Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (73 page)

“Dallan, I…”

“
Shhhh
, dinna say anymore.” He drew her closer. “Except that ye’ll be my
wife
. Can ye? Will ye?” He kissed her tenderly. “Will ye marry me, Shona? Will ye let me care for you and yer heart? Will ye let me wipe away yer wee tears, lass? Say yes,
M’eudain
. Say yes and let me take ye home.”

She slumped in his arms, her emotions so alive that he had to hold her up. “But where is home?” She whispered.

He wrapped her in a warm smile. “Where ever the fair wind takes us, lass. I ha’ a feeling ‘twill be a good many places.”

“But what of my family, Dallan? Will I ever see them again?”

“Aye, lassie. I’ll see yer not kept from yer mother and Da. I ken how much I’ve missed my own. I’ll not
see ye go through that. I’ll fi
nd a way.”

“And Kitty? What of Kitty?”

“Th
e wee chirper will be fi
ne. Och, she can take care o’ herself, not to mention a few others in the process. The lass is either charmed or cursed. I’m not sure which. Dinna fash yerself, she’ll get along.” His smile vanished behind a face full of longing. “Ye havena answered my question, lass.” He again brought his lips to hers and whispered into them, “Will ye marry me?”

Shona raised her mouth to his and tenderly kissed him and eyes closed, mouth still against his, she whispered her answer upon his lips. “Yes.”

The Weapons Master then claimed the Maiden one last time before heading for the fencing room to prepare for the Joining.

* * *

“I brought it in case you had nothing. No Maiden should be joined unadorned. You want to give Dallan a memory to have with him should circumstances separate you for any
short
length of time.” Zara’s voice was soft and compelling. Shona found it hard not to stare open-mouthed at the graceful woman before her.

Zara held the dress up in front of her to display it better, and the Maiden reached out to touch the silken fabric. It
shimmered and moved when her fi
ngers contacted, and she abruptly drew back her hand.

Zara smiled. “It is very rare.”

“What is it made of?”

“
Sariana
. A Muiraran silk.”

Shona wasn’t sure which was more intriguing, the woman before her or the ivory-colored alien silk she displayed. “It is beautiful.”

“It is yours.”

“Mine?”

“Actually, it was your mother’s. She allowed me to bring it with us. She knew as well as I you would likely be joined here.”

“My mother?” Shona whispered. “My real mother?”

Zara smiled again. “Yes, Maiden, your real mother.”

Shona backed up and fell into a nearby chair, her face full of shock. “Do I have a father as well?”

Zara merely nodded. “A whole huge family.”

Shona’s look changed to simple curiosity. “Are you like me?”

“Yes. Would you like to see?”

Shona swallowed, smoothed back some loose wisps of hair from her face and nodded.

Zara pu
t the dress on the table and fl
uxed.

Shona gasped. The woman was beautiful, more than she had ever seen in her life. It was not so much physical beauty that the Muiraran woman possessed as… a presence, as if Zara’s heart and spirit were fully displayed before her.

“You look similar to me,” Zara began. “Your features, Muiraran. Your heart, patterned for Dallan. You will become all that he needs, sister. Just as I have for my husband.”

“How can that be?”

“Our race is very relational. We cannot survive alone for long. When one of us reaches
the age of Joining, we must fi
nd a mate, and we become what our future mate desires in his heart. I did not always look like this. The state of our he
arts governs our appearance. Th
e bigger my heart for
my husband grew, the more I became what I am now.”

“My appearance will change?”

“As your heart grows. But because you and Dallan bonded as children, you have a head start. I do not think you will change much in appearance, but your heart will change considerably the stronger it becomes. Dallan will not want to let you stray very far from him. He, like Kawahnee, will probably keep you to himself for a good year.”

“I do not understand.”

“Kawahnee would not accept inv
itations anywhere during the fi
rst year we were joined. He made sure we wer
e kept busy doing other things."

Shona’s brow raised in comprehension as she blushed.

Zara smiled. “You and Dallan may be busy for a long time, child.” She picked up the dress. “
Let me help you put this on. Th
en we will join the
others.”

Shona stood, still blushing as she began to remove her soiled, torn clothing. “Where are the others?”

Zara smiled as if hiding something. “The roof.”

“The roof?”

“Kawahnee does not like to be cooped up indoors. Neither does Dallan.”

 
Shona stopped and stared at Zara, whose features had melted back to human. “How does that happen?”

Zara touched her face. “Instinct. Neither you nor I can hold
ourselves
in Flux for long. It automatically hides our features from humans when surrounded by them, unless we need to use our hearts for other things. One’s heart cannot do
two things at once. Our camoufl
age instinct, for example, will shift to other
abilities being used. Th
at is why when we sing, our true selves show. You must be very careful, child, when and where you sing with your heart.”

Shona removed her dress and threw it across a chair
. “I do not understand the diff
erence between singing with my heart and just…
well,
singing.”

“After tonight, you will.” Zara said,
then
drew the silken gown over Shona’s head. Th
e fabric was loose and flowed to the fl
oor in layers that shimmered with the slightest movement.

Zara, done with
that,
moved to Shona’s hair and undid what little was left of the braid Kitty had plaited into it before the symphony. “Men like it when our hair is free.” Zara sai
d as she brushed it with her fi
ngers. She then went to a corner of the room and picked up a small brown leather pouch. She reached within and pulled out a circlet of gold. It looked to be a neck or headband.

