Celtic Spirit (Celtic Storm Series Book 4)

by Ria Cantrell

  “What were ye’ doin’ out there, Lass? Are ye’ alright?”

  His concern for her tugged at her heart. She replied, “I am fine.”

  Derek had noted tension on her beautiful face, like she was worried or frightened about something. He did not want to push her, but he did not like that something had caused that look of dread to mar her lovely face.

  “What was that thing ye’ were talking into?”

  “It’s a phone. A cell phone to be exact.”

  “Cell phone?”

  “It is a device that allows me to speak to people who are far away. We used to only be able to use telephones that had long cords on them so we had to use them just in certain places. Cell phones don’t need cords. We can talk anywhere on them.”

  “Is this cell phone some sort of magical device?”

  “No, but I suppose it would seem like it to someone from your time. There have been lots of things invented in the last few centuries that are amazing.”

  Derek’s eyes seemed to sparkle at that. He had collected some interesting things over time, but he was hungry to learn about the things of this time, for they were the things his Kiera used in her everyday life. The more he knew about her time, the more he would be able to adjust.

  “Could ye’ tell me more about these things?”

  Losing any sense of annoyance at his uninvited visit, Kiera laughed and said, “Goodness, I don’t know where to begin. Man has created so many wonderful things. Most of which in the last century, really. For instance, we no longer use horses as a mode of transportation. Well, we still ride them for fun, but we have something called cars or automobiles, and trains, and airplanes.”

  Derek tried to imitate these words that were foreign to him, but intrigued him nonetheless.

  “How do these cars move ye’? And trains…I know that word, but it means something different. I trained to be a warrior. I don’t think it is the same.”

  “People still train to do stuff. I mean to do things. A train is a long vehicle that moves along tracks. Trains can go very fast. Many people can travel in them at one time. Cars are like carriages, but without horses. They are mostly used on roads, but can go great distances. Now airplanes are really amazing. They move people from place to place, but in the sky. They go so fast that journeys that were once unimaginable can take only a few hours and people can fly over seas and mountains in rapid time.”

  “They fly? Like birds?”

  Kiera laughed. “Not exactly. They are made of steel. They are powered by jets, uhmmm, let’s see how do I explain that?”

  “Steel? Woman, even small amounts of steel when thrown land heavily. How is it that these airplanes of steel fly through the air like a bird?”

  “Well, the jets send them through the air with powerful explosions…like blasts from a cannon, I suppose, but much more powerful.”

  Derek’s brow was drawn at the explanation.

  “Lass, cannon blasts maim and kill. How is it that people fly through the air?”

  “It is part of the design. Have you never seen them flying overhead? They make a loud roar and leave trails in the clouds?”

  “Aye, I have seen them. The silver birds that fly higher than the clouds. At first I feared them, but they never have done harm that I could see, so I guessed they were some new beastie that is of this time.”

  They have done plenty of harm through the history of flying. They had been used in war and more recently, the pall of September 11th hung over Kiera’s memory. Oh, they certainly could do harm.

  Kiera did not want to go into that right now. It was better not to freak this man from another world out at the moment with dire news of modern things. Instead she tried to explain to Derek the use of modern wonders so he would not be frightened, but intrigued of all the “new world” had to offer. She did not know why that was so important, but somehow Kiera wanted Derek to learn about the present century and all the advancements that had taken place since he walked the earth in the physical plane.

  “Well, airplanes carry people all over the world. That is how I got to Scotland. Well, first to Italy then to England and finally to Scotland by train.”

  “Ye’ mean ye’ are not from England?”

  “No. I am from a place called America. It is across the sea to the east. It is very far from here. It took me nearly 8 hours to fly across the sea to get here.”

  “Lass, that is half a day. I could only get to Edinburgh in a day or so.”

  “I know. Travel in your time was much harder than it is now.”

  “Tell me more about the cell phone. How do ye’ talk to someone who is far away without magic?”

  “Through the magic of something called a satellite. Oh boy… this is going to be a long discussion. If you find it hard to believe that the steel silver birds can fly you would not believe how they placed satellites.”

  “Please tell me. I long to learn about the things of yer’ time, lass.” For it is part of ye’ and I want to know all about the things of yer’ life.

  He left the last unspoken. He suspected that would frighten her more than his merely showing up unannounced in her quarters.

  “Well satellites are things that were placed in the heavens.”

  The look on his face was priceless. It was a combination of astounded surprise and joy at such a notion. Kiera found herself smiling at his reactions. He sat childlike while she explained the new modern world that was so foreign to him. The more she explained, the more questions he had. She lost track of the time as she talked about the modern things that Derek found so fascinating. He was not disbelieving or shocked, but genuinely intrigued. Kiera would have thought that Derek would have been horrified by the ideas of things he had no way of experiencing in his time. Instead, he seemed to hang on every word, wanting to know more and more. Kiera did not even feel tired despite the lateness of the hour, as she spoke of things he knew nothing about. Kiera expected Derek to be frightened or leery by some of the revelations about things of this world, but instead, he seemed overjoyed and excited to learn how the world had progressed since his untimely passing. His enthusiasm was infectious and it made her realize how lucky she was to be living in a modern world with luxuries and conveniences that she had mostly taken for granted. She gave pause to think about his life in his time.

