“She did naught,” Colin repeated. “They walked down those steps. They walked a short way out in the field and the portal opened in front of them. They hugged each other and kissed, and then she stepped through it.”
Christie stared at him. “I cannae believe ye. It’s impossible.”
Colin nodded. “I ken it. I’m of your mind. I cannae believe it really happened, and I saw it with me own eyes.”
Christie studied the circle of men standing around him. He knew every one of these faces like he knew his own name. He read the truth written there for all to see. They all believed it because they all saw it. He couldn’t believe it, but it must have happened.
Ivy was gone, and Lachlan might as well be dead for all the good he would do his Clan. Christie squared his shoulders at his kinsmen. “Well, that makes me Laird, then.”
Colin nodded. “Aye.”
Christie didn’t really expect any argument, but he wasn’t expecting to just walk in and take over, either. Not only would none of them stand against him. They wanted him to take over. They needed a Laird of the Clan McLean, and he was it. They needed him.
He took a deep breath. “Right. Now listen to me, all of ye. I have seen a few things on the mainland. I dinnae have time to explain them now, so you’ll just have to trust me and follow me orders to the letter. Are ye all agreed and prepared to do that?”
They all nodded.
“Then listen well. The portal Ivy went through is part of the curse. It’s coming for Duart, and if it strikes us, it’ll wipe out everything. It’ll destroy the castle. It’ll wipe out every man, woman, and child in our Clan. It’ll annihilate Mull, and the Chieftainship will pass to some other McLeans somewhere far away of us. Something’s coming. There’s a chance you’ll no’ see it. It might be invisible, like, or it might be some kind of flying monster the like of which we have seen afore. I dinnae ken which, but either way, it’ll be just as deadly and just as destructive. Ye must all be on watch for anything out of the usual, and ye must spread the word across the whole island. If anyone gets sick, I must hear about it. If any house or stable gets knocked down by mysterious means, I must hear that, too.”
His comrades stared at him with wide eyes, but no one said a word. They hung on his ever order.
“Now then, Clyde. Gather the fighting men together and arm them the way we did afore. Make certain our watches and patrols are all fit and alert. Arm the battlements to be ready at a moment’s notice.”
“Aye.” Clyde hurried away.
“Aiden, you’re to prepare the women and children for evacuation to the mainland.”
“The mainland!” he cried. “Surely no.”
“Ye heard my order, mon,” Christie returned. “When this thing strikes, the mainland’ll be the only safe place for them. Ronald, you’re to draw up all the papers transferring title from Lachlan to me, leaving Robert McLean my successor. Aiden, you’re to make absolutely certain Robert evacuates with the women.”
“He’ll no’ like that, mon,” Aiden pointed out. “If he’s to take over title of ye if ye should fall, he’ll need to prove himself in battle to the rest of the Clan.”
“He can prove himself by leading the evacuation. Make him understand he’s acting as my proxy to our relations. That’ll pacify him.”
Aiden turned to go. “Aye. I’ll see to it.”
The two Montgomery brothers left to carry out Christie’s orders. Only Colin remained behind. When they were alone, he spoke in an undertone so only Christie could hear. “Are ye sure about this? In the past, it always started with a small attack and built up over time. We have had no incursion at all to give us a notion what’s coming.”
“We have had an incursion,” Christie replied. “Ivy leaving was the incursion.”
“That was no attack,” Colin pointed out. “That was…well, it wasnae exactly naught, but something close to it.”
“It wasnae naught by a long mile,” Christie replied. “If ye had seen what I have seen, you’d understand. Ye willnae see, though. That’s the rub, so ye must believe me when I tell ye the iron’s already been struck. It’s been struck a long time ago, and we’re well behind the ball. We must race to make up for lost time afore it’s too late.”
Colin peered into his eyes. “I can see it on ye. I dinnae understand, but I can see that ye have seen, and that’s enough for me. It’s ye I’m worried on. I have seen so many men fall in this war, and now with Lachlan gone, I dinnae think I can live to see the same thing happen to ye.”
