Highland Fires (25 page)

In the distance off to the right he heard his
name again. Without hesitation, he followed her voice, praying it
led him to Theron.

“Don’t stop, Ahryn. Don’t stop.”

~ ~ ~

Ahryn sat in the middle of her bed with her
legs crossed and tucked up beneath her. She had asked Tane to tell
her what the Realm of Shadows was like and after hearing of the
awful darkness and eerie silence, she knew she had to help Lugus
somehow.

She didn’t know if it would work and having
never tried it herself, she wasn’t sure she knew how to do it
properly. But she was going to try.

Several years ago she had come upon an
ancient text in her grandfather’s library that spoke of Fae
reaching out to others on different realms. It had stayed with her,
and now she knew why.

She closed her eyes and cleared her mind of
everything--save Lugus. Using all of her limited powers, she
concentrated on Lugus. After several attempts she was about to give
up with a shiver down her spine alerted her that she might have
found him.

Desolation, emptiness and fear surrounded
her, and she called out his name.

The emotions weakened, and she inhaled a deep
breath. She had found him, now she had to find Theron and lead
Lugus to him.

~ ~ ~

Lugus followed the voice for what seemed like
an eternity. He didn’t know if he had finally gone mad or if Ahryn
was somehow helping him.

Either way, he had no other options.

Suddenly the voice was gone, leaving him
alone in the shadows once more. The anguish nearly drowned him.

“Ahryn, please,” he begged, needing to hear
her voice.

He took a step to the left, listening.
Nothing. He took a step to the right and listened. Yet only
emptiness reached his ears. He took a step forward and entangled
his feet in something and fell flat on his face.

With a groan, Lugus turned onto his back. His
face blazed with agony and his skull felt as though hundreds of
tiny little men hammered away inside. He moved to sit up when his
hand touched flesh.

His breath lodged in his throat as he reached
forward and touched the fabric of a Fae.

“Theron,” he whispered and searched for his
brother’s face.

He rolled Theron onto his back and found his
breath shallow and his heartbeat slow.

“I’ll return you home, brother,” he said as
he reached for the water.

Using one hand near Theron’s lips and the
other holding the water, Lugus slowly poured a little into his
brother’s mouth.

“Theron? Theron, wake up,” he demanded as he
patted his brother’s face.

Using his hands as guides, he found Theron’s
shoulders and shook. But no amount of shaking woke his brother.

Lugus sat back on his heels as he realized
his plan to stay in the Realm of Shadows as his own form of
punishment was now out of his hands. If Theron couldn’t wake up, he
couldn’t walk into the portal himself. He would have to be
carried.

By Lugus.

Lugus’ heart leapt at the idea of seeing and
holding Ahryn again. He had no doubt that she would understand why
he had gone without telling her. But what concerned him was that he
knew it would be near impossible to leave her, and leave her he
must. Regardless of what she said, he mustn’t stay.

With a deep sigh, Lugus bent down and pulled
Theron onto his shoulder. After he adjusted Theron, Lugus touched
his tattoo of the horse to summon the portal.

It took several tries before he was actually
able to find the tattoo on his forearm as he spoke the words. The
whoosh as the portal opened and light poured in around him was a
welcome relief. Even knowing he was about to experience blinding
pain, he welcomed the light and sound.

His only thought as he stepped through the
portal was Ahryn.

~ ~ ~

Ahryn’s head jerked off her grandfather’s
shoulder as the loud whoosh surrounded them as the portal opened.
Out of the corner of her she saw Rufina, Aimery and Tane gather
near her as they waited for who would step through the doorway.

They didn’t have long to wait.

Lugus came tumbling out of the doorway,
holding Theron on his shoulders. She watched as Tane and Aimery
tried to catch both Lugus and Theron. Aimery was able to catch hold
of Theron as Lugus hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud.

She rushed to his side, tears of joy blinding
her vision. Her hands touched his face and saw his eyes closed and
tight lines of pain around his mouth.

“Lugus?” she asked as she leaned close. She
raised her gaze to see everyone surrounding Theron. Lugus had
risked his life for their king, the least they could do was see if
he was injured.

“Someone help,” she yelled.

