by Pam Binder
She’d overheard Angus and Marcail mention a council meeting at the evening meal and had made the decision to see it for herself.
Amber blew out her candle, to avoid being detected, and inched forward by feeling her way along the damp walls. She could see the light from Marcail’s candle flickering along the ceiling. She was past thinking this was a dumb idea and had moved on to considering herself certifiably insane. What did she hope to discover? It was freezing in the underground tunnels and the cold air seeped through the many layers of clothes she wore. She shivered, gritting her teem to keep them from chattering.
The light from Marcail’s candle disappeared. Amber felt as though she’d been plunged into a black void so dark her eyes couldn’t make the adjustment. Her heart thundered in her ears. She forced down the panic and increased her pace. The sharp edges from the stone walls cut into the palm of her hand. As she turned a corner she saw a light. Amber hurried forward in time to see Marcail step through a doorway.
Cautiously she inched her way forward and peered inside. Torches lined the walls exposing a vestibule-type room and then a larger one beyond. It was the larger of the two that Marcail headed toward. Amber entered the smaller chamber. A latticework stone wall stood on either side of the entrance to the larger room, dividing the two chambers. The designs looked Celtic. She hugged the wall and peered into the room that Marcail had entered. Candles covered a long table that shone like ebony. She could hear whispered conversations.
There appeared to be about twenty men and women. They were all talking so low Amber couldn’t make out the words and the accents were as varied as their clothes. She recognized Angus and the twins, Artemis and Theseus.
A door creaked open. Lachlan entered with four men who walked behind him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole tension-charged atmosphere must be building toward a dark purpose. Three men and three women took their places behind a long table. Lachlan did the same.
She heard a scuffling sound. Two tartan-clad men dragged a third forward from the shadows. An old woman, her clothes resembling layers of tattered rags and her hair in wild disorder, danced and cackled around a tall slender man. He was dressed in the loose-fitting clothes of a Russian Cossack and was being held prisoner. Amber gripped the latticework and leaned closer.
Lachlan and the six people sat down and talked quietly among themselves. Amber could almost hear the sound of ticking as time crept forward. Then the old woman laughed. The shrill noise echoed through the room. Lachlan stood, his face and expression hidden from Amber in the shadows cast by the torchlight. He walked around the table to stand in front of the man accused.
“Morag, the charges against you are grave and the facts undisputed.” He motioned for Angus. “It has been proven that you willingly had agreed to enter into a marriage contract with this woman, Thia, in the year 1411. Do you deny these charges?”
Lachlan’s voice was clear and his words seemed to bounce off the walls, but she must have heard the date wrong. She figured she had traveled back to the year 1566, so Lachlan must have said or meant 1511, not 1411. She looked at the man Lachlan had called Morag and then over at Thia. Morag was a man in his thirties, but the woman was bent over with age. Morag must have agreed to marry Thia when she was young and beautiful and changed his mind when she started to age. Amber felt her hands tremble against the harsh stone.
Metal clanked against the floor as Morag’s chains were released. He sank down to his knees and bent forward. Lachlan placed his hand on the man’s head and Amber saw the muscles in Lachlan’s jaw tighten.
“Thia, believing in your word and under the supervision of the Council, performed the ceremony that prepared her for the joining. When it was your turn to drink from the cup containing the Elixir of Life, you ran. Although many offered to take your place, Thia refused them, and demanded what was her right.“
A suffocating silence encased the room. Amber held her breath. If what she understood was correct, not only did this elixir reverse the effects of sterility, it also started the aging process. According to her calculations, Thia had sacrificed her immortality over one hundred and fifty years ago. These immortals might age, but it was still at a slower pace than mortals.
Lachlan moved aside as Theseus mumbled a few words. He poured liquid from a glass decanter over the bent head of Morag.
“It is a credit to you, Morag, that you accept your fate. Your brothers and sisters will learn of your courage.” He motioned to Angus who drew his sword and raised it over Morag’s head.
Amber pulled back from the barrier, stunned. Her heart was beating so fast her chest ached. The expressions on the faces of those in the room were as emotionless as the stone walls.
Lachlan raised his hand. “The laws of our race are dear. By refusing to join with Thia, after she had fulfilled the ceremony, you robbed her not only of her life, but* of the opportunity to bear children. The penalty is your death.”
Silent screams rose in Amber’s throat. She backed away until her fingers made contact with the stone wall of the entrance. In horror she watched as Lachlan gave the signal to Angus. The man whom Amber had thought of as a gentle bear of a man slashed the sword down toward the prisoner. The blade cut through the air and severed Morag’s head.
She heard the crack of metal against bone, saw the head separating from the body and the dark blood spilling onto the stones. Her stomach lurched into her throat, the taste bitter against her tongue. She covered her mouth with her hands and ran into the darkness, feeling her way through the passageway toward the safety of her room.
The stench of blood hung heavy in the dimly lit chamber. Lachlan watched the council members back away from Morag’s body. The twins straightened the sleeves of their purple velvet coats and averted their gaze. Marcail turned to face him. She had a lace handkerchief pressed lightly against her face and her eyes were rimmed with tears. They had both known Morag, a storyteller, a poet. A man who felt intensely for a woman or a cause one moment and indifference the next. Lachlan felt it difficult to breathe.
