by LAURA HARNER
“You said you saw Alysone touch Gabhran’s head just as the spell took effect. I believe she is alive and well, and in Gabhran’s reality with him. Just like it worked for me.” She paused then, waiting for him to catch up with her excitement, for the reality to hit that Alysone and the baby were all right.
He searched her eyes hopefully. “Aye, if ‘tis true, she would be with Gav, and he will care for her. Our child will live.”
Laughing, Miranda replied, “Aye, Alexander MacLachlan, I believe your Alysone is alive and well and is with my Gabhran in the twenty-first century. Now what are we going to do about it?” He blinked his dark eyes at her, expression unreadable.
“We canna do anything about it, lass. I told you before the spell is specific to Gabhran. It was pure coincidence that Gav was pulled when you were touching him. ‘Tis a relief to know that they are together and we are together, at least the bairn of the MacLachlan will be raised in the tradition of our family.”
“Can’t we ask someone? Surely there must be another Druid we could ask. What about your trainer, your Druid Master?”
There was no telltale sign, no flicker of the eyes, but still she knew. Whatever he said next, it wasn’t going to be the truth.
“Nay, lass, there are no books, the Gailtry hold those, and I know of no one who could answer that question. ‘Tis best we leave it alone.”
Randi smiled to herself, secretly thrilled. She could read him, too, just like she read others when she was a cop. He mostly told the truth. It was the last part of his statement that was the lie; he did know someone he could ask. She would leave that lie go for now. The other part was true, though, he didn’t know about the books!
There was an odd moment of déjà vu that she experienced, then set aside, planning to revisit the thought later. For now, she needed to show him the books. Maybe he was unable to tell her about the Druid Master, maybe it was some kind of need-to-know, top secret vow. If she showed him the books though, all the information they needed might be in there and he could send them forward without breaking any vows.
Randi moved to the hearth and smoothly located the hidden latch. In moments, she had worked the release and a panel swung open, revealing the secret library. With a roar, Alex jumped to his feet, obviously stunned at the hidden chamber. Quickly, Randi explained about the books inside and how Lissa had discovered it years before. He stepped wonderingly through the opening and picked up one after the other of the ancient tomes.
“I had no idea these were here, lass,” he said, stunned to his very core. “I fear I must be alone for a while, to ponder the meaning of all this.”
She narrowed her eyes at his back. He was going to talk to someone, to whomever it was he’d lied about earlier. That déjà vu feeling again passed over her, that feeling there was something she was seeing that was there but not there, something she’d sensed before. Frowning, she picked at it in her mind, while Alex continued to gape at all of the books.
She stood statue-like, lost in thought, as she moved the pieces in her mind. How had she met Gabhran, or rather why had she met him? How had Alysone ended up in her city, her time? Why was she here and not there? She knew that Alex and Gav were involved because of some great Druid prophesy of some kind. But what about her and Lissa, why were they thick in the middle of it? And both pregnant? Hmmm…
Who was this person Alex was talking to? His Druid Master? He’d mentioned something early on in their conversation about “The people I knew as my parents.” Did that mean they weren’t his real parents? If not, then who were the parents, and could they still be alive somewhere, could that be who he was talking to?
Finally, she came around to the most critical points. There had to be others out there besides Gabhran and Alex, because otherwise, Gabhran was in the twenty-first century getting ready to take on these dark Druids all by himself. If there were others, were they being moved through time, too? Although Gabhran had been moved by Alex, it still felt like Alex wasn’t in complete control. Alex hadn’t intentionally moved Gabhran back to the fourteenth century, so was that an accident? Was someone deliberately interfering with his spells? Things were happening here that Alex clearly didn’t understand.
Randi interrupted Alex’s examination of the ancient books. “Alex, you need to talk to your Druid Master and get him to agree to speak with me. I don’t think were alone in this battle after all, and I’m not exactly sure who’s a good guy and who isn’t. Can you reach him today?”
