Eternity's Mark

by Maeve Greyson

  Millie gave a shrug of one shoulder as she turned back to the sink and started scraping the dishes into the disposal. “You have to admit they were some pretty strange deaths that were never explained, especially for a close-knit community like Jasper Mills. Maybe you better stick pretty close to this Taggart de Gaelson. Aren’t you about the same age your mother was when she died?”

  With a glance at Millie’s worried face, Hannah nodded as a chill shivered through her body. She remembered it as though it happened yesterday, even though she’d only been six years old at the time. They had found her mother dead out beside the lake propped against a tree. She’d been writing in her journal and she’d just died. The autopsy had proven inconclusive. No heart attack. No aneurism. No stroke. Her mother had been in perfect health for a woman of her age. She was just dead. One strange bit of evidence was that every hair on her body had frosted to a snowy white, even her thick, black eyelashes. It was as though the auburn-haired woman had suddenly become an albino. Another startling finding was that the once vibrant green irises of her eyes had stained to a soulless black. The most disturbing thing was that her maternal grandmother had later died in the very same manner. Grandma had just eluded whatever it was that killed her until a few years ago, when she reached eighty years old.

  “I wish Jake were here. He’d know what to do,” Hannah muttered as she walked over to the freezer and yanked open the stainless-steel double doors. “Is there any of that mint chocolate chip ice cream left? The one you had listed to go with the special today?”

  “You’re gonna puke,” Millie groaned as she reached in the drawer for a couple of spoons. “And Jake wouldn’t know what to do. I wish you’d stop making him out to be such a flawless hero.”

  Hannah backed her way out of the freezer, her arms wrapped around two barrels of chocolate mint ice cream. Turning to bump the freezer door shut with her butt, she shot Millie a wilting glare. “I can’t believe you’d speak ill of the dead, Millie. You’ve known Jake all your life too. You know exactly what kind of person he was.”

  “Exactly!” Millie snapped as she yanked one of the barrels of ice cream away from Hannah and slammed it down on the counter. “The entire time we were growing up, Jake never treated you as good as you deserved. I never understood it. You lost your mom when you were just six years old and your grandmama raised you to be the most independent little brat in Jasper Mills. But when it came to Jake, you followed him around like a starving puppy. Jake MacPherson barely looked down from his pedestal long enough to give you the time of day. The whole town was shocked when he came back from med school and actually married you. Everybody figured he’d bring himself home some diva from the big city. We all nearly fainted when you pulled your head out of Jake’s fan club long enough to go away to veterinary school. We hoped then you’d finally gotten over him.”

  “Jake loved me, Millie!” Hannah bounced the other barrel onto the cracked linoleum countertop and stormed across the kitchen. She couldn’t believe Millie had the gall to stand there and say those things, even though a tiny voice in the back of her mind agreed with everything Millie had said. “If you’re finished lecturing me on how you can’t believe my dead husband could’ve loved me, I think I’ll be heading home.”

  “Dammit, Hannah, that’s not what I meant and you know it!” Millie slammed her hand on top of the counter. “I know Jake loved you in his own self-centered, egotistical way, whenever he didn’t have anything better to do. I’m just saying he never showed you the attention you deserved. I just never understood how you never put up with anybody else’s crap and yet you took his bullshit by the truckloads. How many nights did we spend in this very kitchen, perched on those wobbly stools, eating ice cream because Jake didn’t have time to spend with you? I bet I gained twenty-five pounds the first year you two were married.”

  Hannah stopped with her hand on the swinging doors, uncomfortable memories of the first year of her marriage wriggling free from the padlocked recesses of her mind. As much as she fought against Millie’s words, her friend had a valid point. “I don’t know what to tell you, Millie. I guess everybody has a weakness and Jake just happened to be mine. Maybe you’re right. Maybe he wasn’t such a hero. But I loved him, Mill, and now he’s gone. So, let’s just leave it at that. Okay?” Sliding her hand off the door, Hannah let her arm drop to her side. “Just dish up the ice cream, will you? Double scoops. You’re looking a little thin.”

