As skeptical as Taylor was about these things, she had to admit that the knot lodged in the center of her stomach seemed to be slowly loosening. As she sat cross-legged in the over-stuffed chair, her nose twitched in appreciation of the scents floating through the air.
Mattie returned from the kitchen bearing three large goblets and a dark green bottle. Setting the glasses on the table, she slowly began filling each of the glasses with a rich amber-colored liquid. After filling all the glasses, Mattie handed one to Drake, one to Taylor then settled on the floor beside the table, leaning comfortably back against the couch.
Cautiously sniffing the sparkling liquid, Taylor’s eyes quickly filled with water as the intoxicating alcoholic fumes seared through her nostrils.
“Whew! What is this stuff, Mattie?” Taylor asked, quickly holding the glass at arm’s length.
“Homemade brandy,” Mattie announced proudly. “Think of it as a bit of a tranquilizer…you know…to help you get into the flow of things.” Winking, she gingerly sipped at the powerful fluid swirling in her own glass.
Glancing over at Drake who was frowning in concentration into his own glass, Taylor leaned forward and set her untouched brandy on the table. “I believe I’ll pass…for now,” she explained. “I’m afraid I’ll go blind,” she added silently to herself.
Risking one small sip, Drake’s face turned a deep crimson as he inhaled noisily in a vain attempt at quenching the flames flowing down his gullet. Coughing, he set his own glass upon the table, nodding apologetically in Mattie’s direction as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I believe…I’ll wait a bit…before I have anymore as well.”
“Suit yourselves,” Mattie glibly retorted, risking one last sip before she too, returned her glass to the table.
Lighting the tall beeswax candle in the center of the table, Drake looked about the room, searching for the switch to douse the electric lights. Realizing what he was searching for, Mattie jumped up and quickly crossed the room to the switch…dimming the lights, then returned to her position on the floor.
Smiling his thanks to Mattie, Drake then turned to Taylor. “Shall we begin?” he asked, eyes serious as he peered at her over his spectacles.
Despite Mattie’s fragrances still hanging heavily in the air, Taylor felt the familiar knot in her stomach cinch a bit tighter as she silently nodded her head.
“Taylor…I would like for you to concentrate completely on the flame of the candle.” Drake spoke softly, gesturing toward the large candle burning in the center of the table. “You must clear your mind completely of everything…except for the warm welcoming flame.” His voice dropping to a low soothing cadence, Drake remained motionless as he spoke. “Separate yourself completely from everything else in this room…nothing exists but the flame.”
The drone of his voice in her ears, the aromas of the oils and candles in her nostrils, Taylor stared at the yellow, flickering flame, struggling to concentrate on Drake’s words. Fear of the unknown and nervousness finally pushing her into mild panic, Taylor glanced over at Drake and grinned. “You’re not going to make me bark like a dog or anything are you?” She giggled nervously, immediately regretting her words as Drake and Mattie glowered at her in unison.
Handing Taylor her previously refused glass of homemade brandy, “Taylor…this won’t work if you don’t take it seriously,” Mattie admonished sternly.
Accepting her punishment, Taylor took one small sip of the burning liquid, then handed the glass back to Mattie as she fanned her heated face. Fixing Drake with a repentant look, Taylor nodded slowly. “Okay….I’ll really try this time.”
Drake nodded in agreement. “The flame must be the center of your concentration, Taylor. The absolute center of your universe…nothing else exists,” he began again in his deep soothing voice. “When you inhale the flame comes forward to embrace you….when you exhale the flame dances out of your reach.”
Taylor watched the flickering yellow light…blocking all other thoughts and feelings from her mind. As she listened to the hum of Drake’s deep monotone, she inhaled deeply, the fragrances hanging in the air filling her lungs. She didn’t know if it was the effects of the sip of the stout brandy or the spices filling the air, but Taylor was beginning to feel as though she were tingling, her very soul captured by the dancing flame. As she continued to be mesmerized by the beckoning fire, she slowly felt herself slipping back against the cushions of the chair…relaxing and growing sleepier with each passing moment.
