The Dark Highlander

Page 72

Aoibheal glanced his way. There was a glimmer of appreciation in her gaze as it raked over him. He wore her favored glamour—that of a tall, dark-haired smith, rippling with muscle. An otherworldly beautiful man who was wont to waylay human travelers, particularly women. A smith who took them to places and did things to them they later recalled as dark dreams of unending pleasure.
“You have my ear.” She inclined her head regally.
And on rare occasions, Adam thought, other parts of her when she so graced him. Aoibheal had a certain fondness for him, and he was counting on it now. He was unlike any other of their race in small ways that baffled both he and them. But the queen seemed to enjoy those differences. Of all her subjects, Adam suspected he was the only one who still managed to surprise her. And surprise was nectar of the gods to those who lived forever, to those who’d lost wonder and awe an eternity ago. To those who spied on mortal’s dreams because they possessed no dreams of their own.
“My queen,” he said, sinking to one knee before her, “I know the Keltar broke his oath. But if one examines these Keltar, one finds that they have, for thousands of years, comported themselves in exemplary fashion.”
The queen regarded him a long cool moment, then shrugged a delicate shoulder. “So?”
“Consider the man’s brother, my queen. When Drustan was enchanted by a seer and forced to slumber for five centuries, the Keltar line was destroyed. When he was awakened in the twenty-first century by a woman, he went to extraordinary lengths to return to his time and prevent the catastrophe from happening so their line would remain intact, always protecting the lore.”
“I am aware of that. Unfortunate his brother wasn’t more like him.”
“I believe he is. Dageus broke his oath solely to save Drustan’s life.”
“That’s personal motive. The line was not threatened. They were expressly forbidden to use the stones for personal gain.”
“How was it personal gain?” Adam countered. “What did Dageus gain by so doing? Though he saved Drustan’s life, Drustan continued to slumber. He didn’t get his brother back. He didn’t get anything.”
“Then more fool he.”
“He is as honorable as his brother. There’s no evil in what he did.”
“The question is not if he is evil, it’s if he broke his oath, and he did. The terms of The Compact were clearly defined.”
Adam drew a careful breath. “We are the ones who gave them the power to travel through time. If we hadn’t, the temptation would never have existed.”
“Ah, now it’s our fault?”
“I’m merely saying that he didn’t use the stones to gain wealth or political power. He did it for love.”
“You sound like a human.”
It was the lowest insult among his kind.
Adam remained wisely silent. He’d had his proverbial wings clipped before by his queen.
“Regardless of why he did it, Adam, he now harbors our ancient enemy within him.”
“But he still isn’t dark, my queen. It’s been many mortal months since they took him. How many mortals do you know that could withstand those thirteen Druids by will alone? You knew them well. You know their power. Yet you would subject him to the trial by blood the council has called for? You would kill every person this man cares for to test him? If you destroy his entire line for this, who then will renegotiate The Compact?”
“Perhaps we shall live without it,” she said lightly, but he saw the merest hint of unease in her lovely, inhuman eyes.
“You would risk that? Our worlds colliding? Shall human and Tuatha Dé Danaan live together again? The Keltar have broken their oath, but we have not yet violated our end of it. The moment we do, The Compact will be void and the walls between our realms will crumble. Trial by blood will force us to share the earth, my queen. Is that what you want?”
“He’s right,” her consort stirred himself to speak. “Did the council consider that?”
If Adam knew the council half as well as he thought he did, yes. There were those on the high council who missed the old ways. Those who thrived on chaos and petty machinations. Fortunately, they did not include his queen. With the exception of whimsical entertainment, she disdained humans and had little desire to see them walking in her world again.
Silence shrouded the court.
Aoibheal templed slender fingers and rested her dainty chin upon them. “Interest me. Are you suggesting an alternative?”
“An order of Druids in Britain, descendants of those you scattered millennia past, has been awaiting the return of the Draghar; they have plans to force the Keltar’s transformation. If they succeed, do what you wish with him. Let that be his test.”