How selfish you’ve become Caroline. They took you in and cared for you without question, and you couldn’t even give them the decency to explain.
Something inside told her being here…in this time was no accident. It was her destiny. Ian was her destiny. She only had one question for herself. Was she going to tempt destiny and Delilah’s Fae, or would she take the coward’s way out and leave? No. Being able to walk away from a deadly car accident without a scratch was not just a miracle…it was fate. Though she had only been four years old at the time, Caroline’s grandmother’s words came back to her at that moment. “Bless your heart child. You have had your share of burdens for one so young, but one day your true purpose will be revealed. Never doubt my words, Caroline. You have a purpose to fill in this world, and fill it you will.”
The niggling voice of doubt continued to persist. Caroline called out. “Diana! Wait!”
“Wait? Wait! The standing stones are through these trees.” Diana mumbled under her breath “What Ian sees in such a weak, mewling…”
Caroline didn’t make out the last part of the rant, but she wasn’t going to the stones. At least, she didn’t plan to follow this woman anywhere until she spoke with Ian and gave him a chance to defend himself against Diana’s accusations.
Boy, this chick needs some little pink pills. Caroline started to think the woman lacked any heart. Despite, Caroline’s fear of the dark or the injuries to her feet, Diana was hell bent on getting her out of here. “This isn’t right. I can’t leave…at least not like this. I’m not a coward. I need to talk to Ian first.”
Diana’s eyes widened and her pupils swallowed the bright blue of her eyes until they were two black pools, Caroline watched her slow approach. Why couldn’t she move? Her feet were rooted to the ground where she stood.
“Ye want to talk about what is right, Miss. High and Mighty? She jabbed a finger into Caroline’s shoulder. “Do ye know what ye have taken from me?”
What could she have possibly taken from this woman? Caroline shook her head confused.
Diana’s lips pulled back and she bared her teeth. “Ian should have been mine!”
“But you said Ian used you. That…” The back of Diana’s hand cracked across her face and sent her flying to the ground.
“Just shut up!” Stunned, Caroline looked up from where she landed and held her face. The metallic taste of blood pooled at the corner of her mouth. “I have no idea what you’re talking about?” She flicked a tongue at the corner of her lips, as she braced her arms and stood. When she was back on her feet, she took a few steps back.
Diana’s face hovered within inches of her own. “Och, ye do no’. Your presence fulfills the prophecy. Just as the Tir Nam Famhair saved that ole’ biddy, Mo Daol…it has brought ye here. I saw it in your eyes this morn…in the hall. Ye had a vision. Did ye not?”
Caroline’s mouth parted. “How did you know? I told no one.”
“It is of no matter, but what ye saw was a forewarning. Tis why the book has sent ye forth to this time and us. As with Mo Daol, ye will save the MacLaine line, as a brood mare…and your gift of sight. Perhaps, ye may have already done so, but I will not give up so easily.” Diana circled her like a wolf waiting for the precise moment to attack. The vein in the healer’s forehead pulsated, and the skin on her neck and cheeks turned red.
“No matter how hard I tried, Ian would not have me. Ye are here less than a sennight and he takes ye to his bed. Whore!” Spittle flew from her mouth. “Well, if I canno’ be rid of ye…I can certainly find the right herb to rid your body of any MacLaine heir.” Caroline shoved Diana’s hand away when she placed it upon her abdomen.
As Diana paced before her, blackness began to shroud the woman’s form. Diana was pure evil. It became clear to Caroline that this was the sultry redheaded vixen from her vision. “You planned on killing him. Didn’t you?” Caroline’s voice choked up at the realization.
Diana looked down and gave her a wry grin. “Aye, and I would have if ye had not barged into his chamber.”
Diana’s hand went to the hem of her own gown, slid her hand up her thigh and pulled a jewel-encrusted dagger in the palm of her hand. Caroline’s eyes widened as the other woman twisted the steel blade in her hand and recognized it as the one from her vision.
“Looks familiar, does it not? While ye have made quite a mess of my plans…”
She couldn’t listen to anymore. Diana was insane, and she needed to gain her bearings from the unexpected blow, get back to Moy and warn Ian.
