They’d argued for what seemed like hours. At one point, he’d grown a bit concerned when she’d eyed the block of butcher’s knives sitting on the counter. Lore, the woman had a fierce temper. He still sported a fading knot on the back of his head from where she’d beaned him with the pommel of her sword.
Alberti had finally interceded. Thankfully, the man had been listening to their ragin’ from the safety of the hallway. He’d rushed in just in time to suggest that Lilia allow both Graham and Angus to accompany her. Angus could serve as watchman whilst Graham tended to Lilia during her somber task.
Alberti had wisely reasoned that all they needed to do to keep Graham safe was avoid any contact with the MacKenna clan and stay away from Buchanan lands. The trio could slip back to the thirteenth century unannounced, then slip right back out. The only way anyone would suspect something might be amiss would be if they happened to overhear the telltale boom of the time portal when it spat them out.
Graham relaxed deeper into the pillows. The soothing blue light of the full moon danced through the swaying tree limbs outside the window, painting a mesmerizing play of light and shadow across the bedroom wall. Bless the man, Alberti, for comin’ up with the simple plan that no one else could seem t’find.
And so they would go. The three of them. They’d honor Mistress Eliza’s last request and scatter her ashes across the Scotland of her girlhood, upon the verra rocks where she’d gazed across the sea.
Bless those three, Graham silently prayed. Whilst he and Lilia stole a bit of rest, Angus, Alberti, and Vivienne worked below, gathering and packing all the trip would require.
Alberti had even promised to conjure the exact point of their entry back into the thirteenth century. Quite impressive since the man was no’ a time runner nor a seer. He’d promised to use some…what had the man called it? Some sort of app…a small colorful picture trapped within the black mirrored surface of his strange tile of metal that turned into a window to thousands of worlds with a mere tap of his finger.
Lilia swore she could target the jump wherever Alberti directed. She said they’d land close to where Mistress Eliza’s ashes would be scattered so the entire trip wouldna take over a day or so. He’d no’ missed the shadows of sadness in his sweetling’s eyes when she’d agreed the MacKenna clan would ne’er ken they’d ever been back in the thirteenth century—unless they happened to hear the time portal boom.
Pulling in a heavy sigh, Graham snugged his cheek against the fragrant softness of Lilia’s hair. ’Twas his fault his dear sweet love couldna enjoy a wee visit with her family. She’d told him it wouldna matter. Told him she’d see them another time. After all, she hadna had the time to jump back and visit in several months. She said they’d understand.
Aye. They would understand but Graham’s heart still ached at the unjustness of it all. Lilia needed her family right now but—because of him—she’d sworn to avoid them. He closed his eyes and inhaled another deep breath of her sweetness. He’d spend the rest of his life thankin’ the gods for this woman and ensurin’ she’d ne’er regret her decision to be his wife.
—
A high-pitched beep-beep-beep sounded from Lilia’s cellphone as it buzzed and bounced across the table beside the bed. Graham forced his eyes open, rubbing the crustiness of weariness from their corners. Lore a’mighty. I just closed me eyes a moment ago.
Lilia groaned, dragged herself off the edge of the bed, and stumbled across the room toward the adjoining bathroom. A dull thud sounded in the semidarkness just as she reached the door. “Shit!”
Graham lifted his head as the bathroom light flicked on, flinching with sympathy as Lilia hopped through the half-opened door, holding her left foot in one hand. “Be ye all right, m’sweetling?”
“I’m fine.” The door slammed shut and Lilia’s huffing string of curse words accompanied the muffled sound of water running in the sink.
May the gods protect him. He knew that tone. His dear one was anythin’ but fine. She was tired and cross and the safest thing for them all to do to survive this task would be t’get some of her blessed coffee down her throat—and quickly.
Graham rolled out of the bed, forcing his still-weary body into motion by stretching and working free any stiffness. He meandered across the room, jerked open the closet door, and found his clothing from the past. Good. Shield and sword were there as well. He pulled the items free of Lilia’s tangle of boots and shoes then quickly donned them while she was still bumping around the bathroom.
“I’ll be downstairs, mo nighean bhan.” He waited for a response, thought to call out to her again, then a deeply ingrained sense of survival changed his mind. Best let his dear one work out her preparations alone.
