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“Snowmen,” Lizzy and Tara corrected together.
“Aye, snowmen decorating the bag.”
“Why so many?” Fin asked.
Lizzy smirked. “Because the companies that make them want to make money.”
“Remember I told you that Christmas was too commercialized?” Tara asked.
Several of them nodded.
“People in the future buy too much, eat too much and have forgotten about the important things. Like family.” Tara reached over and held Duncan’s hand.
Myra swallowed as her gaze slipped to the floor.
It wasn’t that she begrudged Tara and Duncan their happiness, but her heart felt empty. She couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever feel whole again.
****
Everything looked like a fairy tale. From the long dress she wore, to the slippers on her feet. Liz couldn’t have felt more out of place if she tried. Yet Tara blended in quite well. Even her words had changed. A little of the MacCoinnich accent floated off her tongue and had Liz looking at her twice.
Dear Lord, she could hardly understand the servants. When one arrived in her room to help her dress, all Liz could do was stare wide-eyed, afraid to talk after Fin’s little speech about keeping her identity a secret. She didn’t have to bother.
Apparently they sent Tara’s maid who was used to their strange speech.
In fact, all the MacCoinnichs spoke differently than the others at the Keep. The family worked hard learning the verbiage of the future. That way when they had to blend in, they could.
She stole a peek at Fin dressed in a kilt.
What
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does he wear under that thing anyway?
She shook the thought from her head. The red plaid hung just below his knees. His boots went half way up his muscular calf.
Why do all the assholes have to be so good
looking?
Boy, was he an asshole. Not to Simon, however. No, Simon had talked with Fin several times in the morning hours about the machines of the twenty-first century. Even now, with both of them huddled over the book on plumbing, they acted as though they had known each other longer than a few hours. Having fixed her toilets more than once, Liz knew she could help him with the bathroom project. It was much more entertaining however, to watch the jerk struggle.
As the day went on, Myra became more and more silent. Her blank face stared at the fire or off into space. A pleasant smile surfaced when someone spoke directly to her, but it was forced. When she excused herself from the room, Liz waited a few minutes before following her with Tara and Amber close behind.
The three of them quietly walked into Myra’s room, where they found her curled up in a ball, weeping. Slowly they sat on the bed and each placed a hand on her to tell her they were there.
“I miss him, Lizzy.”
“I know,” she said wiping a tear from her eye.
“I’m sure he misses you, too.”
“Why does it hurt so much?”
“Loving someone is a powerful emotion. Losing that is just as strong.”
A sob broke free and Myra clasped her hand.
“When will this empty pain go away?”
Liz looked at Tara and Amber who both sat quietly. “I don’t know.”
Then Myra cried, cried until the tears dried up.
Only when she had fallen asleep did the sisters leave 145
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the room.
****
Todd and Jake arrived at the hospital in plain clothes. They were out of their jurisdiction, but that didn’t stop them from flashing a badge when they hit the wall of a nurse who wasn’t willing to point out where Gwen Adams was.
She was sleeping when they entered her room.
The only noise came from the roommate’s television.
Todd lifted the picture he had of Ms. Adams and compared it to the woman in the bed. Even asleep, she appeared younger. Odd, he thought most elderly people looked older without makeup. So this was the woman Myra feared with her life.
Suddenly, Ms. Adams eyes darted open and straight to his. Her instant scowl quickly changed to a knowing smile. “Officers,” she said in greeting.
Jake looked at his partner than to her. “How do you know we’re cops?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, with her eyes never looking away from Todd’s, she said, “Sit, please.”
“Where have you been, Ms. Adams?” Jake asked the minute they were comfortable.
“Well, we old people are quite forgetful at times.”
“You don’t remember where you’ve been for half a year?”
“Bits and pieces. I’m sorry to have caused so much trouble.” Moaning, she extended her hand asking for her water. “Please?”
Her eyes shifted to Todd’s again.
She’s creepy,
Myra. I’ll give you that.
“I fell you see, that I remember. Then nothing for quite awhile. Clearly someone took care of me, 146
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since I am not hurt or deathly ill.”
“Are you saying you had some type of amnesia?”
Jake wrote something down. Todd knew he was comparing notes to Myra’s case.
“I suppose you could say that. I remember horses and people dressed in elaborate costumes, but again I may be remembering the Faire players. You do know I manage a Renaissance Faire?”
Todd bit his tongue. Yeah, she could be thinking of the Ren Faire, or she could have been sent back by Myra’s family. Either way she was someone he would have to watch. This old biddy was the reason Myra had to leave when she did. For that, he hated her.
****
He knew the MacCoinnich’s daughter and wished for her to return. As she peered deeper, he winced and glanced her way. His hand went to his head as if it ached. Then his thoughts shut off.
Grainna’s teeth ground together. Frustrated, she dug deeper, but to no avail. He knew much, this man who watched while the other questioned. Knew of her power and sought to discredit her.
She hated his type, full of himself and the power behind his badge. He looked down on her and wanted to dismiss her.
Look at me as if I’m nothing
. Under the sheets, she twisted her fingers and chanted in her head.
“So...” Todd started talking, and then coughed on his words. “Do you remember...” He shook his head and coughed again. His hand went to his throat, and his eyes shot over to the woman in the bed.
You question my power and brought this on
yourself.
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her best not to smile.
Grainna drew her brows together. “Are you okay? Here take some water, young man,” she handed him her water.
She allowed one quick breath. Once he drank the water, she released her fingers and let her grin slip. His partner tossed him a concerned look, patted him on the back.
They asked a few more questions, which Grainna avoided. Todd’s eyes narrowed.
They stepped out of the room a few minutes later and talked by the door.
