Freeing a Tiger's Soul (Tiger Series) (4 page)

She kissed him one last time and walked out the door.  Darren met his friend’s eye and Euan saw the misery there.

“
I have fought it far longer than
ye have.  I well ken its power.  Leave
me
and then release it back to me.  I will take it gladly now that I have tasted her sweetness.  I will never be able to repay you for this gift, Darren.”

Darren felt tears threaten his control.  He
saw his friend in the man before him as he had not seen him in many years. The Euan he remembered with the flaming red hair and quick smile stood before him and he knew that he would vanish the moment he allowed the darkness to take him again.  Darren couldn’t speak.  He wanted to rage at the cruelty of this malady.  He wanted to curse at the ridiculous torture of a good man, but he couldn’t.  All he could do was nod and walk
from the room on shaking legs.  Krisi pulled the door closed and locked it as Darren sank to the floor
pale and shaking with ex
haustion
.

The moment the door was locked Darren let out a huge sigh and Krisi heard the howl of pain from behind the door.  Her heart broke at the pain she could feel flowing from her mate.  She pressed her cheek against the cool wooden door and wept bitterly.  She opened her mind and felt for Euan.  She felt his terror and his agony.  She forced the darkness away from him and felt his relief instantly.

Then he spoke to her through the heavy wooden panel.

“Ye cannay take it all Krisi.  Do
not try.
  Please.  I could not bear for you to be harmed because of me.
”

“I will
not let you suffer alone Euan
.  This is my fault and I will help you if I can.”

She heard the weakening of her voice as well as he did and knew that he would not allow her to take his pain much longer.

“Please, Krisi, don’t force me to keep you out.  Your presence is the only comfort I have.”

She knew his meaning and gradually allowed the darkness to seep back into him and out of her own mind.  She knew that he was suffering, but she didn’t have the strength to fight it any longer.   She sank to the cool stone floor beside Darren and let her exhaustion claim her as it had Darren.

5

Krisi felt herself being lifted and she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes to see who had lifted her.  Her back was soon met with a soft bed and she heard the familiar chatter of Eva, Cara, and their daughters.  She moaned and felt the bed dip at her side.  Then a cool cloth was pressed to her head.  She opened her eyes to find a smiling Eva sitting with her.

“I must say Krisi.  I never expected to find my husband wrapped around you in slumber.  I should be cross with you
I suppose
, but I am not.  I smell another man on you and I think that means more than the scent of my dear mate.”

Krisi saw the mirth dancing in Eva’s eyes and relaxed again.

“
Why would I slumber with Darren?
I think he would crush me as he slept.”
  Krisi grumbled.

“Apparently not.  We found ye in the corridor cuddled in his arms not a few minutes ago.”

Krisi looked to Cara for confirmation and Cara smiled and nodded.

“Why?”

The women laughed as Kris scrunched her face in puzzlement.

“We will ask him when he wakes if you do not remember.”

Krisi let her mind float back to earlier and then it hit her. 

“Euan!”  She sat up in bed and felt the room tilt.  “What is the matter with me?”

“We do not know.  We were afraid something terrible had happened to the both of ye, but Deaglan was convinced that you were only tired.”

“We forced the darkness from him.”  Her eyes grew sad.  “I don’t know how he withstands it.”

Cara shuttered at the memory of the darkness
they had entered to retriev
e Krisi’s soul from the evil
that had claimed her.

“How could he live like that for so long?”  Cara whispered.

“I do not know,” came Darren’s deep voice from the doorway.  “I could barely stand it for a few minutes.  He is far stronger than I.”

“Darren!”  Eva flew into his arms.  “I was so worried about you!”

“Nay lass.  I am well.  I took the darkness so Euan could spend a few moments with his mate.”

He bent and kissed Eva’s cheek.

“Gross.”  Krisi heard from the corner of the room where Angelica and Hope sat.  She want
ed to laugh at the look on Hope
’s face but she held it in whe
n she saw the frown mar Angelica
’s young face.

“Doesn’t Colin kiss you?”  Angelica whispered.

“Well, yes, but he isn’
t old!”  Hope demanded.

Angelica
looked as if she had been slapped.  She looked up with tears glistening in her eyes to find Deaglan watching her with sorrow in his eyes.  Angelica dropped her eyes immediat
ely and refused to meet his gaze
.

Krisi felt her heart ache for Deaglan.  His mate was unsure of him it seemed and it was clearly breaking his heart.

“How is Euan?”  Krisi asked into the silence of the room.

“He was sleeping w
hen I rose from the floor.”  Darren’s
cheeks went ruddy
when he spoke
.
  “I cannay believe I was so weak that I sank to the floor like a woman in a swoon.”

“Aye ye did.”  Eve confirmed.  “We found ye wrapped around another lass.”

Darren frowned.

“Aye!”  Eva continued.  “Ye were wrapped around fair Krisi so tightly that it took all three of us to dislodge ye.  I am sore angry at ye for it too.”

“Now Eva
…”  He broke off when he saw the laughter dancing in Eva’s eyes.  He swatted her backside and kissed her cheek again.
 

Krisi smiled at his discomfort.  “Thank you for checking on him
Darren
.”

Darren smiled.  “We will find a way to beat this thing that has a hold on him.  I have never seen anything like this before.  I th
ink we will take him back to St
ewart Castle and ask Lady Charlotte and Karic what they think on the matter.”

