Soul Magic (18 page)

             
“Sarina.”  He growled her name, mostly because he didn’t trust himself to be able to speak normally.  “Darrick and Alanna.  What did you want to discuss about them?”

             
“Right.”  God help him, she sounded disappointed.  “I tried to talk to him about it, but he refused.”

             
Ah, now he thought he understood.  “You wanted to see if Darrick would kiss you the way he kissed her?”

             
“What?”  She goggled at him, her mouth open.  “Are you insane?”

             
The rush of relief that flooded him nearly made him smile.  Nearly.  “So you didn’t--”

             
“No.”  She poked him in the chest, so hard he nearly staggered.  Only by grabbing her shoulders was he able to keep from stumbling.

             
“Sarina…”

             
She clutched his head and pulled him down to her.  “Kiss me,” she commanded.  When he hesitated, she pressed the entire length of her soft, curvy body against him, making him dizzy.  Of their own volition, his hands explored the seductive hollow of her back.

             
“Kiss me.”  Sounding breathless, she gazed up at him with such wanting he felt her gaze like a touch.

             
He groaned.  One taste, he told himself, one touch of the lips, as chaste as he could make it, and his obsession would be satisfied. 

             
Slowly, carefully, he covered her mouth with his own.  He meant to but lightly sample, but at the first sweet taste of her he found he couldn’t get enough.  Like a starving man at a banquet, he slanted his mouth across hers, and took deep, drugging, draughts of her.   She quivered beneath him.

             
With an oath he broke away.  “There.”  He could not keep the bitterness from his voice.  “You have gotten what you came for, what you wanted.”

             
She became very still.  Her blue eyes looked huge in her pale face.  “You’re wrong, Geoffrey.  If I’d gotten what I wanted you would be sheathed inside of me right now.”

             
He clenched his jaw to keep a moan from escaping.  The sensual images her words created caused his already over-heated body to nearly explode.

             
And she must be as aroused as he, if the way her nipples poked against her overdress were any indication. 

             
Hellfire and damnation!  If she touched him again, he feared he’d embarrass himself and spill his seed in his leggings.

             
“Go,” he snarled.  “I cannot bear to look at you.”

             
“Liar.”  Her response came so softly he wasn’t quite sure he heard her correctly.  “Look down at yourself instead of at my breasts and you would not speak so falsely.”

             
He didn’t need to look.  He could feel the force of his own arousal swelling his breeches.

             
“Any man would want you.”  Wiping his hand across his eyes, he sighed. 

             
She made a little sound, something of a cross between a laugh and a hiccup.  “Then why--”

             
“I don’t want to talk about it.”  Fierce now, he attempted to silence her with the strength of his glare. 

             
“Fine.  But we still need to discuss Alanna and Darrick.”

             
“We do?” He pretended surprise.  “So that was no ruse to--”

             
“Believe it or not Geoffrey, I have as little control over what happens when we are together as you do.”

             
Right.  The ultimate temptress now tried to make him believe she found him equally alluring? 

             
“Geoffrey, do you
want
Darrick and Alanna to get together?”

             
“I want,” he said stiffly, “whatever will make my lord Darrick happy.”

             
She snorted.  “I’ve seen the way you look whenever they’re together.”

             
“And how is that?”

             
“Like you want to vomit.”

             
A laugh escaped him.  She was good.  Damn good.  Too bad she was so beautiful.

             
“Look, you probably won’t understand this, but I fear for Darrick’s soul.”

             
“Ah.”  She eyed his cross.  “Still espousing your witchcraft theory?”

             
He held his tongue.  When he didn’t answer, she took a step towards him.

             
He moved back.  “No.”

             
“I wasn’t going to touch you.  Only the cross.”  Then she reached out and lifted the medallion from his chest.  Watching her slender fingers caress the silver, he felt an absurd longing for her hands on his skin.

             
Finally, she let the necklace fall.  “I don’t want Darrick and Alanna to get together any more than you do.”

             
Now she’d succeeded in shocking him.  “Why not?”

             
“Because he will hurt her.  He thinks he cares about her, but if he convinces her to wed him, he will only rip out her heart.  She’s had enough of that for a lifetime, and we Fae live very long lives.”

             
He let the Faerie inference go, focusing instead on her belief that Darrick actually
cared
for Alanna.

             
“Do you really think he loves her?  `Tis not merely lust, like--”

             
“He cares for her.”  Conviction rang in her tone.

             
This puzzled him.  “If he truly loves your Alanna, then I fail to see why you believe they’d be unhappy.”

             
“Sometimes love is not enough.”  Once she began to outline her reasons, he saw her point.  Even if Darrick could bring himself to allow such a child as Caradoc to be raised in his household, he could never, ever love the child as Sarina claimed Alanna wanted.  No man could.

             
It followed then, if Darrick and Alanna were to wed, they’d be dooming themselves to a life full of unhappiness.  Not to mention eternal damnation for Darrick’s soul.

             
“We have to stop them,” Sarina concluded.

