In Rapture (Destined) (29 page)

“Watch
me!” She shrugged out of his grasp and stormed from the room. She made it to
the stable well before her husband and was already saddling up a mount when he
entered the stable.

“Malinda,
you can’t!”

“I
assure you that I can. If you care about me at all, you cannot expect me to
stay here. I love you, Grant! I am not letting you march off to face the trap
that we both know is waiting for you. I’ve communicated with Lysandra. She is
sending Aiden and his men our way. If we go now, we will all meet up in the
middle.”

“Very
well, Malinda, but this is the last time you are going to fight anyone until
after our son is born.”

Malinda
could have wept with joy. After all these months, Grant had referred to the
child growing in her belly as his own. She had not realized how much she needed
to hear those words. She sniffed lightly as she blinked away fresh tears. “Agreed.”

“We’ll
need to travel to the men who are camping near the edge of Wickford then we can
head east.” They gathered supplies in their saddlebags, rolled up a few
blankets to tie to the horses, and filled water skins.

Malinda
let Grant assist her in mounting the swift palomino and held the horse in check
while Grant mounted his own. When he took off in a fast trot she kicked her
heels into the horse’s side and followed swiftly after him. She was a little
fearful for the child within, but the rocking motion of the horse beneath her
did not seem to interrupt the quiet peaceful slumber of the life nestled safely
inside her. As soon as they found the little encampment Grant ordered them to pack
up. After the men gathered their things they all headed to the east. Malinda
prayed that her intuition was correct and that they would find that Sophia had
not yet come to any harm.

Chapter 35

They
traveled through most of the night, sleeping for just a few hours before the
morning light dipped over the top of the trees. Malinda felt a little battered
from their journey, but she made her best efforts to not let her condition slow
her down. The baby had moved several times this morning before they had mounted
back up. She knew that the child was fine and that she would make it through
the last leg of the journey easily. When they had traveled for a few more
hours, a blast of wind blew through her hair. She turned to Grant and caught
his eyes on her. “Wait!”

“Halt!”
Grant’s command echoed across the woods, loud enough for every man to hear.
They stopped their horses and kept them still when his hand went up to silence
them.

Malinda
nodded her gratitude to Grant and closed her eyes to feel the wind across her
face. She heard Lysandra’s voice travel across the air and echo around her
head, warning her that the Lair was a mile ahead of them, to tread carefully
with every step they made. Aiden’s men were about a mile ahead of the Lair, so
if they timed their movements carefully, they would be able to surround them.
Malinda sent a message back asking them to hurry and told her they would pick
up their pace to catch up to them. She asked the winds to hide the sounds of
their approach, and mask their scent from the strong noses of the werewolves of
the Lair. Hopefully this would be a great advantage to Madigan’s Army.

Malinda
opened her eyes and turned to Grant. “Seamus is a mile ahead of us. Aiden’s men
are about a mile ahead of them. If we push our pace we will be able to surround
him.”

A
smirk tugged at the corners of Grant’s mouth. He had definitely been right to
suggest that Marshal consider the Women of Lena to be an asset to his army. He
looked around to his men and raised his arm. “We ride!”

Malinda
spurred her horse forward, traveling at a pace she knew she could withstand.
Her horse traveled slower than that of the men, but she knew Grant would be
furious if she pushed herself too hard. She saw him turn to check on her and
she nodded her head at him as if to tell him everything was fine. Soon Malinda
found herself farther away from the rest of the men, but she could only travel
so fast. She heard a loud fray ahead of her and knew that the men must have
caught up to Seamus. She heard the familiar sounds of clashing metal and loud
deadly howls that screamed almost like banshees through the air. When she
approached the outskirts of the fight, she swung her legs swiftly over the side
of the horse and cast a shield around herself as she landed on the ground.

