Through the Looking Glass

by Rebecca Lorino Pond

  “Damn little bitch! Making me come all this way. She is really going to pay for this.” He made his way to the baggage claim area then flagged down a taxi outside the airport in Wink, Scotland. It had cost him a lot of money to fly into the smaller airport in northern Scotland but he wasn’t willing to waste any time driving. He wanted to find Isobel and take care of his problem once and for all.

  With his background and type of work he usually did, he was able to trace Isobel’s whereabouts through her friend, Elizabeth. It was a very stupid move Isobel made to seek Elizabeth’s help but a good move for him, otherwise it would have taken him a lot longer to find her. How in the hell she ever ended up in the far reaches of northern Scotland, he would never know and really didn’t care. All he cared about was finding her.

  His plans had gone horribly wrong that night when he went to kill her parents. She wasn’t supposed to be there. She told him she was going out with Elizabeth that night to a concert in the city and wouldn’t be home until after midnight. He would have had plenty of time to take out her parents and make it look as if some random person had broken into the house as a home invasion. His plans for marrying Isobel then went out the window the moment he saw her in the kitchen after he had shot her mother. He had a much bigger problem now and wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  Now, here he was running all over the freaking world to find the bitch! She was more trouble than she was worth. He hoped Tuloch rewarded him handsomely once he was able to bring Isobel back to Aslog. He had gone through a lot of trouble to, not only find the woman but also to form a relationship with her to the point of her wanting to marry him. He might even ask Tuloch if he could keep her once Tuloch had his way with her.

  He was ecstatic when, unknowingly, Elizabeth had helped him more than she knew she could have. Hacking into her email account and banking records had taken him a few days but he was able to get through finally. Everything had been laid out right in front of him. The email from Ackergill Tower had thrown him for a loop at first until he saw the charges on her debit card. He immediately booked a flight to Scotland then went about changing his appearance so he wouldn’t be recognized at the airport. There was still a manhunt for him, so he had to be very careful until he left the country.

  Arriving in Wink only heightened his anger, but he had to give Isobel credit, she picked the last place in the world he would have gone looking for her. He thought for sure she would have taken up residence with Elizabeth which would have been all too easy to get to her. He liked many things about this strange world he had found himself in, but he was getting tired of all the demands that this world called for and was all too eager to return to his own.

  The taxi pulled up to Ackergill Tower in the drizzling rain. Daniel handed the taxi driver some bills, retrieved his bag then exited the taxi. Somehow he was going to have to get into the room Isobel was staying in without drawing attention to himself. For now though, he needed to get inside and into a room.

  The room he was assigned was on the same level with all the other guests who were staying at the castle at this time of the year. He hadn’t seen any sign of Isobel yet and was growing more and more aggravated by the minute. After almost two years in this fucking world he was so close to going home that he could smell it.

  The plan he had devised to search out the rooms was to wait until dinner was served to the guests down on the first floor. Dinner was precisely at six o’clock he had been told, so when the time came he stood at his door which was at the end of the long hall. He would have a perfect view of what rooms were occupied with guests and what ones weren’t. As soon as he saw Isobel come out her room, he would sneak into the room and wait for her to return.

  Before he started his guest spying, he opened his suitcase and retrieved the small glass vial that contained the dust that would allow him to return home. He had protected the vial with his life the entire time he had been in this strange place because he only had one shot of returning home and he wasn’t about to lose it.

  He slipped the vial into his pocket on his shirt. The pocket had a zipper that could be closed in case he found himself in a struggle with his prey. Walking to the door, he cracked it open and waited. One by one the doors in the hall opened then closed as the guests went to dinner. So far, there were three rooms out of the eight on this floor that guests had not come out of. He would just be extra careful when he attempted to gain access to those. Once he was satisfied that the guests were all at dinner, he would begin his search. Unfortunately, Isobel had not come out of any of the rooms. That meant either she was skipping dinner or she was already downstairs.

  The first of the three rooms he needed to check was, surprisingly, unlocked. The knob twisted on the door without any effort. He slipped into the gloomy room and scanned it quickly to find any trace of someone staying in it. Finding nothing, he slipped back out the door and casually walked down the hall to his next target. This door was locked. Hope surged through him as he picked the antique lock on the old door to gain entry. The sound of the lock sliding back into its housing sounded louder than it really was because it was so quiet in the hall. Every now and then he could hear voices and laughter filter up to where he was but nothing alerted him to the presence of a guest coming.

  Inside the second room he found an open suitcase lying haphazardly on the canopy bed. Clothes were hanging half way out of the leather case, making it easy for him to discern a female was staying in this particular room. He lifted out a flimsy shirt and tossed it on the bed. The items in the case didn’t give him any clue to the female’s identity, so he would have search the entire room. Finding nothing in the bedroom, he went into the bathroom. A makeup bag and travel bag sat on the counter near the sink. He dug through both in earnest to find anything he would recognize as Isobel’s. Nothing, absolutely nothing had a name on it, even the airline tags had been removed from the handles of all the bags.

