"But they won't like what they discover if they attempt to interfere with me, so if I were you and interested in preserving their safety, I'd talk them out of it."
That was a little chilling. Kay stared up at Liam, at something of a loss for what to do. He was shaking his head, a frown on his face as he assessed the bones, the situation.
"Why did the bones end up here?" he said finally. "This is clearly the work of wisps… but they live in the bog, why leave the remains here?"
"They're cross with me," Maggie said brightly, still digging — she'd made a sizable hole in the earth by now, and Kay couldn't help but marvel at her energy. "Think I've taken the side of humans over Fae… think I deserve to be punished by having the humans turned against me. Joke's on them, I don't give a fig what the humans think about me."
"That's… pretty smart," Kay admitted, giving Liam a worried look. "I didn't think they were that clever. I was thinking of them like… well, like big mosquitoes. This is a lot to handle."
"We'll be alright," Liam said, unexpectedly reaching out to squeeze her hand. "We'll bury this poor soul… and then when the villagers come back, we'll explain what's happened."
"Will that convince them?" Kay said warily.
"I hope so," Liam said softly. "I really do."
Chapter 30
They worked in silence as the morning wore on. Liam helped Maggie finish digging a grave for the bones, and Kay gently gathered them up, lifting them carefully in her arms, wrapped in the soft travel cloak they'd been found in. There was no trace of the figure's other clothing, aside from a few tattered scraps of fabric… it seemed that the wisps had torn the other clothing entirely to pieces, keeping the cloak just for the purposes of carrying the bones. A shiver ran down her spine as she visualized what it would look like — the glowing creatures, ripping and tearing at the still-warm body of a person who'd made the mistake of traveling after dark…
It was easy enough to ease the body into the deep grave Maggie had dug, and they took turns filling the grave in, putting the remains to rest. Maggie murmured a few words in a language that Kay assumed was Gaelic until she saw Liam's look of utter confusion, and the three of them stood for a moment at the head of the grave, where Maggie had gently placed a large, smooth stone to mark it.
"Unknown but not unremembered, " Liam said finally, and the three of them turned and headed inside.
There was a somber mood in the cottage. Maggie, for all her bravado, seemed a little on edge about the prospect of the villagers marching to her door… but Kay was hoping against hope that that wouldn't happen. Maybe the woman would run out of steam and decide against stirring up trouble… maybe the villagers would dismiss her fears, knowing that Maggie was a benevolent figure, someone who had helped them repeatedly… then again, thinking of how unsettling Maggie could be sometimes, Kay worried that it wasn't likely. People, when they were scared, tended to get pretty short-sighted about who was on their side.
Did the wisps know that? Had they counted on that when they'd left the body in Maggie's backyard? Were they trying to start a war between the humans and the Fae?
It wasn't long before there were footsteps on the road outside, and Liam tensed up. He'd had his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side since they'd found the body, and he rose to his feet now, taking long stride to the front porch and bursting out into the midmorning air. Kay followed him, eager to lend a hand if there was anything she could do.
There was a crowd of about twenty villagers heading down the street from the village, and though they weren't exactly carrying torches and pitchforks, they may as well have been for the angry looks on their faces. Kay hadn't seen so many commoners in one place before — she'd gotten so used to the martial dress of the various guards and soldiers of the Keep that it felt a little odd to see people in more regular clothing. The woman who'd discovered the bones was at the head of the little group, and the look on her face told Kay all she needed to know about what she'd told the group.
"Good morning to you all," Liam said, raising his voice to be heard by the whole group and giving them all a cheerful smile. "This is a rather big group to be paying a visit to an old lady without sending ahead first."
"Oh, save it, Liam Grant," the woman at the head of the group snapped. She looked much less frightened now — more sure of herself, more full of purpose. A small army of backup would do that, Kay supposed. "You know full well why we're here."
