“I wanted no part of that sorcery… better the hell I know here than to maybe be taken to the actual fiery pit… and besides the flaming opening only lasted for a short time and then it was gone as surely and quickly as the man who’d gone through it!”
Conner and Killian exchanged a knowing glance as they realized it was entirely likely it was Teige O’Rorke who had been held in this prison. Though Killian had never met the man, he was Niall O’Rorke’s son and a Druid high priest, and he possessed supernatural abilities similar to his daughter, Alainn. It was uncertain as to how or why the Irishman had ended up in a Scottish prison nearly twenty years after he had last been seen in Ireland.
Killian also pondered why Teige O’Rorke, apparently a searcher for the gods, would be capable of being captured and held in a prison, but he deduced, as with Alainn, being capable of magic did not always prevent someone from confronting many unpleasant happenings. Killian had to search further and follow whatever clues might be left after such a lengthy time. Perhaps he would need to employ Alainn or Danhoul, for with their magical abilities they would surely have greater success in following a man who had escaped by means of magical powers.
*
As Killian and Conner walked away from the massive stone building, both deep in thought, they were startled when a hazy figure of a female suddenly materialized before them. Killian was clearly taken back, but Conner appeared frightened, which was surely a rare occurrence for the man known to be a dangerous highlander and infamous outlaw. Killian narrowed his eyes when he realized it was the Celtic warrior princess, Aine. By the stern expression on her face and how tightly she gripped her sword and shield, Killian surmised it was a dire circumstance that brought her here.
“Aine!” Killian nodded to her politely while Conner stared at her openly, surely undecided as to whether she was more frightening or beautiful.
Conner’s eyes were as wide as shields and because Conner was aware of Alainn’s magical abilities, Killian did not bend the truth, but actually introduced her as Alainn’s great-grandmother.
“You’re Lady Alainn’s great-grandmother? That canna be possible; you look scarcely older than she does?
“She is a Celtic warrior princess, an immortal fairy goddess!” Killian added and jabbed the other man in the ribs for he continued to openly stare at the female before him.
“A fairy, aren’t fairies wee, tiny wicked creatures that fly about?”
This apparently amused the female for she smiled slightly deviously and answered the man. “Aye, some fairies are wicked, some not, some small, others not. I am a fairy princess, but also a goddess and protector of women so being small of stature would leave me at a disadvantage when dealing with the punishment of men, which is oft how my time is spent!”
She clenched tightly to her weapon and threw a warning glance at Conner MacLain. He noticed and lowered his eyes.
“Why have you come, Aine? Sure it wasn’t to claim sociability for, to the best of my knowledge, you’ve not made an appearance in some time. Have you come in search of Alainn? ’Tis doubtful, for sure you would be capable of seein’ her precise location.”
The female suspiciously turned from him, cleared her throat, and avoided meeting Killian’s eyes. “I had thought she would be with you, Killian O’Brien, for seldom is she found far from your side.”
Killian stopped where he stood and stared at the woman with profound suspicion. “You cannot locate, Alainn?” he boldly asked.
“Not at the moment, no,” she admitted with only a small amount of hesitation.
Killian’s already tense face grew even more filled with worry. His brow creased and the more he dwelled upon it the more enraged he became.
“Christ! I knew there was somethin’ more to her condition than what Danhoul was tellin’ me. By God’s nails, I’ll wring his damnable neck when I see him and maybe Alainn’s as well, for we vowed we’d keep no more secrets from one another! So what is it, then, Aine? What has her ailin’ and what has you fearful, and why in hell can’t you locate her?
When she did not reply, he stared at the goddess accusingly and related what he knew.
“When I left her, she was in Danhoul’s care, restin’ safely at the inn.” He seemed to be thinking aloud as much as talking to the others. “Where in God’s name would she have gone, and why didn’t Danhoul follow her or alert me she was missing if he doesn’t know where she’s gone?
Aine waited while he ranted and released his frustration, which only proved to aggravate him further.
“Talk to me woman!” he demanded.
“I am no woman, Killian O’Brien, female though I am, never would I care to be a woman and under the rule of any man!”
Killian listened and retaliated with a vengeance. “Aye, well, maybe if I’d kept Alainn under my thumb more diligently, been entirely more demandin’ in regard to her, she’d not be facin’ whatever fresh hell she is dealin’ with at the moment. And can you tell me that much at least, Aine, what is my wife bein’ made to confront this time, and why does she feel the need to keep it from me?”
“There are subjects best kept concealed even from a cherished husband, Killian O’Brien. What she faces now is a predicament only remedied by magic and therefore I will do my very best to assist her with this matter.”
“Where are her two other guardians then, at the moment?” Killian questioned in a voice laced with accusation and rage.
“They will be gathered together attempting to see to her safety. For now, you must keep yourself safe, O’Brien, and keep your wits about you, for should you find yourself in peril, though Alainn may wish to protect you, she may be unable for the time being.”
“I’ll be cautious, Aine. I do not need nor desire your damnable concern and when you locate my wife, I suggest you send her to me at once!” he ordered.