  His frustration level was growing by the minute. The bitch had to be here somewhere! He left the room in a rush. The last room he needed to check was at the opposite end of the hall from where his room was. Again, the door was locked. Putting his ear to the wood, he listened for any movement before he picked the lock.

  Once in the room it was hard to see because the heavy drapes were pulled closed over the large corner window. It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness before he was able to move around without running into anything. This room contained a large canopy bed the same as the other room, but this bed was unmade, with the comforter crumpled at the foot of the bed. He was about to check the armoire when he heard something drop to the floor in the bathroom. The light was off in the bathroom so he wasn’t able to tell if someone was in there or not until he heard a female voice cuss softly in the darkness.

  The jiggle of the door handle alerted him to the fact whoever was in there was about to come out. He backed up against the armoire and waited. He slowed his breathing down to shallow breaths, not wanting to give himself away when the person emerged. The door creaked open as the shadow walked out towards the bed. Whoever it was obviously should not be in the room too, otherwise she would have turned on the lights. He decided to go ahead and take a chance on calling out to the woman.

  “Going somewhere Isobel?”

  The woman stopped immediately at the sound of his voice. She didn’t make a sound or turn around to see who was behind her. His heart raced. He had finally caught up to Isobel!

  “Thought you could get away from me? You should have known I would find you eventually,” he spoke as he edged nearer to what he thought was his ex- fiancé.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, asshole!” The woman turned to take a swing at his head with something in her left hand.

  He saw her hand coming at him and was able to duck at the last possible moment. When he came up he reached out and grabbed the bitch by the hair. He twisted his hand in her hair to make sure she wouldn’t be able to slip loose.

  He jerked her head back and spoke into h
er ear. “What are you going to do now? I didn’t want to have to hurt but you leave me no choice. You weren’t supposed to be there.” He ran his tongue along the side of her cheek. He inhaled deeply to get her scent he had become so accustomed to. Confusion clouded his mind when he realized the woman in his arms did not smell like Isobel.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he said in anger. When the woman didn’t answer he dragged her back towards the bathroom. With one hand still wrapped in her hair, he reached into the bathroom and fumbled to turn on the light. She was making it hard for him to find the switch by kicking backwards and using her hands to pry his hand out of her hair. Finally his hand found the small switch and flicked it up. Shock took over as he looked into the face of Lizzy, Isobel’s best friend.

  “What the fuck?” he shouted as he shoved Lizzy away from him as hard as he could. “Where’s Isobel?” he asked as he loomed over her as she struggled to get to her feet.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me where she is?” Lizzy backed away from him.

  “I came half way around this fucking world and I find you here! Where. The. Fuck. Is. She!” he spoke through clenched teeth as he crept towards her. He was going to kill this bitch if she didn’t tell him where Isobel was. “I’ve had enough of these fucking games.” He had her backed into a corner with no way to get around him. His fists clenched and unclenched in anticipation of choking the life out of this dump bitch. He hated her ever since Isobel first introduced her to him at a party they were attending for another of her friends. She was always looking at him as if she knew who and what he was.

  He grabbed Lizzy by the upper arms and slammed her against the wall. “Answer me!” He repeated his action a couple more times.

  Lizzy fought to get loose. She was reaching for anything on him that she might be able to use as a weapon. She managed to grab hold of his shirt pocket and hang on. He had his hands around her neck now and started to squeeze when he heard his shirt tear. The next second he felt something hit his foot and shatter.

  The sound of glass shattering jarred him out of the blind fury he was experiencing. He looked down at the vial that had been in his pocket a moment ago. A green mist started to form around his and Lizzy’s legs, travelling up their bodies quickly.

  “What have you done?” he screamed in her face as the mist swirled up over his head. The vial that had been his only way home after he took care of Isobel was now broken and sending him home prematurely. “No!” he shouted as he felt the tug of the mist break his grip on Lizzy’s neck. The mist swirled faster and faster around him then everything black.

  Chapter 11

  After he had his wound taken care and had taken a bath, Jakar went to the room he shared with his new wife. It was well after midnight by the time he crawled into the warm bed and lay his head on the pillow. He rolled onto his side to face Isobel as she quietly slept next to him. He had been careful not to disturb her when he entered the room because he knew she would be furious with him for leaving on the night of their wedding.