"I can't say I do, Ava," Liam snapped, showing a forceful side that surprised Kay a little. "Because if I didn't know you better, I'd be certain you'd just dragged an angry mob to the door of a woman who's done naught but good for the village and the Keep for her whole life and then some. Please, tell me I'm mistaken."
"We're not here to do her any harm, Liam," Ava said, exasperated.
Ugly looks began to appear on the faces of the men and women behind her as they were met with resistance to whatever plan they'd been concocting.
"But the fact remains that a bag of bones were found in her backyard. That merits investigating."
"Investigating! Listen to her." Liam turned his attention to the assembled villagers, extending his open palms to them, beseeching. "Don't turn a tragedy into a worse one by following this fool's suggestions. It's wisps that are responsible for these deaths — the deaths of the livestock, the deaths of the travelers who were unlucky enough to get caught by their lights."
"Then why's the body in Maggie's yard?" shouted one of the villagers, causing a smug look to flicker across Ava's face.
Liam sighed.
"Spite is my theory. The creatures know Maggie's helping us deal with them. They want to turn us against her, so we'll lose our most valuable ally in this fight."
That sounded reasonable to Kay — but the villagers didn't seem convinced. The woman that Liam had called Ava raised her voice again, the villagers behind her deferring to her authority as she did.
"That's as maybe. Either way, nobody in the village trusts that old Maggie isn't up to something. There's been rumors of witchcraft flying around for years."
"None of them substantiated," Liam objected angrily. "All of them damn foolish."
"Aye, that's what she'd want us to think, for sure," Ava said primly, drawing a murmur of agreement from the villagers behind her. "Father Caleb says that evil is particularly good at discounting the truth about it as rumors. All we're asking," she said firmly, "is to take Maggie with us, now, to Father Caleb's church. Let her step on hallowed ground, let her be investigated by the reverend Father himself for witchcraft. If she truly is innocent, she'll have nothing to fear."
"Don't be daft."
The door swung open, and Kay's heart sunk — there stood Maggie in all her glory, cardigan wrapped around her shoulders and gray hair wild. All she'd need was a broomstick to look the full picture of a village witch. The villagers recoiled a little, and she scoffed at them, causing anger to flare on their faces.
"I will not be dragged into town at the whims of some wet-behind-the-ears priest. I will not listen to the foolish logic of charlatans. And as sure as I stand here, I won't be helping a single cursed one of you with any health problems again! I've cured boils and bumps and scrapes and grazes for every single one of you damned fools," she cried, narrowing her eyes and pointing into the crowd. "And now you come to my house? You accuse me of witchcraft? Turn around this minute and march away before I really give you something to be sorry about."
Kay looked between Maggie and the angry crowd of villagers, her heart pounding sickly in her chest. This didn't look good.
Chapter 31
"All we want is to take her to the priest, Liam!" Ava cried.
Kay could sense tempers flaring, could sense most of all how angry Maggie was, behind her — she had to do something. Anything. She stepped forward, anger flaring in her chest, not knowing what she was about to say but knowing that she was furious with these people for being so short-sighted as to haul an old woman who'd been helping them for years up
before a priest.
"Don't you see how stupid you sound?" Kay demanded, voice cracking with anger. "Maggie's been helping you for years! She's an ally, a friend — and what, you come marching to her house to accuse her of murder at a moment's notice?"
"There was a body in her yard!" Ava said, squaring up to Kay with anger blazing on her face. "A dead body! Bones, picked clean of flesh!"
"Yeah, the same way wisps treat their victims! You superstitious idiots, are you really going to alienate one of your strongest allies because you're too stupid to sense that you're being manipulated? The wisps want you to stop listening to Maggie! That'll make it much easier for them to keep hunting you and your livestock!"
She'd been hoping her argument would turn some of the villagers back, make them feel ashamed… but instead, they seemed to be growing in anger. But then Liam stepped to her side, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and drew it a little, revealing a few inches of shiny steel blade. That was enough to cause an ugly murmur to go up among the villagers… but they did take a few steps back, some of them clearly worried by the show of force. That meant they didn't have weapons, Kay thought with some relief… or at least it meant that they weren't willing to use them.