Although the fairy goddess’s face revealed her distaste in his tone and his demands, she simply nodded and disappeared before him.
Conner glanced at Killian with disbelief in his eyes and cautiously questioned his companion. “How do you live with this magical sorcery in your life, Killian? And what is it you intend to do at the moment for it’s doubtful you’ll be leaving this matter to others entirely if you I know you as I suspect I do?”
“I live with this as there is little else I can do if I want Alainn in my life. At the moment, I’m goin’ in search of Danhoul Calhoun. And you can come with me if you care to, but I’ll tell you plain when I find the man the meeting will not be a pleasant one.”
“Well, I didna think it would be, Killian. You did leave your wife in his charge. And I’m also no stranger to unpleasantness or to being on the receiving end of your temper so I do not envy young Danhoul so much.” He placed his hand to the recent wound on his eye even though with Alainn’s healing there was no evidence of any injury.
“Could I maybe suggest you speak first and cause injury later?”
Killian’s expression must have revealed the unlikelihood of that possibility for Conner shrugged and did not speak further.
Both men mounted their horses and placed their hands on the hilts of their swords as they determinedly rode toward the location where they had last seen Danhoul and Alainn.
Chapter Six
Alainn sat in a dark corner of a dimly lit chamber trying to ignore the loud disturbing music blaring from a corner of the unusual location. She watched as the irksome serving-girl came near her once more.
“Would you like to order something now? Have you decided what you want?”
Alainn shook her head and the woman threw her a curious look.
“You can’t just sit here all night taking up a table without ordering something.”
Alainn inhaled impatiently. “Aye, then I would request you fetch me a drink of water.”
“Sorry, but you’ll have to order something that you actually pay for.”
“Then bring me something else to drink, sure I care not what.”
“Well, how am I s
upposed to know what you’d like to drink? You sound Irish, well kind of anyway. Would you like a pint of Guinness?”
Alainn seemed unsure what she meant and the serving girl pointed to a drink on the nearby table.
“Aye, the dark ale will do.”
The woman eyed her oddly again but as she started to walk away. Alainn called out to her.
“I am in need of speakin’ with the young, dark-haired man who stands behind the partition and pours the ale.”
“You want to speak with Tristan?” The girl suspiciously eyed Alainn’s unusual clothing as she looked toward the bar.
“Aye, it is an unwelcome necessity at the moment to take audience with the moronic imp!”
“Tristan is not a moron. He’s actually really smart. He’s very busy at the moment and likely will be for a while, but his shift ends in a couple of hours if you want to wait or come back later.”
“It is imperative I speak with him this very moment!” Alainn related.
“Look, lady, I’ve told you he is busy. Saturday is our busiest night and he doesn’t have time to talk to every woman who wants his attention. If that were the case, he wouldn’t get any work done!”
Alainn recognized the jealousy in the girl’s voice and how she looked back at Tristan O’Malley with an enamored expression.
“By God’s bones, woman, I only want to talk to the cursed man. I’d as soon jump into the hearth fire as into his damnable bed. So lower your hackles and send him over here for a moment’s time or you’ll both be the sorrier for it, I assure you!”
“Look, you crazy bitch! You’re not going to make demands or threaten me or Tristan. If you cause any trouble I’ll have our bouncer throw you out on your ear. And don’t think he won’t just because you’re a woman; he’s done it to other women when they were causing trouble!” She stared over at the hulking man by the door.
“I do not fear your brutish enforcer no matter his formidable size! But you would do well to fear me, young serving wench!”
“My god, where the hell are you from… or when? You look as though you just stepped out of another century, and you talk really weird! It might be kinda funny and mildly entertaining if you weren’t pissing me off and threatening me!”
“Though the garments you don may be indicative of a street trollop, it appears you are not so daft or unintelligent as you look, woman, for you are oddly intuitive. And you believe I speak strangely, well I find your manner of speakin’ most peculiar as well. What is this dialect you possess, for ’tis not Irish, even the odd garbled Irish your Tristan possesses?”
The girl smiled at Alainn’s mention of Tristan being hers and her face relaxed.
“Well, I’m not Irish because we aren’t in Ireland. Many people here are of Irish decent and my ancestry is Irish, but I was born and raised here in America, as were my parents and grandparents, here in the city of Boston. Although I don’t notice it, we are known to have a unique accent I suppose. Tristan is originally from Ireland though and that’s why he has such a sexy accent?” She gushed.
“I am in the Americas?” Alainn questioned and she felt her face pale further.
“Yes, of course you’re in America. Are you okay, do you need a doctor or something? You look as though you are going to puke or pass out or something.”
“Please simply send Tristan to speak with me. I give you my solemn oath, it will not take much time!”
The girl looked from Alainn to Tristan and made a suggestion. “You could come sit at the bar; I’ll find an empty stool for you if you like?”
When Alainn nodded and attempted to stand, her head grew dizzy and the young woman noticed. She heard the woman’s thoughts as she stared at her gown, and, even in the dim light of the pub, the woman had learned it was blood she saw upon the back of the dress, and there was a lot of it.
