Shona didn’t answer. She couldn’t. He had trapped her in his gaze the moment their eyes met.
“How did he know where you live? Do you think he followed us yesterday?”
Shona merely shook her head, succumbing to the serene embrace of his eyes. Her whole body slumped in the seat and she unexpectedly sighed.
Kitty looked from the man to Shona and back to the man again. She then smiled broadly. “He must really like you. Oh, how romantic! He followed you home! Who knows how long he’s been there waiting for you to come out of the house.” Her face fell into a look of panic. “Wait a minute. You don’t think he’s one of those psychos that stalks girls do you?” She squeaked in alarm, yesterday’s encounter with the three hoods from the library still fresh in her mind.
She fumbled with the keys and finally after dropping them twice, crammed them into the ignition, started the car and began to slowly back up but realized the only way to turn around was to head toward the man. She certainly didn’t want to do that. Of course, she also didn’t want to have to back down the hill, as backing a car was not exactly her area of expertise.
She hit a neighbor’s mailbox. “Oh, rats!”
Shona’s gaze was still a prisoner. “He will not hurt us, Kitty.”
Kitty put the car in gear and crept forward a few feet. “How do you know?” She looked in her mirror at the hapless mailbox, now askew atop its wooden perch. She cringed at the sight and quickly glanced back to the man who had emerged from the tree and stood about twenty feet away in the middle of the street staring at them.
“I just do. I know he will not hurt us. I can… feel it.”
“What?” Kitty stared at the man, and then Shona as her face beamed. “Did the two of you talk yesterday at the library? Did he ask you out or something and you didn’t tell me?” She let her eyes wander back to the man who was giving Shona a warm smile. “I wish it was me…”
The man began to move toward them again.
“Uh, oh! What should we do?” Kitty’s foot slipped off the clutch and the car lurched forward once and suddenly died.
The man leaped from the middle of the street to the opposite side and looked ready to spring again.
Shona, now free from his hold, shook herself as she and Kitty took in the sight of him, half-crouched across the street. They realized he must have thought Kitty was going to run him over, and burst out laughing. They calmed themselves and looked at one another expectantly.
Kitty spoke first. “What should we do?”
Shona looked at the man, who was now standing up, eyeing the car suspiciously. “I do not know. Perhaps we had better go. My mother would not approve of him watching us.” She was surprised at the pain that accompanied her words. She didn’t want to leave him.
Kitty started the car, slipped it into gear and headed straight for him.
“Kitty, what are you doing?” Shona squeaked in panic.
Kitty pulled the car right up to him and rolled down her window. He backed up several steps, still eyeing the vehicle as if it would sprout wings. “Hi,” she chirped.
He said nothing and instead stood looking down at her.
Kitty glanced to Shona, who had her face buried in her hands, then grinned up at him. “We’re going to the library. You know the one we were at yesterday?”
The man still said nothing, but bent to one knee to look directly into the car at Shona. Kitty noticed his eyes brighten at the sight of her friend. Shona had lifted her face from her hands and now sat utterly transfixed by him.
“Well, see you later.” Kitty sped up the street, turned the car around where it widened slightly and slowly passed back by him. It was an obvious invitation to follow.
The man took it.
“What are you doing?” Shona turned in her seat to see the man trotting along behind them. “He is following us!”
“Well, you’re the one who said he was harmless. Now let’s see how badly he wants you.” Kitty shifted and sped up a little.
“Are you crazy? What do you want him to do, follow us all the way to the library?”
“If he wants you bad enough, he will. What better way to find out?”
“I do not believe I am letting you do this, Kitty!” She looked at her side mirror. “Oh no…”
“What? What is it?”
Shona looked over her shoulder again. “He’s not behind us any more.”
Kitty halted the car with a jolt and skid in her usual fashion. She looked in her rearview mirror, saw nothing and turned around to look out the back window. There was a cliff to the left, a steep hillside to the right.
