Page 7 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Seven

Even injured, Devon moved effortlessly. Carlyle admired how she evaded and blocked each of the attacks. She wasn’t even out of breath when she finished and joined him.

“ What happens when we get to the end?” Devon asked.

Carlyle looked in the direction of the lodge. “ I don’t know.”

“ You don’t know?” she parroted.

He turned and continued on. “ That’s what I said.”

“ We left the vehicle back there.”

“ One we wouldn’t have been able to reach.”

Devon remained silent for two steps. “ We can’t stay out here.”

“ We have a better chance within the course than anywhere else.”

“ Until they come for us from above via helicopter.”

Carlyle had already thought of that. The truth was they had finite time before they were located. He wanted to be on the other side of the course by then. There was a chance that he and Devon could escape, but everything had to go just right. And that didn’t usually happen. It was also possible they could get stuck on the course. It had happened to him and Mason a few times.

“ I don’t believe what you told me earlier about the elders taking my dad to get to me,” Carlyle said. “ What’s the real reason?” He looked back at her.

Dark eyes briefly met his.

“ They could have captured me the moment I returned to London and carried out a death sentence. That’s what I thought you were in the townhome for. But you didn’t try anything. I went to Skye , not my father.” He hadn’t expected her to answer, but he was angry that she didn’t try to explain. “ It can’t be my family’s money. They have that with my father. Hurting him only infuriates me.”

“ They want you.”

“ They can bloody well fuck off,” he retorted.

She grunted. “ You know as well as I do that London always gets what they want.”

“ Not this time.”

“ They have Thomas , remember?”

He halted and swung to face her. “ Then why not take me when I was at the townhome? You said they want me. They’ve had plenty of opportunities to get me. Why haven’t they done anything?”

“ I’m not priv?—”

“ Privy to that information,” he said over her as he started walking once more. “ You said that already.”

“ It’s the truth,” she insisted.

Carlyle shook his head and deviated to the right. “ I have no reason to believe you.”

“ Because I’m aligned with them?”

“ Exactly .”

She snorted loudly. “ As if I have any reason to believe you . You are, after all, associated with the enemy.”

“ There shouldn’t be enemies. We’re all Druids . Why do any of us have to be for or against? It’s ridiculous.”

“ Power . Plain and simple.”

He rolled his eyes, hating the word but knowing she was right. “ There will always be someone stronger, as well as those less than. It’s the way of the world. Why can’t they be content with what they have?”

“ You know the answer to that, too.”

“ Jealousy .”

A twig snapped when Devon stepped on it. “ Resentment has long festered within the London Druids , directed at those on Skye . The only thing that will make that go away is London defeating them.”

“ Are they part of what’s happening on the isle?”

“ Not that I’m aware of.”

He wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t. She would say anything for the organization. “ Why didn’t you fight me to get away? You had a way out.”

“ I’m not sure I did.”

“ You think London is after you?”

She was silent for so long he didn’t think she would answer. Finally , she said, “ When the extraction team arrived at the manor, I still had two hours left until my deadline. I would’ve expected them if I’d missed it.”

“ You really think I’m going to believe you didn’t know I was coming?”

“ I do. Because it’s the truth. The point was not to be seen. If I had known you were coming, I would’ve gotten into the office well before so we didn’t bump into each other.”

“ All right,” he said. “ Say I believe you. Why would London come for you early?”

She blew out a long breath. “ I’ve been asking myself that question since I found a gun in my face.”

“ You must have pissed someone off.”

Devon didn’t respond.

Carlyle raked a hand through his hair to move it away from his forehead. “ It doesn’t make sense. Why make such a ruckus at the estate? They could’ve taken you quietly at any time. Same as me.”

“ I know.”

“ Then it must be something about the estate. Could they have been there for Mason ?”

She made an indistinct sound. “ I don’t think so.”

“ Because London has their hooks in him?”

“ Because he’s stepping into the role his mum had. It’s what the elders want. It’s what Mason wants.”

Carlyle chuckled softly. “ I doubt you know what Mason wants. Being in his bed doesn’t give you access to his mind.”

“ I didn’t share his bed,” she retorted icily.

Carlyle wasn’t sure why that pleased him so much. Or why he believed her. “ What were you looking for in his desk? And don’t try to tell me nothing. You were working to get the drawer open. You wouldn’t have, by the way. I taught Mason that locking spell.”

“ Of course, you did.”

He could practically hear her eye roll. Carlyle stopped when he reached a section of the course he didn’t remember. So much had grown up, changing the look of everything. “ What were you after?”

“ The elders said I’d know when I found it. I believe it was in the drawer that I couldn’t get open.”

Carlyle grinned as he started to go right but then hesitated and walked forward instead. “ Sounds like they wanted you to come up empty.”

“ I always get what I’m after.”

He filed that away for later. “ How often have you been sent in to locate something you’d only know when you found it?”

“ Only the one time,” she replied stiffly.

“ If they already have Mason where they want him, and they could’ve gotten either of us at any time, why the show of busting through the glass and firing the weapons?”

“ I don’t know.”

“ And then to hunt us down here. They’re after one of us.”

He could hear the shrug in her words as she said, “ Maybe .”

“ Unless I was right before, and they want me to think they’ve turned on you.”

“ You’re not that foolish to take me in so willingly and tell me all your secrets.”

Carlyle looked back at her. “ You’re bloody right, I’m not.”

