Page 95 of Dark Victory

“No one has ever been able to determine how long a leap takes. For all we know, it takes years.”

“You should not be in the field! You cannot afford to have a flashback in the middle of hand-to-hand combat with some six-foot medieval demon. We both know you are incapacitated during a flashback.”

“That’s why you’re here, sweetheart.” He glanced at his GLD again. “I know you’ll take care of your old boss.”

“Don’t you dare sweetheart me. I can’t stand this.”

He became concerned. What looked like static covered the screen. What the hell? He looked up. “You went through hell, Jan, but you made it, and that last trip was a long, long time ago. Time to move on.” He glanced at the screen. “Shit. Look at this.”

Jan came to stand beside him and her eyes widened. “I’d say an energy source is nearby.”

He slid the useless GLD into his vest pocket. “Yeah, but is it friend or foe?” He looked upward. There was no way to discern where the sun was. He knew they should head down the forested ridge toward Melvaig and Blayde, which lay to the north, but without guidance from either nature or the GLD, they would probably lose their way.

Jan pointed at the towering pine behind him. He got it. They decided on a patch of black far below, and started in silence down the ridge, using both markers to keep going in a straight line. Suddenly shadows consumed the forest. Clouds had blown in, and their black object was gone.

He tried the GLD again. Nothing.

“We’re going to get lost,” Jan said, stating the obvious.

“Not if I can help it.” Nick was determined. He was going to nail Kristin, no matter what it took, and make her talk about her unholy connections.

They started in silence down the ridge, brushing branches out of their way. Above them a deep-throated owl hooted. Birds sang. It was actually a helluva pleasant day, except for the fact that they were not alone. Nick kept checking his GLD every few minutes, but the static remained. A source of energy was nearby—and it had lots of power. But Nick didn’t sense evil. Neither did Jan; she’d say so otherwise.

When he looked at the screen again, it was a frenzy of static activity. “We have company,” he began, when thunder boomed. Not from overhead, but from up the ridge, behind them. The earth moved beneath their feet.

There was power, lots of it, but it was the good kind.

Her eyes sharp with interest—Jan was rarely afraid—she touched his arm as they turned to face the slope above them. He was damned curious, too. The forest was dark now, silent, unmoving. The snow on the GLD screen continued to dance like crazy.

The trees shifted and branches parted. Nick watched a rider on a horse emerge from the shadows and his eyes widened.

A woman sat a white stallion, her reddish-gold hair falling down her back, a huge sword in one hand, her muscular arms ripped. He took one fast look at her face and his heart lurched hard. She was shockingly beautiful. He quickly looked at her bare muscular thighs, wrapped around that horse—he couldn’t help himself. She was dressed the way the Highland men dressed, which meant she was showing a helluva lot of leg, and she had frigging great legs.

Jan breathed, “Chill.”

He caught himself. The woman was a warrior and she had power—lots of it. She halted the horse a dozen feet from them, unsmiling. Her eyes were green, he realized, and un-blinking. Her demeanor could not be called friendly. In fact, it was cool and wary.

He smiled to disarm her and said in Gaelic, “We’re lost. Can you help us?” She’d know that they had power, too, so there was no point in stating the obvious, that they were all on the same side.

She did not return his smile. “Aye. Ye wish to go to Blayde,” she said flatly, in Gaelic. Her horse moved restlessly but she did not seem to care.

“Yes, we do.” Now he became a bit perturbed. He was acutely aware of her but she was as cold as ice. Not that it mattered, except that he was used to stopping women in their tracks. He lurked and was shocked when he couldn’t get into her thoughts. His gaze returned to her.

She stared, and he thought the corners of her mouth had lifted ever so slightly in triumph.

So she meant to keep him out of her mind. Two could play that game. He envisioned her stark-naked on that stallion, really liking the mental image, and then blocked his thoughts from her.

He could have sworn that a hint of a flush came to her face, but it was hard to tell, because her eyes turned to ice. “Ye’re goin’ east, Outsider. Ye need go north. There’s a trail that will take ye toward Melvaig and on to Blayde.” Her power seemed to seethe. “The witch is at Melvaig,” she added.

A new excitement began. “The witch from my time—Kristin Lafarge?”

She gave him a look of pure disdain. “I dinna ken her name. I dinna care fer yer future time. She’s evil—an’ great evil is with her.”

“I need a guide. I’m sure there’s something I can offer you in return.” He did not want his thoughts to zip into the bedroom, but they did.

Jan jabbed her elbow into his ribs. “Cut it out,” she said.

“You have nothing to offer, Outsider.” She tightened her reins, flushing. “Domnhal!”