“What is that?” Shona asked, moving to get a better look.

“The symbol of y
our house, child.
And your offi
ce.
It tells people
human and Muiraran, what you are.”

“And what am I?”

“The mate of a Time Master, child.
A daughter of the house of Shamaelon.
It says that you are special.” She held it up for her to see.

A Celtic knot with emeralds encrusting what looked li
ke a letter T atop a letter M adorned the golden band's
center
.
Nothing seemed to make the letters within the knot stationary.  It appeared as if they floated on air. 
How utterly
… alien.
Shona thought as she heard an unconscious gulp escape her.

Zara
smiled,
stepped forward and placed
it on Shona’s head, adjusting the band
until it
reste
d
as it sho
uld, the knot and letters rising
from the center of her forehead.

Shona looked at her expectantly, then around the room. “I wish there were a mirror here. Do I look all right? Will Dallan like it?”

Zara gave a light laugh. “You will see yourself mirrored in his eyes. Let them tell you how you look.” She reached into the pouch again and pulled out a golden belt, also decorated with emeralds. She placed it around Shona’s waist, gathered the folds of her gown and anchored them in place, then stepped back to study the Maiden.

“Is it all right? What is wrong?” Shona asked, noticing the displeased look on Zara’s face.

“Something is missing. Something Dallan needs.”

 
Shona glanced at herself then slowly gave her attention back to Zara. “I know what is missing.”

* * *

“What d’ye want me to do, John? Wave my hand and get us back to the village that way? Och, I dinna ken how any o’ it works! How am I supposed to get us all to Genis Lee?” Dallan spun to face Lany. “And what o’ Shona? The poor lassie has been through enough already. She’s barely accepted the fact she’s no a human being and now ye want her to do what Zara does? Saints, man! I’ve never even
seen
what Zara does!”

John tapped Dallan’s shoulder
to get his attention back. “Th
e Maiden can do it, Dallan. You only have to do the preliminary work. Once she gets started, your job is over. Don’t worry, she’ll be strong enough after the Joining to make the trip several times in a row.”

Dallan’s eyes widened at the statement. “But how?”

Lany put a reassuring hand o
n the Scot’s shoulder. “Th
e Joining has
to take place before anything else can be answered. Claiming your bride is more important
right now. Take care of her fi
rst. Worry about the rest later.”

Dallan snorted once and looked at him, eyes narrowed.

“
After all, she’s more important,"
Lany
added, ignoring the Scot's look.
"
She’s why you’re here to begin with, isn’t she?”

Dallan
sighed in resignation,
turned and wearily sat on a nearby bench, one of several arranged about Angus’s private rooftop garden. He dropped his face into his hands and rubbed tired eyes. “Aye, lad, yer right. She’s the important thing right now. The rest can wait till morning.”

“Good,” John began. “And don’t worry, Kwaku will guide you through everything and tell you what to do. It will be just like learning how to use a new weapon.”

Dallan brought his face out of his h
ands at the remark, his eyes fi
lled with fatigue and slowly nodded.

“Are we all ready, gentlemen?” Angus asked as he popped out from behind a large fern. “I believe the lass is.” He happily made his way to a marble bench placed in
front of a variety of potted fl
owers, ferns and small fruit trees, all of which seemed to glisten in the moonlight. He sat, his face beaming. “I’ve no been to a wedding in a verra long time. In fact, I’ve never been to this kind. What’s to be going on exactly?”

John sat ne
xt to Angus. “I think it’s a fi
rst for all of us. Kwaku and Zara are the experts. I know the basics, but that’s all.”

 
Dallan, still seated on the bench next to John’s, looked at the Lord Councilor expectantly. “Saints!”

“What is it?”

“I’ve no a ring for her. Do I need a ring, John?”

“You don’t need anything tonight. This is very informal. The formal
ceremony will take place once you and the Maiden are safely
back
in Mishna. You may take her shopping for a ring then if you like.”

Dallan’s voice was no more than a whisper. “In the city?”

 
John smiled. “Yes, Dallan, in the city. You and Shona will eventually live in Mishna but much of both your trainings will be done in Genis Lee
.
You will probably have living quarters in both.”

Dallan shot him a look of disbelief.

“Unless there is another place you had in mind. But I do have to warn you that there are stipulations and rules as to how to handle your wife. You can’t pop in and out of places whenever you want. You will take an oath during the formal ceremony to perform what
is asked of you by the Elders
. And, once taken, you cannot break the oath. Your heart and Shona’s will not let you. And usually they frown on a Time Master returning to his own time. Too much temptation to tamper with things.”

“What sort o’ things?” Dallan asked, breaking his silence.

“Changing history, preventing deaths of loved ones when they were meant to die. Causing deaths of others who were not meant to.”

Dallan stared long and hard at his own hands. “I canna bring them back? I canna interfere?”

“
Time Mas
ters do not "interfere", John began. "They're
more like observers sent to record events and gather information which can be used to make sure the same mistakes are not repeated or prevented altogether.  As to any actual interfering on your part i
t’s entirely up to you, Dallan. The oath can be refused, but if you do, they will take Shona from you.”