Tane quickly rose to his feet and moved to
Lugus’ other side. He ran his hands down his legs and arms as if
looking for something. Ahryn didn’t know what to make of it, but
when Tane’s expression grew grim, she knew it wasn’t good.

“What is it?” she asked.

Copper eyes rose to hers. “He has a broken
leg, and I think his ribs might be bruised or even fractured.”

“Then someone needs to fix him,” she said as
anger began to boil within her. She turned her head and watched as
Theron was carried out of the chamber, Rufina and Aimery rushing
behind him.

Ahryn brushed aside tears that wouldn’t cease
as she turned back to Tane. “Fix him,” she demanded.

Tane glanced away. “His injuries aren’t
severe, Ahryn. He can wait. I must see to your king.”

“Nay,” she said and grabbed hold of Tane’s
arm. “Theron has many who will see to him. I need you. Lugus needs
you.”

For a tense moment, she was afraid she would
be left alone with Lugus, then Tane gave a quick nod.

“All right. I will help you,” he said.
“First, we need to get him to his chamber.”

“I’ll see to that,” Aimery said as he strode
up. He looked at Ahryn. “We didn’t forget about him.”

She wasn’t going to argue the point, not when
they were helping now. It took several of the guards to lift Lugus
and when he moaned as they shifted him, Ahryn winced, wishing she
could take away his pain.

“Ahryn,” her grandfather said from beside
her.

She tried to give him a smile. “He’s
returned. I must see to him.”

“I’ll see to your parents,” her grandfather
said as he turned and left the throne room.

Ahryn rushed after Lugus, anxious to be near
him. When they reached his room, she held open the door and hurried
to his bedside as the guards lowered him.

“I see a bruise on his face,” Aimery said as
he came to stand beside Ahryn.

Tane nodded. “A bruise, fractured ribs and a
broken leg that I’ve noted so far.”

“Anything more serious?” Aimery
questioned.

“I won’t know until after I see to him.”

Aimery looked down at Lugus before he said,
“Tend to Lugus. If we need you, I will send for you.”

Ahryn waited until Aimery left before she
reached for Lugus’ hand. “He looks to be in pain.”

“That’s because he is. You, having only been
immortal, don’t know the depths of pain that mortal men can
reach.”

She swallowed and gently moved aside a lock
of blonde hair that fell over his forehead. “Can you stop the
pain?”

Tane nodded and turned to speak to the
guards. Ahryn didn’t care what he asked for as long as it helped
Lugus. She couldn’t believe Lugus had returned, but she wouldn’t
question her fortune. The fact that he was alive and she was
holding him was enough.

“Lugus,” she whispered just before she placed
a soft kiss on his lips.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lugus felt the gentle caress on his cheek and
turned towards it. As he began to wake, pain crept its gnarled
fingers along his body.

He tried to take a deep breath and paid
dearly with a vicious slice of pain that wracked him.

“Be still,” someone whispered in his ear.

He knew that voice. Ahryn. Slowly, he opened
his eyes to find her smiling down at him.

“How do you feel?”

He opened his mouth but thought better of
speaking and gave her a small grunt instead.

“Tane has been healing you all day. Does your
leg hurt?”

Lugus moved his right leg and felt no pain,
but when he moved his left leg he felt a dull ache, as though a
bone had been healed. He raised his eyes to Ahryn.

“You’re leg was broke. It must have happened
when you fell out of the gateway.”

Lugus swallowed and felt a twinge on his
right cheek. Dimly he remembered tripping over Theron and landing
on his face, but he hadn’t thought he had hurt it that bad.

“I see you’re awake,” Tane said as he stepped
next to the bed. “How do you feel?”

Lugus closed his eyes and wished he could go
back to sleep. His throat felt like a ball of needles had lodged
itself, he could barely take a breath without feeling pain, his
face hurt and there was a dull but constant ache in his leg. The
last thing he wanted to do was talk.

“I suppose that means you’ve felt better,”
Tane responded sarcastically.

If Lugus had felt up to it, he might have
rolled his eyes. Instead, he opened his eyes and found Tane
studying him.

