy approached, thankful he was young enough he probably wouldn’t even notice how rumpled she looked. “Could you help me?”

The boy, who appeared to be in his early teens, pulled to a halt, balancing himself with one foot flat on the pavement as he surveyed the area around them.

“What are you doing out here all by yerself, miss?”

She’d been working on what to say to the first person she met ever since she left the construction site, but now that someone had arrived, she found her mouth suddenly dry as she stumbled into her story.

“I… I’ve gotten separated from my friends and I’m all turned around. Could you maybe give me directions to Fleenasmore?”

“Yer from the States, aren’t you?” he asked, a big grin breaking over his face. “I can tell from yer lovely accent.”

Her accent? He was more interested in her accent than in her story. Nerves still on edge, Destiny stifled the nervous giggle she felt bubbling to the surface and settled instead for returning the boy’s infectious grin. “Yes. And I’m really lost.”

“You’ve no a need to worry, miss. I live no too far from here and me mum should be home from the shop this time of day.” The boy stuck his hand out, his grin growing even larger. “Edan Abernethy, at yer service.”

She took the hand offered to her. “Thank you so much, Edan. I’m Destiny Noble.”

Edan hopped off his bike to walk beside her along the road. “It’s a little over two kilometers to Fleenasmore. I’ve ridden it many a time, but you look as though you’ve been walking about lost in the woods for quite some while, so it might be too far for you on foot.”

She felt her face heat as she nodded her agreement. Obviously even very young men paid attention to how a woman looked. And though her feet were getting tired, she wasn’t so tired that she’d miss an opportunity to learn what she could from Edan.

“So, you know the countryside around Fleenasmore pretty well?”

“Of course I do. Like the back of my hand,” the boy returned, his shoulders straightening with pride. “I can find any spot you care to name.”

Apparently the male ego was also firmly in place by early teens.

“Are there many old castles around?”

“Aye, there are a few, I suppose.” Edan snorted a laugh, shaking his head. “You Americans and yer castles. Yer all the same.”

In a short time, they turned off onto a smaller paved lane leading to a cluster of small whitewashed cottages.

“Here we are,” Edan announced as he headed toward the door of one of the small houses. “You can have yer-self a wee rest before we head out for Fleenasmore.”

Destiny paused at the entrance, feeling suddenly unsure of herself. Facing an adult with her lies felt scarier than dealing with a kid.

“Wait. You don’t think your mom will mind you dragging a perfect stranger into the house?”

“No at all,” a feminine voice lilted from inside. “My Irish granny always told me I should never turn any stranger away. It could be an angel in disguise.”

The owner of the voice appeared at the doorway, holding out her hand. “I’m Corinne Abernethy. Welcome to my home.”

A pleasantly plump woman with light brown hair, Corinne had the most welcoming smile Destiny could remember having seen.

“This is Destiny Noble, mum. She got herself lost from her friends in the forest out near Achnatone and needs to get to Fleenasmore to find them.”

Destiny followed the boy and his mother into the kitchen, allowing Edan to roll with his understanding of her story. It sounded much better coming from him anyway.

“Make yerself to home at the table,” Corinne invited as she plopped a tea bag into a cup and filled it with steaming water before setting it in front of Destiny. “We’ll have ourselves a lovely cup and some biscuits before we motor you over to Fleenasmore.”

The aroma of the strong dark tea made Destiny’s mouth water and she found herself eagerly reaching for the shortbreads Corinne placed on the table.

“Ms. Noble is looking for castles to visit around Fleenasmore,” Edan added as he washed his hands before sitting down next to her.

“Castles, is it?” Corinne asked thoughtfully. “We’ve nothing nearby so grand as to compare to Cawdor or Brodie castles, of course, but we’ve a few small, private homes I could point out. Most locals would be more than happy to give you a tour if you asked.”

“But no MacIntosh Hall, eh, Mum?” Edan laughed as he swept up another cookie.

“That’s for certain, lad. I’d no even show that one to our guest. Especially not with herself in residence again.” Corinne shook her head emphatically.

“The MacIntoshes don’t like strangers dropping in?” That sounded interesting. People holding a kidnapped girl prisoner probably wouldn’t be too happy about having uninvited guests stop by for a visit.

“There’s no a MacIntosh to be found in the hall these days. It’s owned by an outsider who rarely comes to stay, but when she does, oh my!” Corinne shook her head again, her eyebrows arching up to touch the curled bangs she wore. “Her household staff is required to stay on the property when the lady is in residence. Their families say they canna even speak to them on the phone. Thank the saints she’s so rarely here.”

Destiny sipped at her tea, working up her courage. If she didn’t ask, she’d never know.

“This woman, is she a tall, really pretty redhead?” She felt as if she should hold her breath after asking.

“That’s her!” Edan blurted out around another cookie.

“If you can call someone with those hard eyes pretty,” his mother added. “Do you know the woman?”

Sticking as close to the truth as possible seemed the best tack to Destiny. “Not really, but from the description, I think I bumped into her. Maybe you’d be willing to show me her place just so I know where to avoid.”

Destiny took another sip of tea, keeping her eyes down, focused on anything but her hostess.

“She has a point, Mum. Best to know where not to go.”

“So it is,” his mother agreed, rising to refill her cup. “And a lovely home it is, in spite of the woman who owns it. We’ll let you take a peek on our way into the village.”

Destiny didn’t doubt for one second she’d found the place she hunted. As soon as she knew where the house was, and could manage to get away from the wonderful people who’d welcomed her into their home, she planned to go pay Adira a call.

And if she found that the nightmare she’d had last night was vision and not dream?

Then a visit wasn’t the only thing Adira was getting from her. She’d personally see to it that red-haired bitch regretted the day she laid her hands on Leah.