Highlander’s Curse
Page 27
“Or will it be on my sword?” Across the clearing, Dair stepped from the trees. “I did promise you’d no seen the last of me.”
Jonathan’s head swiveled in his direction, his arm swinging to aim at the newcomer.
And then, just like in all her other dreams, everything happened at once.
Two shots cracked from the gun, one after another.
Colin’s sword flashed down toward Jonathan, the sun glinting off the blade as if wielded by some avenging warrior out of mythology. Both the gun and Jonathan’s hand fell to the forest floor, bouncing when they hit like a poorly inflated rubber ball.
The air reverberated with his screams until Colin’s blade flashed again. Then there was only silence, and her magnificent dream warrior was at her side, gathering her into his arms.
Forty
Colin?” Abby’s eyes fluttered open, dark and deep-set in her oddly pale face.
“I’m here, love,” he answered, just as he had all those other times she’d awakened on the ride back to MacQuarrie Keep.
When they entered the bailey, Leah waited at the head of the stairs, quickly taking charge and directing him to follow her to the nearest bedchamber.
“Leave us for a moment. Allow my maid and me to see what ails her. You can wait right outside the door if you like. It’ll only be a moment, I promise.”
“She’s strong. She’ll survive this.” Dair’s attempt to reassure fell short of its mark.
Colin nodded wordlessly, noting the look that passed between his brother and his friend. An unmistakable look of sorrow. Of pity. For him.
The bedchamber door opened, and Leah stepped into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind her before she spoke.
“I’m not liking what I’m seeing in there one little bit. At least two of her ribs are broken. She’s short of breath and there’s a wet, wheezing sound that’s really worrying me. I’m afraid the rib has punctured her lung.”
Colin felt as if he’d taken a tumble from a horse, falling, falling, waiting to hit the ground, knowing how bad it would hurt when the moment came.
“What can I do?”
He should have done something sooner. Should have insisted she go back to her own time. Should have gone with her if that’s what it took to get her to go. Instead, he’d dragged her deeper into danger and this is what it had gotten them: Abby lying in a bed behind that door, fighting for every breath like it was her last.
“Nothing. There’s nothing you can do.” Leah sighed, crossing her hands over her stomach. “But there is something I can do.”
“No!” Drew stepped between them, taking her by the shoulders. “I can’t allow you to put yerself through that, Leah.”
“Allow me?” She pushed away from her husband, glaring at him. “I thought we’d had this whole allow conversation worked out some time ago. You don’t get to forbid me to do anything, dearest. That’s not part of our arrangement.”
Colin knew he should step in. He should say something now, insist that Leah not take this risk. But her risk could mean life or death for the woman he loved.
“And what about the babe?”
“First off, we don’t even know that there is a baby. We only suspect that I might be pregnant. And second, healing that woman in there isn’t going to hurt my baby. What do you expect me to do? What would you have me tell the child I might be carrying? ‘Oh, yes, little one, you did have an aunt once, but she died because I was too concerned about a little pain in my side to save her life’? I don’t think so, Drew. You should know me better than that.”
“Indeed, my dearling, I do.” Drew placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “And since we ken each other so very well, you’ll no be surprised when I say that if you insist on doing this, I must insist on being at yer side when you do.”
“I would expect nothing less.” She placed a hand on his arm before turning her attention to Colin. “I don’t want her to suffer any longer than she already has. Let’s do this thing now.”
She pushed open the bedchamber door, allowing him at last to rejoin his wife. Abby’s eyes were closed, her skin pale except for the swollen scrapes on one cheek.
Colin laid a hand over her breast, reassured that even though she fought for each quick breath, her heart still beat in rhythm with his own.
“Once I begin, I need to make sure you don’t touch her, do you understand? No one can touch either of us. The connection must be only between her and me.”
Colin nodded, his throat too tight to allow words. He stepped back from the bed to stand beside his brother to await what was to come.
Leah held her hands over Abby’s chest, fluttering them back and forth, hovering just above her ribs. From the movement of her lips, he knew she spoke to Abby, likely explaining what she was doing, reassuring his beloved that all would be well. A low humming filled the room, obscuring her actual words.