  “She canna sell it! Fold time and space. Transport her here immediately. Spell her to the keep this very minute. We’ll just keep her here until she discovers the error of her ways. Have ye lost your mind? Why do ye wait? Why do ye tarry when ye know we run so close on time?” Thaetus’s high-pitched screech echoed from the depths of Taggart’s amulet, which spun in the center of the hotel room coffee table.

  Taggart scrubbed his face with both his hands. They’d had to wait centuries for the stars to align and gift them with the Sullivan line. The first age of guardians, the Alexander line, had turned dark and destroyed themselves long ago. He worried his hands through his hair as he paced around the confines of the tiny room. “Thaetus, ye know as well as I that an unwilling guardian would never do at Taroc Na Mor. She will come around. She just needs a bit of time. The attack in the woods frightened her. ’Tis only natural she be a bit put off by that which she doesna understand. It is a well-known human trait.”

  “Then explain it to her! The next clutch of Draecna are due to hatch in three Erastaedian double moons. ’Twould be nice to have a fully trained guardian this time to ease them into the worlds and on their way to power the portals. Septamus grows surly and asks where the true guardian is and what’s taking ye so blasted long. He tires of the Guild members tending the nursery. Ye know how they are, Taggart. The last clutch tried to eat the Guild member bringing the young ones into the world, and then all but one of the hatchlings died. I dinna know if ye’ve met the one survivor, but rumor has it, he isna quite right.”

  Taggart waved his hand over the spinning purple jewel as he bent over the short-legged table. “Trust me, Thaetus. Hannah will come around. I have seen into her heart. I just need a little more time to warm her up to the idea. And I could use some help from the powers of the Guild. Have them ramp up the protection surrounding the gateway. There must be no more intrusions from the other side.”

  “Do ye think it was Sloan?” Thaetus’s voice grew hushed and the spinning amulet dimmed as though the jewel itself feared it would be overheard.

  “Who else?” Taggart growled as he rose from the chair and resumed his pacing about the miniature box of a room. “It might not have been his own energy I sensed. But the forest reeked of his sinister essence.” The stench he’d encountered while scanning the dimensions still clung to his mind like a greasy film.

  “Ye looked into her heart?” Thaetus interrupted. “What in the name of Isla’s golden beard do ye think ye are doing looking into the woman’s heart? Take care, Taggart! Ye know ’tis forbidden. Ye must not become entangled with the one ye are sworn to protect.”

  “Do not presume to tell me how to do my job, Thaetus!” Taggart snarled down at the purple spinning gem. “I looked into her heart to better understand her. The woman still grieves for a husband she lost to war. Do not question my dedication to the Guild. I’m not only the protector, but I’m also the only one who was able to pick up the lost thread of the Sullivan line. Remember?”

  “Aye, Taggart. Ye gave up everything for the cause. Ye even revealed your true self and sacrificed your precious Mia.” Thaetus’s voice echoed from the depths of the amulet; the transmission weakened as the spinning amethyst slowed.

  Taggart almost choked on his bitter laugh as he moved to stare out the curtained window. “Mia sacrificed me. I had nothing to do with it.” A familiar ache panged in his chest. Thaetus would have to mention Mia’s name and stir up the ghosts of his past.

  “Take care, Taggart. We will mind your back as best we can. But bring the woman home to us soo
n.” Thaetus’s voice faded from the room as the amulet rattled to a standstill on the top of the table.

  “Why did you slam his tail in the car door?” Hannah peered deep into the little boy’s eyes as he squirmed beside his mother.

  “Is that why he bit you?” The woman nudged the boy with her elbow as though they shared a private joke.

  “Well, wouldn’t you bite someone if they’d snapped one of your bones?” Hannah clipped the X-ray film to the light table mounted on the wall and tapped on the glowing white line of the break in the bone.

  The puppy on the exam table sidled closer to Hannah and snuggled against her side. He flattened his ears at the boy and the woman and bared his teeth every time either of them moved.

  “That’s just great! I paid six hundred dollars for that mutt and now you’ve ruined him! We’ll never be able to sell him when we get to Chicago.” The gum-popping woman with the snake-print nails slapped her hand down on the stainless-steel table.

