Redeeming Vows (28 page)

Fin gathered her hand in his, removed the backpack from her shoulder, and forced it over his with the second one.

As a crowd started to gather and stare, Fin drew Liz closer and headed toward their predetermined spot on the over-crowded observatory lawn.

As they approached Selma and the others, Fin noticed Jake standing by her side. Part of him tensed, truly unable to know if Jake was there to witness their departure, or keep them from leaving.

“Looks like you two are ready.” The police officer wasn’t wearing his uniform, and he didn’t hold a weapon. When he extended his right arm to Fin, he grasped it firmly.

“We owe you our gratitude.”

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Jake nodded once. “If this doesn’t work, I’m going to have to take you in.”

Fin didn’t blink. He shook the man’s hand and let it go. “I’ll tell Todd of your loyalty to him and your friendship.”

“You do that.”

Liz pushed through the both of them and wrapped her arms around the man. “Thank you so much for everything.”

A gasp waved over the crowd. Fin glanced at the sky and noted the color of the moon. Red. ’Twas time.

Liz quickly pulled Selma into her arms and whispered something in her ear. By the time they parted, both ladies held back tears.

Linda tapped her cousin on the shoulder. “We’re gathering people. You guys ready?”

Fin and Liz nodded.

Liz glanced around at the strangers surrounding them before she removed the sacred stone and set it down between her and Fin. Selma spoke into the walkie-talkie and stepped away.
This is it. Or at
least it had better be.

People started to stare at them more than the celestial event in the sky. With so many people, Liz thought it would be difficult to get anyone’s attention to listen to them, but Linda proved her wrong.

“As we bear witness to the complete eclipse of the moon, we here at the observatory would like to share with you a ritual that several Ancient people did in celebration of the event.”

Liz held in her laugh. Linda had nothing to do with the observatory, but those standing around them wouldn’t know that. Outside of a couple of security guards and a person operating the main telescope, there weren’t any
officials
around to contradict her.

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More than one head turned her way. A few noticed Liz and Fin and stood back when Selma ushered them aside.

“Sometimes, people would be sacrificed during the eclipse as a show of respect to the sun god for his generosity.” Linda should have been an actress. Her voice carried through the crowd. Fin captured both Liz’s hands and brought her attention to him.

“Are ye ready, love? The moon is red.”

Jake caught her attention. He brought a phone to his ear and swiveled toward the parking lot.

There, a few police cars pulled up with their lights flashing.

“It’s now or never.”

“Gather hands with your neighbor and send your thoughts to the gods. Ask them to accept our sacrifice as the Ancients did long ago.”

The dozen plus members of Selma’s family stood around and grasped hands. Others, strangers, probably toasted from the wine they drank or the weed they smoked, stood and held hands, too. Liz wouldn’t complain, they needed all the help they could get.

Over Selma’s shoulder, Jake was heading off the police. She couldn’t hear what he said, but his colleagues didn’t seem in a hurry to take them down.

“Light the ring,” she told Fin.

With a flick of his finger, a ring of fire caught on their blood surrounding them. The crowd gasped, but not in the way of alarm so much as in awe.

Liz stared at Selma and mouthed the words
thank you
, then knelt down to touch the stone with Fin’s hand in hers. The stone turned as red as the eclipsing moon. As she started to stand tall, the stone levitated from the ground until it sat at chest height between her and Fin.

Jake came forward with the cops at his side, his eyes wide.

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Liz took a deep breath and began. “Within this circle, we seek the power, to return in time with the Ancients’ power.”

“Okay, everyone, we need to break this up before someone gets hurt.” The officer at Jake’s side attempted to elbow his way between the people.

Liz shot out her hand in his direction and felt pulsating heat slip from her fingers. “Circle the people with a shield, show us the power that they yield.”

The cop flew back. Jake sprang to the side.

Another cop attempted to move toward them and found himself on his butt in the grass.

The crowd around them gasped. Their eyes were wide and no longer stared at the moon.

