Midnight's Temptation

Phelan drank more of his tea. “Galen. He and Logan were sent to search for the artifact. No one expected the artifact to be a person, or for Reaghan and Galen to fall in love.”

“They’re together?”

“Aye.”

Aisley ran her thumbnail along the arm of the chair. “And the other artifacts?”

“That was Broc and Sonya. Broc has wings,” Phelan said. “The bastard can fly. Sonya doesna just have healing magic, but she also communicates with the trees. Broc and Sonya had to look for an ancient Celtic burial mound for the next artifact.”

“Did they get it?”

“They did. I came upon them, though I had no idea who they were. Deirdre was near, and I was willing to help anyone she was fighting. When she attacked, I made sure Broc and Sonya were able to get away.”

“Did they know it was you?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It wasna long after that when Deirdre came across Logan and Duncan on their way to Mallaig to look for the next artifact. Deirdre killed Duncan then.”

“And was transported through time.”

“Right,” he said with a wink.

Aisley couldn’t look away from his blue-gray eyes. She knew without a doubt he was telling her the truth. It was no wonder everyone hated droughs.

It wasn’t just because they gave their souls to Satan for black magic, but because they ruined everything. She didn’t want to think about the time Phelan would look at her with hatred. But it was coming.

It was coming all too soon. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Phelan knew something troubled Aisley, and he doubted it was his story. The lost look he’d seen in her fawn-colored eyes vanished for a time. It had returned with a vengeance.

“Logan was one who volunteered to have the Druids move him through time,” Phelan continued. “He looked for Ian while on his way to Mallaig for the artifact.”

“He expected it to still be there?”

“He hoped it was. Turns out it was. He discovered that with the help of Gwynn. She was a Druid who knew nothing of her magic. She was a descendent of those on Mallaig, and the Keeper of the artifact Logan searched for. She was the only one who could get it.”

Aisley’s lips lifted in a smile. “And she did. We Druids are strong.”

“Without a doubt. Yes, she retrieved it, and Logan and Gwynn returned with it to the castle.”

“Are they … did Logan and Gwynn get together?”

Phelan stretched his legs in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. “Noticing a pattern, are you?”

“Looks that way.”

“It seems Warriors are destined to be with Druids. Each of the Warriors felt the magic of their woman differently than others.”

Aisley crossed her legs in the chair. “Was there just the three artifacts?”

“Nay. In the burial mound Broc and Sonya found there were two, a pendant and a sword. The Tablet of Orn that Gwynn and Logan found was part of it. Ian knew the code to unlock the Tablet, but they still lacked a key.”

She chuckled. “Let me guess. The key was the next artifact?”

“They didna know. Turns out, Danielle, who was searching for MacLeod Castle, had the key. With the Tablet fully unlocked they found a map. That map led them to the location Deirdre’s twin was hidden.”

He paused, wondering how he would have factored in on things had he joined the MacLeods after escaping Cairn Toul.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” Aisley said. “Finish.”

Phelan watched the way the afternoon sun danced over her mocha-colored skin. “They were able to find the opening that led beneath the ground just as Deirdre arrived. It took all the artifacts to get them through the maze. However, the toughest part fell on Camdyn and Saffron.”

“Who are they?”

“Camdyn is, of course, a Warrior. Saffron a Seer. Declan Wallace kidnapped her, blinded her, and tortured her to get to her visions. It was when the MacLeods attacked the Wallace mansion that Camdyn found Saffron and brought her back to the castle.”

Aisley’s forehead was creased in a deep frown. “Is she still blind?”

“Dani was able to use her magic of finding things to search Saffron’s mind for the spell Declan used. It took some doing, but Dani, with the help of the others, was able to reverse Declan’s spell. When they found Deirdre’s twin and woke her, the MacLeods were missing one last item. A Torrachilty Druid.”

“Which is?” she asked with a wrinkle of her nose.

“I’d hoped you’d know. They were the most powerful of all Druids. They were also known as warrior Druids. The magic was so unstable and potent, that if it passed to the women, they went mad with it.”

Aisley rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s the men’s way of looking for an excuse to kill the women and keep the magic for themselves.”

“Mayhap you’re right.” Phelan couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. “The Torrachilty Druids were wiped out by Deirdre.”

“So the MacLeods didn’t have the last item they needed.”

“No’ true. Turns out there is one Torrachilty Druid left. Ramsey. Who also just happened to be a Warrior.”

Aisley’s eyes grew huge. “And Deirdre didn’t know it?”

“She had no idea. With everything in place, there was one last battle. Deirdre was killed, but Declan escaped.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

Phelan snorted. “It was anything but. Declan brought his mercenaries who had bullets filled with drough blood. They were called X90s. Deirdre had her wyrran that she created. By the saints how I hated those yellow-skinned buggers.”

“You were part of this battle?”

“Me and Charon both. Neither of us joined the MacLeods earlier, and when I discovered there was another Warrior about, I approached him. He convinced me to help the MacLeods with him.”

Aisley lowered her mug to her lap. “I gather the battle was bad.”

“Any battle is awful. With Laria, Deirdre’s twin, now risen, she and Deirdre were locked in combat. Deirdre was betrayed by one of her own, Malcolm, who just happened to be cousins to the only female Warrior, Larena. Who is married to Fallon MacLeod, the eldest of the brothers.”

Aisley seemed to retreat at the mention of Larena’s name. He frowned as she looked down at her lap, more interested in her mug than the story she had urged him to tell.

“Does it surprise you there is a female Warrior?”

She shrugged.

“Deirdre unbound Malcolm’s god and promised him Larena would be spared if he did as she commanded. So Malcolm agreed. In the end, he betrayed Deirdre just as Saffron said someone would.”

Aisley lifted her gaze back to his. “Deirdre died then.”

“Aye, and her twin with her. None of us could rest, however, since there was still Declan.”

“How was he killed?”

“Agonizingly,” Phelan said with a smile. “It was Ramsey who ultimately killed Declan. But the magic Ramsey had to use to do it took him. The only one to save him was Tara, his woman, who happened to be a descendent of a Torrachilty Druid.”