Highland Shifter

by Catherine Bybee

  She wanted to believe him but didn’t know what to believe anymore. “You don’t know that.”

  “I’ll not leave your side.”

  “But—”

  “Shhh.”

  Not leave her side? Her body tightened in a ball of pressure. What the hell was wrong with her?

  * * * *

  Amber palmed one of the small stones and rubbed her thumb along its smooth surface. “I know you’ve done this for a reason,” she voiced to whatever, whoever might be listening. The Ancients only appeared in dire times. This obviously wasn’t one of them. Simon might be missing from this century, but Amber no longer felt the forbearing weight of loss she did when he’d first stepped out of this time. She guessed the lack of acute pain was due to Lizzy’s emotions calming. Bearing the weight of other peoples’ emotions, experiencing their joy, pain, and sorrow, became more oppressive with each passing year.

  This was her Druid gift.

  Lately it knifed her like a curse.

  Her burden was shared with her parents. Her father, Ian, encouraged her to find a husband, someone of her own to love and start a family. Each suitor Amber turned away, unable to bear their touch or experience their lingering pain.

  Lora’s premonitions had faded as she aged, giving Amber hope that hers would diminish, too.

  Through the years, the pain of the family faded enough to bear their direct contact. But even that became increasingly difficult. Simon was a part of that family. Although they didn’t share any blood relation, he was a brother to her. She missed him.

  A knock on her chamber door sounded, followed by her mother’s voice. “’Tis me.”

  “Come in.”

  Lora’s skirts swished along the floor as she crossed the room. She wore grace and elegance as others would wear a scarf. Her mother’s long dark hair was bundled into a snood at her neck; the lace matched the deep umber color of her dress.

  “Are you still studying the stones?”

  Amber returned her eyes to the table on which the smaller stones lay. “Aye. The Ancients are trying to tell us something.”

  Lora lifted one of the stones and rolled it in her hand. “Agreed. And I think I may know what they’re suggesting.”

  “You’ve had a premonition?”

  She shook her head. “More feeling than anything predetermined.”

  “Don’t leave me waiting.”

  Lora lifted the stone to Amber’s chest and tilted her head to the side in thought. “When I close my eyes I see a necklace. Nothing ornate, or made with any precious metal. A simple design any of the villagers might fashion.”

  Amber lifted her palm to her mother. The stone fell into it. “A necklace? As a way of disguising it?”

  “Mayhap. Remember Simon’s suggestion years ago about hiding the larger stones in plain sight. He said something about a pet rock.”

  Amber laughed. “Lizzy’s endless explanation of a pet rock lasted for weeks. But yes, I remember.”

  Lora sat on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. “I thought of Simon, as a child, talking about pet rocks. Now these small pieces of the sacred stones may very well be lost if left unattended. Placed in a piece of jewelry, or in the handle of a knife, they wouldn’t disappear without notice.”

  “I think you’re right. I’ll ask Cian to take me to the village tomorrow so we might obtain materials to achieve your goal.” Making jewelry wouldn’t bring Simon back, but the task might empty her mind and help guide her to the answers she sought.

  Chapter Ten

  “They’re sending my things.” Helen hung up the phone and turned Simon’s way.

  How had he seen the necklace around her neck and not thought of home? Clearly, there was a simple design of Celtic knots inlaid around the stone. Maybe because he was used to seeing such designs, he didn’t pay any attention to Helen’s. But he should have noticed it before now.

  “What will happen when your boss arrives and doesn’t find you there?”

  “I really don’t care. I obviously can’t trust him.”

  “You must let him believe he came here undetected. ’Tis the only way we can determine what he sought.”

  “Are you suggesting we wait for him to do it again?”

  “It may not come to that.” The distress covering Helen’s face forced Simon to keep his thoughts to himself. Something about Philip Lyons felt dark. If Amber were by Simon’s side, she could better determine the man’s motivations.

