“I dinna traipse.” Ramsay gave her a disgruntled look and returned to sit beside her. “And besides, the spear is my assigned weapon. Scota trained me many hours before naming me Highland Protector and wielder of the spear.”
The goddess Scota? And Highland Protector. Seriously? Sounds like a Scottish comic book hero. If not for her emotions being severely battered and bruised by this situation, Katie would’ve laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed Ramsay’s tale of goddesses, warriors, and legends of old. But he was serious. And there was a hell of a lot more he had to tell her. She could see it in his face.
“I see.” She popped her knuckles one by one then reached down and picked up an oak leaf and shredded it into pieces. She’d had a lot of whisky. If she was going to remain coherent, she needed to avoid any more alcohol and soldier through the rest of this shit sober. “Um…Highland Protector. Is that what your clan…and the um…what the other clans call you?”
“Aye. My brothers and myself. We’ve each mastered a specific goddess weapon and trained to protect the Heartstone no matter the cost.”
I actually find somebody I could really get into, somebody who seems like he could get into me too, and he turns out to be a…a…whatever he is. “I am such an idiot,” she muttered under her breath, bending forward and massaging her temples. She was getting one hell of a headache.
Ramsay gave her a sharp narrow-eyed look. “Beg pardon?”
“Not important.” Katie stood, stretched a bit, then moved to his other side and retrieved the bottle. Screw sober. She’d compromise by drinking while standing and stop when she couldn’t maintain her balance anymore. “So…from what exactly do you protect the Heartstone?”
“Evil.” Ramsay held out his hand to her. “Please sit ye down. When ye stand, I fear ye’ll run away at any moment before I’ve made ye truly understand.”
“I don’t run from anything.” Usually. Although, in this case, I’m probably gonna walk away really fast. Katie studied him a bit longer then plunked back down on the log. She handed the whisky bottle back to him with a slow shake of her head. “How do I get myself into shit like this?”
Ramsay snorted out a laugh. “How often have ye married an ancient Highland warrior and discovered yerself to be a part of protecting humanity against evil?”
Squinting one eye against the increased throbbing in her head, Katie turned and peered at Ramsay. The more he talked, the weirder this shit got. “Could you please define ‘evil’? I mean…are we talking demons and dragons or…what?”
Ramsay leaned forward, propped his forearms atop his knees, and stared out into the dark woods as he spoke. “First—I have a question for ye. ’Twas asked to me, when I was but a lad and I feel it might help ye understand the way of things.”
Katie didn’t say a word, just looked at him and waited, doing her level best to remain calm and not allow either the pounding in her head or the unbelievability of the situation to force her to unleash an unreasonable rant about druids and goddesses and sealing wax and cabbages and kings.
I have lost my fucking mind—I’m quoting “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” Inwardly, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. I promised to hear him out. I’m a dumbass to do it, but I will hear him out.
Ramsay turned and looked at her, his dark stern expression washing away all her inner dialogue. “How would ye feel if there was nothing at all in yer life to look forward to—no hopes, no dreams, no future where ye’d be any different or any better than ye are right at this verra minute? How would ye feel if ye discovered that all that remained for ye to do was to live out yer days, each and every one of them filled with the same drudgery, until ye reached the day ye were destined to die?”
Katie frowned, a strong aversion, a surge of oh, hell no filling her. “Heartbroken.” Then she shook her head. “But, I’d fix that. I’d throw myself into my work, keep busy. I’d make life different.” She threw up a hand. “Hell…I’d discover something.”
Ramsay interrupted her. “Nay, lass. Ye wouldna have the drive nor the desire t’do so. Ye’d be a prisoner of the dark hopelessness of everything around ye. There’d be no new discoveries. No new worlds. No intriguing new concepts. All there would be is sameness. Every day. No urgency to improve or change. For all intents and purposes, ye’d be interested in nothing more than existing. No one would care about anything. No music. No art. No inventions. We’d all be nothin’ more than sheep in a field—except we wouldna even be interested in breeding nor findin’ the sweetest grass. We’d all just exist on this earth and then we’d die. Plain and simple.”
