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  Seamus returned the hug, having trouble speaking through the lump in his throat. “Da, you know I could not bring these people anywhere near any of you. I wish I could have gotten in touch with you to let you know I was all right. I do not blame you for giving up and moving on with life. Seventeen years is a long time.”

  “Aye, but I still should have listened to Fiona. Her sight had never failed us before.” Roarke hugged his son once more and went back to the work he was doing.

  Seamus turned and walked into the small cavern to try to get some sleep.

  Hearing a commotion, Seamus came running out of the smaller cavern. “What in the bloody hell is going on?”

  The scene that met him took his breath away. Noel and Brian were covered in blood and he could see the bullet holes were not healing.

  Noel, unable to stand from the pain of his wounds, slumped to the floor and told them, “These guys are now playing for keeps. They do not want us alive anymore as they are no longer firing tranquilizers.” Then he passed out.

  Seamus turned to Brian to get more of the story. “What happened?”

  Gritting his teeth, Brian explained, “When Noel set the storm on them, I felt an energy flux but thought it was his doing. When it was over and the men were cleaning up the mess we noticed some of them were missing. When I contacted Colin, he told us they were on top of us. They did not fire on us until we dropped our shield to come back here. How they knew exactly when we were vulnerable to attack is beyond me. Goddess, this is a mess. I may not be good with electronic gadgets, but this seems bigger, more like magic.”

  Shannon, materializing in the cave, and was at Noel’s side without a word to the others. Within seconds, five other healers arrived. Two went immediately to Brian. The others joined Shannon.

  Colin pulled Seamus off to the side. “Seamus, I cannot figure out what happened. Brian and Noel were about a mile from the Golden Boys’ camp. They were in owl form. First Noel set a family of bear onto the camp. It did not take long and they were hearing shouts and the sound of gunfire. Noel had put a shield around the bears to keep them safe as they invaded the campsite. He and Brian swooped in so they were just inside the spell boundary and watched the chaos the bears were creating. Noel thanked the bears and they took off.”

  Colin rubbed the back of his neck. “Within seconds, the wind picked up and lightening ripped through the sky, illuminating the entire area as hail and rain pummeled the campsite. Five minutes later everything quieted, but the camp was a total mess. Not a tent was standing, nor a window left in any of the trucks parked there. They could see a few of the men on the ground and others moaning and limping as they came back into the camp. They all looked shell-shocked.” Colin took a deep breath.

  Seamus put his hand on Colin’s shoulder and squeezed. “Keep going.”

  “When Noel started his storm, there were twenty-five of these men in the campsite and when it ended ten of them were on our side of the perimeter. We did not even see them there until Brian contacted me saying something was off. How is it possible for them to have been able to breach the spell perimeter? To top that, us not seeing it on our equipment is unbelievable. Worse yet, none of us felt it.”

  “Col, if I had an answer to how these people are doing anything, I would have solved this seventeen years ago. Every time I think I have the upper hand they pull something new.”

  Seamus glanced over toward Noel.

  “We need to do something and quick. If Brian and Noel had not been in transport at the time they were shot, I think these people would have killed them once they brought them down. I do not think we should just wait around until they come to us anymore,” Colin said as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

  “I agree except for the fact that they are able to detect us and we cannot detect them. If we go out there, just how many of us will they get before we get them? We have to wait until Da gets back from the council to see what they want to do first, and then we can make plans.”

  “Fair enough.”

  They walked back over to where the healers examined Noel and Brian. Shannon looked up and said, “We need to get them to Brú na Bóinne. They should be healing by now and they are not. We are going to take Noel, as he is not coming around. Brian will be able to transport himself, but it is going to have to be quick as he is fading fast. I do not know what is going on, but I do not like this at all.” Shannon glared up at Seamus. “How are these people able to bring our people down this easily? For that matter, how in the hell can they even detect us?”

  “Shannon, I do not know how they are accomplishing half the things they are doing. That is the reason I could not come home for the last seventeen years. Every time I turned around these people were coming after me and now I have involved all of you as well.”

  She stood and put her arms around him and whispered. “I always knew you were alive, but neither Mum nor I could get a clear fix on you. You are our family, Seamus, and we are always going to be there for you. You should have come home and let us help. You have taken on this burden by yourself to protect our people, and it should have never been yours alone.”

  Seamus hugged her back. “Thank you, sweets, but I had to try to do it, and now, looking back I think I made a grave mistake, because these madmen have had years more to develop even more lethal technology against us. But remember there is someone that is feeding them information, so be careful, please.”

  “I will, and I will talk to you as soon as this is all over. Take care of yourself as well and as your mate.”

  Shannon went over to stand with the healers around Noel. They each touched him, and in seconds, they were gone along with Brian.

  When Seamus walked back into the smaller cavern, he found Megan tossing and murmuring in her sleep. He moved over and eased down to sit beside her on her bed.

  “Mommy, make them stop, make them stop. They’re hurting me. Mommy, make them stop.”

