by Jane Stain
"Aw, come now. How dae ye unwittingly become a druid?"
Lauren held up her hand and took a chance at glancing in Taran's face.
"Save yer questions for the end, remember?"
He nodded reluctantly, turning his head to the side and pressing his lips together.
This made her uneasy. Should she get up and leave?
She sighed. What was the point? She had already told him way too much to back down now. In fact, going on could only improve her case, so she persisted.
"Like I said, Kelsey unwittingly became a druid and gained magical powers. Unfortunately, she didna get the power o’ time travel. Nah, she got dream walking. She can talk tae me in my dreams nay matter where or when I am. She can with anyone she's ever touched. Anyway, through Tavish, she learned the whole story, and she telt the rest o’ us lasses. And we all wanted tae travel through time.”
She paused. Ostensibly, it was to catch her breath and warm her hands. But really, she wasn’t proud of the next part of her tale. Oh, how naive and stupid she had been.
“I only got my hands on Galdus three months ago, just afore we came here. I got him in the foremaist century, from a Pictish lass named Deirdre — only Kelsey tells me she's na really a Pictish lass at all. She grew up at the castle near Port Patrick. Her mother marrit Laird Malcomb's nephew Alfred… Anyway, that's na really the point."
She might not get another chance, and so Lauren looked up into Taran’s eyes.
They were still friendly, and she relaxed enough to notice he was biting his lip to prevent himself from speaking, but there was recognition in his eyes. He knew who Laird Malcomb had been...
No. Get to the point, Lauren. Quit beating around the bush.
“Anyhow,” she said, placing her hand on the dagger, “eager I was, tae get my hands on Galdus. For I kenned he could travel through time. I was excited, and—"
Of its own volition, her hand reached up off the dagger and out toward Taran.
Lauren jumped up from her chair and ran across the room, pressing her back against the far wall.
“Rot in Hell, Galdus!” she raged in her mind.
After taking a moment to compose herself, she looked at the dagger significantly, then at Taran.
"The moment I touched Galdus, he spoke inside my mind. And he could hear me when I thought at him. Sometimes when I'm not even thinking straight at him, he responds to my thoughts —"
She broke off because of the screams she could hear, outside in the distance.
Chapter Two
Taran pushed open the door to his gammer’s old cottage and gasped. The black night sky was like day below, because of the huge fire that blazed in town. The silo. All the grain they had was burning, and winter was only half over. Someone was going to pay.
Taran let out his war cry and ran into the manor for his sword and armor. He could see Leif and Luag already armored up with their swords, running down the trail through the barley fields.
Senga called out from behind the closed door of the kitchen.
"Go and get them, Taran. We lasses are safe. I hae them all with me, and I bolted the door."
"Well done."
He finished strapping on the leather pieces meant to protect him in battle: a vest, bracers, the hood. Over all this, he strapped on his sword, then ran out into the frigid night without his leather cloak. It would hinder him in a fight.
Just as he was turning to follow Luag and Leif, he saw Lauren running to join him. Not slowing down, he spoke to her out of the side of his mouth as they ran through the barley, where she caught up to him.
"I ken ye made short work o’ that druid with… Galdus, Lauren. Howsoever, dae ye think ye are up tae the challenge o’ facing whoever lies in wait below? ‘Twill be out in the open. Ye willna hae a narrow door tae keep them coming at ye one at a time."
"I'm na up to it," she said as they ran, not having any trouble breathing, "but I hear tell there is none who can beat Galdus."
They were nearing the silo now, so fast were they running. She was keeping up with him step for step.
"If the way ye can run with him is any indication, then ye may hae the right o’ it."
"Aye," she said as they entered the heat of the raging silo fire. "'Tis the way he woos his slaves. Makes himself sae useful, ye dinna want tae be withoot him. It gets tae the point where ye're sleeping with him, where yer never far enough away tae escape."
She slept with the dagger? His mind filled with dozens of questions.
But the fire pushed them all out.
Taran searched the surrounding area. The militia must be engaging whoever had done this. Where was the fight?
He saw and heard nothing but the shouts of people, the crackling of the fire, and steam rising whenever someone tossed water on the blaze.
There was no one to fight. They had gotten away.
“Let’s join the bucket line,” Lauren suggested quietly. She gestured where town folk were relaying buckets full of water up from the river and empty buckets back down. It wasn't happening fast enough. The fire was winning.
Nodding, he ran over, craning his neck to watch the blaze for flying embers and ducking whenever some neared.
At first, he was hurt to see her join the line far away from him, but then he realized why. It wouldn’t harm anything if she touched Alvin or Mauve. It didn’t matter if her druid dagger heard their thoughts.
Leif was directing the people.
“Aiden, switch off with Jared being the one tae throw the water. Jared, take a turn throwing the water. Well done, all o’ ye. That’s the way. Keep the water coming. Faster.”
Taran admired his brother’s quick thinking. Aiden must be unbearably hot near the flames. The man needed longer breaks between his approaches, and Leif’s directions were speeding up the water noticeably.
There was a loud crashing sound.