“What happened back there? Did you pick up smoking when I wasn’t looking?”
“No.”
“You sick?”
“No.” His voice held a slight tremor.
From inside the room, Grainna laughed.
****
“Was he good to her?”
“Yeah. He was. There aren’t many men who will take in a stranger like he did.”
“They would for sex.”
“I don’t think it was like that. Don’t get me wrong, I know they had sex, but I truly think Myra meant something to him. He would sit next to her and stroke her hair. What guy does that?”
“Not many.”
“I don’t think Todd really believed Myra was from this century. Jiminy Christmas, this place is something.” Liz tossed her hands to the air and looked around the walls of the Keep. Stone walls with tapestries the size of rooms. Knights in the courtyard below. Shit, she was having a hard time 148
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believing it, and Lizzy was sitting smack-dab in the middle of it.
“Or this?” Tara tossed her hand to a candle and lit its wick.
“
I
can’t get past that!” Her mouth dropped open.
“Do you really think I could learn?”
“Just keep practicing like I showed you. It will come. I couldn’t do it the first few times either.”
Getting back on the subject Tara asked, “So tell me more about Todd.”
“I told you, he’s a cop. Cute. Really cute, his hair is a little long, but after seeing all the men here I guess not so much. By the way, Duncan is to die for.”
Tara swatted her sister’s arm. “He’s mine.”
“I’m just saying...nice.”
“Fin has a similar look.” Tara cast her a glance.
“Fin’s an ass.”
“He is not.”
“Puleeese. What a chauvinist, telling me how I’m to act and what I’m to say. I tell ya, Tara, I don’t know how you deal with it.”
“There is plenty of chivalry to go around. Aye, I admit some chauvinism, but the price is little when you compare the two. The men here feel a need to protect the women and the children with honor and respect. In turn, the women cater to their men. I have seen very few men who don’t deserve the catering the women give. Of course, I live like a queen, and my husband denies me nothing. I wouldn’t have it any other way, Lizzy. Duncan is the best thing that ever happened to me. Fin’s been there for me as well. When he marries, his wife will be treated with respect and love.”
Liz wanted to correct her sister but instead added, “Then I hope he finds her soon, so she can teach him a thing or two about women.”
“I don’t think Fin spends much time
talking
to the women.”
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“Meaning?” Liz asked.
“His reputation isn’t all that squeaky clean.”
Liz looked down at her skirts. “They never are, Tara. They never are.”
Just how soiled was it?
“You might try and get along with him, Lizzy.
He’s the one who will take you back.”
Liz looked up at her sister and asked, “Why not you?”
“I can’t. Not with the baby. I don’t know the effect of time travel on him or her. Besides, the Druid wedding vows Duncan and I exchanged are so binding, we truly can’t be away from each other for long. We can actually speak to one another in our heads.”
“No shit? Like telepathy?”
“Crazy isn’t it? The second we tied our hands together, my thoughts merged with his, and we spoke to one another without moving our lips.”
Shaking her head, Lizzy said, “I don’t think I’d like having someone in my thoughts all the time.
What if you’re mad at him?”
“Well, there are ways of tuning him out, but our emotions are very strong. When Grainna captured me, he found me because of our connection, that and what I told you about Amber.”
“Amber’s an empath?” Liz asked.
Tara nodded. “Finding me had more to do with our blood sister chant than her ability to feel my emotions.”
Liz shook her head. “You really believe that stupid blood sister pledge we did back in Jr. High connected you to Amber and Myra?”
“Do you have a better explanation?”
“It sounds like a bad ‘B’ movie.” If she weren’t living it, Liz wouldn’t believe any of it.
“Call it what you want. When Myra went to the future, I knew she would be back. Amber’s emotions on the subject were even stronger. When Grainna 150
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kidnapped me, I was able to send telepathic messages to Amber. That mental link led Duncan straight to me.”
“If Duncan can talk to you in his head, how come he didn’t know what was happening?”
Tara’s gaze grew distant for a brief moment. A glimmer of pain, probably brought on by the memories of her abdication, shown in her eyes.
“When Duncan is too far away, we can’t hear each other. If it weren’t for the connection to Amber, he may not have found me. If I were to travel to the future without him, there is no telling if I would survive the trip. According to Lora, the binding vows we pledged to each other give us the advantage of each other’s thoughts and emotions, but it also leaves us with a gaping hole if something happens to either of us. Most Druids who marry like we did die within days of each other.”
Liz’s gaze shot to the men on field. A chill settled deep in her stomach.
“So you see,” Tara interrupted Lizzy’s thoughts.
“Duncan and I can’t be separated.”
Liz realized she’d asked the impossible. “Of course, I’m sorry I asked.”
“Myra can’t be asked to go again. Besides, Laird Ian wouldn’t allow it.”
“I guess not.”
Several men, including Fin and Duncan, practiced their fighting skills with their swords in the courtyard. Loud clangs and clashes with the occasional grunt mixed in the air. Their shirtless bodies wet with the work of their exercise, muscles bulged with the weight of their weapons. Lizzy licked her dry lips, trying not to look when the kilts rose too high.
“History makes these times out to be full of war and death. Is it?” Liz watched Fin swing a double-edged sword over his head.
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“Yes and no. Lora told me battles are fought all the time, that the men are always ready to defend the Keep. In the last five years however, things have been relatively quiet. She thinks the Ancients are keeping away the carnage so the MacCoinnichs have time and manpower to defeat Grainna.”
“Sounds far-fetched to me.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you had come face to face with her.”
“Come on, Tara, one woman against a whole army of men? And an old woman at that.”
“Yeah, a five hundred year old woman. Immortal and full of rage and hatred over everything and everyone.”