Chapter Forty-Seven

Freshly bathed Darius sat with Jean-Claude and Danhoul; all three looked sheepish as Arianna angrily paced and threw furious glances their way.

“You—” she pointed to Danhoul “—have magic and bloody well used it to deceive me. You, my oldest friend, were already treading on very thin ice and still purposely kept information from me,” she said to Jean-Claude.

“You, Darius Wyndham, have wasted precious time when we could have been together.

“And all of you—” she formed a fist and shouted to the gods in the sky “—can go to hell for not assisting with this much earlier, and therefore…I’ll not be making a journey to the future or doing anything to assist you, not ever!”

She disappeared, leaving the three men staring at one another.

“Could Arianna really choose not to go to the future?” Darius asked.

“A transcendent witch can’t be forced through time,” Danhoul replied with a nod.

“What of this battle she and the others are supposed to fight with some bloody evil dark lord and demons?” Darius asked.

“Odhran and his nefarious alliances, aye. It’s predicted the battle can’t be won without all four transcendent witches of the line of Aine,” Danhoul said.

“You’re the only one who’ll be able to change her mind, Darius,” Jean-Claude said.

“I’m to convince the woman I love more than life to go off centuries into the future to fight in a battle that might very well take her life?”

Danhoul looked away, but nodded.

“And if I don’t, the future of mankind might be at stake?” Darius added.

He nodded again.

“Christ,” Darius said as he started toward the door.

“I’ll take you by way of magic; it’ll be faster,” Danhoul said.

Arianna wasn’t at the cottage when they arrived.

“Where else would she be?” Darius asked.

“Perhaps walking with her wolf by the ocean.”

“I’ll go look,” Darius said.

He found her staring out at the sea, the wolf by her side. She turned when he approached. She was weeping.

“Arianna,” he said and took her in his arms.

“You smell much better,” she said through her tears.

“I couldn’t have smelled much worse.” He chuckled.

“I don’t want to leave you, Darius. There’s so many reasons why I never want to leave you.” She squeezed him tighter.

“I’d like to hold you in my arms and keep you here forever,” he agreed. “But you know you must go.”

“Must I? I didn’t ask for any of this. I never wanted these powers, certainly never wanted to be part of the hope of the entire world.”

“But if you don’t go there’s a chance evil will rule if this Odhran isn’t stopped?” Darius said.

“You’ve been speaking with Danhoul?”

“Aye.”

“But I don’t foresee it happening during our time or even our children or grandchildren’s time,” Arianna said. “The battle is perhaps centuries in the future.”

“But still,” Darius said. “If you can help ensure mankind survives, you must.”

“I know!” Arianna sighed. “Now the winter solstice is only days away.”

“That’s when you’ll need to leave?”

“It’s likely.”

He sighed deeply and held her tighter.

“For now, I just want to be with you and spend whatever time we have left together without speaking of dark lords or evil or even magic.”

“And maybe get married, too?” Darius asked.

“How can you have faith I’ll return to you and we’ll have a life together?”

“I must or I’d go mad.”

“If there’s a way to come back to you, Darius, I promise you I will.”

“You promise?” he said. “You actually promise?”

Tears glistened in his eyes now, too.

“I would like to marry you before I leave. Do you know why I had to see our marriage ended?”

He shook his head.

“Because Grandmother said you’d be wed three times. I hoped to ensure I was the third wife.”

He laughed heartily at that, then kissed her thoroughly.

“I love you so, my beautiful wee witch.”

“And I you, Darius.”

“I’ve signed over the cabin to Samuel and Kathleen. Their family’s growing. Besides their wee bairn, Bethany, born last winter, Kathleen’s with child again. Sarah and Michael are to be parents again, too.”

“Aye, Bethany and Jenoa will both have wee brothers,” Arianna said.

“Aye, there’ll be lots of new bairns. I’ve helped Samuel and Kathleen move in.”

“I hope Liza will be happy with her cabin filled with noise and laughter, for she did want children.”

Darius nodded. “I hope so, too. Now, Amy, her son Dason and Kevin are livin’ in Samuel and Kathleen’s old cabin. Bessie and Patrick are thrilled to have Daniel’s son nearby.”

“Kevin Murphy will be a father to Amy’s son and also to their daughter in less than a year.” Arianna smiled.

“I remember you suggesting he father your child,” Darius said.

“It was you who said I should think of a man. I suggested all the Murphy boys.”

“We were very happy much of that time, Arianna.”

“We were, my love, and if not for the bloody terrible dreams and the gods’ tests, I believe we would have remained so,” she said.

“I saw some of the dreams, Arianna…with that magical book I found.”

“Tristan told me he ensured you found the book.”

“Where did you get it?” Darius asked her.