"We're doing our best to find a way to stop the wisps," Liam said in a loud voice, cutting across the murmuring.
There was a fresh tension in the air now that a weapon had been partly drawn… and 'Maggie didn't help, standing on the porch behind them as though daring any of the villagers to come any closer to her home.
"We beg your patience. We've faced problems like this before — we'll face them again — we just need time."
"If she's nothing to hide, why won't she come with us?" Ava demanded, returning to the same point again. Liam gritted his teeth, but Maggie was shrieking laughter.
"Tell them they're damn fools if they think I'll be seen dead in their poxy village!"
Real anger surged in the crowd, and a man took a few steps forward, his jaw clenched. "Then we won't give you the option!" he shouted, starting toward the cottage — and before she knew what she was doing, Kay stepped in his way. Shocked, he stared down at her, his eyes narrowing. "And who the hell are you, exactly? You talk like one of those strange women who are taking over the castle… maybe we'd best have Father Caleb check you for witchcraft, too."
He grabbed her by the shoulders — but before Kay could so much as flinch, there was a devastating, hard sound of flesh hitting flesh, a crack that made her jump. Liam, at her side, had hauled off and punched the man so hard in the jaw that he'd dropped to the ground. For a frozen moment, she was afraid Liam had knocked him out, or worse… but within a few seconds, he groaned and sat up again, and she exhaled with relief. Liam looked at her, clearly shocked by the force of his own anger, and she felt a strange, giddy joy in her chest at the realization that he'd protected her. He'd fought for her…
All the villagers started talking at once, yelling and screaming. Kay's heart sank, and she looked up at Liam helplessly, knowing that anything she could say would only make it worse. What were they going to do? What could they say to these angry people to make them calm down?
"Listen!" Liam said, clearly frustrated. "Listen — I know you're upset. I know you want this death investigated. Listen — we'll bring Maggie before the Laird. How about that?"
A quiet stole across the crowd, the villages exchanging glances. It was clear from the looks on their faces that the Laird was a figure of some respect in the village… at least as much as their Father Caleb. But how was Liam proposing to get Maggie to go to Laird Donal to be checked over for witchcraft? She'd hated the idea of visiting Caleb for the same reason… how was this any better?
"You have my word," he promised the villagers. "We will bring Maggie before the Laird himself and sort all of this out. Is that a suitable solution?"
"I still think Father Caleb should be involved," Ava grumbled… but she seemed to know when she was beaten. With one last resentful look, the villagers turned and began the trek back to the village, muttering amongst themselves. Kay watched them go, feeling her heart sink. Was Liam really going to try to haul Maggie into the castle by force to speak to Donal about whether or not she was conducting witchcraft? In a way, the villagers kind of had a point… Maggie was certainly capable of some beyond-the-mundane things. It was clear from the strength of the healing tonic she'd given Kay alone that that was the case. But she wouldn't have harmed a person the way the wisps had harmed whoever had owned those bones that were now buried in the forest. Kay knew that, deep down in her gut.
Maggie was standing on the porch, her eyes fixed on the departing crowd of villagers. Liam was standing by her, looking the same way, a distant expression on his face. Kay hesitated, unsure of whether she should break the silence.
"Well then, Maggie," Liam said softly, his voice grave. "I think you know what's going to happen next."
"Aye, young Liam Grant," Maggie replied in the same solemn tone. "I think I do."
"Might I cordially invite you, Maggie, to a leisurely luncheon with Laird Donal, his men, myself, and the Lady Kay?"
Kay looked back and forth between them, nonplussed — and at the same time, the two of them burst out laughing, Maggie cackling and thumping Liam hard on the back. "The look on her face! She really thought you were going to clap me in irons!"
"We'll ride ahead, Maggie, and make sure they know you're coming, alright? See you in an hour or so?"