Thankfully , the conversation ended as he started walking again. Carlyle was having difficulty recollecting the directions in the course with the paths no longer clear. Shane had set different traps throughout, and Carlyle wanted to minimize their time getting through each obstacle. Not just because of Devon’s injury but also because they could be lost in the course for days if he didn’t pick the right directions. He stopped and looked back the way they had come.

“ What is it?” she asked.

He studied the area they had just walked. “ I don’t know if I took the right path.”

“ You said there was no getting out of it. We have to go through. So , what does it matter?”

Carlyle looked at her. He could only make out half of her face in the moonlight threading through the trees.

“ I see,” she said.

“ I wasn’t entirely truthful. There is another way out. Shane wanted us prepared, but he wouldn’t chance Mason or me getting seriously injured. Some places in the course are particularly dangerous.”

Devon swiped hair from her face. “ And you think we might be headed for one of them?”

“ Possibly . I don’t know. We ran this course day and night, rain or shine, and in every season.”

“ Sounds like Mason’s father was preparing both of you for battle.”

Carlyle nodded slowly. “ I believe he was. He never let on to any of that, though. He presented it as a challenge to strengthen not just our magic but also our minds and bodies.”

“ I can handle whatever might come.”

He stared at her, thinking that she just might be able to. Then his gaze lowered to her arm safely tucked against her side.

“ This isn’t my first time being injured,” she said. “ Nor will it be the first time I’ve had to battle while being so. You focus on getting us out. Let me worry about myself.”

Carlyle ran a hand over his jaw before dropping to his haunches. He closed his eyes and tried to pull up the course from memory. It had been over a decade since he’d last been to the lodge and run the course. He had forgotten all about the location until he needed a place to bring Devon . Even then, he hadn’t thought London would find them so quickly.

He had gotten used to Saber covering their tracks. Carlyle should have planned better. He should have known that London might get to them sooner than he’d planned.

“ It won’t be long before they venture out here,” Devon said.

Carlyle stood. “ The course is hidden. Anyone who comes near it instead of entering it as we did won’t see it. The magic Shane used subtly sends people away.”

“ That’ll only keep our pursuers out for a short time.”

He nodded. “ I’m aware. The first obstacle is stationary. Everything after that moves randomly. Mason and I figured out there is one section we can cross without running into any. That will get us through to the other way out much faster.”

“ Maybe we should’ve drawn the team here to get them lost in the course instead of us.”

“ Getting them all here would have been a problem. It’s easier for us to get in and out.” Carlyle looked to where he had been walking and then back the way they had come. He couldn’t recall anything about the path. He could be taking them to the zone he and Mason had called the safe area , or he could be headed straight into the worst part of the course.

Devon said, “ I can handle anything but inaction. Make a decision.”

He blew out a breath and continued in the direction he had started in before. On his second step, Carlyle felt the blow to his right leg. He went down hard on his knee, magic shooting from his hands on instinct. He rolled to the side and jumped to his feet, only to sidestep the next attack.

He didn’t have time to warn Devon to stay back. She soon faced off against four of Shane’s creations just as he was. The faceless aggressors were images created by magic and technology. They looked and felt real, but they weren’t. The creations were relentless, but they could be stopped.

“ Killing blows,” Carlyle told Devon as he took out one of his.

It didn’t take long for memories of his training to return. A hit slammed into his shoulder and spun him around. Carlyle managed to stay on his feet, drawing one of his foes closer. He killed the second and faced off against the last two.

They came at him mercilessly. It wasn’t difficult to imagine they were the London Druids who had taken his father. He released all his fury and feelings of powerlessness in finding his dad. There was no holding back, no wanting to keep anyone alive. The creations weren’t real. But they were just what he needed to release his pent-up anger.

When it was finished, Carlyle stood breathing hard. It took a few moments to realize he didn’t hear Devon . He swung his head in her direction and found her leaning against a tree, just as out of breath as he was.

“ I went in the wrong direction,” he told her.

“ I figured that out. Do we go back?”

He shook his head. “ If we try and backtrack, it’ll trigger another obstacle that’s much worse.”

“ Looks like we’re going forward then.”

Carlyle wiped the sweat from his brow and began walking.

“ Tell me,” Devon urged, “how does someone who was raised as a London Druid turn their back on them?”

“ It’s a long story.”

“ I think we have the time.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder. “ How about you tell me how you came to do their dirty work?” When she remained quiet, he chuckled. “ That’s what I thought.”

“ If your father means as much to you as you claim, you wouldn’t have gone to Skye . You knew the repercussions of your actions.”

He whirled around and stalked to her until they were inches apart. “ I’m the one who broke their precious rule. Me . Not my father. Me ,” he said, jabbing his finger into his chest. “ If they wanted to punish someone, it should have been me.”

“ You weren’t here.”

He stared into her eyes. “ Tell me who the enemy is that you said is closer than I think.”

“ We all have enemies.”

“ But you know something. Otherwise , you wouldn’t have divulged that bit of information.”

Her shoulders lifted as she drew in a breath. “ I imparted what I was ordered to say.”

“ We’re not budging until you tell me.”

She lifted her chin. “ It’s the truth. They’ll start using heat sensors soon.”

He held her gaze, still refusing to move.

After a long moment, she blew out a breath. “ I honestly don’t know who.”

“ But you know why London wants me alive.”

Her gaze darted away. “ You’re a fire walker.”

“ There are others.”

“ Not for what they want.”