by Jane Stain
He put his mouth right next to her ear and breathed out warm air, then chuckled as she shuddered with the chills that ran through her body. “Aye? Methinks it takes two tae create. Shall I show ye?”
And he did.
When Lauren opened her eyes, shivering a bit from the morning chill, for a few moments she wasn't sure where she was. The gray stone walls lit by an open window full of morning light weren’t ringing any bells. But when she rolled to the edge of the bed and saw on the floor her rope made of tied bedclothes, she remembered, jumping up off the bed. She was Donald’s prisoner in the castle he had stolen from Ualraig.
Lack of the usual sounds of men laughing and joking with each other told her the Isles forces had already left for the battle.
Good.
Having slept in her clothes, she had nothing to do but check to make sure everything was there — not as she could do anything about it if it wasn't, but it would be better to know ahead of time. But everything was there. Nothing was missing. She still had her tape measure and her level, even her slide rule.
If anyone asks you where you're going, just tell them you're looking for breakfast.
Smiling at herself for her quick thinking, she opened the door like she wasn't up to anything at all and breezed out into the hallway. Then flattened against the wall in the shadows as soon as she saw the one guard standing down there.
Okay, you have to get past that guy. He isn't going to let you go down to breakfast. He'll tell you to go back into your chamber and then he'll send someone up.
Panting a bit now in panic, she stuck to the side of the hallway and crept toward the intersection in the shadows. The man was pacing away from her. The stone floor wouldn't creak if she ran. Should she just run to the intersection and turn the corner before he turned around? Her feet were running before she even knew it. Around the corner the hall was larger, and there were alcoves she could hide in. She found it almost too easy to get to the stairs and go down both floors. When she cracked open the door at the bottom of the stairs into the great hall and saw that it was empty, elation took her over. She was going to do this. She was going to get away.
But then when she reached out to open the door, her hand wouldn't go.
What in the world?
Galdus's evil laughter echoed around her mind, bouncing off her empty hopes and hitting her psyche. "Ye didna think it would be this easy, did ye?"
Furious, she reached for the door all the harder, straining to grab it and open it again.
But her hand wouldn't budge.
And now she felt herself turning around, albeit slowly and clumsily, toward the stairs that now reached up. She fought to turn back around toward the door, fought with all her might. But her body betrayed her, turning resolutely toward the stairs. And ascending both flights. Entering the large hallway.
Galdus tried to open Lauren's mouth. Tried to make her speak to the guard.
This, she absolutely refused to do, clamping her jaws, squeezing so they couldn't open. She would not speak her own doom.
Nevertheless, her traitorous body took her down the large hall, behind the guard, down the smaller hall, and right back into the chamber she'd been so happy to escape.
Chapter Fourteen
Hours later, Galdus had forced Lauren to unmake her rope so that her body had covers to keep it warm in the chill Scottish July air, but she didn’t think she had slept a wink. She was still unable to control her movements. Galdus had a firm hold on most of her body, but he had not been successful at making her mouth form the words or utter the sound that would tell the guard where she was while she crept behind him in the outer hallway. She savored that victory, hoping it would give her the confidence she needed to go on.
At the same time, she knew his magic was much stronger than she was, and so she tried to reason with him.
“Galdus, let me just put ye doon here and leave. Ye wull see yer fellow druid friend when he returns just the same. Ye said it yerself, ye dinna need me.”
But Galdus responded insistently.
“Nay, my love. I dae need ye, if only tae keep me out o’ the hands o’ Laird Donald. He covets my power like nae other I hae ever encountered, and though Taran has left ye now, Yer verra dear friend Jessica does still live close by, eh? I yet see the future where Donald wields me as verra bad for all the people ye hold dear tae yer heart.”
Lauren tried to get up out of the bed, but it was useless. At least he hadn't made her undress. She thought she might die of mortification if she were lying naked here in the bed when Donald came back. Galdus had responded to reason, so reason she would continue to use.
