The Legend Mackinnon (40 page)

“So that explains why it wasn’t on my map.”

He hardly heard her for the thrumming of his blood, pulsing past his ears, filling his head, quickening his heart. He grabbed her as it all sank in. His eyes burned and his throat ached with a joyous disbelief he couldn’t manage to express. It tumbled out in a fury of confusion and rage. “Why did ye no’ tell me immediately?”

“You are planning to return to your time and wipe out my clan. I was afraid you would convince your brothers to go with you.”

“Aye, and that I will!”

“Then you will break their hearts.”

He laughed. It broke free from his chest in a wild burst. “My brothers’ hearts are firmly with their clan. They will return with me whether I ask it of them or no’.”

Why in hell was he standing here arguing with her? He released her and turned for the door. He was reaching for the lantern when she spoke.

“My cousins might convince them otherwise.”

He was of a mind to ignore her. His brothers! Here! But something in her tone pulled his head around.

“And how would that be possible? You say Claren women are the curse of all MacKinnons. My brothers would most certainly not bring that on themselves.”

“Cailean is a Claren Key, but that is not the power she wields over Rory.”

“A Key?” He strode into the room. “Your cousin has the power?”

“She also has Rory’s heart.”

“Bah! She will guide us to the portal. We will return triumphant!”

“Her powers are rather limited. Nothing like her forebears. And Duncan’s heart is firmly in the grasp of my other cousin Maggie. He saved Maggie’s life.

“I guess I’m hoping that if they find the key that ends the curse, the rest will somehow fall into place. Happy endings for all.” She looked to him, a surprisingly hopeful look on her face.

“A warrior who is a romantic?” he scoffed. “I wouldn’t have thought it of you, Delaney.”

“It is my heart that makes me such an effective warrior, Alexander. You would be wise to understand that.”

Her gaze held his in a vise grip. He was at once determined to break it, and loath to end this sudden connection he felt to this woman.

Balgaire began barking just then. Delirious ringing yaps that echoed through the catacombs into their chamber.

“They are here!” He spun around, but her hand was faster and she swung him back to her. Her face was as fierce as any opponent he had ever faced.

“We are here together for a reason,” she said. “We are here to find the key and reverse the curse. If we don’t succeed, our clans will never again have a chance for freedom.”

“I am my clan’s only choice for freedom.”

“Your clan consists of three men right now. You, Duncan, and Rory. My clan is three women. It is their bonds, and the bonds of all those that will come that must be the focus of our attention. The rest is past and cannot be changed.” He tried to pull away but she held fast. “You played in matters of the heart once before and lost badly. Do not rush in and make the same mistakes again, Alexander.”

“This is not a matter of hearts.”

“Then you have learned nothing. Because that is all this is about.”

U
nless she wanted to be left in the dark, Delaney had no choice but to follow him. Alexander’s much longer legs and familiarity with the catacombs made it a challenge. Balgaire was still barking uproariously.

Delaney wished she could untie the knots currently twisting up her insides. She’d done a lot of thinking during that time in the hidden passageway yesterday, but it had only really fallen into place when she’d explained it out loud to Alexander. Now, with the added story of Alexander and Edwyna, the pattern was clear.

Her heart clutched as she studied the man who strode so purposefully in front of her. The Claren sisters and the MacKinnon men had all made mistakes three hundred years ago. Mistakes that had impacted generations for centuries. It was obvious to her, as she knew it would be obvious to Maggie and Cailean, that the MacKinnon men had been given a second chance for a reason. And their second chance was connected specifically to three modern Claren women. One of whom was her.

A hot rush of anticipation mixed in with the dread. It had not escaped her attention that in the boy-girl boy-girl
grouping she found herself in, there remained one boy and one girl that were, as yet, unhyphenated. And there was no denying she’d felt something almost … unnatural back there when he’d brushed her lips with his. Call it fate, call it destiny. She definitely felt like part of a grand plan.

Alexander moved out of the last catacomb, into the open cavern. The tunnel opening was just visible.

Delaney moved beside him when he stopped. A gasp, then an awed curse issued softly from his lips. She looked up to see Duncan, Maggie, Rory, and Cailean, all standing at the abrupt ending of the tunnel above them.

The last of the Clarens and the last of the MacKinnons. Reunion. Confrontation. Fate. Destiny.

She put her hand on Alexander’s arm, pulling his gaze reluctantly to hers for a brief moment.

“This truly is the last chance, Alexander. For all of us.”

His gazed seared into hers. “I’ll do what I must, Delaney.”

“Then factor this into your decision making.” Without thought as to the consequences, she grabbed his head and pulled his mouth down to where she could reach it. And she kissed him like she’d never kissed a man before. She was stunned herself by the power and emotions that poured from her as she moved her lips over his. His initial reaction was shock, but when he made no effort to pull away she held nothing back. A groan ripped out of him and he clutched her as fiercely as she held onto him.

His kiss was a raw, powerful thing that snatched her breath away and whatever was left of her common sense.

“Mortal you may well be, but you are in league with the
sidhe
, Delaney Claren,” he said, breathless himself.

“I am not magician or sorcerer, faery or witch, Alexander. What I am is your destiny.”

She had been the deciding factor between life and death more times and for more souls than she wanted to count. But in that moment, as she looked into his eyes, his taste
still on her lips, she understood that this time, there were centuries of lives hanging in the balance. A sensation rippled through her, filling her with a certainty she couldn’t quantify. She simply knew. That it was up to her to make him understand. Her and no other.

He said nothing. When he stepped away from her and turned to face his brothers, his future, the two feet that separated them might as well have been the distance from the earth to the moon.

“We’ve only just begun this battle, Alexander.” When he strode into the cavern, she was right beside him.

