“No,” she whispered, terrified by what she might discover. “I won’t.” She shook her head and backed away when he took a step forward. “Leave me alone. Release me from this place.”
“Why would I release ye?” he growled, his eyes never leaving hers as he took another step forward. “When ‘twas our place all along?”
Jackie staggered back a few more steps, still shaking her head. “No.”
Patience hanging on by a thread, his voice deepened. “Come to me lassie, for I willnae stop until I get ye.”
“Nor will I stop until I know she’s safe,” came a loud declaration.
A split second later, the armored warrior she saw before came thundering forward on Eara.
“No!” roared the dark man as he lunged at her, his black cape billowing in the wind.
Too late. Jackie was scooped up into the warrior’s arms, and they were racing toward the cliff. Oh, this couldn’t be good. When she tried to look over her shoulder, the man held her tighter and made it impossible.
“Stop!” she cried. She might be scared shitless of the dark man but plummeting to her death didn’t sound much better. Close. Closer. Super close. “Please, stop!”
Too late.
They flew over.
Terror-stricken, she screamed.
“I’ve got you, Jackie,” came a distant, worried voice. “Wake up, lass!”
“No, no, no,” she repeated as wind rushed by her and the ocean rose up. “God, no!”
“You’re safe, I’ve got you,” came the same voice. “Please wake up, Jaqueline.”
Instead of crashing into the ocean, everything vanished, and the world went still.
Very, very still.
The next thing she heard was the steady beat of thunder. It took several moments to realize that thunder didn’t beat. A heart did. One inside a warm chest.
Jackie’s eyes shot open, and she pulled back.
“Shh, calm down,” Darach said gently, holding her shoulders as their eyes locked. “You had a nightmare, but you’re okay.”
She blinked rapidly and tried to get her bearings. She was still in the room at the top of the Highland Defiance. Dim daylight filtered through the keyhole window and she sat on Darach’s lap. Heidrek was next to them, a blade drawn as though he meant to defend her from something unseen.
“Bloody hell. I knew if I put the three of you up here I’d get to the bottom of things,” Adlin said as he appeared at the door. His wise eyes fell on them. “Now I know precisely why you were sent to me and what we must do if we’ve any hope of saving the MacLomains.”
Chapter Four
IT SEEMED ALL THE TALES told around campfires since Darach was a wee bairn were true. Adlin was not only meddlesome and evasive but cryptic. He refused to explain why they were here or what he meant when he said I know what to do if we are to have any hope of saving the MacLomains. But he refused to tell them what that was. This had Heidrek scowling fiercely. Not soon after, Adlin declared that they were leaving, and to ready themselves.
“I’m sorry,” Jackie mumbled before she scrambled off Darach’s lap and looked anywhere but at him.
“You dinnae need to be sorry, lass.” Darach came to his feet and looked at her with concern. “Are you all right now?” He poured some water and handed it to her. “Here. Drink.”
Her eyes flickered to his then away before she took the cup and murmured, “Thanks.”
He and the Viking had slept in shifts so that one of them always kept watch. Darach had been sleeping when it happened.
When his nightmare blended with hers.
That was the only way he could describe it.
One moment everything was dark, the next it was gray. Mountainous, dead, and lifeless, the land around him appeared desolate and unearthly. As he rode Eara, only one thing lit his way. A light. Life.
Jackie.
When he saw the massive cloud fluctuating in front of her—the demi-god—he thought nothing of rushing to her rescue. Then he thought nothing of letting Eara take over as they flew off the cliff and toward the water...toward death. As though it wasn’t the first time he had done it with her.
Then, unlike Jackie, he awoke with no fear.
Calm, prepared for her distress, he held tightly and gently coaxed her out of the nightmare.
“Are ye well?” came a concerned voice. “We heard a commotion and wanted to check on ye.”
Darach was surprised to see Lilas and Dougal at the door. Lilas had her eyes trained on Darach and Dougal’s were on Jackie.
When Heidrek frowned at them, Dougal stood up a little straighter and eyed the Viking. “We dinnae mean any disrespect ‘twas just...”
