Defending Destiny (The Warrior Chronicles) (32 page)

Merry grinned at him and he knew she’d read his mind again. “I don’t do toads.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Too theatrical. And I do trust Lauren. What I don’t trust are all of the people he will be surrounded by at Court. Some will try to use him. Some will scheme to get their greedy hands on every artifact they can. Lauren’s savvy enough to sail the waters of Court and Council politics, but all it will take is one lapse. One misjudgment, no matter how small or unlikely, will put the knowledge out there and once knowledge is out, it cannot be recalled. Look at Oppenheimer’s bomb.” Merry paused as she let that settle in. “Worse than that is Lauren himself. He’d do anything he thought necessary to protect the ones he cares about, including using magic’s dark side. What he learns on his own, he learns. But I will not share what I know of the Druid’s Scroll with him. I will not give him the means to destroy himself.”

“Daisy has been searching for any clue to that Scroll for the past ten years,” Magnus said. There was a question there, but he didn’t want to ask it. He didn’t want to risk destroying Daisy either. Being Merry’s apprentice was going to be fraught with ethical dilemmas. Magic, he was coming to learn, was not for the faint of heart.

“You will do what you believe is right, apprentice. There are users and there are protectors. Most of us are more one than the other. You have to decide which one will be dominant in you.”

He cocked his head at her. “Why did you show me part of the Scroll if you don’t want me to use it or share it with Daisy?”

Merry pushed away from the desk and went to the window. It was late morning and the glen was filled with tourists wandering about the cairns. She took so long to answer, Magnus was afraid he’d pushed her too far.

“You chose this path, Magnus. No one chose it for you. I showed you computer images of manuscripts and stone carvings. You
saw
the magic in them. What you do with that knowledge is part of who you are and who you will become. It’s up to you to do what you believe is right.” Merry turned toward him and smiled her woman-of-the-museum smile, the same one she gave everyone who came through the museum coffee shop door. It was unsettling how quickly she moved from mentor to museum purveyor. “Time to get to work for me, and if I’m not mistaken, time for you to apologize to Daisy for your brutish behavior.”

He wouldn’t have called his behavior brutish—a bit heavy-handed perhaps, but hardly brutish. Magnus frowned, feeling like he’d just been scolded and gone through confession at the same time, even though he wasn’t Catholic. Admonished and judged. He wondered if that was simply a female gift or if it had to be learned. Either way, every woman he loved had the power to do both with ease.

Merry grabbed her apron from the back of her chair, put it on and was halfway out the door when she said, “A spade is a spade, Magnus. Just as a brute is a brute. Regardless of his intention. Twenty-third rule of magic, it’s not enough to
intend
good. You have to
do
good.”

“Okay, now you’re just make’n up rules.”

Her deep, sensual laughter was her only reply.

Magnus had a lot of thinking to do, and apparently some apologizing as well. He decided to do the thinking first, so he headed to the churchyard to look and hopefully
see
the grave slabs. He’d apologize later. Hopefully by then Daisy would have calmed down enough that his apology would lead to make-up sex. Whether it did or it didn’t he was sorry for everything. Sorry for not training her better. Sorry for letting all these years go by without actually telling her he was sorry for the words he spoke the morning of their wedding. Sorry for letting anything come between them for more that the space of an argument. For keeping the secrets his new vocation would require of him when it was necessary to keep them. He’d do it, he knew he would, because Merry was right—some things needed to be experienced to be real and knowledge without experience could be a very dangerous thing indeed. He was especially sorry for not taking every opportunity to tell Daisy how much he loved her. That he could fix. Immediately.

They needed to come together tonight under the full moon within the protective, power-enhancing boundary of the stone circle. He didn’t want to have to drag Daisy there, so he’d work on his apology while he decided what to do with his new magical knowledge.

When he rounded the corner from the back of the church Daisy was already waiting for him.

So much for time to work on my apology.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Daisy looked determined as she stood just inside the churchyard entrance—so much so, Magnus’ spirits plummeted. He knew that look well. It was her I’m-going-to-change-the-world look. More times than not, when she wore that look, she managed to change at least a little part of it.

Daisy’s will was a fierce and mighty force. One Magnus did not want to be on the wrong side of ever again. He slowed his stride but kept moving until he reached her side. He really needed to get Merry to show him how that mind-reading thing worked.

When he stopped, Daisy stared up at him like a general ready to call out a charge from the front of the line. Her warm, chocolate-colored eyes, tinged with rays of cinnamon in the bright light of day, and sweet pixie face hit him like they always had and would until day she died. Just looking at h
er stole his breath. There were women more beautiful than her that he’d taken to share his bed, but not one of them had Daisy’s raw magnetism. Her energy hit him like water, sometimes sweetly rocking him as he floated upon it, sometimes knocking him over with the force of a hurricane, always washing over him making his tarnished spirit clean.

She didn’t do any of those things. There was a different kind of energy surrounding her altogether, and it was making his skin tingle. Magnus didn’t touch her. He didn’t dare with her mood so uncertain. He did bend toward her as he softly said, “Just say it, lass. I’m a big mon. I can take it.” He hoped that was true.