Her
eyes scanned the melee before her looking for the only two people that mattered
to her. She found Grant with his sword raised high into the air and knew he
must have found Seamus. She looked around the mass of bodies before her,
through the chaos of the battle, and let her mind clear as she tried to locate
Sophia. She took a deep calming breath and looked around once more. There!
Sophia was huddled under the wagon, being guarded by a large grey wolf as she
looked out at the battle with terrified eyes. Malinda quickly cast another
shield around her. When the child saw the glowing light around her she looked
up and searched for Malinda. When she spied Malinda across the field she wiped
the tears from her eyes.

Malinda
heard more hooves beating a rhythm across the ground and, when she looked up,
she was happy to find that Aiden’s men had finally arrived. In moments, men
that had once had human shapes were transformed into wolves to fight against
the beasts that plagued the grounds before them, a mass of fur, a flurry of
claws, a gnashing of teeth. The snarls that rang forth from the mouths of the
beasts would have intimidated a lesser person. Malinda marched into the fray,
her green eyes boiling with fire, for she saw that Seamus was trying to summon
his men around him. Malinda opened her mouth to scream, but no human voice came
out. A loud screech echoed in the air, loud like thunder as it boomed around
them. In moments the trees shook as every bird within range answered her cry,
and the cries continued as the trees miles away answered the cries of the birds
before them. Within moments the only thing anyone could hear was the song of
the birds before a rustle of wings rose into the spaces between. Long lines of
birds flew straight at the battle before creating a swarm that looked much like
the bees that surrounded a hive. Malinda closed her eyes and sent a blessing of
appreciation to her animal friends.

Malinda
raised her hands and created one large ball of light after another, so large
that when the light crashed into its target their bodies were lifted high into
the air. When she saw Grant change into the shape of a lion she beamed with
pride. He was covered in magnificent golden fur, much like the gold of his
eyes. She knew that Seamus would not have a chance against him this time. She
watched as Seamus’s black wolf form attempted to find an escape from his
attack. He made as if to back up from the golden lion in front of him and
Malinda cast her green firewall behind him, and then tossed Seamus’s dagger at
Grant’s forepaws. Seamus’s tail singed in the acidic back spray from the wall
and he jumped to the side. Malinda made her wall surround the two that were
circling each other in the middle. Malinda could have found a way to end this
battle now, but she knew that Grant would never be free until he vanquished the
man who had stalked him at every turn. She held her breath knowing great fear
as her husband fought against his worst enemy.

Malinda
tried not to focus on the fight before her, for while she had put up the wall
around them more werewolves had rushed at her own shield that protected both
her and Sophia. She opened her mouth and roared at the wolves around her, so
loud the reverberation pounded the ground before them. Malinda could not
believe her own eyes when large spectral shapes of animals started to surround
them. Large green animals glowed like the fire that brewed in her eyes. A
rhinoceros charged two of the wolves in front of her, its glowing horn ripping
a large gaping hole into the smaller brown wolf. It shook the wolf off its horn
and trampled the black wolf next to him. She saw green claws and teeth tearing
into the Lair around them, and no matter how much the werewolves fought against
the attack it was to no avail. The spectral animals had no skin to hold onto,
no foreseeable weakness that they could find. When one wolf struggled to latch
onto a cougar it disappeared before its eyes, reappeared right behind him and
jumped on top of the silver wolf. When they thought they could run away from
the spirits that were ripping into them Malinda sent the animals after them.
The werewolves fell, one right after the other, until not one of them remained
standing. Malinda turned back to the wall of fire, hoping that when she brought
it down she would find her husband victorious.

While
the ghostly animals attacked the werewolves from the Lair Malinda continued to
move forward to reach Sophia. Malinda’s eyes burned with determination as the
gray wolf snarled at her. She was about to conjure a deadly blast when an
unexpected form came exploding through the brush near her. “Mule!” The mastiff
looked even more menacing in death than he ever had in life, and when the wolf
tried to lunge at the little girl huddled under the wagon Mule’s apparition
flew into the air. Malinda felt transfixed in the moment, so in awe of the
loyalty of her pet, even in death, that tears worked their way down her face. The
wolf crumbled beneath his deadly fangs and one lonely whimper escaped his mouth.
Mule turned to Malinda and wagged his tail before lying down at Sophia’s feet.