“Would it be safe for him to travel
so far
?
”

“We will
wait a while at least until after the festivities.  Then I think if we keep him under heavy guard and try to help him bear his burden
I think this will be our best hope.”

“I want to travel with you.”

“I don’t think that would be wise.  He reacts far more
violently
when you are near.”

“I can help him fight it now that I know what to do.  Between us we can keep him comfortable.  I know I can help him.”

Krisi stood from her bed and walked on shaky legs to where Darren stood.  She was a tiny creature whose head barely reached his massive chest, but her presence was strong and her strength glowed within her with a piercing light. 

“He is my mate and I refuse to be separated from him.  I have this right by
your
law and I demand it.”

“Aye ye do, but I would remind ye that the mating has not been finished.
”  Darren placed his great fists on his hips and looked sternly down at her.
 
“
I think ye’ll find that Liam will agree with me and ask ye ta stay behind.
  “Tis for yer own safety that I ask it of ye.
”

Darren took a deep breath and was assaulted by a new scent.  Euan had marked her.  Somehow Euan had marked her while Darren struggled to keep the darkness at ba
y.  The implications of that hit
Darren hard.  If Euan was able to reach for his cat enough to allow his teeth to grow and mark his mate then he could just as easily taken out her throat.  He had refrained from harming her though.

“We will ask Liam, Deaglan, Balor, and Evan.  We have been together for many years and we know Euan best.  I ask that you accept our decision and abide by it.”

“If I like the outcome of your discussion then I will abide by it.”  She shrugged.  “If not I will make my own decision.”

Darren exhaled harshly.  “You are an exasperating wench, you know that?”

K
risi just smiled up at the huge warrior and patted his hairy arm.  She turned to return to her bed when a wave of dizziness took her by surprise and she stumbled.  Darren scooped her into his arms and deposited her back in her bed.

“I can see that you are ready to travel with all the haste the situation requires.  I will ask again that ye reconsider your request and stay here where you will be safe.”

Krisi ignored his plea and closed her eyes on the room.   She had made up her mind and there was nothing Darren or anyone else could say to change it.”

6

Euan awoke feeling strong for the first time in recent memory.  He usually woke feeling drained and weak.  What had changed? 

Kris
i
one

Her name came to him on the gentle breeze that ruffled the
dark
curtains at the window.  He felt a stirring in his mind and knew that someone was trying to comfort him.  He had an odd feeling that he must go to this person.  He must seek them out, but he knew not how or where to start his journey.

Come to me and I will help you fight the darkness.  Come to me and all will be well.  Come to me and know that there is hope.
 
The voice was faint as if it was coming from a great distance.

How? 
He thought desperately trying to understand what was happening to him.  He felt the sweet peace that filled him, body and mind.  It was an innocence that he had never encountered in all of his years.  He felt ashamed for the things he had done in his life as the light in his mind shown on them.  He remembered some of the women he had shared with his brother, but not their names or faces.  He remembered the act and the feeling he had afterward.  He remembered laughing with his brother about the wenchs, but he didn’t remember caring about any of them.  None had been his mate and therefore none were important.

His shame threatened to choke him and he allowed a sob to tear through his aching throat.

Then the image of his mother was illuminated in his mind.  Her dark eyes and vivid smile made his heart swell with love.  Then he remembered
struggling against his brother’s hold
as he watched men attack his mother’s ravaged body as she suffered through her brutal assault as his father lay dying, watching as his beloved mate was raped and tortured.
  Then he remembered his mother as she strived to remain strong after losing her mate.  She lasted only a short time after the death of his father and he still mourned her loss.

A memory he had not remembered before then surfaced.  He remembered his mother opening the door of the cellar where she had made him and Evan promise to stay when the wolves attacked.  Her face had been battered and bloody.  Her eyes had been streaming tears, but she had opened her arms to her sons and rejoiced in their safety.  He had heard the men asking about the boys, but neither of his parents had spoken of their hiding place and they had suffered for their silence.  Her whispered words came to his mind.

“You are more than just my sons.  You hold a light inside you that will never be extinguished.  I saw it on the day you were born.  You will do great things if you stand together.  Nothing will harm you as long as you are together.”

“Why did they do this Mamma?”  He had asked as he buried his face in her breast.

“They want your soul Euan.”

“Mine?”  He had looked to his brother then.

“Aye.  Yours.  Evan is strength to you, but it is your soul that hold the answers that so many seek.  Guard it and let your brother help you.”

Tears rolled down
Euan
’s face.  He
could take no more
.
H
e begged to be released from the torment of his memories. 
His heart was so heavy he thought it would fall from his chest. 
Then the light changed.  It became warmer and more brilliant.

You have been given a treasure more precious than gold.  A treasure that can never be taken from you. 
A brother closer than any friend and a
mate who will never be tarnished by the things of this world while remaining strong and brilliant she will be all that is soft and loving in your arms.  You must first earn her love and prove that you are strong enough to care for her.  You have been tainted with only a portion of what fought to destroy her years ago.  The evil has grown strong within you and now it is time to fight it or lose everything.  You must be willing to sacrifice everything to keep what you love most.  You must come to me.
  You must find a way to strengthen the bond of brotherhood or all will be lost.