Christie turned his eyes away from the man. He couldn’t let his cousin see he’d already gone the same way as Lachlan. He’d lost his heart. He could only do his best to defend the Clan now. He long since gave up winning anything for himself.
He squeezed Colin’s shoulder. “Dinnae give me a second thought, mon. I’m already gone. Just arm the Clan and do your best no’ to think.”
“All right, mon,” Colin replied. “I’ll do it your way, and when this is all over, perhaps there’ll be something left over for the likes of us.”
He walked away. Christie opened the castle door and gazed out at the land stretching away south into moors, hills, and forest. Right out there in front of the castle, a portal opened and took Ivy back to her own world.
He didn’t understand what it meant, but it must have been one of the temporal portals the Faery King mentioned, the same portals that opened along the Urlu border. Now it was here, and it struck the first blow.
Were these strange occurrences the shades of things to come, or were they just deranged visions born out of Christie’s worst nightmares? He didn’t know, but one thing he could count on. If the portal appeared here and took Ivy away, it was only a matter of time before the trolls appeared, too.
When that happened, the battle would be on. Christie could only hope and pray the trolls showed themselves before they struck down the whole fighting force with disease. He would rather the Clan go down fighting than bleeding to death in their beds.
He turned away and shut the door. He had his own business to attend to, and he spent the rest of the day attending to it. He finalized the paperwork with Ronald. He reviewed the defenses and the training.
Aiden approached him on the roof. “If ye dinnae mind a word, my Laird.”
“For Heaven’s sake, mon,” Christie muttered, “dinnae call me that.”
Aiden jumped. “Why no’? Are ye no’ the Laird now?”
“Ye have never called me that, and ye never will if I have anything to do with it. Lachlan’s still alive. Am I right? I’m acting in his stead. That’s all.”
Aiden frowned and rubbed his chin. “Of course. If ye say so.”
“What did ye want to talk to me about, mon?” Christie asked.
“It’s the women fighters, my…I mean, mon. It’s the women Ivy organized to fight. I have given them a few lessons—no’ much. They still want to fight, but I dinnae like to put them in harm’s way when they’re no’ prepared for it, if ye catch my meaning.”
“Aye, I do,” Christie replied. “Ivy and the others werenae ready when they fought, either, and they stood their ground and conquered. I believe they’ll rise to the occasion, but I also believe there’s a way to accomplish both aims in one stroke.”
“What’s that?”
“Assign them to Robert’s party,” Christie replied. “Give them a rousing speech about how they’re needed to ensure the survival of our Clan, and post them as guards around the evacuation. They’ll ship out to the mainland with the others and get their fighting in, likewise.”
Aiden grinned. “Brilliant. That’s brilliant.”
“On ye go,” Christie told him.
The more time that passed, the more Christie rested easy in his mind over the situation. Maybe he could handle this attack. Maybe, just maybe, there was some way they could get through this and survive the way they always did before.
He ran through everything he knew about this curse. He stood at his window and gazed out over the is
land while he considered the possibilities. The curse wouldn’t attack unless Alexis was nearby.
His heart leapt when he thought about seeing her again, but even if she did show up just long enough to defeat the trolls, she wouldn’t stay. She never did, and he couldn’t hope she would do it now. She would vanish before his eyes the way she always did before.
Someone knocked on his door. He answered without turning around. “Come in.”
Footsteps entered the room, and the door latch clicked shut. Someone came up behind him. “I ken that look.”
Christie spun around. “Lachlan! What’re ye doing here, mon?”
His brother cocked his head to examine Christie. “That’s the same look I have had looking out on the place where she left. It tears a man’s heart out to lose the one ye love.”
Christie looked away. “I dinnae ken anything about that.”
“I willnae ask what happened between ye two on the mainland,” Lachlan replied. “I can see it in your eyes, and now she’s gone, just like Ivy.”
