The man who had approached her was tall, muscular and had a shock of red hair. He was handsome in ways Zoe didn’t even know existed.
“Och,” the man laughed as he shook his head. “Have ye lost your mind?”
Zoe felt the tears welling up behind her eyes. The man looked like a barbarian… He was wearing armor and had dirt-stained knees. There was a wildness about him that Zoe found intimidating and it was with a strike of pure fear that she realized he held in his hand a large, thick, silver sword.
His eyes were an intense brown, and they seemed to be piercing her with each step he took.
“Please,” she held up her hands. “Don’t come any closer!”
A grin curled across his lips and Zoe kept showing him her palms, hoping he would leave her be.
“Where am I?” she pleaded. “I…I was in the library, and then I found a door… And I woke up here. Something’s happened… Something very strange has happened!”
The man stopped and cocked his head to one side. He was looking at her with both curiosity and amusement, but Zoe couldn’t tell if that was going to lead to violence. He seemed so unpredictable.
“Please,” she sobbed. “I don’t know where I am…”
She fell to her knees in tears, and the man rushed to her side.
“Shhh,” he soothed. “Don’t cry, I’m sorry I laughed.”
Zoe looked up at him and was glad to see that any doubts she may have had about him seemed to vanish in that instant. Suddenly he didn’t seem so untamed anymore, his face had opened into a genuine smile and his touch was gentle as he patted her arm.
“I can see you’re upset, lassie,” he said. “I don’t know what has happened to you, and I am sorry… It’s just, well, everyone in Argyle knows who I am…” he trailed off and looked out across the water.
“Argyle?” Zoe asked, completely confused.
“Aye, lass.” He got to his feet and offered her his hand. “Welcome to Loch Awe, the home of Clan Campbell.”
She took his hand and got to her feet. He looked out across the water and Zoe realized that not only was she not in the United States anymore, she wasn’t even in her own time.
“What year is this?” she asked with trepidation.
He turned to look at her and smiled. “Why, it’s the year of 1529,” he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Zoe felt the ground fall away beneath her and her head began to spin.
The next thing she knew, a heaviness weighed her down into an all-consuming blackness.
6.
Her head was spinning, and she could hear the voices of men as she began to wake. She was inside and somewhere warm. She could hear the comforting sound of a fire crackling, and she was covered in soft, heavy animal skins.
“What is she wearing?” a voice she didn’t recognize asked.
“I don’t know.” It sounded like the man who had found her by the loch. “But she was speaking of strange things, things I have never heard before.”
“Is she a witch?” the first voice said.
“Och, don’t be ridiculous.”
“She could be, Colin,” the first voice said seriously. “She doesn’t look normal to me.”
“She’s different,” Colin said. “And I like that.”
Zoe pulled the animal skins tightly around her before daring to open her eyes. The men were both leaning over her, staring at her intently.
“She’s awake,” the one she didn’t recognize said.
“Lassie,” her friend from the loch spoke. “Lassie, are you alright?”
She rubbed her head. It was pounding and the pain was shooting through her.
“Yes,” she said groggily. “What happened?”
“You lost your mind and fell,” he said with a smile.
“Colin?” she asked, after hearing their conversation.
“Aye,” the man who had found her at the lake said. “I am Colin Campbell of Clan Campbell, head of the family here at Loch Awe.”
He smiled proudly, as did the man at his side who must have been a relation. They were so similar in appearance.
“It’s an honor,” she said, quickly wising up.
She was going to have to play along. She had read enough history books to know being accused of witchcraft in a place or time like this was not the sort of thing she should be encouraging. She had read all about how poor, misunderstood women had been either burned at the stake or dumped into rivers to see if they would float, and the last thing she needed after the day she had had was being hurled into the loch and left for dead.
“Are you hurt?” Colin sat down by her side and took hold of her hand. He had such a tenderness about him that contradicted the look of him. His hair and his tall, muscular frame would suggest he was a brute, but his manner was kind and caring.
“No,” she said meekly. “I don’t think so…”
“This is my brother, Douglas Campbell,” he said.
Douglas nodded his head but seemed to look skeptically at her, as if she had committed a terrible crime.
“Brother,” Colin said. “Please leave us.”
Douglas shot a look of panic at his brother and laughed in disbelief.
“Do you honestly think that’s wise?” he said with a condescending tone.
“Are you questioning my judgment?” Colin asked angrily and his brother immediately backed down. He turned and made for the large wooden door, heaved it open, and disappeared into the hallway.
“He is…testing at times,” Colin said with a sigh. “Now,” he got to his feet and went towards the fire. “You must change. Your clothes are sodden from the moss, and you’ll become quite ill if you don’t get warm.”
He leaned over a chair by the fire and picked up a long brown smock dress. It was the most hideous thing Zoe had ever seen, but she knew she must stay loyal to the only person around her who seemed to be on her side.
“Thank you,” she said graciously before she peeled back the animal skins and got to her feet.