  It had been a hard life, to be sure. She could no longer look down upon him or his past. In a way, it was a savage world and he had to survive in it as best he could. She promised him that she would show him as many of the devices as she could. She wasn’t sure he could leave the castle grounds, but if he could, she would show him cars and trains and all the things that he clamored to learn about. She pushed back the warning that sounded in her brain that if he got a taste of these things, he may never want to move on and cross over. Kiera ignored the small voice that was growing into a loud warning scream. She closed her ears to it and she vowed to help him experience as much as he wanted to learn while she possibly could; until the time when he had to move on. Kiera forced that thought to the back of her mind as well. Suddenly, she was not so certain she wanted him to cross over just yet, after all.

  When the pink streaks of the sunrise lightened the morning sky, Kiera was finding it hard to keep her eyes opened, but she did not want to thwart Derek’s enthusiasm. Still, it was difficult to not succumb to exhaustion. It did not go unnoticed by him. His heart was filled with love for this brilliant woman who had spent the last hours between night and day explaining unimaginable things to him. As she nodded off in the chair before her, Derek rose to his feet. Taking her in his arms, he carried her to her bed and arranged the covers around her. She sleepily said, “How did you do that? I thought you couldn’t touch me.”

  “I know not, lass.”

  But the truth was that he did know. The curse was being neutralized. It was because he was falling in love with her. Love had been the key all along. He had been such a fool. If only he had allowed his heart to love, he could have saved himself years, if n
ot centuries of isolation. Then again, if he had learned the lesson sooner, he would not have met Kiera Callum from the place she called America. Kiera Callum, descendant from the enemies of his heart…the clan MacCollum. Kiera Callum of the Clan MacCollum, love of his heart. He brushed a kiss over her forehead; a kiss she might have been able to feel, but didn’t because she had fallen to sleep completely.

  Derek took himself off to the tower, where he would rest if he could. His head was so filled with thoughts of wonder, he doubted he would ever be able to rest again. Besides the things of this world that seemed fantastical and magic, Derek’s thoughts were filled with the beautiful girl that had been sent to save his sorry hide. How he had ever been enraged at her lineage was beyond him now. On his way out of the Keep, he passed the painting of the one who looked so much like his beautiful Kiera. He remembered his ire at learning the one to be sent for him was his enemy. Instead, now he just wanted to sleep close to her, so he carefully lifted the painting from its place and took it to the sanctuary of his tower room, and added it to his many treasures he had collected over time. He did not allow himself to think that when he wanted to, he actually had been able to touch many things. He had all along. If he did admit to that realization, he would recognize that he, himself, not the curse of Arianne, had prevented him from the trappings and blessings of being human.

  Chapter 29

  Kiera woke, not sure how much had been a dream. She could have sworn Derek had somehow carried her to bed and tucked her in. She vaguely remembered her grandfather doing the same when she was a small child. He had passed away and she had missed him so, but he visited her and sometimes tucked her into bed. The thought now of Derek doing the same both warmed and unnerved her. She did not want to think too much of him being able to touch her. For if she did, she would have to admit that she was starting to have feelings for a being that could never develop into something more than heartache. Kiera did not want to think that if he could tuck her into bed and touch her, that she wanted him to touch her in other ways; ways that made her feel more alive and sexy than she had her entire life. She knew she needed to protect herself from that sort of thing again. Jeannie’s call last night reminded her how much she really could not let someone hurt her the way Jax had. It was true when she said she hadn’t thought much about him, because she hadn’t. He had become a distant, mostly unpleasant, memory.

  Derek needed her. She knew that, too. Morag and Gavin had made certain she knew that she was the one brought to aid Derek in his spiritual journey. It was just that Kiera was starting to wonder if she was supposed to aid in his crossing over to whatever plain he was destined to find or to aid him in finding his way back to humanity. She was sure that could not be the case, because people just did not return from the dead and so, it had to be the first reason. She had always been able to sense the presence of those who had left the physical plane; even as a small child as she now allowed herself to remember. That had to be it. The thing was though, that Derek’s life force seemed so tangible. He did not fade in and out like she had thought that spirit energies did. Instead, he could sustain his energy for hours on end just to talk to her or to light fires in the hearth, or to carry her to bed. Or to make love to her in her dreams…he IS a man, lass. No, it was too much to absorb.

  Kiera swung her legs over the side of the bed and hurried to have a shower. She and her friends were going to spend most of the day taking in the sites and playing tourists. It would be a nice change of pace to be the tourist instead of the tour guide and Kiera looked forward to the break. She was hoping to put all thoughts of Derek aside for at least a little while and enjoy the day with her companions; her very real and live companions. Thoughts of Jax had receded to the back of her mind completely. It was not so with thoughts of the other man who was breaking down the walls of her carefully guarded heart. No, thoughts of him seemed ever present or at the very least at the forefront of her mind.