“The longer I bide here, the greater the chance o’ ye falling intae the hand o’ Donald. Dae ye na see? We need tae leave now, while the going's good."
The first time, Galdus’s chuckle was indulgent, the kind of laugh a man might have for his favorite niece, if she asked him for some small favor.
“Aw, Yer sense o’ urgency is now quite keen, I see. All o’ my urging ower this year has na went tae waste. More’s the pity. The time for leaving is past. Dae ye na hear the jangle o’ weaponry that comes with the footfalls on yon hard stone doon the hall?"
She got a sinking feeling in her stomach when she realized she did hear the approach of a warrior.
The door opened and Donald entered, looking winded and battle worn. like he'd ridden straight from the battle and come here without stopping to refresh. Several of his minions entered with him, all standing back at curt attention to await their laird’s command. He and they were without a single drop of the camaraderie Leif shared with his men.
When Donald spoke, it was as if he were granting her a wish, he was so full of himself. “‘Tis good tae come home tae see ye here, Lauren." He reached out his hand as if to help her up.
She cringed from him.
Instantly, Galdus made her roll over on the bed away from him and jump up on the other side.
For once, she agreed with the movement. In her weakened state of not having any sleep, she would be putty in his hands, lacking the strength to resist a grab for Galdus even with the druid dagger’s help.
"Ye are welcome," Galdus intoned.
“I did na thank ye," She thought at him hard.
All she got was a chuckle.
Fortunately, Donald was amused and chuckled as well, once more looking her up and down with new appreciation, this time at her apparent quickness. She didn’t care to think what the Laird o’ the Isles would do if he were angry right now, with all these men in her chamber.
“Fiercely independent, ye are,” said Donald. “I fancy that in a lass.”
Bile rose in her throat at the idea of him liking her for anything other than her time travel knowledge. She didn’t say anything, just stood there amid all these men and did as Galdus bade: held all her limbs as close to her body as she could.
“Good, my love,” purred Galdus in her mind. “Make yerself as small a target as ye can. ‘Twill be easier for me tae forge yer movements that make ye evade the Laird’s grabs.”
But the laird wasn’t grabbing, and this worried Jessica more than if he had been. No, Donald’s eyes were distant and hopeful, filled with schemes. Schemes that clearly involved her.
“Care tae follow me?" Donald called over his shoulder as he left the room very nonchalantly, as if she had a choice in whether to follow him or not. But all the other men stood there waiting for her to follow, and the looks on their faces told her she had better, or else.
Lauren tried not to go. She truly doubted they would harm her. She knew Galdus wouldn't let them —
"Dinna be sae certain o’ that, lass. ‘Tis true I will na let them strike ye doon intae death, howsoever ye can be in much pain and still keep me from falling intae Donald's hands. ‘Twould serve ye wull tae remember that."
Sighing, she followed Donald down the small hall, around the corner into the larger hall, down both staircases, and into the great hall.
Donald strode straight t
o the throne and sat down. And then he looked at the throne by his side and raised his eyebrows. “I hae had a bit o’ a change in my mind syne last we spoke, Lauren. My current thinking is that ye should become my wife. I will still remove the curse that is upon ye and relieve ye o’ the object we spoke o’, but I believe ye would be better off with me, and I with ye. With yer talents and my power, think o’ all we could accomplish." He smiled as if he had offered her a vast fortune instead of a life of servitude. He relaxed in the throne as if it had been his since birth instead of the spoils of his aggressive campaign to take over all of Scotland.
"Accept his offer," Galdus said immediately, urging her to do just that by trying to exert control over her tongue. “This wull keep him pacified till my friend returns. 'Tis perfect. Accept his offer."
Lauren could see how it would be expedient to accept Donald. Galdus was right in that it would pacify the laird. But there was no way she was going to marry Donald, not him nor any she didn't want. A marriage of convenience was nothing she would ever settle for. And she took Galdus's meaning, about just what specific type of very intimate pacifying she would be doing.
