CHAPTER FOURTEEN #3
Tabby felt ill. And she knew suddenly that if she looked at the fire, she was going to feel all of the evil and hatred, the rage and outrage, despair, loss and love associated with An Tùir-Tara all over again. She kept her eyes on Kristin. “What happened?”
Kristin gave her a disparaging look. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I am going to destroy you, Tabitha. And I just can’t wait to feel your pain.” She licked her lips.
Tabby inhaled. Kristin was demonic. Not completely—but somewhere in her genes, she was tainted with Satan’s blood.
Tabby prayed for courage and strength. Then she dismissed Kristin and dared to look at the fire.
She stared into the flames, feeling sick, beginning to feel the hatred, the evil, the rage—the love.
The sight blinded her. Sweat trickled from her brow.
She could not let the emotions paralyze her now. “Fire obey me, fire go out.”
The fire hesitated, and then it began decreasing in size.
“Fire obey me, fire go out!” Tabby cried.
As the fire shifted, becoming even smaller, Kristin hissed, “Fire arise.” And the flames blazed.
Tabby realized Kristin had great power—more than she did. She breathed hard and fought the dizziness brought on by those terrible feelings, and said, “Fire obey me, fire go out.”
The fire subsided into a few small flames, and then into embers. Tabby was surprised and relieved, but Kristin seized her by the hair, crying, “Fire, arise.”
The fire blazed and she shoved her face toward the flames. “Who is stronger, bitch? And don’t you want to know where your protector is?”
Tabby tensed in alarm. She reminded herself that Macleod could take care of himself.
“He went out with his men this morning. Not only is he far to the east, he is under my spell.”
“I don’t believe you,” Tabby gasped. “He’s too powerful for a petty magician like you.”
Kristin hissed, “Fire arise!”
The flames roared, becoming a bonfire the size of an entire room.
Tabby began to struggle, because if she was pushed into that inferno, she was dead.
Kristin laughed and the five boys grabbed her and started dragging her closer to the bonfire.
Tabby clawed at them. Heat engulfed her, and she was so close to the flames Tabby thought her dress and hair would catch on fire.
“Fire obey me,” she panted. “Fire go out!”
The fire wavered, its hesitation clear.
The boys pushed her closer.
Thunder sounded.
In confusion, she looked upward as the thunder rolled more loudly, but the small patch of sky she glimpsed through the boughs overhead was brightly blue. And then the ground beneath her feet moved.
The thunder stopped.
She was abruptly released and she fell, hard, flames not far from her hands. Tabby rose. On the other side of the bonfire, she saw a woman on a horse.
She went still. Behind her, she heard the boys running away into the forest. She glanced back. Kristin stood as still as a statue, her expression livid.
Tabby looked back at the woman. She was dressed like a male medieval Highlander, in a belted thigh-length tunic and a royal-blue and black brat, and she held a full-size sword effortlessly in one hand. She rode her gray charger slowly forward. Hundreds of riders filled the forest behind her.
Branches snapped.
Tabby jerked—Kristin was gone.
Tabby looked at the fire. “Fire obey me, fire be gone.”
The fire became the size of a large man.
Tabby repeated the command, and the fire was reduced to a few dancing flames and embers. Tabby glanced back at the woman.
The woman returned her stare. She had long, curly reddish-blond hair, a striking face and searing eyes.
She looked as if she lifted weights and ran triathlons.
Her power came from the other side, white and bright.
It was very much like Sam’s. But Tabby didn’t have to feel that to know that she was a Highland warrior.
“Macleod is here,” she said in heavily accented English. She turned the horse and galloped into the forest, her vast army following her.
As the thunder subsided, Tabby began to shake, collapsing against a tree.
Kristin had followed her through time; Kristin wanted to kill her; Kristin would be at An Tùir-Tara.
Hoofbeats sounded. Tabby looked up, feeling Macleod’s power. Relief made her weak. He galloped through the trees, a handful of mounted men behind him. He leaped from his black stallion before it halted, reaching her in a stride. He clasped her, pulling her forward. Tabby went into his embrace.
“Kristin followed me from New York.”
“The deamhan-ghost?” he demanded.
“No, she’s a black witch—and a powerful one.”
His intense gaze moved over her face. “I felt her, Tabitha, an’ I felt yer fear. I followed yer fear until I found ye. What are ye doin’ so far from Blayde?”
Tabby breathed deeply. “She cast a spell and lured me out. Macleod, a warrior woman with great white power appeared in the nick of time. Kristin was afraid, and so were the subs. She chased them away. Who was that?”
“The Lady of An Roinn-Mor,” he said abruptly. “Some say she’s a goddess. I dinna ken, but she can rouse two thousand mortal men an’ each one will die fer her.”
Tabby absorbed that.
“Are ye tellin’ me Kristin is more powerful than ye?” Macleod asked. His hands moved to her face.
Tabby didn’t hesitate. “Way more powerful.” His eyes darkened. “Macleod. She seems to be allied with Melvaig and she wants me dead.”
His eyes burned with anger. “Then I will ha’ to kill her.”
“There’s more.” She clasped his arms tightly. “You’re not the only one who will be at An Tùir-Tara. I am going to be there, too.”
TABBY SIGHED AND CURLED her toes and sighed again, smiling. It was late. The sky outside was gleaming ebony, but spangled with a billion stars. She stared at Macleod, her smile widening. He knelt naked before the fire, which he was starting with a tinderbox.
She leaned up on one elbow, so she could admire every inch of his body. Starlight illuminated him, highlighting his bulging muscles and powerful build. “Fire obey me, fire begin. Fire obey me, fire come in,” she said.
Macleod turned, sending her a slow and sexy, very satisfied smile. Behind him, the fire started, a few small flames crackling. He glanced at it and stood.
Tabby actually felt herself blush. “More?”
“Aye, if ye can manage to match me.”