When her husband trailed off, Lilas said, “’Twas just that we thought someone was hurt. It didnae sound good in the least.”
“Och, nay,” Adlin muttered as he returned and shooed them out. “All’s well enough. Ye two just confuse things.” His eyes met Dougal’s. “We leave soon. Ye keep a close eye on yer wife and wee William, aye?”
“I dinnae need watching over,” William declared, scooting past the adults until he took up position in front of Jackie. He held a dagger and eyed everyone with a frown as he spoke to Jackie. “How fare ye, lass? I would have gotten here sooner, but my legs are far shorter than theirs.”
Heidrek’s eyes narrowed. “Not that much shorter.”
Adlin sighed. “The lad slept at the top of the stairs determined to protect Jackie when you two failed.”
Darach chuckled. They had known the lad was out there. “No faith then?”
“None at all.” William looked between Heidrek and Darach. “Ye’ve yet to prove a bloody thing to me when it comes to this lass.”
“Jackie,” she said softly. “My name’s Jackie.”
“When it comes to Jackie,” William corrected himself.
“I’m fine, William.” She peered over his shoulder and met his eyes. “I just had a bad dream is all. But thanks for having my back.”
William’s brows snapped together in confusion. “Right now I’m protecting yer front.” He spun and peered behind her, dagger at the ready. “Does yer back need protecting too?”
“No.” She lowered his wrist, a warm smile on her face as she met his eyes. “It’s just an expression. I’m really okay. All of you did a great job protecting me.”
“Aye?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
William eyed her for a long moment before he stepped away.
“Come, William.” Lilas held out her hand. “Adlin means for us to leave now.”
“Aye?”
“Aye.” Adlin nodded at William. “Go with Lilas and Dougal now. They love ye.”
William contemplated everyone for another long moment before he obeyed. Meanwhile, Adlin eyed Jackie, Darach, and Heidrek. “It seems none of you even took off your boots last eve. ‘Tis good enough I suppose.” He gestured for them to follow as he ushered William and his parents down the hallway. “Darach and Heidrek, ‘twould be best if you take Jackie’s hand as soon as possible.”
Though Darach and Heidrek frowned at each other, they were smart enough to realize if the arch-wizard said something, they better listen. What neither expected was how soon Adlin meant. They had just reached the landing when the wizard flung his arms in the air and started chanting.
Darach was shocked by the number of people squeezed into the room below and going up the long, winding stairs. Stairs that allowed more to stand on them because there was no balustrade. Darach and Heidrek didn’t just hold Jackie’s hands but pulled her between them as Adlin began chanting.
“Now I plead, let my people flee. Now I plead, let my people be free. Obsecro, domine mi et fugientibus consulite. Obsecro, domine mi liberi populi.”
Light poured from the keyhole window, down the hallway, until it washed over them and spread down the stairs into the crowd below. The narrow windows seemed to help direct it. At first warm and welcoming, it soon turned blinding. Consuming. Yet there was no f
ear as the floor dropped out from beneath them.
No, there was only a feeling of joy.
Change.
Redemption.
It felt like he stood at the edge of Heaven.
When the light faded, Jackie still stood between them, and all the people who had been in the Highland Defiance stood in a forest. Darach didn’t need to use magic to know they stood on the outer edges of what would be MacLomain land.
“Where are we?” Heidrek said.
Adlin smiled as the last of the white light and fog faded into the woodland. “Almost home.” His eyes slid to Heidrek. “Not yours I’m afraid.”
“Sonofa-fn’bitch,” a woman exclaimed. “A little warning would’ve been nice!”
“I thought you were trying not to swear around the kid,” a female responded within the mind.
“She was, but she sucks at it,” came another feminine voice.
“I was... oh, shoot, I mean son-of-a-gun.”
Darach couldn’t help but grin. He knew those voices.
“Nicole? Cassie?” Jackie pulled free and peered around as the last of the fog drifted away. “Erin?”
