Druid Temptation (A Druid Quest Novel Book 2) (29 page)

T
he train ride was uneventful
, and they arrived home in record time. Samuel departed for home with the promise to return later.

When the carriage pulled up to the mansion, the place was eerily silent. Jack ran off to investigate the grounds while they climbed out of the carriage.

No servants came out to greet them. Gabriel noticed her concern. “We run a skeleton staff when we’re away. I didn’t send word that we’d be back, so there will be only a few servants available.”

Gabriel opened the door to the manor and led her inside. The place looked just as majestic the second time, the vaulted ceilings and granite tiles reeking of wealth and privilege. Marriage had changed nothing. Diana still didn’t feel like she belonged.

Gabriel came to her side and touched her arm. “Why don’t I show you where you can put your bags?”

The sense of not belonging eased at his nearness, and she smiled up at him.

The door to the study opened unexpectedly, and Williams boldly stepped out. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you two join me?”

Diana’s hand dropped to her knife, while Gabriel leapt forward. “You son of a bitch.”

“Ah-ah-ah.” Williams pulled out a gun from behind his back and waved it at them. “You don’t want to do that. I would hate to hurt you.”

Malicious pleasure gleamed in his eyes, betraying his lie.

Diana clenched her hands. The bastard had no intention of letting them go. She’d known something was wrong the moment she entered the mansion, but had stupidly blamed it on her insecurities.

She should have known better.

Gabriel kept himself between her and Williams and guided her into the study. The pastor sat behind the oversized desk, an empty decanter of liquor at his side. In his hand, the pistol wavered and Diana edged nearer. If she could get close enough, she could disarm him.

“Ah, not so fast, my little sweet.” He waved the gun around like a toy and motioned for her to step aside. “And if it isn’t the luckless husband. You should have listened to me the first time I warned you. Now it is too late to save you.” Williams shook his head, as if lamenting the fact.

The man didn’t look well. His gray hair was unkempt and wispy, his skeletal frame whittled down to skin stretched over bone. He smelled like he hadn’t bathed in days.

It looked like he’d crawled out of a grave…after being buried for a week.

Gabriel stood in front of Diana, never wavering, using his large body as a shield. She wanted to smack him. The pastor needed her, and Gabriel was just in the way. “It’s over. She is my wife in the eyes of the state and church.”

“The marriage cannot be legal, since she has no soul.” Williams’ high-pitched laughed rang wildly in the room. Something had snapped in his mind, and he was now completely delusional. He waved the gun again. “You, over there.”

Gabriel refused to budge. “No, I—”

Diana gave him a sharp jab to his ribs, and he grunted in reply.

“Do as he says,” she muttered.

She only cared about keeping him safe. When Gabriel reached for her, she eluded him and stepped protectively in front of him. “Leave him alone.”

“Now my dear, you know it’s too late for that. You brought this about yourself.” Williams shook his head, madness gleaming back at her. Her heart slammed against her ribs when he lifted the pistol at her.

Then horror slid through her when she noted the angle of the gun was aimed over her head.

Directly at Gabriel.

The door opened to admit Samuel, Pastor Graham, and a man dressed elegantly in rich purple robes. This must have been the errand Samuel had mentioned when he left. Williams appeared confused, and Diana feared additional people would cause his mind to drift further away from reality. When his pistol lowered a fraction, Diana tensed to leap when Gabriel wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and pulled her back tight against him.

The strange man was older, his hair a solid white, his face serene despite the situation. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place him. He moved forward, his hands clasped before him. “Williams?”

The man’s voice was low and melodious. It was all he said, but the effect on Williams was dramatic. “Your Excellency.” Williams bent, kissing the man’s ring.

The man turned his hand over and held it out to Williams expectantly. Diana saw Williams hesitate before he reluctantly handed over the gun without comment.

“Your Excellency, may I introduce my wife, Lady Mendenhall. Diana, the bishop, my uncle.”

Diana froze a moment before coming to herself enough to curtsy. Too wary to make a reply, not wanting to bring attention to herself, she remained mute. The man nodded and Diana was left with the impression that she’d made the right choice.

