Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series)

by Bethany Claire

  CHAPTER 41

  The first few days of the journey, Morna rode hard. The last day, as we approached Cagair territory, she rode like a fiend.

  “Are you excited to see Jerry, or are you simply trying to get it over with? I really can’t tell.”

  Morna rode a few yards ahead of Callum and me, but she twisted to look back at us as she answered.

  “Both. Even though I’m liable to strangle the bastard as soon as I see him, I’ve missed him more than ye can know. In all the years we’ve been married, I’ve not spent this long away from him. At the same time, I dread what may occur between Grier and myself.”

  Callum spoke up as he moved our horse so that it walked in step with Morna’s.

  “Morna, I still doona know what happened between the two of ye, but I’ll not allow ye to cause her harm. We’ve had enough violence these past weeks without ye adding to it. Do ye ken?”

  She sighed before speaking. “Callum, I doona intend to harm her. She is far more likely to harm me than I am her.”

  “Why?” Both Morna and Jerry had been so vague about all of it for far too long. “We are bound to find out in a few minutes anyway. Just go ahead and tell us.”

  “Grier was my mentor. She taught me how to use magic. She guided me and cared for me during a time that was verra dark in my life. Jerry was the first man both of us ever loved.”

  I suspected as much the day I saw Jerry’s tears on the night of his heart attack.

  “And he chose you?”

  Morna shook her head and pointed to the small cottage in the distance.

  “As far as he believed, there was never any choice. Grier was his dearest friend, but I was the woman he loved. I think Grier always believed that deep down he loved her—that Jerry and I would run our course and then she would be there waiting. When I left and Jerry returned to the time from which he was born, she saw it as a betrayal.”

  “And you never saw her after that? At least, not until now?”

  “No. The last words she said to either of us were those of a curse. I’ve been frightened of her ever since.”

  “Morna, I truly doona think ye’ve need to be scared of her. ’Twas so long ago, she’s unlikely to be the same person she was then. Are ye?”

  Callum fell back, allowing Morna to take the lead toward the small cottage that lay in the distance. He knew she could sense where Jerry was.

  “No, we all change with time and circumstance. I shall listen, for ’tis evident to me now that perhaps that was her intention all along. She wishes to speak. So we shall.”

  I could make out a figure standing outside the cottage as we approached. As we neared, I knew it was Jerry. The hunch of his shadow gave him away.

  He stood, waving us forward, calling out to his wife as soon as we got within hearing distance.

  “Morna, lass. God, I’ve missed ye. Get over here.”

  She pulled her horse to a stop, dismounting with the grace of someone half her age as she ran the remaining distance to Jerry. For a moment, I feared she was going to jump up and wrap her legs around him—a move that was sure to send them both toppling to the ground—but she refrained, instead holding so tightly that as Callum and I rode up on our own horse, I worried Jerry would faint from lack of oxygen.

  “You better let him go. He’s looking rather pale, Morna.”

  “Ach, he’s always pale. I’m trying to decide if I wish to let him live or not.”

  Jerry laughed and pulled away from her only to wrap his arm around her and hold her close.

  “Ye doona get to be mad at me. In all our years together, I dealt with one foolish errand of yers after another. This is the first time I did anything ye wished me not to. Ye can forgive it.”

  Callum and I dismounted, leaving our horse to roam in the grass as we walked over to them.

  “Your head looks awful, Jerry.” I hugged him and reached to carefully inspect his stitches. “It looks like she did a good job, though.”

  “Aye, that she did, lass. My head is fine. ’Tis verra solid and large. I doona think I incurred any lasting damage.”

  I could sense Morna’s anxiety as she pointed to the door of the cottage.

  “Is she in there? Why is she hiding inside?”

  Jerry sighed, and I saw the same sadness in his eyes that I saw in them once before.

  “She’s dying, lass. There’s not much time left for ye to speak with her.”

  Chapter 42

  It’s a strange thing to watch a witch die. By all outer appearances, she looked fine. The only sign of inward trouble lay in her eyes. They held less spark, the color less vibrant. Morna sat carefully on the edge of the bed as she spoke with hushed tones while Jerry stood next to us to allow them some privacy.

  “What happened, Jerry?” I spoke quietly, careful not to draw attention. “Laird Allen said he saw the two of you safely here. He made no mention of Grier being ill.”

  “He did, lass. And she wasna ill. She’s not ill now. Witches doona die like the rest of us. They can be killed outright, but if no harm from another comes to them, their bodies only give out when they choose to release their power. Grier has started the process of releasing hers.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t imagine anyone making such a choice, but then again, I still had so much ahead of me. How many years had Grier lived on this Earth? How many loved ones had she lost? I was certain for each of us, there would be a time when we were indeed ready to leave.

  “Why doona ye step closer and listen? She explains all to Morna now.”

  Their greeting was terse, but I saw Morna soften as she sat next to her, even reaching for her hand to hold it in her own.

  “Morna, I’ll not lie to ye and say I dinna mean the last words I said to ye. At the time, I did. For a year, even two, I meant them. But then, as time does, it revealed the true way of things to me. Neither of ye wanted to hurt me. Ye simply did as ye were meant to.”

