Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels Book Five) (24 page)

“Should I worry about Cian?”

“I want to say no. He lost the most
when we battled Grainna. The girl he loved fell victim and died before we could
destroy the witch. I suppose if any of us knew of a child of Grainna’s we might
have searched them out.”

“Guilty by association?”

“I don’t know. Men in these times
battle families based on the past deeds of their ancestors. My father has never
ruled that way, but ’tis hard to say if he would have, had he known of a child.”

The fog pulled in around them, and he
slowed the horse down to see the silhouette of the Keep.

“And if I carry her blood…will your
father damn me?”

He felt her answer before she said a
word. “Nay. My father will judge you on your merits. He will worry and
question. Grainna held so many powers, dark menacing power. Yet she was
beautiful on the outside. Only her dark eyes gave away her evil. The contradiction
is what will keep my family on alert.”

“Hmm. What about you, Amber? Will you
damn me?”

She twisted and looked up at him.

Kincaid pulled the horse to a stop
and opened his mind for her to search for answers.

“You’re worried Giles is right.”

“I am.” Because the evidence Giles
found in the past seldom led them down the wrong path.

“Then we’ll battle whatever internal
conflict might occur together.”

His chest warmed with the conviction
of her words. He leaned down and briefly touched his lips to hers.

She didn’t flinch.

“Let’s get you home,” he told her.

Without effort, the horse started to
move again, carefully picking his way through the fog.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“I did what I could, but the children
were charmed...protected.”

“I wanted you to bring them to me.”

Mouse barely held himself up. “I
couldn’t touch them. The power surrounding them was too great. You wanted to
create panic, which was achieved with the death of the parents.”

Raine seethed, gripped the back of
the chair.

“Did you at least penetrate the
manor?”

“Yes. Briefly.”

Mouse wasn’t meeting her eyes.

“Well?”

“Kincaid and Amber were both gone.
Slid in time.”

“Forward or back?”

“Back. Far back.”

Raine hid a smile. At least that part
worked.

The manor would fill quickly now.
Because Mouse had been inside and laid his own blood, he would be able to
penetrate the wards that would undoubtedly be placed. Only Mouse wasn’t cunning
enough or strong enough to finish the job Raine was preparing for.

No…she needed eyes back in time and
the blood of another.

Mouse barely kept his eyes open.

She still needed him, but needed him
more alert than he currently was. “Seek your bed, Mouse.”

He nearly collapsed with pleasure.

“Before you do, send Clarisse to me.”

Raine waited for the woman and smiled
when she entered the room. “Just the talent I need.”

****

 It was impossible not to smile.

She was home. Alive and home.

The laughter of the children was more
welcome than it had ever been before. With Gavin’s shield, she didn’t feel their
worry or their overriding emotions that once caused her pain. No, she only
heard their excitement, constant chatter, and questions. All of them asked
about the manor in the future. The manor had briefly been a sanctuary for them.
A wonderful escape into a future they will hear a lot about but would probably
never live in.

Aislin, Myra and Todd’s youngest
daughter, sat curled in Amber’s lap and listened to all the chatter.

“You look so different,” Fiona told
her. Tara and Duncan’s only daughter sat beside Selma, her cousin while all the
boys grouped together and kept a watchful eye on Gavin. Her poor husband had no
less than six sets of eyes on him at all times. If not the children’s, then the
adults in the room. Except for Cian. He decided to ride to the village and
avoid any more words on the touchy subject of Grainna’s blood.

Amber hated the divide from her
brother, but there wasn’t anything she could do now that she and Gavin were
bonded.

Family filled every corner of the
massive room.

“You look like yourself again.” Lora
smiled when she spoke.

“I feel like myself again,” Amber
told her.

“Amber tells me you’re the one who
knew I’d come,” Gavin said.

“I didn’t know who would come, only
that someone would.”

“Are you truly married?” Briac asked.

“Aye, son, they are,” Duncan spoke
for them.

“But doesn’t grandpa need to approve?
I mean, you are his daughter.”