“And what seems to be the difficulty here?” The bishop’s intense blue eyes, so similar to Gabriel’s, turned toward Williams for an answer. Having been on the receiving end of that unnerving gaze, Diana was surprised when Williams remained mute.

“Sir, perhaps it would help for you to read these papers.” Samuel removed a small packet from the inside of his vest. “In these you will find signed affidavits from concerned members of society against Williams. There have been complaints about him exploiting his post for his own personal gain. He’s become obsessed with this woman and has even physically attacked her in public. He’s been using his position to further his personal vendetta. He’s becoming violent and unstable—and you’re holding the proof in your very hands.”

Williams seemed to forget himself. He straightened, pointing a finger at Diana, spittle flying from his mouth in his fervor. “No, she bewitched—”

“No.” Gabriel thundered the one word. “You’ve used that as an excuse to justify your own actions.”

The bishop raised a hand and silence fell in the room. He walked around the desk, set down the gun and sat before carefully reading each page.

When he finished, he looked up. “Williams, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I serve God in all things. She—”

Diana cut him off, not willing to take the chance he might have learned the secrets of her past and spill the truth. If a man like the bishop were to be appraised of her abilities, nothing would save them. “Sir, he carries a book with him wherever he goes. A detailed report of all his deeds. He never lets it out of his sight.” Diana spoke faster, trying to get the words out, and held out her hand beseechingly. “If you refuse to take my word for it, read the book for yourself.”

Diana turned to Pastor Graham. “You saw the book. I know you have.”

Grahams looked unconvinced. “I’ve seen a prayer book.”

When no one moved, her last bit of hope faded. “At least look.”

“Don’t be foolish.” Williams blustered, smiling confidently at Graham. “You’ve known me for years. You even came with me when we first approached Mendenhall to warn him about this thief.”

Pastor Graham hesitated a moment then darted forward and pulled a bound book from Williams’ jacket, evading the man’s grasping hands. Graham held the book aloft a moment, as if shocked at his actions.

Immediate relief soared through Diana.

They had the proof of Williams’ perfidy.

Williams launched himself across the desk, snatched up the gun, and whirled toward Diana.

“This is your fault. You did this.” His movements became more erratic as he began to point the gun from one person to the next, his eyes wild with his need for retribution.

“Williams put down the gun. Whatever—”

“No!” Williams swung and faced the now-standing bishop, the gun pointed at the man’s chest. A hint of sanity returned and the gun wavered, lowering a fraction.

Diana inched forward, reaching for the throwing knife strapped to her arm, quickly hiding it in her hand. If she hit Williams incorrectly, he could pull the trigger. She had to wait until the gun wasn’t pointed at anyone before she could act.

She was balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to move, when the door opened on silent hinges. Jack slunk into the room, his body low to the floor, his lips curled back in a silent snarl.

Diana shut her mind down and concentrated on one thing—to take control of Williams. The lines on her back burned like someone was using a knife to carve her up. Ignoring the pain, Diana embraced the flames.

She’d never connected with a human. She would only have a few seconds to take control before he figured out what she was doing and fight her.

Through the fog she saw his shattered mind. He seemed genuinely confused about how everything had gone to hell. Hatred had eaten away at his soul, his anger leaving him like a rabid wolf wanting to destroy the cause of the problem.

Her.

She tried to push past his emotions, but it was difficult not to get sucked down in the insanity.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, the strain of digging into his head ripping apart her mind. With one final shove, she burst past all emotions.

She’d only controlled animals before now.

It was time to see if it worked on humans as well.

When she lifted her arm, it felt like it was weighted down. She could barely move her fingers. Williams seemed to sense that she was poking around in his mind and began to slam his hand against his head.

“Get out! Get out!” He shrieked, moving stiffly like an animated corpse, his lips drawn back from his teeth.

The burn in her back grew worse, until the pain seemed to be bone deep. She felt new lines sear along her spine and down her hips, tearing into her skin. Using all the pain and anger and fear, she gathered the last of her strength and yanked her hand down hard and fast.

