Silent Vows (25 page)

Ian, at the far end of the table, set his jaw in a 215

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firm line of disapproval. ****

The glass whipped past Michael’s head, so close in fact, if he hadn’t ducked, it would have impaled shards of glass all over him.

He heard Grainna ranting from outside the walls. Her tantrums became more and more frequent, leading him to question her sanity more than he already did.

He watched now as she paced the darkened room. The stench of blood coated every corner, every surface. No one was allowed in here except he and Grainna. The sight that was there would have sent the most seasoned warrior away clutching his stomach.

A limp, lifeless form of a woman sprawled on the floor, surrounded by a ring of blood, was becoming a weekly sight. Steel didn’t gag at the image. He no longer noticed the dead. Instead, his eyes traveled to Grainna to see if the years of age had been removed.

When they had returned to this time, Grainna’s skin sagged like that of an eighty-year-old woman, complete with stringy gray hair and spots covering the wrinkles and lines. Now her age had reversed by twenty years or more. Slight streaks of black peppered her hair, and her skin tightened enough to reveal that she’d been a beauty once, in her youth.

It took many weak Druids to give her what she had gained. Knowing the MacCoinnichs were powerful, and therefore able to give her much with their deaths, it became increasingly difficult for him to restrain her.

Even now, they argued over how soon they would be ready to attack.

“We aren’t ready.”

“I have watched the men train, some of them show skill.”

“Some, but not all. And with so many 216

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MacCoinnich’s, it will take every one of ours to be at their peak to defeat them.”

Grainna pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “We will not win this war by massive numbers, but one by one. I say we start picking them off.”

“And warn them? With even one of their deaths, an army will search us out. How confident are you in defeating them all before we are ready?”

He cleared his throat and tread on thin ice with his next words. “Only two of them sent you back the last time. All ten might end your life.”

“I’m immortal, or have you forgotten?”

“A lot of good that will do you if your head is removed from your body.” Michael knew he had said the right words. Although she didn’t fear death, the thought of being kept alive in such a state did spark concern somewhere in her brain.

“We will see them dead. All of them before I am done.”

He lowered his head. “Yes, My Queen. We will prevail.”

She slid to him and touched his cheek, spreading blood from the body of the woman on the floor to his skin. “Together we can rule this world, and once we have the other stones and the MacCoinnichs’ powers, we will rule not only this time but all the others as well. Immortality will be my gift to you.”

“Yes, My Queen.” He was counting on that.

****

“You know what is going on don’t you?”

Liz turned, her hand flew to her throat, in a forged effort to appear surprised. “Why do you sneak up on me like that?”

“I did not sneak. And don’t change the subject.”

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“What subject was that?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

She marched over to the tools. “No I don’t. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Dammit, woman.” He put a hand on her shoulder, intending to turn her around.

Liz grabbed his arm, kicked out her leg and knocked him off balance. To both their surprise, he landed on his back staring up at her. Liz did a little happy dance on the inside, but kept it there thinking it wasn’t good to gloat. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

“You didn’t say that in the stable.”

“Momentary lapse of sanity,” she explained. “It won’t happen again.”

Fin wiped his hands on his shirt when he stood.

“What is happening between Todd and Myra?”

“Ask them.”

“Myra refuses to talk.”

“They’re adults, Fin. Leave them alone.”

“She is my sister.”

“And old enough to make her own decisions.

Leave her alone.”

“My father will handfast them both if he catches them together.”

Liz granted him a smile and a wink before leaving his side. God, she loved getting under his skin. It made her feel so giddy inside.

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The subject of wandering off to the village dropped. Todd told Fin he couldn’t hurt Myra, which was the truth. When Fin questioned him further, Todd kept his mouth shut.

Whenever time allowed, Myra snuck into his room and slept in his arms. For the first time in months, Todd started to feel like he belonged.

With their stomachs full and the women retiring in the main hall, one by one, the men filed into Ian’s study.

Todd graciously took the splash of Scotch Ian handed him and stood by one of the long narrow windows. “So when do you expect this rain to let up?” he asked to anyone who listened. It was quite an adjustment having the world be so damp all the time, but then again, adjustment had been his middle name since he slipped through time.

He often wondered what Jake would say if he saw him now. He’d let his hair grow long, but refused to wear a beard or mustache. A few knights shaved, but they were the minority. Even Cian, who was just past his seventeenth birthday, let what chin hair he could manage, grow.

And the clothes, damn if he didn’t long for the jeans. Yes, he’d adjusted all right, as he stood in sixteenth-century attire. The leggings were a hell of a lot better than the kilts. He’d be dammed if he 219

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would wear a dress.

“The rain will decrease slightly by the end of the month, and by summer we should have several dry days,” Cian told him.

Duncan tossed another log into the fireplace before he took his seat. “So,” he regarded his father.

“What is this meeting about?”

Ian looked up at his eldest son and then to Todd.

“It’s time we start searching for Grainna, and find out what she is doing. It has been quiet for too long.”

Todd heaved a sigh of relief.

“You agree?” Ian asked him.

“I think it’s long overdue.” Todd pushed off the ledge he leaned on and moved closer to the fire. “I would much rather be on the offense than defense.”

“It does feel like we are waiting for her to make the first move.”

“Do you have any idea where she might be?”

Todd asked.

“She could be anywhere, but if history is any clue, she will have found a forgotten shelter of some sort. There are many of them littered over the Highlands.”

“Then we send scouts to see what they can find.”

“And risk her getting a hold of them? Nay, Fin, we have to think of another way. You both told me she controlled the men surrounding her in the future. She may be doing that again. Consider how easily she handled Lancaster.”