  Morna continued to rub the old witch’s hands, speaking in a soothing tone as she did so. “What helped ye, Grier? Ye were so angry—so bitter.”

  Grier smiled, and for a moment the fading light in her eyes sparked back to life.

  “I found the one my soul was truly meant for. It was not Jerry. I knew that the moment I met my Osgar. Every day after I met him—save the last year—I spent with him by my side. The moment I gave my heart to him, I lifted the curse I placed on the two of ye.”

  “He died?”

  Grier’s voice broke as she answered, and a single, heartbreaking tear ran down her face. “Aye. I knew the day he left this world that I would follow him soon, but I couldna make myself leave until I saw all that I loved well and cared for. The first was Cagair, the day of the fire. The second, Jerry—I could see the trouble brewing in his heart, and I knew yer oath to never use magic upon him. I made him no such promise, and I knew I had to make sure he lived for yer sake.”

  Grier paused and waved Jerry over so he would join them. She only resumed speaking once he sat on her other side.

  “Sydney and Callum were my third, though in truth I simply matched them for old time’s sake. We had such fun before, dinna we, Morna?”

  Morna nodded and turned to smile back at Callum and me.

  “Aye, we did.”

  “Ye and Jerry are all I’ve left to care for. I needed to speak with ye, needed ye to know that I still love ye both and always have. When I release my power, I’m gifting it to ye, Morna. The portal at Cagair, this domain will be yers. Open it back or not, ’tis up to ye. Now, both of ye kiss me, for I’m weary.”

  Grier died beautifully, smiling and at peace.

  “Tell me ye intend to marry her, Callum.”

  Callum turned his head quickly, glancing behind to make certain Sydney couldn’t hear them. He walked arm-in-arm with Morna as they made their way back to the portal so the witch could open it for the first time under her domain.

  He smiled at her question. He’d thought much on it these past days.

  “Aye,
I intend to ask her, though not yet.”

  “Why? Surely what we just witnessed proved that ye should hold on to those ye love as tightly as ye can. For ye will miss them more than ye can imagine once they’re gone.”

  He squeezed Morna’s arm to comfort her.

  “I’ll be holding her tightly every night for the rest of my life, but there is none in Sydney’s life she loves more than her family. I doona think it right that I ask her without knowing them first.”

  “Ah, Callum, ye are the wisest of men. Ye are thoughtful and kind, and she will love ye for it. Ye will invite them to the castle, then?”

  “Aye. Though, there’s actually something I meant to speak with ye about. I doona think it fair I ask them to pay for their flight…”

  Morna interrupted him mid-sentence.

  “Doona worry about that at all, lad. I’ve some magical cards that will work just fine but cost nothing.”

  Callum laughed, but he would gladly accept Morna’s help. He had little in the way of twenty-first century funds.

  “Do ye not consider that fraud?”

  “O’course ’tis fraud, but I’m a witch not a saint. Do ye wish me help or not?”

  He hurried to reassure her. “I do—verra much so. I also wish to seek yer counsel on another matter?”

  Morna knew his question before he asked it.

  “Aye, lad. Ye must tell her family, though let’s go about it in a better way than we did with Sydney, aye? If I know the lass, she willna be willing to give up her job at the castle, which means ye will both be living verra much in two different times. It will be so much easier on her if her family knows.”

  He agreed. He just didn’t know how to go about telling them. It was such an ordeal with every new person that knew.

  “How do we tell them?”

  “What about this, lad? I would love to be there when ye asked her anyway. Why doona ye send word to me when ye know for certain when her family is arriving, and Jerry and I will come back up for the weekend. I shall give them a little something just to open their minds a bit and make them more accepting to the news. If ye wish, I’ll even tell them myself, make certain they know and believe it before Sydney even knows they’ve arrived.”

  Callum smiled as they reached the top of the portal. He wouldn’t have been able to come up with a better plan himself.

  “I knew I loved ye for a reason, Morna. Now open up the portal so we may call this day good and done.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Cagair Castle – Present Day

  One Month Later

  “Are ye certain ye can keep her distracted until I come back for her?”

  Callum didn’t know what he was thinking leaving his brother in charge of keeping watch over Sydney, but as busy as everyone was making preparations, he was really the only choice he had.

  “Aye. I already know what to tell her. She’ll enjoy the morning alone in yer castle, I’m sure of it.”

  Callum didn’t have time to worry about it further. Morna was speaking with Sydney’s parents and sister at that very moment. Once she finished, he would have a very important conversation with her father.

  “Fine. Then go before she finishes her run and realizes I’ve come forward through the portal. I doona know how long ’twill be before I’m ready, but doona let her pass through that stairwell until I return.”

  Adwen gave his word and ran off toward the portal, leaving him to gather his nerves before he went to check on Morna’s success letting them in on the magical truth.

  He’d already met them and visited with them every moment of the ride from the airport. Callum thought them as kind and lovely and full of life as Sydney, and he couldn’t wait to call them family. Assuming, of course, her father granted him permission to ask in the first place.

