“Oh! Are you a diver too?”
“What?” Anna looked at her blankly.
“I was diving — I was in a cave system, I got separated from my friends, then the next thing I knew I was coming up to the surface of the Loch. Was it similar for you?”
“No, no. I was in bed, asleep. I found out later from Maggie that my ex-boyfriend was coming to kill me, hence the Sidhe taking me out of my time and bringing me here. But I wasn’t in — diving gear, no.”
“Wait — so you just… got dumped at the bottom of the lake?” Nancy stared at her. “With no air?”
“Yeah. It was pretty scary. I almost drowned — Nessie helped me get to the surface fast enough. What’s wrong?” Anna looked alarmed at the way Nancy had winced.
“Are you kidding? You just… swam straight up to the surface from the bottom?”
“Well, I would have drowned otherwise…”
“And your head didn’t pop?” Nancy was shocked. Any novice diver knew that rule one was to climb slowly from the bottom of a dive to avoid decompression sickness. The idea of someone with absolutely no gear making the trip from the lake floor to its surface in less than a minute gave her a headache just to think about. “That’s… impossible. Literally. You should be dead.”
“I’m glad she’s not,” Donal said, frowning.
“It must be the Sidhe again,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “Maybe they protected you on your way up. They must have done something similar for me, if they took me from the shallow cave system to the bottom of the lake so quickly. I didn’t even notice the pressure differential.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Anna said. “Fascinating. I’m so glad you’re here! I mean…” She hesitated. “I’m sorry about what happened. I know how it feels.”
“Yeah,” Nancy said.
“So — what exactly were you doing?” Malcolm broke in. “You said you were in an underwater cave, or something?”
“Yeah, we were exploring. But then there was a cave-in, and I got trapped.”
“Underwater. Holding your breath.”
“No, no — we carry air with us.” How to explain scuba diving to a medieval soldier, she wondered, as Anna slipped into step with her husband again and Nancy dropped back to keep pace with Malcolm. “We carry cylinders that contain compressed air that we can breathe. About an hour’s worth — more, if you know how to ration it. Which I do,” she added, smugly. She’d always been proud of her diving skill.
“Fascinating,” Malcolm said thoughtfully.
“Of course, I won’t be able to… do much more of it, now,” she said, a little sadly. “I’ve only got half a tank of air left, and unless there’s a scuba shop in the village, I’m not going to be able to refill it.” She sighed. “Spent my whole life learning how to do something that I won’t be able to do at all here.”
“I’m sorry,” Malcolm said softly.
She shook her head, smiling.
“Don’t be. From what everyone’s saying, the Sidhe saved my life by bringing me here. I’ll miss diving, but not being able to dive again is much better than dying in an underwater cave. Nobody wants to go out like that.”
“No, I can imagine they don’t.”
They passed another ten minutes, chatting — Malcolm was full of questions about diving, and it was Nancy’s favorite subject, so she was more than happy to oblige him with answers. He was fascinated with the idea of being able to visit the bottom of the sea, and a little horrified by the idea of swimming into underwater caves. She was halfway through explaining the safety protocols they used to make cave diving safe when they rounded a bend in the path and the voice was knocked out of her by the sight of the castle.
“Quite a sight, isn’t she?” Malcolm smiled beside her.
They had come out around a bend in the road, the thick trees that stood around the Loch having previously obscured the view. And there, down the coast of the Loch, stood an enormous castle — just like something out of a picture book, she thought, shock and awe warring in the forefront of her mind. It was beautiful. It stood on what looked like an island in the lake — but on closer inspection, she realized the island was connected to the land by what looked like a narrow bridge of land. There was a wall surrounding the castle that was level with the sides of the island, which dropped straight down into the dark waters of the Loch, maybe fifty feet below the castle’s foundation. She could make out a little jetty, with a narrow staircase leading up from the water’s edge to a small gate in the castle’s wall. It was a formidable construction, and clearly very difficult to besiege or attack. She glanced at Malcolm and Donal, the swords that rested at their hips. Were there enemies who wanted to claim this castle? She didn’t envy them.