As Taylor’s eyelids grew heavier, Drake moved to the edge of the couch, leaning towards her as he spoke. “Taylor, can you still see the flame?” he asked softly, maintaining the hypnotic monotone he’d used since the beginning of the session. It was very important for Drake to keep Taylor in her present relaxed state without allowing her to slip over the abyss into actual slumber. Nodding quietly to Mattie as she edged the burning candle closer to Taylor’s end of the tabled, he repeated in a slightly more authoritative voice. “Taylor…answer me. Do you see the flame?”
Taylor’s eyelids were like lead, partially closed as the relaxed pupils stared fixedly at the dancing flame. “Yes…I see the flame,” she answered quietly, her face completely serene.
“Look into the flame, Taylor…” Drake instructed gently. “The Laird of Clan Macleod is there.”
“I see him,” Taylor whispered, her pupils dilating slightly as though focusing on something within the flame.
“He wants you to find him, Taylor,” Drake continued steadily. “He’s been searching for you for years…he needs you.”
“I want to find him too,” Taylor replied, her face flinching slightly as though responding to an unpleasant thought.
“Why do you want to find him, Taylor?” Drake asked. Leaning forward as he edged the burning candle even closer, Drake waited patiently for Taylor’s reply, holding his breath in anticipation as he watched emotions flitting across Taylor’s face.
As Drake scooted the candle to the very edge of the table, he noted that Taylor’s hypnotic state seemed to be growing less relaxed. Her forehead creasing with a slight frown, she began picking at the folds of her dress in agitation. Drake repeated the question, hoping Taylor would stop struggling to escape the answer. “Tell me why you want to find Quinlan,” he prodded gently.
As Drake and Mattie watched, Taylor’s eyes slowly widened…opening fully as though completely awake. Looking away from the flame of the candle to stare directly into Drake’s face, Taylor spoke quietly in an eerie faraway voice…a voice barely tinged with the slightest hint of an ancient Scottish burr. “I must find my Quinlan…for I love him...he is my dearest husband. I pledged my love for him through all eternity,” she stated simply, rising to walk over to the portrait of the Laird of Clan Macleod, gently brushing the canvas with her hand.
“Who are you?” Mattie asked softly, ignoring Drake’s restraining hand upon her arm.
Turning from the canvas to smile down at Mattie, Taylor shook her head slowly as she replied, “Why dear Mattie…ye know me. I am Taelhar of the tale ye found within your wee books.”
“What about Taylor? My Taylor of the twentieth century?” Mattie asked, fear beginning to rise in her breast.
Returning to her seat in front of the candle, Taelhar reached out and gently patted Mattie’s arm. “We are one and the same, Taylor and I…the ancient memories have simply lain dormant until the proper time.” Reaching out to retrieve the goblet of brandy from the table, Taelhar took a small sip before she continued. “I have had to wait until the proper time to attempt to reach m’Quinlan.”
“What do you mean the proper time?” Drake asked. Forgetting the strength of the brandy, he nearly seared his throat closed with too large a gulp, coughing and spewing the mouthful of fiery liquid everywhere.
Taelhar smiled at Drake’s inability to tolerate the strong drink, seeming to have none of Taylor’s earlier discomfort with the sparkling liquid herself. “When I was torn away from my Quinlan…when we were separated whi
le lying in our marriage bed …the planets, the stars; they were aligned in such a way as to rip me away from ma annsachd. I was trapped in a different place, isolated for hundreds of years until the planets moved to their present positions. My soul was mended while I was there…restored by the Blessed Brighid herself. Then I was able to live again, return and be reborn.” She set the goblet down upon the table, as she continued in her melodic voice. “Taylor has no idea of the ancient ways, of the powerful memories…when I finally completely meld with her, she will still lose much of the information I have to share. But she is me…as I am her and we will share our memories and refocus our lives and our powers.”
“You mean you’re not human?” Mattie sputtered. “You’re like some sort of…parasite inside my friend?”
