“Toby,” he said, his voice faint. “Toby Fillmore.”
“Would you like us to take you home, Toby?” I asked gravely, settling against the windowsill across from the bed. The gods preserve us, but it was the least we could do for the man after what he’d just been through.
The man lifted his gaze to me, those eyes full of hope. “Can you do that?”
“We probably can,” Arabella hedged. “Where is your home?”
“I live in Bakersfield,” he said, glancing between us. “Is that very far from here?”
I opened my mouth to say that I didn’t know, but Arabella beat me to it. “That’s only an hour and a half from Los Angeles,” she said confidently. “We’re on our way down there, so we can drop you off.”
“Oh, thank you!” The man flung his arms around Arabella in a quick hug. “That means so much to me. It really does.”
“We’re happy to help,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to lug this guy in the car for a twelve-hour ride. Why couldn’t he live somewhere nearby? But it was the right thing to do, and I could make him forget us so that no connection would remain. “Now, is there anything you can tell us about the man who did this to ye?”
12
Arabella
“Arabella, I need to tell ye something,” Brodie said, his voice grave. His tight grip on the steering wheel and the rigid set of his broad shoulders told me that it wasn’t going to be sunshine and roses. That, and he used my name, which was something he’d never done. How did he know it, anyway? Had Gaia told him?
“What is it?” I asked, glancing back at Toby to make sure he wasn’t listening. As expected, he was passed out in the backseat—Brodie had put a sleeping spell on him to make sure that he stayed unconscious for the trip down to Bakersfield.
Brodie let out a deep sigh. “I told ye that I’d had a vision of yer death, and that Gaia sent me to make sure it hadn’t passed. I think that under the circumstances, it would be a good time to give ye the details.”
I stiffened. “Okay. What did you see?”
Brodie swallowed. “Ye were falling to yer death in a fiery pit that looked to lead to the bowels of hell itself. A blond man with a glowing mace, that I now assume must be Lucas, pushed ye in, and he was laughing triumphantly, as if he’d just won some glorious battle.” His lips twisted in disgust. “As I understand it, the futures Gaia shows us can be avoided. But I dinnae know whether we have successfully avoided this one.”
A heavy weight settled on my chest. For a long moment, I simply stared out the window, saying nothing. So, the little voice in my head that I’d ignored had been right. Just because Brodie had rescued me from the warehouse didn’t mean that I was out of the woods yet. Lucas could still get his hands on me, and this future could still come to pass.
“Well, I guess we just have to get to this Watchtower ASAP, right?” I said lightly, as if running for my life was no big deal. As if I wasn’t exhausted, operating on a handful of hours of sleep, with an unconscious man behind me and a larger-than-life Highlander Druid next to me. As if my life hadn’t gone straight to hell in less than forty-eight hours.
“Aye,” Brodie agreed. He glanced sideways at me, curiosity on his face. “Ye seem remarkably calm about all this.”
I shrugged. “I’ve decided that freaking out every five seconds isn’t doing me any favors. It’s just giving me high blood pressure and killer headaches. Might as well make the best of things instead, right?”
Brodie just smiled, then reached across the gearshift to squeeze my hand. Warmth spread through me as his strong fingers curled around mine, filling me with tingles that made my toes curl. It was such a simple action, but the gesture meant more to me than I could say, and I squeezed back tightly. We may have been through our share of ups and downs over the past two days, but Brodie had been there for me the whole time. He was my white knight, my protector. My champion.
Only because the earth goddess told him to, a voice in my head reminded me.Do you really think he’d be risking his life and putting up with your damaged brain otherwise?
Pain sliced into me, and I turned my face to the window, doing my best to shove that thought as far away as possible. In a life where I only had acquaintances and co-workers, Brodie was fast becoming the first real friend I’d had in a long time. I couldn’t bear the thought that he didn’t really care about me—that he was only here thanks to some non-corporeal entity with ulterior motives.
Refusing to think about that a moment longer, I instead turned my attention to Toby. The poor guy hadn’t told us much of anything—it seemed like his brains were just as scrambled as mine. The demon had taken him over so completely that he’d had no control over what he was doing. As a result, he’d basically retreated into a dark corner of his mind to avoid watching the horrors being committed by his own two hands. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been forced into slavery. All he knew was that he’d been walking to his car after work one day, and then he was suddenly in some kind of basement or cellar, tied up and placed in a circle with candles. There had been blood and pain, he’d said, glowing eyes and shadows dancing on the walls, and a blond man chanting strange words. That must have been when Lucas put the demon into him.
My stomach twisted in revulsion. God, but how could I have ever been involved with someone so vile? I couldn’t understand how my instincts had been so far off that I’d ended up with a man willing to do such despicable things for power. What else had Lucas done that I didn’t know about? Was he doing these things when we were together? Was I part of them? Was that why I was living by myself out in Portland, with no recollection of my previous life? After conjuring my celestial weapon and exorcising that demon with it, I had no doubt that I was what Brodie claimed. I just wished I knew why.
During the twelve-hour drive, I quizzed Brodie about his own upbringing. He told me that he was raised by a healer named Agnid, who lived just outside the Mystic Moors, home to the Druids. His life seemed to be a study in bitter sweetness—the Druid community had acknowledged him and taught him their ways, but had never truly accepted him due to his mother’s indiscretions and his father’s supposed crimes. But even so, he’d had Agnid, who loved him as if he were her own, and taught him all she knew. And he was blessed with Druid magic, which was an honor granted to very few.
“Do you think my parents are alive?” I asked suddenly, sitting up straight in my chair. It had just occurred to me that, since my memories weren’t accurate, they might not have died after all. “Do you think they know what happened to me?”
“I cannae say,” Brodie said regretfully. “’Tis very possible they’re still alive, but the work of a Sentinel is dangerous, and many do die in the line of duty.”
I swallowed against the sudden lump in my throat, blinking back tears. Brodie seemed to notice, because he brushed his hand against my cheek even though he was still looking at the road, his thumb somehow finding the lone tear that had escaped.
“Dinnae lose hope, lass,” he said quietly. “’Tis impossible to know what we’ll find when we finally get to that Watchtower. But no matter what, we’re taking a step forward. And no matter what sort of reception you get there, I will be by your side through it all. Ye can count on that.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, turning my cheek into Brodie’s warm hand. I pressed a kiss into his palm, and the sensation of his rough calluses against my lips sent a thrill of desire through me. Brodie turned his gaze to me for a split second, and the carnal need burning in those gorgeous eyes took my breath away. Wicked promises and sinful delights danced in those emerald depths, tantalizingly out of reach, and I had to stop myself from reaching for him.
