Tait moved to Lauren’s side so quickly her eyes widened. He looked at Sam. “She goes nowhere without me.”
“I know.” Sam sighed and looked at Sven, her gaze softening. “Matthew can go but why do you need to?”
His eyes dropped to Emily’s keychain before they returned to Sam. “I just do. Lauren needs protection as does your family there.”
“But the enemy’s here,” Samantha argued. “Everybody saw that.”
“And there,” Lauren reminded. “And they do not have anyone to protect them.”
His mother’s frown deepened as she looked at Sam. “That is very true.” She sighed. “I hate to admit it, but your sister’s right. Those in the twenty-first century should not be left without protection anymore.”
Samantha pinched the bridge of her nose before her eyes went to the doorway when Bjorn appeared. Tait knew they had been talking within the mind and that his cousin stood with the majority. Aunt Megan and Svala were in the future, as were the remainder of Sam’s family. Too many people they all cared about.
“Okay,” she finally relented. “Though I’m not sure why the globe hasn’t already whisked you all out of here if that’s what it wants.” She looked at Lauren. “Again, what if you go back only to realize you’re still trapped in the chalet?” Her eyes went from the paperwork to Lauren. “I’m damn proud of you for escaping one prison. What if you’re just returning to another?”
“I will take my chances.” Lauren held out her hand to Sam. “Please. Help make this happen.”
Samantha nodded and stood, her eyes going to Sven and Matthew. “If you’re determined to join them, get over here.”
Amber stepped back and took Kol’s hand as he rejoined them. Her eyes met Tait’s. “Tell your aunt we all miss and love her and that Naðr is doing just fine.”
Tait nodded. “I will.”
Sam’s eyes met Lauren’s. “Love you, Sis.” She handed over the divorce papers. “Take these just in case.”
“Thank you,” Lauren murmured before the air compressed and time travel took over. Tait pulled her close even though he knew it was pointless. When it came to traveling this way, you never knew for sure what would happen or where you would end up. Moreover, it was all but impossible to defend anyone going through it.
Soon enough, he was proven correct as they materialized beneath the ash tree in driving snow and wind but there was no sign of Lauren.
“Where is she?” he growled, his mood darkening not only because of the curse but because he truly wanted her near him.
“She is not out here,” Sven said, scanning the area. “Inside perhaps?”
Meanwhile, Matthew stared at the chalet with near worship as he whispered, “Is she here?” He started toward the house. “Is Shannon here?”
Tait grabbed his arm, suddenly very alarmed. “Slow down, Cousin.”
When Matthew’s eyes fell to his hand, Tait said, “These people are not like us. They do not deal in warfare. They are simple folk who are advanced in technology but far behind in magic. It is unusual.” His eyes flickered between the house and Matthew. “But it must be respected no matter how eager we are to get to them.”
“Sven, is that you?” came a small cry from somewhere above.
Their eyes went to a window in the upper right hand corner of the lodge. A small head with a mop full of black curls was sticking out, and a flash of white teeth gleamed through the night. “It is you, isn’t it?”
Sven grinned, waved and called out, “Hello, little Emily!”
Although Tait was trying to hold Matthew back, there was no stopping Sven as he headed for the house. So they followed. Seconds later, the deck side door burst open, and Emily flew out right into Sven’s arms. He gave her a big hug before he scooped her up and brought her inside.
Tait had a moment of trepidation before he tried to enter, but thankfully, there was no barrier. A fire crackled on the hearth, and all was relatively quiet. “Emily, where is Lauren? Aunt Megan? Svala?”
“And Shannon?” Matthew added, eying Emily with curiosity.
“My mother is none of your concern.” Emily’s eyes narrowed on him, and she offered an uncharacteristically sour expression before she ignored his question, looked at Sven again and beamed with joy. “I missed you, Sven.” She held up a little wooden wolf. “See, I still have it, and like you promised, it has given me great strength.”
