I glared at him, my attraction momentarily forgotten. “I didn’t ‘let’ them do anything. I was in a car accident, and those two dickheads showed up in an ambulance and brought me here instead of the hospital.”
The man cursed, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a plastic zip-lock bag filled with large, square gauze pads. “So they’d already determined your location, then,” he murmured as he pulled one of the pads out of the bag, then peeled off its plastic packaging. Then he pulled out another bag filled with something that looked like poultry seasoning. He poured the crushed-up powder on the pad.
“I don’t really think that’s going to help,” I started to say as he pressed it to my ribs. But the pad began to glow, and I gasped as it emanated a soft warmth that eased the pain. I felt the pad seal itself to my side, and when the man dropped his hand, I took in my first real breath since the accident.
“Ye were saying?” The man arched a brow, then nodded in satisfaction. His expression softened as he studied my ribs again. “One or two more of those and ye should be good to go.”
“What… what is this thing and what are you putting on it?” I prodded the gauze at my side, amazed when the action resulted in nothing but a faint twinge. This was incredible… and impossible.
“A healing patch,” the man responded. “And the dust is a mystical combination of herbs. I’d give you specifics, but I’m afraid only Agnid knows that for sure, and she knows better than to give it to a blabbermouth like me.”?He reached up to touch the cut at my temple, his eyes soft with concern, and I closed mine at the gentleness. Warmth began coursing through my body again, and I hardly noticed the sting as those calloused fingers prodded the wound. “We’ll have to get this cleaned, but I’ve no time for it now. These motherless fools will be up soon.” He motioned to the unconscious men. “I’d slice ‘em in half if not for the poor blokes they’re stuck inside.” He gripped me by the elbow and pulled me to my feet. My heart sank at the harsh look that had etched itself into his face. “We have to get moving now, lass.”
“Moving?” I asked. “I don’t even know who you are.” I looked down at his hand, the one that had been glowing with green energy only moments ago. “Or what youare, for that matter.”
“Is that so?” He seemed both annoyed and amused by my admission. “I ken yer kind have a narrow-minded view of history, but I never dreamed ye’d have lived yer whole life without learning of the Druids.”
“Druids?” I stared at him, openmouthed. “Like from the cereal boxes?”
“Cereal boxes?” He scowled, folding his massive arms across his broad chest. “Please tell me yer no’ confusing me with a leprechaun, lass. If yer that daft, there may not be any hope for ye.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re—”
“My name is Brodie MacTaggert,” he said, sounding miffed. “Like I said, I’m a Druid hailing from the Mystic Moors. And if yer quite done with all the oohs and ahs, I’m here to help ye.”
“I don’t recall anyoohing—” I started to snap, but then turned toward the sound of someone groaning. My heart leapt as I saw the kidnappers struggling to their feet. God, but Brodie hadn’t been lying. How the hell were these guys getting back up already?”
“The gods preserve us,” Brodie growled as he stepped in front of me. He summoned more green energy into his hands, then blasted the men back into the wall again. “This is what happens when ye dilly-dally like this,” he said, whirling back around to face me again. He grabbed my arm, then jabbed a finger toward the unconscious men behind him. “Now go and take care of them!”
I scowled as he dragged me over to the men. “Umm, haven’t you already done that?” I asked as I stared down at them.
“Aye, I’ve knocked them out,” he said. “No fatal wounds or anything—I know how yer kind feel about that.” Smirking, he gestured toward the men. “Since yer ilk thinks so little of Druids that ye omit us from yer history books, it’s clear that ye dinnae need our talents. So go on now. Do yer thing.”
“Do my thing?” I actually stomped my foot. “What the hell do you want me to do? They’re unconscious!”
“I’m no expert in this sort of thing, but I was led to believe it didn’t matter whether they were conscious or not,” Brodie huffed. His eyes narrowed before he added, “There is something a mite strange with these two, some aberration I cannae quite figure out. But I’m sure it’s nothing ye haven’t dealt with. Now, will ye get on with it, before they wake up?”
I glared at him as if he were completely insane, which he was. But then I turned to the men and did the only “thing” I could think of. “You have the right to remain silent,” I began, feeling like a total idiot. “Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be pro—”
“What on Gaia’s green earth are ye blabbering on about, woman?” Brodie threw up his hands, staring at me as if I’d just tried to put out a fire with a hammer. “Don’t stand there jabbering away. Exorcise these bastards already! That’s what yer kind does, no?”
“Exorcise them?” I shouted back, balling my hands into fists. “I don’t do exorcisms, and unless you mean humans, I don’t have a ‘kind’!”
“Gaia save us,” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked away. A vein pulsed at his temple. “What the hell is going on with ye, lass? Yer acting like ye dinnae know yer arse from yer elbow.” Shaking his head, he grabbed me by the forearm and began hauling me toward the front door. “Come on, then. These demonic bastards will be awake soon, and if ye cannae finish them off, then we need to be away before that happens.”
I let him lead me out the door, at a complete loss for words. Despite the utter craziness that seemed to be choking me like a thick fog, relief slid through me as the cool night air kissed my skin. Glancing around at the rows of warehouse buildings, I instantly knew where we were. This was the manufacturing district, located on the south side of town.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Brodie tugged me along toward the back of another warehouse. “Shouldn’t we be calling the police? Where’s your car?” I glanced around.
Brodie laughed incredulously. “We are definitely not calling the police, lass. And my car is a bit further than walking distance.”
“Then how the hell are we going to get to it?”
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” He knelt, and I nearly exploded when he pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a circle on the pavement. Seriously? I didn’t think street art was going to do us any good.
“We don’t have time for this,” I said, trying to keep my tone reasonable even though I wanted to scream. “We need to call the police. They can get here with a car, take me home, and then go find the bastard who kidnapped me in the first place.” Even as I said the words, I began to wonder if involving the police was really the right thing to do. It was becoming harder and harder for me to pass off all this paranormal stuff as parlor tricks, and I knew the cops wouldn’t be equipped to handle this sort of thing. But if not the police, then who?
“The police wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do with that ‘bastard’ if they caught him,” Brodie said dismissively. He didn’t even bother to look up at me. “He’d tear through them like a cat in a bucket of rodents.” Finished, he pocketed the chalk, then rose. “Now get yerself in the current circle so we can be off.”
I didn’t budge. “If we’re not going to call the police, then we need to run. Those guys will be up any minute, judging by how fast they revived the last time you knocked them out. I’m not going to stand here in some stupid chalk circle and wait for them to find us.”