Diana said the stones were just beyond the trees. I shouldn’t believe a word she says, but it’s the last bit of hope I have for finding my way back to Moy. I’m so sorry, Ian. I should never have doubted you.
Picking the precise moment to run was high on Caroline’s list. Her eyes never left Diana’s. As each second passed, Caroline’s heart raced faster and faster. The sound of her blood pulsing in her ears pounded in her head.
Run now.
Caroline took off through the trees. She didn’t have to look back to know Diana was close on her heels. Her tinier stature was no match for Diana’s tall form and longer strides. The feel of Diana’s arms wrapping around the lower half of her legs caused her to topple. She hit the ground hard. Caroline lay upon her stomach, as Diana’s legs straddled over her back pinning her to the ground.
“The only place ye’ll be going is back to your own time.” Diana’s chest heaved, as she spoke.
Still lying upon her stomach, Caroline opened her fist and feigned surrender. As soon as Diana turned her over onto her back, Caroline let her fist fly. The feel of Diana’s teeth gouging the bony flesh of her knuckles stung, but the blow was strong enough to send the other woman sailing straight onto her backside. “Your words confirm what I should have known all along. This is where I belong!”
Caroline jumped to her feet and ran toward the trees. The wounds upon her feet reopened, as the soft cloth surrounding her foot filled with a sticky warmth. No sounds came from behind her and Caroline hoped that meant Diana did not follow. Errant branches reached out, tore at her gown, and scratched at her face.
As the trees thinned out, Caroline could see the familiar sight of the erected stones. Diana had spoken true. It was the one thing the woman had been honest about. Through the breaks in the trees, she could see the path that would lead her back to Moy. To Ian. She didn’t care how far she needed to run or how much pain she was in, she wasn’t stopping until she reached home. Home? This was home, and she wasn’t leaving.
From out of nowhere the pounding sound of hooves, echoed from behind her. Caroline dared a peek from over her shoulder. Terror tore down her spine, at the sight of an unfamiliar man riding a large horse at a full gallop in her direction. Did he think to run her down? With the last thought, she exerted herself harder, only to find her feet lifting from the ground beneath, as the rider hauled across his lap.
While the rider slowed his horse to a trot and turned around in the path, Caroline never ceased her struggle for freedom.
“Enough wench!”
She responded by sinking her teeth through the fabric of his trews and into his thigh.
“Oww!” He slammed a fist to the side of her head and shoved her to the ground. “Ye bitch!”
The air fled from her lungs when she hit the ground. Still dizzy, Caroline tried to crawl away. It was futile. The strange horseman was off his mount and dragging her up onto her unsteady feet by the back of her dark brown locks. She could already feel the swelling in her left eye. Using the unaffected one, Caroline looked at her accoster. “Whoever you are, you need to let me go. There is a crazy redheaded woman chasing me. I need to get to Moy. Will you help me?”
There was a lecherous glean in the man’s eyes, as he looked her up and down. “So ye are the MacLaine’s whore?”
Again with the whore? Were these people insane? She must be the sleaziest virgin in the entire kingdom!
Caroline did not intend to respond to the man’s insult. It was obvious he
was just a dirty man, and no friend to Ian. Her eyes widened at his next words.
“Did ye misplace someone, Diana?”
An enraged Diana stalked toward them, a small amount of blood oozed from her brow. “Aye.”
“What of our plan, Diana? Did ye think to covet the Tir Nam Famhair for yourself?”
“Nay, of course not, Damon.” Her voice quavered. “I was just getting the wench. Without her, we canno’ access the power to reach the tome. I was saving us a bit of time.”
“Aye. Well, tis no matter now. I am here and ye will uphold your end of the bargain.” Damon dragged her, as he tethered his horse to a nearby shrub.
Caroline was still in Damon’s tight grasp while he and Diana exchanged words. They were in on this together. Well, she had no intention of making this easy for either of them. The fear that hindered her entire youth was now channeled into something Caroline was yet to understand. Was it strength? Survival? Either way Damon and Diana were set on the MacLaine’s destruction and they intended to use her to aid them.
“Place her at the center of the stones, Damon. Let us see this done.”
