Chapter 10
THE BUCK STARED at the female human creature crumpled at his hoofs. Protect all creatures. That was his charge. He snorted and scraped the ground. She didn’t move.
Dead? No, she breathed, her chest rose and her eyes flickered.
He spotted the human shelter. The Sidhe King would want her safe. She was a special one. Using his mouth, the buck bit into her outer coverings and dragged her into the square, thin cave. He studied the female for several moments. What was he forgetting? He could see no injury, yet she did not stir. It was important that no harm come to this one, but he did not know why. He would guard her shelter until the Sidhe told him what to do. Moments later, the moon again shone through the trees. He changed form, becoming the man.
Rory stood in front of Carolyn’s tent. He remembered dragging her inside as he heard her moaning. She was waking up. He glanced at the mostly cloudy sky. Knowing he could change back at any moment, he waved his hand to put her back to sleep. No point in having her faint again. He placed a blanket over her, closed her tent and hammered her tent stakes back into place.
Yes, she would do well for the ritual, if she agreed. Only one more night and he’d be free of the curse. He knew that with all certainty. There were risks, but who could blame him? Three hundred and thirty years was more than any man should bear. He’d have to ask her to stand in the middle of the circle where the ley lines might send her off to who knew where? That would be the only dangerous time of the ritual. He tried not to think of that.
She’d be fine. After the ritual began, they’d be safe.
He shook his head and groaned. What kind of man would put a woman in danger? The curse was his own doing, his own fate. He didn’t have the right to risk a woman’s life, especially Carolyn’s, to save his own neck. He felt every muscle in his body tense with guilt and shame. If he didn’t he’d be trapped as a half man for how long, eternity?
Unable to control his fury and frustration, he roared like an injured bear as he stormed out of her campsite and tore into the forest.
* * *
Carolyn woke inside her tent, lying on her sleeping bag with a blanket tucked around her. Sunlight streamed into the small square windows, bringing reality back to the surreal situation of last night.
How did she get inside? With a start, she jumped to her feet, banging her head on the top of her tent.
Rory.
She had seen him change, felt him turn into a buck beneath her hand. A chill raced up her back and tingled along her scalp. My God, it couldn’t be a trick; she’d been standing right next to him, touching him. Certainly, she wasn’t hypnotized or dreaming.
She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d endured. Her heart broke just thinking about it. How could anyone live with the burden of this curse for three hundred years? Only a strong man could survive the years without going mad, yet Carolyn sensed Rory’s vulnerable and sensitive side.
Stumbling out of the tent, she shielded her eyes from the glare of sun and glanced around looking for Rory—or the buck. Instead, the silent, empty forest surrounded her. Most of autumn’s glory had fallen, leaving behind a tangle of gray, creaking branches, blanketing the ground with golden paths of leaves. But the beauty of the forest did nothing to comfort her.
For the last year, she had been running away from problems, avoiding relationships. In her marriage, she had avoided conflicts, expecting problems to disappear on their own. By steering clear of new relationships, she didn’t have to risk the pain of loss or getting hurt again. But lost love was part of life. It was time she stopped running, time she took a risk again. How could she turn her back on Rory?
Her stomach fluttered. She ached to see him again.
Despite all the craziness, she knew without any doubts that she was falling in love. That excited tumbly feeling in her stomach she couldn’t deny. The realization curved her lips, but also worried her. She had to help him break this curse, but what if they failed? What if the Sidhe decided to keep her on as the Druid’s Circle’s guardian too? She wouldn’t run away from this, especially if she had a chance to free him.
She had to find him and tell him she’d agreed to help before this evening when Samhain’s blue moon rose, or he’d be trapped.
She searched unsuccessfully for Rory’s cabin until noon and again came across the remains of the old stone foundation. She never found the new cabin she had seen on the first night she’d arrived.
Did Rory’s cabin appear and disappear as he changed form? She decided she would wait for him by the Druid’s Circle with the offering—a stick of butter and a cup of milk. Before leaving her campsite, she left him a note on her tent. Intending to spend all night at the circle if she had to, she also brought a blanket and a sleeping bag with her offering and placed everything outside the megaliths.
As long as she didn’t enter the stone circle she’d be safe. No need to risk falling into another portal until she found him.
Pacing around the field, she shouted for him, her hands clenched at her sides. Where was he? What time did he need to start the ritual?
The sun drifted toward the western horizon, and darkness crept through the woods and meadow. The moon hadn’t risen yet, so Rory had to be in his deer form. Would he recognize her in his animal form?
Panic rose in her chest and tightened her throat. Would he know she was willing to help? She glanced at the ominous gray stones. Long shadows stretched from the stone megaliths like fingers of a glove. Cautiously, she approached the stones, but didn’t dare enter the circle, not until Rory arrived. Another trip to that ancient Celtic island was not in her plans.
The ley lines. She remembered the fireflies just before she and Rory had left the island and then the sensation of falling, but that was all.
A movement caught her attention. A squirrel scurried across her path, climbed on one of the stones and leaped off into the center of the Druid’s Circle.
Nothing happened.
The squirrel sniffed along the ground, sat up on its haunches, then playfully pounced on a moth that had landed next to it. Finally, the squirrel ran off into the woods.
A moment later, several black birds landed and pecked at the ground within the circle. Maybe the ley lines had moved, or their intersections separated. The animals didn’t seem bothered.
Carolyn picked up a dried tree branch and cautiously approached one standing stone, again tapping the ground with her stick. No funny vibrations, no change in the air, no fireflies. With the kind of power Rory described, these stones would have to give off a vibration or force like magnets.
She felt nothing.
She studied the largest of the stones suspiciously, the one opposite the trilithon where she had seemed to disappear yesterday. Holding her palm a few inches away from the surface, she waited for an electric shock or a buzzing sound.
Silence.
She tapped it with the stick, scraped it. A tiny chickadee landed on the top of the twelve-foot stone, looked at her and flew away. Carolyn chuckled. She’s afraid of a rock and the little bird is afraid of her. Who looks more stupid?
She stuck her hand out and touched the stone.
It felt rough, like a rock. Well, what did you expect genius? Still, she wasn’t confident enough to enter the circle.
A breeze stirred the trees, and she caught the scent of pine. The cool night chilled her bare arms. She was about to pull out her sweatshirt when she glanced toward the cluster of pine trees and saw him. The white buck stood, statue-like, at the edge of the meadow staring at her.
The deer was probably wondering what she was doing. “Hello, Rory, I’ve been waiting for you,” she said to the deer. “I’m doing this ritual with you. I’ll just sit here until it’s time.”
He tossed his head and scraped the ground with his hoof as if disapproving.
“Easy, easy, Rory,” she said softly, “the moon should rise soon.”
The deer lowered his head and turned to walk into the forest. “No. Come back,” she shouted.
He glanced at her for a moment, then headed back into the forest.
“No, come back! I’m going into the circle!” she warned as she turned and marched into the center of the stone ruins, careful to avoid the place where she had first disappeared.
She heard the sound of hoofs racing across the meadow. The buck ran across the field directly toward her.
When she spun to face the deer, her vision blurred, and sparks filled the air between her and the stones. “No, not the fireflies again.” She attempted to run out of the circle, but the trapdoor opened beneath her. She screamed as her world turned upside down and the stone circle vanished.