He glanced at the ceiling, wondering for a moment if his brother had been negligent and allowed bees to take up residence in the keep, but there was no sign of any insect, even as the pitch and volume of the noise grew. Only when he was forced for the second time to drag the hair from his eyes did it occur to him that a wind had whipped up.
A wind inside the room.
The air between where he stood and the bed where his beloved lay began to shimmer and sparkle, as if it thickened and solidified before his very eyes. Tiny streaks of color shot through the air, dancing around him like the insects he’d sought only moments before.
But these were no insects. He recognized them well, even before the sphere of green light surrounded them. They were the shards of Faerie Magic Leah called on to do her bidding.
It took all his will to keep his distance, especially once the Magic materialized. His worst fear was that when the Magic receded, Abby would be gone, taken from him back to the time where she belonged.
No, that was a falsehood. His worst fear wasn’t losing her to her own time. It was losing her to death. At least if she were returned home, he’d have the comfort of knowing that she lived.
Thunder rumbled from a nearby storm, so close to the keep he’d almost swear it was inside the room with them. Once more the thunder boomed and the sphere surrounding the two women shattered, sending shards of flickering colors shooting toward them, through them, beyond them.
Instinctively, he hit the floor, embarrassed that he had until he saw his brother crouching next to him looking as discomfited as he felt.
Drew was on his feet first but reached the bed only a step ahead of Colin. Leah slumped over Abby, her brow damp with perspiration, her eyes closed. Abby appeared as one asleep, her breathing deep and regular, the color returned to her cheeks, the markings on her face gone.
Not gone, transferred to Leah’s cheek.
“Is she . . .” He couldn’t bring himself to ask the question of Drew, not with his brother’s distress so evident as he lifted his wife into his arms.
“I’m fine,” Leah answered, her shallow panting attempts at breathing belying her words. “Need sleep.”
“And sleep you’ll have, dearling.” Drew started for the door, stopping to turn briefly. “Abby will likely sleep through the night as well. You’d be wise to do the same.”
Sleep? With his beloved’s life hanging in the balance? His brother had lost his sense of reason.
Very cautiously, Colin climbed onto the bed with Abby, taking great care not to jostle or move her in any way as he lay down next to her.
He would content himself with simply watching her, with counting each long, slow breath she took. He would use the time to send a prayer up with each and every one of those breaths that she still lived when morning’s light graced their world.
Forty-one
Abby dreamed of warm places, safe and tidy little spots in a perfect world. The dreams were short, fractured, hopping from scene to scene, barely allowing her time to settle into one before it morphed into another. All had one thing in common: in each and every location, Colin awaited her
, his arms open wide to gather her in and hold her close.
She opened her eyes, not at all surprised to find Colin next to her, fast asleep. He held her hand sandwiched between his callused palm and his heart.
There wasn’t a more perfect combination to represent Colin, tough and tender, rugged man and sweet lover, all at the same time.
Watching him sleep, her dreams came back to her in a rush and she realized with a start she’d completely deceived herself as to the locations in her dreams. Many had been dark and dank and had she encountered in them in real life, they would have terrified her.
So why hadn’t they seemed threatening in her dreams?
Because Colin had been there with her.
Colin had been there to hold her, to protect her, to give her that sense of warmth and safety. Together they formed one, a whole being that needed nothing from the outside world to complete what they had together.
Ellie had been absolutely right. There were things in this world much more important than toilet paper. What she felt each time she lay in Colin’s arms was definitely one of those things. For the first time since she’d arrived in this century, she knew, absolutely without any reservation, that she belonged at Colin’s side, no matter where—or when—he chose to be.
A light knock sounded on the bedchamber door and his eyes flew open. His face creased into a smile when he saw her, the rare smile that always burrowed deeply into her heart when it lit his features.
He stroked his fingertips down her cheek. “Good morning, wife.”
“Good morning, husband.” She returned his greeting, rolling to her side toward him to accept the kiss he offered.
Again the knock sounded at the door.