  Seamus leaned down and took Megan into his arms. “Megan, wake up. Come on, sweetheart, you are dreaming.”

  Megan came awake with a start. She was shaking so profusely Seamus produced a heavy blanket around her and held her. As her shaking subsided, she looked at him and said, “Seamus, oh God!”

  “Love, tell me what you were dreaming. You were calling for your mum and saying they were hurting you.”

  Another shudder ran through her. “I was strapped to a table, and these men were cutting me and poking me with needles. It was horrible.”

  “It is all right, a ghrá, you are safe now. It was only a dream.” He hoped he was right. If these mad men at Golden Enterprise ever got a hold of her again, that is exactly what they would be doing to her.

  “No, that’s what they did to me when I was in the lab with my mother. I remember waking up after they kidnapped me. They had me in a room and they kept doing things to me to see if I would heal. They had all these probes stuck to my head while they were doing it. It hurt so much that all I could do was scream, and they did not care. Then afterwards they put me in that cage.”

  “Shhh, a ghrá, you are not there now and I am not going to let them take you again. I will die first.”

  Looking at him, tears swimming in her eyes, she asked, “Seamus, they did that to my mother as well, didn’t they?”

  Not wanting to make things worse, but knowing he had no choice he said, “Love, I cannot say for sure, as I was not in the room, but I would have to say more than likely. I know they did it to me. I was in my wolf form and it was not pleasant.”

  “How, how long were you there before you escaped?”

  “Almost a month.”

  “How did you stand it?”

  “At times, it was not easy. With the way our bodies heal, I did not have much choice.”

  “I think if I had to live through it again I would will myself to die.”

  Goddess knows he wished many a time that he could have left his body. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he was not going to let those people
get away with what they had done to him or any of the others that were in that lab.

  Megan’s eyes grew big and her breath caught. “Could that be how my mother died? She willed herself to go. Is that possible?”

  “Megan, your mum was a very strong and powerful woman, so yes, she very well could have done so, but I do not think she would have left you there willingly. No, I think it had to be something else.”

  “Then why did she die? Everyone says that the injuries she had should not have killed her.”

  “A stór, I hope someday we can figure that out. For now I want you to relax and let your dream go.” He paused, “I hate to tell you any more to upset you, but we have another bit of a problem. It seems these men are using a new tactic to get to you. Noel and Brian went out to see if they could find out what was going on at their camp and during the storm that Noel produced some of the men breached our spell boundary. We do not know how they managed it either. Brian said he felt a tremendous amount of magical energy in the air, but Noel was expending quite a lot so he did not think anything of it until ten of the men appeared inside the spell perimeter.”

  Gathering his thoughts he continued, “At any rate, they do not seem to want to capture any of us anymore because they shot at Noel and Brian at the exact moment they dropped their protective shields so they could transport back here. A few of the bullets hit them. Whatever this group is using, it is preventing our natural healing. Our healers, along with Shannon, have transported Noel and Brian to Brú na Bóinne to work on them there.”

  Megan was having trouble breathing, let alone thinking. How could this group have the ability do so much damage to her people? Funny, in less than a week she was thinking of them as her people. Nevertheless, this was also her family, and in the last few days, she had seen three of her uncles hurt. Now she didn’t know if Noel or Brian were going to live. Why was this company so interested in her? Hadn’t they done enough to her years ago? Somehow, they had to stop these people. But how? She didn’t know the answer to that question.

  “Seamus, what are we going to do? If they keep coming at us like this, it won’t be long before these creeps dwindle the rest of you down and finally get to me. I don’t want to see any of my family dead, nor yours, and after my dream I definitely don’t want to get back in these people’s clutches.”

  Holding her tight, he said, “Well, I will tell you one thing. We are not about to give in to the bastards. We will figure out something, Megan. There has to be some way for us to eradicate these madmen.”

  Letting out a loud breath, she said, “God, I’m scared.”

  “To tell you the truth, so am I. I thought I had gotten rid of them over the last seventeen years. What I have done was give our enemy time to develop all sorts of new weapons to use on us. Looking back, I should have gone to my father and the council, but I was so afraid to bring these thugs anywhere my people. Now we have twice the mess on our hands. On top of that, these guys are determined to get their hands on you.”

  “They’ve been keeping track of me all my life, so I don’t think it would have mattered what you did. These people would’ve evaded all of you anyway. They seem to be creating technology that can do a lot of damage to us. You said yourself, you tracked down everyone that had been in that lab, and so I don’t think bringing in your family years ago would have made a difference.”

  Shrugging, he replied, “Perhaps you are right. We will never know for sure, will we?”

  “At this point, I don’t think it matters.”

  “A mhúirnín, have you thought about the Deasghnáth?”

  “Yes, I’d rather have had time to get to know you better and come to terms with being a mythical being before we did this. With all that’s happening and now remembering what they did to me when I was a kid, as you said earlier, let’s go for it.”

  Some of the tension seemed to slide out of his eyes as she gave into his wishes.

