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cutting his hand on a rusty fishing hook. The new
supplies really weighed her down, but they would come in handy
during an emergency.
    Her bag was full and her heart was pounding
as she slipped quietly out the back door and down the porch steps.
She sat down at the bottom of the stairway to wait, wondering how
on earth Tiarn was ever going to find her in the maze of suburban
homes. Danu and Dagda each laid their heads on one knee, and purred
contentedly. They thought it was just another night under the
stars. She listened to their contented purr, reached out to scratch
their ears, and gave them a half-hearted smile.
    “Don’t worry, guys,” she told them, though
they were hardly the ones who were doing the worrying. “Everything
is going to work out just fine. I’m sure he’ll be here any
minute.”
    Morrigan heard a disgruntled half-snort,
half-chuckle. She knew it was Tiarn even before the underbrush
rustled. He sprang from his hiding place and was suddenly standing
in front of her with his bare, sun-kissed arms crossed over his
chest. She couldn’t help but notice his arms were covered in thick
black hair. The glow of the moon played across his beard-shadowed
face, making him look even more mysterious than he had earlier. She
had to catch her breath as she watched him glide toward her in all
his dark glory.
    “It is just like royalty to be late,” he
complained. “I have been waiting for you out here for nearly ten
minutes.”
    “I’m . . . I’m sorry . . . .” Morrigan
stuttered, and then wondered why she was apologizing. She had
looked at the clock right before she stepped outside, and it was
exactly twelve o’clock. She wasn’t late at all. Tiarn was just
trying to get under her skin. “Wait a minute, I . . . .”
    “You what, Princess?”
    He took a step toward her with a casual smirk
on his lips. Morrigan didn’t like his cocky grin any more than she
liked his condescending tone of voice. She was ready to spew a
whole line of unladylike words at him, but she was cut off from her
retaliation when Danu and Dagda simultaneously leapt to their feet
and let out a blood-curdling hiss that sounded somewhat excessive
given the unthreatening circumstances. Morrigan had never seen them
react so strongly to anyone. She was going to apologize for their
uncharacteristic behavior, but before she could, the cats jumped in
front of Tiarn with their fangs barred and their hair standing on
end. If that wasn’t shocking enough, Tiarn leapt backward, fell on
all fours, and snarled right back at them. His emerald eyes flashed
for just a moment to an eerie diamond-shaped yellow before he
collected himself and backed away.
    “Guardians!” A low snarl emanated from the
back of his throat. “What are you doing with Guardians?”
    “Stop it! Sit down!”
    Morrigan wasn’t sure who she was addressing,
the man or the animals. Luckily, they both obeyed her command. She
stepped in between them to avoid any further confrontations. The
cats took a seat on either side her legs, but their posture hardly
relaxed. They still glared warily at the newcomer, even though
their hisses died down to an occasional soft growl.
    “Dirty, filthy beasts!” Tiarn snarled as he
climbed to his feet. “I hate Guardians.”
    “They’re just little cats,” Morrigan told
him. “What’s the big deal?”
    “Just cats! Hah!” He was standing at a
careful distance, even though they had started licking their paws
nonchalantly. “They are much more than simple cats! Though even
those I find distasteful.”
    Morrigan narrowed her eyes. “What do you
mean?”
    “Never mind. It does not matter.” Tiarn
dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. “They are not
coming with us.
    “They most certainly are coming!”
    Tiarn growled again. “I beg to differ with
you, Your Highness. They would only get in the way. Possibly even
get killed.”
    Danu raised her head from her grooming to
hiss at him again, as though she had taken that last