             
He found himself nodding agreement.  “Yes, I think we do.”

             
She held out her hand.  Gingerly, he took it.

             
“Partners?” she asked.

             
“I--” Then, gripping her hand more firmly, he nodded.  “Yes, partners.”

CHAPTER TEN

“Wake, Darrick Tadhg.”  The voice sounded ancient, yet stern.  Decidedly feminine, yet carrying an unmistakable ring of authority.  A dream?

“Wake, I said.” 

Not a dream.  No such luck.

“Not again,” he groaned, trying to slide back into slumber.  How long had he been asleep?  Not long enough.  He needed more rest.

A soft kick to his side abolished that idea. 

With a resigned sigh, he opened his eyes.  The elderly woman standing over him looked vaguely familiar.

Squinting up at her, Darrick propped himself up on his elbows.  “Wynne?”

She waved her hands regally.  “In the flesh.”

Darrick couldn’t resist a wry smile.  “You allow me to see you.  What, no invisible voices this time?”

Instead of smiling back, she looked grim.  “The matter is urgent.”

“Urgent?”  Darrick pushed himself to his feet.  The last time she’d spoken to him she’d talked of Alanna being in danger.  “Alanna?”

“Nay.  `Tis Caradoc, Alanna’s son.”

He crossed his arms.  “What of him?”

“He is in grave danger.  So I have dreamt.”

Darrick stared.  “If by grave danger, you mean because he is a prisoner of Morfran, do not worry.  We have learned that Morfran sent the boy away with a small group of guards.  Even now we seek to catch them.”

The old woman chewed her bottom lip.  “What of Gorsedd?”

“Morfran’s advisor?”  He shrugged.  “I do not know.  I would think he remains by Morfran’s side.”

“`Tis he who has harnessed the dark forces.”

“So Alanna has said.”

“And he who wanted Caradoc.”

Interesting.  “I would have thought Morfran wanted his own son.”

“Morfran did not know.  Gorsedd is the one who came and took the child.”

“Why?”

She did not answer.

“If this Gorsedd is as powerful as you say, I would not think Morfran would want him far from his side.”

“Morfran will do as Gorsedd commands.  And I do not believe Gorsedd will let the boy out of his sight.  I think he still has Caradoc with him.  He must travel with those guards as well.”

None of this made sense to Darrick, but what could he say?  The Fae had their own ways of knowing things, and more often than not they were right.

“Gorsedd threatens the boy?”

“Not bodily.”  She frowned at him.  “Alanna’s son has certain… powers.  We are only now learning of them.  I fear Gorsedd may try to take them from him, or force him to use them too early.  Such a thing could cause Caradoc’s death.”

Darrick paced, though the close confines of his tent would not allow him to walk more than a step or two.  “You say you are learning of Caradoc’s powers?”

“Yes.”

“How can this be?”  He frowned at her.  “Alanna has told me of the legend and recited the riddle.  The child does not have the proper blood to have gained great power.”

Wynne’s small smile was no real answer.

Frustration had him clenching his fists.  “You know things.  Tell me what you have seen.”

“Only shadows have been revealed.”

Turning on her, he snarled.  “You seek to manipulate me.”

“You know I cannot lie.”

“Not revealing the truth is another way of lying.  Have you learned where they take Caradoc, and what they plan to with him?”

When she shook her head, his disappointment mirrored her expression. 

“Then tell me something I do not know.”

She sighed.  “Someone – most likely Gorsedd – has blocked us.  We know not how.  We cannot see where they hide.”

“They ride towards the sea.”  The flatness of his tone left no doubt how he felt about that.

“You cannot let them cross the water.”

“Yet you know not why they go there?”

Wynne sighed.  “There is a place of power on an isle to the west.  `Tis believed Gorsedd goes there.  All we know is for certain is that Caradoc is in danger.  We cannot see more than that.”

“Why me?  Why do you not speak to Alanna about this?”

Her wizened face settled into harsh lines of worry.  “She cannot see what is right before her eyes.  Thus, I wanted to speak to you first.”

Her cryptic response was no real answer. 

A high pitched wail came from outside. 

Ellette!  She slept with Alanna.

Darrick pushed past Wynne and sprinted for her tent.  Geoffrey and Sarina came running from the opposite direction.

Drawing his sword, Darrick yanked open the tent flap and rushed inside, Geoffrey close behind.

Alanna sat on her rumpled blankets, crying.  In her lap she held a bawling Ellette.

When he rushed into the tent, Ellette’s wails turned into surprised, hiccupy-sobs.

Though he quickly scanned every corner, he saw no menace – nothing to warrant this kind of hysteria.  He and Geoffrey exchanged a glance.  Both sheathed their swords.  Muttering, Geoffrey spun on his heel and went outside.

“What is it?”

In unison they raised blotchy, tear-stained faces to him.

“Ellette had a dream.”  Alanna sounded heartbroken. 

Darrick scratched his head.  Nightmares had haunted his nights for years.  He understood how well they could torment.