Midnight's Temptation

mirror to know how awful she looked.

It was just as she finished pulling her hair into a ponytail that Phelan walked into the cave. “Morning,” she said.

“Morning. Did you sleep well?”

“As if you need to ask. Do you sleep at all?”

“I doona need to, but I did last night.”

She sat and put on her hiking shoes. “No sign of Corann, huh?”

“Nay. We’ve got a hike back to the hotel and with the weather, we might want to leave soon.”

“You mean before I had a chance to talk to you,” came a voice behind them.

Aisley jerked around to find Corann. She rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “What is it with the grand entrances?” she mumbled.

Phelan covered his grin by clearing his throat. “I didna expect you.”

“Obviously,” Corann said. “There was much discussion during the night. The fact the Fae allowed you to find their pool played a heavy part in our decision.”

Aisley asked, “Why did the Fae allow him to find the pool?”

Corann’s black eyes shifted to her. “The Fae allowed both you and Phelan to find the pool. As to why? We doona know, lass. It has been over six hundred years since anyone outside of my clan has seen the pool.”

“Then why do the Fae no’ make an appearance?” Phelan asked.

Aisley hated to admit she was just as curious as he. “Do you see the Fae often?”

“No’ in many years,” Corann said. “But neither of you came here to talk of the Fae.”

Phelan scratched his jaw. “Nay. We came for help with the selmyr. Do you have good news for me?”

“In a manner.”

Aisley didn’t like the way Corann stared at her. He knew she was drough, but it was more than that. It was like he knew what was to come for her in the days ahead.

“Then tell us,” Phelan said, his voice low and menacing.

Corann hesitated a moment before he said, “The only way we could best the selmyr again is if all the Druids in the UK converged here.”

Phelan let out a string of curses, but Aisley wasn’t going to let it go so easily. “There has to be another way. We’re Druids. There are powerful Druids out there.”

“True. Verra true, lass.” Corann ran his hand down the length of his gray beard. “The problem lies in finding the one who can call up the spell.”

“What?” Phelan demanded.

“The spell was created by the magic of a certain family here on Skye. It’s said that family line died out generations ago, but there’s been no proof. There could still be one out there who could wield the spell.”

Aisley lowered herself to a rock. “Is the spell that difficult?”

Corann gave a single nod. “It takes the blood of that family in order to call the selmyr. The selmyr have no choice but to come. When they do, they can be trapped.”

“So you just need the blood of that family,” Phelan said. “What’s the name?”

“The name was Hunter, but it’ll be impossible to trace since this was long before names were recorded. But it’s more than that. The Druid who uses the spell has to be strong enough. If not, the selmyr will drag the Druid with them to be feasted on for eternity.”

“Bugger,” Aisley whispered.

Phelan looked at Aisley. “I’ve seen the selmyr drain a Druid in seconds. I’ve been bitten by the bastards. I can no’ just wait around for their next attack.”

“No,” she agreed. “We have to find the Druid.”

Suddenly Phelan smiled. “Broc. He can find anyone, anywhere. Broc can find who we’re looking for.”

“They must have magic,” Corann reminded them.

Aisley stood when Phelan slung his pack onto his shoulder. “And the spell?” she asked Corann. “Will the Druid know the spell?”

“Nay.”

“Of course not,” she said to herself.

Corann smiled. “You’ve spunk, Aisley. That’ll help you in the days ahead.”

She stilled at his words. A glance showed her Phelan was talking to Ravyn. When Aisley looked back at Corann it was to find the elder Druid’s black gaze watching her intently. “What do you know of my future?”

“The same thing you know.”

“Regardless of what you might think of Warriors, there are good ones. Phelan is one of those. So are the ones at MacLeod Castle.”

Corann leaned both hands on his tall walking stick. “You tell me to trust them, but you fear them.”

“You know what I am. You know what they’ll do to me.”

“Hmm,” he said ambiguously. “It’s your fighting spirit that’s kept you alive in the harshest times, Aisley. There is a choice coming to you. Make the right one, lass.” 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Phelan tried to pretend he didn’t know Corann and Aisley were deep in conversation. By the frown marring Aisley’s forehead he could tell she wasn’t happy with whatever Corann told her.

It wasn’t until he felt Ravyn’s magic billow around them that he knew the Druid was trying to stop him from hearing Corann’s conversation.

“Resorting to magic now, aye?”

Ravyn smiled. “Corann warned me that your hearing was excellent.”

“It is.”

“I had no choice then.”

“You’ve some cheek.”

The Druid’s intense blue eyes sparkled with merriment. “It’s not every day I get to meet a Warrior. I’m curious to see just how much power your god gives you.”

“I could show you, but I’d much rather you tell me why Corann has such an interest in Aisley.”

Ravyn’s smile fell. “Corann fears any kind of alliance between Druids and Warriors.”

“Because of Deirdre?”

“Yes,” Ravyn said and looked away as if struggling to come to terms with something. When she met his gaze again she had obviously resolved whatever concerned her. “I like Aisley, and I know you do as well.”

“Your point?” Ravyn didn’t immediately answer, and it set Phelan on edge. “Do you have a Seer? Has someone seen something of Aisley’s future?”

Ravyn put her hand on his arm. “There is no Seer here. It’s just … the ancients. They told us of Aisley.”

“What else did they tell you about her?” Phelan knew Ravyn to be no more than twenty, but she let the veil fall from around her and he saw there lived a very old soul in the body of a young girl.

“There is evil after her.”

“Wallace,” Phelan said between clenched teeth. “He’s going to hurt her to get to me. It’s what he promised the last time we fought him. Those who fight him are in his way. He’s resorted to all sorts of unspeakable acts to take us out.”

Ravyn licked her lips and stepped closer to him. “If this Wallace is everything you say he is, be careful.”

“You’re telling a Warrior to be careful.”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop teasing. Corann told us all about Deirdre.”

“But do you know all of it? Do you know she was brought forward to your time by another drough? Do you know how we killed her?”

Ravyn slowly shook her head, her eyes bright with interest. “The elders discovered Deirdre’s death through