“The Sept has been extant for hundreds of years,” Donal was explaining as they walked toward the castle. “But the castle has been built recently, to house all our academics and soldiers.”
“Academics?”
“Herbalists, scholars… people who study the Fae, basically,” Malcolm chimed in, clearly eager to show off his impressive home to their visitor.
Nancy was happy to listen as she gazed at the castle. What an unbelievably beautiful place — and to think, she was going to visit it!
“They tried to live in the village for a while, but there were just too many of them — and too many specialist supplies that looked a bit suspicious to the kinds of people who don’t understand what we do.”
“And what do you do?” Nancy asked, staring up at the castle.
“We … well, in a way, we protect the people of this world from the Fae,” Malcolm explained. “There are a lot of Fae, some of them kinder than others. The Sidhe, who you met, are our allies.”
“Sort of,” Donal said. “It’s hard to communicate with them, but from what we can gather, they approve of what we do. We’re a kind of liaison between the Fae and humankind. But nobody can really speak to them, so it’s not a formal alliance.”
“Maggie spoke to me in the same language the Sidhe used,” Nancy remembered, frowning. “Can’t she formalize the alliance?”
“That would involve formalizing an alliance with Maggie,” Anna said, her eyes twinkling. “She’s a bit of a law unto herself, Maggie. She’s friendly, but she’s like a force of nature. You never know if she’s on your side or not.”
“The Fae are all like that,” Donal said heavily. “Which can make it difficult to explain to the villagers just what it is we do… especially when the Unseelie are making mischief. But we do our best. We study, we keep watch, and when Unseelie Fae come through the burgh and start terrorizing the villagers, we deal with them.” He touched the sword at his belt, and Nancy shivered a little.
If the Loch Ness monster was any indication of the kinds of things that were capable of coming out of the Burgh to cause havoc, she didn’t envy the soldiers who had to go out and track them down.
“What about Nessie?” she asked, drawing a smile from Anna. “Is she — okay?”
“Nessie’s a friend.” Malcolm laughed. “She patrols the Loch, checks out what’s coming through the burgh.”
“She’s done more than that before,” Anna pointed out, something dark in her voice — but Malcolm hurried the conversation along before Nancy could ask any questions about that.
“Here we are,” he said, smiling as they reached the land bridge that connected the castle to the mainland. And Nancy stared up at the breathtaking castle that stood before her.
Chapter 11
The bridge that connected the castle’s little island to the mainland was surprisingly wide. She supposed it had only looked narrow in comparison to the rest of the castle, which was enormous. From what Malcolm was telling her, chattering proudly on about his home, there were about a hundred people living there, including the servants and domestic staff that kept the place running. Looking up at it, she wasn’t surprised — it was a formidable building. There was a huge iron gate set in the wall over the land bridge, and as they walked toward it,
Nancy peered up at the walls, realizing that there were men in armor wielding bows and other weapons moving back and forth on the top of the walls.
“We’re back,” Malcolm bellowed cheerfully up at the men on the walls, his voice booming.
She laughed aloud at the cheerful wave he received back from a handful of the men. There must have been six or so up on the gate, and as she scanned what she could see of the remainder of the wall, she realized there were men patrolling around it. Keeping watch, she supposed, looking down at the dark waters of the Loch. Waiting to see if any horrible monsters were going to crawl out of its depths… well, not just horrible monsters, she thought with a smile. After all, she’d crawled out of the Loch. Had anyone seen her last night, she wondered? It would have been difficult — it had been very dark. She was itching to find out just how this all worked. How did they find out if something emerged from the Loch on the other side? Did they have spies or informants in the village? Were there patrols right around the circumference of the lake?