Thia’s shrill laugh broke through the stillness. All turned toward the woman who was the only one in the chamber to rejoice in Morag’s execution. She danced and muttered incoherently around the stone-faced council. Marcail touched Artemis on the arm. He walked over to the woman, leading her gently from the room. Thia’s intrusion into their shared grief awakened all to action. Two men, wearing the MacAlpin plaid, picked up Morag’s body. A third placed the man’s head in a woven basket and walked out the door. Those who remained nodded their heads respectfully toward Lachlan then filed out of the chamber.
A blackness crept over Lachlan. He denied the emotions that attempted to overwhelm him. The laws that ruled his kind had protected them and kept them safe over a history that spanned thousands of years. It was indeed essential that they be upheld. That was the gossamer thread of duty to which he was bound. For his next task he would need a clear mind.
He looked at Angus. His friend was immobilized by grief and stood where he had brought down Morag. Angus had followed the command to execute, the man, not allowing emotions to engulf him until the order was completed.
Lachlan crossed to him. Times beyond counting he had questioned the fates that made him Angus’ overlord. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and watched him slowly raise his head. The same look of despair had been in Marcail’s eyes. Lachlan squeezed Angus’ shoulder.
“There was no choice left to us.”
“”Tis true, but my thoughts were also with the woman. Poor creature. For a brief moment I thought she would ask me to end her life. ‘Twas unfortunate it took so long to find Morag.“ A dark cloud of fear passed over his face. ”My sword was ready.“
Lachlan placed a hand on his shoulder. “You must dispel these thoughts, lest you bring on the insanity. Come, another task will prove healing. We have much that needs attention.”
Angus straightened, wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it. The metal grated against the scabb
ard, echoing in the stone chamber. His chin raised, he met Lachlan’s gaze.
“Subedei?”
“Aye.”
Amber stumbled along the dark corridor toward her room. She should have screamed out, should have prevented the killing. Tears streamed down her face.
“Stop.”
The voice was somehow familiar. Turning toward the sound she saw a shroud-like creature emerge from the shadows and she stepped back. The apparition came closer and in the torchlight Amber recognized Lachlan’s mother.
“Diedra?”
“I saw you follow Marcail down the stairs. I knew what you would find. And I waited. Morag took away Thia’s youth. No one will have her now. It is too late for her. You must not judge my son. He needs you.”
Amber didn’t want to listen to excuses. The man was dead. “I don’t understand any of it. You are all immortal. So, Morag changed his mind. He shouldn’t be murdered for it.”
“Thia was a beautiful and intelligent woman once. I remember her. We were both to enter into the joining ceremony during the winter solstice. She gave up much only to have it torn from her.”
“Why didn’t she find someone else?”
Diedra looked down the long corridor. “She loved Morag and when he abandoned her all she could think of was revenge.”
As Diedra’s words and Marcail’s slowly sank in, Amber tried to imagine the shriveled-up figure before her as a young woman. The Elixir of Life was the key. It changed them. Amber reached to take Diedra’s hand. “You gave birth to Gavin eight years ago. How is that possible?”
Diedra met her eyes. “The laws which govern the mortal race are not the same for my kind.”
Chapter 13
A cool breeze washed over Amber’s face as she lay in bed. The faint sound of the wind blowing through the trees drifted in an open window. She still tossed and turned, locked in a nightmare where Diedra was laughing and screaming that Lachlan was going insane. Abruptly she opened her eyes to see Lachlan staring at her. Relief washed over her. Then she remembered Morag.
Lachlan touched her cheek gently. “You were seen leaving after Morag’s death.”
The memory of the execution passed in slow motion through Amber’s thoughts. She pulled away from his touch, untangled the linen nightgown she wore and left the bed. The floor was cold on her bare feet through the rushes.
“Death? You mean execution. Or better yet, murder. You ordered Angus to kill that man.”
Lachlan’s face was an emotionless mask.
She walked over to the fireplace and warmed her hands. She was trembling. “Your mother said I shouldn’t blame you, but I need to know your reasons.”
“Morag knew the penalty. He broke one of the sacred laws. It took the council a long time to bring him to justice.“
Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. She felt tears brim in her eyes. She was beginning to understand the need to punish Morag, but to her the price was too high. She tried to blot out the memory of the blade, as Angus swung it down on Morag’s neck. Her stomach seemed to flip over as she remembered the smell of blood. She felt Lachlan touch her shoulder and she turned into his embrace.
“I know what Morag did was wrong, but you can’t just kill someone because they broke a promise.”
He held her close. “Our laws are clear. Would you have me change them?”
She pulled away to wipe her tears with the palm of her hand. “Yes, I would. What if the same thing happened to you? You could wake up one day and discover I’d grown old and you’d feel trapped.” She bit her lip to keep it from quivering. “I wouldn’t want you to stay because you felt obligated to me or because some law said you had to.”
“We are not talking about die same thing. Thia gave up her immortality. It can never be regained, once it is lost.”