Galdus tried to prevent her from refusing, but for whatever reason, she still maintained control of her speech, even though he was controlling her movements. "I am na interested in that offer, Donald. I decline."
She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen next. In any case, what did happen was anything but expected. It almost made her wish she had accepted him.
No, it didn’t. Not even almost.
With a matter-of-fact look on his face, Donald got up from the throne and walked toward a different staircase, the one that went down into the dungeons. "It does na matter. We will get what we need from ye, one way or the other. Bring her."
Galdus was laughing his giddy evil laugh and making her follow Donald, so there was no reason for the men to put their hands on her, but they did anyway. Two grabbed one arm and two the other. They all but dragged her down the stairs and into a dungeon cell.
Galdus laughed a lot over the next few hours as they attempted to remove him and anything else from her person by brutal means that only a dungeon would have.
But Galdus was quickly in her hand, and she gave better than she got by a long shot.
Well, Galdus gave better than she got. Effortlessly and seamlessly, he moved her body in order to put himself between her person and everything they tried to do to her.
They tried to bind her.
Galdus moved her arms so that he cut through rope and chain alike!
They continued to hold her by the arms and tried to scar her with red-hot pokers.
Galdus cut and nicked and sliced their hands.
They tried to whip her.
Galdus cut up a dozen whips right out of thin air.
They pushed her into a dungeon cell and threw heavy stones at her.
Galdus made her catch the stones and throw them back, injuring two men and shattering one wooden cell door, along with severely bruising her hands.
They were installing a new door on her dungeon cell when finally, Donald called a halt. "This is na getting anywhere. The lass is injured and tired. We wull just leave her here. What we canna dae with force, we will allow Nature tae take care o’. Bring her naught, nae food, nae water."
Everyone left. Everyone except Galdus, and he was the one she really wanted gone.
She tried to get up, but his control and her exhaustion made it impossible. She would rest a bit and try again, because if she didn't get out, she was going to die here.
Chapter Fifteen
Battered and bruised, thirsty and exhausted, Lauren saw spots in the air, growing bigger and bigger. At the same time, she grew lightheaded, her knees gave out, and she slumped surprisingly slowly down onto the cold stone floor.
The next thing she knew, she was in one of the strange bedrooms in the huge underground palace beneath Dunskey Castle. Every other time she'd shown up in Kelsey's dream version of her real-life jobsite, she’d been seated on one of the many thrones in the great hall, with Jessica and Katherine on thrones beside her. This time was much different. She was in the oddest bed. It was made of stone and shaped like a bowl, filled with handmade bedding. It was oddly comfortable, wide enough that most of her body lay on the bottom, but her legs and upper torso were propped up by the sides of the bowl. As she contorted her body to get to a standing position, she wondered why anyone would have such a strangely shaped bed and how they got out of them.
Kelsey's voice greeted her from across the room. "I think you should stay right there."
"Very funny," Lauren told one of her oldest friends from the Renaissance Faire, back in their teens. "I know you control this dream, so just get me out, already."
"Very well, but only because you asked so nicely.”
The best thing about Kelsey's dream realm was that Galdus couldn’t penetrate it. He wouldn't hear what went on and he couldn't influence what she said or did. This was Kelsey's personal dream realm, and Kelsey had complete control of it.
Just like that —the way it always is in dreams— Lauren was out of the bed and standing.
"So what are you doing asleep at this hour?" Kelsey asked with concern in her face. "I’m surprised to find you, but glad." With this last bit, Kelsey gave Lauren a quick hug and started to pull away.
Lauren clung to her friend,. "Tell me you can get me out of this mess, Kel. Galdus has gotten so he can control my movements. I can't do anything to resist him. He completely takes over my body and controls what I do. It's frightening. And that's not all.”
As she spoke this next bit, she remembered it and Kelsey made it part of the dream. It played like a holographic movie, all around them.