Sophia
looked down at the spirit and smiled sadly. “Here, boy!” Mule rose to his feet,
licked her face one last time, and disappeared before Sophia could hug him
goodbye.

When
Malinda made it to the wagon the girl flew into the safety of her arms, her
sobs no longer held back. She let the tiny girl cry for a moment before setting
her down on the ground. Malinda hugged her tight once more and rubbed her head.
“Stay by my side, Sophia. This fight is not over yet. There will be time to
grieve later, I promise.”

Malinda
lowered the flames and her heart almost caught in her throat. Grant, now in
human form, sat on his knees, his head bowed to the ground next to the lifeless
body of Seamus Finnigan, the blood stained dagger in his hands. Malinda told
Sophia to stay put and left the child safely surrounded by her golden shield.
She put her hand on Grant’s shoulder and waited for him to respond.

“I
thought it would be over. Why does it not feel like it’s over yet?”

“Because
there is more.” Malinda removed the dagger from Grant’s hands and walked over
to the lifeless body of Seamus Finnigan. She turned his body over and his dead
blue eyes were still open. She put her fingers over his eyelids and forced them
closed. Then she used the dagger to cut the pouch from around his neck. She
held it up to Grant. “This is why Maria is haunting you.” She tossed it to him
and watched as he opened it to find a small cutting of Maria’s hair and a small
white object that looked much like a tooth.

“What
the…?”

“He
was controlling Maria’s spirit. By keeping part of her remains he had control
over the darkness that ran through her, Grant. Her hauntings were inspired by
him. We can help her move on now, but we need to take this back to the manor to
do so.”

Grant
looked at her in confusion, for he did not understand what Malinda told him. “Why
would he keep this?”

“Because
he loved her and did not want anyone else to have her, in life or in death.”

“How
do you know this?”

“When
you handed the dagger to me I saw flashes of his past, Grant. She used him,
made him think she loved him with every inch of her heart. It worked for a
short time until she found another suitor who could provide her with a better
life. She broke his heart, Grant. I imagine she did the same to you. It’s a
miserable thing that she did. She ruined love for both of you.” Tears clouded
her eyes, but she did not try to wipe them away.

“She
did not ruin love for me, Malinda. What I felt for her is nothing compared to
what I feel for you. I love you, Malinda; your strength, your courage, even
your independent streak that drives me stark raving mad. I love everything
about you.”

“You
do?” Even she could feel the doubt that passed over her face.

“Yes,
and when we are back home I will find as many ways as I can to show you.” A
loud giggle interrupted the moment and they both turned to find Sophia smiling
happily at them. Grant rose then gathered Sophia in his arms and spun her
around in the air. The squeals of delight seemed to chase away the haunted
feeling of the moment. Grant had Aiden’s men take care of the bodies so that
they could return home to Wickford Manor and get their daughter to safety.

Chapter 36

They
arrived safely on Wickford Manor’s steps the next morning. The trauma of the past
few days had finally caught up to Malinda. She thought of her beautiful dog
with the long floppy ears and wrinkled face, the one companion that she’d had
throughout the past six years of her life, who was no longer with her. Tears
watered her eyes and she turned away from the people around her.

 She
was tired, more exhausted than she had ever been in her lifetime, but she had
to see her friend one last time. She saw Hargrove gesture toward the orchard
and Malinda knew that was where Mule must be. She heard Grant following her,
but she did not care. She moved slowly, remembering every little moment she had
spent outside with the bumbling dog, every lopsided hug, every drenching kiss.
When she reached the orchard she found a fresh mound of dirt, with a large
stone at its base. A charred stick had been used to write ‘
MULE’
in big,
strong letters. Malinda collapsed on the ground, her grief overtaking her.
Grant gathered her in his arms and let her cry until no more tears would come.