Most of those in the room turned
their gaze to Ian.

“’Tis a little late for that now,
lad. Though I would have preferred some knowledge before any vows were
exchanged…”

“There was no time, Father,” Amber
told him.

I don’t think your dad likes me.
Gavin’s words spoke inside her head.

Give him time.

“Simon stood as witness. He
understood the urgency,” Amber said.

“Why didn’t he return with you?”
Lizzy asked.

“He didn’t know I was coming home.”

“How could he not know, lass?”

Guilt about the way she left swelled
in her chest.

“He couldn’t have come even if he
knew,” Gavin said. “There were important matters to attend to when we left.”

“What matters?” Fin asked.

How much should I say in front of the
kids?
Gavin asked
her.

How much is there to say? Did I miss
something?

Things were erupting after you
disappeared.

Are they in danger?

Someone in the room cleared their
throat.

“Selma, can you take the children
outside so we might speak?” Amber asked Liz and Fin’s oldest daughter.

A collective sigh of disappointment rose
from all eight kids. But not one of them argued as they stood and left the
room.

 Gavin sat on the arm of the chair
beside Amber while the rest of the family waited for some explanation.

Amber rested her hand on Gavin’s leg.
“What happened?”

“I felt you running, knew when I went
to our room that you wouldn’t be there. When I didn’t find you, panic filled
the house. Selma’s panic.”

“Selma?” Lizzy asked. “Do you mean
Selma Mayfair?”

“Yes. She’s been staying with us for
a few days. Someone threatened her, and Jake insisted she be around others.”

Todd sat up. “Jake? My partner Jake?”

“Aye, Todd. It seems the two of them
are attracted to one another. He seemed quite worried when she was threatened.”

“Was the threat magical?” Duncan
asked.

“It didn’t seem that way at first,”
Gavin told them. “But when I was leaving I knew Selma’s panic matched my own.
She was terrified for Jake’s daughters. She believed something awful was
happening to them.”

“Jesus,” Todd jumped to his feet. “We
need to help him. Jake’s girls are all he has.”

Ian lifted his hands in the air.
“Calm yourself. We will not rush into anything.”

Gavin nodded. “And traveling in time
to alter a single event for one’s own personal gain is forbidden. Besides, the
Ancients only allow us to travel where they want us to go.”

“But Jake—”

“He has Simon, Helen, and Selma with
him.”

“And Giles,” Amber added.

“Who is Giles?” Tara asked.

“He’s from my time,” Gavin said.

“Your time?” someone in the room
asked.

“When were you born?” This question
came from Tara.

“Twenty-one ninty-nine.”

“Really?”

“Wow! What’s it like in your time?”
Tara asked.

It seemed as if everyone in the room
focused on Gavin.

“Harder…some things are easier. The political
world is volatile and on the brink of civil war in nearly every ‘free country’.
Our natural resources are waning, as would be expected with the population
growth and the advancement of medicine. Many of us live as far off the grid as
we can to go unnoticed.”

“Off the grid? What is the meaning of
that?” Ian asked.

Gavin grinned. “Much like how you
live here. Your resources for living…food, shelter, and power…manpower are all
provided within the walls of the Manor. I live in Dawson Manor, which is much
different from the Manor you know. The home is the same, but larger. The
grounds extend for acres. The homes there now are occupied by those in our
brotherhood.”

“Brotherhood?”

“Or sisterhood. Many of us are Druid.
Some are family or sworn friends to our cause. Not unlike what you have here.
Laird Ian has his family and those watching the walls of this fortress. his
men, and his servants making sure everyone is fed, clothed.”

“And who manages this fortress?” Ian
asked.

“It’s more of a collective of Druids
that manage and protect those who are not. We follow the leadership of a
brother and sister whose powers help guide our path.”

Duncan pushed away from Tara’s side
as if he couldn’t stand still. “You said something about a cause? What cause do
you speak of?”

Gavin narrowed his eyes and paused.
“Yours. All of yours. We serve you.”

“How is that possible?” Lizzy asked.
“You don’t know us.”