"Delightful," Maggie said primly. And with that, she turned and marched back into her cottage, the door clicking neatly shut behind her.
Chapter 32
"Now just what the hell was that all about?" Kay asked, exasperated. It had been a very stressful morning — she'd almost been manhandled by an angry crowd who wanted to take her to a priest for being a witch, she'd been worried that said crowd were going to attack the first friend she'd made here, and at the same time she'd been petrified that that friend was going to unleash all kinds of horrible magic on the crowd that would make a bundle of bones buried in the forest the least of their problems. And now Liam, the second friend she'd made here, had the audacity to chuckle at her? And chuckle he did — he chuckled all the way down the porch steps and over to the horses, who had both lifted their heads with great interest at all the commotion caused by the small mob of villagers.
"Liam Grant! That was an angry mob! I just nearly got — got hauled off for witchcraft! By an angry mob!"
"I wouldn't have let anyone do any hauling," Liam retorted, raising an eyebrow in amusement as he looked up at her from tightening the chestnut gelding's girth. "The villagers are… well, they're superstitious. You can try reasoning with them, but they're much more easily swayed by emotion than by facts. Maggie's long since gotten the hang of it, and so have we."
"You all but threatened to tie her up and drag her to the castle. How did she let you get away with that?"
"You've a lot to learn about the Fae." Liam chuckled as he swung easily aboard his horse and gestured for her to do the same.
She frowned, tightening Shadow's girth a little before she hopped into the saddle. The black mare seemed happy to have her back onboard — she trotted a few steps before settling into an easy, loping walk. "Words are incredibly important to them. Did you hear exactly what I told the villagers?"
"You said you were going to drag Maggie before the Laird." She frowned for a moment. "No, you didn't. You said you were going to bring her."
"Exactly," he said brightly. "And I fully intend to honor the letter of that promise… if not the spirit. Maggie will come as our honored guest to lunch… and maybe then we can have a proper conversation about what to do about these wisps. Honestly, the villagers did us a favor." He chuckled. "It's usually tricky to get Maggie to visit the castle, what with all the iron and all. But if there's anything Maggie loves, it's a bit of deception. Fae blood, you see? They're famous for tricking human beings with carefully worded promises. So she'll come. We just need to get rid of any iron o
n the ground floor of the castle first," he added, rolling his eyes a little. "That's the downside."
Sure enough, when they reached the castle, everyone seemed familiar with what was required of them when Liam announced that Maggie would be coming to lunch. There was a bustle of activity downstairs as guards and servants ran back and forth, moving decorative weapons and the like upstairs to clear a path for their guest. Sure enough, Maggie arrived right on time, as stately as a queen in her bundle of ragged cardigans. Liam himself escorted her through the Dining Hall. They both wore identical mischievous grins as he presented her to Laird Donal, who was hiding a smile behind his hand.
"Laird Donal, I bring you Maggie," Liam announced loudly, stressing the word 'bring' in a way that made Maggie giggle.
Even Kay couldn't help but grin at how silly the pair of them were being. Liam helped Maggie up onto the raised platform, and she settled in happily enough in a place of honor at the head of the table. Had word reached the kitchen that a special guest was coming? Kay wondered as she tucked into her lunch. The roast meat was especially delicious today, and Maggie ate heartily, clearly taking advantage of her invitation to fill her belly. Briefly, Kay wondered just what it was Maggie ate in her little cottage. Meat seemed a little tricky to come by… was it just vegetables from her garden that she ate? Or did she hunt in the forest, somehow? Kay wouldn't have put it past her to have a few tricks up her sleeve.
As they ate lunch, Liam and Maggie regaled the table with the story of what had happened that morning with the villagers. The story got a lot of laughs, and Kay could tell that both Liam and Maggie were keen to keep the attitude to the story light. Only Kay knew, in the end, how close things had gotten to getting ugly. But the mood sobered a little nevertheless when the subject turned to the bones discovered in Maggie's backyard.
Distracted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 4) Page 11
