Highlander’s Bewitched Soul

by Olivia Kerr

  She didn’t have all of the supplies she would normally use, but she was certain that she would be able to at least keep him alive through the night. If he was still bleeding when dawn came, she knew there would be little hope.

  She looked around frantically for assistance, but everyone seemed to be busy. She caught sight of Lewis across the field, and he seemed to be on a rampage. Everyone who crossed Lewis’s path fell to his sword. Even Jacob seemed to be conquering most of the field, which surprised her because of his age.

  On the other side, David had fallen but was slowly standing up beside the two British commanders. He was talking to them, and she knew she did not have much time. Even if he managed to convince the rest of the army that he was not allied with them, she had seen it, and her life was at risk.

  “Isla!”

  She had never been so grateful to hear Lewis’s voice.

  “Lewis, can you help me?” she begged him. “I know you are needed on the field...but please, please can you help me take Cameron off?”

  “Is he alive?” Lewis asked and Isla nodded, although she was hesitant to promise that it was for long. Lewis’s jaw was set as he slid from his horse and went to his friend.

  “I have seen this type of wound before,” he said. “He will not—”

  “No!” she cried. “No, do not say that. He will survive. He has to. He has to!”

  Hot tears slid down her face and Lewis did not argue with her. Instead, he picked up Cameron’s limp body and put it on his own horse.

  “Can you get up behind him?” Lewis asked and Isla nodded. She did not need any help to scramble up onto the high stallion and take the reins. Cameron lay in front of her, and she hoped that her makeshift bandage would hold until they got to the tent.

  “Godspeed,” Lewis said and nudged the horse to move forward.

  Isla had never been alone in her life. She had gone from her parents to David’s care, and she was always watched, always accompanied, or always followed. Riding towards the healing tent was the first time she had really been alone.

  She briefly considered riding on. She could pray to the gods to keep Cameron alive until they rode back to the beach, and then she could heal him in the boat.

  At least, she thought that she could heal him. When she looked at his wound again, she wasn’t so sure.

  If this had been another moment in time, she might have used it as her chance to escape completely—without Cameron, without David, without anyone. Now, though, she could not imagine a life without Cameron at her side.

  Once she got to the tent, there was another healer who was waiting. Isla did not speak to him, for she knew that her skills likely outranked him.

  The tent was full of soldiers who were bloody and beaten. To Isla, it was clear that many of them were already dead, or would be soon. She was determined to not let Cameron join them.

  Once the other healer assisted her in laying him down, he left, for there were many to attend to.

  Isla began tearing through her bag, hoping to find something she could use.

  There was willow bark for the fever that he was developing, and there were many strips of cloth that she could use to repack his wound. There was a healing salve that she made often, although she had never used it on a wound so deep. There was also a book of tales about the old gods that had been handwritten by a priestess she had once meant.

  Isla went to work, cleaning the wound and then slathering it with the salve before redressing it. His fever was rising and she knew that if it did not break, he would be lost.

  When there was nothing else to do, she took out the book of tales and began to read to him.

  “I know that these might not be the stories that you are used to,” she said, “but they are from my past...and I wanted you to know them, even if you did not believe them. You do not have to pray to my gods, Cameron. I will pray to them. And although you worship a different god, I am sure that they will look down upon you with mercy.”

  All she could hear was the raging sounds of the battlefield and the screams of men. She no longer knew which side was winning and which was losing. She did not know if she would see David or Lewis ever again. However, kneeling in the tent and holding Cameron’s hand, she wasn’t sure that anything else mattered. All she needed was for Cameron to get well again. She needed him to open his eyes, to breathe, to smile at her.

  She thought of their first kiss in the meadow and of their long walks into town. She thought of how he would look at her across the field when no one else would. She thought of how he would smile at her, even when it wasn’t right to do so, such as in war council meetings.

  She could not lose this chance at happiness, not when it was so close.

  Eventually, the battle sounds below them began to quiet. She heard a great cheer of victory, and then the bagpipes, and she knew that they had won.

  But what was victory, if Cameron was not beside her?

  She lowered her head to his chest, as the dawn began to break. “Cameron, please listen to me. Come back to me. Please come back to me. Please do not leave me now, not when we are so close.”

  Cameron did not stir, and the tears continued to fall from her eyes.

  “Cameron,” she begged, and then raised her head and looked up to the sky.

  “Please,” she said. “Please, whatever god is up there, whoever is looking down...help me. For I have served you, above my own life. I have served you faithfully, and I have represented your name. Please.”

  There was silence, and for one moment, Isla thought that Cameron had stopped breathing entirely, but then she heard him groan.

  She looked down and saw his eyes open. Her heart surged as he looked at her.

  “Isla?” he asked. His mouth was dry and his voice sounded hoarse. She reached for a flask of water that she had kept beside her for this very purpose and offered it to him.

  “Thank you,” he managed as he slowly sat up. It seemed to take him a few moments to understand his surroundings.

  “Did we win?” he asked her.

