by Ria Cantrell
“Oh, I hear ye’ lass, but ye’ canna’ rid yerself of me. I am forced to stay here, so ye’ may as well get used to the idea.”
“Well, I may have to live with it, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Pretty or no, I dunna’ like it much either. For such a beauty, ye’ have proven to be quite a disagreeable lass.”
Kiera was being disagreeable. What was the matter with her? She was not usually that way. She wondered what was provoking her to act this way. It wasn’t this poor soul’s fault he had been stuck between the worlds of living and dead. Well, it was his fault actually, based on what he had said, but still she was certain he did not want it to be this way. Taking another gulp of her wine, Kiera said, “Well, I am a MacCollum after all.”
She laughed and Derek laughed with her. “Aye, that ye’ are.”
“What should we do about this?”
“About what, Lass? There is naught we can do.”
“Well, I don’t think I want you lurking around and scaring the daylights out of me at every turn.”
“I willna’ do that, Lass. And ye’ dunna’ seem to be scared by me anyway.”
She wasn’t. In fact, if he wasn’t a ghost, she would most definitely have a hard time keeping her hands off of the guy. Hell, she had already tried to kiss him. That was bold of her. She wasn’t usually an aggressive woman, but she was known to enjoy her own sensual side. She had enjoyed sex in the past and if this gorgeous Scot was in the flesh and blood, Kiera was certain she would enjoy spending a few hours in bed with him. It seemed like an eternity since she made love with Jax and even then it already started not being fun. Of course, he had been preoccupied with other willing game at the time. Kiera visibly shook her head as if to purge it from thoughts that would never be helpful to her. Derek may not have been a total and complete ghost, but he certainly was not present in the physical sense. When his hand had brushed hers, Kiera only felt cold emptiness that caused a chill to course through her. She murmured absently, “No…I am not scared by you.”
Having been isolated without human contact for so long, Derek was suddenly aware of every nuance Kiera’s beautiful face betrayed. He had never been that sensitive to those nuances of his fellow humans before, but with this one, Derek could miss nothing. Her thoughts had wandered and Derek watched as her face betrayed her attraction for him. Derek liked sensing the attraction part. In fact, she had an almost naughty glint in her eyes, but that quickly turned to something else. Sadness, aye. Perhaps, regret, too. It would seem the lovely Kiera had a few “ghosts” of her own to dispel.
Kiera repeated, “So what do we do?”
“I dunna’ think we can do anything.”
“I mean, well, I know this was your home, but well, I live here now.”
“I am aware of that.”
“Well, we need to have an understanding of sorts, I think.”
“What kind of understanding, Lass?”
“Even though you are…you know…”
“A ghost,” Derek said with a smirk. He was thinking of how her thoughts had envisioned him as a man.
“Well, quite frankly yes. But you are still a man….”
“Aye, Lass, that’s true. I am.”
“Well that is my point. I don’t want you barging in on me, say when I am undressing.”
Crossing his arms over his muscular-looking chest, he grinned and smugly said, “T’willna’ be something I havena’ seen before, Lass.”
Kiera rolled her eyes. He must have been quite the rogue in his time. Great! Just what I need! Another player, albeit a ghostly one. “That may be, but I still don’t want you to --”
“I was jesting, Lass. I willna’ intrude upon yer’ privacy.”
“Thank you. And I don’t want you to just show up unannounced.”
“Lass, I canna’ control my presence. I dunna’ even know how long ye’ will see me until I fade from yer sight, if I do. Ye’ are the first person to see me in more than six hundred years. I dunna’ know if ye’ will continue to do so.”
“Fine, then I suppose, we shall have to wait and see on that.”
Nodding, Derek said, “Still, I will try to let ye’ know when I am nearing your presence.”
“Fair enough.”
Great, now she was bargaining with a ghost. Kiera wasn’t completely convinced she had not lost her mind entirely. As if reading her thoughts, Derek replied, “Ye’ arena’ mad, Lass.”
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what, Lass?”
“Reading my mind.”