The huge iron gate rose, and Nancy followed Malcolm, Donal and Anna through into a wide courtyard. It was busy, with yet more men sparring with one another with wooden weapons in front of the castle. From here, she could see a pair of huge wooden doors that were set in the middle of the castle, standing slightly ajar so that people could walk in and out of them. The sun was high, shining down on the men as they trained, and Nancy realized with a start that more time must have passed than she thought — it was getting close to noon. No clocks, she realized, looking up at the sky… she hadn’t been wearing a watch when she’d come through, so she was watchless. Well, she’d just have to go by the angle of the sun.
The men who were training watched her with open curiosity as they strode across the courtyard, headed for the castle door, and Nancy looked up at Donal, a little concerned by the drawn expression on his face.
“Is everything alright?” she asked, glancing around uneasily. “A lot of people are looking at me.”
“Well, it’s not every day that we get a time traveler,” Donal said with an attempt at a smile, but she could tell that he was still worried about her.
She frowned. “You seem a little worried, Donal. Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here? I’m happy to stay with Maggie — or find a place in the village, maybe —”
“It’s not you, Nancy,” Donal said, turning back to her with a distracted smile. “It’s to do with the Sidhe, if anything. If the pattern holds… well, Anna’s already explained that they pull people through when they’re in danger in their own homes, right?”
Nancy nodded. “Yeah — I was about to drown in an underwater cave, Anna said her ex-boyfriend was coming to attack her… and Maggie was telling me that sometimes they steal abused and neglected children away from their parents, too?”
“Aye, they do that.” Donal smiled, and she could see real affection for the Fair Folk in his face. “They’re good people, if hard to understand. But there’s a parallel theory that says they only deliver people to places where they’re needed. When they steal neglected babies, for example, they deliver them to childless couples, people who are desperate for a child, or who have lost one.”
“That’s wonderful,” Nancy murmured. A couple of her students had been trying for a baby for almost two years now — the idea of simply transplanting an unwanted child into their loving care was quite beautiful. “But what does that have to do with me?”
“Well, the Sidhe brought you here and now,” Donal said thoughtfully. “That might mean that we’re coming up on trouble. The kind of trouble that only you can solve. When Anna arrived, we were targeted by witch-hunters who tried to turn the whole village against us. It could have been catastrophic, but for her.” He glanced down at his wife and squeezed her hand fondly. “So there’s concern that your presence here means we’re headed for another disaster, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Nancy blinked. “I don’t know what I could do to help, really. The only thing I’m good at is scuba diving, and… well, that’s not really an option, is it?”
“Let’s worry about all that later,” Anna said briskly. “There’ll be time to figure out why the Sidhe wanted you here later. For now, let’s get you settled in. There’s a lot to see!”
“I’ll say,” Nancy murmured, staring up at the castle. “This place is amazing.”
They walked through the huge doors into a grand entrance hall, with a number of doorways set in its walls. In four alcoves, Nancy could see spiral staircases that led off and up into the rest of the castle — she grinned, keen to get exploring, but Anna put a steadying hand on her shoulder as she started forward.
“Let’s have lunch before we start exploring, hm?”
Nancy felt a childish pang of disappointment — but she had to admit, her stomach was growling. “I am pretty hungry,” she said reluctantly, tearing her eyes away from the spiral staircases.
“I was starving when I got here. My advice, eat as much as you like.” Anna grinned at her. “I hope you like oats.”
Malcolm led them to a set of double doors in the east wall of the castle, and Nancy realized that there was a huge dining hall through them. There were half a dozen huge long tables with long, low benches like pews beside them — and, to her shock, dozens of people finding their way to their seats. There was a lot of noise and chatter in the hall, and though Nancy received her fair share of curious looks, she was grateful that she wasn’t gawked at too openly. She was still getting her bearings, after all. Malcolm lead them to a mostly-empty table, the only inhabitant of which was an older woman, perhaps in her fifties, with a long braid of strawberry-blonde hair and her eyes downturned to the empty plate in front of her.