“So where did he go?”
They both gasped and looked at one another. “Over the cliff ?” They cried in unison, and sped off again toward the next bend in the road, craning their necks toward the left. Once around the bend, they would know if they were right.
The car’s tires screeched as it sped around the corner, just in time for them to see the mysterious man all but leaping down one of the many sets of wooden stairs that climbed up the hillside for those hearty individuals brave enough to take them to the top. Needless to say, they weren’t used often.
Kitty made another of her infamous stops as her mouth dropped open. “Wow! Look at him go!”
Shona watched him with something between wonder and concern. He could get hurt running the stairs so fast. And he was doing it for her. She smiled.
“Gawsh, he’ll beat us to the bottom!” The car lurched and sped on.
“Do not go so fast Kitty. He will kill himself for God’s sake!”
“Doubtful.”
“Doubtful? Look at him. He will break his neck if he goes any faster!”
They rounded another bend in the road and lost sight of him for a moment. Kitty stopped the car again, and Shona flew forward and then slammed back into her seat with a hard jolt. “Now what are you doing?”
Kitty positively beamed. “Giving him a chance to slow down!”
“I do not believe this. Kitty, go!”
“Well make up your mind, will you?”
Shona took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, why she felt so, so… like, well, Kitty. She began to giggle. “Oh just go!”
The car hurled itself down the road and around the next bend. Kitty stopped the car yet again. Both girls flew forward then back against their seats with an audible “ummpf.”
“Look, he beat us!” Kitty whined.
The man leaped off the stairs a half block away just as a city bus pulled up to the curb directly beside him. He seemed not to notice the bus as he gave the girls a huge smile of triumph at having beaten them. Nor did he see the hands groping for him from the bus’s rear door.
The mysterious man was suddenly hauled from Shona and Kitty’s sight, pulled into the bus by heaven only knew.
“Oh my gawsh! He’s being kidnapped!”
Shona rolled her eyes. “He is not being kidnapped, Kitty. But we had better follow him.” She grinned automatically at the thought. “Just to make sure he is all right.”
The car jumped forward to follow the bus. For the first time in a very long time, Shona was having fun.
* * *
“What d’ye think yer doing, man? Trying to get me killed? Ye ken I hate these things!”
“What are we doing? What were you doing running down the hillside like a goat?” John countered his face crimson.
“They’ve left! Can ye no see ye’ve made me lose her? Let me off!”
“Dallan, calm down.” Lany grabbed one of the Scot’s arms and shoved him into the nearest seat. “Look behind you.”
Dallan, his face now almost as red as John’s, turned to look out the bus’s back window. The little red car was about fifty yards behind them.
He breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax a little, but not enough. The walls of the bus suddenly closed in around him, the familiar nausea rising.
“Dallan,” John began as he sat next to him. “Hold on
. We aren’t going far.”
Dallan’s stomach churned uncontrollably. He began to gulp for air and tried to rise.
“No, stay where you are. Don’t panic.” John pulled him back down.
“Don’t worry, Dallan. She’s following right behind us. You won’t lose her.” Lany stated calmly, eyeing him with concern.
Sweat popped out on Dallan’s brow and he could feel himself turn pale. He took a deep breath and glanced behind him. The little red car still trailed after them. He let the air slowly out of his lungs and took another deep breath. “Dinna let her out of yer sight, man.”
Lany put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled knowingly at him. “I won’t.” He sat down opposite Dallan and John, turning his body to the back of the bus to watch out the window.
The bus went a few more blocks and finally came to a screeching stop. The doors opened and Dallan lunged for them, throwing himself from the horrid contraption. He staggered across the sidewalk and leaned against the wall of a tall brick building. John followed to stand beside him while he waited for Lany to pay Dallan’s fare.
“Where are we?” Dallan’s voice shook. “I think… Oh, Saints.”
“Not in the middle of the sidewalk, Dallan. C’mon, it’s not far. You can be sick all you want at the shop.” John grabbed his arm and began to lead him away from the building.