Shaking her head, Taelhar attempted to explain, “Ye dinna understand…Taylor’s personality is from growing up in this world...in this time. Her experiences have shaped her into the person ye know. But she and I are one person…all of my experiences have been but beyond her conscious reach.” Smiling softly as she continued, “As for my not being human…I’m afraid that has been mine and Taylor’s undoing. For if I had not been of the Tuatha De Danann, those wicked druids wouldha’ never robbed me of so many years.”
“The Tuatha De Danann?” Mattie asked in whispered amazement.
“Aye,” Taelhar agreed, “Surely ye have read of the divine race of the Otherworld…of Morrigan or the legends of Cuchulainn?”
“The legends say you were a gift from The Auld Ones or the Ancient Powers…a descendant of Queen Mab herself.” Drake supplied, leaning forward with interest.
Taelhar smiled as she slowly shook her head. “I am not of the faeries…but I have known a few.”
Taelhar shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her face growing suddenly quite serious. “But since the time is near for me to finally reach my love…Taylor and I must completely share our lives…joining the memories and the information of the past, for there in lies our strength. If we canna become a whole person…then both of us will become quite insane within this body…neither of us ever knowing true happiness.”
At this revelation, Mattie’s eyes widened with fear for her friend, “What can we do to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
Smiling at Mattie’s heartfelt concern, Taelhar lowered her eyes once again to the candle. “Just continue to love her as ye always have…some of the memories may frighten the lass. But this will be the last time that we are separate, she and I. When she awakens…we shall finally be one.”
“Taelhar…wait!” Drake interjected urgently, “You still haven’t told us how to find Quinlan.”
Her eyelids returning to the half-closed position, Taelhar whispered softly. “Taylor will know when she awakens….and that which she doesna’ yet know, she will easily find.”
~*~
Taylor finally awoke to Mattie’s persistent shaking, her head feeling three times its usual size as she struggled to focus her eyes on her friend’s swimming face. “I’m awake…stop shaking me before I throw up on you!” Taylor snapped, her face grimacing in displeasure at the awful taste in her mouth. She ran her tongue around her teeth, frowning at the furry feeling plaque coating her molars. “Ugh! I’ve got to brush my teeth,” she mumbled, swinging her feet to the floor. This quick motion was definitely a mistake, setting the room at a nauseating spin as Taylor clutched her throbbing head, and falling weakly back against the pillows.
Observing her friend from her perch on the end of the bed, Mattie waited for Taylor to steady herself before she spoke. “Are you okay? Do you want me to get you a cool cloth?” she asked, pushing Taylor’s hair away from her face with concern.
“I’ll be fine,” Taylor replied thickly, rising gingerly to weave her way to the bathroom. Loading her toothbrush with minty paste, Taylor doggedly scrubbed at her tongue in an attempt to rid her mouth of its awful coating. Spitting a mouthful of the froth into the sink, Taylor glanced at Mattie in the mirror. “What happened last night?” she asked before plunging the toothbrush back into her mouth to industriously scour her teeth.
Pursing her lips and tapping her chin as she wondered just how much she should say, Mattie evaded quietly, “What do you remember?”
Taylor rinsed out the toothbrush, replacing it in its holder, as she dried her mouth with a towel. Wetting a washcloth and wringing it out, she gently wiped her face before she answered. Pausing as she hung the washcloth on the rod, she frowned. “I remember staring at that candle and getting extremely sleepy.” Rubbing her aching temples with both hands, she finished, “I don’t remember drinking enough of that homemade brew of yours to give me such a headache, though!”
“Well…you didn’t exactly,” Mattie replied uncomfortably, glancing down at the tile floor as she spoke. “But Taelhar seemed to enjoy it…and the strength didn’t seem to bother her a bit.”
As Mattie said the name Taelhar, Taylor felt a brief shiver run up her spine. The room suddenly seemed quite cold and she felt as if the walls were slowly closing in on her. As she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, she clutched at the side of the porcelain bowl with trembling hands.
“Taylor…are you okay?” Mattie repeated, wiping Taylor’s face with the cool cloth she’d snatched from the bar.
Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, Taylor struggled to answer. “I don’t know…I feel…strange.”
