She'd talk to Marianne, she decided, climbing out of bed and shivering in the cold dawn air. Marianne would have some insights about dreams. And for now, she'd get dressed and head down for breakfast. After dreams like that, there was no way she was getting back to sleep. Not this morning.
It was strange, though. For all that she'd been walking through the fog in her dreams, when she thought about it, she couldn't remember being able to see the sky. No — right above her wasn't the cold Scottish night sky. It had been something else. It had been… sandstone. She'd been walking through the caves. What did that mean? Was there danger there, in the caves? Was the creature she'd seen hiding there? Did it have something to do with her being brought here?
"Talk to Marianne," she told herself crossly, trying not to get carried away with questions.
But her dreams preoccupied her nevertheless — so much so that she almost forgot that she had an appointment with Fiona. The woman slid into place beside her at the dining table, and she jumped a little, shocked by her sudden appearance. Fiona's bright smile faded a little, concern replacing it as she looked at Helena.
"You okay, babe? You're jumpy."
"I didn't sleep very well," she admitted, rubbing her face. "Sorry."
"Why not? Marianne was telling me you looked about ready to pass out at dinner last night." Fiona stroked her hair back from her face, an oddly soothing gesture, and Helena shook her head ruefully with a smile.
"Yeah, I was exhausted. Then when I got to sleep I had all these… crazy dreams."
"You did?" Fiona looked intrigued — and Helena remembered that she, Audrina, and Marianne were all coven mates, whatever that meant. Fellow witches, she supposed. Would Fiona have any insight into her dreams?
"Yeah. I was walking through the fog, and I kept seeing… weird stuff. I was wearing a burned dress, and … there was this monster…" She shook her head, frustrated. "It's so annoying — it was all really clear and intense when I was dreaming it, but now I try to talk about it —"
"Yeah, dreams are always like that. The burned dress is interesting," she said thoughtfully. "Your ancestor was burned alive, wasn't she?"
"Yeah. It's her dress, too. This one, actually," she added, plucking at the sleeve of the dress she was wearing. "Kind of spooky."
"It might have been her reaching out," Fiona said frankly. "Trying to tell you something. Did anything else happen?"
She hesitated… but she'd trusted Fiona this far, hadn't she? "I saw… I saw a creature, I don't know. A monster. Kind of human, but not really. It was really tall… wearing these like, badly preserved animal skins, I think… it called me Brigid." She shivered. "I thought… I saw something a little like it my first night here, through the fog. Hunting sheep, I think. Probably hallucinating, but…"
Fiona looked thoughtful. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way… I think you should tell Donal what you saw."
"In my dream?"
"The night you got here. There have been animals going missing… it might be useful." She shrugged. "Can't hurt, anyway. And I'll talk to Marianne about the dreams, too. She's better at that stuff than I am."
They finished breakfast, then Fiona pinned her with a smile. "Alright. Let's go meet Laird Donal."
Chapter 10
The Laird, it seemed, was taking audiences in his chambers, which appeared to feature several separate rooms, including the chamber Fiona ushered her into to await him, where a few chairs and an imposing wooden table took up the majority of the space. Did he and Fiona have children? Helena wondered. She couldn't imagine children using this room… unless they were tucked away safely out of sight, being cared for by a nanny or a servant or similar. But she didn't remember Fiona mentioning any children, and the vibrant, self-possessed young woman seemed like the kind of person who'd mention a family if she had one.
The Laird was waiting for them at the table, and Helena couldn't help but be surprised by how young he was. She'd been expecting a grizzled older man in his forties or fifties at least, for some reason — the title seemed so imposing, and the way people spoke of him was so hushed and respectful. But this man was barely thirty — she had a suspicion he was even younger than that, actually, but there was something in his bearing that was suggesting more maturity than his years. He was a strikingly handsome young man, with pale blond hair and deep brown eyes. Helena glanced sideways at Fiona as the Laird rose to meet them, and awkwardly sketched a curtsey like the ones she'd seen the servants give.
