Devin’s voice was as anguished as was the expression on his face. He stood there behind his invisible wall, and all I wanted was to go to him and dive into his arms.
He ran a hand through his hair as he said, “Bobbie, lass…Bobbie…are ye all right?”
Jeremy had me by the shoulders and actually shook me. I ignored this treatment, though I did pull out of his hold. I looked around for Mrs. Tunny and said, “Where…?”
“She is inside lying down. I wiped her memory of the incident. She thinks she had a fainting spell…nothing more. Davis, as well, has no memory of the incident,” he answered grimly.
“Oh, good,” I said, much relieved. “Well done, Jeremy.”
“Bobbie, you have only been gone minutes…no more than ten at most,” Jeremy said. “Where did he take you? Why did he let you go? What…?”
“She’s back with us,” Devin said as his hand continued to mangle his thick black hair. “That is all that matters. Lass…coom to me now.”
“No, I mean, yes, I shall, after,” I told him.
“After what? What more do ye need to happen before ye will let me keep ye safe?” Devin demanded.
“We have to finish things on this side, Devin. You must see that,” I cajoled.
“What are ye talking about?” he answered, staring at me hard.
“We have to get to Brently Manor and look for some kind of artifact she has used in the past. We need it if we are going to keep her out of MacLeod Castle,” I said, knowing the reaction I was going to get.
“Bloody hell!” Devin exclaimed.
“Never mind Brently, for now. Why the hell did he let you go? What happened? What did Beyland want? Why did he take you?” Jeremy threw at me in quick succession and before I could answer any of his questions he said, “A Dark Warlock doesn’t do anything without a reason, and one that will benefit himself.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. I raised a brow at Jeremy. “You are saying I was gone only ten minutes or so?”
“Yes, just long enough for me to wipe Davis and Mrs. Tunny’s memory of the event and get them inside. As soon as I came back out, you stepped out of what looked like a black hole,” Jeremy answered. “Now answer my questions.”
“Wow, I had to be with Beyland at least thirty minutes. I wonder if he had me in another realm and one with a different time set?” I sighed and said, “Right, never mind that, for now though, it is something I mean to keep in mind.” I looked at Jeremy. “Let’s see, what question do you want me to answer first?”
“None of them, just coom to me, lass…now,” Devin stuck in.
I went to the wall that separated us and told him softly, “Yes…I promise, I will as soon as I bring you both up to speed and after Jeremy and I go to Brently and acquire something that belongs to Allora. It is the key to so much more than keeping her out of MacLeod. Devin, a notion came to me when I was with Beyland, as I listened to his story…”
“His story?” Jeremy was at full attention. “You can’t think that whatever he told you was true?”
“In fact, I can. Apparently, even though he freely admits to being wicked, he does not lie and won’t tolerate being lied to. What he told me was definitely true,” I answered.
“Ye may nae go to Brently and ye cannae believe anything a Dark Warlock tells ye! They can manipulate the truth,” Devin interjected.
Our palms were still plastered to the wall. Electricity spun from his essence into mine. I silently marveled at it. It was difficult to break away. It was even harder not to open the portal and go to him, hug him close, feel secure in the safety of his arms.
Instead, we went inside and sat in the library while I told them my entire conversation with the Dark Warlock and how he had allowed me to see my grandmother from a portrait he had of her and from his memory.
I stared at Devin and said, “So, you will forgive me, but I did agree to find the notes you made on the formula that allows you to be a day-walker.”
“Aye, lass, ye did what ye had to do. I dinnae mind because it will do Ramon nae good whatsoever to have them and ye can retrieve those notes from me whenever ye like.”
“I mean to give them to Beyland in stages…buy us some time,” I told him.
“Good plan,” Jeremy agreed.
“As soon as I return from Brently…I’ll hop on over to your place and when I return, I’ll bring him a few inconsequential pages.” I tried to give the situation a light spin. From Devin’s expression, I don’t think it worked.
“Nae, lass, I’ll nae be had so flippantly. I cannae accept that ye mean to go to Brently Manor. ‘Tis unthinkable!” Devin shouted, and looked towards Jeremy. “Lad…ye cannae allow her to go.”