back to the loch. “I still cannot find the source, but if there is a chance it’s Deirdre, we need to be careful.”
“We’re near the Druids. Their magic is everywhere. I would hate to be the ones responsible for leading Deirdre to more of them.”
As part of their power, Warriors were able to feel the magic of Druids. The stronger the magic, the stronger the Druid.
The group Galen and Logan searched for had been hiding for decades, if not longer. Deirdre, though a Druid herself, took little care to worry about continuing the magic of the land. She much preferred to find and kill other Druids. After she took their magic, of course.
“If we go by what Isla told us, Deirdre is alive but without a form. She will be working on discovering a way to restore her body and her magic.”
Logan absently scratched his jaw, his lips twisted with frustration. “Which means she’ll be looking for a Druid. I understand. We cannot tarry. It’s just that I hate being watched, especially by something I cannot discern or fight.”
Galen understood all too well. It was in their core to want to fight, to yearn to see the blood of their enemy, thanks to the god inside them. Some Warriors controlled their bloodthirsty nature better than others.
As far as he knew, Galen was the only Warrior who wanted to suppress his god and forget he had any power. No Warrior would understand, but then again, none of them had their god’s power give them as much pain as his did.
Never being able to touch someone without seeing their thoughts was a miserable fate. He didn’t want to know what was in the mind of his friends.
Yet his power went beyond even that. He had controlled someone’s mind before. And it had cost him part of his soul in doing it.
He pushed aside the frustration over his power and focused on his mission. Galen pulled out the map drawn by Ramsey, another Warrior, and compared it to the loch. Galen looked to the spot where Isla had told them they would find the Druids.
Logan glanced at the map. “Do you think we’ll discover the Druids where Isla said?”
Galen shrugged. Isla was a Druid who had been used by Deirdre and forced to become a
“I think the Druids will be close to where Isla told us. Actually finding them, however, will be the tricky part.” Galen rolled up the map and used it to point to the far side of the water. “The place is over there. We’ll have to walk around the loch.”
A strand of Logan’s golden brown hair fell into his eyes. He brushed it out of his face and shrugged, his hazel eyes dancing with excitement and mischievousness. “Sure you doona want to go for a swim?”
Galen chuckled and shook his head as he tucked the map in the waist of his kilt. He had known Logan for years, and in those years, they had done much together.
“Come on, old man,” Logan teased. “I doona think the current will be too swift for you. You’re only two hundred and fifty. You can make it across.”
Logan was the youngest of the Warriors at one hundred and fifteen. The only one younger than Logan was the lone female Warrior, Larena, who happened to be the wife of Fallon MacLeod, their leader.
“Keep it up,
Logan had been a Godsend to the Warriors. It was easy to become despondent and dreary when you had lost everything and eternity stretched out before you, but Logan always knew how to lighten people’s moods with a jest, a tease, or a grin. His smiles were infectious, and his banter notorious.
Galen was pleased Logan was with him on this trip. Logan pretended he was lighthearted and indifferent about his past, but Galen knew firsthand Logan was not a Warrior you wanted against you. Because deep down, Logan hid a streak of hostility and bitterness that burned within him.
Logan’s mouth tilted in a lopsided smile as he glanced back at the loch. “I tell you, Galen, I could use a hot meal. Eating at the castle has spoiled me.”
“You?” Galen shook his head sadly. He missed not just the delicious meals, but the companionship he had found at MacLeod Castle. “I was getting my own loaf of bread that I didn’t have to share with any of you. I’ve had none for days. I’m eager to return.”
“Then let’s find those Druids.”
Once again Galen felt the tickle on the back of his neck, as though they were being spied upon. “Time to get moving.”
“Aye,” Logan said, and fell into step beside him as they began their trek around the outer edge of the mountains rimming the loch. “We’d get there faster if we swam.”
“Maybe.”
“I could move the water for you so you wouldna have to get wet.”
Galen looked at Logan and saw his cocky grin. Because of their gods, each of them had a unique power. Logan could command oceans. Any body of liquid, big or small, was his to control.
Enhanced strength, speed, and senses completed the package for all Warriors.
In some ways it was a heady experience to be a Warrior, but knowing the evil that resided inside them, knowing how easily they could kill while surviving forever, made life hell.
“Nay,” Galen said. “We’d cause too much of a distraction if you moved the water. Besides, we run faster than horses. We’ll be on the other side of the loch in no time.”
Logan grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. “I want to know who is watching us.”
“I suspect we’ll find out soon enough. With the Druids nearby, it could be them.”
“Nearly all the way from MacLeod Castle? I doubt it.”
Galen’s gaze traced the hilly landscape, selecting the best route to take. “Whoever it is, they cannot hide from us forever. We’ll find who’s been spying, and then we’ll discover why.”
“I want that privilege,” Logan said between clenched teeth.
A tingle of worry began in Galen’s mind. Logan didn’t become heated unless Deirdre attacked them. To see the anger sizzle around him like a thick cloud was unusual. And disturbing.
There was no point in asking Logan about it, though. There was only one other person he could talk to about Logan and that was Hayden. Hayden and Logan had bonded as soon as they’d met, forging a friendship that went as deep as brotherhood.
Maybe Hayden knew something Galen didn’t. After all, Galen had assumed Hayden would be the one accompanying him since he had a hatred for
Thinking about the black-headed Druid made Galen wonder what had happened since they had departed MacLeod Castle.
It seemed Logan’s mind was also on Hayden because he asked, “What you saw in Isla’s mind when you touched her, was it as bad as Hayden said?”
“Worse.” So much worse than anyone could have imagined. It had shocked even Galen, and he had seen many things since his god had been unleashed. “I saw horrors while in Deirdre’s dungeons, but what Deirdre did to Isla was unthinkable.”
Logan fell silent for several moments. “You haven’t asked why I came instead of Hayden.”
“I expected Hayden to accompany me, but I am happy to have you with me on this journey.”
Logan continued to face forward so that Galen could see only his profile. “Hayden would have run from Isla. I forced him to confront her.”
“Why? You know how much he hates
“You saw him when he brought her broken body into the castle. You saw how protective he was.”
“And then we discovered she was
Logan leaped over a fallen tree and shrugged. “From the moment Isla asked him to kill her and he didn’t, I
