The Royal Hunter (11 page)

“Well, it’s all fine and well for you to want to risk my future and that of a large number of men, women, and children in my kingdom, but frankly, I’m not willing to take that same risk. And since I’m responsible for delivering you back home, I can’t—”

“
This
is my home.”

“You know what I meant. Back to where you belong.”

“I belong here.” Even as she said it, she found herself not entirely believing it. What in the hell was
happening to her? This was no lark into her past, doing some sort of genealogical search for her roots.

“As soon as you help the queen, you can come back here,” he went on. “But until then, I’m in charge of making sure nothing happens to you. And that includes night drives around the pond.” He shifted in his seat and looked at her. “Didn’t you learn anything from how close you came with Dideon? He was here, on your property, in your kennels, in this truck. Do you still not comprehend the danger you are really in?”

A moment ago, she’d have said the only real danger she was in was making a complete fool of herself with Archer. Now, listening to him, seeing the absolute seriousness in his gaze, hearing the sincerity in his voice, she began, for the first time, to honestly assess her situation.

“You mean I really can’t take a simple drive alone?”

As he shook his head, keeping his gaze steadily on hers, she had a sort of epiphany. A personal revelation. She’d believed she was
allowing
them in her life because she wanted to find out more about her mother, about her past, about her gifts. She hadn’t thought it out, not really, but then she really didn’t think she’d have to. She’d figured they’d realize she wasn’t a healer at some point and move on. She’d been using them, their knowledge, to find some kind of peace within herself. To let herself believe that she was in control.

But she wasn’t in control. She wasn’t
allowing
them to do anything they wouldn’t be doing anyway. She’d just made it a lot easier for them. And perhaps she’d made it easier for herself, although that was of little comfort at the moment.

In fact, she was a prisoner. On her own land, in her own house, in her own truck. And they were in
control. As long as she was going along with their plan, they had allowed
her
to think she was in charge.

“But I’m not in charge,” she voiced quietly. She turned and looked at him. “Am I?”

Archer stared at her. On the surface, Talia Trahaern seemed strong, smart, ready to deal with anything. And maybe she was all those things. Despite Archer’s impatience to deliver her to the queen, he admitted a certain amount of admiration for how well she’d come to terms with the new direction her life had suddenly taken.

But she had also lied to herself about the full extent of her current predicament.
Just what the hell had she thought was happening?

“I told you,” he said quietly, sensing she needed calm and rationality right now. “As soon as you are finished, you’ll be returned here. To this life.” Though why in hell she’d want to was beyond him. If he had to spend one more night listening to the droning buzz of crickets and frogs, he’d go mad.

“There is one thing no one seems to have acknowledged,” she said quietly.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Even if I go with you, I may not be able to help her.” She shrugged helplessly. “Baleweg is helping me … discover some things about myself. But he is not a healer. And I still don’t see any proof that I am one, either. My ability might allow me to zero in on an animal’s problem more quickly, get specific help more quickly, but this is only remarkable because animals have no other means of directly communicating their needs or ills. The queen can certainly speak of what hurts her and where.”

Archer had no direct argument for that. Nor could he explain the little hitch in his gut as he watched her valiant struggle to remain calm and
rational when he knew he represented everything that was neither calm nor rational to her.

“Certainly medicine is more advanced in your time,” she continued. “If that has failed, what in the world could
I
do?”

“I don’t know. I’m not in charge of that.” He reined in his impatience. “Maybe Baleweg could find someone knowledgeable in the healing arts to train you.”

“Then why didn’t you do that in the first place? Why did you choose Baleweg?”

“I didn’t choose him, he found me. And I had no choice anyway. I needed him to get back here. To you.”

“Are there others besides him and Emrys who can move through time?”

“Emrys?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

Archer didn’t like this at all, but there was no covering his ignorance. “You tell me.”