Katie couldn’t imagine such a life, such an existence. “The human race would die out in a matter of years. Failure to evolve results in extinction.”
“And that is why we protect the Heartstone.”
“What has the Heartstone got to do with it?”
“The Heartstone ensures that humanity’s urge to thrive, evolve, hope, and dream remains strong and true. The Heartstone protects humanity’s survival. The Heartstone ensures goodness and love survive the cruelties already running rampant in this world. ’Tis the energy—the beating heart of humanity’s collective soul.”
“And you and your brothers keep it from falling into the wrong hands? Keep some fatalistic dystopian fanatic from destroying it to destroy humanity?” How could all that Ramsay said be true? How could any of this be real?
“Aye.” Ramsay scrubbed a hand over his eyes then raked it back across his hair. “And the goddesses warned us that should the Heartstone fall into the hands of evil, the results could be even worse than the complete destruction of humanity. The blessed stone could be drained of its benevolence and filled with such darkness that it would only power and reinforce the perpetuation of hate and cruelty in this world. Humanity would survive for a while but it wouldna be a pleasant existence.”
“The world has enough hatred and darkness in it.” The words nearly caught in her throat. How many civilizations had her father shown her that had failed—many because of greed and hatred. I hope like hell that all this is nothing more than myth.
“And now ye ken the truth of it—a great deal of the truth, anyway.”
Katie slowly shook her head and rubbed the inside corners of her eyes. I’ve heard enough. I can’t take anymore. “I need some me time. I’m going for a walk.”
“I’ll walk wi’ ye.” Ramsay quickly stood and held out his hand. “…to ensure we keep to the path.”
“Screw the fucking path!” Katie shooed him back with a jerk of one hand. “I need to walk—alone. Okay?”
And I’m not keeping to the damn path. I’m taking my ass to town. Heartsick or not, possibly love lost or not, she just couldn’t do…this. She’d be fine. In time, she’d look back on all this and…no, she doubted that she’d ever laugh but at least, eventually, maybe she wouldn’t feel like crawling into a hole and giving in to a good cry over what could’ve been a real relationship with an intriguing man. If only…
Chapter 10
She was runnin’. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. That and the fact that he could hear her whisky-induced stumbling through the thick blanket of leaves and twigs covering the forest floor.
Keep to the path. Both Emrys and Dwyn had warned him.
“Aye, but neither of them has e’er met a woman as stubborn or worth chasin’ as Katie.” Ramsay fetched his spear from the ground beside Dubh and sadly gave the horse an affectionate pat. “I may ne’er see ye again, lad. Ye ken where the keep is—if I’m no’ back by sunup, hie ye homeward.”
Dubh grumbled and bounced his dark head up and down, then swished his long tail. The horse understood.
Ramsay stood still, listening to the telltale signs the woods were willing to share. Uneasiness washed across him as the unmistakable sounds of Katie stumbling through the leaves came clearly from the east.
“Damn wom
an. Of all directions ye could choose.” East. Where the sun ne’er sets, and legends ne’er die. He rolled his shoulders and resettled his grasp on the spear. “East it is.” He’d only veered a few yards from the path when he first noticed the change. He immediately stopped, remaining motionless as he listened for Katie. The woods around him had become silent as a tomb.
The hairs on the back of his neck slowly rose and a burning chill washed across his flesh. The air held a familiar sting to it, ’twas overcharged with active energy.
“No. Not now,” he whispered. “Dinna take me from her now.”
He’d felt this way several times before and he knew exactly what it meant. The first time had been seventeen years ago, it had been a great deal more violent and had landed him and his family in Brady, North Carolina. The most recent occurrences had been only a few years ago and only months apart. After Dwyn’s extensive guidance, Ramsay had been able to maintain a bit more control and survive jumping across the centuries a great deal better.
