Hannah idly ran her fingers along the gray wooden beam, picking off loose splinters and tossing them into the water. Before he could continue, she lifted a hand and stopped him. “That makes no sense.”
A subtle change, unbidden and carrying the stench of evil set him on edge. Every muscle tensed; he scanned the area, searching for the source. The energies had tightened, making the air crackle. Danger was close, and his senses were never wrong about such things. He remained watchful while edging closer and resting a hand on her arm.
“What say ye?” He peered into the darkest shadows under the bushes, keeping his voice low and calm. Something wicked drew closer, something meaning her ill will. Had a minion followed them? Where in Hades was it?
She frowned at him then lowered her gaze to his hand on her arm. After clearing her throat, she slid out from under his grasp. “If the Guild of Barac’Nairn has watched over Taroc Na Mor for untold centuries and you have known all about my family, then why didn’tmy grandmother or mother know anything about this Scottish wonderland and inherit Taroc Na Mor before either of them died? That is the part of your story that makes little sense.”
A warning growl exploded from him. He grabbed her by the shoulders and dove over the railing of the bridge. With one arm holding her tight to his chest, he rolled them underneath the structure and clung to the rafters. She spit and sputtered, her head barely above water.
“What are you doing? Are you insane?” She clawed and kicked as the water rushed over them.
“Shut it, woman, so I might hear!” He jerked her harder against him and pressed his back tighter up into the base of the bridge. With every sense he possessed, he listened across the dimensions, straining to hear the slightest sound. They had disappeared. Attacked and left, like always. A quick strike, then fade into the wind or the rain to ensure no one detected the destruction caused by their magic. They couldn’t risk those on this side of the threshold discovering their existence.
He hauled her out from under the bridge and released her. He patted her arms, felt the top of her head, then finally tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up for a closer look. “Are ye hurt? Did I scrape ye when I yanked ye over the railing?”
As she blinked water out of her eyes, she growled through clenched teeth, “bend down here.”
“Why?” He bent closer.
She punched him in the mouth then gave a satisfied nod as blood spurted from his lip.
He pressed his thumb to the split and backed away. “What did I do to deserve that, ye wee beast?”
“What did you do?” Her mouth sagged open as she wrung out her ponytail. “You dragged me off the bridge. Yanked me into the creek. Told me to shut up. And you ask what you did to deserve a pop in the mouth? Are you kidding me? You’re lucky that’s all I did.”
“Look over there!” He grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward a stand of trees no taller than the height of her throat. Severalthick trunks stood twisted off. Snapped in two like toothpicks. Their splintered tops lay scattered across the path like oversized stalks of harvested broccoli.
She stared at the destruction. Her hand went to her throat as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. With a nervous look all around, she eyed area, searching for the source. “We just walked down that path.”
“Aye. We did. That verra same path.”
She glanced back at the trees again. “Those weren’t like that then.”
“Nay. They were not.”
With a contrite look, she wrapped her hand in the hem of her wet shirt and stretched on tiptoe to blot the blood from his mouth. “Bend down here so I can clean that up. I’m sorry I hit you.”
He bent to accept her reluctant apology but didn’t have the heart to tell her he had stopped bleeding within a few seconds. She hadn’t hurt him. The lass had just surprised him when she struck him. He came from Erastaed and healed at a much faster rate. But he did rather enjoy the sight of her creamy white belly as she dabbed her shirttail to his mouth.
“What could cause that kind of damage? Was it some kind of freak windstorm or something? Do you have any idea? And how did you know?” Still pressing her shirt to his mouth, she cast another glance back at the trees.
He gently set her hand away. If she didn’t cover that midriff of hers, other parts of him would sorely yearn for her attentions. “There are powerful forces in this world. And some are nay so friendly toward us.”
Her mouth tightened into a grim, determined line. “I see. Then thank you for saving my life.” She took a step back. Her eyes narrowed as she walked the line of destruction. “So, that is what your Guild does? Protects the owners of Taroc Na Mor from these powerful forcesseeking to harm them?”
“Aye.” Uneasiness stabbed deep in his gut like a demon warning him all was not well.The quiver in her voice gave away the emotionstainting the hue of her aura. He braced himself for the worst. A dangerous storm was brewing. Her scowl went dark and fierce like a storm ready to thunder across the horizon.
With a curt nod, she strode across the bridge. As she exited the wood, she shouted back with a single flip of her hand. “I suggest you catch the next flight back to Scotland. Because first thing tomorrow morning, I will tell my lawyer to put Taroc Na Mor up for sale.”
“Hannah! Come back here!”
She brushed him off with a hard flip of both hands while shaking her head.
“Curse the woman and her hardheaded ways!” With a muttered snarl, he scanned the woods one last time before chasing after her. As he headed up the path, a snorting buck leapt from the brush and blocked the lane with his massive antlered head lowered.
“Ye canna protect her the way I can. Now, see reason and step aside.” Taggart came up short. He admired the animal’s loyalty and respected the multi-pronged antlers the mighty deer wielded with a jerk of his bulging neck. But the creature needed to understand the adversary they faced could not be defeated by the physical forces of this world.
The buck snorted again, glanced at Hannah’s retreating form, then turned a stony glare on Taggart.