“But I do. I know all of you. More
than you will ever know me, I’m afraid.”

“Do you meet us in the future? I
don’t get it.” Tara exchanged confused looks with her sister.

“No. Nothing like that. You set into
motion many things. The recovery of the trunk that Selma Mayfair retrieves with
a stone in the twenty-first century?” Gavin paused. “That trunk needs to travel
in time undisturbed for hundreds of years before it reaches its destination.
We, those of us who are branded warriors, make tasks like that happen.”

“Wait.” Todd tossed his hands in the
air. “How?”

Gavin smiled and Amber felt the
entire room riveted to his words. A level of honor washed over her as she
watched him speak.

He slowly lifted the sleeve of his
shirt and exposed the embedded ink circling his upper right arm. “The ink used
in this mark is derived from one of the original stones. Those stones are spread
throughout the globe in my time. I believe at least two reside in this home
throughout time. Only warriors, strong Druid warriors, are given the ability to
shift time. We have learned, from the librarians, of your trials and the risk
that Grainna posed to all. Imagine if the one stone had not made it to Selma
when it was needed most? How would that one task have changed all of our
lives?”

Amber remembered the final battle with
Grainna, how each of them was needed to fight against her in order to win.

“There are other times, when the
knights of this Keep are outnumbered and would have been overthrown if not for
our intervention.”

“Wait! Are you saying you’ve fought
in this very hall to protect the stones?”

Gavin nodded. “Yes. Many times.” As
if to make his point, he stood and walked to the hearth and ran a hand over its
massive stone mantel. When he reached the third stone on the end, he placed his
palm over it and watched it turn. Inside, a sacred stone lay alone.

“One of the original stones?” Gavin
directed his question to Ian.

Her father said nothing, but she
noted the flare of his nostrils and the rigid set of his shoulders.

“’Tis but a rock.”

Gavin lifted the sacred stone she
knew was anything but a rock and grinned. He moved the stone closer to his arm
and the Celtic marking on his arm appeared to glow. “More than a rock. But I
understand your need to protect it.” Gavin returned the stone and closed the
strange door.

“I have served this family, our
cause, since I knew of your existence. I am but one of your knights, Laird Ian,
sworn to protect this family and all the secrets you hold.”

Amber’s gaze shifted from her father
to her husband and she held her breath.

“How is it you came to know my
daughter? Did someone in your future tell you to find her?”

Gavin settled his eyes on her. A soft
smile met his lips. “I noticed her portrait hanging in the stairway of this
hall. It captured my attention because I’d never seen it before.”
And
because of your beauty.

Amber smiled.

“I asked Giles to search for the name
behind the picture. After that a series of events brought me to your daughter’s
side.”

“If your one purpose is to protect
this family then how is it you didn’t know Amber on sight?”

Gavin turned to her family. “I have
seen every one of your pictures. Portraits that even in my time are preserved
in this Keep. But not Amber’s. The books say very little of her. Giles and I
thought perhaps she’d passed away as a child. Obviously that isn’t the case.”

“You should tell them what Giles
learned right before we came here,” Amber said.

The prophesy?

Aye.

Kincaid shook his head but launched
into the driving force behind Amber’s speedy retreat home. “Giles found out that
Grainna had a child. And that the powerful child was thrown away by her at
birth. Throughout time, each offspring has only one child, only to give the
baby up. A mother giving away a son, a father giving away a daughter. It’s
repeated, making it difficult to follow the child’s ancestry.” The mention of
Grainna’s name brought every eye in the room on him.

“Go on.” Ian’s strong voice ordered
him to continue.

“The passage Giles believes pertained
to Amber and myself said this: Only when the powerful one bonds and completes
their union with one of equal gift, will the cycle be broken…and then the gifts
of the forefathers and mothers will come together. This bond will come from two
opposing families…enemies. A crossroad will follow where the path of good or
evil will be chosen. Power, in this time, will mean everything, and the path of
right will have been nearly forgotten. From this day forward, the path will not
be recorded to protect and preserve the future.”