Alberti, Vivienne, and Angus stood around the kitchen table, double-checking the olive-drab cloth bags filled with the trip’s necessities and Eliza’s oak box. Graham propped his shield against the pile then settled his sword belt lower about his hips.
“Ye ken we’ll be on foot.” Angus, once again wearing his clothes from the past, scowled at Graham from across the table. He lifted his chin to a jutting angle as though daring Graham to argue the point.
“Aye.” Graham kent it well enough but it couldna be helped. They daren’t risk a visit to the MacKenna stables—no’ even if he and Angus were to remain hidden whilst Lilia went alone. “Lilia says she canna control the great boom the time cloud makes whene’er it spits us out. ’Tis why we must target the highest point closest to the sea where Eliza wishes t’be freed then make our way down from there. ’Twill be less of a risk, less chance we’ll be found out or cause any strife for the MacKenna. Dinna fash yerself. It willna be much of a journey.”
“Did ye no’ wonder about the sound when Graham and I fell from the sky?” Angus turned to Vivienne as she shouldered him over then boosted her behind up onto the kitchen counter. She slid back then proceeded to swing her bare feet back and forth in front of the cabinet doors.
“Oh no, ducks.” Vivienne quickly shook her head and shrugged. “When festival is about, Edinburgh fair explodes with sound. Whate’er noise the two of ye made was more than likely thought to be fireworks or such from some o’ the entertainment.”
A slow, steady clumping of boots echoed from the stairwell mere moments before Lilia’s yawning countenance rounded the corner. She rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand as she ran a bleary-eyed glance across the items piled on the kitchen table.
The woman was wearing that? Back to the thirteenth century? Graham motioned to Lilia’s clothing with an up-and-down wave of one hand. “Are ye certain yer dressed proper?” A strained groaning sound escaped him. He didna wish t’start their trek with harsh words but the woman needed t’see sense. “Women dinna wear such in my time. Ye should ken that well enough. What if someone should see ye?”
Lilia fixed him with a sleepy-eyed scowl then gave herself a quick once-over. “Jeans. Hiking boots. T-shirt. Lightweight camo jacket with big-ass pockets. This is the perfect gear for trekking across the wilderness. It’ll be August there too and if we play our cards right, we won’t run across anyone. No human contact. Remember?”
“Yer quite certain?” A strange foreboding, a sense of uneasiness took hold in Graham’s gut and gnawed at him like a starving beast. If anyone saw Lilia dressed in such a way…Graham shook his head against the disturbing possibilities.
Lilia stifled another yawn as she snugged her leather belt a bit tighter and shoved a knife into the attached sheath. “I’m certain.”
She turned to Alberti and Vivienne. “Did you two find the kiddie pool or are we gonna have to use the birdbath?”
“Birdbath,” Vivienne said with a sad shake of her head. “I’ve no’ a clue what Eliza did wi’ the kiddie pool and I’m no’ brave enough to sort through all the storage bins in the garage.”
“The birdbath’s fine. All I need is enough water and fire to act as a conduit to open the portal.” Lilia hefted one of the bags off the table and strapped it across her
back. She lashed a smaller bag about her waist and gently tucked Eliza’s box into it then carefully clicked the double set of buckles shut. Pausing with her hands resting atop the bag, she stood staring down at the table as though trapped within her thoughts.
“Ducks?” Vivienne stepped forward, gently rubbing one hand up and down Lilia’s arm. “Ye’ll be all right, aye? Be back before we know it…yes?”
A troubled expression knotting her brow, Lilia looked at Vivienne for a long moment. Graham tensed even more, feeling as though he were about to wade into battle. His dear one was troubled over a great deal more than just the spreading of Mistress Eliza’s ashes.
“Lilia?” Vivienne whispered, reaching out to take both of Lilia’s hands in hers. “What is it, lovie?”
“If I don’t return…” Lilia’s voice faded to nothing. She took a deep breath, gave Alberti a quick glance, then looked back at Vivienne. “The papers are in the safe. You and Alberti have copies but my originals are in the safe. Everything goes to the both of you…because I love you.”