“Right here,” Erin said before she came out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around Jackie. “Hell, woman, you had me worried.”
Because she was mute, Erin only spoke within the mind.
Soon after, Nicole and Cassie were right there hugging them as well.
All three of her friends had faced a life-changing disability. Not for the first time, he wondered what Jackie’s was. Though tempted to ask her friends, he knew better. They wouldn’t tell him, only urge him to ask Jackie. Something he lacked the courage to do, and he couldn’t figure out why.
Darach didn’t realize how tense he had been until Niall, Rònan and Logan were in front of him. Until they embraced and locked arms and shook hands like Scotsmen. His cousins were here. His kin. His lifeblood. The men who had trained alongside him to protect wee Robert the Bruce.
“All of you are here,” Darach murmured, grateful.
“Aye,” Adlin said before he turned his attention to the people and raised his voice. “’Tis time for us to journey forth and start our life anew. ‘Tis time for us to find the unity we sought at the north of Scotland, our home.” The wizard breathed deeply, and Darach got the impression he met every woman, man and child’s eyes in that single breath. “Though not all of ye were born of the MacLomains, ye are now one. Ye are my kin. Ye chose a life not dictated by others but one chosen by ye. Yer own destiny. A religion and life of yer own choosing.”
“We’ve a few days travel then I will show ye where we will build.” Adlin gestured in a forward direction. “I will show ye where our castle will be.” He stood up taller and smiled. “Would ye like that? Will ye continue to follow me?”
“Aye!” rose up, echoing through the forest.
Adlin nodded. “Aye, then.” He grinned broadly and rubbed his hands together in anticipation before he pointed in a southerly direction. “’Tis time to start walking then.”
As the people moved on, Adlin turned to the MacLomain men and eyed them with approval. “’Tis good to meet more MacLomain kin.”
Darach made introductions. Though Niall and Rònan had come across Adlin briefly in the Otherworld, he was an old man, so he didn’t yet know them. Naturally, Adlin offered no explanation for them being there but strolled off once he knew who everyone was.
As Darach walked with his cousins, Logan, the current MacLomain chieftain, eyed Heidrek and spoke telepathically. “So how goes it with you and the Viking?”
Rònan laughed into his mind. “How do you think?” His cousin winked at him. “Like I had to, he’s got to deal with competition.” Then his voice grew serious. “We’ve been worried about you, Cousin. What are you not telling us? Are you truly well?”
“I am.” Darach’s eyes flickered to Jackie. “’Tis just complicated.”
“’Tis been complicated for us all,” Logan said. “And now you know our stories. Might you not share what’s happening to you so that we can help?”
“Aye,” he said then shared everything except his dreams.
“Well, one thing is for certain.” Rònan nudged him closer to Jackie. “You willnae figure out who belongs with who if you dinnae spend time with the only Broun left.”
“Hey!” Nicole batted at Rònan when he kept nudging Darach, and she had to move.
Erin stepped away gracefully and rolled her eyes, muttering with a grin, “Dragons.”
Logan took Cassie’s arm and redirected her until Darach and Jackie were alone.
“They’re not discreet,” Jackie mumbled.
“Nay,” Darach agreed. “How are you doing? Any better since you awoke?”
“Yes.” She nodded but didn’t meet his eyes. “Better now that my friends are here.”
“Aye.” While tempted to take her hand, he didn’t. Instead, he said something he wasn’t convinced of in the least but hoped would calm her. “All will be well now that they’re here.”
“Here’s hoping,” Jackie whispered before her eyes flew to his and her voice grew stronger. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Don’t say what you think I want to hear but what I need to hear.”
“Och, I didnae,” he began, but she veered away and walked with Erin. Disappointed, he cursed under his breath. Mayhap he could have handled that better. She was going through a lot and evidently needed honesty right now.
Heidrek came alongside. “I need to understand where we are going and my part in it. Have your kin shared anything I should know?”
“Nay.” Darach frowned. “None of us have any idea why we’re here.”
“Yes you do,” Heidrek said. “At the very least you’re here to watch MacLomain Castle be built.”
