10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set

by P. L. Parker, Beth Trissel, L. L. Muir, Skhye Moncrief, Sky Purington, Nancy Lee Badger, Caroline Clemmons, Bess McBride, Donna Michaels

  Grinning, Tanith shrugged. “I do not tell tales, I only give important information to those who need to know. Oh, before I forget! Machar asked me to see if you would let Conan stay with him tonight?”

  After considering for a few moments, she agreed. “If you can get him to stay. I suspect that at bed time, he will be ready to come home, and he still has his accidents so Machar needs to be sure to let him out.” She felt a little nervous about being alone, especially with Kellach being gone as well, but she was not a baby and being alone wouldn’t hurt her once in awhile.

  Twenty

  The changes in the weather occurred so abruptly that Fiona became concerned. The storm was really picking up outside and dust was blowing everywhere. Dark clouds raced across the sky, lightening flashed and thunder roared, causing even the ground to shake.

  She made a quick trip to check on Xio Li, Mei Mei and the baby and, after assuring herself that they were well, she hurried back. She stepped into the room and tried to shut the door. By now, the wind was blowing so hard, it almost tore the door out of her hands. After several attempts, she finally got it closed. She leaned against it for a few moments, shaking with relief. She glanced around. The room seemed empty now, and though she knew it was silly, she wished Kellach were here with her.

  The storm outside was frightening in its intensity and she prayed the structure would survive the onslaught, though it appeared sturdy. To distract herself, she went about fixing a small dinner and, after cleaning up, took out some clothing to repair. She stitched quietly for some time, listening to the storm. Later, she paced.

  The tempest continued well into the night and, though she waited up, Kellach did not return. She readied herself for bed and still she waited. Time moved slowly and concern for Kellach was uppermost on her mind. He should have returned by now. She wished she had someone to talk to, or better yet, a TV. She really missed watching movies and eating popcorn when she had the time, and she certainly had time now, but unfortunately no TV, and even if she did have one, no electricity.

  To make time pass faster, she went through all the things about her past life she really missed, but only ended up making herself more anxious and depressed as well. Okay, time to change the list! She went through all the things about this life that were important. Kellach’s face immediately came to mind. She didn’t want him at the top of the list, but there he was. She had to accept that. Next came Tanith, Siran, Machar and Conan grouped together, followed closely by Xio Li, Mei Mei and Baby Fi, then on down the line. She had certainly formed a lot of close relationships in the short time she had been here—four months now, or was it five? Somewhere she had lost count, even though it hardly seemed to matter. It was still late summer, but whether it was late August or even into September, she really wasn’t sure. Life here wasn’t based on daily activities, but mostly by the changing of the seasons.

  Though anxious, she nonetheless was growing very tired. She tried sitting near the fire pit and staring at the flames, but it had been a long night and she had worked hard for most of the day. Her mind began drifting and her eyes kept closing. Yawning, she got up and walked over to Kellach’s bed. It seemed a long time since she had last straightened it up. His drape lay across the bed and she picked it up and held it to her face. His smell drifted up and longing seized her. Feeling foolish but comforted, she wrapped the drape around her and sat on the edge of his bed. What would it be like to truly share that bed with him and what would she be giving up to do so? She snorted. These were ridiculous thoughts since it was not going to happen. Feeling drowsier by the minute, she finally dozed off, nestled in his bed.

  Morning came and still Kellach had not returned. The storm had lessened somewhat but the wind was still gusting strongly. Fiona checked on her charges and then ran across the square to Tanith’s house. Conan was overjoyed to see her and refused to let her out of his sight. Siran had not returned the previous night as well and Tanith’s face was tight with concern.

  “They probably bedded down in the stables near the animals,” she advised, “and until this wind dies down, they best stay with the herds. We cannot afford to lose any. They are our livelihood.” Her face clouded. “The winds come late this year. I fear it is a bad omen.”

  “It’s just the wind, nothing more,” Fiona replied, hoping to ease Tanith’s fear. “Storms happen all the time. It’s part of nature.”