“Maeve? This is Nancy, the traveler Kaitlyn told us about this morning.” There was a tone of reverence in Donal’s voice when he spoke to this woman, and she smiled a little. For all that he was the Laird of the castle, she appreciated the respect he showed to the women in his life.
Maeve rose to meet her, and Nancy suppressed a gasp as she met the woman’s eyes. They were an incredibly pale silver, striking in their intensity — like liquid moonlight, somehow. Something very otherworldly about them, an impression that was backed up by the eerie grace with which the woman moved, and the mysterious smile she offered Nancy as she clasped her hand fondly in her own.
“Lovely to meet you, Nancy. You’re welcome to Castle Grant,” she said, her voice soft but resonant. “You’ve met my son Malcolm, I see.”
“Oh!” Nancy smiled, making the connection between Maeve’s graying strawberry-blonde hair and Malcolm’s coppery beard. “I see the resemblance.”
“Not in the eyes, unfortunately,” Malcolm chuckled. “Mam’s a Changeling.”
Nancy’s eyes widened. “A Changeling?”
“I visited the Fae as a girl,” Maeve explained, smiling as she invited Nancy to sit beside her at the table. “I stayed with them for quite some time before returning to this world. My eyes were a gift, a keepsake from my time with them.”
“That’s amazing,” Nancy murmured. “So — you spent time with them! Do you know why they would have brought me here?”
“No, unfortunately,” Maeve laughed, “though it’s a good thought. They’re not the easiest folk for us to understand, the Sidhe. I spent years with them and still sometimes I wonder why they do the things they do. But all will become clear. If I know one thing, I know that they can be trusted. And if they thought you needed to be here, then you did.”
That made Nancy smile — but before she could continue to ask Maeve about her time in the Land of the Unaging, the food was served. She dug into what was served to her, discovering as she did that she was ravenously hungry. Anna had been right, it seemed, about the impact of the journey through time. The food was delicious — a lot of fish, which she supposed made sense, given the castle’s placement on the edge of a lake. There was also freshly-baked, crusty bread to have with it, and little pots of butter.
“This is amazing,” sh
e informed Donal and Malcolm with her mouth half-full. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re more than welcome.” Donal smiled. “And the invitation we extended to Anna when she arrived, we extend to you. You’re more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you like. We have plenty of spare rooms upstairs.”
“That would be wonderful. Maggie’s cottage was very comfortable for a night, but I wouldn’t want to impose on her.”
“Plenty of space here,” Maeve reaffirmed, smiling. “A permanent place, if you’d like it.”
“Permanent?” Nancy hesitated at that. She hadn’t considered the idea that she was here for good — but now she thought about it, getting back to her own time seemed like a daunting prospect. The others were looking at each other with concern clear on their faces.
“I’m afraid there’s not really a way back,” Anna said gently, reaching out to take her hand. “I tried to figure it out when I got here, but… well, the burgh’s at the bottom of the loch, and even if you could make it down there…”
Nancy swallowed her mouthful of food, hurriedly. “But that’s not a problem. I’ve got half a tank of air left, I could suit up and get down there, easy.”
“I guess,” Anna said hesitantly. “But at any rate, stay here for a while, yeah?”
“Oh, definitely,” Nancy promised. “I want to know absolutely everything about this place, and the Fae, and the Sidhe, and the Loch Ness Monster —”
Anna laughed, and Nancy set about her meal again, happy just to listen to the conversation for a few minutes. But she wondered, a little, why Anna had been so hesitant about the idea of her trying to get back through the burgh.
Chapter 12
The conversation turned back to the Loch, eventually, and Nancy set about asking as many questions as she could about the Loch Ness Monster. She was fascinated by the creature, and very keen to find out more about it. Was it an ancient dinosaur, as some cryptid fans she knew suspected, or was it an entirely different creature? If it was truly a Faerie, then she supposed it wasn’t a dinosaur at all… but something completely new. How exciting. How wonderful. And how many more creatures like it were out there, waiting for her to discover?
Stranded By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 2 Page 7