At last, the doctor who worked the night shift emerged, and informed Katie that the old woman was stabilized and resting for now. The hospital staff had already contacted Sally’s regular physician. He would be by first thing in the morning.
“So unless you want to sit in the waiting room all night, I’d suggest you go on home, Miss MacLeod. We’ll call you if there’s any change.”
Katie nodded. She felt numb. The aftershock, she supposed, of all the brutal excitement. Tom was off his chair in an instant, his face drawn with sympathy for the anger and sorrow Katie tried to ignore in herself. Without hesitation, he slid an comforting arm across her shoulder and started her for the door.
“I saw the farmer’s hand,” he said in a low voice. “ ’Twas no fox to leave a bite like that.”
Katie fixed him with a narrowed eye. He continued to lead her out of the emergency room and into the night.
“And the trooper’s radio was abuzz with news about a drunk they had pulled in who kept insisting the only reason he hit the oak tree on the side of the road was to avoid the willow walking across it.”
She met his gaze fully now.
“I fear it’s spreading,” he said in a grim manner, though mischief twinkled his eyes.
“But I blocked the trunk,” she said. “How could they be getting out?”
“How did you block it?” Tom asked. He pulled open the passenger door of the truck.
“I wrapped red thread back and forth across the lid, and I stuffed nails into the keyhole and laid them on the lid and in the floor around it.”
Tom’s merry glimmer faded. He stared at Katie as she climbed into the truck. “A clever move, lady Katie,” he said. “Unfortunately, not all of them will be inside... and I don’t think the Erl-King will be kind to you once he gets free, if you did manage to trap him, which I rather doubt.”
“If I did, can the ones who are free let him out?” she asked as she started the engine.
“Nay,” Tom said. “The iron alone would burn them if they tried. But the Erl-King is no fool. He may have closed the trunk gate to keep you from going down and stopping him. That doesn’t mean he won’t have set himself another way out.”
“I only saw one way in or out,” Katie said. “Surely he can’t flow with the stream.”
“No, but did you really look to see if there was another route?”
“There was another arch in the tree roots.”
“Nay, he won’t take that path until he has the means to command the Seelie,” Tom said.
“Then what other path would there be for him?”
“The tree itself,” Tom said.
“Swell,” Katie muttered. “Then what can we do?”
“Go back to your place and make certain the fortifications have not been breached by fairy glamour,” Tom said. “And tomorrow, you must go back to the cellar and read the rest of the book.”
“I don’t work tomorrow,” Katie said. “I’m off on Wednesdays.”
“What about your display?”
She sighed. “I was hoping to wait until later in the day. Truth is, I don’t want to go back, not alone.”
“What about your young man?” Tom suggested.
Katie shrugged. “I don’t even know if he is my young man anymore,” she said. The open admission tightened her stomach, and made it difficult for her to draw a deep breath.
“Only one way to find out,” Tom said. “You should call him when you get back home.”
“Maybe,” Katie said and pushed the gear into reverse. She backed the pickup truck away from the emergency lot so she could shoot out onto the road.
Tom settled back and closed his eyes on the return ride, leaving Katie alone with her dark and dreary thoughts.
What was she going to do? Fairy glamour was erupting all over the mountains of East Tennessee, and the only person who really believed her was the town lunatic. She stole a glance over at him when the straight section of road allowed. Lolled back, his head had turned at a slight angle that pushed the tail end of his long hair across his chin like a beard, and reminded her of something—or someone—she couldn’t quite put her finger on. There was a worldly wisdom to Tom’s features in the lack of light, and she would have sworn she had seen them before, in some other context.
She frowned and averted her eyes back to the road. Better she watched where she was going than the old man sleeping in her truck, or she was apt as not to find a willow walking across her path. Explain that one to an insurance company. Well, you see, sir, I hit a tree because it stepped into the middle of the road... She was sure that drunk would have a hard time convincing his family.
Just like the farmer would be hard pressed to believe something besides a fox had been in his hen house. Why should any of them believe? They didn’t know anywhere near as much about what was happening as she and Tom did...
And how does he know so much? How could he have known what was in MacKenzie’s book? Granted, Tom had possessed the key that opened the cellar. It was possible that he had been down there many times himself and read the book of predictions himself. But how had he come into possession of the key? She reached into her pocket and found it there. She had become so accustomed to carrying it around, it had made itself comfortable there so she hardly noticed its bulk. But now as she drew it from her pocket to glance at it, she was struck again with a sense of familiarity—as she had been looking at Tom. She had seen it elsewhere, just as she felt she had seen Tom in some other place. But where?
She was tempted to wake him up and ask him that very question right now! And where would it get me? He’ll just answer me in riddles. She frowned and thrust the key back into her pocket, making a mental note to ask later all the same as she concentrated on the road which was sporadically difficult to see with the patches of fog.
In time, she pulled through the fence posts that marked the opening to her property. Tom reared up with a groan.
“Here already?” he muttered. “Did you go faster coming back?”
Katie ignored him and cautiously slowed the truck as she passed near the pond. There was little left of the kelpie now. Just a dark, smoking smudge that could have easily been mistaken for a fresh compost pile were it not for the fact that she had never started one out here.