“I was not,” he said defiantly. “T’is nay like I am reading yer’ mind. T’is more like I am reading yer’ face. Ye’ arena’ mad, Lass. I am real. As real as a ghost can be, I suppose.”
“I am not happy about this…but…I suppose, you are not either.”
“Not about being a ghost, nay, but about ye’ being here…well....Lass, ye’ dunna’ know how happy I am about that.”
Something in the way he had stated that last sentence tugged at Kiera’s heart. If what he had told her was the truth, then he had been punished severely, as one sent to the oblivion of purgatory, she supposed. She reached out, wanting to touch his face, but only felt the chill as her hand made no contact. He watched as her hand dropped in her lap and her other hand clasped it.
“You must have been very lonely,” she said softly.
He had no words to describe just how very lonely he had been. He simply nodded, touched by the compassion he sensed and saddened deeply by the loss of her physical touch. That now seemed to be the worst punishment of all. That and the fact that he was shunted into a time he knew nothing about. Even if he was to gain his physical body back, how would he survive in this time? It almost seemed hopeless. Except, this woman; this beautiful woman had tried to touch him. Derek was certain he never craved a woman’s touch more in his entire existence.
Kiera felt the silence stretch between them. There were things he did not say; things she knew he could not tell her now, but perhaps in time. What am I thinking? This is the most bizarre situation she could imagine. There was no future in this. Still, Kiera felt pulled to find out all she could learn from this most uninvited guest.
Don’t forget, you are the guest. This is his home, after all.
She tried to form the next question but words seemed to fail her.
Sensing her sudden unease, Derek decided to give her time. He stood and watched as her eyes followed him. That pleased him. His hand paused over her cheek and he lifted a piece of her hair from it. It felt like a breeze had lifted the strand and for some reason, it no longer felt weird. She stared up at him and said, “Where are you going?”
“I am going to take my leave of ye’ for a while. Thank ye’ for talking to me and for not running away in fear.”
With a sassy little smile, Kiera teased, “Well, while I am sure you were quite formidable in life, you are not the scariest ghost I have ever seen.”
“Oh, nay? How many of us have ye’ seen, then?”
“A few.” She was not joking.
Ahh, that explained it. She was a Seer. Well, then what better woman to help unlock him from this prison than one who was a Seer. With a wink he said, “Till later, Lass. Ye’ need only call me, and I will come to yer’ aid.”
“Why do I think you never said that to anyone before?”
“Wise girl. I have not,” he said definitely. “But I am learning. I think I will enjoy learning lots of things from ye’.”
With that, he seemed to immaterialize.
“Wait,” Kiera called and just like that, he was back, standing before her in all his raw masculine beauty. She was afraid to take her eyes off of him for fear of never seeing him again. Why would that matter to her, after all? Wouldn’t she be better off if she never saw him again? Somehow that thought brought a sense of deep sorrow into her heart.
“What is it, Lass?”
“Just testing.”
Shaking his head, he smiled and he lef
t her again. She did not know if he was still actually there before her and just hidden, but she somehow felt he was not. Kiera was certain that now she would know if he was present even if she could not see him. As she peered out over the ledge of the catwalk, Kiera thought she spied him walking below the keep toward the edge of the forest. She wondered where he was going. Kiera then realized that it must have been him she had seen on the castle battlements the prior day. Now knowing it was him, she no longer felt anxious about it. Instead, Kiera felt a sense of calm settle over her. She likened it to feeling like a guardian angel was watching out for her. Somehow, that thought was comforting to her. Guardian angel, she thought to herself. Well I never imagined one to look like him. I suppose if I have to live with a ghost, the ghost of Derek Campbell would not be the worst I could be haunted by.
Chapter 22
It was done! Morag could feel it in her soul that her two charges had finally met. Now the true healing would begin; healing that was due to both of them. She sought to find Gavin but he was not forthcoming in her summons. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Guardian appeared before her.
“Where have ye’ been? I have been looking for ye’ for hours it seems.”