To her shock, it worked. Williams lowered the gun until the barrel was pointed to the ground.

Then the connection broken, and her magic ricocheted back into her body. Her head began to thud painfully in her skull, and a searing pain slashed across her palm.

“Now, Jack!” At her command, the hound leapt and clamped his mouth down tightly over Williams’s arm, taking him down in a flurry of movement.

Williams’ wail echoed in the room. When he tried to scramble away, Jack growled low in his throat.

The pastor’s frantic eyes searched the room, when his attention finally came to rest on the bishop and Graham. “I told you she was a witch. You saw her. You all saw her. She forced my hand down and commanded her hell beast to attack.” His voice sounded shrill in the room, his accusations wild, his hair sticking up at all ends like he’d been trying to pull it out.

Diana looked at him, truly seeing him for the first time as a broken man who’d simply lost his mind.

“Jack, the gun.” The hound loosened his hold and snagged the gun before Williams could react, then dropped the weapon at her feet and sat politely at her side.

“See!” Williams pointed an accusing finger to her. “She is a witch and must be destroyed.”

Diana glanced down at her hands at his accusation, and saw a clear symbol of her personal ruin seared into her palm. It singled the completion of her training—that she was a full Druid—and she stared down at it in shock.

Williams jumped to his feet surprisingly fast for a beaten man and launched himself at her. Before she had time to move, Gabriel stepped directly in his path, drew back his arm, and knocked the man out cold.

Silence reigned in the room for a moment before the bishop spoke. “I will take Williams with me when we leave.” He nodded to Gabriel and accepted the book Graham still held. “And this shall go with us.” He slipped it into his pocket, then faced Diana, the curiosity in his eyes making her gut clench in dread. “And you, young lady. What am I to do with you?”

Gabriel slipped his arm around her waist and tucked her up against his side, and her heart ached at the possibility at being forced to leave him. She felt hollow at the thought of having to run again.

She wasn’t sure she could bear it.

“You saved my life.”

Her head snapped up, and a brutal hope tore through her, and she couldn’t speak past the painful lump in her throat.

The bishop nodded, as if making a decision. “I have known Samuel for the past twenty years of my life.” He gave his friend a fond smile before facing her again. “And I am aware of his…studies.”

Diana paled, her legs weakened, so much so that if Gabriel had not been holding her upright, she would have fallen. She heard the next words through a fog.

“He can show Gabriel what he needs to know to keep you safe.” A true smile graced his handsome face, and his blue eyes warmed. The bishop circled the desk and stopped in front of Gabriel. “I see my license had come in handy after all. You have chosen well. Guard her carefully, she is one of England’s greatest treasures.”

Gabriel nodded, kissing the crown of her head. “Of course.”

“And out of trouble?” Amusement now tinged the bishop’s voice.

Gabriel snorted. “As much as I am able.”

The stately man nodded. “I trust that you will.”

Diana stared at the man in complete amazement.

He knew.

And he didn’t care.

Pure joy welled up through her until she felt she might burst with it.

She didn’t have to leave.

She swallowed painfully past the lump in her throat. “Thank you, Your Excellency.”

The bishop patted her hand. “You have my blessing, child. I have only met one other of your kind. You do your heritage proud.”

Diana bowed her head at the honor. “Thank you, Your Excellency. We were granted abilities so we might help others. It is a privilege to serve.”

The bishop nodded in agreement. “Just so, just so.” He looked over her shoulder to Gabriel.

“I trust you will help carry this man to the carriage and secure him.”

It was nothing short of a command, and Gabriel was quick to obey. “Of course.”

Gabriel bent and hefted Williams over his shoulders as if he were no heavier than his daughter and headed toward the carriage.

Graham followed close behind. “I will help.”

The bishop turned to her, his face becoming serious. “I was saddened when I learned of the destruction of your home. We lost a good many people that night, but I’m pleased to learn you and a few others survived. We have been very worried. The school has helped a great many people. We’ve given our patronage to the place over the years. Please know that we are working on tracking down the culprit, but we’ve found nothing so far. Your husband and I will make sure you’re not bothered again.”