“So, you think she will have us squirreled out of here before morning and burn us alive?” I was incredulous.
“I am sure Tomin, who is a good man, has nae idea what Rana Tomin is planning. I believe he simply thinks leaving us here like this is probably the safest thing to do for us and for his position. He cannae show favoritism.”
“Not liking your guy Tommy! Favoritism is one thing, basic decency is another,” I snapped. “He left us in a net, without food, without water, and without bathroom facilities. That is no way to treat any prisoners.”
“Aye, to some extent ye are in the right of it, but consider the fact that they believe if they remove our netting, we both would perhaps retaliate, especially ye, as ye are a witch.”
“Yeah, well, still not liking him or his daughters. Seems to have failed in raising them,” I grumbled.
“Aye, he did the best he could when he lost his wife and they were young when they lost their mother.” Devin sighed.
“So losing your mother makes it okay to burn people you don’t like, alive?” I said, not even a bit sympathetic.
“Shh…” he whispered.
We heard hard steps…boots on the ground, then the cell door was flung open.
“You know what to do and where to go. I will meet you there,” Rana said in a hard voice.
“Rana,” Devin said. “Ye dinnae want to do this…what will yer father think?”
“He will never know. He will think the witch helped you escape and that you went back to your world. He will declare war on Draoidheil, and I will finally get what I want—their destruction!”
“Or yers,” Devin said.
“Take them,” she snapped.
We were picked up, and I noticed they used another route to a side exit where, of course, a truck waited. We were dumped in the bed of the truck and I looked at Devin and said, “Well, I guess it is time to leave.”
“Aye, lass…‘tis time!”
“Want the honors?” I asked, and grinned at Devin.
“Och aye, it will feel good to break the binds that hold!” He laughed out loud and did precisely that.
We quietly scrambled out of the net and I poofed us away in a cloud of purple. We came out of my purple cloud and I looked around. “Do you know where we are?”
“Aye, ye did good, lass, we are near the cottage,” he said, and picked me up. “Off we go.”
Vampire speed and we were at the cottage woods in less than five minutes. We stopped and looked around to make certain they had not left guards at the place.
It had never occurred to them that we would be able to escape. No one about. A moment later, we flashed into the cottage, where Devin put me on my feet and rushed into his bedroom and picked up a floorboard and produced the notebooks.
“Do you think they noticed we are gone yet?”
“If not, they will soon,” he said gravely, and picked me up once again.
He took me to the barrier. “Hurry, lass…into the portal…go!” he said.
With a thought, my silver skinny portal opened and I turned to him. “Get to your cave and stay away from the barrier. This is where they will look for you.”
“Aye, go now!”
I stepped through and immediately turned to watch Devin race off in a flash of color, and sighed. When would I be able to see him again?
~ Seventeen ~
IT WOULD SOON BE MORNING! I wondered what would happen with Tomin and the Elfin community when Rana told them whatever story she might concoct.