by Donna Grant
She wouldn’t call what she felt for Elric love since she had just meet him earlier that day, but there was most definitely something that connected them, something that drew her to him like a moth to a flame. But could she leave everything she knew? All her family was gone, so the only person she would leave behind was Rhonda.
Marin took a deep breath and pulled off the rest of her clothes to ready for bed. As she snuggled in her flannel PJs and buried herself beneath layers of blankets on the bed, she couldn’t stop thinking of Elric. She missed his warmth, the way his green eyes sparkled when he teased her, and his gentle touch.
Most of all, she missed his presence and the way he made her feel.
She closed her eyes and recalled the promise in Elric’s eyes. A promise for a new life perhaps?
Chapter Eight
Elric waited until he saw Marin shut her door before he hurried back to the stable. He jumped onto the horse’s back and nudged him into a run. If the Tnarg was out there waiting, he had to find the creature before it got to Marin.
The Tnarg left an easy trail to follow. Its long, wide prints were unlike anything Elric had ever seen. If it hadn’t been for his brother, Lucian, discovering the ancient text in their library that detailed the Tnarg, Elric wouldn’t know what it looked like now or its hunting habits.
The ancient text had described in detail what the Tnarg would do once it found Marin, and Elric would die before he allowed it to come near her. He had expected to find the desire he felt for Marin, but he hadn’t anticipated the deep feelings so soon. It surprised – and pleased – him.
He focused back on the Tnarg and stopped his mount. Next, Elric closed his eyes and opened his senses. If he was right, the Tnarg would try and attack by tomorrow. Elric wanted the beast dead. Tonight.
The crack of a small twig behind Elric caught his attention. Slowly, he reached down and grasped the hilt of his sword as he silently drew it from its scabbard. The Tnarg was behind him in the forest. One of them would die this night, and it wasn’t going to be Elric.
* * * *
Marin hadn’t left her room all day. Rhonda tried repeatedly to draw her out, but not even the revelry from the festival could drag Marin from the safety of the inn. She knew she was being a coward, but she needed time to think without Elric’s seductive persona clouding her judgment.
She had tried to think of what it would be like to say good-bye to Elric, and then had tried a scenario where she agreed to go with him. Her head began to ache with the choices swirling through her mind. And to make matters worse, storm clouds had rolled in bringing rain and a ferocious lightning storm.
A crack of thunder drew her attention to the window. It had begun to grow dark, but because of the time or the storm, Marin didn’t know. She couldn’t believe she had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t realized the passing of time, but by the grumbling of her stomach, it was a distinct possibility.
She stood and walked to the window. People from the festival were running to get out of the downpour, and that’s when she spotted Rhonda with Lachlan. Marin smiled as she watched her friend with the Scotsman. Rhonda deserved some happiness, and she sincerely hoped Lachlan gave it to her. She was about to turn to get find boots to go downstairs and get food when her door was suddenly thrown open.
And in the doorway stood the most fearsome creature Marin had ever laid eyes on.
She tried to swallow as her stomach plummeted to her feet like lead. The creature’s red eyes blazed with fury as it stared at her. It stood at least six foot tall with a brownish mass of matted hair covering its body and long talons on its hands and feet.
Marin might have taken some self-defense classes, but nothing had prepared her for an attack from a creature like this. Give her a drunk, randy man and she could bring him to his knees with one punch. Now, all she wanted to do was run to Elric.
Elric.
She wished she hadn’t been hiding from him all day. Maybe if she had been with him the creature wouldn’t be in her room now. Marin made to move toward the door connecting her room to Rhonda’s and the creature snarled and hissed as it stepped farther into the room.
With no weapon and the thunder drowning out any cries she might shout, Marin knew her situation was hopeless. Before she could blink, the creature suddenly flew toward her. Marin fell to her side and rolled away as something crashed behind her.
