Shoulder the Skye (Skye Druids #2)(17)
Author: Donna Grant

 

Elias’s attention shifted to the two men as they fanned out. Water dripped into his eyes and down his neck into his clothes. It wasn’t the first time he’d been outnumbered, and it likely wouldn’t be the last with his line of work.

 

The fury coming off Thin Man was palpable. He glanced at his friend, motioning toward Elias with his jaw. The second man came at Elias at the same time Thin Man made a run for the house while Bronwyn pulled herself along the ground toward the door. Elias didn’t know what was inside the manor that Thin Man wanted so desperately, but he wasn’t going to let him in.

 

Elias shot out his magic, causing it to tangle Thin Man’s feet, tripping him. Thin Man pitched forward and slammed his head on the gravel with such force that it bounced once. Thin Man tried to lift his head, then went still.

 

The second man’s fist, surrounded by magic, made contact with Elias’s abdomen. The impact was so intense that Elias dropped to his knees, gasping for air, while pain radiated outward. His attacker grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back before aiming his hand at Elias’s neck. Elias got his arms up in time to block the blow. Then he elbowed the area above the man’s knee. It caused the goon to lose his balance, and Elias tackled him, sending them both rolling on the ground.

 

Elias tasted blood when the guy hit him in the jaw, but he never stopped landing his own punches anywhere and everywhere he could until the man finally stopped moving. Elias’s breaths came in great gasps as he shoved the attacker off him and rolled to his hands and knees. He felt for a pulse. Once he was satisfied the goon was still alive, he pushed to his feet and ran the short distance to Bronwyn. As soon as he touched her, she started fighting him.

 

“Bronwyn, I’m here to help!” he shouted over the rain.

 

Finally, she lifted her head to look at him before sagging against him. He tried to turn her to the trees to take her to the vehicle he’d hidden.

 

“Nay! I need to get in the house. The house!” she shouted, her entire body shivering, her clothes plastered to her body.

 

It was closer, and he was beginning to feel every punch that had pummeled his body. Bronwyn couldn’t keep her feet and was bleeding from a head wound. Maybe the manor would be safer until he could call the Knights to help.

 

“All right, all right,” he conceded.

 

She gripped his arm tightly as he adjusted his grip to keep her upright. “You can come inside.”

 

He hurried to get them over the threshold. As soon as he did, he kicked the door shut behind him. He paused, considering where to take her.

 

“The newel. Now. I need to touch the newel,” she insisted.

 

The urgency in her voice propelled him forward before he could think twice. She kept slipping out of his grip. He winced at the pain in his rib as blood dripped from her head onto his arm, but he got her to the newel.

 

She placed her hand on it, then cursed under her breath. Bronwyn shot him a quick glance before touching her hand to her wound, coating her palm in blood before returning her hand to the post.

 

“Blood magic,” he murmured, shocked and abhorred as he stared at her hand on the wooden nob.

 

Suddenly, he was thrown off balance. Somehow, he managed to stay on his feet, but Elias belatedly realized that Bronwyn had fallen unconscious. It took him two tries to lift her into his arms because of his pain. Then he turned in a circle, once again trying to figure out where to take her. He didn’t think he’d get them up the stairs without causing more damage. In the end, he went to where he saw light.

 

The door to the parlor was slightly ajar, making it easier for him to enter. When he did, he came to a halt at the sight of a sofa bed and a rack of clothes off to the side where three pairs of shoes were neatly stacked. Surely, this wasn’t where she slept. But everything pointed to that.

 

Elias brought her to the rug before the fire. He lowered to one knee, gritting his teeth at the agony, and laid her out. Her clothes were soaked. If he didn’t want her to catch a cold, he needed to get her out of them as well as tend to her wound. He grabbed the throw blanket folded over the chair’s arm and put it near her as he tugged off her boots. He set them next to the fire to dry. Then he removed her shirt and sweatpants, opting to leave her in her underwear. Elias wrapped her in the blanket to keep her warm. Then, he stood.

 

He weaved as the room spun. He had to grab the chair to keep on his feet, but once his head cleared, he strode out of the room. Elias locked the front door, just in case. He jerked off his wet coat, hanging it on a peg. Then he went in search of supplies. He found a small first-aid kit. He brought that, along with a bowl of hot water and a towel to the parlor, where he set about cleaning the blood from her.

 

The injury was near her hairline. Once he’d removed the blood from her face and neck, he could see the wound clearly. It was about an inch long, but he didn’t think it needed stitches. He cleaned it and then used a butterfly bandage to hold the skin together.

 

Next, he checked her for other injuries. Her hands were cut up from the gravel, but the wounds were superficial. The laceration on her right knee was far worse. He cleaned and bandaged it before he checked her feet. He didn’t like the look of the swollen left ankle.

 

Elias pulled back the covers on the sofa bed and moved her onto it before tucking the blankets around her. He glanced at the fire to see it nearly out. There was a small pile of wood nearby that she obviously used. What he didn’t understand was why she didn’t use magic to keep the fire going instead of logs. It was a simple spell, one of the first children learned.

 

It was just as confusing why she hadn’t used her magic against Thin Man. Elias would have to learn the answers to those questions later. He chanted the spell to keep the fire burning until he or Bronwyn put it out.

 

Only then did he remove his boots and set them on the other side of the fire. It was time to call the Knights. Elias reached into his wet back pocket, only to find it empty. He realized he must have put his phone in his coat, but when he looked, he didn’t find it there either. Had it fallen out in the scuffle? That was the only explanation. He returned to the parlor and found a laptop and mobile. Just as he expected, he couldn’t unlock the phone to make a call.

 

“Bloody hell,” he murmured.

 

His head pounded, not to mention his ribs. He didn’t think any were broken, but that knowledge didn’t help the pain. Elias needed something to dull the aches. He found some aspirin in the first-aid kit and took them.

 

“Well, it looks like I’ll be here for a wee bit,” he said with a sigh.

 

He stripped out of his wet clothes and gathered up the ones he’d removed from Bronwyn. After doing his best to scrub the blood from her shirt, he hung the garments to dry in the utility room. He found a downstairs bathroom and washed away the worst of the dirt and blood from himself. By the time he returned to the parlor, he was shaking from the cold.