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A LIGHT MIST SURROUNDED Teagan, making visibility practically nonexistent, but she wasn’t scared. As she breathed in, the scent of damp earth and rich fragrance of flowers, along with the familiarity of the place, soothed her. Hesitantly, she moved forward, and the mist separated revealing a little wooden bridge that her dreams had acquainted her with as of late. Rays from the afternoon sun brushed the field of billowing grass, making it look like a sea of golden waves, just beyond the bridge. The sight beckoned Teagan to cross into its warmth.
She left the fog and shadow that held her, crossing into the sunlight. Colin was there. His hand was braced on the mighty oak, facing away from her, but she knew it was him. His bronzed back and muscular shoulders exposed to the sun, made his skin shimmer magically. A gentle sigh escaped her lips, and she took a step toward him. Suddenly, he was alert, and he as he swung around, his eyes met hers.
“He knows you’re here now, the Shade. I can feel him hunting you in your dreams even as we speak. I cannot protect you from him until you find me, Teagan.” His voice was husky and thick, his warning sounding alarms in Teagan’s head.
The blood contract. She remembered. He was her protector.
The intenseness of his gaze seemed to penetrate her skin, as he willed her to understand the implications of his words. A chill ran through her, causing her to shiver. Teagan could feel the truth of what he spoke. Bits and pieces of that night her father left were coming back to her.
His gaze swept to the side as if something had spooked him, and he continued more urgently. “I must go now. I took a risk to warn you in this spirit dream, but you need to know that you’re in danger. I’m searching for you, as are my brethren, but the shadows seek you too.” Colin moved his hand to her face, barely touching her, like a whisper. “It’s no longer safe for us to meet this way.”
“Wait, Colin. Don’t go yet. Tell me how to find you,” Teagan pleaded, upset that she’d just arrived, and their dreamland visit was already ending.
The urgency in Colin’s tone heightened. “I must go, but if you only ever remember one thing about these dreams, let it be these words. Believe in the tree, it’s the source.”
“The source of what, Colin?” Teagan asked, but he didn’t answer her. The ground beneath her broke open, and several huge, gnarled branches rose from the it, wrapping themselves around her feet and ankles and spreading up her legs.
“When all else fails you, follow your heart. It will lead you to your destiny.” Then with a shimmer he was gone.
“I promise,” Teagan whispered into the mist that rose up to surround her again.
She looked to the empty spot where Colin had just been, and thought she saw a shadow of a man wearing a cape through the thickening mists. Teagan shuddered at the unsettling feeling that this would be the last time she ever saw Colin...
Sometime later, she woke with a strange tingling feeling, but as she stretched, she felt refreshed. She rushed through putting on her five-minute face as she called it, brushed her hair and teeth, and changed into her favorite ripped jeans and a pink tank with a silver butterfly. The only piece of clothing she owned that made her feel happy and normal.
She looked in the mirror. Who was she kidding? She’d never been normal, and she’d never be normal. She flicked at her fringed bangs and pinched her cheeks a little. So far, the “voice” had been silent, and she wondered what was up in that department. Teagan didn’t know what she’d expected. Had she thought the voice would get louder once she reached Ireland? Surely, she never thought that being here would silence it. She wasn’t about to let the voice push her around either, but she was hoping it would push her in the right direction of finding her friend or father. Somehow, she knew the dreams, the voice, and Colin were related. She just needed a place to start, a little help perhaps, a nudge in the right direction.
When she finished dressing, Teagan headed downstairs feeling optimistic and carefree for the first time in her adult years. Freedom had a nice ring to it. No doctor hanging over her shoulder. No step-mother ordering more baker acts to keep her locked up and out of her hair. Nope, Teagan was her on her own now, and things were bound to happen. She remembered the sunroom with a smile and headed towards the espresso machine, her excitement to use it taking over.
“Mm, I love coffee,” Teagan giggled at her own words, feeling like a rebel. They weren’t allowed to have coffee at the crazy-house. Dr. Cam used to say the caffeine induced delusions, so they weren’t allowed to drink it. Well, she was about to show Dr. Cam he was full of a load of you-know-what.
She was almost to the sunroom when a burst of male laughter hit her. It was like a warm caress against her tingling skin. She stood frozen in the doorway with her mouth hanging open, looking like an idiot, the sound of the laughter stopping her. The room’s occupants — three males in varying shades of handsome, one lovely female about the same age as her, and Maggy — were deep in conversation and didn’t notice her.
Unsure of what to do, Teagan hung back. She’d hate to interrupt their conversation, but she also knew it wasn’t right to eavesdrop. She’d decided to clear her throat and enter the room when something one of the handsome young men said caught her attention.
“Does she even know who she is?” he asked.
Who were they talking about, she wondered?
“I’m not sure dears. All I know, is she handed me a piece of paper yesterday and told me the man in the photo was her Da. Sure as anything, that man was the one and only Niel McKenna. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I haven’t seen him since that photo was taken almost eight years ago.” Maggy said.