  “He’s going to be more than pissed when he gets to Scotland and I’m not there.”

  Simon rubbed the stubble on his chin. “When your enemy is angered, they act irrational.”

  “Oh, joy!” Helen said without amusement.

  “It will take at least two days before he returns.”

  “That doesn’t seem like a lot of time.”

  “We’ve more than enough time to penetrate his home as he did yours and learn more about him.”

  Helen’s jaw dropped open, her eyes grew wide. “Break into his house?”

  “We aren’t going to steal anything, lass. We’re only going to look around.”

  Helen ran a hand through her hair. “It’s still illegal.”

  “You can stay here. I’ll go alone.” The task would be easier solo anyway.

  “And risk jumping in time by myself? I don’t think so.”

  He didn’t want that either. “Does he live with anyone?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “A housekeeper?”

  Helen shrugged.

  “Then we’ll go after dark.”

  “Oh, man.” Helen rubbed her palms over her jean-clad thighs.

  He could tell Helen was going to be a bundle of nerves until their task was done. Best to get her mind off their coming adventure. He held out a hand to her and stood. “Come.”

  Her gaze slid from his hand to his face. “Where to?”

  Simon wiggled his fingers, coaxing her. “’Tis been a long time since I’ve been in this century. I think I’d like a walk through the zoo and maybe a little Chinese food.”

  “Chinese food? You’re thinking of food at a time like this?”

  He laughed. “A body needs fuel no matter the time. C’mon.”

  Relenting, Helen placed her small hand in his and allowed him to help her to her feet.

  * * * *

  The aroma drifting from the bag of takeout filled the interior of Helen’s car. He didn’t remember the food he liked, so he had Helen order for them. It was after two when they arrived at the zoo. Helen wouldn’t understand his desire for this trip, not until she understood the extent of his Druid gifts. For Simon, it was a long denied outing. His ability to understand an animal’s motivation and desire, to communicate with them, had come to him after he left this century. In Scotland, the domestic animals and an occasional wild fox or bird were his only animal friends. In a zoo, the possibilities were endless.

  As a child, he remembered standing beside the ape exhibit wondering if the huge animals were as bored as they looked. Or were they constantly searching for an escape route, a way to free themselves from their pens?

  Helen paid the admission and led the way. “My life is upside down, and I’m walking around the zoo.”

  “What better place to clear your head?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Chinese kind of sucks cold. We should eat before clearing our minds.”

  They passed the paper containers back and forth. The bite of the spicy chicken made his eyes water but the flavor exploded on his tongue. “Amazing.”

  “It’s pretty good,” she said while scooping a forkful of chow mien into her mouth.

  “You’ve no idea how blessed you are.” He shook his head. “Spices are rare and expensive where I’m from.”

  “You’re from here.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “So, what do you eat?”

  “Roasted meats, boiled vegetables...stew. What we can grow or hunt. Though there has been more trade f
rom Europe in the past few years.”

  Helen waved her fork at him. “You eat organic. Which isn’t a bad thing.”

  “Organic?”

  “It’s the buzz word of the new millennium. This is tasty.” She picked up the container and snagged another bite. “But it’s horrible for your body. MSG, saturated fats, concentrated sugars.”

  Simon stared into his box, shrugged his shoulders, and took another bite. “I’m not at risk of dying from overindulging. Not in the short time I’ll be here.”

  “Your confidence about finding a way home astounds me.”

  A small child in a stroller waved at him from a few feet away. Simon winked and wiggled his fingers in the lad’s direction.

  “We’ve already found the key. The rest is easy.”

  In all reality, Simon was reasonably sure he could travel home at that very moment. However, leaving Helen wasn’t something he was ready to do. For the brief moment he held her in his arms, laid claim to her lips, something inside him stirred that he’d not felt before. The passion inside her was wound on a tight leash, and Simon wanted to be the one to unfurl it. He also had to consider Philip Lyons and his deception. Why had the man broken into Helen’s home? Why was he traveling half way around the world to “surprise” her? Simon had too many questions to leave this century now.