  *****

  Derek stood hidden and watched the small party travel out of the castle grounds. They were laughing and joking and Derek wished he could be part of their sport and laughter. His eyes wandered to his beautiful Kiera. She was dressed in a long flowing skirt of mottled blues and purples. She had donned a form fitting tunic of some sort that had tiny cap-like sleeves, leaving her delicate arms exposed to the warmth of the sun. A wide belt slung low about her hips and Derek envisioned her in the garb of his time. He imagined she would look grand in the attire from his time and he let his thoughts conjure images of her dressed in a long gown with sleeves that dipped toward the ground in luxurious bell shapes. A similar belt would caress her delicious hips as the bodice would hug her curves perfectly. The mode of attire in this time was interesting and caused him to react, but he longed for reminders of his past sometimes.

  He watched her silently and noted that while the dark one did seem to flirt with her, her eyes did not hold love, or for that matter, lust for him. Still, he had never felt so much like an outsider looking in as he stole these private moments apart from the happy looking group.

  As the warmth of the sun offered the revelers a mild day outdoors, Derek longed to join them. He longed to hear more tales of the future. Hell, he longed just to hear Kiera’s voice. The gentlest of breezes played in her hair, which hung softly down her back in thick tresses. How he wished he could wrap his hands in that luscious hair and breathe in her scent. He longed to kiss her honeyed lips and take her into his arms.

  Derek sat amid the trees on an old stump and saw the two couples leave his line of vision. He sighed. These moments between the times he could speak to her seemed to stretch endlessly and were longer than the years he spent isolated from the changing world. Well, ye’ have waited these many years. What does a few hours matter now? Derek was not used to feeling like this. In a way, he was more lost now than when he fell from that tree. It was not in his nature to play the part of a love-sick swain and these feelings of love and want were foreign to him. He was not certain he liked these new emotions brewing in a heart that he had carefully kept in vaults of stone. It was so much easier to not care.

  He silently prayed, “Please…let me be a man again. Let me touch her.” This time, the Guardians heard his plea.

  *****

  When the four friends returned after their morning of seeing the sights and a late afternoon picnic, Billie and Karen wandered off for some alone time. Giancarlo grabbed Kiera’s hand and tried to coax her into kissing him, just for fun, he said. She playfully pushed him off and said, “You never quit, do you? You are a cad?”

  “What is this cad? I am a lover of beautiful women.”

  “You are a dirty dog, Gianni, but I love your determination.”

  Derek saw the entire exchange and he thought to make things a little difficult for this lover of beautiful women. He stepped out from the trees and saw Kiera’s eyes light up as she saw him. He did not imagine her reaction! Her hand rose slightly as if she was going to wave to him but it fell woodenly at her side and the smile died on her face. Giancarlo turned toward the trees to see who Kiera had spotted and saw no one there. He raised an eyebrow to her and said, “Did you see someone, Cara mia?”

  “I thought I did, it must have been a play of the light in the trees”, she murmured. In the meantime, Derek used the opportunity to circle them both and with hands clasped behind his back, he said, “I think ye’ were right to call him a cad.”

  Kiera briefly acknowledged his presence with a glance but refused to answer him. She wanted to say, “You should know, you scoundrel.”

  Instead she pasted a smile on her face and turned to Giancarlo. “Gianni, would you excuse me? I need to get this picnic hamper back to the kitchens before the cooks leave for the day.”

  Appearing to look right at Derek, he said, “No need, Bella. I will take it there for you. I will meet you inside for a glass of wine.”

  “No, uhm, actually, I need to check the gift shop and then do a few things with the wedding planner for the wedding schedul
ed for tomorrow. When Karen and Billie come back, we can go to town for dinner at one of the local pubs.”

  “Alright, Bella. I will take this back for you and meet you in your room later?”

  “Over my dead body.”

  Kiera almost laughed out loud. Derek could not have chosen a more appropriate comeback.

  “Gianni, that will be fine. Say about 5:30 or so. Maybe we should make it six to allow those love birds time to get back.”

  “Si, si. Six o’clock. I will meet you there. And if they are not back, we can pass the time in other ways,” he said with a wink.

  Kiera was pretty sure that was not going to sit well with her jealous ghostly friend. “Kiera, I dunna’ want him passing time with ye’. He is unworthy of you.”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do”, she ground out through gritted teeth.

  “Cara, did you say something?”

  “Oh, I said, you like to imagine things to do…You are quite the persistent lovable cad, Gianni.”

  “I should not give up, Cara. You may find it very pleasurable, I can promise.”

  “I am going to break his scrawny neck,” Derek said through clenched teeth of his own.

  Kiera waited for Giancarlo to head back inside the keep before she turned on Derek and said, “You will do no such thing. You have nothing to say about whom and how I spend my time with.”

  “He is a blackguard.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  Kiera watched as Derek’s eyes darkened like an impending storm on the horizon. “Aye, it does. And in being one as ye’ say, I know better than ye’ what a scoundrel that one is.”

  “You are not to do anything, do you hear me? I will not have you doing something to menace my guests. Do I make myself clear?”

  With a wolfish grin, Derek said, “And just what do ye’ think ye’ can do to prevent it if I so wish it?”