Alex gave her a long look, before he finally agreed with a curt not and a clipped, “Aye.”
****
A familiar looking woman with a cap of curly white hair, rosy cheeks, and eyes sparkling with mischief squinted in the bright sunlight, trying to look up at Gabhran, “Now you doona be looking like the type of man to selling something, you look more like the family doctor is paying a call. How may I be helping you this fine morning?”
“May we come in, Ms. Gailtry, is it?”
She glanced over her shoulder and a deep voice muttered something in response.
Gav felt every hair on the back of his neck rise, half a second before he felt something pierce his mind, probing him, trying to sense his intentions. He sent up barriers, forcing the alien presence from him, feeling it the instant he was free of that other mind. How had that happened? More importantly, how had he blocked it?
He pulled Lissa back a step. “Perhaps I have made an error, I thought we might have some things to talk about, some mutual acquaintances. I will come back another time.” He was slowly stepping away from the door, bringing Lissa further behind him, shielding her with his body. He turned and pushed her toward the SUV, whispering urgently for her to hurry.
Christ, someone here has strong magick. I put Lissa in danger just bringing her along. If anything happened to her or the baby, he could never forgive himself. He would get her to a safe place and then return alone. Just as he opened the door, a familiar voice called out his name.
“Gabhran? Dr. MacLachlan, please, wait.”
Everything happened in slow motion, just as he remembered it happening the night he’d helped the woman escape the Etarlam. Gabhran turned toward the familiar voice just as she reached to touch his arm.
Gav looked down at the woman he knew as Elena Thomas, and snarled. Fast as lightening, he wrapped his arm roughly around her neck and unsheathed a blade he wore on his belt. The civilized twenty-first physician was gone in an instant. The fourteenth century warrior would protect his family at all costs.
“Step away, Alysone, get into the car.”
Gabhran looked at the four people across from him. The man next to Lissa began to growl low in his throat. It didn’t sound human at all. The older couple moved forward to stand by his side and all three of them fixed him with feral eyes, eyes that said he was a dead man. His eyes returned the message. “Hurt one hair on Alysone’s head, and I will kill you.
The wind in the space between the house and the steading began to swirl, picking up leaves, whipping everyone’s hair into their eyes. Clouds skittered across the previously clear sky, casting pockets of deep shadows, draping all of them in shade.
Suddenly, Lissa gasped. The woman who’d answered the door shivered, then shook herself. The older man straightened from his half-crouch.
The man in the middle, who stood directly behind Lissa was big enough to break her in two, and Gav knew it would be a close fight between them physically, he and this highlander were well-matched. Rather than make any move to hurt Lissa, he shook his head, his whole body changed from his warrior’s stance. He shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear it.
Had someone worked another spell? All the threat he’d felt from them moments before was gone, replaced by a sense of well being rolling off of them toward him.
Gav, unaffected by the spell, was still ready to fight if necessary, but he slowly lowered the knife from Elena’s neck as he felt her relax underneath his arm.
“Gabhran, it’s me, it’s Elena, the one you saved. No one he
re will hurt you, you have my word. Reach with your senses, I know you can. You are safe here now.”
He felt Elena’s words deep in his soul. She was telling the truth, they would not be in danger here. This was a place of sanctuary. He lowered his arm, tentatively at first, then more quickly as he stepped back and faced her.
They looked at each other, and he was stunned to see tears in her eyes as she whispered, “You’re alive, thank God, I thought you’d been shot with an arrow. Stupid, I know. It was a dream or a vision or something. I was so worried.”
“Lass, I doona ken what is happening, but seems we have much to talk about. He looked over at the other four, and nearly laughed aloud. All four were staring at the two of them, their mouths slightly ajar, eyes wide. He didna think the spell Elena cast had been that strong, apparently he was wrong, for they all still seemed bespelled.
He and Elena locked gazes for a moment, and then looked back again at the others.
“Gav, did you know—” Lissa started.