“Good.” He smiled warmly as he set her down then crouched in front of her. “Tell me all that has happened since we last met. How is grandmother Megan? And Svala? I am eager to hear about everything. All your adventures.”
Emily nodded. “And I’m eager to share.” Her eyes rose to the landing above. “Things were good for a while.” A frown settled on her face. “Until Auntie Lauren returned.”
Tait was about to head upstairs, but Matthew put a hand on his arm, stopped him and spoke within his mind. “Let us hear what the child has to say first, Cousin.”
“What happened then?” Sven urged Emily.
“It was New Year’s Eve,” Emily divulged. “We were all very happy and celebrating when Auntie Lauren appeared.” Her eyes widened. “At first she was happy too. She had returned with her divorce papers but needed to be here to finally end things. To find closure she said.” Emily’s mouth drooped. “Yet I don’t think she has.”
Sven glanced upstairs then back at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I think part of the closure she was looking for meant she could step outside again.” She shook her head, her eyes sad. “But she can’t. Not at all.”
Tait’s heart grew heavier. “So she is sad because she is trapped again?”
“Yes. And I think she expected someone else to join her. A friend. Someone to help. Someone who understood how lonely she was.” Emily’s sad eyes met his. “Maybe you, Uncle Tait?”
Tait nodded. “Yes, me.” Then he shook his head, confused by Emily’s sad demeanor. “It has been but minutes. I am here now. I will go to her.”
“Minutes?” Emily kept frowning and shook her head, her eyes going to Sven before they returned to Tait. “What do you mean? Auntie Lauren returned New Year’s Eve, and it’s almost Valentine’s Day.”
Chapter Twelve
THE PICTURE NO longer bothered Lauren. It hadn’t for a while. In fact, she was starting to believe she had imagined everything from her inner dragon to her unbelievable trip back in time. She had signed her divorce papers. That was for sure. And Mema Angie had made sure they were faxed to Charles’ lawyer.
After that, there wasn’t much else.
She was still trapped.
More trapped than ever.
“You just need to try harder,” Svala had said earlier in the day as she paced restlessly in the living room, eager to help. “There is magic to this. I’m convinced.” Her eyes had gone to Sean. “Tell her there is magic. Tell her she can do it.”
As it turned out, while she was gone, wherever that had been, Svala and Sean had fallen in love. Lauren wasn’t surprised in the least. She had seen it coming. Yet still. This was Svala, and as a rule, she was difficult. Suffice it to say, Lauren was pleasantly surprised to find Svala a changed woman.
Really, truly, changed.
Yes, she was still overly opinionated and too forthright for Lauren’s taste, but as the days trickled by, she found herself more and more enamored by the little Viking. How could she not be when Svala had made it her mission to figure out a way to set Lauren free? Unfortunately, they were still struggling, and as was expected, Svala only grew more frustrated.
Since she had returned, Lauren had stared out over Frenchman Bay day after day and wondered what had gone wrong. Where was Tait? Was he even coming? Or had she let him down as readily as she had Charles? It didn’t matter that she had seemingly discovered who she was in Scandinavia, now she was alone and doubting her sanity. Again. What if it had all been a figment of her imagination?
A world she created because she was going insane being trapped
in this house?
As the days of January slowly ticked by, she came to realize that questioning her sanity was pointless. Everything was pointless. Svala kept trying to rally her to find a way out, and Sean did his best to keep her entertained. Shannon, Mema Angie, and Megan tried as well, but after a while, their voices all seemed to blend together.
The only voice that remained constant was Emily’s.
Where it used to be Shannon there every night coaching her through, now it was her daughter. Lauren suspected her sister didn’t know because she was so caught up in her brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Lauren remained in a state of depression that she could barely muddle through. And Emily didn’t blame her. After all, save her brief, perhaps imaginary trip back in time, Lauren had now been trapped in this house for, she ticked the numbers off by drumming her fingers on her knees, but lost count. Close to ninety days maybe?