“True.” He shook his head. “But I dinnae know why. What purpose does it serve considering what we’re facing now?”
Heidrek said nothing for several long minutes. “Is MacLomain Castle not like my Viking fortress? A place where everything that matters most to our people first took root?”
Darach nodded with pride but felt a flare of guilt as well. Why didn’t he have as much pride in his own castle? In Hamilton Castle? But he knew all too well. He despised its beginnings. He despised that his Da was imprisoned there for fourteen winters. “Aye, I’ve pride in MacLomain Castle though ‘tis not my home as the Viking fortress is yours.”
It seemed the Viking sensed his disgruntled thoughts and surprised him with his acuteness.
“So where does your heart truly lie?” Heidrek asked. “At MacLomain Castle or with your own castle?”
Darach meant to respond, but the words died on his lips because he didn’t know the answer.
“If you do not know where your heart lies, what hope have you in protecting your people?” Heidrek wondered.
Though tempted to say he knew exactly where his heart lies, Darach remained silent. He wanted to tell the Viking to go back where he belonged. To leave this alone. But he had more respect than that so said nothing.
“Why does Heidrek keep staring at my lass?” Rònan growled into Darach’s mind. “Does he not know we’re mated?”
He glanced at the Viking only to realize Rònan was right. Heidrek’s eyes weren’t on Jackie but trained on Erin.
“As you know, I havenae been around much lately,” Darach said to Rònan. “Have Heidrek and Erin met before today?”
“Nay,” Rònan said, troubled. “The only time they were around one another was when you gave both your sword and your lass to the Viking at MacLomain Castle.”
“She isnae my lass,” Darach murmured.
“Yet,” Rònan said. “But I see the way you look at one another.” He kept grumbling, “He needs to get his bloody eyes off my lass.”
“Stop being jealous, Rònan.” Niall joined the conversation. “Erin loves you, and you’re mated. You dinnae need to be threatened by the Viking.”
“As if you wouldnae
be just as jealous if he was looking at Nicole like that,” Rònan retaliated.
“I think you numbnuts forgot we Brouns can hear your telepathic conversations,” Nicole said into their minds. “Including Erin...and Jackie!”
Jackie could hear their thoughts? Hell. Since when?
“Yup.” Erin shook her head without looking back. “And Rònan knows exactly how I feel about insecure dragons."
“Och,” Rònan muttered aloud before he strode forward, flung Erin over his shoulder and kept walking. “Now the bloody Viking can eye my arse instead of yours, aye?”
Erin sighed then grinned at Rònan’s backside. “Well, it is an ass well worth eying. Love the kilt, but we need to get you back into leather pants one of these days.”
Rònan slapped her backside and chuckled. “Only for you, me wee dragon.”
Heidrek frowned at Rònan’s odd behavior but said nothing.
“I think ‘twould be wise if everyone remembers that Heidrek is our ancestor and show him more respect,” Logan cut in.
Darach met Logan’s eyes and nodded. Where Niall and Rònan were close, he and the MacLomain chieftain shared the same bond. They often thought alike. And right now, he knew Logan was absolutely right. More than that, though they assumed otherwise, there stood a good chance Heidrek could hear them. If he could control both water and air, there was a lot more to this Viking than they all previously thought.
Though he shouldn’t be, Darach was caught off guard when the air shimmered, and Grant appeared with the wee Bruce. His father sighed with relief when he spied Darach. “Och lad, ‘tis good to find you here.”
“Where else did you think I’d be?”
“’Tis hard to know for sure lately,” Grant said softly when Adlin turned and locked eyes on him and Robert.
“Adlin.” Grant fell to a knee and lowered his head. “’Tis so verra good to see ye again, Mentor.”
Darach sensed the magic Adlin unleashed at Grant as he approached and felt him out.
“Ye’ve great magic about you.” Adlin stopped in front of Grant. “A magic ye’ve learned to harness well through exemplary training.” A grin blossomed. “My training to be sure.”
The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 87