Then they were all talking at once, and he couldn’t understand a word they were trying to say. He and Elena glanced uncertainly at each other, then back again at the other four.
Finally, the man in the middle bellowed, “Hold your whisht,” and his big booming voice reverberated around the courtyard.
Gav looked at him, bewildered by everyone’s reaction.
Faolan looked at Elena, “Why didna you tell me you had a twin, lass?”
Chapter Thirty-six
Lissa looked around the kitchen table at the farmhouse, again marveling at the similarity between Gav and Elena. A sister! Gav had a sister, Alex had a sister. She sadly wondered if he would ever know, then firmly pushed that thought aside, wondering instead when Gav would tell Elena of Alex. The talk was still very stilted around the table, primarily looking for connections between their stories, and so far, finding none.
Standing, Lissa asked to use the bathroom, when Gav seemed to recall both the fact she was pregnant and the fact he had an older brother. Standing solicitously and putting his arm around Lissa’s shoulders, he reintroduced her, since all he’d done the first time was tell them her name. She’d known everyone had believed she was his wife, but things had been so confusing she decided that small oversight hadn’t mattered just then. Elena’s eyes widened as the significance of what he was saying hit her.
Elena was clearly stunned to realize she not only had one brother, but two. As she led Lissa down the hall, she took her arm and gave it a little squeeze. Lissa’s eyes filled with tears at the gesture, and she was filled with hope for the future possibilities once Gav and Elena really got to know each other.
When Lissa returned to the kitchen, Gav and Faolan had put their heads together and were talking quietly.
Gav turned as soon as she entered. “Lissa, this is Faolan MacGailtry, we had the names wrong. He is a surviving Gailtry Druid,” he exclaimed excitedly. “Lilly over there,” he smiled at Lilly, “is actually Lilly Thomas, and this is Red, her husband. It seems Elena called herself Thomas when she visited my office in case anyone was following her.”
Once again a myriad of conversations broke out at once, now however, everyone was far more relaxed, smiles and laughter mixed with the enticing smells that filled the warm kitchen. Lilly doubled everything she had been making for breakfast, and everyone fell on the food when she served it, mostly because Lilly was an excellent cook. It would have been hard for anyone to turn away from the spread of kippers and sausages, potatoes and eggs, pancakes and fruit. There was no doubt, however, that people still felt more comfortable when breaking bread together.
When the food was finished, the women washed up while the men began a technical discussion of the size and scope of the remains of the Gailtry Farm, that is until Lilly whispered something in Elena’s ear.
“Gabhran, are your things still in your car or do you have a hotel nearby?”
“Nay, lass, our things are in the car. We thought to return to lodging in Inverness if naught was available in Fairth.”
“Well go get them, there are two guest rooms available here, and you and Lissa aren’t going anywhere.” Elena gave Lissa a little hug with one arm around her waist. “Not only do I get to have two brothers—”
She stopped completely, her voice thick, eyes bright with tears. She squeezed Lissa even tighter and placed her free hand on top of Lissa’s swollen belly. “I get a sister too. And I get to be an aunt, to boot. My first real family keeps getting bigger.” She beamed.
When all three women fell on each other in ahs, and hugs,, and tears, the men took it as their cue to hurry outside and get the luggage.
****
Martin Worthington paced his study. Dressed in a slate gray, three-piece custom Italian suit, handmade leather shoes, a Rolex timepiece, and every strand of his silvered hair was perfectly in place. The world would see him as the consummate international lawyer. Liam knew he was dressed in a manner which displeased Martin, however, for the duties he performed, his jeans and black polo were far more suitable. His long brown hair fell lose around his shoulders.
Liam watched as the man he knew as father, and more importantly as the Druid Master of the Bresal Etarlam, struggled to maintain his temper. Liam had come to give him some unwelcome news. This morning, the wards he’d placed around the Gailtry Farm were breached for the second time in a week. The first time it had been Elena and her wolf returning to the farm. Just knowing she was so close made him smile, hungry with anticipation.
