She must have lost consciousness for a moment — because when she came to, she was in Liam's arms, and he was hastily propping her up in front of him on the back of his rather nervous horse. She waved one hand — the other wouldn't move at all — and a wisp that had been getting dangerously close to Liam veered away, clearly put off by the iron filings that still coated her hand. Liam was beating back the swarms with a torch with one hand, steadying hers with another — and then, somehow, they were away, Liam's strong arms around her, holding her up on the back of the horse the way he had that day, so long ago, when they'd first met…
Wisps were chasing them, but it was clear they didn't like the horse — maybe the iron shoes were putting them off. Either way, she was grateful to have been saved. She didn't like the idea of being skeletonized in a bog… at least this way, if she died of her wounds, they could give her a proper burial… and with that rather grim thought on her mind, she lapsed out of consciousness.
The next few hours passed in snatches — she was aware of the screech of the gates opening for Liam's horse to gallop through… she felt him lifting her down from the back of the horse, and realized with a shock that her whole body was paralyzed, and even if she'd wanted to help him she couldn't have… then there was a long darkness, and when it lightened she realized she was in a soft bed, warm and comforting. Liam was at her bedside. She felt her eyelids flickering open… but no other part of her body would obey her commands. He looked so worried… she desperately wanted to speak, to tell him how grateful she was that he'd saved her, that he was incredibly strong, that she was sorry she'd made him look so heartbroken and sad… but her voice wouldn't obey her. Was this it for her, she wondered with creeping fear? Would she die like this, utterly paralyzed, unable to speak or move? Was this really better than being eaten alive by wisps?
At least Liam was okay, she thought as she lapsed back into an uneasy sleep. That was what was important. And one way or the other, she'd put a huge dent in the wisp population. Hopefully they could go on without her… the blacksmith knew about the idea for the weapon, it was possible…
The light of dawn woke her, and she stirred a little, raising a hand to shield her eyes… then froze with joy, realizing what she'd just done. She flexed her fingers experimentally, exploring the mobility… then gasped with joy when she realized that not only did she have the use of her hand back, her whole body was obeying her when she moved. She felt exhausted, and sore, and sick, and she was covered with bites and scrapes… but the joy of realizing that she wasn't permanently paralyzed eclipsed all of that for the moment.
"Kay?"
Liam's voice, hoarse but present. Her head whipped around to see him sitting by her bedside, looking sleepy — it seemed he'd slept upright in the chair, but now his tired face was full of concern, leaning forward to check on her. She smiled at him, too full of joy at her near escape to remember how angry she'd been with him the last time they'd spoken.
"Are you well?" he asked, moving to her side, his hands on her body.
She nodded, kicking the blankets back to wiggle her toes at him, waving both hands in his face to prove it. "The venom wore off. I'm okay. I mean, I feel like shit, but I can move!"
He murmured something in Gaelic that almost sounded like a prayer, and his face was so full of relief and joy to see her that she felt a warmth deep in her chest, blooming like a flower. Then his expression changed… relief replaced with anger; joy replaced with frustration.
"Kay Morris, you damned fool," he said in a low voice, taking hold of her shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking, riding out at night by yourself?"
"It worked," she said, lifting her chin defiantly. "The cloud of iron worked wonders… and that was just by throwing it at them. You saw."
"I don't care what I saw! Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?"
"I have every idea, Liam, don't talk to me like I'm a child," she snapped, meeting his anger head on. "You wouldn't listen, so I had to take matters into my own hands." She narrowed her eyes. "Was anyone killed by wisps last night?"
"Almost!" he exploded. "You!"
She took a deep breath. "Aside from me."
"Gods, Kay, if I hadn't happened to run into Elena in the dining hall after dinner and realize between the two of us that nobody had seen you…" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "We searched the whole castle. The walls, the docks, everything. By the time I figured out what you must have been up to it was the middle of the night… and I was almost too late. Wasn't I?" She tightened her jaw. "Admit it. You'd almost lost that fight when I turned up."
"Maybe," she said, gritting her teeth. "And I'm very grateful you saved me."
"Promise me," he said, looking her dead in the eyes, suddenly looking more dejected and forlorn than she'd ever seen him. "Promise me you'll never risk your life like that again."
"Only if you promise you'll take my ideas seriously," she rebuffed him. They locked eyes for a long moment, a battle of wills… and one that Kay was determined to win at any cost. She was done waiting for this man to give her permission to do anything.
Chapter 54
Then finally, he dropped his shoulders. "Fine," he said, sighing. "You have my word, Kay. Maybe I was a little quick to dismiss this… this iron cannon of yours."
She nodded, quite surprised that he'd agreed so quickly… but wanting to hide that surprise at all costs, in case he took back the promise. "You were. And for my part…" She took a breath, summoning a little humility. "I am sorry I frightened you. And that you had to risk your life to come and save me."
"Thank you," he said softly, taking a seat by her bed.
Then he reached and took her hand in his, smiling softly. They sat like that for a long moment, Kay fighting with herself about what to say to him… but she was saved from her agony of indecision by a gentle tap on the door. Liam looked up, both of them expecting a servant — but it was Elena there, a look of worry in her gray eyes and a covered tray in her hands. Seeing Kay awake and alert, a look of sharp relief swept over her face, quickly replaced with a broad smile.