"Laird Donal MacClaran," Fiona intoned solemnly, but there was a twinkle in her eye that suggested she might be gently making fun of her husband. "Might I present to you — Helena Crane."
"Good to meet you at last, Helena," Donal said with a broad smile, inclining his head to her. "My apologies I couldn't have met you earlier — Brendan and I have been handling some complaints from the locals."
The door creaked behind him, and Helena realized with a start that it was Brendan coming into the room, a distracted smile on his handsome face. It was good to see him — almost too good, she realized, warmth suffusing her face. Trust her to blush at the very sight of a guy she thought was attractive. This was what she got for focusing on rocks and not romance, she supposed, suppressing the urge to groan. She had no practice when it came to finding guys attractive… and now she was going to embarrass herself in front of a man who was basically royalty. Great.
"You know Brendan, of course?" Donal enquired, quirking an eyebrow.
Helena nodded, trying to get herself together. "I do. We met on the moors," she said, suppressing a laugh.
Brendan chuckled. "Yes, we did. She emerged from the midst of a flock of sheep in the dead of night. I thought I'd lost my wits completely."
"And I understand she bears a striking resemblance to your Brigid?" Donal said softly, glancing at Brendan.
He nodded stiffly.
Fiona took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "At least we know why she's here," Fiona said gently. "And it all checks out with the curse and everything — the timing makes sense. Brigid died before the curse was lifted."
"I see," Donal said softly. "How many more women are going to come back to us before all of this is over, I wonder? Sorry, Helena," he added with a smile. "I do hope my wife's filled you in on everything that's happened here before your arrival. You're one of a great number of women who've joined us under similar circumstances."
"So I've heard," Helena said, shrugging. "It's okay. I understand you need to figure out what's going on with — the curse, and all that. I hope I can help."
"There's no need," Donal said firmly. "You're a guest here as long as you care to be." He tilted his head. "Fiona mentioned you were interested in the cliffs nearby?"
"The sandstone ones, yes. There are caves in them — I was exploring them before I was, uh. Magicked here, or whatever." She bit her lip. Were you supposed to say things like 'whatever' in front of a Laird? But he didn't seem to mind.
"Interesting. I've not heard of any caves in those cliffs."
"Well, they're there in my time," she said, hiding her irritation. "And caves don't exactly just… appear overnight. I imagine the entrance is disguised somehow, but I assure you, I'll be able to find them."
Laird Donal chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "I trust you. Brendan and I were over that way just yesterday, in fact," he said thoughtfully. "The moors between the cliffs and the castles have been very popular among shepherds for grazing their flocks this time of year, but it seems that they've had some trouble with lambs going missing. Taken by animals, perhaps."
Helena shivered, remembering her dream.
Her expression must have shifted, because Brendan was frowning at her. "Everything alright, Helena?"
"Oh, yes," she said, a little embarrassed to have reacted like that to the memory of a dream. "I just… I had this weird dream last night. No big deal." But both Brendan and Donal were looking at her intently, clearly more interested in her dream than she was. "What is it?" she asked, hesita
ntly.
"Sorry, Helena. But our time-lost women… well, they've generally had dreams of pretty high significance," Donal said, exchanging a meaningful look with Fiona. "It would be remiss of me to ignore that. What was your dream about?"
Helena bit her lip. "It sounds silly," she said, smiling a little helplessly. "But… well, the night I arrived here, I thought I saw something horrible in the fog. Some kind of monster. It was the fog, I think, and my mind playing tricks on me … stress will do that. Anyway, I dreamed about the thing again last night. It was eating lambs — catching them with its talons and eating them raw." She shuddered a little. "Unpleasant creature."
Brendan and Donal were looking at each other thoughtfully. "Could it have been a bear?" Brendan asked. "I've been working on the theory that it's an old bear, picking off the weaker animals… but, I've got to say that we've never seen bears in Scotland, or even England for the most part, only ones used and trained for entertainment. There are some brown bears in the wilds of the continent though, I suppose one could have been captured and let loose in the wilds of the moors. Would be a cruel thing to do though, I'd imagine."
