by LAURA HARNER
“Thank you, lass.” He turned back to his seat, setting the tray on the table near him, taking a bite of bread and washing it down with a swallow of wine.
Randi continued to bathe Gabhran while Ian spoke. He told her of Gav’s bravery, and the death of his own father and eldest brother.
“He was injured saving my life Miranda. I have never known a braver man; I will give my life to protect him and his. There is more I must tell you, ‘tis my fault he lies in this condition.
“I thought the assassination was a last attempt by the Comyn to get our lands. The weapons and clothes of the men were the Comyn’s. Then on the morning I planned to leave, I had a guard assembled, to bring him home. As we said our good-byes, I felt a cold wave pass over me, and I thought ‘twas Gav’s spirit passing through the veil. I jumped in the wagon to check him, only to discover he was still unconscious.
“I followed the chill with my senses until I located it deep in my youngest brother Stephan’s heart. It was not natural, but I had felt it before. It was the darkness that invaded Gav so many years ago. That darkness has found a new and much more receptive home in Stephan.
“Stephan has long resented his birth order and coveted that which belonged to others by right. In that instant, my brother’s heart was laid before me and I saw it had been he who planned the attack, and he planned to kill Gav, to kill me, as we returned to the highlands.”
Randi’s face felt tight with the horror of what Ian was telling her. Lissa’s hands crept to her mouth, as though covering a silent scream.
“When I realized his plan, I told them all, since Gav was now dead, I was returning alone with his body and would tell you of his deeds. Stephan accepted my lie, and swiftly changed his plans to kill me on the return trip. He is worried that the Gailtry Druids would seek revenge should they suspect foul play.” Ian laughed bitterly. “’Tis what I have to look forward to upon my return.”
Miranda looked back up at Ian then, his face nearly as gray with exhaustion as Gabhran’s. “I’m sorry, Ian. It will wait. Whatever it is you feel you need to do, it will wait.”
“Nay,” he said, his eyes straying to Lissa as he continued. “Your family is in danger, those working with my brother are still out there. I must organize the guards first, everyone must be sworn to secrecy. Once you all are as safe as I can make you, then I will sleep.” He stood and bowed first to Randi, then turning, he bowed to Lissa, that flush creeping up his cheeks again, before he turned and left the room.
Randi was momentarily distracted from her self-appointed task, and said to Lissa, “I do believe Ian is fond of you. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He saw that you are with child, yet his gaze lingered. You know, he might be very interested, should you want to marry before the baby arrives. Should I speak to him?”
Lissa smiled gently, her eyes drifting to the door through which Ian had left. “Ian is a good man, and has ever been overly solicitous of my feelings. Nay, I canna marry him, when I love another. Alex will always live in my heart. I doona know what is in the air tonight, for I feel as though he is close, mayhap his spirit has come to visit. Mayhap ‘tis the full moon.”
Changing the subject, Lissa asked, “How is Gav, will he be well?”
“Help me turn him on his side, we can prop him up with pillows, I want to check his wounds.”
The women worked together, Randi crooning to Gabhran the entire time, hoping to reach his unconscious mind. They examined his wounds, which looked to be healing, although the lower wound was closed by a horrific burn. Before she began to wash him, Randi told Lissa to return to her room, rest would be needed and Lissa could watch over him later.
When they were alone, Randi uncovered him completely, assuring herself that those were the only two wounds on his magnificent body. She tenderly washed his entire body, willing her own strength into his body, filling him with her love.
“Come back to me Gabhran, open your eyes and see me. I need you, we need you.” She repeated the same words, a mantra, while she moved from washing his body to brushing the tangles from his hair.
She had been at it for nearly an hour when she noticed a change in his breathing, less shallow, not as even. She knelt by his head and cupped his face in her hands.
“Gabhran? Gabhran, my love, open your eyes and look at me.”
His eyes fluttered open, closed, then fluttered open again. His steely blue eyes were unfocused as they tried to search for the sound of her voice. “Miranda,” he croaked.