Liz grabbed hold of Fin’s hands again and willed their bodies to rise. The flame surrounding them grew with their assent.

“In this night and in this hour, we ask the Ancients for this power. Send us now across the sea, to be back with our family.” Liz glanced to the moon, now completely red with the full eclipse.

Several feet below them the circle of people stared. “If the Ancients will it so, send us now and let us go.”

The air thinned and the stars around them swirled until they appeared as streaks of light. Fin held her hands with such a firm grip she thought they’d break but didn’t dare let go.

They were moving. Time shifting.

The cool air hit her senses first, then the quick thud of landing, which wasn’t all that soft. They tumbled to the ground with such force, they released each other’s hands.

When Liz’s head stopped spinning, she opened her eyes to see the forest where she and Fin had made love prior to their journey in time.

They were back. She could feel it.

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“We did it,” she called back to Fin.

Expecting an instant response, her heart fell in her chest when he didn’t.

She sat up and saw his frame a few feet away.

“Good God, don’t scare me like that. For a minute I didn’t think we both made it.”

Fin didn’t respond.

“Fin?”

She hurried to his side. He lay there, eyes closed. Liz shook his shoulders, trying to wake him.

Had he fainted during the trip?

“Fin. Wake up.”

He didn’t. Liz smoothed his hair out of his eyes.

Something slick and warm coated her hand. Terror swam over her every bone. “Fin?”

She pulled the sticky substance to her nose, but she already knew what it was. Under Fin’s head was a rock, covered in blood.

His blood.

“No. Please God, no.”

Liz pulled their backpacks to his side, found his twenty first century T-shirt, and pushed it against his wound. “Come on, Finlay. Wake up. Don’t do this to me.”

She needed help, but had no idea where anyone was.
Simon!
She yelled in her head.
Simon, where are
you?
Liz held her breath, hoping Simon could hear her. She didn’t even see smoke from the camp. For all she knew, the MacCoinnichs had left.

“Please, Simon. Hear me.”

A rustle in the trees brought the hair on her nape to a stand. She watched as a wolf emerged from the bush, its tail bent low. “Simon, is that you?”

Instead of an answer, Simon shifted form and walked from it naked and smiling.

He ran to her arms and started to weep. “I 248

Redeeming Vows

thought I’d lost you forever.”

“Never,” she whispered into his hair.

“What happened? Where were you?”

“Not now, Simon. Fin’s hurt. We need to get him to the others.”

Simon pushed out of her arms and bent toward Fin. “Stay here but keep quiet. There’s a lot of danger in the forest tonight. I’ll be back with others to help.”

Something wasn’t right with her son. If the forest was so dangerous, why was he in it alone?

Before she could ask, Simon shifted into a falcon and took to the sky.

Once he was gone, she smoothed a hand over Fin’s face. “Wake up.”

The sleeve of her gown grazed his bloodied hair.

She noticed the stain and looked down at her dress.

She needed to change before she was seen. She didn’t need anyone linking her in this gown to the image she wanted in the future.

After a quick change, Liz tucked the gown away, and searched the ground for the sacred stone. She couldn’t find it.
Where could it have gone?

“Can’t anything go right?”

She stopped. Of course the stone didn’t travel with them. The stone was already in this time, somewhere, either at the keep or in safekeeping with the MacCoinnichs. Six of them made it to this time, to hold one from the future would mean there are now seven, and that wasn’t possible.

Forgetting the stone, Liz slipped beside Fin and carefully pulled his head into her lap and resigned herself to wait.

“We did it, Fin. Now wake up so I can kill you for scaring me like this.”

He didn’t so much as sigh.

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There wasn’t time to waste, no pride to be had.

Simon swooped into the massive tent, bringing a gasp from the only real stranger in the space. He knew who she was, didn’t trust her in the least, but had little choice but to shift in front of Tatiana.

Each time the shifting grew easier, like riding a bike. He didn’t even feel his bones pop and muscles pull any longer.

“Simon,” Tara nearly cried his name as she quickly wrapped his naked body in a blanket.