But why had Maggy lied and said she didn’t know who her father was? Why not just tell her the truth? Something odd was at play here, and Teagan aimed to figure it out. Her gaze fanned out around the small circle, and she deduced one thing. They all seemed to know who her father was. The question now was, did Teagan? How could they all know of Niel, and she not know anything about any of them?
One of the men, the one with dark hair, sat forward to address the others, and Teagan sucked in a breath. It was Mr. Eye Candy from the plane. Had he followed her? How did he even know who she was? Or, where she was. She pressed herself tighter against the wall, fearing her breathing might give her away but hampering her view. It didn’t matter; his face was etched in her mind anyway. Then he spoke, and her mind reeled.
She knew that voice. Even without a face to match it, although, now she had one. Even intoxicated, she’d never forget a voice like his. Smooth like honey. Silky like milk chocolate dipped in warm caramel. Warm like a sandy beach on a sunny day. He was the man from the bar. The one that’d introduced himself. She tapped her head trying to remember the name he’d given her, but still, it eluded her.
She’d slid down the wall, still leaning against it, resting on her haunches. There was something more she was missing. What was it? A door opened somewhere down the hall, and she hurried up the stairs not wanting to get caught if it was another of this gang. From a safe vantage point, Teagan peeked around the corner, curious about the newcomer. When she saw him, the air caught in her throat. She quickly covered her mouth, hoping he hadn’t heard the sound of surprise that had escaped.
He paused at the entryway to the sunroom, and she pulled back so as not to be seen if he turned her way. It was almost as if he’d sensed her, though. She’d looked away, but she couldn’t unsee him. Not like it mattered anyway, she didn’t have to see him to know what he looked like. His face had plagued her dreams for many years. Dark khaki slacks form-fitted to his lower body, displaying powerful thighs. A black, long-sleeve shirt melded to a chest she knew was muscled with rippling abs and well-built arms. He stood at least a foot taller than her, probably making him somewhere around six-six in height. His dirty-blond hair waved stubbornly about his shoulders as it hung loosely around his face, the same tanned face that was darkened by a goatee. And those gorgeous, one-of-a-kind mossy-green eyes, haunted her even in her waking.
She fanned herself, suddenly feeling warm, like the room was charged with static.
Wait, this wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
She’d spent the better half of three years with Dr. Cam trying to convince herself Colin was an illusion of her fragmented delusional self. He wasn’t real, and there was no way he could be. But Cali, her missing friend, she’d had photos of him. This had to be reality. Teagan pinched herself; it hurt like blazes. Her eyes widened with a sudden thought, and she took off toward her room in the inn and her backpack.
Teagan slammed the door behind her, not caring if anyone heard it, and locked it behind her. She rushed to the bed and pulled her backpack out from under the pillow, thinking how stupid a hiding place it was. She tore through the contents, even throwing Colin’s photo to the side, until she found the one she was looking for. And there he was. The man from the plane. The man sitting in the sunroom downstairs. She pushed the photos around and found the two other men in the pile as well. Cali had been right! They were some sort of secret society, and they knew she was on to them.
Teagan started cramming things back in her bag. There was no time to wait. What her dad had to do with this mess would have to wait too. Right now, she needed to get somewhere safe. She looked around the room. She couldn’t go out the front door and chance one of them seeing her; she’d have to go out the window. Hopefully, there’d be something there to help her down like a tree limb or trellis. Hey, one could dream right? It always worked out in the movies, and Teagan was praying it worked out for her now. Her life might depend on it.
***
“UM, GUYS,” COLIN SAID to the group. “Did any of you stop to think that discussing Teagan with her upstairs might not be a good idea?” Not usually how he greeted his guardian brethren, but the circumstance seemed to call for it.
“What makes you say that,” Katie, the healer of the group and Maggy’s granddaughter asked.
Colin pointed to the window of the sunroom. Although it was covered mostly by overgrown shrubs and a large tree, they could very clearly see the young woman making her way down the tree. “Because, why else would she be making a break for it, if she hadn’t heard all of you talking about her? What are you waiting for?” he almost yelled. “Go after her. Split up.” He didn’t wait to see if they were listening as he took off out the front door, hoping she didn’t have enough time to get away. He couldn’t do his duty and protect her if she kept ghosting him every chance she got, and to her credit, she did seem very good at ghosting them. He shook his head as he ran around the house, hoping to head her off.
How the heck Aidan had lost her at the airport was beyond him. Between the two of them, they had close to two hundred years of tracking experience. He felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Leave it to his charge to be a pro at evasion. He laughed out right as he remembered her cussing him as she’d landed on him outside the halfway house they’d been holding her captive in. She sure was a spitfire. He’d just like to formally introduce himself to her instead of all this mindless chasing. She wasn’t turning out to be a very easy charge, and for that he silently cursed his father and hers. They must have known how much trouble she’d be.
None of that mattered though, and his legs pumped faster, like the blood boiling in his veins was telling him to.