Colin watched her as she crossed the room by the firelight. His breath seemed to catch as he saw her fully again. His eyes traveled from her ankles, up to her chest, and then to her eyes. Zoe smiled shyly and took the dress from him. There was a tension between them that made her long for the soft, loving touch she knew he possessed.
“I will leave you,” he whispered. “Please, rest well, eat what you can, and I will be back to see you within the hour.” He turned on his heel and made for the door. “I have appointed guards,” he said with a smile. “You will be safe here.”
Zoe smiled as she watched him leave. As he strode through the door, the top of his head seemed to skim the beams, he was so tall. She had no idea what was going to happen to her, or even if what she was experiencing was real… But because of Colin, she had the feeling she was going to enjoy every second.
7.
Zoe climbed into a soft chair by the fire and warmed her toes. Her whole body felt exhausted, but she knew there was no way she would be able to sleep. The more time she had to think, the more everything was beginning to make sense. When she had opened the door back in the archive, she had been sucked into a vortex and traveled through time… Maybe this was one of the reasons she had to sign a secrecy act when taking her job there. Had this sort of thing happened before? Was she just the latest in a line of employees to experience something so crazy and mind-blowing?
She shook her head. Surely not.
If Rebecca had known anything of this, she wouldn’t have left Zoe alone to discover it herself. She hadn’t known her long, but Zoe was confident that Rebecca would have warned her. She reached up and rubbed her head where the pain had been pounding through her since the moment she opened that door and had been pulled into this alternate reality.
She got to her feet and crossed the room to the far wall. There was a small section of stone missing, resembling a window, and she balanced up on her tip-toes to see what was outside.
Even though it was dark, she could make
out the glistening water of the loch that was all around them. She was up very high in a stone castle, and the woodland around it was lush and stunning. The moonlight shone down around her and she smiled. Loch Awe certainly lived up to its name.
There was a knock at the door behind her and she turned around.
“Yes?” she called.
The door opened slowly and Colin stood there in the dark hallway, smiling at her from across the room. Zoe’s heart skipped a beat as their eyes locked in on one another’s.
“Are you well?” he asked.
“Please, come in,” Zoe smiled.
Colin bowed into the room and closed the door behind him. Zoe caught a brief glimpse of the guards who were flanking the doorway and could see that they were in full armor with weapons.
“Why do I need the guards?” she asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Colin looked down at the floor and sighed. He had leaned against the mantle and the light from the flames were casting beautiful patterns on his skin.
“Douglas,” he said with resentment. “He is not to be trusted.”
“In what way?” Zoe felt herself tense.
“He thinks you are a sorceress, a witch… Sent here to bring down Clan Campbell,” Colin half laughed. “I know he’s wrong, I know what I saw when I found you today. It was pure innocence and helplessness.”
Zoe nodded. “I can assure you, I’m no witch.”
“I fear he may come down here and take you to trial,” Colin said. “I have told him to leave you be, that he doesn’t have the final say in this castle, but it would not be the first time he has gone against me.”
“So I’m not safe here?” she asked.
Colin looked up at her but didn’t answer. Zoe swallowed down the fear and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold.
“I won’t let him hurt you,” he said. “Which seems so strange to me, seeing as I don’t even know your name.”
Zoe looked up at him and smiled. “My name is Zoe.”
Colin’s eyes seemed to light up the instant he heard it. “I’ve never heard such a beautiful name,” he smiled. “And it suits you perfectly… A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
Zoe felt herself blushing. “Thank you.”
It was such a strange set of events, but she found herself feeling exactly the same way… She had only known Colin for a few hours, but it was as if they had some underlying connection, like something was pulling them closer together and joining their souls. Every time she looked at him, her heart seemed to melt a little more. Ross hadn’t even entered her head since she had woken by the loch, and it wasn’t just because she was experiencing something bizarre. It was because of Colin. He was everything she had ever wanted in a man, and so much more. He was different and so unbelievable sexy, she could feel the tingle of desire burning through her.
“Colin?” she decided to be brave. “Will you come to the bed?”
His eyes darted up to meet hers, and he seemed as nervous as she was. She didn’t know where she had gotten the courage to be so forward, but after such an intense meeting and unexplainable circumstances, she felt the need to be even closer to him still. She wanted him, all of him. Right then and there.
Colin walked slowly towards her, not taking his eyes from her even for a second. Zoe felt as if she had stepped out of her body and was acting out her wildest fantasy. As he neared her, she rose to her feet and reached up to run her fingers through his thick, red hair.
When Colin kissed her, it was as if they had been joined together forever, and as if they were always meant to be together. As he lifted her dress up over her head and exposed her breasts, he gasped as he saw her naked for the first time.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I have to have you.”
In an instant, his demeanor changed. His mild manner was overcome with pure animalistic lust as he picked her up and held her around his waist. He threw her down onto the bed and ripped off his armor. Beneath his clothes, his muscles heaved and rippled, and as he removed his underclothes, his huge manhood sprang free. Zoe’s sex twitched and gushed with need.