  Hannah stifled a shiver of rage as it rippled across her body; no way would she give this defenseless dog back to this heartless woman. With his coloring and build, he promised to look a great deal like a pedigreed boxer, especially if he’d had his tail docked when he’d been just a day or two old. According to his thoughts, the poor little mutt was in the middle of a scam. This woman came from out of town and figured Hannah would be none the wiser. Hannah bet her finest scalpel the spike-heeled witch only stayed a few steps ahead of the law. She glared at the woman and picked up the dog to cradle him under one arm. “How many other dogs have you got at home? I don’t remember seeing you in my office before.”

  The woman shook her head as she snapped her gum even louder and shoved her son toward the table. “None. We’re just passing through on our way to bigger and better things. We heard you were the closest vet around.” Nodding toward the pup Hannah held in her arms, she tapped an impatient foot as she glanced at the instrument table. “Can you just clip off his tail or what? I really need to be able to sell him or something to get some of my money back and besides, won’t he be in a lot less pain if you bob it?”

  “Hold that thought.” Hannah held up a finger as she edged through the doorway around to the countertop phone in the waiting area. Holding the puppy under one arm, she jabbed in a number, then spoke quietly so the woman couldn’t overhear. Seething with rage, Hannah clenched the phone so tight she was surprised it didn’t snap apart in her hand. On their way to bigger and better things. She’d show that animal abuser bigger and better things. Hanging up the phone, she rounded the corner and fixed the woman with her most professional smile. “I’ve got a solution to your problem, but it will be just a few minutes before it arrives.”

  The fidgeting woman’s face immediately brightened. “Great! I heard you had a real way with the animals. That’s why we brought him here. Maybe he’ll be a little moneymaker after all. I could really use a break.”

  “Where are you, Hannah?”

  “Exam room one, Matt.” Hannah smiled as she scratched the puppy behind the ears. Kissing the puppy on top of his warm, fuzzy head, she whispered against his fur, “You’re gonna like Matt. He’s a really super guy.”

  “Ms. Manchester?” Sheriff Matt appeared in the doorway, a notepad and pen in his hand.

  The twitching woman visibly paled and she clutched her son to the front of her body. She shot Hannah a narrow-eyed glare before she cleared her throat and squared her rhinestone-covered shoulders. “Actually, my name is Veronica Smith.”

  “Is it really, now? Well, that’s very unusual. You see, I ran the plates on your car outside and my info states the registration as Sylvia Manchester. It also appears there are several warrants out for that name. So, I’m afraid I’ll need you and your son to come with me so that we can get this little matter cleared up.” Matt tapped his notebook with his pen as he stood in the doorway and smiled.

  “What about my son? You can’t expect my son to sit in a jail with a bunch of hardened criminals. I’ll call the media and every lawyer I can find. I’ll make sure everyone knows how you’ve mistreated my son.” The woman hugged the boy tighter against the front of her skintight miniskirt as if he were a human shield.

  Matt’s smile widened and he winked at the boy. “I’ve already called Social Services. My best friend Cassie’s sitting outside in her van and she’d love to meet your son. They’ll be more than happy to take care of him while you and I sit down and have a nice long chat.”

  Whirling on Hannah, the woman snatched her purse from beside the table and glared at the dog as though she wished it were dead. “You bitch! All you had to do was clip the goddamn dog’s tail! Was that so friggin’ much to ask?” The woman stormed out of the office in front of the sheriff and yanked her son behind her.

  “Bye, Matt,” Hannah called after them as she kissed the top of the little dog’s head. “We’ll get you fixed up in no time, my little friend. See? I told you Matt was a really nice guy.”

  “Now there goes quite an unpleasant woman. How much did ye overcharge her to tend to her pet? I’ve never heard such foul language spew out of a woman, at least not all in one breath.” Taggart rounded the corner of the doorway, walking backwards as he stared down the hallway. “Your fine sheriff is herdin’ the cursing wench with his notebook and she’s pulling a squawlin’ boy with her down your front steps.”