She didn’t look over her shoulder as she scrambled to her feet and made a run for the door to Rhonda’s room. She was just feet from the door when something latched onto her foot. The sensation of several blades cutting through her jeans and into her skin let her know the creature had gotten a hold of her.
Marin kicked out and felt her foot connect with something. She looked over her shoulder and saw the beast holding onto her foot and growling, showing its huge fangs. It began to pull her backward. She clawed at the rug and screamed.
“What the bloody hell,” came a male voice from the doorway. She looked over to see Rhonda and Lachlan.
The creature let out a loud growl and turned back to Marin. As she was being yanked backward, she reached for anything she could get her hands on. Something touched her hand, and she immediately grabbed hold of it, then launched it at the creature. One of her heavy hiking boots landed squarely on the beast’s head.
It howled its fury and tugged even harder. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lachlan and Rhonda beating at the creature with shoes and even a hair dryer that Lachlan swung by the cord.
Suddenly a loud, booming war cry filled the room. Marin turned to find Elric running at them with his sword swinging over his head. Luckily, Lachlan stepped aside as Elric brought his sword down and embedded it in the creature’s chest.
“Are you hurt?” Elric asked as he reached for her.
Marin’s eyes were fixed on the creature with Elric’s sword sunk into its chest as it tried to pull the weapon out with one hand. It was still breathing, its red eyes filled with hatred, and no matter how hard she yanked on her foot, it wouldn’t release it.
“It has my foot,” she finally said.
She watched as Elric pried open the beast’s long fingers and freed her while it growled at him and tried to bite him.
Marin scrambled to her feet. “It isn’t dead.”
“Nay,” Elric said as he looked her over. “We doona have much time.”
“What the bloody hell is that?” Lachlan demanded, his brogue thick with surprise.
Elric looked over his shoulder at Lachlan and Rhonda. “Something you want no part of. You need to get out of here. Now.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Marin,” Rhonda said, though her voice shook with fear.
Marin licked her lips and moved away from the creature. “We can talk once we get out of here.”
“Good idea,” Lachlan said.
The words had no sooner left his mouth than the long, low growl of the creature filled the room. As one, all four turned to it. Marin’s mouth fell open as she watched it pull the sword from its chest and stand. There was no gaping wound or blood. It was as if it had healed itself. Its gaze turned to her, and her blood turned to ice.
She saw the creature and Elric move at the same time. The beast reached out toward her, and she felt its long talons slice through her sweater and into her skin. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Elric bellowed and pushed the creature toward the window. Glass shattered as it plummeted to the ground.
Marin looked down when she felt something soaking her jeans. It took her a moment to register that it was blood. Her blood.
“Marin!”
Elric jerked at the woman’s scream. He moved to catch Marin as she began to crumple. After one look at the blood, he lifted her thick tunic and spotted the four long gnashes in her side. He quickly rose to his feet and pulled back the bedding until he found the linens. With one jerk, he pulled the linen free and began to wrap it around Marin.
“Help me,” he bellowed to the man as he tried to sit Marin up.
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The man swallowed, visibly shaken. “Thank God for you. That…thing…would’ve killed us for sure.”
“Aye,” Elric said. “It would have.”
“I’m Lachlan.”
Elric glanced at the man and nodded as he finished bandaging Marin. “Elric. We need to get out of here fast. The Tnarg will return soon.”
“The what?” the woman asked.
“It’s all right, Rhonda,” Lachlan said and moved to her. “We’ll go with Elric and Marin.”
Elric didn’t wait around to see what the couple did. He had to get Marin away from the Tnarg immediately before it killed her. And there was only one place he knew he could go.
“You can’t take her in the rain,” Rhonda shouted as they caught up with him.
Elric didn’t spare her a glance as he walked down the back stairs. “I doona have a choice. It’s either the rain or the Tnarg.”
To his surprise, Lachlan held open the door for him. The rain was coming down in sheets making it near impossible to see but a few feet in front of his face. The Tnarg could be anywhere, and it sent chills of dread racing across his skin.
