The Dark Highlander

“The Tuatha Dé’s fury was immense. They scattered their once-friends, now bitter enemies, to the far corners of the earth. They punished the evil ones, the Druids who’d chosen greed over honor, who’d loved power more than they’d valued the sanctity of life—not by killing them—but by locking them into a place between realms, giving them the immortality for which they’d lusted. Eternity in nothingness, without form, without cease.”

“By Amergin, would that not be hell?” Silvan breathed.

Chloe nodded with wide eyes.

Dageus made a choking noise. “Och, so that’s who the Draghar are!”

“Who?” Chloe and Silvan said as one.

He frowned. “The scribe tells that even before the disagreement with the Tuatha Dé, the thirteen Druids had formed a separate, secret sect within the larger numbers of their brethren, with their own talisman and name. Their symbol was a winged serpent, and they called themselves the Draghar.”

It was Chloe’s turn to make a strangled sound. “A w-winged serpent?”

Dageus glanced at her. “Aye. Does that mean something to you, lass?” he asked swiftly.

“Dageus, that man who attacked me in your penthouse—didn’t you see his tattoo?”

He shook his head. “I saw it, but I didn’t get a good look at it. I doona ken what it was.”

“It was a winged serpent! I saw it up close when he was on top of me in the kitchen.”

“Bletherin’ hell,” Dageus exploded. “It begins to make sense.” He leapt to his feet so abruptly that the Book of Manannán tumbled to the floor. “But . . .” he trailed off. “How could that be?” he muttered, looking baffled.

Chloe was about to ask what made sense and how what could be, when Silvan rose and retrieved the fallen tome. While Dageus paced, muttering beneath his breath, Silvan continued reading where Dageus had left off.

“ ’Tis said that some time after the Druids were scattered, and the thirteen locked away in their prison, a small band of those who survived regrouped in an effort to reclaim their lost lore. Och, listen to this: An Order arose, founded upon the divination of a seer who claimed the Draghar would one day, far in the future, return and reclaim the powers the Tuatha Dé had stolen from them. Apparently this seer wrote a detailed prophecy, describing the circumstances under which the ancient ones would return, and the Druid sect of the Draghar was formed to watch and await such events that would signify the prophecy’s fruition—” He broke off abruptly, read a few moments in silence, then flipped the page. Then he scanned through the final few remaining sheaves. “That’s it. ’Tis all that was written about it.” He cursed, skimming and reskimming the subsequent pages. Then he snapped the tome shut and placed it aside.

Chloe’s mind was whirling as she watched Dageus pace. She and Silvan exchanged uneasy glances.

Finally Dageus stopped pacing and looked at his father. “Well, that seals it. Chloe and I must return to her century.”

“Doona be hasty, lad,” Silvan protested. “We need to reflect on this—”

“Nay, Da,” he said, his features taut, his gaze dark. “ ’Tis evident that the man who attacked Chloe was a member of this Draghar sect. Their prophecy must have guided them to me. From what we just read, ’tis apparent they doona have the power of the stones, so they can’t come through time after me. I doona know how to find the sect in this century, but in hers, they know where I am.”

“You want them to find you?” Silvan exclaimed. “Why?”

“Who else might possess the most detailed information on these beings that inhabit me, than the Druid Order that has preserved their Prophecy all these millennia?” He cast a sweeping glance around the contents of the chamber. “We could waste many moons searching here, to no avail, and I … well, let’s just say I’ve a feeling my time is swift being exhausted.”

Chloe drew a deep, fortifying breath. “I think he’s right, Silvan,” she said. “The Keltar have all this lore about the Keltar, it’s logical to assume that the Draghar have an equally large collection of works about the Draghar. Besides, you can continue searching here, and pass it forward to us, if you find something. If I understand this time-travel stuff correctly, anything you find would be waiting for us when we get back.”

“I doona like this,” Silvan said stiffly.

“Da, even if we’d not uncovered this information today, I wouldn’t have been able to remain much longer and you know it. In case you’ve no’ noticed, my eyes—”