At Diana’s request, the foul man began to drag her toward the stones. Caroline dug her heels into the earth. No! She couldn’t leave Ian. I don’t want to leave him. In one fell swoop, Damon lifted her over his shoulder, walked within the circle, and dropped her to the ground at its center. Plagued by exhaustion, Caroline found it harder and harder to fight back. Fresh blood soaked through the thin slippers upon her feet, making it difficult for Caroline to stand. Damon’s brows drew together in confusion. That’s when it came to Caroline…nothing was happening. Unlike her arrival, there was no green light, no eerie sense of watchful eyes or unexplainable jolts of power flowing through her veins. Mo Daol’s words came back to her in that instance, “Listen to your heart, Caroline. It knows true.” The magic, which brought her here, could no longer be accessed. Her heart, her soul, was a part of this place. A part of Ian.
“It’s useless, Diana.”
The evil Fae woman jerked her head in Caroline’s direction and daggers shot from her eyes.
A giggle escaped out of Caroline. Before long, the giggles turned to a happy laughter. She was where she belonged. The sight of Diana’s tantrum outside the circle sent Caroline into a fit of laughter. “Hahahaha, Diana! Don’t you get it? The heart of one’s desires can only access the key’s magic. Even the key knows where my heart lies. My destiny is here.”
Overwhelmed by the love she felt for Ian, for this clan and for this land, Caroline never saw Diana approach until the leather cord that held the key tore through the flesh of her neck. Her hand came to her chest at the keys absence. “No Diana! Give it back!”
“Shut up ye fool! Can nothing play out, as I plan? I will get that damn book myself!” Diana thrust her between two of the granite pylons and back into Damon’s clutches. “Do not let her go.”
Standing in the midst of the circle, the wind stirred and lifted the hem of Diana’s skirts. The woman closed her eyes and clutched the yellowed bone key to her chest. Leaves rustled and spun in a whirlwind around them as Diana chanted in a foreign tongue. Then all went still. Diana stood still encompassed within the stones. No vortex. No magic.
“I told you.” Came Caroline’s elated response.
Diana’s eyes flew open. “Tis not possible.” Her face paled at the realization.
“I heard Mo Daol speak of the Tir Nam Famhair. It works only toward the good of the MacLaine’s, Diana. I saw your aura back in the woods. Blackness reeks all around you. You want to harm Ian’s clan…your own clan. I can see why you were banished.”
A deep chuckle shook at her back.
Diana’s face reddened at Damon’s ill-timed humor. “Do not laugh!”
“Ye and your powers are worthless, Diana. Tis as I suspected. The blacker your heart becomes, the weaker ye are. It does not matter how many men have put ye on your back.” He laughed again.
With a volatile screech, Diana ran at them dagger in hand. “Aiiiiiiieeeeee!” Using her as a human shield, Damon tightened his grasp around Caroline’s waist as a crazed Diana went on attack. The steel blade came down in an arc above her head. She didn’t want to die, not when she just started to live…and love. For the second time, in less than a week, she latched onto a strange man’s balls and wrung them like the neck of a Christmas goose. Damon’s hold loosened. Time slowed down, as Caroline leaned to her right and out of the line of the oncoming dagger. Bile rose at the back of her throat, as the feel of the cool blade slid through the meaty flesh at the back of her arm. Shouldn’t she feel something? Pain? She felt nothing. Everything within her went numb. The world before her tilted, as she clasped her hand over the wound. No pain. No sting, but a chill ran down the length of her spine. Soon the cold consumed her entire body, as she fell through the air. Her body jolted, as it hit the earth and visions of white billows against a blue backdrop came into view.
The feel of warm blood oozed down Caroline’s left arm. She pulled the limb toward her mid-section in an attempt to staunch the flow against her own body. Caroline pressed her chin to her chest and tried to exam her wound. Bile rose at the back of her throat at the sight of the vast amount of blood now covering her gown, but nothing could prepare her for the thud of Damon’s dead weight hitting the earth a few feet away. The end of Diana’ dagger still protruded from his chest. His lifeless eyes were open and stared into nothingness and blood dripped from his mouth.
Diana yanked her blade from Damon’s heart, and Caroline knew she was next.