Christie’s eyes migrated back to the window. “Dinnae talk about that anymore, mon. I dinnae want to talk about it.”
“It hurts, I ken,” Lachlan replied.
Christie spun around to face him. “How could this happen? How could Ivy go back through the portal to her own time? It’s impossible.”
“Ronald had me sign my own document releasing the title to ye,” Lachlan replied. “He told me what ye said about these portals being part of the curse. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
“But why Ivy?” Christie asked. “From what I ken about the portals, they send the curse monsters through to here. They have never taken the women through the other way afore.”
“No’ afore,” Lachlan replied, “but maybe that’s what they’re doing now.”
“But that would mean they’re taking…” Christie froze. The words wouldn’t come out.
Lachlan studied him. “You’re worried about Alexis, are ye no’? You’re worried the portal will take her back where she came from.”
Christie whirled away. He stormed off to the door. “I dinnae want to talk about it.”
He charged downstairs. He couldn’t think about Alexis going back to her own time through one of those portals. He couldn’t entertain the possibility that he would never see her again. That was out of the question.
He gave her his heart. He couldn’t take it back. They were joined, now that they exchanged powers. They had to come together to use that power. He had to cling to that, no matter what, or his whole world would collapse.
He entered the Great Hall and found his cousins and the Montgomerys in discussion. They opened their circle to welcome him. “All the defenses are ready,” Colin told him.
“The women and children evacuate in the morning,” Aiden added. “They’re all just as keen as they can be, and Robert is mustering his army of women guard like ye wouldnae believe.”
Christie bit back a smile. “So much the better. How many men have ye got on the roof?”
The Montgomerys stared at him with their jaws hanging slack. Ronald closed his mouth and opened it again, but no sound came out. Christie realized they were looking at something over his shoulder, and he turned around to see.
There stood Lachlan in the doorway. He listened to their conference. Lines of care marked his eyes and forehead, but he was the same old Lachlan that Christie knew all his life.
Lachlan shrugged. “Do ye mind if I join ye?”
“Come on.” Christie moved to make room for Lachlan in the circle. “We were just going over the defenses of the castle.”
“Carry on,” Lachlan replied. “I’ll no’ interfere with your decisions.”
“Lachlan, mon,” Ronald began, “do ye no’ think ye ought to…”
“Christie can handle it,” Lachlan interrupted. “I’m no’ here to take over as Laird. He’ll do a perfectly good job of it. I’m here to put myself at your service, lad. Use me where ye see fit.”
Christie blushed. “Thank ye, mon. I’m doing my best.”
“You’re doing a mite better than that,” Colin growled.
“Ye were discussing how many men ye had on the roof,” Lachlan prompted.
“Aye,” Colin replied. “We have…”
At that moment, something slammed hard in the entrance hall nearby. A howling screech tore through the castle, and the biggest cloud of the flying trolls that Christie ever saw came swooping into the hall. In seconds, they attacked everyone without warning.
Chapter 22
Alexis jolted awake. She whipped around fast to stare in all directions. “Where…what’s…”
James Stewart leaned against a tree trunk nearby. He inspected his fingernails. “You’re all right now. Calm down.”
Alexis stared all around her. “Where…what’s going on?”
“As ye can see,” he replied, “there’s naught going on. There’s naught doing but ye and me talking under a tree.”
She looked right and left. He was right. They sat under a tree at the edge of a wide open field. They were the only two people for miles. “What…what happened?”
“Ye attacked me. That’s what happened,” he replied. “Ye tried to kill me, and the Watch would have killed ye if I hadnae ordered them to spare your life.”
Alexis sank down on the moss. “I’m so sorry, James. I don’t know what came over me. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Ye certainly werenae thinking,” he shot back. “That’s about the last thing ye were doing.”
Alexis cradled her head in her hands. “I feel like Hell.”
“That’s the voltage inducers,” he replied. “When ye have been hit as many times as ye were, you’re bound to have a bit of a hangover.”
She closed her eyes. “Christ, don’t remind me.”