Funny, he didn’t even think of his nudity.

Flipping in and out of wolf and falcon form made him forget he didn’t wear a stitch of clothing.

“Where is Ian?”

“With Cian.”

Simon’s gaze fell on Tatiana, who sat in the corner with her mouth gaped open and her eyes wide.

“Are they near?”

“Yes. Simon, where have you been? We’ve been worried about you,” Lora scolded.

Simon let his head fall for only a second, then whispered. “Call Ian. They’re back and need his help.”

“They? Who?”

Sliding a nervous stare to Tatiana then back, Simon didn’t offer a reply. “Tell him to hurry.”

Simon found some clothing, quickly changed, and then left the tent. He met Ian and Cian. Duncan and Todd soon followed.

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“Where have ye been, lad?”

“No time. My mom and Fin are back and need help.”

Simon started walking away.

Ian caught his arm. “What is amiss? Are they injured?”

“Fin isn’t well.” Simon forced his eyes to meet Cian’s. “He needs your help.”

Duncan stayed behind while Todd quickly gathered three horses before setting out into the forest.

Simon rode with Cian, although to do so hurt.

Anger still boiled inside him. They had to slow down the horses once they started into the forest and thick brush.

“You were right about Tatiana.”

Simon held perfectly still and said nothing.

“She is a pawn of Grainna’s.”

“Then why is she in our tent?”

“You could call her a prisoner now.”

The sorrow in Cian’s voice helped ease some of his own hurt.

“I didn’t want to be right about her.”

“And I should not have spoken to you the way I did. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Simon sighed. “Life’s too short to dwell.” Way too friggin’ short. The apology helped. A lot.

“Over there.” He pointed to the left.
We’re almost
there, Mom.

Thank God.

Is Fin awake yet?

She didn’t answer right away.
No.

Ian reached Fin’s side first, followed by Cian.

Simon placed a hand on his mother’s back and watched.

“When we landed, he hit his head on a rock. Can you help him, Cian?”

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“Or die trying,” he said before placing his hands over his brother’s head and calling his power.

Blue light pulsed and vibrated. The glow lit up the space around them. Simon felt his mom holding her breath, watched her eyes widen and her lips tremble. When Fin sucked in a deep breath and stared to move, Liz all but collapsed against Simon’s side. When Fin’s eyelids started to flutter, Liz pushed closer to him and wrapped her hands around his face. Cian sat back, giving her room.

“Are we home, love?” were his first words.

“You bastard, don’t you ever do that to me again!” Instead of the slap or punch or some such aggressive move Simon expected, he watched his mom lean over Fin and lay her head against his chest and sob. It was as if she had held in her worry until she knew he was safe.

Fin lowered his lips to the top of her head with a tenderness Simon had never seen from him before.

“Welcome home, son.”

“Hey,” Todd yelled out.

Everyone stilled.

“We have company.” Todd pointed to the east.

Simon’s eyes shifted and peered into the forest.

“There are three of them. Big men, carrying swords and splitting up.”

“How can you see them?”

Fin forced Liz from his frame and sat up. Cian pulled his sword from his waist.

“I can smell them, too. Blood, lots of it.”

“Theirs?”

“No. Others’ I think.” He knew it, but didn’t want to frighten his mother any more than she already was.

“They’re moving.” Simon stood and removed his shirt and kicked off his leggings and jumped to the sky.

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“Jesus Christ that was fast,” Todd cried.

Simon, where are you going?

He silently flew above the men, noticed one pull an arrow from his pouch.

Duck!
he yelled in his head.

His mom shouted his order aloud to the others just as the man let the arrow fly in the air.

Tell Todd there is one on his left hiding behind
the biggest tree. Another is watching and waiting for
you all to stand.

Liz couched on the balls of her feet and told the others his observations.

Where is the third?

Circling behind.

With his mom in the middle, Ian, Fin, Cian, and Todd placed their backs to her and stayed low. The man with the arrow drew closer.