“I’m here, you’re home now, Gabhran, you’re home.” She tried to sound confident, but the sight of him so weak, nearly broke her heart.
She helped him drink some water, checked his brow for fever, and stroked his face as he drifted in and out of consciousness. She was sure he knew she was there, and believed that it had to help.
Much later he opened his eyes with a new focus. “Miranda?”
“Shh, love, don’t worry, I’m right here. I’m not leaving.”
His voice was raspy, but stronger when he said, “Miranda, I thought you were a dream.”
“Nay, Highlander.” She smiled. “I am here, and so is your wee one.” She took his hand and placed it against her stomach. “You must get better now, we need you.” Her eyes were filled with tears, and her throat felt tight. He just has to get better, he needs all the willpower I can give him.
His hand flexed weakly against her stomach, and he smiled as he drifted back to sleep.
Hours later, Lissa came to the room and sent Randi to bed, even if only for a short nap. She promised to wake Randi if Gabhran woke or if there was any change in his condition.
“He looks better Miranda. His face is not so gray, being home has done him good.”
“I told him there was a baby, and that we both needed him.” Randi smiled. “He heard me, he smiled.” She stepped into her own room and was asleep in minutes.
****
Alexander pulled himself from his memories of Alysone, wondering how long before they could be together again. She completed him, had accepted his proposal, and someday would bear his children. First, he had to make sure everyone was safe. None of them knew how close the danger was, now that the Epoch of Druidry was coming in the future, and it was up to him in the now to prepare the path. ‘Twas not just a time to affect the remaining Druids, nay, the world was in danger, magick was in danger. It is up to me.
He poured water into a small silver plate he had stolen on his journey and said the words of the scrying spell. He looked first to Elena, assuring himself that all was well. She had found the last remaining Gailtry Druid, as he knew she would. They would protect each other.
He then looked for his brother, Gabhran. What he saw was nigh impossible to believe. He struggled against the absurd image even though he knew what he was seeing was in fact what was actually happening only a scant hour’s ride away.
How could this be? He had woven the spell himself, sent Gabhran forward, left the talisman in his care. Christ, what had gone wrong? Had it been the drugs? Had he been rendered so weak for a time that all his magick had come unwoven when he was trapped on that island?
Och, he could see Gabhran clearly; he reached with his senses to confirm what he already knew to be true. Gabhran was lying in bed, in his chamber, sleeping. Without hesitating lest he be tempted to see his brother face-to-face one last time, Alex pulled the power he needed, drawing from the stones, from the moon, from deep within his Druid soul. He formed the spell to send Gav back to Edinburgh, to the house he had prepared for him, and prayed that the story he’d woven was still in place.
He looked into the scrying surface to watch as his beloved brother was sent from him to fight a battle yet to come. Just as the spell started to work, a woman knelt in front of Gav, appearing to stroke his brow, and then in an instant they were both gone, sent to a time seven hundred years in the future.
Alex doubled over with the force of his betrayal. In the short time he had been gone, it appeared Alysone had moved on to his br
other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Miranda woke with a start, her heart racing from the remnants of an unremembered nightmare. Gabhran. Gabhran was here, he was alive, and she needed to get to him. She was startled to see it was light and leapt from the bed, wondering why Lissa had let her sleep so long. She threw on a wrap and raced to the next room, only to find it empty, the bed made, and no sign anyone had been in there in days.
She felt the panic rise and a scream build in her throat. Fighting against the growing dread, she ran from the room, down the stairs, and into the great hall. Ian and Agnes were talking quietly together, and broke off abruptly at the sight of Miranda. Agnes hurried to her side.
“Milady, you should not be up and about yet. Return to your chamber and I will fetch you a tray myself.”
“Where is Gabhran?” she practically shouted at Ian.
Ian and Agnes exchanged uneasy glances.