“Sunlight will eat it all away,” Tom said. “Come morning, you’ll never even know it was there.”
“Right,” Katie said. Somehow, she figured it was a memory she’d have a tough time putting aside in her own mind. Even if nothing was left of the thing, she would know where it had lain, just as she would know how close it came to stealing poor Sally’s life.
The fog seemed thicker as she crept the truck up the hill towards the house. She probably should have rolled down a window and stuck her head out to make sure she wasn’t missing the drive, but there was an eerie sense that poking her head out into the fog might have disastrous results, so she kept it firmly inside and flipped on the yellow fog lamps instead. Not that she found them so useful. It was almost as though there was something more solid about this fog...
No sooner that the thought run its course when darkness surrounded them and forced Katie to hit the brakes. She peered out through the windshield, unable to see the house. Where were the security motion lights? Why hadn’t they come on when she drove up? Or was she actually close enough to set them off? She couldn’t tell.
“Uh, oh,” Tom muttered.
“Uh, oh, what?” Katie said.
“This looks a might unnatural,” he said.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Katie retorted.
“I never make such a presumption with a librarian,” Tom said, shaking his head. “I learned long ago that most of them are unending fountains of knowledge.”
“Yeah, well this librarian would like to know what is going on...” She paused as a wispy shape brushed the glass at her side. The motion startled her. With a gasp, Katie hit the door lock.
“Calm, lass,” Tom said. “They can’t pass the st
eel, and they certainly can’t enter uninvited.”
“Who are they?”
Shapes began to undulate in and out of the darkness. Faces and figures, tall, thin and bluish, though a few were ghostly pale, appeared and disappeared. They were frightening in an eerie fashion as they stretched bony fingers and toothy grins at Katie and Tom.
“They,” he said, “are the Host.”
“Oh, swell. The Sluagh. Now what?”
“Well, it looks uncertain that we should be able to reach the house, especially since we cannot be sure where it is.”
“Straight ahead,” Katie said.
“Aye, well, even if you could drive right up to the porch, I’m not so sure I want to step outside this vehicle just to get to the front door. The Sluagh are never kind.”
“Then I guess we’re spending the night in the truck,” Katie said. She cut the engine, thought she didn’t turn off the lights. The creatures seemed unwilling to move into it, staying at the periphery or floating over the hood. Turning, she rummaged behind the seat. First item out was the tire iron—she’d tossed it there after Tom’s arrival. Next came a couple of survival blankets with the foil heat-reflecting surface on one side. She handed one to Tom. He gave it a curious look.
“Are you proposing we wrap up in these to step outside?” he asked.
“These are to preserve body heat,” she said. “Even in the summer, it can get chilly in the mountains at night.”
“Yes, I know,” he said.
“I’ve got a stash of beef jerky in the glove compartment, so we won’t get hungry.”
“They’ll be gone at dawn,” Tom insisted.
“Just in case,” she said.
Tom shrugged, then looked irritated as a green-faced imp suddenly flew out of the dark mist to briefly plaster its entire body against the windshield. It reminded Katie of a giant bug, before it kissed the glass and flew away.
“Disgusting little things,” Tom muttered.
Katie studied the mist itself where it swirled in the reduced light of her headlamp. “Damn, the battery,” she muttered and flipped the lights off. Darkness leapt up before them and surged closer to the front of the truck.
She suddenly perceived a faint bluish glow around a silhouette. A figure walked through the darkness, small sparkles of blue lightning dancing off a ragged form. It moved straight up to the front of the truck, and there it waved a hand and spread the bluish light until she could make out the features. Skin the color of cornflowers stretched over the skeletal face with its high cheekbones and aquiline nose. Black hair whipped about under a crown of thorns, revealing the points of long ears. The eyes were embers of fire with reptilian slits for irises, and under their gaze, a smile spread to reveal sharp white teeth filed into points.
“Katie,” the Erl-King said, the voice as familiar as her dreams. “Come to me.”
“Is he for real?” she said, glancing at Tom. “I mean, does he really think I’m going to step out of this truck and come to him?”
“The Erl-King does seem a bit shortsighted on that matter,” Tom agreed.
“Katie?” the voice came again. The red eyes narrowed to slits. “Why do you hesitate? I will make you my queen. You will lead the Host and conquer lands at my side...”
“Do you know another tune?” Katie said briskly. “I don’t like this one.”
“Do not mock me, mortal,” The Erl-King said. “I offer you a chance to master untold powers beyond the comprehension of those petty minds you serve. You are a bright and witty creature, and they do not appreciate your talents. But I? I will treasure you for what you are, for what you can do...”
“You mean like giving you the key to open the gate and command the Seelie?” she said.
The smile faded to sneer. “I will have the key,” he said in a dark voice. “You will give it to me, or I will take it. And if I must take it, I shall also take all that you hold dear. No one close to you will live to share how you will rue the day. Not even True Thomas can assist you.”
“I was rather hoping to be left out of this,” Tom said with a frown.
“I have not forgotten ye, Thomas,” the Erl-King said, and fixed the red glare on Tom. “Nor have I forgiven ye nor Micheil for trapping me as you did.”