If the goddesses had decided to sift him back through time again—either to save a druid clan or ensure even more protection for the survival of the stone—he’d be trapped wherever they sent him until he’d satisfied whatever duty they’d seen fit to assign him.
“Sons a bitches, I shouldha ne’er veered from the path.” He scrubbed a hand across his face and rolled his shoulders against the eerie clamminess creeping across his skin. I know t’heed the warnings.
As soon as the feeling left him, he crouched in the darkness, listening, taking in every nuance of wherever the hell he’d landed. He’d learned early on to carefully assess his surroundings before embarking on whatever task the goddesses had assigned. His very survival depended on it.
Inside a structure. A small place…a cabin, maybe. He reached out and gingerly touched the floor. Cold compacted dirt instead of wood flooring. Ahh…I’ve landed in a croft. He slowly rose and patted himself down. Dirk and sword were still with him and so were the thick plates of heavy leather armor strapped across his chest. Good.
My spear. Where the hell was his spear? He’d had it in his hand. His eyes finally accustomed to the darkness, he found the door. The glint of steel stopped him before he reached for the latch. His spear. Leaned up against the doorframe. Waiting.
Ramsay blew out a heavy sigh as he hefted the familiar weapon in one hand. He had his spear. He had his duty, but he didna have Katie. And now that he’d been sent to whate’er century for whate’er amount a time the goddesses pleased, he’d no’ have the chance to convince the lass that their life together could be so well worth the risks and fears he’d seen flashin’ in the dear woman’s eyes.
“Ramsay!” Katie’s scream split the darkness—filled with such terror that Ramsay shot through the rotting door of the abandoned croft rather than wasting time to open it. He paused long enough to scan the small empty clearing before pushing into the woods. Her scream had come from straight ahead, deeper in the trees. He was certain of it.
“Katie!” he roared.
Spear readied, Ramsay listened, praying she’d call out to him again. This was no’ the woods behind Castle Danu nor the mountain on which it was built. These trees were ancient, huge and moss covered, pushing up through the loamy soil of a harsh and rugged land. This was definitely not North Carolina.
“Katie!” he shouted again.
“I’m down here. I fell.”
“I’m comin’ t’ye, lass. Hold tight.” Ramsay hurried toward Katie’s call, taking care to test suspicious expanses of the rough root-covered woodland floor with the haft of his spear.
“Over here and hurry up! It’s dark down here and I don’t know what else might be in here with me.”
Ramsay eased his way closer, spotting an even blacker portion of treeless forest floor within a circle of trees just up ahead. He’d seen such naturally formed traps before—nothing more than deep ravines washed out by heavy rains, then hidden by uprooted trees, rotting vegetation, and eons worth of leaf mold. But sometimes, depending on which century they’d landed, such naturally provided traps were put to use by hunters. But she didna sound hurt.
Thank the goddesses she didna fall into an armed boar trap. Sharpened spikes placed in the bottom of such hunting pits couldha killed her. Taking care, he made his way to the edge and peered over.
Katie’s pale face shone up at him, her fair skin nearly glowing in what little moonlight filtered down through the canopy of leaves overhead. Eyes wide and terrified, she held up both hands and lunged toward the soft muddy embankment crumbling beneath her feet. “Pull me out. Every time I try to climb up, all the dirt gives way.”
Relief flooded through him but it wasna time to relax just yet. Thanks be to the gods she isna hurt but— Not only did he have to get her out of the pit—but he had t’inform the lass that he wasna quite sure where in the span of history the goddesses had decided to drop them.
He took hold of his spear at the base of the blade and lowered the handle down toward Katie. “Can ye reach it, lass?”
“I think so.” Katie grunted as she lunged up toward the staff and managed to latch on with one hand. “It’s so muddy. I can’t get a foothold to climb up. Do you think you can drag me out?”