“Woman, I have important matters to see to, ye’ know. It is not for ye’ to summon me at yer’ will.”
With her hands on her hips she stated, “Well, I am here in this time to help out yer’ grandson. I would only summon ye’ if it was important.”
“Really? And was it so important fer’ ye’ to call me forth just so ye’ would have someone to play chess with the other eve?”
“Never mind that. This is important. I was scrying and in the midst of it, I felt a pull of energies converging. They have met, Gavin. I know it. I sense it in my bones.”
“Hmm, and no destruction of the Keep, so far, so perhaps it has gone better than we had hoped.”
“The lass was seeking me yester morn, but I kept out of her way. I have a feeling she got a glimpse of our boy and wanted to pry secrets out of me. She stayed the night in the Keep and did not come running back like a frightened mare at the sound of a cracking whip. Ye’ dunna’ suppose they’ve already--”
“Woman, honestly! Arianne’s curse would not permit him to. He is a man in spirit only. His mortal bodily functions do not exist in this time.”
“Except in the tower. The tower protected by your own grandfather’s wards allows him to be a man in every sense.”
“Morag, ye’ must learn patience. Aye, the wards prevent Arianne’s curse from manifesting in that place, but even if he knew that it was so, do ye’ expect the lass, who probably got the shock of her life, would follow him to the tower to tup?”
Morag smiled. “I sense a lustiness about the girl. I reckon she could succumb to the lad’s, hmmm, shall we say, charms quite quickly.”
Gavin’s eyes rolled skyward. “The lad does not have ‘charms’, remember? T’is part of the reason he is in this predicament to begin with.”
“He has gentled much of that waywardness, Gavin. He has made great strides and he has changed.”
“Well, he still has to prove himself and that is yet to come. I dunna’ know that he has changed enough, to be honest. Sometimes, there is no changing’ one like him.”
“The lass will help him make the greatest change. Ye’ will see.”
“Did yer’ scryin’ tell ye’ so?”
With an exasperated ‘hmph’, Morag replied, “Nay. I need no scryin’ to know that. He isna’ the same man that first came to this sorry plight.”
“He rose to his temper not so long ago, as I recall, scaring that other woman away.”
“Aye, but it was all for the greater good. Do ye’ nay see? Without her leaving her post, the girl would have no reason to be here now. He was frustrated, Gavin. Can ye’ nay show some compassion for him now?”
As a sad look creased the Guardian’s face, he said, “I wish I could, Morag. Too many times the lad disappointed me. I do not hope for miracles anymore.”
Morag laughed out loud at that statement. “Miracles? Ye’ canna’ believe in them when ye’ yerself are a Guardian? That is quite amusing.”
“I believe in the extraordinary, Morag. But the hearts of men rarely change. I dunna’ want to hope that he has changed enough to pass the test.”
Dropping his head, and running his hand through his hair, Gavin then said, “If he fails, he will be lost forever. As a Guardian I can accept that. As his grandfather, it causes me torment to ponder it.”
Patting her old friend’s arm gently, Morag said, “He will pass the test. I know he will.”
~~~~~
After her midday tours of the Keep, Kiera was free for the rest of the afternoon. She had not seen her ghostly guest the entire time and so she decided to go back to the inn to have a little talk with Moira. She wanted answers, dammit, and it was about time the old woman told her the truth. Kiera had a feeling that the old woman had withheld valuable information concerning the Great Laird’s grandson and she was of a mind to find out just what other surprises were waiting for her now that she had settled in to the place.
Kiera trudged back to the inn, more perturbed than she wanted to admit. She wasn’t upset anymore about her castle mate; well mostly not. At least the shock had worn off to an extent. Kiera was, however, angry about the lack of information she had not been given. It might have been nice to know the place was haunted. Alright, Moira had mentioned it, but it might have been good to know that she was going to be sharing the place with a very viable and active presence. As she approached, she saw none other than Moira and Duncan hastily making an exit.
She called out, “Hold it right there, you two. Don’t pretend that I haven’t seen you. We need to talk.”