“You place so much value in what you are that you have forgotten what it is to be human. I’ve lost something that can never be regained: my home. You’ve never bothered to ask me how I came into your world. I never thought about that before, until now. Actually I was relieved, because I was afraid you might think I was crazy or have me burned at the stake. Now I realize that you had a lot more to hide than I did.” She cleared her throat and steadied herself for his reaction “Lachlan, I’m from the future.”
His voice was clam. “So Marcail and I suspected. What year?”
She went over to the bed and sat on the edge. Lachlan was calm, she was a mess. This seemed to be a recurring theme.
“I was on my way to the Abbey, to attend a reenactment. In my century people are fascinated with the Middle Ages. I’m from the year 1997.”
“The Guardian is not confined to the barriers of time.” Lachlan smiled and joined her on the bed, reaching for her hand. “If the beastie had not found someone in my century who fulfilled the legend, he would have continued his search. Your world must be very different from this one.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say? Aren’t you the least bit surprised. It’s not every day that someone travels back in time. Or is it?”
He arched an eyebrow. “It has happened before.”
Her voice was a whisper. “I had forgotten. The man your mother calls ‘Ford.’ ”
“Aye.” He looked in the direction of the window. “It happened a day or two after my enemy had killed my father, and members of my family.”
Amber remembered his telling her about the man he called Subedei. She shivered. The violence of this century was overwhelming. Senseless killings were part of her world as well, but coming from Seattle she’d lived a sheltered existence. She would have to get used to it if she was to be a part of Lachlan’s life. Amber put her hand on his shoulder. The contact eased the pain in his expression and allowed him to continue.
“I was still in China, but my mother wanted a warrior to avenge the deaths of those she loved. The man pulled from the water may have had the ability to accomplish that goal. We found a metal cylinder strapped to his belt. When Angus pulled back on a lever, the weapon released an object that embedded itself in his foot.“ Lachlan laughed. ”My usually even-tempered friend was so angered he threw the thing in the water.“
Amber wondered if the Guardiani had been responsible for the man’s not surviving his journey through time. Maybe the Loch Ness monster had decided a twentieth century weapon in the sixteenth century would have caused more harm than good. She stretched out beside Lachlan on the bed, relishing the feeling of just being near him.
“The weapon is called a gun and it’s probably a good thing Angus threw it away. But how did your mother summon the Guardian?”
“A portion of the Elixir of Life is poured into Loch Ness and the words, ‘Time is an illusion’ are spoken as the request is given.”
“Have your people gone through this ritual often?”
“No, but as you are aware, it has happened often enough.”
The pale light of dawn cast the bed in shades of molten gold. Lachlan reached for Amber and pulled her gently toward him under the layers of covers. The contours of her body fit comfortably against him. Her skin was warm against his as she snuggled closer. Lachlan was at peace. He decided he would spend the day with her. There was much he could show Amber of the heather-dad hills that surrounded Urquhart and much he wanted to learn about the world whence she had come. 1997. It most certainly was a wonderful time, if Amber was a product of it.
He pictured Amber in an isolated meadow a few miles from the castle. A mountain stream fed a pool of clear water nearby. He had used it many times to wash away the dust from his travels, before returning home. Smiling, he remembered their time together in what she had called a shower. He kissed her lightly on her shoulder. She was right. The need to fight had overtaken his life, pushing all else aside. She, alone, had reached his heart.
The door to the chamber burst open and a cold rush of air swept over the room. Angus was framed in the doorway.
Dark circles shadowed his friend’s eyes; his mouth was drawn in a straigh
t line. “Ian was found alive, but the Angel of Death is close at hand.”
Lachlan eased himself from the warmth of the bed and away from Amber. He picked his clothes off the floor and began to dress. He knew Ian. He was a good and loyal clansmen and an able scout.
‘Tan’s assailant, is he known to us?“
“Aye.” Angus’ voice was barely above a whisper. “Ian would speak with you.”
The light in the chamber seemed to grow harsh and a silence crept over the room. The tone in his friend’s voice was like the depths of Loch Ness, cold and dark. Lachlan knew that this day would“ end badly. He looked over at Amber. More than ever before in his life he wanted to stay with her, but his responsibilities pulled him away. Leaving the woman ached like a physical pain.
If Ian’s injuries had been caused by one of the thieving bands of men who owed allegiance to no one save themselves, they would be easily and swiftly dealt with. He motioned for Angus to follow him.
Pushing open the door he hesitated, looking back at Amber.
Angus put his hand on his shoulder. “She will understand what must be done.”
“I pray you are right.”
Lachlan walked into the torch lit hallway toward the stairs leading down to the Great Hall. Six men crowded around Ian, who lay on a long table. They were talking in hushed voices, but grew silent as Lachlan and Angus approached.
Lachlan drew closer. He could feel the cold stone floor beneath his bare feet. The numbing sensation started to work its way up his legs. He stared down at Ian. The man’s face was the color of ash, his eyes reflected his pain. Dark red blood covered his shirt and plaid.
“Has someone sent for Marcail?”
Angus nodded. ,
Ian grabbed Lachlan’s arm. “Subedei’s brother is here.”