“Do I think I can drag ye out?” Ramsay repeated under his breath. Did the lass think him weak as a bairn? “Hold fast and see.” With one mighty yank of the spear, he pulled her up to the edge of the cave-in, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and heaved her the rest of the way out.
Spitting and sputtering, Katie floundered to her feet. She pulled at the neckline of her shirt, reached down inside, and scooped out handfuls of loamy dirt and debris. “Gross!” All of a sudden, with one hand still shoved down the front of her shirt, she froze, then turned and stared back down into the pit. “My phone. I was trying to call Adam when I fell.”
Ramsay shook his head and blew out a heavy sigh as he took her by the elbow and firmly led her to more solid ground. “Ye’ll find yer phone useless here. Leave it.”
“Do you know how expensive those are? All my contacts. All my photos. I’ve got all kinds of notes stored in that phone. Lower me back down in there so I can find it.” She tried to wriggle free of his hold. “Let go, Ramsay. As soon as I find it, you can pull me back out again.”
Ramsay jerked her farther away from the pit, pulled her up to higher ground, then resettled his grip on her slippery muddy arm. “I said leave it! ’Tis no’ worth the risk and willna serve ye in this time. We must get movin’. Take shelter to await the dawn and then figure out where and when we are—our survival depends on it, ye ken?”
Katie went still, scowling at him with such a narrow-eyed look ’twas small wonder he didna burst into flames. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Dinna veer from the path, d’ye remember those words? Look around ye, lass.” Ramsay slowly turned her. “Does this place look anything like the woods we rode through? Where is the path? The trees dinna even look the same.”
Katie glanced around, then hugged herself, and backed up a step all the while shaking her head as though trying to shake free of the entire situation. “I don’t like this. I was walking along and all of a sudden, I felt weird—kind of all tingly and dizzy. I figured it was the booze. The next thing I knew, I’d stumbled into that damn pit.” She ran a trembling hand across her forehead, then turned back and stared at him, eyes wide and full of fear. “What the hell is this, Ramsay? What did you do?”
Ramsay held out his hand. “I’ll explain once we get settled for the night.” He glanced around, scanning the dark unfamiliar forest. “ ’Tis too dangerous to tarry here. I dinna ken this place nor who or what it might hold. We’ll take shelter in the abandoned croft from which I just came.”
Katie didn’t take his hand, just stood there trembling, stealing panicked glances around the woods as though Ramsay hadn’t said a word.
Wrapping an arm around her, Ramsay pulled her close and gently led her back through the woods to the safety of the clearing around the dilapidated croft. She’s ne’er this quiet. I’ll ne’er forgive m’self or the powers if this harms her.
Midway through the clearing, Katie stopped and stared up at the night sky, her lips moving with unspoken words as she studied the softly winking stars and slowly turned in place. “Oh my God,” she finally whispered aloud. “They’re in the wrong place.”
“What’s in the wrong place, lass?” Ramsay spoke softly and tried to ease her toward the cabin. She needed sleep. ‘Twould help her body realign itself and adjust to this time.
“The stars.” Katie jerked away from his touch, pointing up at the sky as she spoke. “They’re all wrong. Out of alignment.”
“Yer tired, lass.” Ramsay took hold of her by the shoulders and hugged her up to his chest. If he had to, he’d pick her up and carry her. The woman had a better chance of survival if she’d do as he said and slept. “Come. We’ll rest ‘til mornin’. I swear t’ye the sun will still rise in the east.”
“You don’t understand!” Katie pulled away, wildly jabbing a finger upward, pointing at the sky. “I chart stars when I need to relax. I charted them a few days ago because it always helps me sleep. But everything’s different now. Shifted in the sky. In the wrong place.” Her voice fell and her lower lip quivered, as her gaze darted to and fro at the sky above. “They shouldn’t be where they are right now—not in August.”
Katie's Highlander Page 12