“Tis over now. Neither of ye will interfere with my plans to gain my rightful place, as Lady of Moy.”
Despite the loss of blood, Caroline struggled to use her good arm to stand. When she collapsed back to the ground, Caroline dragged her weakened body across the dirt, and out of Diana’s reach. How could she possibly fight a deranged Diana? When all hope seemed lost, a low growl sounded not far away, and Diana halted. In a haze, Caroline caught a small glimpse of the gray beast, as he launched himself from out of the darkness of the trees. A high-pitched scream filled her ears and all went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ian’s stance remained rigid while he waited for Calum to close the door to his study. Seamus and Tam were escorting Argyll and Glenlyon back to their men, and the rest of his guard would ensure no Campbell remained on MacLaine land before the sunset this day. The door’s latch fell in place and Ian released a pent up breath.
A grim-faced Calum filled a glass with whisky. “Ye have made an even bigger enemy of Argyll.”
“Did ye wish me just to hand over Moy and scamper back to Dunnideer wit’ my tail between my legs?” Ian grabbed his own glass from the desk in front of him and tossed back the amber liquid.
Calum swirled the contents in his glass and crossed the room toward Ian. “Nay, I did not. I bid ye use caution. Ye have bested a Campbell at his own game, and Argyll’s anger is verra fresh.” Calum gave him a wry look. “Ye wounded his pride and it will take some time for it to scab over tis all I meant.”
“For the present time, I will not allow the women and children of Moy to stray too far from the keep and I will double the lookouts around our borders.” Ian scowled as he poured himself another dram.
Calum nodded. “Tis a sound plan.”
Now that Glenlyon approved the deed’s validity, Ian needed to seek out Caroline. It was not his baser needs that needed attending. Nay, it went deeper than that. To the core of his heart. The defeated look in Caroline’s eyes was still fresh in his mind, and it haunted him. If she only knew how the sun caused her dark eyes to twinkle and how close he came to changing his decision from just a mere glimpse of them, but he had not. He was right in this, was he not? Without his protection, Caroline would be at the mercy of an unfamiliar time and a foreign land as harsh as its history.
What takes Seamus and Tam so long to return?
The sooner they came back, the sooner Ian could seek out Caroline, and r
eassure her he had no intentions of letting her go…ever.”
The heavy iron-banded door of his study opened. Mo Daol peered into the room cautiously and scanned the length of the room. He did not miss the tight lines drawn across her brow.
“Have ye lost something, Mo Daol?” Ian tossed back the contents of his cup.
“Not something, but rather someone.”
Ian looked over to his brother and was glad to see he was not the only one confused by his grandmother’s words.
His brother asked, “Who is it ye have lost?”
“Caroline. I hoped she had come down to see ye. Have ye seen her?”
Ian’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. “What do ye mean ye can not find her?” His voice filled with panic, as he moved from behind his desk. “Was she not with ye and the women in the great hall.”
“Nay. After ye spoke with her earlier…she was upset. I sent her to the bed chamber to wash and change into a fresh skirt.” Mo Daol wrung her hands.
“Upset? Why was Caroline upset?” Calum asked defensively.
Mo Daol spoke up before Ian could respond. “Ian gave her the key and told her if anything were to happen to him, she should return to her time.”
Calum gave him an incredulous look. “Are ye a bloody idiot, Ian? Why would ye ask such a thing of her? Have ye grown tired of her so soon? Ye would debauch her in front of the clan, and then send her off! What if she is with child? Did ye think of that? Caroline could verra well be carrying Moy’s heir!” He stalked across the study toward Ian.
Ian grounded out. “Tis none of your concern, Calum. Leave off.” He pinned his brother with a murderous glare. Caroline was his to protect, and his alone. He would deal with Calum’s remarks later. Right now, they needed to find Caroline.
Ian walked across the room and retrieved his sword from where he left it against the wall earlier, and slid it into the sheath upon his back. “Has the entire keep been searched?”
“Aye. I do not think she ever went to her chamber. The clothes Greer laid out for her was left untouched, and the water in the ewer was full. Do ye think Argyll has anything to do with her disappearance?”
Kissed by the Laird (First Ladies of the Fae Book 1) Page 23