Lany joined them and took Dallan’s other arm and helped support him. “You’re getting better each time you ride. You don’t seem to be as sick.”
Dallan looked down at him as he thought about giving full bodily dispute to Lany’s statement. His head still spun, he was finding it difficult to breathe, and thoughts of the wee lass, who was nowhere in sight, made his whole chest tighten. Where was she? He began to struggle.
“Calm down, Dallan, we’re here.” Lany pushed open the door of the shop, ushered the Scot inside and led him directly to the back through a curtained entry and into a small hallway. He and John deposited him in the bathroom and closed the door.
John winced at the first sounds of Dallan’s affliction and turned to Lany, “No interviewing today, agreed?”
Lany looked sympathetically toward the bathroom door, grimacing at the noise. “I spoke with Julia earlier. We’ll call her again in the morning and set something up for either tomorrow afternoon or evening. At least she's still willing to see us. With luck, we'll be able to learn exactly who this Brennan fellow is.” He took a step toward the door. “Uh, is he going to be okay? I have a strong feeling he’s about to get a visitor.”
John’s mouth dropped open. “By the Creator, I almost forgot about the Maiden.”
“I’ll tell Angus to keep an eye out for her.” Lany cut down the hall through another curtained opening and disappeared from sight.
John turned back to the door. Silence. “Dallan? Are you all right?”
The toilet flushed from the other side. Dallan opened the door, his face pale and sweaty, jaw shaking, breathing ragged. “Dinna make me get on one o’ those things ever again.”
John shook his head at Dallan’s appearance. Not only was he pallid, shaken and drenched in sweat, his hair was plastered to his head and neck, taking off in a variety of odd angles—the obvious aftermath of his run down the hillside and his recent bout in the bathroom. Not an attractive sight for the Maiden’s eyes.
“Inside. I have to make you presentable.” John pushed a tired Dallan back into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. He knew this might take awhile.
* * *
Shona walked cautiously to the front of the building and looked at the sign hanging over the door. “Antiques” was written in large Gothic black lettering, followed by, “Specializing in all Manner of Weaponry.” She turned to Kitty, who now stood beside her. “Are you sure you saw him go in here?”
“Sure I’m sure. The bus stopped a block away and let them off. There were two other guys with him but I don’t know who they are.”
“I did not see them. I was too busy looking for a place for you to park.” Shona took a deep breath. “I still cannot believe I am doing this.”
She opened the door and a tiny bell rang above them as they entered. It tinkled merrily in sharp contrast to the huge assortment of lethal-looking weapons arranged about the room. There were polished shields and swords, lances and pikes, maces, crossbows, knives, arrows and even suits of armor and chain mail.
“Wow,” Kitty managed as she closed the door with a loud thunk.
Shona jumped at the sound and bumped into an assortment of ancient-looking spears, sending one to the floor with a clatter. “Oh my.”
“Careful, Shona! You want to get us in trouble?” Kitty bent to pick up the fallen weapon.
“May I help ye?”
Kitty stood, spear held horizontal in her hands and spun toward the voice.
The spear’s butt end hit Angus square in the gut. “Ummpf.”
“Oh my gaaawsh, I’m so sorry!” Kitty spun the other way to put the weapon back and hit Angus in the arm with the point, slicing through his shirt and barely missing the flesh beneath.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Kitty flipped the spear up in a vertical position and hit a hanging display of shields. One fell at her feet, another near Shona and a third onto…
“Oh my gawsh! Sir, are you all right?”
Angus sat up and teetered a bit, his head throbbing where the edge of the shield had struck him. He glared up at her. “Are ye here to buy my weaponry or just to destroy me wi’ it?” He slowly got to his feet.
“We are terribly sorry, sir. We did not mean to knock anything over.” Shona spoke for the first time, her voice making the recent pain in Angus’s head disappear.