“Right now I'm in a dungeon locked in a cell inside a castle that's been taken over by the enemy, Donald MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. Leif and Taran fought him in a battle today, and I don't even know if they’re alive — but the worst part is Taran thinks I've gone over to his enemy, Kel! I haven't of course. I was just trying to get on Donald’s good side while I waited for Galdus’s Druid friend Roland to return and take Galdus off my hands. I had to make nice so Donald wouldn't kill me. I also had to touch Taran to save his life, so now Galdus can hear his thoughts. For a brief time, Taran and I could hear each other’s thoughts and it was wonderful! But Galdus ruined it all by not letting Taran hear my thoughts while I was stuck in a bedroom talking to Donald in the castle! Oh, and Katherine disappeared. I think she went to another time."
Kelsey hugged her fiercely. "Lauren, I will get you out of there. I will send help. Hold on, do you hear me? Hold on. I have to go so that I can get you out, but I will get you out, do you hear?"
"I hear you," Lauren whined, "I hear you, and in my mind I understand, but I don’t want you to go. Can you take me with you? Are we going to somebody else's dream?"
Kelsey stroked Lauren's hair and held her face tenderly against her own. "No, I'm not just going to someone else's dream. I have to wake up and go talk to somebody who can help us. His dreams are shielded, and he's not asleep right now."
Lauren soaked up all her friend’s affection and comfort and then took a deep breath and let go of Kelsey. "Okay. Please, please, do what you need to. Just get me out of this dungeon cell. Donald has told everyone not to bring me any food or water. He’s going to let me die of thirst."
Kelsey looked through Lauren for a moment and then her eyes widened in sympathy and shock. "Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? Before I go, there is one person we can bring into the dream to help you." She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, and then an older woman was with them, in the strange bedroom beneath Dunskey Castle. She had wise brown eyes and long curly gray hair. She was wearing a luscious green gown that looked all at once like emeralds and grass and the ocean. She raised her eyebrows in curiosity as she looked at Lauren, and then she too looked right through Lauren and gasped, taking hold of both of Lauren's hands and lightly pressing her forehead again
st Lauren's forehead. "Kelsey, you waited almost too long to get me. Be as still as you can, child. Still your thoughts and let me use all your energy for healing you."
Blissfully asleep and unaware of her body, Lauren didn't know if whatever the woman was doing was working or not. After a few moments the woman nodded at Kelsey and then vanished.
Lauren's friend hugged her again in the dream. "This can't wait, Lauren. I need to go right away, sorry. But you won’t be alone long. Just hold on. One way or another, I will get you help."
Kelsey let go then and backed away. "Remember, I'm getting you help. You aren't alone. Just hold on. Got it?"
Lauren pulled herself together and nodded at her friend with confidence. "Thank you Kelsey I know you will help me. I can hold on."
Lauren had a few other dreams, the usual type. Talking to somebody she hadn't seen in years about why she'd bought a Mustang and not a Corvette. Trying to hang a pair of pants only to find they just would not go through the hanger but instead kept insisting on going over or under the hanger. Petting her dog she hadn't seen since she was a child.
And then at last it was time, and she woke up.
This time she knew exactly where she was when she opened her eyes. Her dungeon cell was small, maybe 8' x 5'. It held no bed and no bucket, nothing but herself. It was all made of stone except the wooden door, which had a tiny barred window that didn’t close and only showed the stone of the deep dungeon hallway. Perhaps some prisoners were lucky enough to have food and water passed to them through this hole.
The best news was that her injuries were healed and she was no longer exhausted.
And then Lauren jumped at the sight of a face looking at her through the window.
Chapter Sixteen
Jessica was back in nursing school, only she couldn’t find her patients. She kept running down long empty halls, desperate to find the people she was supposed to be caring for but not seeing them anywhere. All she found were empty beds which hadn’t even been slept in. Regardless, she had devoted herself to caring for people. She had to keep looking.