  He watched, fascinated as Helen made silly faces at the child in the stroller. Her animated features made the child laugh and had his own laughter bubbling to the surface. Instead, he smiled. He had too many reasons to stay. At least for now.

  “If the rest were easy, you’d be home already,” said Helen.

  Simon didn’t counter her comment. Instead, he finished the remainder of the fried rice

  “So why the zoo?” Helen asked as they were winding their way around the exhibits.

  How much was she ready to hear? Simon inched closer and lowered his voice. “Every Druid has at least one special gift.”

  “More than fire from your fingertips?”

  “Aye, much more.”

  They stopped in front of the snow leopard. The huge cat couldn’t be bothered to lift his head to see who walked by. It napped in the afternoon sun, ignoring everyone.

  “What kind of gifts?”

  “Gifts from nature. Organic, you might say.”

  “So what? You can make plants grow?” She was laughing at him, obviously not believing a thing he said.

  “That is my Aunt Tara’s gift.”

  “Yeah, right!”

  He shrugged. “She’s always complaining it isn’t explosive enough.”

  “Explosive?”

  If Helen couldn’t imagine Tara helping the soil warm with her fingers, than she couldn’t fathom his mother hovering above the ground, or his father causing said ground to shake.

  “My grandfather…step-grandfather, has the ability to call rain and lightening with a mere thought.”

  As Helen opened her mouth to protest, Simon continued. “My grandmother predicts the future. Sometimes, long before it happens, other times moments before it occurs.”

  Helen’s smile started to fall, her steps slowed.

  “My cousin, Cian, heals wounds with his hands. My cousin Amber feels the emotions of others. Her I worry about. She bears everyone’s sorrow and joy.”

  Helen’s smile fell. Mayhap the words expelled from his mouth or the tone of them made her pause, but she did. She appeared to consider what he’d said.

  “I’m told that our gifts are stronger than most. We believe it’s because we’ve been called upon to stop a great evil from destroying us…from destroying many.”

  His thoughts drifted to his childhood, to the witch who kidnapped him. The one who taught him that the boogieman was alive and real, living inside an ancient woman with powers beyond imagination.

  He shook thoughts of Grainna aside. She was dead. No need to think of her now.

  Then again, she was the reason he’d landed in the sixteenth century and why his mother had married Finlay. Simon would give her credit if the thought didn’t leave him physically ill.

  “My God, you’re serious.” Helen had stopped walking and so had he.

  “Aye.”

  “So, what’s your special gift?”

  Simon opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, a woman’s scream pierced the air with a shrill that caused every nerve in Simon’s body to stand on alert.

  He pivoted, and saw a woman leaning over the railing of a gorilla exhibit a few yards away. “My baby!” she cried.

  Simon didn’t pause, he ran toward the woman who was attempting to hoist herself over a rail. When he reached her side, he noticed a toddler, a child no more than three, sitting in a bush, deep inside a ditch of the exhibit.

  Pushing the mother aside, Simon leapt over the rail and jumped twenty feet to the ground. The sounds of the crowd gathering hardly registered as his mind opened to the animals around him.

  A male, the alpha, bounded forward to see who the intruders were. A female, less dominant, but even more intrigued, darted down the ditch and came within feet of the crying child.

  The female heard the cry and tilted her head. A rush of instinct filled Simon’s body. He couldn’t tell if it was his or the gorillas, but he knew it as the same.

  Help.

  The gorilla moved closer to the child and the noise around Simon wailed. He thought he heard his name, but he didn’t respond.

  Help the baby.

  The thought filtered in his head like a mantra.

  Above him, the 400-pound male watched and stood tall, making sure Simon saw him and knew he was the master of this space. Simon kept his head low and moved closer to the crying child.