Instead of telling him what was on her mind, she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and into him. As he lowered himself to whisper in her ear, Daisy grabbed each side of his t-shirt, and with a push-pull action of each hand forced him closer. Magnus locked his jaw, bracing for impact.

He got it, but not in the way he was prepared for, as she forced him down for a kiss. It took him a second to register that that was the kind of attack he’d hoped for. The second he did, his arms enveloped her and he lifted her high in the air so he could kiss her without bending down. Daisy didn’t fight him. She wrapped herself around him instead.

Daisy pulled away first, which was a good thing since she was mashing his teeth with her enthusiasm, and held his face as she looked searchingly into his eyes. “Say you’re sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

Her lips turned down as her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed. “What are you sorry for exactly?”

“Everything.”

He must have surprised her with that one, because she cocked her head at him. “I’m not sorry I hit you.”

His lips quirked, but he didn’t smile, even though the effort cost him. Whatever was going on seemed important to her and he wanted to see how it played out. “I never thought you were.”

She gave a quick nod and changed the subject. “This is how it’s going to work between us from now on, Gus. I don’t like being mad at you—you’re my best friend and staying mad is a waste of time.”

He nodded with what he hoped was serious agreement. “Very practical of you.”

“Are you making fun of me, Highlander?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, lass. Please continue. I’m curious to learn how it’s going to ah…
work
…between us from now on.” He managed to say that with a straight face and caress her bottom at the same time. She wiggled, but wasn’t distracted from her mission. Since it seemed important to her, he promised himself he’d try to do whatever she asked.

“When you’re an ass, you will say you’re sorry. I will forgive you if you’re sincere. That way neither of us will stay angry for very long.”

“And what if it’s you that needs to be apologizin’? What if you, love, are the arse? Are you simply going to say how
not
sorry you are and attack me with kisses when you’re the one need’n to apologize?”

She thought about that for a moment before she smiled at him with the half-angel, half-devil smile she’d perfected well before they met. No matter what magic he employed, Magnus knew he’d never be immune to that smile. Her hands slid up and she began to softly rub the back of his ears, an erogenous spot only she had discovered. He made up his mind then and there to just accept the fact that his little flower would never play fair.

“Which do you prefer, the apologizing or the shameless kisses?” she asked. Her deepening smile said she knew the answer before she asked the question.

“And they think I’m the witch. You, lass, have got bewitchment down to a science. I’ll no’ be answer’n your question, either. I’ll simply say that I’ll be take’n you and your apologies any way
they come.” He buried his face in the side of her neck and ran his tongue up to her ear. He took her earlobe into his mouth, something he knew she particularly enjoyed, and whispered, “Speaking of how you come, I’d like to see that glazed look in your eyes. Shall I carry you back to our room, or do you want to walk back to the house?”

Daisy pulled away from him, kissed him sweetly, much too sweetly for his state of mind, and answered, “I’ve got a better idea.”

It was his turn to frown. “Lass, there are no better ideas.”

She laughed.

He set her back on her feet. She took his hand as she told him how she wanted to spend the rest of the day. He’d have preferred to have made love to her first and last and maybe once or twice in between, but anticipating the night to come wasn’t such a bad thing.

Especially when she promised that it would lead everywhere he wanted to go.

In writing.

As she led him back to New Kilmartin House she gave him her list of the Top Ten Things she wanted to do to him inside the stone circle, naked and bathed in moonlight. Magnus planned to make sure she did every one of them.

He liked the way his flower apologized.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

It was easy to fall in love under extreme circumstances. People in danger, who depended on one another for survival, did it all the time. Having fallen victim to the energy and the intensity of the moment, Daisy knew that firsthand. Magnus had been the first man she’d loved, but there had been others along the way, on other finds. The sex had been great. Hot, passionate and full of a desperate kind of burn that mirrored the adrenaline pumping of the find itself. And like the high of an artifact find, it was real but fleeting and never satisfying for very long.

Making love was easy. Being in love and staying that way was work. It required saying you were sorry even when you felt justified. It required time spent doing nothing at all but enjoying one another’s company. It required a willingness to never give up. Being in love was a supreme act of courage. Some days it was easier to face the bad guy with nothing but a sword than it was to say
:
I forgive you.

Forgiveness required courage too. Magnus said he didn’t blame her for coming to his bed even though she’d been trying to trap him. He said there was nothing to forgive, but there was and he’d done it without regret or recrimination. He was more courageous in that regard than she was.

It had taken her ten long years to forgive him. What a bloody waste of time.

Now that she had her best friend back, she wanted to start building a new life of small moments and simple memories. So she asked to spend the day with him, doing simple touristy-couple things. They took the Rover up the coast and stopped at a loch-side seafood restaurant. Magnus ordered every food he could possibly think of that had aphrodisiac properties. Oysters, scallops, mussels, and prawns, then proceeded to feed them to her by hand.