  Both of them were nervous and, deciding some lighter conversation was warranted, Fiona decided it was a good time to discuss less important matters and perhaps even garner a little more personal information about Kellach—if she could do so without appearing too interested. Tanith brewed some tea and they sat around the table. Conan immediately jumped into her lap, licking her face furiously. After a few minutes of his undivided attention, she managed to calm him and he jumped down to run to Machar.

  “Tanith, you’ve never said, but exactly how old are you?”

  Tanith looked confused. “I am as old as I need to be.”

  “I know that, but how many, um, how many summers have you lived?”

  Considering her question, Tanith’s brow furrowed. “I have been here this many,” she moved her fingers, “since my birth.”

  Fiona counted. “You are only nineteen?” she exclaimed. “I’m older than you! Why, that means you were probably only fourteen when you got married and fifteen when you had Machar!”

  Tanith nodded. “I was older than most when I wed Siran. He was traveling when I became a woman, so I had to wait for his return. How many summers have you seen?”

  Drawing lines on the table as Tanith had done, Fiona counted off twenty-two and Tanith gasped. “You are very old not to be wed and you are almost passed your childbearing years!”

  Every part of her body suddenly sagged with age. “Thanks a lot, I feel better already. In my world, I still have a few good childbearing years left to me!”

  Tanith looked sheepish. “I did not mean to offend you! It was unkind of me to make mention of your advanced age.”

  “Where I come from, I am still very young and childbearing lasts quite a while longer than my years now. It’s not a problem. It’s considered smart.”

  “Well, the sooner you wed here, the better. You are not getting any younger. Does Kellach know the age you have reached?”

  “Would it matter if he knew?”

  “I do not think so. He is not a young man himself.”

  From her point of view, Kellach was at the perfect age, not too young and not old by any standard. “How old is Kellach?”

  “He has seen eleven more winters than I.”

  “So that makes him, what twenty-nine or thirty?”

  “Twenty-nine, he will be thirty this winter.”

  Hmmm, thirty, a good age, Fiona’s mind tumbled the information around. “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”

  “There were other children born to my parents, but none other than Kellach and I survived childhood.”

  “How very sad. How many others were there?”

  “Two boys and one girl. The girl survived the longest, but she died before she reached two summers.”

  From conversations with other women in the settlement, infant mortality appeared to be a big problem. Diseases, which in the modern world had been eradicated or treated only as minor inconveniences, killed many young children every year. It was extremely unusual if every child in a single family survived to adulthood. Such was generally not the case.

  This certainly wasn’t the direction Fiona wanted the conversation to go. She was trying to lighten their mood and this was definitely not the way, especially considering the miscarriage Tanith suffered previously and her current pregnancy.

  “What talents, other than making my life miserable, does Kellach have?”

  Tea spewed from Tanith’s mouth, and her mouth curved into a wide smile. “Kellach can be overbearing at times, but he means well. He is as good as any Bard and is very talented on the Ruan.”

  “Ruan, what i
s a Ruan.”

  “It is an instrument which is plucked thus.” Tanith made a movement as though she was playing a guitar or something similar.

  “What do you mean he is a ‘Bard?’”

  “He sings as well. Has he not played or sang for you?”

  “No, maybe he’s too shy.”

  Tanith giggled. “Shy is not a word I would put to Kellach.”

  So Kellach was a musician as well as a Warrior Lord, and added to the fact that he was the best looking man she had ever had occasion to be with, he was definitely looking very good, not that he didn’t look good before, but this certainly upped his appeal. Truthfully, none of those things were overly important to her, but they certainly didn’t hurt. The way he made her feel just by looking at her was the major plus on her grading chart.

  “You asked a lot of questions about a man you say you have no feelings for,” Tanith smugly observed.

  Fiona decided it was time to leave. She hooked Conan’s leash on and ran home through the wind.