He immediately hid his smile from his father and told him of today’s breach. MacLachlan was now at the farm with Elena, the woman who without a doubt, had to be his sister. He and his father had made that discovery a few weeks earlier, although they’d believed the siblings had previously been unaware of each other. Not anymore.
Liam first noticed the similarities when Gabhran had entered the Saucy Sorcerer, a very special restaurant in Edinburgh. The restaurant was bespelled with a compulsion that acted on a person’s magick, attracting tourists with undiscovered magick like a magnet. Once inside, members of the Etarlam held an informal interview, all the while maintaining the façade as a world-class restaurant. Those deemed sufficiently magickal would be wooed and recruited, bringing their power under Worthington’s influence.
Gabhran’s magick had felt very strong, and the staff had immediately targeted him for recruitment by the dark Druids, and telephoned Liam. When he’d arrived, it had only taken him one glance to realize the strong family resemblance between Gabhran and Elena. So strong, he’d immediately suspected they must be twins. After his questioning of Gabhran, it was clear he’d been unaware of any sibling, which tied in with the information they’d already known about Elena. She believed she was an only child and an orphan.
Although they’d eventually realized Elena’s latent magick was at least as strong as Gabhran’s, Worthington could make use of either or both their talents. Liam desired to have Elena as his own, although lately he’d felt his interest inexplicably waning. It was as though something else beyond Elena’s power was calling his name. Nonetheless he would have her once they successfully captured her. It would be interesting to hear what his father had in mind now that the siblings appeared to have discovered their connection.
With a thoughtful look on his face, the elder Worthington stopped pacing and turned to face Liam. When his father spoke, it was not a question, but an order. “We must kill them all.”
****
Although Gav had been fully trained as a Druid, his memories of that time were incomplete. Elena had Druid powers, yet hadn’t been trained. Faolan’s training had been started, although it was incomplete. The three of them spent their days exploring the farm and discussing Druid spells and history. Faolan had even started teaching them some of the spells Earnan had taught him, and they practiced on each other and anything else that was still long enough.
The underground tunnel and rooms were of particular interest to Gav, and he had a definite feeling o
f déjà vu as they walked through the chambers Elena had discovered. He was sure he’d been in them many times. They looked for signs of the castle that had once been on the grounds, because although Gav’s memories were vague, he was sure he had stayed at a castle when he’d trained with the Gailtry.
After a lot of walking and scraping they had finally been able to discern the outline of a massive castle that had stood on the grounds. The farmhouse looked to have been built on top of a small part of the footprint of the main keep. The steading, or barn as Elena called it, looked as though it had been part of the out buildings. They found traces of the wall that would have surrounded the entire fortress.
There were ruins of ancient castles all over Scotland. They were easily recognizable from the piles of stone, crumbled walls, and visible foundations of at least the exterior walls of the keep. They wondered what could have happened between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries that could have destroyed the building so completely that there were no obvious signs that a castle had stood on the spot. It was a question Gav kept coming back to in his mind.
While the three Druids worked together at restoring memories, learning spells, and further exploring their histories, Lilly, Red, and Lissa were spending money. Lissa spent her time with Lilly, purchasing supplies for an extended trip, necessary baby essentials, more clothing for everyone. They needed more bed linens, towels, kitchen gadgets, it was as if they were planning to furnish a whole other house.
Red purchased something that he and Faolan had dreamed of, yet previously hadn’t been able to justify the amount of money it would cost to do it up right. He bought Faolan another, much larger yacht, and spared no expense in having it customized. This yacht had five state rooms, sleeping ten luxuriously, a gourmet galley, custom media systems, and every electronic gadget known. Red was anxious to try it out, an opportunity that would come anytime now, when they got underway to return to the island. He happily ferried the supplies the women bought to the marina where the new yacht was located and stored everything on board.