Agnes tried again. “Milady—Miranda, come on, love, let me take you back upstairs. ‘Twill not do the baby any good for you to be running through the keep in bare feet. Let’s go to your chamber, it must be warm in there this morning.”
“Where is Gabhran?” she again demanded of Ian, and she moved forward to grip his arm, her small hand pale against the gold of his skin.
He covered her hand with his. “Miranda, Gabhran is gone, he died. We buried him near the stones. Doona you remember?” he asked softly.
Miranda’s knees buckled, and Ian caught her as she slid with a sigh. “Not again,” she murmured before the darkness took her.
****
Alexander felt ripped in two. He hadn’t needed to see the woman’s face to know it was Alysone. He had seen her white blonde hair gathered in a tail, baring her beautiful long neck, and then her face turned slightly and he had seen her proud profile. Och, it was his Lissa. How could she have betrayed him this way? They had promised each other to wed, to make babies, to grow old together.
He didna blame Gabhran overmuch, since he had never told Gav how he felt. But Lissa knew. She knew she was his own heart, that she filled his soul. He’d thought ‘twas the same for her.
Dubh Each wandered over and nudged Alexander’s shoulder with his velvety nose, drawing Alex’s attention. He stroked the horse’s neck before Dubh turned around and walked away. The hard flick of his tail alongside Alex’s head was too intentional to ignore.
“What?” Alexander asked through clenched teeth.
Dubh snorted through his horsey flared nostrils, tossed his head, then left the clearing, clearly not interested in further discussion.
Alexander couldn’t think. Questions, memories, visions, and dreams all vied for his attention. He kicked the scrying dish out of his way, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. Threading his fingers into his hair and pulling, he arched his neck back and his cry rent the night.
*
The guards cried out, calling along their ranks, “Alexander, the Laird lives,” until each man stationed knew of the glad tidings. Alexander and Dubh approached the castle, wondering at the excitement over their arrival. A golden steed raced toward him, and Alex smiled as he recognized Ian on the mount.
“Alex! We had reports of your death, that your ship and all hands were lost! ‘Tis mighty glad I am to see you. We have much to discuss, I have news, not happy news.”
“Aye, Ian, we have much to discuss, but first a meal and a bath, unless the borders are about to be broached.”
Ian laughed and slapped his old friend on the back, and Alex felt the other Druid’s power as Ian pushed his sorrow for Gabhran to the side for the moment. ‘Twould come soon enough for the both of them.
****
Bathed and fed, Alex went to his brother’s room before he went to face Ian. He sat on the bed, lowered his head to his hands, and mourned his loss. It troubled him greatly that Gabhran had been here. ‘Twas not supposed to be that way, Gav should have been firmly in the future.
Alex had cautiously probed Ian’s thoughts and emotions as they rode together and knew the other Druid was waiting to tell him that Gabhran was dead. Alex wondered idly what the story would be this time. The spell of time weaving was supposed to prevent any unexplained absences, guard against any breach of the illusion of the singularity of time. ‘Twas a complicated spell, and he feared he’d not yet mastered all the intricacies.
Moving someone to a new place and time was like plunging your arm in a bucket of water. With no memory, the water merely moved and accommodated, the intrusion illusory. In time weaving, the stories merged and made sense to those involved, no one ever noticed the new person fully immersed in a new reality.
He’d always believed the time weaving spell worked exactly the same way for the people left behind. Just like that bucket of water…the story filled in and those who were left understood the absence in a way that made the most sense—if they were permitted memories at all. Circling back around to where his thoughts had started, Alex wondered what story of Gabhran’s death Ian would tell him.
Christ, he missed having someone share his burdens, a family facing troubles together.
****
Miranda lay prostrate on her bed, while maids bustled about the room, as though she were the lady of the manor and had just swooned in the great hall. Well, you ninny, that’s exactly what happened. Ian had caught her as she'd started to go down and carried her to her room. Now the maids fussed, brought her a small carafe of water, and a tray laden with tea and treats designed to tempt her to eat.