  “Thank you, a mhúirnín. At least that will give all of us a little more peace of mind. I will promise you this, Megan, I will still let you get to know me in any way you deem necessary even though we have preformed the Deasghnáth.”

  Nibbling her lower lip Megan asked, “When are we doing this? Will you please explain how it all works before we start?”

  He held her and smiled. “Aye, I will not let you go into this blind, a stór. Now see if you can get a little more rest while I see how Noel and Brian are doing and then we will take some time to prepare you for the Deasghnáth.”

  Megan nodded and laid back down as Seamus headed to the main cave. She was not sure she could get back to sleep or that she even wanted to. After her dream and worrying about agreeing to the ritual, she could not quiet her mind enough to sleep anyway.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Seamus materialized behind Colin and watched what was happening on the monitor screens. “Colin, have you spoken to Shannon and found out how Noel and Brian are faring?”

  “Aye, they are healing, now that they are in Brú na Bóinne. Conor is running some tests on them and trying to discern what this group is using to cause their inability to heal. They should be back by morning.”

  Seamus clinched his fists. “How is it these blaggards have so many devices that they are able to use against us? Their technology is far superior to anything I have ever encountered, but you have always been the one to tinker with electronics. Have you ever seen these kinds of advances?”

  Colin glanced up at Seamus and then back to the monitors. “No, I have never seen the likes of it, but I hope they have run out now, or we will be in a world of hurt, not to mention the fact that these men are mad. If they are still kidnapping and experimenting on our people, it only seems to be here. Conor said that they could find no one that has gone missing in Ireland itself. Yet there are some reports of our people disappearing over here in the States.”

  “If these people who own Golden Enterprises keep going at the rate they seem to be, it will be only a matter of time and you will be seeing it occurring at home as well.” Every muscle in his body ached at this moment. He arched his back and wished for a week’s sleep.

  “That does seem to be the consensus. Da will be here within the hour, so I do not think you are going to get much of a chance at any sleep.” Colin patted Seamus’s shoulder and grinned.

  “Not that I could anyway, with all the goings on at the moment. I am going in and see if I can clear my head for a bit though. When Da gets here let me know, or if these guys get anywhere close to here.” He pointed to the screen in front of Colin.

  “Aye, I will do that. Now go in and close your eyes.”

  When Seamus was alone, he sat in a chair, put his head back, and closed his eyes. This had to be one of the worst days since his kidnapping. How had he missed the person or persons behind this whole scheme? Then again, he did not know if they had ever made a personal appearance in the lab, but there should have been something in all the paperwork he had destroyed that would have led Seamus to them.

  Whoever this is did not waste any time building an army to come after his people. The man also has to have some exceptional scientists to create the technology and the substances they have been using so far against them. Then there was the fact that someone must be giving him information on the Tuatha to be able to get this close to them. How were they able to breach his spell boundary? They had to have someone around who has a great deal of magical powers.

  Seamus felt as though he had let his people down by allowing this to happen. Granted he did not know these people had such an elaborate enterprise or he would have gone to the council himself years ago.

  How do we stop them? He could only hope his father would have some answers. Seamus felt an energy shift within the cave and he knew his father was back from the council meeting. And he was not alone. Pushing himself to his feet, he went into the main cave to greet them. As he walked up, he saw his father along with three other High Lords of his people. He knew they were here to discuss not only what should be
done about Golden Enterprise, but they also wanted to see Megan as he was sure his father had told them of her extraordinary talents.

  He greeted each in turn with a wrist-to-wrist handshake. Fáilte an Tiarna Uasal, Ó Nualáid Mac Mathúna, An Tiarna Uasal Diamuid Ó Néill, agus an Tiarna Uasal Quinlon Mac Suibhne. Tá sé go maith chun tú a feiceáil tar éis na blianta go léir. {Welcome High Lord Nolen Mac Mohan, High Lord Dermot O’Neill, and High Lord Quinlon McSweeny. It is good to see you again after all these years.}

  Greetings finished, Nolen, who was about fifty years Seamus’s senior, grabbed him in a bear hug and said, “Goddess, Seamus, it is so good to see you. We thought you were dead for so many years. Why did you not come to us as soon as you escaped?”

  “To tell you the truth, A Tiarna Uasal, I was afraid to lead these bastards to any more of our people. In addition, we have a traitor in our brethren somewhere, as they know too much about us. I thought I could take care of the problem myself. As you can see, I made more of a mess of it than even I knew.”

  It was Quinlon, who was close to one thousand years old, who answered him. “None of us are blaming you for the goings on here. In fact, from what I have heard you have done a remarkable job, thus far. We have never, in all of our existence, had to deal with such a situation as this.”

  Looking perturbed, he continued, “I have made a few inquiries and found out one of my own grandnephews, his wife and daughter went missing sometime in the last fifty years. No one knew the exact time because my nephew in all his infinite wisdom cut himself off from the family when he left to go to the States. This seemed to have been common practice in some families over their displeasure of them leaving. We have set plans in motion to contact all families that migrated to find out how wide spread this problem is.”