  Cautiously, he peered into the sitting room to listen in on Morna’s words. She must have sensed his presence for she turned immediately, smiling widely as she waved him into the room.

  “Come here, Callum. I was just telling Sydney’s family all about how Sydney’s spending the morning in the seventeenth century. They think it is lovely.”

  Callum walked up behind Morna’s chair where he could see their expressions. They didn’t appear spelled or hypnotized. They just looked as if it were a normal, everyday thing to be speaking of.

  He looked directly at Sydney’s father. “Do ye really? And ye think it possible then?”

  Her father, Gary, shrugged and nodded. “Well, it’s certainly surprising, but if they can put men on the moon, I don’t know why they couldn’t put them in the past, as well. I can’t wait to try it out myself.”

  Callum directed his attention to her mother. “What about ye?”

  “Sydney’s always been about living outside the box, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’s ended up living with a bunch of magical beings.”

  He felt the need to clarify. “Oh, we’re not magical. ”Tis only Morna. We simply make use of her magic with a great deal of frequency.

  “Well, whatever. As long as you treat my baby with the respect and love she deserves, I truly don’t care.”

  Finally, he looked at Liv. Out of the three of them, she looked the most skeptical. “I’d think it was a lot more awesome if she told me herself. She tells me everything.”

  Callum smiled, and he knew then that it wasn’t only her father he needed to ask. They all loved her so much, and she would want each of their blessings.

  “Might I ask ye all a question? I invited ye here not only because I wished to meet ye, but also because I am verra much in love with Sydney. If ye all grant me yer permission, I would love to ask her to marry me this night.”

  The deafening silence that followed his request told him that Morna had indeed only altered their ability to easily accept the possibility of magic. All of their other opinions and thoughts were just as they would have always been.

  His nerves grew until Liv stood and pointed at both her parents while she smiled widely. “I told you that’s what was going on. Yes! I finally get to be in a wedding.”

  An overwhelming blessing by both of Sydney’s parents followed Liv’s excitement, and as Callum moved in to hug them all in thanks, he feared his heart might burst from happiness.

  CHAPTER 44

  1650

  I returned from my morning run to find Callum gone from the castle and Adwen standing outside our window in his stead.

  “Good morning to ye, Sydney. Do ye mind coming down here a moment?”

  I leaned out of the high window to answer him.

  “Yeah, sure. Hang on just a second and let me change. Where’s Callum?”

  “Oh, he traveled down to the village for a few hours. Anne asked me to come through and talk to ye.”

  “Okay. Just a minute.”

  I hurried to dress and ran down the castle’s many steps two at a time. When I stepped outside, Adwen was pacing nervously.

  “Is she worried about breakfast or something? It’s a Saturday so I figured she wanted it a little later. I was just about to come through.”

  He held up a hand to stop me.

  “No, nothing like that. In fact, she told me to come and tell ye not to come to the kitchen this morning. Ye have the day off.”

  Alarm bells went off in my head immediately. There was absolutely no reason why I should have the day off.

  “What are you talking about? There’s no way Anne said that.” I tried to brush past him, but he stepped in my path once more.

  “Aye, she did. Ye see she’s hosting a party this morning for a group of ladies she knows and she…” He paused and scratched his head as if he couldn’t find the word. “Ach, what is the word ye use when ye pay someone to bring in food?”

  I screeched the word at him. “A caterer? She hired a caterer? Tell me you’re joking.”

  Adwen smiled, clearly not catching my escalating anger. “Aye, a caterer. She did. She thought ye might want the morning off.”

  I placed both hands on my hips as I b
raced to charge him.

  “Let me be sure I’m getting this right. Not only is Anne having a party that she didn’t invite me to, but she also didn’t think my cooking was good enough for it?”

  Adwen nodded, seemingly satisfied with himself.

  “Aye, precisely.”

  “I call foul. You’re lying.”

  His smile vanished. “No. I’m not lying, and ye canna go through. Ye will disturb their party if ye do. It will only embarrass ye both.”

  I turned my head from side to side as I tried to gauge the best path I could take to get around him. He was big and fast. I would have to go through him.

  “I don’t care. I embarrass myself pretty regularly anyway.”

  I ran straight for him, anticipating that he would grab on to me even before he did so. I waited until he lifted me high enough that both feet were off the ground and then I swung my right foot hard and fast into his goodie-bits.

  He cried out as he released me, dropping straight to the ground as he hurled himself into the fetal position.

  “Sorry. You gave me no choice.”

  I ran to the portal and started screaming Anne’s name even before I passed through. If Adwen was lying, I wanted to know exactly what was going on. If he wasn’t, Anne and I were about to have one hell of a conversation.

  “Anne. Anne.” I continued calling her name as I made it into the twenty-first century and ran up the stairs and into the castle.

  There were people standing in the foyer when I pushed open the main doors. In my shock, it took me a moment to realize who they were.

  My parents. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes as I rushed to their side.

  CHAPTER 45

  “Mom? Dad? Liv?” I could scarcely believe it even as I hugged and kissed them all over. “What are you doing here? I talked to you three days ago, and you were at home. You didn’t say anything about this.”