She thought of the creature and shook her head firmly. "Definitely not a bear. And if it was a bear, it was the weirdest bear I've seen." She hesitated, a little nonplussed by how seriously these men were taking her dream. "Seriously, I'm pretty sure it was just… stress making me see things."
"Maybe," Donal said thoughtfully. "And then again… maybe not. Stranger things have happened around here, after all." He smiled at Fiona. "A clan that shelters witches has no business scoffing at the idea of monsters in the fog…"
"At any rate, it may not be safe to travel that way for the time being," Brendan said firmly. "Laird Donal, I'd suggest sending a few men to look around the area properly. I've come to the end of my usefulness as a patrol, at least by myself. Maybe tell them they're looking for bandits, though, not a monster," he added with a smile.
"Good thinking," Donal said. "I'll have them speak with the shepherds and maybe keep guard a few nights, just to see if they see anything out of the ordinary. Sorry to curtail your intended expedition like that, Helena, but safety comes first."
"I understand," Helena said, shrugging. If something really was taking sheep, she didn't much want to be around to find out what it was … especially if there was a small chance it could be that monster that she'd faced down in her dreams. "I could use a few more riding lessons before I head out into the real world, anyway."
"Oh, Marianne's teaching you?" Laird Donal was beaming. "She's an excellent teacher. You're in safe hands there. As for the caves… give it a few days, then we'll think about maybe sending you over with an escort. I'm interested to know about these mysterious caves that have been under our noses all these years," the Laird said with a grin. "Who knows? Might be buried treasure down there. A smuggler's trove."
"Too many stories, cousin," Brendan said drily, drawing a laugh from the man.
Fiona and Helena made their goodbyes and left, heading down the hallway. Fiona was looking at her thoughtfully.
"What do you think it was, the creature you saw?"
"Aside from a stress-induced hallucination? No idea."
"Come on. You thought all of this was a stress-induced hallucination, and you were clearly wrong about that, so —"
"I dunno. Jury's still out," Helena quipped, drawing a laugh from Fiona. They walked together out of the castle and across the courtyard, wanting to get a little bit of the weak sunlight that was pooling on the dust of the courtyard. Men were training with wooden swords nearby, and Helena was surprised to see Bethany and Delilah among them, a fearsome expression on their faces as they sparred.
"They're great, aren't they?" Fiona said with a grin. "Took the men a few months to get used to it, that's for sure, but now they're a regular fixture. The best part is they're inspiring some of the young girls to get amongst it, too. We're going to have a regular army of sword fighting women in a few years. That'll do wonders for the witchcraft rumors," she added with a snort of laughter.
"Is it really that bad around here? For women, I mean. Rights, and all that."
Fiona sighed. "Look — it's not great. When it comes to property and all that. I mean, in this castle you've got equal rights. Donal's seen to that — or I'd see to Donal," she added with a steely flash of her eyes. "But out there… well, out there, a woman with too much of the wrong kind of power… well, you know what happens." She sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you everything's wonderful here. But in Castle MacClaran, at least, you can make a decent life as a woman."
"Or?"
"Or what?"
"Is there any alternative?" Her heart was pounding. This was the question she'd been agonizing over for days, the question she hadn't been able to stop thinking about since she'd gotten here. Was she stuck here for good? Or was there a way home — a way she could get back to where she was supposed to be, to pick up her life where she'd left it?
Fiona looked deliberately vague. "Well, I suppose you could live in the village… or travel somewhere else, I mean, it's a big world —"
"That's not what I mean," Helena said, breath hissing between her teeth. "Fiona, come on. You know what I'm asking. Is there a way to get back home from here?"
Fiona looked at her and spread her hands helplessly. "I don't know what to tell you, babe. You've done the math, surely. Seven of us here already. All seven of us chose to stay."