  “I didn’t overcharge her and that’s her poor son, who she’s training in her evil ways.” Hannah hugged the puppy to her chest. “I took this puppy away from her. She didn’t deserve this sweet little guy. He told me all the cruel things she and her son were up to at their house.” Turning away, she cuddled the warm pup closer, trying to stave off the tickling shiver that crept over her body as soon as Taggart entered the room. Why didn’t Taggart de Gaelson go back to Scotland and leave her alone? He’d done nothing but complicate her life ever since he’d shown up in Jasper Mills.

  “Did he now? He told ye all the evils they did at their house?” Taggart grinned at her with a raised brow.

  “Umm, well, yes ... I mean ...” Hannah stammered as she flipped the light back on behind the X-ray sheet. Damn him. He would have to be a man who actually listened to everything she said. She had never had that problem with Jake. “Take a look at these X-rays. Their story was the boy broke the puppy’s tail when he accidently slammed it in a car door. But they’re trying to pass him off as a pedigreed dog that should’ve had his tail docked at just a few days old. Then the mother wanted me to bob it off just so she could sell him in some sort of dog ring in Chicago. They’re trying to run some sort of scam.”

  “Ye can trust me, Hannah,” Taggart whispered. “Remember? I told ye I know your family’s history. I know all about their gifts.”

  Could she really trust him? No one but Jake had ever known that she could actually understand an animal’s thoughts. Even her family had just thought she had a good rapport with all the creatures. They never realized she communicated with any animal she ran across.

  “Hand me the pup. Let me show ye something. I will prove to ye that ye can trust me with all your secrets.” Taggart held out his hands and waited; a mysterious smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and twinkled in his eyes.

  “Mind his tail. It’s fractured in several places.” Hannah eased the puppy into Taggart’s outstretched hands. Her heart warmed when the little dog planted his clumsy, front paws on Taggart’s chest and slobbered a wet greeting across Taggart’s face.

  “There’s a good lad. That’s enough now. I think ye are a fine lad too. Hold still now while I heal your wee tail so it willna pain ye any longer.” Taggart placed his right hand over the puppy’s tail while he held the little dog steady with his left. A faint glow appeared for a brief second around Taggart’s hand and the puppy’s tail and then absorbed into the little dog’s body.

  The dog yipped, wagged his tail, and then looked to Hannah with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

  “What did you just do?” Hannah took
the wriggling pup back into her arms and set him down on the floor.

  “I healed him. That is why ye can trust me, Hannah. I too am gifted with the magic.” Taggart folded his arms across his chest as he watched the puppy race in circles around the floor. “That is also how I sensed the threat the other day. I’ve trained years to make the most of my skills. Come with me to Taroc Na Mor, Hannah. At least let me show ye what awaits ye if ye just find the courage to embrace it.”

  “You make it sound like a training ground for witches, some sort of academy of magic.” Hannah glanced toward the puppy and grabbed a handful of paper towels. “Hey, you could’ve told me you needed to pee,” she grumbled as she blotted up the yellow puddle spreading across the floor. Indecision battled within her. How could what he said be true? But he’d healed the puppy and he’d protected her in the woods, so how could his words be false?

  Taggart shook his head. “I promise ye, Hannah. Taroc Na Mor is not a school. But it is a great deal more than just a castle hidden in the Highlands. ’Tis not something that can be explained. It can only be felt when ye stand upon the land.”

  As Hannah sprayed disinfectant on the floor and mopped at the mess, she wished she could clean up her life with just as much ease. Why did he have to show up and complicate things? As long as she had ignored those stupid packets, life had seemed so much simpler. Curling her fingers tight into the damp paper towels, Hannah ventured a glance up into Taggart’s face. As soon as her gaze met with his, she found herself locked deep in his stare. And then she shivered and realized she shouldn’t have done it. There they were—those damned imprisoning eyes. They pierced right through her soul. But something else lurked in those icy-blue depths. An ache mirrored the pain that throbbed with every beat of her heart. Hannah turned away from the shadows of Taggart’s suffering. She couldn’t afford to get lost in Taggart’s sorrow. She had her own wounds to nurse.