Angus stood and stared at her, dumbfounded. He’d never been this close to the Maiden before. “Just, uh, just be more careful. I wouldna want to see ye gets yerself hurt.”
Kitty replaced the spear and looked about. “Oh Shona, look at that!” She spun to her right, her purse swinging around with her, catching the arm of a suit of armor.
“Kitty, watch out!”
Too late. The entire suit lurched to one side with a loud metal creak. Kitty let go of her purse as she realized what was happening.
Angus leaped for the display, trying to catch it before disaster struck. The suit, now no longer tethered to Kitty, fell back into place with a clank, the impact sending it over in the opposite direction… right on top of Angus. The resulting crash was deafening.
“Oh my gawsh!” Kitty began to jump up and down in panic. “I think I killed him!”
A moan escaped from beneath the armor.
“Help me get it off of him, Kitty.” Shona quickly bent to the fallen mass of metal and tried to lift it, without much luck. She knew they should never have come in. And where was the mysterious man?
* * *
“Eaton, hurry, before the happy student from Kwaku’s School of Destruction moves to the top of her class!”
Another loud crash came from the front of the store, followed by a pain-ridden shriek from Angus. John opened the bathroom door, poked his head out and gave Lany a bewildered look. “What’s going on?”
The grating of metal on metal followed by the sound of shattering glass answered before Lany could. “Help! Get her away! Get her away!” Angus’s garbled voice screamed from beyond the heavy curtain.
“Quick! Send Dallan out there before the Maiden’s friend kills Angus!” Lany squeaked.
Dallan pushed his way past John. His hair was freshly combed, his clothes changed to a simple pair of athletic shorts and a long loose tank top, which, Lany noted happily, would be difficult to hide a weapon beneath.
The Scot raised a curious brow and started for the curtain.
* * *
“Pull, Kitty!” Shona strained against the suit of armor that had fallen on the old man.
Kitty grabbed one of the metal arms and gave it a yank. The arm came off, sending Kitty into the nearby spear rack.
Angus’s
eyes grew wide as the rack fell over on top of him.
Shona yelped and jumped out of the way of several falling spear blades, one of which managed to take a lock of her loosened hair with it. She sat and stared at the severed piece of hair, then glared at Kitty who, having picked herself up, was heading for the now whimpering pile of armor and spears.
“Okay, Shona. Let’s try again.” She grabbed a leg this time. Unfortunately it was Angus’s.
“Aaarrgh! Somebody save me!”
“Oh, gawsh, sorry about that!”
Shona crawled back over to help. She clutched at the suit’s breastplate, pulled hard… and the entire suit lifted easily. She started, stunned at what she’d done, before noticing there was another hand and arm attached to the breastplate as well. Her gaze slowly followed the length of arm up to a broad shoulder and came to rest in the warm embrace of a piercing set of eyes. His eyes.
The mysterious man set the mangled armor to one side then bent to pick up the severed arm. Shona, once again trapped by his eyes, barely noticed the shopkeeper climb haphazardly to his feet. The mysterious man stepped away from the mess on the floor, backed to the front glass counter and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest as he did. He watched her for a time, and then offered her a warm smile. Hello.
“Aarrrgh! Stay away from me ye she-de’il! Gets ye gone from my shop before ye kill me!”
“I didn’t mean to knock all that stuff on you, sir. I just wanted to see that pretty knife over there.” Kitty offered the shopkeeper her best pout.
“What knife?” Angus growled.
Kitty’s arm shot out to point the direction, hitting a still precariously balanced spear in the process. The spear sliced through the air, heading for Angus, who was trying to ignore the disastrous Kitty and pick up some of the mess on the floor.
RRRIIIIIIPPPP.
Kitty let out a scream, then a laugh. Angus, wide-eyed, slowly brought himself to a standing position. Loud, hysterical cackles could be heard coming from behind the heavy curtain as he turned his head to look over his shoulder.
Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) Page 28