She scowled in frustration and started counting again.
Yet she continually made the same mistake. She stared at Tait’s picture as she counted out the days. His dragon. Him. Something or someone she now realized she must have made up. Everyone said he was real, but was he?
Or had she officially cracked up?
Because despite how gentle Sam and Cybil were with her before all this, they knew she was heading in that direction. Up a mental shit creek without a paddle. A few cards shy of a full deck. Losing her marbles. Dead in the water pretty soon. Very soon based on the way she couldn’t seem to focus on much of anything anymore. Whatever was happening, whatever this curse was, it was taking her down.
“But you are strong,” she would whisper to herself. “You are a fierce dragon.”
After a while, that sounded pretty ridiculous. She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t fierce. And what solid proof did she have that she was a dragon? All that she was now was the ex-wife of a state’s attorney. One who wasn’t much interested in getting out of bed in the morning.
Yet she did.
Every day.
While everyone in the household applauded her, their rallies of approval died off as the days went by and she spent more and more time sitting on the end of her bed staring at the picture. No more anger existed. Now she only found a sense of bizarre peace in it.
Yearning almost.
Like thinking of her distant past. All that might have been.
She remembered a dragon with dark brown eyes. She recalled feeling renewed, as though her life were just beginning. And she wanted more. That’s what made her wake up, shower, dress and sit on the end of her bed staring at it day after day.
Lauren wanted more.
She was tired of being contained and weak.
She wanted to spread her wings and fly.
So that is what she visualized time and time again as she stared at the picture. She spread her wings and flew. Not into a dying sun as depicted in the picture but one bright, glaring and full of promise. One that would take her away from all this.
“I cannot see you,” Tait’s words whispered through her mind. “It’s too bright up there.”
Lauren closed her eyes at her thoughts. On how true those words he had said at the beginning might be now. How blinding she might have made it for anyone looking for her.
“But I found you,” he murmured. “I’m here, Lauren.”
Eyes still closed, she replied to the voice in her head as she did time and time again. “I know. And I am thankful.”
“No, Lauren.” Warmth encompassed her cheeks, almost as if he touched her. “I am really here.”
“Yes, I know you are,” she whispered like she always did when he said that.
Normally he would fade away after that but this time he did not. Instead, he scooped her up and sat with her on his lap. She found it an interesting twist to her normal fantasy and told him as much.
“Lauren, I am here. This is real.” He spoke so firmly that she frowned. While she might be going mad, she had never been so intense with herself.
“Lauren, snap out of it.” He shook her hard enough that she whacked at him, but he deflected and pulled her cheek against his chest. Her frown only deepened as she listened to the deep rumble of his voice. “Something went wrong when Sam sent us back. We left the tenth century minutes ago but not you.” His voice lowered even further, turned gruffer. “You ended up returning over a month sooner. Do you understand?”
She understood that she needed to stop listening to the voices in her head.
“Lauren.” He pulled back, cupped her cheeks again and forced her to meet his eyes. “I am here. I am real. This is somehow all part of the curse.” His eyes pleaded with hers. “I never left you. I never would. Please come back to me.”
“I do. I have,” she whispered. “I keep trying, but you keep vanishing.” Her eyes went to the picture, confused. “Day after day I keep trying to reach you, but you never respond.”
“But he is now,” Emily murmured as she stood in the doorway. “It’s true this time, Auntie Lauren.”
Her eyes went to Emily. “No, it is not.”
“Yes, it is.” Emily scooped the globe off the bedside table and handed it to her. “Just look.”
Lauren took the globe and stared at it.
At him.
Tait.
He was holding her. Talking to her. Desperate for her to respond.
Lauren tried to speak but couldn’t as emotions overwhelmed her and her eyes went from the keychain to the man holding her. He looked back with concern in his eyes.
“It’s me, Lauren,” he said softly. “You are not imagining it.”