Balancing on the side of the tub, Mattie sat patiently waiting for Taylor to regain her strength. She watched her closely, wondering how much of Taelhar’s memories, Taylor had actually retained.
As Taylor kneeled on the cold tile floor, scattered thoughts and images raced through her mind. Opening her eyes to stare into Mattie’s worried ones, Taylor felt frightened at the fragmented memories of unknown places and people she’d never before realized she possessed. “What’s wrong with me? Am I insane?” she whispered, as Mattie gently helped her up, leading her back to her bed.
“No…not insane,” Mattie replied gently. “Just extremely gifted, you might say.”
Covering her eyes with her hands, Taylor tried vainly to sort through all the thoughts and memories she was suddenly experiencing. She saw the landscape of a strange land, misty, damp and unknown to her. She saw the shape of an unfinished dwelling in the distance, a tower of stone attached to what looked to be a two-story house. It reminded her of a small castle. As she remembered the image of warm flickering torchlight shining through the slits of the turret, she felt a longing to return there, an unexplainable need to claim that as home.
“Mattie…you have to explain to me what is going on…what happened here last night?” Taylor finally opened her eyes, slowly sitting up in the bed.
As Taylor sat quietly hugging her pillow to her chest, Mattie methodically filled her in on every detail of the previous evening. Finally, she finished her unusual discourse with the description of what had happened, once Taelhar had ceased speaking. Drake and Mattie had been unable to awaken Taylor from the trance. Drake had carried Taylor to her bed, where he and Mattie had maintained a vigil the rest of the night, checking Taylor’s vital signs at regular intervals, praying that she would soon wake up. The events of the evening snowballing her into a panic, Mattie had finally resorted to shaking Taylor fiercely and shouting her name until Taylor had finally reached the surface of consciousness. Now here they were…attempting to sort through all the bizarre events of the previous evening.
“Where’s Drake?” Taylor mumbled almost incoherently, still in a state of shock over all that she had just learned.
“He’s in the kitchen making us some tea,” Mattie smiled tremulously. “You know the British…they think tea fixes everything.”
Returning her friend’s tremulous smile with a shaky grin of her own, Taylor reached over and patted Mattie’s hand. “I’m just glad you’re here to help me through this…Mattie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Feeling better are we?” Drake asked glibly, attempting to lig
hten the moment as he brandished the breakfast tray through the doorway.
“Never let Mattie bring over homemade brandy again,” Taylor instructed seriously, her stomach rolling at the sight of the tray full of tea and toast.
“Don’t worry,” Drake assured her, nodding in whole-hearted agreement. “It’s a miracle any of us have any internal organs left after ingesting that molten lava.”
“Fine!” Mattie retorted with a mock pout. “I just thought it might help everyone to relax.”
Drake and Mattie ceased their friendly banter as they noticed Taylor staring off into space, unconsciously nibbling at her toast.
“Taylor?” Mattie reached over and lightly touched her friend’s arm; attempting to gently
nudge her from her reverie.
Taylor jumped, dropping her toast to her lap and slopping her tea from her cup. “What?” she asked, clumsily attempting to mop up the tea with a corner of the bed sheet.
“What are you thinking about, Taylor?” Drake asked, retrieving the teacup and plate of toast from Taylor’s lap.
Frowning at the memory of her jumbled thoughts, Taylor stared dejectedly up at Drake. “I was trying to organize all these memories…trying to sort things out. I can’t quite seem to focus on any one thing…everything…all of the places…it’s all sort of jumbled up.”
“Taelhar did warn us that things would be a bit confusing at first…perhaps even a little frightening.” Drake supplied, settling the tray of breakfast remains on the seat of a nearby chair. “What exactly are you remembering?” he asked. “Do you mind telling us?”
Shaking her head in confusion, Taylor wearily rubbed her face. “I don’t mind telling you…I just can’t quite figure it all out. I think I’m remembering where I used to live…maybe where I lived with Quinlan? I’m not sure.” Raising her head to stare up at the ceiling in despair, “I don’t remember living with Quinlan…but when I think of him, I feel so…lonely…so lost…I can’t explain it. I don’t even know him…how can I feel that way?”
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