After lunch they traveled to a seaside village full of art shops. Many of them were filled with paintings of landscapes and cityscapes, as well as some with beautifully blown glass and jewelry. Magnus spoke with some of the shop owners. Most recognized his name, some even carried his lines of jewelry. While he was busy talking to one young owner, who couldn’t help fawning all over him, Daisy looked through the jewelry case. The woman opened the case for her, told her to “have at it,” and then proceeded to ignore her and the other customers while she chatted with Magnus. Daisy supposed she was going to have to get used to it. Magnus was a wee bit of a celebrity to the Scottish art crowd.

One of his pieces stood out to her. It was a ring done in rose gold with white gold rails. The band had carved daisies and thistles, and inside the center of each daisy was a tiny, bright yellow stone. The thistles were set with tiny purple and green stones. She picked it up and looked at it from every angle. At first she thought the pattern went all the way around. Then she noticed the entwined flowers turned into two letters encased in a stylized Celtic heart. A “D” and an “M.”

Daisy suddenly felt dizzy as a hum rang through her from head to toe. She looked at Magnus and the woman he’d been talking to. Both smiled at her, Magnus with love in his eyes and the woman with excitement and that kind of
awww
face some women get watching puppy commercials on TV.

“I’ve been wondering for days how to get you up here. I made that for you at the same time I made your sword.” He nodded toward the woman behind the counter. “Emma has been hiding it for me, since you have a penchant for snooping.”

Daisy flushed. She did snoop. She also didn’t know what to say. Magnus saved her from having to think of something by continuing.

“I had all I could do to sneak away to the toilet to call Em on the cell and have her put it out. I know it’s simple. Do you like it?” There was so much hope in his voice, tears stung her eyes and the back of her throat started to swell.

Did she like it? She’d never seen anything so beautiful, and that included the five-carat emerald-cut diamond Henry bought for her aunt Finn for their ten-year anniversary. Daisy looked from the ring in her palm to Magnus. Her vision blurred as she said, “There’s nothing simple about this ring, or about what I feel for you. It’s perfect, Magnus. It couldn’t be more perfect. I love it. Can I try it on?”

Magnus turned to the still-smiling woman behind the counter. “Emma, love, be a dear and get my band out of the vault. We need to box them up.”

Then he took the band from her palm. “It’ll fit, lass. I promise you that. And no, you can’t try it on. Not yet. Not until the words are said. We’ll find Merlin and have them said tomorrow. I don’t care if it’s not legal back home. We can do it again there with your family and mine mooning all over us. It’s enough for me to get your vow before we leave Scotland.
Then
you can try it on.”

She guessed she couldn’t argue with that. If Magnus needed the words, she’d say them, even though he already held her heart. “What are the stones, Gus?”

He held the band up to the light. “I used yellow diamonds in the daisies, purple sapphires and green garnets in the thistles. I also used green gold for our initials to symbolize our ever-growing life together and platinum for the heart for strength, purity, and protection. Platinum can scratch, but it doesn’t wear away. It endures. Like my love for you.”

He’d put more than a little thought into the symbol of their union. She could have let him savor the moment but then thought not. “I want it now, Gus.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I know you do, lass. That pleases me immensely.”

The dark promise in his voice sent ripples of anticipation down her spine. Tomorrow wasn’t that far away. She asked to see it one more time before Magnus added her ring to the velvet box with his. That was when she noticed the runic script inside. It looked vaguely familiar. Then it hit her. She’d seen those exact runes in that exact order before. Magnus carved them into Gleipnir, the sword he forged for her.

“What do these runes say, Gus? They must be important. You put them on my sword.”

Magnus got very still as he willed her to understand. “They say, ‘Defy Not the Heart, for from it All Strength Flows.’ You will always be stronger with me in your heart, and by your side.”

Daisy wasn’t sure what to say to that bit of truth. It sang to her heart and to her soul, so, she said the only words that made it through her muddled brain. “You are my heart.”

The look on his face said that was more than enough.

…

Neither of them saw the elegant man who moved like a spy in and out of the shadows as he followed them. But then, why would they? They were both so wrapped up in one another that a tour bus almost took them out as they attempted to cross the road. Pity it didn’t. Then half of his job would have been done for him. MacBain wouldn’t be easy to kill, but he’d be far more vulnerable without his loyal entourage of sword-wielding magicians.

Kolin Damnet hit number one on his cell phone. James Duncan picked up on the second ring.

“MacBain’s Second has gotten together with Peacock’s new magician.”

The Arm-Righ’s tone was wry when he responded. “That was to be expected. They’ve been fucking for weeks. And he’s not a magician, Kolin, he’s a Druid and a witch. That makes him doubly dangerous.”

Kolin let that slight slur against his intelligence go. It was best to humor the King until it was time to take his place. “What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing to do until tomorrow. Butler can’t make a move until then. MacBain sent him to Glasgow late this morning to deliver his tepid documentary footage to the art school. Butler will deliver the tape, get his rocks off in the seedy side of town, and be ready to go tomorrow.” The King paused and Kolin could see the man stroking his precisely clipped beard in his mind’s eye. “Tomorrow, Kolin, our lives will change.”