"Thank God," she said softly, quickly moving to put the tray on the bedside table and to gently squeeze Kay's hands. "We were worried we'd lost you."
"Liam rode to my rescue in the nick of time," she explained with a smile, feeling her stomach grumble — Elena quickly served her some lunch, soup and bread rolls, which she dug into ferociously.
"We were discussing the idea of a black powder weapon," Liam said, his eyes on Elena, and Kay felt a rush of strong gratitude that he was finally taking her idea seriously… that he was already honoring his promise to her. She remembered her own promise to him, and quietly committed to keeping herself safe. "Last night, I saw the way the iron shavings incapacitated the wisps when Kay threw it at them. I think weapons like these might be just what we need to destroy the last of the wisps."
"And to seed the bog with iron, too," Kay said. "I could already see the wisps avoiding the areas where the particles had fallen… if we can get enough into the various areas, I think they'll have no choice but to flee the place."
"Good news," Elena said firmly. "Did you get a chance to talk to Oliver, the blacksmith?"
"Not yet —" Liam started, but Kay cleared her throat softly.
"Yes. Talked to him yesterday. He's interested in the idea, but he wants some guidance from you and Anna to work out the best way of making the thing."
Liam shot her a disgruntled glance, clearly surprised that she'd gone ahead so far with the plan. She shrugged, raising an eyebrow at him defiantly. "What? You weren't listening, I had to take matters into my own hands."
"Well, that's good," Elena said, an odd smile on her face as she looked between the two of them.
Kay remembered the way she bickered and bantered with her own husband and realized with a shock that she and Liam were exhibiting a very similar energy. Was this what it was like, being married? Argument after argument, resolution after resolution? She bit her lip, n
ot especially keen on investigating this particular subject.
"I'll get Anna and head down to the blacksmith now," Elena said firmly. "We'll start figuring out some plans for a prototype to show the Laird. Liam, will you come too?"
"Aye, I will," he said, glancing back at Kay. "Will you be alright?"
"Yeah, I think so," she said, smiling. "I can move all my fingers and toes now… think I just need a bit of rest before I'm back in action."
"I thought you were going to insist on coming with us," Liam said, raising an eyebrow with surprise.
She grinned back at him. "I promised to look after myself from now on, didn't I? You're taking my ideas more seriously… the least I can do is honor my promise, too."
Liam grinned at her with a mixture of exasperation and fondness… then he and Elena were gone, leaving her to rest and reflect on what had happened. The night before… God, it had been frightening, but in a way, it had been a necessary risk. She'd proven herself to Liam… shown him that she wasn't a woman to be trifled with, that she'd be heard if it killed her. And, she thought with a grin, she'd taken down a lot of wisps. They'd certainly be thinking twice before they tangled with another human. And with any luck, this weapon they were working on would make sure the remaining swarms — and she knew there were lots of them — would be made short work of.
Still, the effects of the venom lingered. She spent the rest of the afternoon asleep, only waking when Liam came upstairs with a tray of dinner for her and a slightly worried look on his face. His hands were covered with soot, and she grinned when he explained that he'd been assisting in Oliver's forge all afternoon. They were making good progress on getting a weapon developed — they'd have a prototype to show off in a few days.
It was nice, just to sit and spend time with Liam… but whenever he talked about the future, she felt herself tensing up. The marriage question was still hanging over her head, and whenever he alluded to it, she felt herself changing the subject, avoiding the topic completely. It was just too much to think about right now. They'd made great strides as a couple, she could sense that about the last few days… but she still didn't know whether she wanted to spend her life with him, whether that was something she was ready to commit to.
Just focus on the next few days, she told herself as he sat by her bedside, her hand in his. After they dealt with the problem of the wisps… then they could deal with the problem of their relationship.
Chapter 55
It was a long couple of days as they impatiently waited for the prototype weapon to be completed. A small mercy was that the wisps seemed to be noticeably quiet at the moment — there were no sightings reported from the village, and for the time being it seemed that livestock and human life were safe. Kay couldn't help but take a little credit for that…. after all, her ill-fated attack had taken out considerable numbers of the creatures. Still, it would only be a matter of time before they were back up to strength and hunting again. They had to make sure they were ready for them when they bounced back.
After the first day in bed, Kay felt well enough to get up — though she was still troubled by a surprising weakness as she wandered the castle. It seemed the wisp stings hung around for a little while. She tried to be patient, eating big meals and waiting patiently for her strength to return to her properly. In the meantime, she was able to keep Oliver company at the forge, watching him work on the prototype weapon. Elena was spending a lot of time down there too, as was Anna — the two women were quite interested in the development of this weapon.
"It'll be a little like a blunderbuss, I reckon," Anna explained. That didn't mean much to Kay, who barely knew the difference between a rifle and pistol. Her father'd had a few guns — most farm folk did — but aside from a few basic lessons in gun safety, Kay had never really learned to shoot, or picked up any interest in the things. There were easier ways to get rid of vermin and snakes and the like, but there was something about guns that she'd never liked. However, they were a keen area of interest for Anna and Elena, who regularly engaged in long, complicated conversations about the device that Oliver was working on.