“Where are you going?” Lachlan yelled over the rain.
Elric ran into the stables. “Bolt the doors behind us!”
Once they were locked inside, he set Marin down and checked her bandage. The blood hadn’t slowed. “I must get Marin to safety. I doona have time to tell you everything. I’m leaving and taking Marin with me. It’s the only thing that will keep her alive.”
“I’m not letting you take her without me,” Rhonda said, her arms crossed over her chest, her red hair plastered to her face as she stared at him with amber eyes filled with determination.
Elric slowly rose to his feet. “Know this, if you follow me, you’ll never be able to return.”
“Just where are you going?” Lachlan asked.
“To another time.”
Rhonda put a hand on his arm when he went to reach for Marin. “Did Marin know of this creature?”
“I went searching for the Tnarg last night to kill it, but never found it. I was keeping a watch over Marin,” Elric answered. It irritated him to be taking time to explain to Marin’s friends, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. “She was making a decision on whether to return with me and save my people or not.”
Just as Elric expected, Rhonda opened her mouth to ask another question, but a loud banging on one of the stable doors stopped her.
“The Tnarg,” he said and scooped up Marin in his arms. “Thank you for your help,” he said to them before he raced to the other end of the stable.
As he reached for the bolt, Lachlan’s hand freed it. Elric raced into the rain and to the spot where Aimery had opened the doorway. Behind him, he heard the screams as the Tnarg chased them.
Elric saw the doorway open as he approached. He stopped and looked at Lachlan and Rhonda. “Thank you for everything. Now, you must run and hide. The Tnarg wants me and Marin, but it might attack either of you.”
He stepped through the doorway and sighed. The consequences of bringing Marin through time without her consent could be severe, but he would do it again if it meant saving her life. Whether she returned with him to Drahcir was another matter entirely.
“Oh. My. God,” he heard from behind him.
He turned and found Lachlan and Rhonda. “What are you two doing?”
“I don’t know you,” Rhonda said and put her hand on Marin’s forehead. “She’s my best friend, my only family, and I’m not about to let you take her away until I hear what she wants you to do.”
He moved his gaze to Lachlan.
Lachlan shrugged and grinned. “I always loved adventure.”
Elric silently groaned and turned toward the small village. He wasn’t surprised to find they weren’t far from the base of the Ben Nevis Mountains. He was almost home.
“We need to find clothes so you can blend in, and I need to tend to Marin.”
Relief when through him when he saw the small cottage at the edge of the village. He hurried to it and knocked. It opened to show an old woman with kind brown eyes and white hair pulled away from her face.
“I knew you would return,” his aunt said with a warm smile. “Come in, come in, lad.”
Elric hurried to the bed and placed Marin on it. He moved to see about her bandage, but Ivy pushed him aside. “Let me, lad. She and her friends are going to need clothes. See what you can find while I’ll tend to her.”
He didn’t want to leave Marin, but he knew Ivy was right. Rhonda stayed with Marin while he and Lachlan found clothes for all of them in a chest in a back room. By the time they returned, Marin was out of her wet clothes and sitting up in bed.
“Hello,” he said. He’d never known such fear as he’d felt when the Tnarg had attacked her. To see her sitting up with her color returning helped to calm his racing heart.
She smiled tiredly. “Hello. I hear we’ve time traveled.”
“It was either that or let the Tnarg kill you.”
Her smile grew. “Then I’m grateful you chose to bring me here.”
He was so relieved she wasn’t angry that he wanted to kiss her. “How are you feeling?”
“So-so. I must have lost a lot of blood.”
He nodded and handed the clothes to Rhonda. “I hate to do this, Marin, but you must make a decision now. The Tnarg will return here, if it hasna already.”
“My decision was already made,” she said as she lowered her eyes.