“He said the one who moved Jimmy here was called Emrys. I don’t know anything else. Just that, well, there is something between him and Baleweg. At least that’s the impression he gave me.” She rubbed at her arms. “I think Emrys is helping Chamberlain as a means of getting to Baleweg somehow.”

Archer swore under his breath.

“He said he’d deal with him. It’s just—”

“Just what?”

“Nothing really. Just that, well, something about the way he said his name led me to believe you should be lucky it was Baleweg and not Emrys who contacted you.”

“Well, if this Emrys is working for Chamberlain, that would definitely hold true. Chamberlain’s a
conniving, manipulative bastard with his eye on the power of the throne. He’d sell his soul to the devil himself.” He noticed her shiver. “You’re thinking maybe Emrys is this devil?”

She shook her head, then shrugged. “I don’t know what I think. You said time travel is not common in your time. That no one really knows they can do it. I wonder why they’ve come out now?”

“Baleweg has no love for court or politics—he only feels he has a commitment to your mother. I think he’s remained hidden largely as a means to protect himself from those who want to subvert or abuse his skills. I can’t say that I blame him. From what I gather, he sees himself as a scholar. He is only interested in discovery and learning the extent of what the mind can do.”

“How did he know where I was? And this Emrys, he knew, too.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“It suited your needs, so why question it, right?”

It was a harsh judgment, but basically true. When he said nothing, she pressed on.

“Did Jimmy tell you anything else about what Chamberlain’s plans are?”

“I didn’t get that information from him.”

Her composure slipped, just a little. “So is he …? Did you …?”

“He isn’t dead, if that’s what you’re asking.” She shot him a look of disbelief and he sighed. “What exactly is it I’ve done to give you the impression that I’m a murdering bastard? I’m not saying my chosen profession is an easy one with no risks, or that unfortunate things don’t happen. But if it will soothe your sensibilities, I interrogated Dideon at length. He was under a form of mind control. Baleweg helped me with that. If he got any more out of him, he wasn’t forthcoming to me.”

“Where is Jimmy now?”

“Back in his own time. Whoever sent him will deal with his failure. But that doesn’t mean they won’t send another. And another.”

“Why didn’t you follow him back into your own time, see who he went to, or who came to claim him? Stop the threat directly at the source?”

Archer gave her a look. “Trust me, that was
my
plan.”

The smallest of smiles quirked the corner of her mouth. “You were overruled by Baleweg. So he’s in charge, then. I thought so.”

He faced her squarely. “Baleweg is in no position to keep you safe. I’m needed here more.” He smiled. “I don’t suppose you feel the same way.”

He’d expected another frown, a rolling of the eyes at best. What he hadn’t expected was a smile. A real one. And it was a powerful thing.

Archer knew he’d enjoy the challenge of coaxing more smiles from her. Not those dry smiles when she was being sarcastic, either. He had the odd thought that earning an honest smile from her just now was even more rewarding than the seduction he’d almost begun earlier.

And that very notion stopped his musing cold. Since when had something as small, as easy, as a smile seemed a worthwhile victory? He really had been in the country too long.

He did realize that she’d relaxed some, her shoulders dropping, her posture far less defensive. He sensed that she was finally willing to believe in him, in what they were to do.

“Do you want to ask me questions about what it’s like in my time Talia? It might ease some of your concerns.”

The flare of awareness that lit her eyes when he’d spoken her name surprised him. Had he never said
it before? Possibly not. Because he found he rather liked the sound of it.

She surprised him by yanking on the door handle and getting out of the truck. “Maybe some other time. I think I’ve had all the mind-expanding I can handle for one day. Perhaps for an entire week. Maybe more.”

He jumped from the truck, unwilling to let their encounter end so abruptly. He told himself it was because he wanted to further her trust in him, but some part of him was forced to admit he simply didn’t want her to leave yet.

He caught up to her at the base of the steps. “If I promise to resume my silent bodyguard routine, will you consider the drive? It might be good to take that break.”