Vivienne pulled Lilia into a quick hug then took her by the shoulders. “Send word if ye decide t’stay there, aye? We’ll need t’know that you’re well so we dinna worry.” She turned and looked back at Alberti, who agreed with a quick nod. “And if ye come back…we’ll have ye a stokin’ hot pot o’coffee and a bottle a booze a-waitin’.”
Lilia’s brave smile trembled the barest bit as she gave a single nod, then turned away. She cleared her throat with a nervous cough, resettled the bag straps on her shoulders, and headed toward the door. “Are you two ready?” She stopped and glanced back at Angus then arched a brow at Graham.
Nay. He’d ne’er be ready to ride through that hellish maelstrom again, but he’d damn well do it for her. “Aye.” Graham scooped up his shield and the remaining bag, securing them both firmly and tightening the canvas straps across his chest.
Angus didn’t answer, just stepped forward with his white-knuckled fists clenching the straps of the pack lashed to his back.
Lilia pushed through the back door, not looking back. “To the backyard then. Time to light the fires and get the party started.”
Chapter 19
SCOTLAND
THIRTEENTH CENTURY
Lilia tucked and rolled around the boxy bag belted at her waist before she made full contact with the hillside rushing up to meet her. She didn’t care if she broke her neck; Eliza’s remains weren’t going to get busted into a pile of dust and wood chips on her watch.
A deep throaty growl and a string of hissed Gaelic that was more than likely terms Granny would never approve of sounded off to her left. A strangled shout and profanity she completely understood echoed to her right. A hard thud, shaking leaves, and snapping branches all around signaled Angus’s and Graham’s completed landings. Hopefully, they had survived as well as she had.
“Are you all right?” She hitched forward a few steps, trying to roll the soreness out of one shoulder as she walked. She’d whacked the ground pretty hard on the final roll that had brought her to a stop. She didn’t think the joint was dislocated, but from the feel of it, her muscles weren’t going to let her forget she’d had a rough landing. “Graham. Angus. Are you both okay?”
Graham barked out a strained “Aye!” The dense shrubbery rattled and snapped as he forced his way through the tangle of branches and crawled free of the brush. “God a’mighty. I dinna ken how yer family ever gets used t’such madness.”
“Practice.” Lilia brushed dust and dirt from her jeans as she looked around. “Granny says the more we jump the better we’ll get at landing, but I don’t know…” She shook her head, still rubbing and rolling her throbbing shoulder. “The girls and I have never been able to break free of the time cloud with Granny’s finesse and grace.”
“Sons a bitches, I’ll ne’er do that again.” Angus staggered out of a ragged growth of saplings and brambles, ripping a thorny vine free of his plaid.
Graham squinted up at the quickly clearing sky then looked about the craggy jut of land covered with wind-twisted saplings, ragged bushes, and low-growing ground cover hearty enough to withstand the harsh gusts coming in from the sea. “ ’Tis a far sight higher than I expected.” He walked over to a steep precipice and looked out over the land. He studied their location then turned to his left and nodded to a gentler bit of slope shearing downward. “We’ll have to travel west a bit. ’Tis too severe a climb t’go straight down.”
Angus huffed his way over to Graham, still limping and pulling thistles from the rear of his plaid. Gingerly stepping close to the edge, he scowled down at the sheer drop. “Aye. That drop would try the sure-footedness of a wee Highland goat.”
Rebuckling the bag holding Eliza’s remains, Lilia joined the men standing at the edge of the cliff. “I was afraid to shoot any closer to the sea. I didn’t want to land us in the water.” A cool breeze blew against her face as the first glimmering rays of the rising sun broke across the waves rippling to the horizon.
The savage land unfolded before her like a jagged tartan of shadowed greens, muted blues, and grays. Swatches of purple and pink winked up through the early morning mist swirling about the base of the mountainside. Heather—next to her pink roses, heather was Eliza’s favorite flower. How fitting it should be blooming now.
Lilia inhaled a deep breath of the briny air, a sense of calm settling across her. This place was beautiful but at the same time rugged and strong. The shushing whispers of the wind stroking down the sides of the mountain brought a smile to her face. The land here was endless and stubborn and proud of its beauty. Just like Eliza. “We should reach the sea well before sunset—don’t you think so?”
