Formidable wasn’t good enough in a fight with a beast the likes of Fenrir.
“The treasures we carry work as a single unit to defeat the Beast. The sword drives the Beast from Torquil’s body. The scrolls capture the essence of the Beast and contain it. The jewels serve to hold everything in check, like a lock.”
“Trying to think as my sister might”—a sheepish expression crept over Jamesy’s face—“which I should have tried before now, she has no interest in capturing yer Beast. She plans to kill it.”
Hall knew well enough how Bridget thought. He’d already considered the scenario her brother described, and it was that knowledge that worried him most and drove him to ride harder now.
“The Beast knows all too well the danger of the sword. As a result, it can only be destroyed while it is contained within the scrolls. If it is driven from Torquil’s body without the scrolls being close enough to capture it, it will simply enter and inhabit the nearest living host.”
Jamesy’s expression of horror indicated the moment he understood the danger to Bridget.
“Yer telling me that the Beast will claim Brie.”
“Body and soul,” Hall confirmed. Neither of which he was willing to cede to Fenrir.
Twenty-nine
BRIE AWOKE LONGbefore the sun made its appearance. Not that she’d slept all that well to begin with. She was too close to Tordenet to risk a fire of any size, and the night had been especially cold.
In spite of the nerves churning her stomach, she needed to eat to prepare herself for the long day ahead. Today she would face the greatest challenge of her life, and this time she would not fail.
Before nightfall had forced her to seek shelter, she’d spotted the tower spires that heralded the approach to Tordenet. They’d been little more than tiny lines against the sky, but she’d known them for what they were. As she drew closer today, they would gleam white in the sun.
Not in welcome, but in warning.
She reached out from under her heavy furs to drag her pack in next to her. Digging inside it, she found the dried meat she hunted. Tough and salty, it did little to settle her stomach, but she ate it anyway for nourishment. She couldn’t afford to falter due to weakness.
Today she would ride north, keeping under cover of the woods while she skirted the castle walls, until she reached the sea. From there she would follow the shoreline to the castle and make her way inside.
She refused to worry about locating the passageway that Hall and Patrick had mentioned. If it was there, she would find it.
She had to.
It was her only chance to get inside.
Her only chance to surprise the mighty laird and mete out the punishment he and his Beast deserved.
Next to her the sword sparkled, as if a stray shaft of light had reflected off the weapon’s blade.
Her imagination must be playing tricks on her. There was no light to reflect. No moon, no fire, and no sun yet brightening the sky.
Curiosity piqued, she reached for the sword, surprised at how warm the metal felt to her touch. Distracted by the odd warmth, she inadvertently let her finger glance along the edge of the sharp blade.
She jerked her hand away and quickly brought her stinging finger up to her mouth. The coppery tang of blood coated her tongue and she fought back a momentary panic.
How could she have been so careless? To have her second chance at taking her vengeance cut short by such a small and insignificant wound was simply wrong. A perverted prank on the part of some bored god.
She waited for the pain she’d seen Hall endure. Waited for the debilitating weakness that had brought him to his knees. Waited, her unwavering gaze fixed on the sword, until once again she could have sworn a streak of light glimmered down the length of the metal.
She might have thought she was seeing things as a result of the wound, if not for the fact that she’d seen the first glimmer before she’d touched the blade. And after the wound... nothing out of the ordinary. Just the sting of a simple cut as anyone might expect. Not one single bit of the suffering Hall had endured.
How could that be possible? What was it that protected her from the effects of the sword but hadn’t protected him?
A little stab of longing pricked at her heart as she pictured Hall in her thoughts. She saw him as she wanted to remember him best, his face clean-shaven, his beautiful lips drawn up in the smile that never failed to squeeze her heart.
More than anything she’d ever wanted, she wished that he was with her now, as if his presence might somehow make her braver.
“I’m brave enough,” she whispered into the dark, denying that which her heart called out for. “As brave as I need to be. I’ve no need of him or any other man to make me into the woman I’m supposed to be.”