“Bollocks,” he muttered with a sigh, pushing up and out of the bed to answer the door. “A pox on all of them that would bother us.”
Leah entered the room first, Drew directly behind, his hand protectively guiding his wife.
Colin caught up her hand, kissing it and bowing low. “Yer an amazing woman, Leah, and I’m honored to have you as part of my family. How can I ever repay you for what you’ve done?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s what I do. Now.” Leah hurried to the bedside and tossed back the covers to prod at Abby’s side. “How does this beautiful morning find you? Well, I’m predicting from your husband’s reaction.”
“I feel great.” It was no lie. She’d all but forgotten yesterday’s horrible pains. They seemed as blurred as her memories of arriving at this place. “What did you do to me?”
“Just a little Faerie Magic,” Leah said with a shrug, turning a big smile toward her husband. “Will you two join us for the morning meal, or would you prefer to have food sent up here?”
“No food, thank you,” Colin announced as he returned to her side. “We’ll be leaving shortly.”
“Leaving?” Abby swung her gaze around to him and pushed herself up to sit on her knees, searching his face for an answer. They’d only just arrived. Besides, wouldn’t a meal make sense before they started their journey to. . .
“Oh, Colin,” she groaned. Even after all they’d been through, he hadn’t given up on finding his king. “You’re still determined to change the world, aren’t you?”
“Only your world, wife,” he said, brushing the hair from her forehead. “It’s time to return to your century, Abby. This is no the place for you to be.”
Her mind reeled with confusion. If he thought he was going to get rid of her that easily, he’d better think again. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here. I’ll adjust. I can figure out how to make the best of this world. As long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters.”
“As if you think I’d let you go anywhere without me,” he scoffed. “We go together.”
“But . . .” Had she missed something important in the past twenty-four hours? “You said you belonged here. That you were determined to make a difference.”
He nodded slowly, catching up her face in his two hands. “And you said I’d no right to try to change yer history. I see now that you had the right of it. My pigheaded stubbornness nearly cost yer life.”
“And yours,” she added, placing her hands over his. “I was so afraid I’d lost you.”
From the doorway, Drew cleared his throat. “We’ll leave you now to do whatever it is you need to. If you dinna join us by midday, I’ll pass yer farewells along to Mother, aye?”
“I’d appreciate that, brother.” Colin answered without taking his eyes from hers.
“If you really want to repay me, there is something you can do. When you get back, find my sister and tell her how happy I am.”
Beside Leah, Drew cleared his throat again.
“And yes.” Leah hooked her arm through her husband’s, her face glowing with happiness. “Let her know she’s going to have a new niece or nephew in a few months.”
“The first of many,” Drew interjected with a laugh.
“You have my word upon it,” Colin promised.
Abby waited until the door closed before broaching her fears.
“Would it be so horribly bad if we stayed here?” She prayed he’d say no, her failed attempt at wishing them out of this time when she’d thought him dying still ripe in her memory.
“It would be.”
His answer sent her stomach plummeting to her feet.
“But you said—”
“I’ve said many things,” he interrupted. “And now I’m saying I choose to go forward with the woman I love. I choose cars and potatoes and libraries full of books. I choose air travel and hot showers and cream that comes in a can.”
“What if I can’t do it?” Her heart already ached at the thought of disappointing him.
“There’s nothing you canna do, wife. I believe that with all my heart. Together, there’s nothing that we canna do. Wish us home, Abby. Wish us to our home, together.”
She threw her arms around his neck, sinking into the love he offered as he tightened his embrace.
“I wish us home. To our home. Together.”
“Forever,” he added.
The heavy bed began to rock and bump against the stone floor as the air around them shimmered like a bright green curtain of rushing water.
When thousands of multicolored sparkles began their dive-bombing maneuvers around their heads, Abby buried her face in Colin’s shoulder.
“You see? What did I tell you!” His triumphant shout was barely audible over the buzzing and hissing.
With a hand to her cheek, he lifted her face and covered her mouth with his. The sensation of his kiss felt like the world dropped out from under them, and they fell, endlessly locked in each other’s arms.
Abby could imagine no better way to go forth into forever.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-f
our
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one