She blinked several times before she touched his cheek, jaw, neck, and chest.
“You’re real,” she whispered as she looked him over. “Mother Mary be honest, you are real this time, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Yes, Lauren. I am real, and I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”
She couldn’t respond as she stared at him. It really was Tait, wasn’t it?
“It’s really him, Auntie Lauren,” Emily said as her hand slipped into Lauren’s. “You’re not alone anymore.”
Lauren’s eyes drifted to Emily and held. Nothing was said as she stared at the little girl. As if she had stopped breathing for a long time, the moment her eyes met Tait’s again, she inhaled deeply.
“There you go,” he murmured as she struggled to simply take in air. “Just breathe, Lauren,” he whispered against her ear, and he pulled her close. “Because you’re not alone anymore.”
All of a sudden, it was as if he hadn’t been gone for nearly six weeks but mere minutes as their eyes reconnected. “You are here, aren’t you?”
“I tried to stay with you,” he murmured. “But we got separated.”
“Why would this happen?” she whispered, so grateful to know he was real. So thankful to inhale deeply and smell his spicy scent. To feel his warmth. His humanity and even his dragon. “Why would this happen if the curse is supposed to be a blessing?”
“This curse is no blessing,” he vowed as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. “Not at all.” His voice deepened with emotion. “Whatever it is, it is not good.”
“Yet it brought you back together,” Emily said softly from the doorway as she looked at them. “Maybe not right away but it did. I’d say that’s a good thing, wouldn’t you?”
Lauren blinked several more times as the world she had been living in melted away, and a new world emerged. The real world. Reality. She had no idea how she knew it, but she did. Everything became crisper. There were less fuzzy edges and more defined corners. She inhaled deeply again, and for the first time in a long time, red skirted the edges of her vision. Something she had fought for a good portion of her life but now welcomed.
Her dragon was resurfacing.
Tait held her that way for a long time. On his lap, saying nothing, doing nothing but stroking her hair as she came back to herself. She must have dozed because when she opened her eyes again, she was lying on the bed and he was sitting in a nearb
y chair watching her. Their eyes held for several moments before she murmured, “How long have I been sleeping?”
“A while.”
“Have you been sitting there the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“You could have rested with me.”
“I was not tired.”
“You are lying,” she whispered as she sat up, sensing his thoughts and emotions so clearly it startled her. “You were worried about me, so you refused to sleep.”
Then she sensed more. He might have followed her here, but he remained under the impression that she needed space from him. Perhaps, even, that she regretted having sex with him.
“I do not,” she whispered and held his gaze. “I am grateful for the time we spent together.”
Tait was about to respond when Svala appeared at the door, her concerned eyes on Lauren. “How are you?” Before she could respond, the Viking woman strode in and plunked down beside her. While she may or may not have sensed they were having a private conversation, it likely would not have mattered. Not because Svala was being rude like in the past but because when she chose to befriend someone, she evidently gave it her all. “You have slept a long time.” She looked Lauren over. “Did you vanish into another one of your hallways again?”
Outside of Tait, Svala was the only one who knew about her hallways and only because she had helped her through a particularly rough spell. That’s when her dragon discovered it. Svala didn’t judge or comment much about it except that it needed more weapons hung on the walls. It was too plain, and that might be half of Lauren’s problem.
Suffice it to say, Svala had kept it to herself and never brought it up around another person until now. Yet Lauren could tell as she looked between Tait and Svala that she only did it because Tait all ready knew. There was great affection between them, and it seemed they equally cared about Lauren’s mental well-being.
“No, I was not in one of my hallways,” Lauren responded to Svala. “For the first time in a long time, I just slept. Really, truly slept.”
“This is very good.” Svala looked her over one more time to confirm she was all right before she stood. “Mema Angie is determined to have a nice celebration for you if you would like. It would be good for you, yes?”
Soul of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 3) Page 17