  “Mommy!” he cried. The child’s arms reached above his head, big tears ran down his plump cheeks.

  “It’s okay, lad. You’re okay.”

  “Mommy.”

  The female gorilla scrambled toward the child.

  Simon moved forward slowly.

  “Help him,” he heard above his head.

  The female eyed Simon as he inched closer and barked a warning.

  The child hiccupped and started to calm. Simon was the same distance to the child as the gorilla. The chocolate eyes of the animal caught his and held. The gorilla’s weathered hand reached toward the child and stroked his cheek.

  The mother of the child screamed.

  With as much power as Simon had, he asked the female not to move.

  The gorilla shifted her eyes above her, then back to Simon. Then moved her arm to her side and sat.

  Once realizing he had control, Simon scooped the struggling child in his arms and held tight.

  In the back of his mind, Simon felt the massive male move forward. Curiosity about what was taking place swam over him.

  “Alex!”

  Simon backed away from the female and stood. The steep barrier that kept the gorillas in their pen would make it difficult for Simon to escape.

  The sound of a smashing door made him jump. The gorillas shifted their gaze to a far wall. The thought of food and routine filled Simon’s mind.

  Go, he suggested to the animals. Within seconds, the gorillas lumbered toward their keepers, awaiting their unexpected meal.

  Keeping the toddler pinned to his side, Simon climbed up into the gorilla encampment.

  While the apes were distracted, Simon moved along the outer fence to a door. A pair of zookeepers waved him forward and ushered him into safety.

  The toddler clung to him, but his cries had muffled to whimpers.

  When the mother burst around the corner, Simon handed the child over.

  “Alex. Oh, my baby.”

  “You have a brave young lad,” Simon told the mother. “You didn’t even shy away when the gorilla tried to help, did you?” he asked the child.

  “Thank you.” The mother fell on Simon and hugged him. “Thank you.”

  “Best keep a watchful eye on this one.” Simon warned her.

  The mother smoothe
d a hand over her child’s face and sat down to assess her son’s body.

  Simon felt a hand on his arm and he turned to find Helen’s deep, penetrating gaze. “Let me guess.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “You have a thing for animals?”

  * * * *

  Helen was still shaking when they left the zoo an hour later. The gorilla encounter had lasted only a handful of minutes, but the time stretched out in slow motion. The young mother’s scream played repeatedly inside Helen’s head, followed closely by the image of Simon leaping over the railing to the child below. When the charging gazillion-pound ape skidded to a stop next to the child, Helen nearly lost her lunch.

  Who the hell willingly jumps into a wild animal’s cage? Okay, so what if the ape hadn’t charged him, still, who in their right mind stands up to an ape?

  When chaos erupted around her, it was obvious the people who’d been there thought the same way.

  Simon approached the child and the ape with calculated ease. He’d kept complete eye contact with the gorilla while gathering the child in his arms. Beside Helen, the child’s mother alternately would cry out one moment and bite her tongue the next to keep from screaming.

  And all the while, Simon didn’t react to anything going on above him. A small miracle, since a fair amount of dopey-eyed females batted their eyelashes at him when he returned the child to his mother and walked away. People took pictures. Video cameras angled in his direction. His stunt in the gorilla cage would be viral by dinner.

  Helen’s hands shook when she placed her key in the ignition and started the car.

  “Are you well, lass?” Simon asked.

  She killed the engine and twisted in her seat toward him. “No. No, I’m not. It’s been a crazy-ass couple of days and that stunt topped off my wack-o-meter.”

  “Wack-o-meter?”

  “Yeah, and stop smirking like you don’t understand what I’m getting at. What the hell was that, Simon? Something tells me that if any other person had dropped into that pen, those apes would have had them for lunch.”

  “The female only wanted to help the child. The male wanted to protect the female. They aren’t all that different from our own species.”

  Helen tossed a hand up in the air. “And how the hell do you know that?” Her voice rose, her blood pressure with it.