You are in a world of shit. Tossed seven hundred years in the past, the love of your life missing in some weird time travel black hole, and pregnant in a world that had never even considered prenatal health care. And fainting? What kind of a girly thing was that to do anyway? Certainly not something that Detective Randi Close will ever do again. I am not a helpless female; I will find a way to protect myself and mine. It is time to start seriously detecting, to figure this out, to find Gabhran, to save us both.
Randi clearly remembered Gabhran in his bed, badly injured, but not dead. He’d touched her belly and smiled as he drifted to sleep. Lissa had relieved her at Gav’s bedside, so Randi could catch a few hours of sleep. Now he was gone and so apparently was Lissa. And everyone else remembered that Gav died. What in the hell was going on?
She sent the maids from the room, with a promise she would eat something and get some rest. She took a cup of tea, and a scone, and then sat in the window seat staring out to sea, thinking of her love for Gabhran. It didn’t get any more epic than this.
She heard a noise from the other room, and assumed a maid must be cleaning the already spotless chamber. The adjoining door opened slowly, and Randi sighed, not wanting to be disturbed by yet another maid hovering over her. She glanced over her shoulder. “Please go, I really am fine for now.”
A deep, familiar voice said, “I am glad you are fine, lass, but just who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing in my brother’s chambers?”
Randi jumped up, spinning around at the whisky-rich deep brogue, her teacup shattering against the stone floor. The man’s face was in shadow, but he was at least as tall and broad as Gabhran. He sounded like Gabhran. Was it possible? Had he returned, and she just needed to win his heart again? She could do that.
“Gabhran,” Randi said quietly as she started toward him. Then the light shifted as she came nearer, she realized her mistake, and froze. The man was looking at her in fascination, as if he couldn’t imagine why a woman would be in this room. Randi felt her legs go wobbly again, and fought against the rushing sound of blood in her ears.
A heartbroken sob escaped her throat just before she was assaulted with a wave of mental energy as strong as any she’d felt from Gabhran. She felt violated, her thoughts invaded, and as she felt it reach for the inner most essence of her soul, the spirits that hovered so near to her here in this time seemed to swell within her, blocking the barrage of energy this stranger was sending her way.
“Bast
ard,” she gritted as she doubled over in pain.
He reached her in four long strides, and then he was on his back looking up at the ceiling and Randi held a dirk at his throat.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Breathing hard, Randi surveyed her handy work. The giant stranger had mentally assaulted her, leaving her doubled over in pain, so that when he rushed toward her, she assumed he was taking his assault to another level. Her police training taught her how to take advantage of leverage and momentum. One minute the big man was rushing at her hunched frame, his arm reaching out to grab her. The next, she yanked that big arm, pulling him closer still, and using the force of his own forward momentum, she created a fulcrum with her own body, and over he went, flat on his back.
It was merely a coincidence that she had the dirk in her hand. It was Gabhran’s personal weapon, and she had only moments before picked it up, just to hold something of Gabhran close to her heart. It was razor sharp, and she watched, a combination of fascination and horror as a drop of blood welled on his golden-tan skin, where she held the tip to his jugular vein.
He lay very still, and she realized it was a trick of the light and his voice that had led her to think it might be Gabhran at first. This man was slightly taller, his black eyes flecked with iridescent sparks. His hair was that same black as coal color, but longer, not quite as wavy, and he wore a close cropped beard. He was dressed in leather riding trewes, a linen shirt, and he wasn’t Gabhran. She didn’t know who he was but she resented everything about him that reminded her of Gabhran.
He gritted out between clenched teeth, “If you remove that knife of your own volition now, lass, I will let you live. If I am forced to remove it from you myself, I will not be gentle, and you will be hurt or killed in the process.”
Her rage and grief filled her with fury, and she pressed the blade a little harder, and a small rivulet of blood trickled down his neck. “I’ve had a bad fucking week; I don’t think I’d press my luck if I were you. Now tell me, just who in the hell are you, and why are you in my bedroom?”