He pushed himself off the tree. “You’re safe now, but ye cannae come back to Faery. I’m sorry to tell ye, but you’ll have to leave.”
“Is that the penalty for trying to kill the King?” she asked. “I deserve a lot worse.”
“It’s no’ the penalty for trying to kill the King,” he replied. “The penalty for trying to kill the King is execution.”
“Then why are you only banishing me?” she asked.
He squatted down in front of her. “I’m no’ banishing ye, lass. I cannae take ye back to Faery. I couldnae take ye back even if I wanted to. You’re something else, and the cure for what ails ye lies elsewhere. I cannae help ye with this curse, and I cannae help ye with that wolf that’s driving ye crazy, either. I wish I could. I certainly do, but you’ll have to leave.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to lift the curse without your help?”
“Ye already ken the answer to that, and it’s the answer to the wolf, as well. Ye must go find Christie McLean. He’s the only one who can help ye now.”
“Christie!” she exclaimed. “I don’t want to go find Christie. I could have stayed with him, but I came to you instead. Now you’re throwing me out and sending me back to him?”
“Ye tried to suppress the wolf,” James told her. “Ye tried to shove it away, but it didnae work. Ye cannae get rid of it, now that it’s part of ye. If ye try, it’ll kill ye and it’ll kill a lot more people besides. The more ye try to suppress it, the stronger it’ll get. Ye need to let it out, and ye can only do that around your own kind.”
“My kind!” she cried. “Who and what are my kind?”
“Lassie,” he murmured, “there’s only one person on the face of the Earth that’s your kind now, and that’s Christie. I dinnae even have to tell ye this. Ye ken it in that heart of yours that he gave ye.”
Alexis’s chin sank onto her chest. “I’m really sorry I tried to kill you, James. I don’t know why I did it, but please don’t send me away. I’m Faery. Can’t you find a way to let me stay?”
“My sweet lassie,” he whispered, “shall I tell ye why ye tried to kill me? I kissed ye. Do ye remember? I kissed ye on
the cheek, and ye exploded. The wolf didnae tolerate another man kissing ye when Christie’s her mate. Ye dinnae belong anywhere near me or Faery. Ye belong with Christie. Go find him. He’s out there on the Isle of Mull where he belongs, and ye belong there, too. The place is crawling with wolves just like ye. You’ll no’ have to sit on it out there, and ye and Christie can lift the curse together. You’re the only ones who can.”
Alexis sighed. Why did she bother fighting this when she knew all along it was true? She came all this way to attack the man who tried to help her. Now it took him telling him the same thing before she would believe it.
She was bereft. He sent her away from Faery. She had no other refuge in the world. She had to go find Christie if it was the last thing she did. He and only he could make sense of everything that happened to her.
She got to her feet. “All right. I’ll go. I’m sorry about everything, James. I hope you can forgive me.”
“There’s naught to forgive, lassie,” he replied. “You’re still Faery. Once ye get this business sorted out, ye and Christie are always welcome in my kingdom.”
“Thank you, James.”
She put out her arms to give him a hug, but he jerked away. He held up his hands and backed up a step. “No, lassie. Dinnae touch me again. Ye belong to another man, and the she-wolf is jealous of her mate.”
Alexis blushed. She didn’t want to think of herself as a she-wolf. She didn’t want to have anything to do with being a wolf, but she couldn’t stay here.
James took a step back. He held out his hand, but he didn’t touch her. “Fare ye well, lassie. Take care of my darling ’til I see ye again.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he sank into the ground and vanished. Alexis’s shoulders slumped. She would have liked to drop into the ground and never be seen again. Instead, she was still alive, saddled with this intolerable burden known as her life.
She set off walking south. She never thought twice about using her power to transport herself to Mull. She certainly didn’t want to do anything to speed up the trip. She made it ten paces when a crippling spasm mangled her guts.
Curse Breaker (Phoenix Throne Book 7): A Scottish Highlander Time Travel Romance Page 15