“Are you having a miscarriage or something? Is it Tristan’s baby?” Both jealousy and concern were evident in her voice.
“I have never shared Tristan’s bed; I would not ever share his bed. Never, never, never!” She hissed and she stared at the woman.
“Okay, lady, whoa… you sit back down right now. I’ll send Tristan over, I’m sure he is due for a break anyway, and then maybe we can send for an ambulance or something.”
“Please have him make haste!” Alainn responded as she sat back down and fought the rising bile in her stomach.
The young woman obeyed and hurried across the floor to the man behind the counter.
*
Tristan made his way across the crowded pub toward the corner Cassie had pointed to. There were a lot of people here tonight and with the pub so busy his progress was slow as he carried the pint of Guinness. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find when he got to the back booth. Cassie had mentioned a strange woman with a weird accent had been asking for him, that she seemed desperate and might even need medical attention. When he finally spotted the woman sitting there he did a double take, and when he noticed the serious expression on her face as she looked up at him, he quickened his pace.
“Alainn? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I have come in search of you, Tristan O’Malley!”
“Aye, so I am told, but why?”
“I think I might like to take your life!”
*
“What?” the admittedly attractive man with the dark brown eyes asked with a hint of fear on his face.
“Well, you are largely responsible for the circumstances that led to my present predicament and therefore if you cannot assist in finding a solution to my quandary, I shall seek satisfaction, though minimal it may well be, in painfully ending your life!”
Tristan slowly sat down in the booth across from her, placed the drink in front of her, and only then seemed to notice how pale her complexion was.
“Tell me what’s goin’ on, Alainn, and why you believe I have somethin’ to do with it?”
She clutched her belly and he clearly noticed the pained grimace upon her face. She picked up the glass and swallowed a gulp of the dark brown liquid, and made a face.
“What is this odd ale?”
“It’s actually stout, made in Ireland for over two and a half centuries now, but not until a couple of centuries after your time. But I’m guessing you’re not here to discuss the history of Guinness. Why are you here?”
“I carry a child!” she simply said.
“Don’t look at me; you can’t find a way to blame me for that. I only saw you that once when I went back in time to see Danny Boy. We weren’t even alone together for more than a couple of minutes, and I won’t deny the thought crossed my mind I would have enjoyed shaggin’ you, but we didn’t have the opportunity, sweetheart! Not in this lifetime anyway,” he added and she detected it was with more humor than he felt.
She glowered at him. “What does that indicate? Are you telling me we shared an intimacy in another life? Surely not for I do not care for you in the slightest, in fact your mere presence infuriates me.”
“I’m not certain you had any fondness for me then either,” he admitted, but did not speak further on the subject.
Alainn’s head bowed as though she might lose consciousness and she clutched her middle as a sharp pain gripped her.
“So, why have you traveled ahead in time, for I doubt it was actually to see me… well unless you do maybe recall the time we spent together?” He quizzed with a suggestive grin.
“Do not mention that damnable subject again, not ever, for clearly it was not even the least bit memorable to me.” She snarled in a voice clearly laden with pain. “You have many learned physicians in this century, aye?” she managed as she sipped more of the mildly pleasing ale.
“Aye, we have some amazing doctors. Is there something wrong with the child you carry then; have you come in search of a way to see your child healthy? Oh and, by the way, you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol when you’re pregnant, though you wouldn’t know it in your time as we’ve only known it for a few decades in this
century, it can cause a whole load of problems for the baby.”
She glanced at the drink with some confusion, but looked him directly in the eyes and her voice did not waver as she professed her reasoning. “I seek a means to end my time with child!”
“Well then I suppose having a drink isn’t a huge consideration,” he sarcastically responded. “But couldn’t you have gotten rid of the baby back in the sixteenth century by aborting it somehow, though I suppose that might have been a bit dangerous with the risk of infection and no antibiotics?” He rambled on, “But couldn’t you just wish the baby away by way of magic?”
“I have attempted both and neither has proven successful!”
“So, you’ve travelled ahead five hundred years and come to the twenty-first century to have an abortion? How did you get here? How did you know where to find me?”
“I simply envisioned you and placed a tracing spell upon you.”
“From nearly five hundred years in the past you were able to find me?”
“I care not to know where or when I have journeyed, I only need your assistance in locating a surgeon or someone learned enough to rid me of this child.”
“And what does your husband think of you traveling to the future to abort his baby?”
“My husband is of absolutely no concern to you. I would simply ask you seek a physician for me straightaway.”
“Your husband is not the father?” He pried once more.
“And do you sense that by way of your premonitory abilities?” Alainn asked with a slow and steady rage beginning to simmer within her.
He apparently noticed her enragement as he turned away from her before continuing with his questions.
“Do the gods know you are here in this time?”
“Not yet, but I sense they are attempting to locate me. I suspect it is only a matter of time before they discover where I have ventured. So, if you would take me directly to a physician I won’t be compelled to end your life immediately!”
“I’ll see what I can do, but why would you come to me? Is it because I was the only person you have ever met from the future?”
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