She stopped, but didn’t turn to look at him. That stung him in a way he didn’t fully comprehend. Oh, he was used to being shut out by people who were uncomfortable around him, which could be most anybody on any given day. And that was fine, as it suited his line of work more often than not. When he wanted attention, for whatever reason, he was fairly adept at using his charm to get it. And he did it without thinking twice about it. But he’d earned an honest smile from her … and suddenly playing the calculating charmer no longer suited him.

“I don’t feel up to a drive anymore,” she said simply, no censure or self-pity in the comment. “I have kennel rounds later and some paperwork that needs to get done. Despite everything, I still have important work to do here. I’m already doing my part to ease the suffering in the world.” She gestured widely. “Here. Where I know I can make a difference.”

“Talia—”

But it was too late. She was up the stairs and in the door. It wasn’t until she shut him out, literally, that
he realized he’d never found out what had really happened between them back by the pond earlier.

He turned, and surprisingly there was a smile on his face. He was still stuck here and he couldn’t say he’d made much progress in convincing her to go back with him.

But he felt good. Pretty damn good, actually. Because something
had
happened down there by the pond, and in her truck, too. And he intended to figure out exactly what had happened and what it meant. And he was going to accompany Talia on her nightly kennel check, rather than watch her from a distance as he had the night before.

He didn’t imagine she was going to be pleased with his revised schedule. All the more reason to enjoy himself, he thought, whistling as he made his way around the house for another perimeter check.

T
alia watched the two mixed breeds romp around the outdoor play area. The sun was so low she could barely make them out, but she could hear their playful growls as they chased each other. She was fortunate they had proved compatible. It was great for them, not to mention their future owners, to get this kind of workout. Both physically and emotionally.

She only had twelve dogs kenneled at the moment, the fewest she’d had in months. Four were puppies from an abandoned litter she’d found on the roadside a few weeks ago, barely old enough to have been weaned from the mother. She could only surmise that the mother had been killed in a road accident, or that the owners hadn’t wanted to deal with the unwanted offspring. They weren’t purebred. Part beagle, part terrier was her guess. She didn’t think she’d have too much trouble placing them. They were adorable and had a good temperament for family dogs.

She looked back at the play yard. The older ones were always harder, but these two were openly loving and playful. One had been half-starved, full of worms, ticks, and fleas when he’d found his way onto her property. The other was a perfectly healthy death-row inmate the pound hadn’t been able to
find a home for. Everyone wanted a puppy, or at best a breed that was somewhat determinate. But these two would both make good family dogs. It just took time and time was the one commodity she afforded them.

She made a mental note to contact the Park Service about the upcoming family fair event they were sponsoring. She’d already put in a request to bring these two, and the puppies, who’d be old enough to adopt at that point. If she was lucky, she’d find suitable candidates for them all and perhaps a few more that day.

She made another note to contact Mr. Green about the kittens that Stella had brought in from the pound. They were feral and the county would have simply put them down. However, they would make wonderful barn cats, and she had a standing deal with the local agency to alert her to any tough cases they came across. Mr. Green ran a huge dairy farm and was always looking for barn cats to help him keep the mice and rat population down. These little hellions would be perfect.

There was another cat, a small, shy little tabby, who might be healthy enough to make the trip to the fair, as well. She mentally calculated how many crates she’d need. Stella would have to drive her pickup.

She took a deep breath and tried to keep from worrying. If she didn’t place them this go-around, she would the next. She wouldn’t think about Archer and his demands on her time … or her future. She’d made a pact with herself that for tonight she’d simply pretend all was normal. At least for a few, blessed hours.

Right now all she was looking forward to was heading into the house, stealing some of Baleweg’s herb muffins—one high point of having him around
was he’d turned out to be a marvelous cook—and sinking into bed with a book. A biography maybe, or something on animal behavior. Definitely not fiction. She was getting enough of that in real life, thank you.