by Sky Winters
As James slowly approached the area where Sadie seemed to be heading, a sudden, sharp stab of pain caused him to buckle to the ground. He quietly whimpered and transformed into his human body. The wound on his stomach was pulsing agonizingly, and he suddenly regretted not listening to Gail and his comrades.
James was laying naked on the ground, gripping onto his stomach and looking around for something that he could use to bandage his wound. He closed his eyes and silently asked the spirits for guidance, and suddenly his eye fixed upon a plant that was laying in front of him. He recognized it vaguely as one that he had been taught about in his youth, and he quickly picked it, chewing in his mouth before using it as a salve to put on his wound.
It helped him to feel better almost immediately, and he got to his feet, panting slightly. Unfortunately, he had to conserve his strength and use his human form for a while. That was the only way that he would be able to make it to Sadie in time. Who knew what the disgusting Lord Lachlan would do to his beautiful mate, and the thought filled him with rage that drove him to move past his pain and bound through the forest as if it were nothing. He had to get there before Lachlan and his men did anything to Sadie. They would feel like she deserved it, but he would not let them harm her.
Not only that, but they might harm his unborn child, and that would be unforgivable. Especially if Sadie did not know that she was bearing a child for him. Maybe in some way she would know, but he felt it was very important to let her know that she was going to be a mother, and the soul reason his clan would be able to survive throughout the course of history. Maybe that had been her destiny, whether they knew it or not. Sometimes fate had a funny way of working. Of course, she’d had a terrible husband in her own timeline, but fate had made up for that and provided her with an escape to the Highlander clan where she would ultimately be able to make a better life for herself. He could only hope. If he let her down and allowed her to be harmed by the most disgusting man who had ever grazed the Lowlands, he would never forgive himself.
The idea made him want to scream with agony, and he let out a mighty roar. He ran for a few paces before dropping to the ground, still in agonizing pain from his stomach wound. He lost consciousness on the ground, his head floating in a dizzy darkness between time and space. As he began to pass out, he had a strange thought that maybe this was where Sadie had come from.
***
“All right, lads. Up and at them," Lord Lachlan's voice rang out over the campsite. The guards began to stir and grumbled, but they got up and began packing up their supplies. “We have to get back to the castle before the Highlanders get on our trail. There's a lot we have left to do with Miss Sadie here. The wisp isn't going to talk willingly. Of course, I already planned for that in advance, so if we get to my castle in time, everything will be fine. Hurry though, the disgusting animal people are fast. Much faster than we are.”
The soldiers readied themselves to leave. Lord Lachlan gripped Sadie by her dress and untied her from the tree. He held onto her wrists with his big clammy hands, pushing her forward ahead of him as they began to march downhill toward his castle. He looked down at her from time to time, and Sadie couldn't help but think that he looked even uglier in the sunlight. His face was blotchy and broken, and his teeth were broken and black, like his heart. She had learned of all his horrible exploits from the tour of his castle in the future, and discovering the painting of herself marrying him had been enough to make her want to vomit.
“You call me a wisp," Sadie said. “What exactly do you mean by that? I don't understand the reference. Could you please explain it to me? Who do you think I am?"
Lord Lachlan looked down at her, a pleased grin on his face. He seemed to enjoy the fact that she was talking to him. And so, her question seemed to engage him immediately. It was a great opportunity to hear himself speak, and she knew that he would take it.
“My lady, do you not know your own legend?"
She shook her head, batting her large green eyes at him sincerely. The more she knew, she felt, the more likely she would be able to escape. She would have to play it very carefully.
“You’ve been here before, you know. In the Highlands. We've seen you here for years. But before you were just the wisp, you were not flesh and blood. Just a wisp of a person. Here, but barely here. We all knew your face from legend, and even your name. When you suddenly appeared in my room, I knew that you were meant to be my bride. And I knew that you would be the one to help me get rid of the Highlanders once and for all. If I could just keep you, and keep you away from them, for myself, then you would be the one to help us to make us victorious in our war against the shifters. The bloody devils are just too uncivilized to live in this world, but now that you are here, we will be able to stop that. Won't we?"
Sadie said nothing as she contemplated his strange story. Instead of acknowledging his question, she just tilted her head at him. He took this as a sign of acknowledgment and grinned, and they continued marching on toward his castle as the cold air blew against her face. How much of this legend was true? And how much of it had James known?
Chapter 23
“Lord James, are you all right?"
Gail cradled his head in her arms and peered down at him with her friendly concerned face.
“I heard you roar and knew that you didn't go along with the rest of them. They're heading further east, I can tell. I feel it. That’s why you came back west, wasn’t it? You felt Sadie this way. That must be where Sadie really is. I have to help you, but first I need to know if you can stand up. I gave you some herbs to help with the pain. Can you move?”
James groaned quietly as he got to his feet. Gail dusted off his shoulders and offered him a small cloth bag. He pulled his favorite kilt out of it and grinned at her, slipping it on.