  She nodded. “Yes, my love. We won.”

  “The battle or the war?” he asked.

  “The battle,” she replied. “You and I still have the war to fight.”

  All his memory seemed to return to him and she squeezed his hand.

  “Not yet,” she said, softly. “Not yet. We need to wait until the moment is right.”

  “Will the moment ever be right?” he asked. “We have been waiting for so long, Isla.”

  “We must wait just a little longer,” she said to him. She could hear others coming up the hill to the healing tent. “Rest now.”

  “But…”

  “You must rest,” she whispered. “For when our moment comes, it will be quick.”

  “Aye.” Isla squeezed his hand and sent one last prayer up to the heavens.

  Please, she begged. Please don’t let our moment pass us by.

  She hoped that Lewis had survived the battle so that she could keep her promise of saying goodbye to him. She hoped that he would be alright without Cameron, and he would find his way to peace someday as well. A great adventure was ending but another one was just about to begin.

  17

  The boat was untouched, floating on the water. Cameron was glad to see that it was there, because it meant that the old priest had trusted him and come through. It also meant that the old priest had given him his blessing, and they would be welcome here, if they chose to stay.

  There were many choices that were laid out in front of Cameron the morning that he first awoke with a clear head.

  The first was the fact that David was dead, and they did not need to take the boat.

  The second was that his father seemed to be avoiding him, and he did not know what would happen when they finally spoke.

  The third was that Isla needed more help than she was willing to admit, and he knew that exposing her would shatter her pride and what was left of her reputation.

  He had noticed it whe
n she had helped him down to the boat. Her hands were shaking and her eyes seemed clouded. When he asked about it, she simply shook her head.

  “It’s nothing,” she had said, but he knew exactly what it was.

  The syrup that David had always given her seemed to have vanished with his last breath. Perhaps David had known that he was going to perish in battle. Perhaps David had a vision of the fact that Isla had betrayed him, and had taken the one thing that she seemed to need to carry on. Either way, it was clear that its effects were leaving her body, and Cameron was not sure how she would fare without it.

  She wouldn’t let him help, of course. Isla was strong and stubborn and she was entirely focused on his recovery. Without the need to take the boat, and run, there was no rush for them to get married. There were no battles planned, and there were no moments of secrecy. If his father objected to Isla’s presence, he did not say a word to stop it.

  “I need you to help me,” Cameron said to Lewis after they returned from their brief walk on the beach to see if the boat really had been there. Isla and Lewis had walked slowly with him, but Isla had returned to her tent as soon as they reached the camp, claiming that she was tired.

  “It seems that you always need my help,” Lewis teased him.

  Cameron raised an eyebrow and put a hand to his chest. “My dearest friend, I am offended that you think that.”

  “I am only jesting,” Lewis replied. “I am happy to assist you. Are you going to ask for my help in planning your wedding?”

  “Not just yet,” Cameron replied. “I need to find out what was in the syrup that David gave to Isla.”

  “So that you may...fetch her more?” Lewis was confused. “Wasn’t it just a dream syrup?”

  “I suspect that it is more than that,” Cameron replied. “And if I have to fetch her more to keep her safe, then I will do so.”

  “I see,” Lewis said. “I am not sure who I would ask. It is not as if I am experienced in these matters.”

  “Perhaps not,” Cameron said. “But I am not yet well enough to walk into town, and you know that Isla would be upset at me for revealing her weakness or personal matters. I need to know, though, what her future holds without it.”

  “So you want me to go into town?” Lewis asked. “And just demand to know what any apothecary has for dreams?”

  “That would be a start,” Cameron said. “Thank you, my friend.”

  Lewis sighed but nodded. “Alright, but you should stay in your tent while I am gone.”

  “Why?” Cameron asked, confused.

  “Your father has been asking for you,” Lewis said. “Every day he inquires as to your recovery. I am afraid that if you walk past his tent, he will...pounce, so to speak.”

  “He would congratulate me,” Cameron said. “I saved the army from certain death. We changed our plans and we are still here to tell the tale.”

  “Aye, but you disobeyed him,” Lewis said. “As did I. I thought that perhaps he would displace me on his own, but he seems to be content waiting for the moment when we both stand together. He has not said anything to anyone for many days.”

  “That is always more frightening than his anger,” Cameron replied. “When I was a child, he would sulk around in silence for many days before some of the worst punishments would happen. I would prefer that he would yell.”

  “As would I,” Lewis said. “So please, until you're fully healed, rest...mostly out of view."

  “I will rest until you get me the answers I am looking for,” Cameron said. “And then, I will make my choice."

  “You still intend to marry her, don’t you?”

  “I do,” Cameron replied. “There has never been a doubt in my mind.”

  “I am happy for you, my friend,” Lewis said. “I just hope that it works.”

  “What do you mean?” Cameron asked. “Of course it will.”

  “Even if she holds onto her religion and you hold onto yours?”

  “Even if she does that,” Cameron replied. “I love Isla beyond her beliefs.”