Todd noticed Duncan’s worried expression as he no doubt recalled the painful memories. Todd had heard the story many times. Grainna had kidnapped Tara with the help of Matthew of Lancaster and they both nearly lost their lives. Lancaster, to this day, remembered nothing of what occurred. If Grainna was able to control the minds of more experienced knights, there was no telling what evil she could vent.

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“Then how do we find her?” Cian asked.

They sat and pondered, as men do, with a drink in their hands and an expression of great thought on their faces.

“Has anyone else noticed how much time the women have been spending studying and practicing their spells?” Todd asked. “Why not put some of their power to use?”

“Ask the women to find her?”

“It’s worth a try. I know all of you want the whole Druid power thing to be underplayed, but my guess is Grainna isn’t going to hide anything. In the end everyone here might be exposed.”

“It’s risky,” Duncan said.

“Let me ask you this. How much of your last showdown with her was done with swords?”

Duncan shook his head.

“I thought so. If Grainna showed up here right now with an army, swords would be used, I’m sure, but without taking her out, they’ll keep coming. As much as I love Fin kicking my ass every day on the field, I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in anyone wanting to kill me.”

“We will use every resource we have,” Ian thought aloud, “even our women.”

****

Tara relayed some of the conversation from the other room, while Lora did the same.

Myra laughed at her father’s expression when he squinted his eyes at her mother and asked, “You know why we are here, don’t you?”

Lora nodded. “Guilty.”

“Sorry, love,” Tara said to her husband. “We were a bit curious when all of you left the dining hall 221

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so quickly.”

“What I want to know is why it’s taken you so long to think of us?” Lizzy asked.

“The role of women is not to have to concern themselves with these things.” Fin offered.

“But the fact is, we could use you. All of you.”

Todd took a chance and sat next to Myra. “What have you ladies been working on?”

Lizzy had asked that they all keep quiet about their spells, worried about how Simon might react to their newfound coven of sorts.

Myra glanced at Lizzy who now sat staring at her son.

“It’s okay, Mom. Geez, it’s not like I don’t already know you guys are practicing spells. If you did that last year, I’d probably have had a problem with it, but hellooo… we’ve traveled in time, start fires with our minds, and talk to each other in our heads. Spells seem kind of tame if you ask me.”

Simon rolled his eyes.

Lizzy smiled and ruffled his full head of hair, causing him to pull away in embarrassment.

“Well?” Ian asked.

“One of the books Myra brought back has been very helpful. If I had to guess, I think someone like us wrote it. Since most people in the twenty-first century think Druids are only priests and mystical at that, they never connected the dots. The lady who wrote the book thinks she is a witch and believes that with a coven, or group of witches, most anything is possible.” Liz turned an eye to Myra to elaborate.

“Together we are much stronger. Sometimes Liz and I will try something new, and we can’t make it work, but the four of us can.”

“Like what?”

“The first thing we tried was reading each other’s thoughts and memories.” Myra told them 222

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about seeing Lizzy’s visions of Simon as a baby and his abduction by Grainna.

“I heard you calling out for me in your mind.”

Simon said, recalling the day they first cast the circles.

“Yes.”

“That might be our biggest obstacle, seeing in without Grainna noticing. I mean, we all thought of Simon, but he knew we were there, or at least he knew Lizzy was there.” Tara added. “I assume you want us to try getting into Grainna’s head.”

“It would be best if she didn’t know we watched.”

Myra though about the cord they had charmed to keep noise within a room. “Maybe there is a way.”

She glanced at Liz, cocked her head to the side in the direction of Todd. “The cord.”

“Oh, my God. Yeah, that might work. We can charm our circle.”

Most of the others in the room appeared confused, except for maybe Todd.

“Would you two mind explaining?” Lora asked.

“Ah...Myra?” Todd glanced at Ian.

“Oh. Well, we would have to practice it first.”

Liz caught on, “We wouldn’t want to bore you with the details.”

“I am not bored.” Ian told her, his voice firm.

“Well. Myra and I were trying to think of a way to keep our magic more private.” Liz squirmed under Ian’s watchful eye.

“Aye, and we thought it would help if no one could hear what was happening in the room. Just in case one of the maids was nearby. You understand?”

“So you found a way to block out sound?” Lora held her breath when she asked. Myra knew her mother well enough to know she figured out what other sounds the charm blocked out. Myra noticed Ian’s eyes narrow when he arrived at the same 223

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conclusion.

“And did it work?” asked Cian, who listened, but remained clueless about all the unspoken conversation going on in the room.

“It worked,” Liz told him. “Now if we can hide behind another such spell or charm, maybe we could keep Grainna from seeing us.”

“We’ll need to practice on someone else first.”

“One of you.” Tara pointed to the men.

“You mean peek into our heads?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, but we shouldn’t tell you who it will be or when.”

Todd laughed. “Better than a wire tap.”

Liz and Tara laughed. No one else got it.

“Never mind.” Todd shook his head.

“Anyway, if it works, then we have our ticket into her head.”

“And her plans.”

A collective nod went around the room, and before everyone retired, it was decided the sisters would experiment over the next few days to see if their plan would work. ****

Michael scouted for Druids. It became a routine for him to blindly go and seek out people of his own race to fill Grainna’s needs.

Her quest for power was as maddening as it was insatiable. The prize of a Druid virgin had yet to be found, but that didn’t stop her slow progression to youth.

She would be hard for any of the MacCoinnichs to recognize now. The last woman she sacrificed had given her back ten years, and now she looked like a well-kept woman in her early fifties. Smoother skin, with hair that was turning back into the lush black it had been, returned her beauty.

She moved quicker, yet kept the same slow, evil eyes that watched everyone. Even Michael found 224

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himself questioning whether or not Grainna planned his demise. Although she promised him a deliverance of eternal life and power, he wasn’t stupid. She was driven by something larger than him, and she would think nothing of ending his life if she wanted to.