we set is going to be swift. We’ll rest as often as we can, but understand that we need to get as far away from this area as possible before nightfall.”
“We will do the best we can,” Odara promised. Her eyes were red, and tears still coursed down her wrinkled face.
He gave her a nod. “Either Logan or I will be in the lead and the other behind you. We need to stay in a tight group. The wyrran move fast, so if there’s another attack, Logan and I need to be able to fight around you.”
“Like this morn,” Braden called out.
Galen smiled at the eager lad. “Aye, like this morn. If you become too tired and begin to lag behind, let us know so we can take a break.”
“How long is the journey?” Mairi asked.
Logan shrugged and looked helplessly at Galen. Galen also shrugged. “As Warriors, we are able to run fast. That is how we came here, so I have no idea how long it will take to walk.”
“Do any of you talk to trees?” Logan questioned. “We have a Druid who can hear and speak to them. We could send her a message so other Warriors from MacLeod Castle could meet us along the way.”
Odara looked around and shook her head. “None of us have such a gift.”
Galen glanced at Reaghan, wondering if with all her magic she could somehow do it. “Then let’s be on our way.”
He led the small group beneath the ancient stones, his senses alert for any out-of-the-ordinary movement, anything that might be wyrran or someone sent by Deirdre.
How he wished Fallon were with them. Fallon could have used his power and had them all back at the castle in less than a blink. Instead, they were going to have to make the long, treacherous journey themselves.
He paused beside a steep drop. The Druids would have a difficult time descending it without help. If he called Logan to him, they would think he didn’t want to touch them. How could he tell them he could read their minds with the barest of contact? They were half afraid of him now, and if they knew that, they would never go with them to MacLeod Castle.
Galen took a deep breath and approached the drop. He held out his hand to the first Druid. “Keep going. Follow the loch,” he told them, trying his best — and failing miserably — to block their thoughts.
Even the brief time they touched him he saw their anxiety, their panic, their hopes, their dreams, and the terror which filled each and every one of them.
Each emotion filled him as if it were his own. It suffocated him until the touch was gone. He barely had time for a breath before someone else reached for his hand.
A few hesitated to touch him, but in the end they accepted his assistance. Reaghan was the last, and Galen almost sighed when he saw her. His head ached from all the thoughts he’d intercepted from the Druids.
Reaghan looked into his eyes and took his hand. There were so many questions swimming in her gray eyes, questions he couldn’t run away from.
But no thoughts filled his head. He wanted to hold on to her forever and never let her go. He didn’t know what was different about her, why he couldn’t see into her mind. He was just grateful for the relief.
“Galen,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said. “Later.”
“Promise?”
Her demand surprised him. He held her hand long after she was down the slope. “Aye.”
A small smile pulled at her lips. “I will hold you to that, Warrior.”
For the first time since his god had been loosened inside him, he liked the sound of being called a Warrior.
THIRTEEN
Reaghan’s entire body ached as she crumbled to the ground after the many hours they had traveled. Galen and Logan hadn’t been jesting when they said the pace would be quick. She was amazed at the distance they had covered since leaving the loch, taking only short breaks. Their noon meal had been eaten so quickly Reaghan hadn’t tasted it.
But that’s what happened when you ran from evil.
She looked over her shoulder, and in the distance she could make out the mountains which surrounded the loch. Her home was slowly fading into the distance. Sadness filled her. When she had been leaving, it was fear that propelled her forward.
Now, as she looked back, she thought of the years she had spent in the safety of the beautiful loch. She hoped one day she could return, but if she couldn’t, she would keep her memories close.
Their respite was nearly finished. She could see Galen and Logan as they spoke quietly to one another, their heads close together. They kept away from the group unless they were walking. It was as if the Warriors knew how ill at ease they made the Druids.
It angered Reaghan that so many still doubted Logan and Galen’s motives. The Warriors had saved them, but if it wasn’t for the fear of losing their lives, Reaghan was sure many of the Druids would have ignored the men’s urging to leave.
Reaghan thought of the man who had seen her at the loch, the man who had made her skin crawl. Galen had said he was from Deirdre. She didn’t doubt Galen. There had been evil in the man’s eyes.
Her thoughts then turned to Galen. She had been surprised to see he was a Warrior, but thinking back to what he had said, she should have known. There had always been something that set Galen apart from other men. Now she knew it was because of the god inside him.
Galen had said he would answer her questions, but Reaghan didn’t want to wait any longer. As if he felt her gaze on him, he turned his head and looked at her.
Even from a distance, the connection that held them, wrapped them in its grip, tugged at her. She wanted to go to Galen, to have his arms envelop her and hold her tight against his hard body. She wanted to hear him say everything was going to be all right.
Even when she knew it probably wouldn’t be.
All she had to do was observe how Galen and Logan studied the terrain, and how they kept the Druids in a tight group, to know they expected another attack.
Reaghan shivered as she recalled how easily Galen had killed the wyrran. Despite her fear, or maybe because of it, she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him as he had battled the wyrran in the village.
He had been magnificent, utterly lethal with his claws and body. She had glimpsed the fangs in his mouth when he had roared, and she had been spellbound. Everything about Galen in his Warrior form intrigued her, entranced her.
With him, she knew she was secure. When he had snatched Braden from the wyrran, Reaghan had known Galen would’ve done anything to keep the boy away from the creatures.
How could anyone ever think Galen or Logan was evil? They had proven themselves without a doubt. The others, however, wouldn’t be so easy to convince.
“Time to go,” Logan called as he took the lead.
Reaghan bit back her groan as she rose to her feet. The rolling landscape was beautiful to behold, but becoming more and more difficult for them to cross because of their fatigue.
The sun was steadily sinking in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before they stopped for the night, but it wouldn’t come quickly enough for her. Reaghan looked forward to a decent meal and somewhere she could sleep.
A smile pulled at her lips when she saw Logan lift a weary Braden in his arms. Logan said something to Fiona, and then he lifted Braden over his head and settled the lad atop his shoulders.
“You seem surprised.”
Reaghan jumped and turned her head to find Galen behind her. “I’m surprised Fiona allowed Logan to take Braden.”