  ****

  Kellach wiped the dust from his eyes and kept searching. Sometime in the night, Cyrnan along with a handful of sheep had disappeared. He as well as Elochad and a large number of the older, more experienced herders, had been hunting for hours and he grew more worried with each passing moment. Elochad’s untamed sons had been left with the main flock of sheep and ordered to stay put. They did not need to lose others. He focused on the fact that Cyrnon was knowledgeable as to the lay of the land, but his youth oftentimes was a hindrance on his ability to make wise choices. He suspected that Cyrnon had followed the sheep, attempting to move them closer to the herd and, as a result, had lost his direction.

  Kellach hoped he had chosen wisely and found a suitable burrow to weather the storm. Loss of the sheep was nothing compared to the loss of Cyrnon. Sheep could be replaced. He stopped periodically and shouted but the wind caught his voice and muffled the sound. The dust and sand rasped his throat and it would not be long before he would be unable to shout at all. Unless Cyrnon was very near, he would not hear Kellach. Time became the enemy. He wouldn’t give up, though, until Cyrnon was found. The wind had wiped away any possible chance to track him and he was relying on pure luck.

  The wind appeared to be dying down and visibility was somewhat better. By now, he’d reached the foothills and was searching along a small ravine. His eyes picked up a small movement in the bottom and he could see the outline of a form. The gale had caught a portion of clothing and it was fluttering in the wind. Sure it was Cyrnon, he began the slow climb down the side, his heart in his mouth. Footholds were hard to find and the force of the wind, though somewhat calmer here, prevented a quick descent. Cyrnon did not moved and Kellach was prepared for the worst.

  Twenty-One

  The door burst open and Kellach charged in, an unconscious Cyrnon hanging limply from his arms. Fiona raced to the table, brushed everything off in one swoop and directed Kellach to lay Cyrnon down. Too pale by far, Cyrnon lay as if dead.

  “He is badly hurt,” Kellach’s voice grated, dread written all over his face, “I found him thus. He is still breathing but only just.”

  “Get water boiling and bring me my things.” She grabbed a small knife and quickly cut away Cyrnon’s clothing. “How did this happen?”

  “He was lost in the storm and I finally found him a short while ago. He had fallen down a steep incline. Will he live?”

  “Give me time,” she replied, her attention focused entirely on the boy.

  Cyrnon’s breathing was very shallow, almost nonexistent, and his pulse rate was erratic. She gently probed the worst injuries first. A long gash ran down the calf of his right leg. Blood oozed from the wound but it appeared to be clotting well. Cyrnon’s left wrist was discolored and swollen, but from her examination, seemed to be just a bad sprain. Numerous cuts and abrasions covered a large part of his body, but none were life-threatening. She carefully worked her way over his entire body, examining everything thoroughly. Her biggest concern was a large lump on the back of his head which probably resulted from the fall, and was most likely the reason for Cyrnon’s unconscious state.

  Without the benefit of x-rays, she couldn’t be sure to what extent, if any, his internal injuries might be. Kellach filled a bowl with boiled water and brought her medical basket. She proceeded to wash each wound with a natural antibacterial wash she had concocted from oregano oil and also applied an antiseptic ointment made from the same. There was always the fear of infection and gangrene often resulted as well as the risk of contracting tetanus. Cyrnon moaned a few times during this procedure but otherwise did not move. After she had carefully cleaned and bandaged each wound, she washed Cyrnon thoroughly and covered him with a clean drape. Worried about the possibility of dehydration, she dripped water into his mouth and forced him to swallow. Throughout the entire process, Kellach worked quietly beside her, lending aid whenever possible.

  “Where did you say you found him?”

  “At the bottom of a ravine. The wind was blowing hard and the ability to see was sorely obstructed by the sand. He must have fallen while trying to gather the sheep.”

  Anger surfaced and Fiona lashed out at him. “Why did you let him go alone? Do your silly sheep mean so much that you would risk his life?”