Leif grabbed hold of Aiden and the others who were close and ran.
Part of the support gave way, and the next thing Taran knew, the silo was falling like a chopped tree. It landed just where the people had been.
Everyone crossed themselves at having so narrowly missed their deaths.
“Good,” Leif called out, “it fell toward the river and na on Muillear and Devany’s new house!”
That got some feeble laughs, but more importantly, it broke the people out of their shock. They went back to work. It was more difficult now, because the fire was more spread out.
After a little while, a cheer went up, and Taran turned to see Jacob, the cooper, running out with his family, all of them carrying as many buckets as they could. Soon, the town was overcoming the fire. They had it out before it could spread.
Aiden was near the front of the line, and Taran approached.
"How did it start?"
"'Twas the oddest thing. Flames came from Alvin’s hill like stars falling from the sky, three of them at once, and landed solidly on the silo."
Taran looked off in the direction Aiden was pointing. His heart sank, for what lay that way? The druid castle. He looked back at the charred remains of the silo. Another worry was they wouldn't have enough grain stores to finish out the winter. Now all that remained was what each family had in their pantry.
Knowing he and Leif had more than they could use, Taran turned and met his brother’s eyes, showing some of the grief he felt for the people.
Leif nodded that he did plan to do something about it. His brother was a good man. He shouldn’t have doubted Leif would do right by the people.
When every last ember was out, when smoke no longer rose and steam no longer hissed, Leif addressed everyone in the pitch-black night.
"On the morrow we will distribute our stores sae that every person has enough for the rest o’ the winter—"
"Ye dinna hae tae do that, Leif."
"We wull get by."
"Aye, we are tough, ye ken?"
Leif smiled, and Taran knew it was because the people were so stubbornly prideful, they wouldn't
even accept help in such a dire situation is this.
"In any case, now is the time tae go home and sleep, but latch yer shutters and yer doors, aye?"
"Aye."
"Ye hae the right o’ that."
"'Twas unnatural, the way the fire came at the silo."
"Aye, first they make us sick, and now they take oor food. What did we ever dae tae them?"
The people grumbled, but they made their way back to their homes. Once everyone was inside with the doors closed and the windows shuttered, Leif, Taran, Lauren, and Luag made their way back through the barren winter barley fields and up the trail through the woods to Cresh Manor, where they could see their entire valley below them.
Little Amena called out from inside the kitchen as soon as they entered the house.
"Leif? Taran? Is it ye?"
"Aye," Leif called out to her in a soothing voice. "Ye lasses can come oot now, Senga."
There was a rattling as the old cook unbolted the door and opened it, and then Amena ran first into Taran’s arms, and then into Leif’s. Ever since their parents died six months ago, she'd treated them more like uncles than brothers. There was a big age difference. This was only the wee lass’s seventh winter.
Leif's wife, Jessica, came out next, a practical and kindly lass, followed by her and Lauren's friend Katherine, ‘Katherine the Beautiful’ was how Taran thought of her. She was golden haired and lithe of limb. Her eyes were all for Luag, who called her out.
“See anything ye fancy?”
She bit her lip so as not to give him the satisfaction of laughing at his jest, but her eyes were haunted, serious.
"When ye were gone sae long, I… Anyway, 'tis glad we are ye came home."
Lauren met Taran’s eyes.
He knew what she was thinking. They hadn’t finished their talk. He gently shook his head
nay and looked upstairs.
She nodded with relief, heading for the room she shared with Katherine and Amy.
Leif put his arm around Jessica and they walked upstairs together, closely followed by Luag, Amy, and Katherine.
As was part of the new ritual Taran was afraid wouldn't last much longer, he carried Amena upstairs to tuck her into bed before retiring to his own room.
Chapter Three
Lauren made small talk with Katherine and Amy before they fell asleep, but her heart wasn't in it. Was Taran telling Leif her secret even now? Would someone barge through the bedroom door and try to wrest Galdus from her? She kept the old rune-encrusted and jagged dagger close while she slept, guarding against just this possibility.
She had to be careful, but she was in control. Galdus wanted her to touch Taran so that Galdus could read Taran’s thoughts. Galdus was a pain in the butt, but he was her ticket home, so she would just have to keep her distance from Taran.
She sighed and turned over. Jessica had Leif now, and Katherine was closer than she knew to getting Luag. You could tell just by the way they looked at each other, and it was funny they didn't realize it. Everyone thought so. And here she was, dying to be with Taran the same way Jessica was with Leif…
Galdus chuckled wickedly in Lauren’s mind while she lectured herself there.
No. Those knowing eyes and that smug smile are off-limits. Remember, Galdus mustn’t have access to Taran’s mind.
But admonishing herself didn't stop her from dreaming about Taran.
When she awoke, dread gripped her afresh. Would she go down to breakfast and find everyone staring at her uneasily? Well, she wasn't going to be the last one down, that was for sure. She jumped up, dressed and tidied herself, then breezed down the stairs.
The men were already at the table, speaking in low tones, but no one looked at her suspiciously or anything as she passed by on her way to the kitchen to see if Senga wanted help.