“Right. Now that you're all good and proper, maybe we should try moving now.”
James nodded and they began walking further toward the area where Sadie's scent was coming more strongly. James collapsed against a tree, and Gail rushed to his side.
“James, do you need help?” she asked, frowning.
Before James had a chance to reply, she was transforming into her bear form and nuzzling his shoulder. He knew that she wanted him to climb onto her so that they could move through the forest more quickly. He did as she wanted, knowing that it was just his childhood friend suggesting it and not somebody who would hold it over his head later.
“So, are you happy to be a father?" Gail asked him. The bear kind could speak to each other without words, which was good for James because he was lacking in energy.
“I would rather not think about that until I have Sadie and my unborn child back,” he said.
“Understandable," Gail said.
“I'm worried though. What if something has already happened to her?"
“You would already know," Gail said. “In your heart. You know, when my father was killed, my mother just knew something was wrong. I think that the same thing would happen with you and Sadie. She has been captured yes, and she could be in terrible danger, that's true. But she’s still here. And I'll help you see to it that she gets back home safe and sound.”
“Thank you, Gail," James said, laying his head against her. And with that, they bounded along as quickly as Gail could carry him, into the uncertainty of the forest ahead.
***
When the darkness fell around them, Gail paused in her tracks.
“You know, I'm beginning to think that Lord Lachlan and his men don't know this forest very well,” Gail chuckled.
James was about to agree when suddenly he perked up, distracted. “Gail, do you smell that?”
“I do! It's the remains of a fire. They've been here. We're on the right track.”
Gail was about to start running again when James jumped down and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I smell her,” he whispered.
Gail gazed at him as he walked up to a tree, smelling it and contorting his face with fury.
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“He had her tied up here. He wanted to...he wanted to do terrible things to her, but he kept it inside for the time. He's going to take her to his dungeon, I know it. We have to get there. Now!”
Gail roared ferociously as James shifted into his bear form. They both began to growl and roar, as loudly as they could, alerting the rest of the clan to their plight. Their angry growls shook the forest and rippled throughout it, causing birds to fly away and deer to flee. Now that they knew for sure where Sadie was, everybody had to be on high alert and should head toward the castle. Lord Lachlan had Sadie, and it was time to show him what they were made of. Every man, woman, and child was invited to storm the castle and guarantee the survival of their clan.
Chapter 24
Sadie could see the silhouette of the castle coming up in the distance. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was lit with bright colors. Suddenly, the horses began to whinny nervously. Lachlan and his men looked around in confusion, trying to figure out why their steeds were making such a commotion, but suddenly a very distinct sound reached their ears.
Sadie, who had been feeling pessimistic as the castle began to draw nearer, suddenly felt hopeful. She knew that sound anywhere. It was James. And he was furious. They could hear his roars throughout the entire forest, and as Lachlan's men finally emerged from the trees and headed out toward the clearing where Lord Lachlan's castle was, the sound became even more ferocious and intimidating. Sadie couldn't blame the poor horses for being afraid, especially not when they remembered what had happened the last time they encountered one of the mighty bear shifters.
“Get the horses into the stables quickly," Lachlan said, jumping off his own horse and gripping Sadie by the waist. He pulled her down with him and they stood squarely on the ground. “Make sure they are locked out. We lost too many in the last encounter. I will not let that happen again. We need to get the girl into the dungeon before any of the bear shifters show up. We need to be ready for them. Tell the guards at the castle to man their positions and begin preparing flaming arrows. This is going to be a massacre, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it.”
Sadie glowered at him as he forced her to run alongside him toward the castle. The horses were too spoked to move, and so it was up to their own willpower to get inside. And Sadie didn't particularly want to get inside. She did her best to take her time until Lord Lachlan pulled the sword from his sheath and pushed it against her firmly.
“You are going to keep up, or you are going to die right here and right now," Lord Lachlan said to her in a seething voice. His pockmarked face was dark and angry, and Sadie swallowed. She didn't want to die now, not when she could hear James so close to her. He was so near to rescuing her from this tyrant.
And she realized gradually that she wasn't just hearing James either. Sadie and the soldiers could hear other bear shifters on the horizon, growling and roaring as loudly as they could. It sounded like the entire clan had come to rescue her, and she knew that she had to do her duty and stay alive until they could pull off their rescue mission. She had to live to see James again. And so, she moved alongside Lord Lachlan, who was so out of shape that it didn't take much effort to keep up with him. In fact, it was a rather easy and slow pace. As long as she did her best, she would stay alive.
“It's too late," Lord Lachlan said, as if he could hear her hopeful thoughts. “You are going into my dungeon, and my men are going to take care of the rest of the meddling bear shifters. We have poison arrows and fire arrows and everything else that could be a bear's worst nightmare. And the funniest part about it is that they're so angry that they won't even think about walking right into a trap. We have the whole area full of traps, and they're all going to die. It's going to be your fault, and I'm going to really love watching you suffer.”