Kiera suspected that Old Duncan had something to do with this as well and she meant to find out once and for all.
As the elderly couple ducked out from the storage shed, Kiera approached them, looking at them fully.
“Oh, there ye’ are, lass. I was wonderin’ how ye’ had fared in the Keep,” Morag said hastily.
“Oh, I bet you were. We need to talk right now.”
“Well, ladies, I willna’ keep ye’ from yer’ talk,” Gavin offered.
“Not so fast, Duncan. Somehow, and I don’t know how, I have a feeling I need to talk to you as well. Please indulge me, if you would.”
Kiera did not miss the look that passed between the two old people. It was a look of conspiratorial understanding.
“Alright, Lass. I knew it was coming. I suspect ye’ met him, aye?”
“Yes, that is putting it mildly. Met him… hmmmm, I guess I would not have called our encounter a chance meeting.”
“Well, are ye’ alright, Lass? Did he frighten you?”
Kiera turned on Duncan. Ire lit her eyes and she said, “Frighten? Oh no, why would I be frightened? I see a strange man in my apartments who is as big as a tree with arms that could crush a body without effort and I should not be frightened?” Not to mention that Derek Campbell looked like sin and if he wasn’t a damned ghost….Kiera was pretty certain she would not have minded earning some points in hell with him.
“But he didna’ harm ye’, did he?”
“No. The cooking staff thinks I am quite mad, probably, but no, the big Highland beast did not hurt me. Now, are you going to explain this to me or not? I am not going back there until I have some answers,” she said adamantly.
Morag sighed heavily and she said, “Come inside, Girl. I will put on some tea and I will try to explain as much as I can.”
“And not like you explained before. Your explanations have been filled with holes, I’m afraid.”
“Come on, Gavin,” Morag called over her shoulder.
“Gavin? You have got to be joking!”
“She isna’ joking, lass. I be he.”
Kiera nodded and met his eyes levelly. “I see. Gavin as in the Great Laird, Gavin Campbell…the one who died in the thirteen hundreds.”
<
br /> “The very same, lass.”
“Oh, this is unbelievable. So you are a ghost, too?”
“Nay, lass, I am not. Come, sit and I will try to explain.”
Once they had seated themselves inside the inn’s lounge area, Gavin said, “Morag, forget the tea. Bring us a dram. The lass is going to need it.”
Kiera practically screeched, “Morag? I thought your name was Moira MacCollum.”
“Nay, girl. Moira was my mother. I am known as Morag.”
“And when did you die?”
“I havena’ died.”
Kiera thought she was going to explode. What started out as a quest for answers was quickly turning into the biggest cluster fuck she had ever imagined.
“This is un-freaking believable. You know what? I think you are all mad. I think I need to pack my things and get out of Dodge, immediately.”
“Wait, Lass. Dunna’ be hasty. Let us try to explain.”
“Try? You should have tried before I moved into the blasted Keep. Go on, I am waiting.”
Kiera sat with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. This had gone from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. If she wasn’t pissed off before, she clearly was now. She didn’t know if she should scream or cry at the moment.
Duncan or Gavin or whatever the aberration that sat before her was called took a long sip of the Scotch he held and he said, “I am what they call a Guardian.”
“A Guardian? Oh come now, and how does one dead so many years become such a thing,” Kiera asked quite sarcastically.
“I dunna’ know how, Lass, I only know it is so. Somehow some of us, after our immortal souls leave our bodies, are deemed worthy to become Guardians. We get to manifest a physical body and we may move between the worlds of the living and the dead. While we stay in this realm, we are verra’ much like a regular man, Lass. We can eat and drink,” he said, raising his glass to her in a toast.
“So you are telling me you are immortal….”
“In a matter of speaking, Lass. I canna’ die again but I am not really like a mortal. I can enjoy mortal things, and my physical body has needs, like rest or hunger, when I am here, but I can move between the realms. I am no’ always here. I am now because Morag summoned me.”