When Lauren brought the parritch out and sat down at her place, Taran looked at her significantly and signaled that they would continue their talk after they finished eating.
Great. She had told him all she really wanted to tell him. However, it meant more time alone with him, and her heart thrilled a bit despite herself.
At last they were finished eating.
Taran was more obvious this time, standing from the table and extending a hand toward her.
"Come oot on a walk with me, Lauren."
Even through her dread, Lauren smiled big at Jessica.
"May I be excused, yer ladyship?"
Jessica took visible pleasure in her new ladyhood as well. "Ye may," she said, nodding her head to the side formally. But the big grin on her face said, ‘You get another chance with Taran!’
This time, Taran took Lauren on an actual walk, on the trail that defined the outskirt of the town, around the dormant snow-covered barley fields, the town’s inner skirt.
When they were out of earshot, Lauren spoke without thinking, saying exactly what was on her mind. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew the men of this time would think them inappropriate, coming from the mouth of a woman, and she cringed a tiny bit.
"What were ye men speaking o’?"
But Taran busted up laughing and looked at her askance, and his handsome grin showed he admired her assertiveness.
"Ye dinna beat around the bush, dae ye lass?"
She shook her head.
“Nay, and I willna allow ye tae change the subject, either.”
She raised her chin and eyebrows expectantly.
He turned back to the trail.
"Nay, I didna expect ye would. There's talk in town o’ storming the druid castle. Everyone's upset about the silo being burned o’ course, but ye ken we canna go storm the castle. We were talking about what tae hae the men dae instead, tae get their minds off that and convince them they are doing some aught. We spoke o’ building fences, digging ditches... ye ken, all the usual fortifications a town can muster."
She took a deep breath and let it out, looking at the snowy hills as she walked beside him.
"So then, ye didna tell them about my trouble with Galdus?"
He followed her gaze and spoke softly.
"Nay, I didna."
There was ice in the path where a small creek came down from the mountain. It had frozen around the stepping stones, which were slick with re-frozen snow.
Lauren looked at Taran.
He shrugged and turned around to head back toward Cresh Manor.
She shrugged and followed.
The wind was now at their backs, and it blew her hair into her face.
She undid the brooch that held her huge plaid shawl around her shoulders so she could pull a small part of it up over her head like a hood, then pinned it tightly down again so as not to let the cold winter wind get to her.
“Promise me ye will let me be the one tae tell them, aye?"
"Aye. Howsoever, ye dae need tae tell them soon."
"I ken that would be the best course," was all she was willing to say. She didn't want to lie.
He gave her a knowing look, and they walked the rest of the way back to the manor house, each of them lost in their thoughts. It was a comfortable silence full of half smiles and nods. It was strange but nice, being on a date with a man who kept his hands to himself. Smiling, she told herself she could get used to it. For Lauren had no doubt this was a date, per the mores of the time.
When the men went off to their regularly scheduled fight practice in the town, Lauren waved goodbye to them. She spent the day helping Senga run the household, as did the rest of the women. Even Lady Jessica.
And so it went for six months.
They survived the winter, but they were all thin and sallow when winter became spring and the hunting was easier.
Galdus finally quit urging Lauren to leave, saying instead the coming conflict would take her where he needed her anyway.
The town planted their barley and oats.
Spring turned to summer. They gathered 1411’s first harvest.
Lauren was outside dumping dishwater one
July day toward the time the men would be coming home from practice when the small cottage caught her eye. It was so adorable: miniature and perfect. She walked slowly around it, admiring the way someone had lovingly cultivated flowers up the walls, decades ago.
She'd made a full circle around the cottage and was looking up the mountain toward where she, Jessica, and Katherine had fled a year before when she saw someone hiking down. Out of place in his multicolored clothes, he was quite distant yet. She couldn’t tell for certain, but she thought maybe he was a time traveler like her and the other women in the house, all save for Senga.
Careful to mind where he was and which direction he was walking, she opened the front door.
"Jessica, Katherine, Amy! Come look."
The other women came running and looked where Lauren was pointing. There were gasps.
"I think he's wearing tie-dye."
“He is!"
“Why are there so many time travelers?"
“Yeah," said Lauren. "I've never before heard of the druids bringing so many people back in time all at once. Kelsey should finally be done with that assignment and be able to contact us any day now. We'll ask her."
They still kept their eyes on the hippie, but Katherine put a gentle hand on Lauren's wrist.
"Will she be able to tell us anything? I mean, she is one of them, right?"
"She is and she isn't,” Lauren mused. “I mean yeah, she has the training and the power, and she gets it from the druids. But I told you, she didn't know what was going on. She thought she was just getting a doctorate in Celtic artwork. So we can trust Kelsey. I do."
This time it was Amy who laid the gentle hand on Lauren.
"But Kelsey's an old friend of yours, right? Someone you've known since you were thirteen?"
Lauren didn't like the way this line of questioning was going, so she just stood there silently and nodded a bit, pointedly watching tie-dye guy come down the mountain.