A
lexander moved into open view just as Balgaire came bounding down from the rocks, his frantic barks ringing off the stone walls.

“Balgaire?” It was Duncan.

Hearing his brother’s beloved voice made him stumble to a stop. “Aye, it is the ragged beast,” he shouted out.

John Roderick, dear Rory, who had been barely a man last time he’d seen him, had already turned to lower himself to the cavern floor. He froze at the sound of Alexander’s voice. Duncan’s head shot up, his gaze pinning Alexander instantly.

Somehow he found the power and control to move forward, and then he was running. Duncan and Rory turned and dropped to the floor, heedless of the rock tumble. Both stumbled toward him in a mad scramble.

The three brothers were reunited in a giant grasping of strong arms beside the cavern pool.

Tears coursed down Alexander’s cheeks unabated. “Dear sweet merciful God I never thought to see your faces again.”

They all held on tight, crying, until Duncan began to chuckle. His laughter grew until he threw his head back and cut loose with the force of his joy. Alexander felt it fill
him as well. Rory was pulled in until they were all laughing like loons. Duncan finally reared his head back and filled the cavern with the ringing sound of a war whoop.

Wiping away tears, filled with an indescribable joy, Alexander stood back and assessed his long-lost brothers. “Ye look like ye just left the field of battle, Duncan.” He eyed him up and down. “And lost.” At Duncan’s laugh he fingered his youngest brother’s jacket. “Rory here has at least adopted some civilization.” His smile turned misty as he studied the miracles in front of him. “I’d no’ believe it was true if I weren’t seein’ you with my own eyes.”

Rory nodded. “Aye.”

Delaney had said his youngest brother had been cursed with immortality, yet he didn’t look the worse for his long journey on earth. Until you looked in his eyes, Alexander noted, with a pang. “Ye used to be the one with all the smiles, John Roderick,” he said softly. “Has your lengthy stay here taken such a harsh toll?”

“You know of my curse?” he asked.

Alexander nodded. “Yours too, my brother,” he said, turning to Duncan. His mouth kicked up in a smile, even as his eyes burned. “Though ye dinna look like any spirit I’d expect in the yonder world.”

Balgaire loped up and nudged his head between Alexander’s arm and his side.

“How are you here, Alexander?” Duncan asked. He reached out and gave the dog’s scruffy head a good rub. “And why in hell did ye bring this bluidy beast with ye?”

“Which are you, ghost or immortal?” Rory asked.

“Neither. I am a traveler through time. Edwyna thought to save me from death on the battlefield. She foresaw the end of our clans and wanted to spare me.”

“I dinna believe ye’d leave us if ye knew our final battle was pending,” Duncan stated.

He shook his head. “She tricked me through a portal of time. Balgaire leaped through behind me.” He gave the
dog a pat on the head. “I’ve been thankful for his companionship these last seven years. At times I’ve felt like he was the only familiar being in a foreign land.” His mouth tightened. “Even if this land is my home.”

“Ye’ve been here seven years?” Rory asked, frowning. “In Stonelachen?”

Alexander nodded. “Though only for short stays. I haven’t been up in Stonelachen proper in years. I’ve been busy making plans for my return to our time.”

“I’ve been here off and on.” Rory shook his head. “I canno’ believe we both resided within her and knew not of the other’s existence.”

“Maybe you weren’t meant to cross paths until now.”

It was Delaney’s voice. Alexander turned to see her standing just behind him. Rory scowled and Duncan simply stared at her. An amused smile kicked at the corners of Alexander’s mouth. “I see ye’ve met one another.”

Delaney shot him a look. “We have to talk. All of us.” She held out her arm to encompass Maggie and Cailean.

Alexander grasped the arms of his brothers. “Aye, that we do.” He saw Delaney’s intent and had every intention himself of cutting her off before she could launch into her speech of destiny and fated hearts.

His lips still burned from her unexpected show of passion, and, och, the lass knew how to kiss a man. But he had to withstand the pull in his loins. His brothers’ reactions to her gave him something to latch onto. Hope began to grow within him. His destiny lay on the other side of that portal, not in the arms of a twentieth century Claren lass.

However, his brothers’ individual expressions as the two remaining Claren cousins joined them gave him a great deal of pause. Delaney spoke of hearts taken and happiness crushed, but he’d given her words no consequence. He knew his brothers, he knew their loyalties would ultimately lie with the clan and with him. Or he thought he had.

The honest emotion he saw on both men’s faces rocked him. On top of the throes of emotions their reunion had wrought, this realization was almost too difficult to take. If he could withstand the power of a Claren woman, so could they. He would change their minds. He was their laird. They would do as he asked for that reason alone. That he was their blood brother would only cement their decision.

“I’d like you to meet my cousins,” Delaney was saying.

“Edwyna,” Alexander said in a stunned whisper, as he looked at the two women.

“Cailean,” the tall blonde corrected as she stepped forward and offered her hand.

He shook it, but quickly. broke contact. He could feel her power. It fairly vibrated around her. He didn’t need Delaney’s declaration to know she was indeed a Claren Key.

“The resemblance is striking, I understand.” Her voice was steady and calm. That it soothed him in such a tumultuous moment proved she had dangerous magic indeed.

“She has the look of Kaithren as well,” Rory said. “Or so I used to think.” At Alexander’s frown of disagreement, he added, “You never saw Kaithren as a woman grown, Alex. Take my word for it.”

“I’m Maggie,” said the smiling brunette. She held up her hand. “I know, I look like Mairi. It’s okay, I’m getting used to it.” She offered her hand to him, which he shook, even as he shook his head in bewilderment. “We haven’t figured out where Delaney popped out on the tree,” Maggie went on. “She doesn’t look like any of the original Claren women as far as we can tell.”

“He’s convinced I’m in cahoots with the faery world,” Delaney said with a grin.