“Well, now, that was your own fault,” Tom said as he wagged a finger. “You knew I was an experienced harper of some renown.”
“I knew you were an experienced braggart who tricked his way into a Fairy Queen’s bower.”
“Now, that was the other way around, and you know it!” Tom protested. “I was biding my time when the lady came riding by. It wasn’t my fault she took a fancy to me and dragged me home to meet her friends.”
“Wait a minute,” Katie said. “True Thomas? Thomas of Erceldoune? Thomas the Rhymer?”
“I was known by that name once,” Tom said, looking uneasy.
“This can’t be,” Katie said. “Thomas the Rhymer is supposed to abide in Eildon hills where he buys horses and looks after a sleeping army that will rise again when Scotland has a dire need.”
Tom sighed. “Well, now, I can’t deny that I was there, but the old job got a bit boring, and when his Royal Darkness here decided to invade the Seelie lands, they called on me to help them.”
“You trapped me and my Host,” The Erl-King said. “You and Micheil sealed the gate. But you also made a prediction.”
“A prediction?” Katie said.
“A woman of two bloods would set me free...” the Erl-King went on.
“Oh, swell,” Katie said, hiding her face in her hands.
“That woman would possess the key to drive me back into darkness, and the only way I could stop her and the armies of light would be if I could lay claim to the key by the Midsummer moon.”
“I really don’t want to hear this,” Katie said.
“Now, I will have that key, Katie of the MacLeods of Dunvegan, and you shall give it to me, and if you do not, I shall destroy all that you care for. How say you, lady Katie? Will you be my bride and lead the Host at my side, or will I be forced to take what I desire?”
“Try it!” Katie snapped, and she picked up the tire iron and held it into view. “If you want it that bad, just try it.”
He reared back, raising his arms. “Foolish mortal woman,” he hissed.
“Not as foolish as you think,” she said, and pulled the headlamp switch.
Brightness flared before the truck. The Erl-King screamed and threw himself back. She didn’t know if light could hurt him, but it seemed to repel him all the same. He fled away from the truck, and Katie started the engine, more determined than ever to make it to the front door. She pushed the truck into drive and inched forward, praying she had already passed the last little turn and was indeed heading straight for the porch. If not, they would crush the old glider swing.
Her forward motion drove the Erl-King as well. He tried to back out of range, to surround himself in his darkness. His Host swirled about, screaming as he did. Some of them brushed the metal of the truck and shrieked as they fled the cold steel and iron monster they perceived.
When the Erl-King stumbled over the first porch step, Katie shouted, “Yes!” and gunned the engine. She would crush him if she could.
But it was not to be so. The Erl-King realized his dilemma too quickly. He sprang off the stone steps, leapt into the air and passed over the top of the truck like some swooping hawk to disappear. With him, the darkness fled, and the motion lamps suddenly flared bright white. The rest of the Host scattered like leaves in a gale. Their infernal screams faded in the distance.
“Now this is what I call drive-in service,” Tom said almost too cheerfully as he reached for the handle of the truck.
“Just one minute, True Thomas,” Katie said, snagging the sleeve of the sweater he wore. “As soon as we get inside, you’re going to tell me everything from the beginning. Because if you don’t, I will put you out of my house at shotgun point and leave you to them. Is that clear?”
&nbs
p; “As clear as air,” he said.
TEN
Steam curled from the rim of the yellow ceramic mug decorated with the red lion of Scotland, forming a fog before Tom’s face. Though it was summer, Katie lit a fire to break the unearthly chill she felt. There was comfort in having the one means of defense to warm her. With no light other than the flames, Tom’s silvery hair had an amber sheen. The soft gold flicker shed years from his face. Grimly, he sat forward on the sofa, while Katie settled herself in the easy chair with her feet curled under her and tea in a mug that bore a moon, a cloud, a castle and a rainbow, and the caption, “Katie, Dreamer.”
But never in all her dreams, even those she savored as a child, had she ever thought to find herself sitting with a legend, real or otherwise.
“According to the story,” she said, “You’re supposed to be waiting around Eildon Hills for a hero who can solve the riddle of the horn and the sword and awaken the army that sleeps there.”
“Aye, well, that got rather boring after a while,” Tom said. “When I left the tower to follow the hart and hind, I never knew the Elf-Queen meant to put me in charge of such a monotonous task. So after a while, I coaxed a fey-struck young man to take over for me so I could go wandering the world.”
“When was that?”
“Oh, just after James Stuart welded the crowns of Scotland and England into one. The borderlands were getting a bit busy, so I decided to visit the Highlands,” Tom said. “For a while, I was having a grand adventure. That’s where I found the harp. In a treasure guarded by faery folk. Of course, they let me have it. They knew I was tied to the Elf Queen. I used to wander from village to village, earning my keep. Problem was, there was always the gift. And I soon fell into my old ways of blessing those who helped me and cursing those who were unkind. Only now, the Protestants and Catholics were trying to get into the Highlands and convert the savage Scots therein. Faery glamour became devil’s work. My truthful tongue earned me more than a few enemies in the kirk and clergy.
Angels of Mercy Page 10