“A woman I’ve never seen before simply appeared and placed it in my hands when I left you, not long after I’d killed the demon. She had beautiful light auburn hair and a blue cloak. She claimed the book was one of four magical items required in the future to control time. Then she disappeared again.”

Darius only shook his head, probably still not accustomed to everything magic entailed.

“I’m sorry you went through those horrid dreams alone.”

“You’ve just spent three weeks in a deplorable witch-house dungeon to protect me, Darius.”

“I suppose we’ve always tried to protect each other,” he said.

“Did you see the dreams with Alcott?” Arianna asked.

“Aye,” he said, his body tensing.

“That’s what I wanted to protect you from most. The other happenings we might have shared together. When you couldn’t tell me what occurred with Alcott on the ship, I couldn’t confide those dreams to you.”

“Now you know everything,” Darius said.

“You haven’t told me what happened when Amy was taken.”

“Because I feel responsible.”

“Will you tell me now?”

He shrugged. “You’ve seen how strong-willed Amy can be?”

“I have,” Arianna said.

“The natives attacked at night. The women and children went to the tunnels below as we’d practiced and discussed often. But Amy returned demanding to speak with Daniel, then got caught in the bloody chaos and couldn’t get back to the entrance to the tunnels.

“Daniel told her to stay with him. I said she’d be safer hiding in the forest.” Darius pulled his hand through his hair and his eyes looked tortured. “Daniel and I never argued or even disagreed. I could tell Amy didn’t know whose advice to heed. She embraced Daniel, whispered in his ear, kissed him and took off toward the forest…listened to me not him.

“Arrows flew, natives jumped over the barricade and attacked. Daniel and Father were maybe distracted by worry of Amy, but everyone behind that barricade was killed. I would’ve been, but I followed Amy making sure she made it to the forest. I saw Amy dragged away by natives before I was struck over the head, then awoke to death all around me.”

“You saved her life, Darius, and because of that, you were saved, too. That’s why you always wanted me to stay out of the forest.”

“Aye, the memory of seeing Amy taken haunted me. Till after we found Amy, I didn’t know she’d gone back to tell Daniel she carried his child.”

“How difficult that must have been for her!”

“Aye, she saw Father and Daniel killed just as she was taken.”

“Maybe that’s why she didn’t come back when she could have.”

“That’s surely true. I’m glad Daniel knew of the bairn, though he died soon after.”

Arianna nodded and he took her in his arms again.

“No more secrets now,” Darius said.

“Look, a ship,” Arianna said.

Darius looked out at the water.

“No, in the sky.” She pointed to a cloud shaped like a ship.

“Your cloud game. I haven’t thought of that in months.”

“Tell me what you see,” Arianna said.

“You’ve a better imagination than me,” he replied. “I see a wolf, maybe.”

“Aye, he’s right beside you.” She giggled.

“No, look there, doesn’t that look like a wolf or a dog?” He pointed skyward.

“Aye, it does…and look, a dragon.”

“You’re always seeing dragons in the clouds.”

“Apparently Alainn has seen actual dragons.”

“That sounds unbelievably dangerous,” Darius said, his tone fretful again. “You’ll not only face evil dark lords, and demons, but dragons, too?”

“Danhoul said Alainn has befriended dragons.”

Darius looked like he believed she only said that to ease his fears.

“I see a cradle,” she said.

He looked at the sky but shook his head again.

“I can’t see it. I told you, your imagination’s much better. Show me where it is.”

“It’s not actually in the clouds, but I do see a cradle in our future. I also know someone who’s incredibly gifted in creating such items and will most assuredly want to make this one.”

Darius stared at her uncertainly.

“You said you wanted no more secrets,” she whispered.

“Christ,” he said gently grasping her shoulders, questioning her with his eyes and she nodded.

“I carry your bairn, Darius. A child of a fire witch and her sovereign guardian conceived during Samhain, the day of my birth and under a full moon,” she whispered.

“I’m guessin’ all that has relevance?” He sounded stunned.

“Aye. Our child’s certain to have magic. But Darius,” she whispered, “Danhoul once said the gods see to it a witch never carries a child when they must journey through time. Apparently Alainn lost a newborn babe and another she briefly carried.”

“You’re sayin’ if they learn of it, they’ll ensure you lose the child?”

“I believe that’s likely. They do seem to play about with our lives. I’ve been doing protection and concealment spells and pray they don’t know. I’m also not certain how journeying through time will affect an unborn child and it isn’t as though I can ask anyone.”

Darius pulled her to him and held her tightly, his chin resting on her head.

“What are we goin’ to do, my wee witch?”

“Spend a day holding one another, making love and thinking of nothing beyond that,” she said.

He lifted her into his arms. “I’ll carry you,” he said.

“I’m pregnant, not lame,” she whispered with a smile but he carried her to the bed in the cottage.

“Is it safe to love you now?” he whispered.

“Far safer than not loving me,” she said, passionately kissing him.