“They're not going to die, but I think you are," Sadie said, turning her fiery green eyes onto Lord Lachlan. He growled in anger at her belligerence and pushed her hard ahead of him. She stumbled but righted herself, straightening as proudly as she possibly could as they continued along toward his castle.
***
“Wait,” James said. “Everybody be quiet. I hear something. I need you all to listen carefully with me."
Everybody paused and listened carefully into the distance. Suddenly, a tiny voice came to them, and James nearly fainted. He knew it was the voice of his unborn child, speaking psychically to him through his mother. The shifters could speak without words, and now, his child was doing the same, both to him and to the other bear shifters who were heading toward the castle.
There had been many legends about the bear shifters communicating with their unborn children, learning all the secrets of the world before birth. But James had thought that they were stories and had dismissed them most of the time, thinking of it as ways to get everybody to behave. But his tiny son was warning him now, telling him that danger was ahead and that they needed to look where they were stepping or else their rescue mission would be a failure and he would die along with his mother.
The rest of the clan was quiet and hushed with awe as they listened to the tiny voices of the infants Wait, infants? There were two voices. A boy and a girl, both speaking softly but urgently, warning of arrows laced with fire and poison, and traps at their feet much like the one that had gotten James stuck in the dungeon in the first place. The bear clan was afraid to make another move until James acknowledged that he heard the child. They might all have thought they were going crazy.
James gave a sudden powerful roar and turned his thoughts back to his men. They all had heard what they had to do and were ready and willing to get out there and do it. It might very well have been the most important thing they had ever done in their lives, and the future of their entire clan depended on it.
“We are going to have to go around to the back of the castle and enter in toward the dungeon entrance, back where I escaped from originally. All of the guards are going to expect us to emerge from the forest, but nothing about what we do should be what they expect. My wife and children are on the line, so we must do this right. Without them, our clan will be wiped off the face of the earth forever. No bear shifters will exist after our generation has gone on to the next realm. We need to do this right, so everybody follow my lead.”
He turned to Gail. “I need you to stay here, Gail, so that they think that we are going to come from this side. I want you to roar and continue approaching, but be careful. I want someone to volunteer to stay with you so that you can stay safe. Keep your eyes on the ground for barbs and tricks; these traps can take us down in an instant. Step over them and stay quiet, except for Gail and Dodd.”
Everybody agreed on the instructions, and began to approach. James led them quietly around to the back of the castle, helping them to avoid stepping into traps and triggering them so that they did not get into trouble. He could smell Sadie and knew that she was both fearful and relieved. He tried to will his voice to reach her, but because she was not part bear, he knew that it would not work. So instead, he willed his voice to his unborn children, telling them that he was on his way and would do everything he could to bring them safely into this world.
Chapter 25
“I want to have your wedding dress on for this," Lord Lachlan said with a seedy smile as he pushed Sadie into the entrance of the castle. He summoned the servant, the same one she had seen the first time she opened her eyes in this new world of the past, and told her to fetch the wedding dress. The woman gave Sadie a fretful look, but disappeared up the spiraling staircase to retrieve the dress.
“Nobody humiliates me like you and lives to tell about it," Lord Lachlan said, running his finger along the polished wooden table. "Then again, few people are as beautiful as you are, so it's almost funny to me to be shamed in this way. I almost like it. Almost."
Sadie said nothing, just glared at him as they waited for the servant to bring down the wedding gown. When she finally arrived, she gave the wedding dress to Lord Lachlan and retreated. Howe
ver, she cast her eyes upon Sadie, fixing on her a worried but caring look, and disappeared up the stairs again, peeking over the railing to watch what became of the wisp of the Highlands.
“Put it on,” Lord Lachlan ordered.
Sadie stared at the dress, her nose crinkled in disgust. Although the gown was beautiful, she did not want to humor this sick man in that way. She refused, and Lord Lachlan instantly grew furious. He was used to everybody doing exactly what he said the first time he said it. That was what he thought obedience should be.
“I said put on the dress!” he shouted. He pressed the tip of his sword against her throat.
Sadie's hands shook as she picked up the dress. She was about to pull her clothes off when a huge banging noise startled them both. They turned to find the cause of the commotion and were met with a loud, malicious roar. It was James, and he had come to rescue her just in time.
“James!” she exclaimed, running toward him. He gave her a gentle nuzzle and pushed her behind him with a large paw. James wasn't alone. Lord Lachlan was left staring at a huge circle of warriors, who had surrounded him within his own home. Most of them recognized him and had stories of vast personal loss associated with him, and so tearing this man apart limb from limb was actually some kind of closure for them. She stared at them with wide eyes, and Lachlan held his sword in his quaking hand as if he could somehow prevent the inevitable from happening.