“As I’m sure you already know, you have some
injuries,” Tane explained. “You had a broken leg that I managed to
heal as best I could. You will still have some pain there for a few
weeks as the bone fully heals, but you will be able to walk on it
by the end of the day.”

Lugus gave him a silent nod of thanks.

“Somehow your face became scraped. I applied
an ointment to it a few hours ago which will deaden the pain and
speed the healing. There will be no permanent scars. As for your
last injury, your ribs are either bruised or fractured. I didn’t
feel any broken though.”

Lugus reached over and touched Tane’s arm in
thanks. He hadn’t expected anyone to see to him and the fact that
Tane had helped showed Lugus what kind of man the Draconian
was.

“You’re welcome,” Tane said. “Do you have any
other injuries I don’t know about?”

Lugus nodded and touched his throat.

“Ah,” Tane replied and quickly turned his
back to them as he busied himself at a table.

Lugus felt Ahryn’s eyes on him, and for once
since he’d awoken, he was glad he couldn’t speak. He knew she
wanted answers, he could see it in her mystical blue eyes. But she
held her tongue.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she whispered as she
kissed his uninjured cheek.

He looped his fingers through hers and gave a
gentle squeeze. Already he could feel his resolve slipping to leave
and he had only just returned. Being near her made him think there
just might be hope for him.

Tane lowered a goblet in front of him. “Drink
this,” he said.

With Ahryn and Tane both helping him lift his
head, Lugus was able to get all of the sweet tasting water down.
Almost immediately the pain left his throat.

“What did you do?” he asked.

Tane simply smiled and shrugged his shoulder.
“The Fae aren’t the only ones with special healing skills.”

“Is Theron...?” Lugus couldn’t even bring
himself to ask.

Ahryn nodded. “Theron is being seen to.”

“Has he woken?”

Lugus watched as Ahryn raised her head to
Tane. Tane sighed and went back to the table.

“He will,” Lugus said. He knew the healing
skills of the Fae. He might have returned Theron, but the Fae would
bring back the man.

“Let’s see to you now,” Tane said and lifted
the sheet from Lugus’ torso. “This might hurt a little.”

Lugus squeezed his eyes closed as Tane’s
hands touched the injured ribs. Every breath that left his body was
like a dagger in his lungs.

“Easy,” Tane said softly.

“He’s nearly done,” Ahryn whispered in his
ear and splayed her fingers in his hair.

Her fingers gently rubbed his scalp, helping
to ease the anguish. Slowly, Lugus relaxed and as he did, he found
it easier to breathe.

“In a few days you will feel no pain in your
ribs. There was just bruising and I healed them.”

Lugus peeled open his eyes as sleep called to
him. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Aye, you do.”

Lugus wanted to ask what Tane meant, but his
eyes wouldn’t open and sleep began to pull him under.

“What did you do?” Ahryn asked as she looked
at Lugus.

Tane sighed. “He needs to rest. To fully heal
he needs to sleep and with everything going on, I knew he would
struggle against it. I just made sure he couldn’t fight it.”

Ahryn gazed at Lugus so peaceful in his
sleep. She had wanted to be near him when he woke, and after long
hours of him never stirring it brought tears to her eyes when he
finally looked at her.

“You need to rest yourself,” Tane said
softly.

“I won’t leave him.” She would never leave
him.

Tane came down on his haunches beside her
chair and touched her shoulder. “Ahryn, you are as exhausted as
Lugus. He is healing and once he wakes he will be nearly back to
normal.”

“Then what?” she asked and turned to look
deep into his copper eyes. “What lies ahead for us, Tane? I know
you see it.”

Tane bowed his head and sighed deeply. “If it
was that easy I would tell you, but it isn’t. Your grandfather
waits for you even now, Ahryn. Go to him.”

Ahryn didn’t wish to leave Lugus, but she
knew with Tane in his chamber all would be well. She wouldn’t admit
to anyone else but herself that she was afraid he would leave
again. If she could only talk to him, let him know that no matter
what he had done in the past, she would love him for eternity.

“All right,” she said and released Lugus’
hand. “You will watch over him?”

Tane nodded.

With one last look at Lugus, she walked from
the room and into her grandfather’s arms.