"There aren't any others?" she said helplessly, hoping against hope that the look on Fiona's face didn't mean what she thought it meant. "Someone who came back and decided not to stay? Someone who made it back to … back to the twenty-first century, back to their own time?"
"Maybe," Fiona said softly. "We can't know for sure. But if there was… we never met her. And if the curse was involved, that would mean that some MacClaran man was left heartbroken… and that's just not the case, sorry to say."
"So there's no way back." She took a deep breath, trying to resist the urge to cry. The disappointment was like a palpable force in her chest. What had she been expecting? Fiona to just cheerfully lead her to a doorway in space and time that she could step through to go back to her own time, no problem? Stupid. Stupid to get her hopes up.
Fiona pulled her into a hug — it was a gesture as unexpected as it was welcome, and she could feel herself shaking a little as the other woman held her close. "I'm sorry, darling," she said softly, holding her close for a long moment before she let her go. "I wish I could give you better news." She sighed.
"I just thought — well, I don't know. Magic, and everything. Surely there must be a way…"
"You're right, magic's crazy. There may well be a way back through that we don't know about. But … well, that's just the thing. We don't know about it. Maybe you'll be the first to find it, I don't know." She shrugged. "God, if you figure it out, please tell me. I'd love to get a message to my family, tell them I'm okay. But … well, think about it."
"What do you mean?"
"Time travel, right? Say you figured out a way to get back from this time to your own. Wouldn't we know about it? Wouldn't there be some historical record left of the woman who traveled through time?"
"I guess." She sighed, fighting against the furious, irrational hope in her chest. "Maybe I… kept it a secret?"
Fiona laughed, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "Yeah, babe. Maybe. I don't want to tell you it's impossible. I don't think anything's impossible. Hell, I was born in the 1990s and here I am, queen of a medieval castle. It'd be pretty dumb of me to say something was impossible. But… well, I don't want to get your hopes up, either. I don't think it's impossible… but I also wouldn't have the first clue about how to help you do it." She smiled, spreading her hands. "But if I can do anything to help you out… you let me know."
"Really?" Helena asked, touched by the gesture. "You don't think I should just… stay here?"
"I mean, I love it here." Fiona shrugged. "I love my husband, I
love my family, I love my weird little life. And I have every confidence that you'll love it here too, eventually. We all did after enough time had passed. But I'm not going to try to stop you from trying to find a way home if you think that'll make you happier. Like I said — I'll help if I can."
"You're amazing, Fiona," Helena said softly, giving the woman a broad smile. "Seriously. Thank you."
"So what's the plan? Does it have something to do with the caves?" Fiona asked curiously.
"Yeah. I mean, that's where I was when I was brought here. It would make sense that I'd need to be there again to go back. I'll check them out if I can, see if I can find any hints about what brought me here, and how to reverse it."
"I'll help. So will Marianne," Fiona said firmly. "Once it's safe to head over there, we'll be your magical advisors. Sound good?"
"Sounds great," Helena said warmly.
"In the meantime… why don't you spend a little more time with Brendan? No ulterior motives, or anything," Fiona promised, her eyes twinkling.
Helena giggled. Why did she get the feeling that that was an outright lie?
Chapter 11
The next few days passed slowly. It seemed that guards had been sent out to keep an eye on the shepherds and their flocks, and to see what kind of creature was taking the baby lambs — and that was a slow process. Helena wasn't too impatient, though. She was enjoying getting more familiar with the castle — and with the other women who lived there. Karin was full of fascinating stories about epidemiology and the spread of diseases — she was shy in groups, it turned out, but they had some great conversations one-on-one as they wandered through the castle together. Bethany and Delilah offered to teach her a little bit of sword fighting — that day ended with her covered in dust and bruises and sorer than she'd ever been after any gym session. Sword fighting was a full-body workout, it seemed.
Highlander Hunted: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander In Time Book 8) Page 8