  “But is she...do you believe she is a goddess?” Lewis asked.

  “I believe that she is special,” Cameron replied. “And I believe that God will show me the right path.”

  “I believe that as well,” Lewis said.

  Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me that you choose Christianity?” he asked.

  Lewis chuckled. “I am not telling you anything,” he replied. “I am just supporting you.”

  Cameron smiled at him. “I trust you. Please let me know when you have some answers.”

  Lewis promised that he would and Cameron returned to his tent. He knew that he would have to eventually face his father, but until then, he did not want to have to drag up the energy. While he was recovering, he had spent most of his days simply ruminating about the possibility of life away from all of this.

  He knew that he would have to get away from the war, and away from his father. He just did not know whether it would be on good terms or bad ones.

  Lewis eventually came back to the camp, and Cameron had hope that the news would be good. However, when he saw the look on his friend’s face, his heart sank.

  “What is it?” he asked Lewis.

  “The syrup that David gave her…” Lewis paused as he carefully chose his next words. “There is a possibility that she will not live without it.”

  “What?” Cameron asked, in shock. “What are you talking about?”

  “I spoke to the apothecary and I explained it as you have explained to me. He suggests that those who have been on it a long time suffer frightening effects when off it...and they often do not live through a fortnight.”

  “No,” Cameron replied. “No, I refuse to believe that.”

  “I am afraid it is true,” Lewis said. “I wish I could tell you otherwise.”

  “But...that is not always the case, is it?” Cameron asked. “Surely he must have said that there is some hope?”

  “Perhaps,” Lewis replied. “He seemed vague about whether or not there was another option.”

  “Where is she?” Cameron had been sitting quietly in his tent, but now he struggled to his feet. “Where is she?”

  “I haven’t seen her,” Lewis said. “But I am sure that she is alright—”

  “No,” Cameron replied. “Not knowing that, she cannot be. What if she...what if she…”

  “Cameron.” Lewis put a hand on his arm. “It’s alright.”

  Cameron nodded, although he did not believe Lewis. He broke free of his friend’s grip and exited the tent.

  His heart beat hard as he started to move through the camp. If she was hurt or ill, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to carry on. He needed her in his life, and he needed her beside him.

  When he found Isla by the water that once carried their only moment of happiness, he knew at once that something was wrong.

  “You look pale,” she said when she saw him. She tried to put a smile on her face, but he could see that she was not well.

  “So do you,” he said as she looked out onto the water. “I have learned something.”

  “And what is that?” she asked.

  “That you may not survive without the syrup,” he said. “And that frightens me.”

  “It doesn’t frighten me,” she said, as her hair blew in the breeze.

  “Why not?” he asked. “You could—”

  “Because I am free, Cameron,” she said, as she took his hand. “I know that may not make much sense to you, but it is the happiest time of my life. I do not have to answer to anyone. I do not have to answer to David ever again. I do not have to ride out to battle and watch a slaughter that breaks my heart. There is nothing that has to be done. I just wish...I wish that I had a chance to be your wife before I—”

  “No,” he said, as he squeezed her hand. “You cannot think like that. We will find a way through this.”

  “I am not sure that everything David has told me is true,” she said. “But I have
no proof either way.”

  “How did you make the fire? When I asked you?”

  “That was my bracelets,” she admitted as she played with her hair. “There are some things that are tricks, absolutely. But there were some things that were not. I do not know why I feel the gods speak to me, and I do not know why David’s prophecies come true. There is a chance I could survive a life without the syrup and simply no longer hear them, or no longer…exist the same way I did before. I do not know what is true, Cameron. Are you truly prepared to marry a human or a demigoddess?”

  “Yes,” he whispered, softly, as he looked into her eyes. “When the time is right, I am prepared to marry you. The rest does not matter.”

  “Should we…” she started but he shook his head.

  “Not now,” he replied. “I do not think that now is a good time to think about our future when both of us are feeling so unwell. When the time comes, it will be perfect.”

  “Alright,” she said and laid her head on his shoulder. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but it did not feel appropriate. He knew that when they were married, they would be able to kiss endlessly, and there would be no one to stop them or judge them. “Have you spoken to your father yet?”

  “I have not,” he replied. “I was waiting for a moment that I felt strong enough.”

  “What do you think he will say?” she asked.

  Cameron shrugged. “It does not matter what he says. For whether or not he approves, disowns me, or dishonorably discharges me, I will still marry you.”

  “I have never been worth all of that,” she said.

  He kissed her forehead. “You are worth all of that and more. Do not worry about what my father has to say, because I do not fear him.”

  “Where will we live?” she asked. “If he disowns you or sends you away?”

  “I am not sure,” he admitted. “But it will not matter. You are skilled as a healer, Isla, and I am sure that I have some skills that are also worth a bit of coin. We will get by. It will not be the existence that you would have if—”

  “I do not need an existence full of coin and gilded hallways,” she replied. “I just need you.”