Graham shrugged his pack more evenly across his back with a nod. “Aye. ’Tis no’ verra far and downhill all the way. Come, mo nighean bhan, let us be on our way.” He motioned Angus forward. “Take the lead, man. Yer better than most at findin’ the surest footing.”
Falling in step behind Angus on the narrow way down the mountainside, Lilia hooked her thumbs through the straps of the backpack, alternately watching her footing and glancing about the land. It was so untouched here, so pristine, as though humans had yet to discover this magical part of the world.
Then it hit her. Just as she was about to shimmy around a good-sized boulder. Greed. Excitement. Revenge. Bloodlust. Waves of cold dark emotions rushed across her like the skin-tingling energy of a building storm.
“Graham?” Lilia backed toward him while glancing about. Where was the source of those deadly emotions?
“What is it, sweetling?” Graham hurried to her, concern knotting his brows. “Ye sound alarmed. What fashes ye, lass?”
“Is there ill afoot?” Angus scrambled back around the curve of the path, sword already drawn.
Lilia covered Graham’s hand with hers and concentrated. Unease. Caring. Worry. Love. Those were Graham’s emotions—not the ones she’d felt just moments ago. Angus pinged out waves of alarm and no small amount of thirst for battle like a high-tech satellite.
Lilia squeezed Graham’s hand, struggling not to let her fear quiver into her voice. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Gotta stay calm. Must focus. “Someone else is here that shouldn’t be. I feel it.”
Graham drew her close, snugging her back against the mountain. He placed himself in front of her like a human shield. “Where? What did ye see?” He unsheathed his sword, his narrow-eyed gaze searching the area.
“I didn’t see them.” Lilia closed her eyes and concentrated, emotionally scanning the area. Dammit. Where are you? She held her breath, straining to recapture the negativity that only moments ago had slammed into her. Dammit. She blew out the breath and opened her eyes. “I’ve lost them. The feelings are gone. But someone was here. I’m sure of it.”
“I dinna care for this. Not a soul kens we’re here.” Graham’s knuckles whitened as he moved his sword in a slow warning arc, glaring all around them.
I know I didn’t imagine it. Someon
e was here. Lilia shook her head and smoothed her hand down Graham’s rock-hard arm. “They’re gone now. I’m positive. If they come close enough I’ll feel them again and I’ll warn you.” She glanced up at the sky. “It’s getting lighter. If we want to reach the outcropping Eliza told me about by this afternoon, we need to get moving.”
“Yer certain we’re alone now?” Graham waited, sword still lifted, ready to cut down any that threatened them.
Lilia’s own tension eased a bit and she relaxed enough to exhale. A part of her—on a very primal level—warmed at being protected. She had no doubt; he’d keep her safe or die in the trying. “I promise they’re gone. It’s okay. Let’s go.”
“Hmph.” Graham jammed his sword back in the sheath, scowled one last searching glance around the area, then looked past her to Angus. “Take to the high ground whilst we descend to the sea. Find them. Ye ken what t’do.”
“Aye.” Angus jerked his head down in a single nod. “I ken it well. Take Mistress Eliza to the sea. There’ll be none threatenin’ ye on my watch, I grant ye that.” He sheathed his sword then carefully worked his way back around them. Before continuing up the hillside, he tossed a smile and a wink back over one shoulder. “I’d ruther be huntin’ a goat-swivin’ knave than traipsin’ about with a pair of lovers any day. I leave ye to yer honorable task, Mistress Lilia, and I’ll no’ return until I’m certain ye both are safe, I swear t’ye.”
“Thank you, Angus.” Lilia’s heart warmed. He might be a crude and clumsy pain in the ass, but Angus was a true friend. “Be careful. I don’t want you hurt either.”
Angus waved her words away, scratching his ass with one hand as he trudged back up the trail.
Lilia and Graham plodded along in companionable silence for what seemed like hours, thankfully, with no recurrence of the upsetting emotions Lilia had sensed at the beginning of their journey. They briefly paused during their descent for Graham to hack off a pair of stray saplings growing alongside the path. He quickly fashioned them into walking sticks for himself and Lilia. At first she’d argued, thinking she didn’t need it, but then she’d grudgingly realized that walking down the steep incline was much easier with the staff to help steady her balance.
My Seductive Highlander Page 17