  Kellach was affronted. He would not have let anyone go alone in that storm. “He left without any of us being aware that he was gone until too late. The younger ones were told to stay and guard the flocks while the older herders gathered what animals we could find. We were all fighting to save the flocks and I did not see him go, else I would have stopped him! It wasn’t until this morning that we realized he had gone!”

  Ashamed by her outburst, Fiona chanced a look at Kellach. Weariness and worry had etched his face with tiny lines, and dark circles ringed his eyes. He looked ready to drop.

  “How long have you gone without rest?”

  “I have not stopped since I left. The storm had frightened all the herds and every available man worked long hours to find them. It was too dangerous for the horses so everything was done on foot.”

  Guilt assailed her, all the women were able to do was to wait and worry. The men had done the hard part.

  “I’m sorry for what I said, it was unkind of me. I didn’t mean it. I’m just worried about Cyrnon. He has come to mean a lot to me.”

  “I have always cared for him. He was alone too young and I have thought of him as my own for many years.”

  Fiona felt even more guilty about her rash words. Mom had always warned her about speaking too quickly. Feeling about two feet tall, she silently vowed to make it up to him. Food was always a good start.

  “Have you eaten?”

  “I carried some smoked meat and hard bread, but a meal would be welcome.”

  He sat down on a stool and sighed with relief. “We found most of the animals, and those we did not find might still show up when the storm fully subsides or when they get hungry enough.”

  “Tanith was very worried and there was no way to find out what was happening.”

  His eyes found her face, a spark of amusement twinkled. “Only Tanith worried?”

  “Well, I might have been worried as well,” she conceded reluctantly, “but not as much as Tanith. Can you help me move Cyrnon to the bed, then I’ll prepare dinner.”

  Quickly and efficiently, Kellach gently moved the boy to her bed—amazingly enough. Having no good reason to object and because he moved Cyrnon at her direction, Fiona couldn’t find it in her to protest. The boy was still unconscious and showed no signs of awakening soon. Perhaps rest was the prescribed medicine for now and if he didn’t show some improvement soon, she would have the Oriental healer brought in for a second opinion. Her lips twisted cynically. How ridiculous it seemed to calmly decide to have a primitive healer give a second opinion. If she were at home, this would have been have been taken out of her hands immediately, but that was not the case and she was about all Cyrnon had right now. After making s
ure Cyrnon was resting as comfortably as possible and covered warmly, she went about putting food on the table.

  Kellach wolfed the food and after several helpings, he was replete at last. Overcoming her normal shyness and wanting to ease some of his weariness, she moved behind and slowly began to massage his neck and shoulders. He started in surprise, but soon relaxed as she worked, enjoying the silken feel of her hands, kneading and caressing each taut muscle. The sensation was unlike any other and he took pleasure in every stroke.

  Finally, knowing he had to go, he caught her hand and cupped it to his cheek, wanting the closeness. His normally clean shaven face scratched her with two days’ growth of beard, but his gesture was one of untold feeling. He breathed deeply, turned his face into her hand and planted a soft kiss in the center of her palm, sending shivers down her spine. Unthinking, Fiona reached out and smoothed his hair. Kellach’s smoldering eyes spoke a thousand words, words he wanted to voice. Reluctantly, he released her hand and stood up, preparing to depart.

  “Are you leaving again?”

  “The wind has died down and I need to return. The herds will be uneasy and someone needs to be there to calm them.”

  Fiona listened—the wind had subsided! She had not noticed before, her attention had been on other things. “Aren’t there others who could help?”

  A weary smile crossed his face. “They have worked as long and hard as I, and I would not put such a burden on them.”

  “Perhaps you could wait until the morning,” she offered hesitantly.

  “Would that I were able to do that! There is nothing I would want more, but I could not rest unless I knew all was as it should be.”

  He took his responsibilities seriously and the faith and trust others put in him were well placed. A highly principled man, she silently conceded, one who knew what honor truly meant. Much as she disliked the idea, she fully understood why he needed to go.

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “I will be back in late morning, Siran will take the watch after that.”