Elric didn’t like the taste of failure, and the thought of his people and kingdom disappearing into nothing turned his stomach. “I understand. Dress,” he said as he turned on his heel and left the cottage.
He stared up at the mountains with the moon slowly ascending. It was a clear night, so different from the storm they’d left behind when they crossed through the doorway. If he closed his eyes he could see the beauty that was Drahcir and the love and laughter of his family. He would return to them soon though. He would not send them into death alone.
Something touched his hand, and he looked down to find Marin beside him. “You shouldn’t be standing.”
“You certainly can’t carry me everywhere,” she said. “Besides, Aunt Ivy was most determined to get some vile liquid down me that seems to be doing the trick.”
Elric chuckled. “Ivy is a descendent of my mother’s family. Someone has always remained in this cottage to help us. I made my way to Ivy the moment I left Drahcir.”
“That was a good idea.”
“I’ve been thinking. I might be able to convince Aimery to return you and your friends back to your own time.”
“Why?” she asked. “I thought you wanted me.”
Elric turned to face her. “I do want you, Marin. I want you more than anything, and not just to save my kingdom. I want you because you’re the other half of me, the part that’s been missing from my life. But inside you said –”
“That I had already made my decision,” she interrupted him. “I don’t think I could live without you, and frankly, I don’t want to try. It scares me that I feel this way after only meeting you, but the idea of living my life without you seems wrong in so many ways. The only thing that feels right is being with you. Wherever and whenever that is.”
He gently drew her into his arms, careful of her injured side. “If I’d have had more time, I’d have wooed you properly. I really did make a muck of things.”
“You did, but then again, I have to work things out on my own sometimes. I can be stubborn that way. I just want you to know what you’re getting into.”
“We’ll take the time to get to know each other properly once we’re in my kingdom.”
She grinned up at him and ran a finger over his lips. “Only if we’re in the same bed every night.”
“I can make that happen.” His green eyes twinkled. “You’ve made me the happiest man on this realm.”
“I’ll be even happier once we’re away from the Tnarg.”
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nbsp; “Only the gates of my city will ensure that.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
He stopped her as she started to walk away. “Marin, your wound is severe and you’ve lost a lot of blood. The trek to Drahcir is not an easy one. The cold alone does some people in.”
She gently touched his face. “I trust you.”
At that moment, Elric would have moved the mountains for her. He turned toward the cottage to ask Ivy to borrow her horses only to find her behind him.
“Already done, lad. I sent young Lachlan to saddle the horses. He cuts a fine image in a kilt, just as you do.”
Elric leaned down and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Aunt Ivy.”
“Just keep her safe and tell your mother I said hello.”
He gave her a nod as Lachlan walked up with the horses. Across all four saddles were thick, fur-lined cloaks. He watched as Lachlan lifted Rhonda’s cloak and wrapped it tenderly around her shoulders. The clothes they had found fit her well, and the smile she gave Lachlan bespoke deep feelings.
“They look good together,” Marin said.
Elric nodded. “Aye, they do. How do the clothes fit?”
“You did a good job. The dress is only a little tight across my breasts.”
He reached for her cloak and helped to fasten it around her. “This will keep you warmer than you realize, as will the thick wool stockings. If I know Ivy, she packed extra blankets and anything else we might need in the bags.”
“Then we’re set?”
“Aye,” Ivy said as she slowly walked up using a cane to balance herself in the thick snow. “Take care of your injury, lass. I worked my magic on them, but the wounds came from a Tnarg and could easily get infected if you’re not careful.”
“I will. Thank you again.”
“One more thing,” Ivy said. “Once you get into the mountains you might think your bones will freeze into place, but keep the faith in Elric. When he brings you through the gates of Drahcir, it’ll all be worth it.”
Elric knew Marin wanted to talk more to Ivy, but there wasn’t time. He helped Marin mount her horse then swung up onto the back of his mount. With one last wave to Ivy, he nudged his horse into a walk.