Finally, a few days later, Kay's strength was back in full force — and, to her relief, a prototype weapon had been developed. Hearing what they were up to up at the castle, the blacksmith in the village had sent along several buckets of iron filings that he had to spare — they were well stocked with ammunition for the weapon now, it was just a case of figuring out how to use it. Liam was overly excited about the weapon… and, Kay could imagine, so were the villagers. It seemed the wisps had been hunting again last night — two goats were missing from a herd, and at this point everyone was aware of what had probably caused it.
It was the third day when Liam organized a demonstration of the weapon, inviting everyone in the castle to come down to the courtyard at noon to watch them try it out. They'd tested the strange, squat little weapon a couple of times down on the docks, where any misfiring or calamity would be easily handled, and it was looking promising… but Kay could tell Liam was nervous as the castle folk assembled in the courtyard, looking curious about this strange new weapon. She felt a little nervous herself, too. After all, this was her big idea. This was what she'd risked her life to bring about, this was what she'd backed with every fiber of her being… what if it didn't work? What if they didn't think it was a good idea? What if Liam had been right all along — it was too dangerous, too unreliable to send out with the men?
Laird Donal arrived last, taking a position at the front of the audience with Brendan, the guard captain, at his side. Brendan was especially interested in the protective power of this weapon — he was determined not to lose any more men to the wisps, and his dark eyes scrutinized the weapon as Liam carried it out to the middle of the courtyard.
"This weapon discharges iron filings," he announced to the assembled group. "The idea is to envelop the wisps in a great cloud of iron that they can't escape — we know this is very effective at bringing them down and stopping them from flying — or doing any further harm."
Laird Donal nodded, a curious look on his face.
Kay wondered if Anna had explained much to him about the working of the weapon — she was standing at his side, clearly excited to see the weapon in action. Liam turned, aiming the short weapon toward the empty courtyard — they'd ensured nobody was standing on the other side of it, just in case. He took a deep breath… then squeezed the trigger.
Shouts of surprise went up at the loud crack of sound that echoed around the courtyard — but those shouts were quickly replaced by sounds of awe. Elena and Anna were clapping their hands, hugging each other with clear glee at how well the weapon had worked, and even Kay, as a layperson, was impressed with what had happened. The gun — or the blunderbuss, or the firestick, or whatever they were calling it — had gone off, the explosion driving what must have been a densely packed handful of iron filings into the air in front of it. The filings had rapidly expanded, creating a huge cloud of filings that at its zenith was about ten feet by fifteen feet by ten feet — much more efficient than Kay's attempts at throwing the filings. She pictured a swarm of wisps caught in that cloud and grinned to herself as she remembered how badly even a minor dusting of iron had affected the creatures.
This was going to work. She could see it… and so could everyone else in the courtyard. Liam lowered the smoking weapon, obviously a little shocked himself by how effective it was, and as the iron filings slowly dissipated on the breeze, he headed back over to discuss the matter with Laird Donal, who was looking thoughtful as he stared at the weapon.
"Who built this thing?" he asked, a hush falling over the courtyard as the people assembled waited for his verdict.
"It was a group effort," Anna said brightly, stepping in to the conversation with the ease of a natural leader. "The original idea was Kay's, obviously. She even did some field testing," she added with a smile that twinkled.
"Aye, I heard about that," Laird Donal said darkly, fixing Kay with a stee
ly look. "Very brave of you, Kay. And very foolhardy. We could have lost you."
"You have my word it'll never happen again," she said softly, her eyes flicking over to Liam, who gave her a reassuring smile. At least he'd forgiven her for her little venture, she thought with a smile. She could deal with just about anyone else's anger. Well… maybe not Maggie. Nobody had seen hide nor hair of the woman since their last visit… she was a little worried about the woman, if she was honest.
First things first, she told herself firmly.
"Then Elena and I consulted with Oliver, shared what we knew about firearms like this from our time… and here we are. A prototype."
"Brendan? Will this be of use fighting the wisps?" Donal asked, glancing sideways at the guard captain, who looked like he was about to explode.
"Yes! Lord, yes. With the damage that iron does? This will be invaluable."
Laird Donal smiled, his eyes flicking to Oliver the blacksmith, who was patiently standing by, waiting for the Laird's verdict.
"How many of these can you have made up by the end of the day?"
Chapter 56
The rest of the day was hectic. A hunting trip for the wisps had been planned for three days' time — Liam had wanted to go that very night, but Oliver wasn't confident that they could create enough weapons by then, even working around the clock, so a slight delay was necessary. There was a flurry of activity, all the guards wanting to volunteer to test the weapons, to learn how to use them, to help in the forge… anything at all that would have the weapons in their hands sooner. They began to get in the way, so often were they visiting the forge… and Kay had an idea that she shared with Elena.
"I think you should train them in firearm safety," she said in a low voice, and Elena frowned a little at the idea.
Distracted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 4) Page 19