Colin climbed on top of her and pulled her over so she was on top of him. Even though she wanted him to ravage her, she also wanted to be in control, and as she straddled him and positioned his helmet at the opening of her sex, he gripped onto her hips and powered himself into her. As he penetrated her, the wave of pleasure was like nothing she had ever known. Their bodies fit together so perfectly, and as she rode him and grinded herself up and down on his shaft, Colin grunted with lust.
Zoe threw her head back as he reached up and cupped both of her breasts. She had never felt more liberated or desired. He held onto her and flipped her over onto her front, and she bit her bottom lip as he drove his hard cock into her again from behind.
As he pumped himself in and out of her, Zoe knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer and came hard and fast. She unraveled beneath him, her orgasm rocketing through her and her thighs trembled. As Colin saw her in a mess of pleasure beneath him, he too exploded and shot his load right up inside her, collapsing onto her back and grunting into the back of her neck.
8.
Zoe trembled with pleasure as she rolled onto her back and Colin swept her up in his arms. He nuzzled into her, breathing in her scent and kissing the soft skin of her shoulders.
“Are you sure you’re not an enchantress?” he laughed as he turned her face to his and kissed her softly on the lips. Zoe smiled and giggled.
“I don’t know what just came over me,” she whispered. “I’ve never done anything like that before. It just felt so… so right.”
“Since the second I laid eyes on you down by the loch, I knew I would take you to bed,” he said as he ran his hands through her hair. “Maybe I just didn’t believe it would be so soon.”
Zoe blushed and cuddled into him again. She felt so safe with him. It was as if they were the only two people in the world and nothing else mattered.
As the fire crackled away and the embers burned down, they both fell soundly asleep.
As dawn broke Zoe was woken by the loud squawks of birds and she reached out her arm to discover she was alone. Disappointment filled her and her stomach dropped.
Where is Colin? she thought as she sat up and looked around the room.
She was certainly alone. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked towards the door. She was about to reach out and grab the handle when she heard the loud clattering of footsteps and armor hurtling down the corridor towards her room.
She backed away from the door and reached for the dress Colin had given her the day before. She pulled it down over her nightie and rushed up against the back wall. There was nowhere for her to hide. She was trapped.
The footsteps came to halt outside of the room, and she prayed to any God listening that she would be saved. There was a loud hammer on the door, but she didn’t dare speak. After a second, the door came crashing open and Colin stood there with fear in his eyes.
“Come, now!” he shouted as he dashed towards her and grabbed her by the wrist. “You must run! Douglas and a mob are coming for you!”
Zoe and Colin ran down the castle’s cavernous hallways, followed by an army of armed guards. They split off in different directions throughout the castle to try and throw Douglas off the scent and disappeared down a thin corridor and into a long forgotten room.
“I don’t think he will look for you here,” he whispered. “This room was our parents’.” He looked down with sorrow. “How I wish they were still here to stop him from going mad like this.”
“He thinks I’m a witch,” Zoe said sadly. “Which means I can’t stay here.”
Colin shook his head.
“I’ll sneak you out of the castle tonight,” he said, “and I’ll come with you. We can run away and be together.”
Zoe liked the sound of that more than she ever thought possible, but she knew she couldn’t take Colin away from hi
s life, and she didn’t want to be back in ancient Scotland without him. Her heart began to race with panic.
She turned and looked around the room, and with complete shock she saw something familiar. Something she had seen before and was more relieved than ever to be in the presence of again.
“That door,” she said, her finger pointing to the small, carved door in the side of the room. “I know that door.”
“Impossible,” Colin said. “No one has ever been in this room apart from my parents, myself, and my brother.”
Zoe reached up and touched his cheek. She wanted to kiss him and tell him everything, but she knew he wouldn’t understand.
“If I go through that door, I’ll be safe,” she said. “But I believe I will be able to return to you… We could meet here every night, and that way you don’t have to worry about Douglas trying to kill me or your position here at the castle.”
Colin looked confused, but he also seemed to understand.
“I trust you,” he said. “Just promise you will come back to me.”
He swept Zoe up in his arms as Douglas’s rage thundered through the halls not far from their hiding place. Their kiss was magic and it roused something in the room. When they parted, Zoe looked to the door and the familiar bright light was shining out from behind it.
“Wait for me,” she whispered as she let go of Colin’s hand and knelt by the door. She reached out for the handle and opened it just in time before Douglas charged into the room with his own armed guards ready to take her to trial.
She woke up on the floor of the archive feeling battered and bruised but full of love. Rebecca was standing in front of her with a look of horror on her face, and she dropped the clipboard that held the notes for their inventory.
“What…the…fuck?” she said, her mouth gaping open. She looked at Zoe up and down and looked at her dirty feet and the tattered brown smock she was wearing.
“Oh my God,” Zoe smiled. “You’ll never believe it…. But you were right when you said there were things down here that the world didn’t know about.”
SNAKE Page 54