  She softly sighed in her sleep as the moonlight streamed into the bedroom and touched her face. He pushed himself up on his elbow so that he could look at her closely. His wife looked so peaceful in her sleep. Her lips were lightly parted as she breathed and looked to be so soft. He wanted to feel them pressed against his as he claimed her mouth the same way he had on their wedding day. Her long eyelashes gently slept on her cheeks that were slightly flushed. Her hair, that he longed to have caress his body, lay tussled on the pillow and sheet next to him. He stretched a hand out and gently picked up a thick curl, rubbing it between his thumb and index finger. It felt so soft and he loved the way the end wrapped around his finger when he let it go.

  Could he bring himself to believe she was truly the one meant for him? The woman lying next to him was from a world he knew nothing about. He knew nothing about her or her life. He had been so cruel to jump to conclusions when he had first come across her on the battlefield. He should have known immediately that she was different just by the way she had been dressed and the way she spoke with her accent. It should have sent his senses into overload. For two days he had been away from her and now, here he was lying so close to her he could smell her womanly scent.

  Sighing, he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. Morning wasn’t too far off and he was dead tired. He needed to get a few hours of sleep before he would be called to take care of the daily problems his people faced.

  ******

  Isobel stretched as she felt the warm rays of the sun shining on her face. Turning her head in the direction of the sun, she opened her eyes lazily only to be jolted wide awake with the sight of Jakar sleeping next to her. He looked peaceful as he slept, almost boyish. His handsome face was relaxed and showed a hint of the scowl he constantly wore when she was around. His dark lashes lay on his cheeks as his eyes darted back and forth underneath their lids. This was the first time she had been able to look at him long enough to get her fill without him knowing.

  If she had to remain in this world she wished he would look at her with anything other than the disgusted look he seemed to always have ready for her. If everyone in Aslog knew who she supposedly was, why then did he deny it? Why he was so sure she was this spy he accused her of being? Would she ever be able to convince him otherwise?

  A cloud moved over the sun and cast a shadow into the room. She glanced to the window and saw the black clouds building up in the distance. Another day of rain meant she would be cooped up inside yet again. Movement next to her had her looking back at Jakar. She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw he was staring at her with his piercing ice blue eyes. Paralyzed, she stared back at him, letting her eyes travel over his face. His brows drew inward to inform her, or so she thought, that he was in another one of his sour moods.

  Not knowing what to say to him, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Good morning.” She drew in her bottom lip as she waited for a reply.

  Nothing could get her to take her eyes off him until he moved to sit up and let out a loud hiss as he reached for his shoulder. Her gaze followed his hand that was clasped over a bandage.

  “Oh my God! You’re hurt!” She jumped to her knees in front of him to help him sit up.

  “It’s nothing major, just a scrape,” he told her through clenched teeth.

  She sat on her heels and gave him a look to let him know she wasn’t stupid. “Really, just a scrape? No one makes that kind of a face with just a scrape,” she tried to imitate his rough voice. “What happened?”

  Her stomach was doing flip-flops as she waited for an answer. She was positive he was about to bite her head off but she persisted anyway. “Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

  Jakar’s eyes ran over her body that was only covered in a thin nightgown. “I didn’t get out of the way of a sword quick enough as it came at my head,” he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

  Her stomach dropped at the thought of something happening to him. Why? She had no idea. “Is that why you left the other night?” she asked quietly.

  His eyes darkened with her question. “I do not need to report to you, my dear wife.”

  The invisible slap had her moving away from him. “I only asked a question. There’s no need to bite my head off!” She slipped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. If he was going to act like a fool then he could do it alone. She would get dressed and go down to the kitchen to find something to eat. After brushing her teeth with the paste Nana had made and washing her face with cold water, she whipped her gown up over her head, tossing it to side carelessly. Just as she reached for the dress that hung on the hook near the door, Jakar kicked open the door. She let out a scream as the door slammed against the stone wall and bounced off. Her hand closed around the skirt of her dress, jerking it off the hook to try and hide her naked body.

  Jakar stopped dead in his tracks. He wore his scowl again while his blue eyes darkened even more. She stood there in front of him in her birthda
y suit while his eyes roamed up and down her body.

  “Get out!” she shouted at him. His look began to frighten her. He said nothing as he stood there until she shouted at him again to get out.

  One side of his face slowly raised up in a half smirk when he finally found his voice again. “I don’t have to get out, wife.” He took a step closer to her as she took a step away. “What’s the matter now, my little wife? Cat got your tongue?” The other side of his mouth lifted to form a complete grin as he steadily came towards her.

  Trying as hard as she could to keep her dress in front of her with one hand, she held up the other in an effort to keep him at a distance. “No,” she replied breathlessly.

  “Oh I think it has. Maybe I should see if I can help you in some way?” He continued to walk slowly to her until he had her backed up against the wall next to the bathtub.

  Her breathing was coming in rapid gulps as she stood beneath his lingering gaze. He was so tall compared to her that she had to tilt her head all the way back to look up at him. Her voice had deserted her as she looked into his hooded eyes. He didn’t touch her physically but she felt as if his hands were running all over her body.