Concentrate, Kenna. Emotions only create chaos.It had been a long while since she had erased an entire mind. Life had been pretty calm since she arrived in Scotland. Other than Chloe’s birth and falling in love with Colum, life had pretty much been bobbing along at an even keel in the thirteenth century.
Her heartbeat pulsed into her fingertips. The energy hummed a slow steady rhythm as her concentration deepened.One more deep breath and then it’s playtime.She inhaled, then powered forward.
All senses focused. Every sound, every sensation in the garden fell away to a whirling tunnel of darkness lit by glowing bursts of multicolored explosions. The mind tunnel always made her think of a black hallway someone had colored by bursting water balloons filled with sparkling paint. She dove forward, following the iridescent trail toward a shining beacon at the end of the tunnel.
In the span of time it took to form a thought, she reached a shimmering wall of white light at the end of the tunnel. There it was—the portal to Ronan’s mind. Time to clean house. She rubbed her fingers together, then flattened her hands on the satiny surface of the gently undulating wall. Granny’s voice still guided her.One more deep breath, gal, then push. You can do this.
The wall resisted, caved inward, then slowly pushed back. What? That had never happened before. Sometimes she failed at pulling memories away, but even Colum’s mind had never refused her entry. She rubbed her fingertips together faster, amping up the energy. It had to be her anger that was fouling up the flow of her power. Keeping all emotions under control was the first lesson Granny always taught.
Inhale. Hold it. Release. Concentrate.She flattened her hands against the wall and shoved harder. The wall’s opposing push was less gentle this time and was accompanied with a stinging zap as painful as an electrical jolt. She jumped back and fanned her hands against the burning sensation.
Knotting her fists, she locked her elbows and plowed full force into the glowing membrane. Sting or no sting, she was getting into Ronan’s mind.
Her mind exploded with blinding white sparks and her arms burned and throbbed with a bone-cracking burst that stung all the way to her shoulders. She popped open her eyes to the moonlit hillside just behind the back wall of the MacKenna gardens.
“Now ye know ye canna breach my mind. I was told it would be so—that ye would try. I know about yer gifts from the Fates, and I believe ye will find that none of yer wiles will work on me, for I possess a few wiles of my own.” Ronan’s deep rumble of mirth vibrated against her back as he adjusted his hold around her waist. “As soon as the men bring the wagon ’round, we shall be on our way to yer new home. The journey is quite long. But rest assured, it will give us ample time to get to know one another properly.”
Like hell. If I can’t erase your mind, I can at least relieve you of your pompous attitude.She bit down on one of his fingers. At the same time, she planted the heel of her boot hard into his instep.
He grunted, shifted to one side, then swore something under his breath. Kenna wasn’t positive, but she was pretty sure he had just used a very bad Gaelic curse word. Good. Now time to convince him to let her go.She squirmed lower and aimed an elbow at the man’s groin. There were disadvantages to being a tall man kidnapping a much smaller woman, and it was her pleasure to introduce him to this particular one. For once, she thanked her ancestors for bequeathing her a very diminutive five-foot frame.
Ronan’s amusement rumbled against her back again, infuriating her even more.
He thought this was funny? A muffled roar ripped from her throat as she jabbed both elbows hard and fast and kicked like a wild mule.
“Ye are a vicious wee beastie, I’ll give ye that.” He sidestepped just in time to save his manhood, while keeping his hand firmly over her mouth. “If ye keep fighting me, ye are going to find yerself trussed up like an animal ready for the spit and I dinna ken ye will fancy that one whit.”
The taste of blood filled her mouth, whether hers or his she couldn’t tell; nor did she particularly care. One way or another, she was going to get free, and then there would really be hell to pay. The crunch of wagon wheels on dry earth came from around the corner of the garden wall, ratcheting her heartbeat to an even faster pound. She had to figure something out, and she had to do it fast.
Where the devil were Gray’s men? Where the hell was Colum? The MacKenna clan bragged theirs was the most impenetrable keep in all the Highlands. She blinked against the sting of panicky tears. Sutherland’s men were stealing her right out from under everyone’s noses. This could not be happening.
She swallowed hard as the rattling wheels of the wagon rolled to a stop in front of her. It didn’t make her feel any better that Sutherland’s men were all dressed in the same dark somber tones of their chief. The wagon had to belong to him too, because the boards forming the three sides of the bed had been stained the same dreary black shade. The wood of the wheels was blackened with pitch. The horses were black. Even the leather of the saddles and sheaths had been stained black. Heaven help her.Sutherland’s group looked like a welcoming party straight from the darkest depths of some icy black hell.
As Ronan hoisted her up in the air toward the open end of the wagon, she first went limp, then kicked, rolled, and squirmed so hard she finally broke free. She hit the hard-packed earth with a bone-shaking thud. A sharp pain shot through her right shoulder. She rolled while still gasping for breath.No time for pain right now.
She scurried up under the wagon, panic pounding through her as she kicked free of Ronan’s grappling hands.
“’Tis no use running. Ye will only do yerself harm. Come back here, woman!”
She took some small satisfaction at his increasingly strained tone. He no longer sounded like the slightly amused man of earlier. He sounded angry. Good.That knowledge spurred her on. She kicked at another grabbing pair of hands and pulled herself farther up underneath the wagon.
“Colum!” she screamed as loud as she could bellow while belly-crawling across the rough, rocky ground. “Colum! Get your ass out here!”
She squirmed sideways and pulled free the slender dagger Colum always insisted she wear strapped to her calf. Colum. Where in blue blazes was he? As Sutherland’s men surrounded the wagon and snatched at her from both sides, she slashed blindly through the darkness.
“The wench has a blade.” One of the men hissed a stream of profanity seasoned with a strained growl.
“Dinna harm her,” Ronan ordered.
“Harm her? The she-wolf nearly relieved me of my fingers.”
“And I will relieve ye of yer head if any one of ye causes her harm.”
Kenna recognized the dark luster of Ronan’s polished boots as he circled the wagon. “Let me out of here and I’ll make sure Gray allows you and your men to leave peacefully. I won’t let him hang any of you.” Well . . .maybeshe would get Gray to let them go. She would at least think about it if they agreed to leave her alone.
She stabbed at another gloved hand as it latched onto her cloak. Clawing at the ties at her throat, she tossed the garment back as one of the men yanked it sideways. She didn’t care if they stripped her naked. She wasn’t coming out from under this wagon.
“The drugged wine will soon wear off.” A deeper voice on the other side of the wagon circled around, speaking in a loud whisper. “The one in the garden willna stir for quite the while, but the others will rise verra soon. We will soon be discovered, and then there will be hell to pay. We best be getting this done and be on our way.”
