Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (90 page)

“Here now, lad, let me ha’ that one so ye ca
n start on the rest.” Angus off
ered as he took a huge, newly sharpened claymore from Dallan and carefully set it on a nearby rack.

“Thank ye, Angus, ‘tis nice to ha’ ye here.” Dallan said as he reached for another sword. They worked at a makeshift table set up outside Dallan’s cottage, the
early
evening air placid and warm. Dallan worked in his faded, worn kilt, his Sark discarded long ago and carelessly thrown across the wooden bench near the cottage’s front door.

Mother MacNab shuffled out and grabbed the shirt up with a quick sweep of her hand. “And who does this belong to? Ye ken I
hates
it when ye men leave yer things lying about! Do I has to take me stick to yer thick backsides?”

Dallan sighed and looked over his shoulder at her. “’Tis mine, mother. I was going to bring it in later.”

“Aye, sure ye were. I’m an old woman! Ye canna expect me to pick up after ye like this!”

Dallan smiled and turned back to his sword. “Aye, mother, as ye say.”

Mother
turned on her heel, reentered the small cottage Sark in hand and slammed the door with a loud thud.

Angus shook his head. “Now that Zara’s healed me mother, there’ll be no peace for any o’ us. Are ye sure ye dinna want to retract yer invitation to ha’ us come live
wi
’ ye here in the village, lad? She’s liable to drive ye crazy.”

Dallan turned back to his cottage and listened to Mother talk to a lance propped near the open window. “Aye, she’ll drive me crazy. But I wilna see ye by yerselves. We need to be together, banded like clansmen, Angus. I just wish she’d go home to
your
cottage rather than spend the day in mine!”

Angus laughed and nodded his agreement. “She likes you and the lass.”

“Aye, that she does. No harm done so long as she goes home at night. And she does great with the wee lads. Besides, Alasdair needs to ha’ someone like
yerself
as well. Saints, I canna be brother and father to him, no more than Shona can be sister and mother. We need ye here. Both o’ you”

Angus beamed. “Ye dinna mind then i
f I takes the lad and Padric fi
shing tomorrow? Th
ere be a fi
ne s
tream a mile into the woods. Th
e
heathen says the fi
sh are as big as they come there.”

“
Aye, he's mentioned it to us as well. 
Go ahead. It’s been a long week, ha’ a bit o’ fun
wi
’ them.” Dallan glanced about himself expectantly. “Where are the wee savages, anyway? Come to think o’ it, where’s my wife?”

Angus snorted and shook his head. “Lost h
er already, have ye? A might fi
ne husband yer turning out to be!”

“Honest Angus, I dinna ken where she went. I wish she would stay close. She’s a wanderer, that one.”

“This is all new to her. She has as much adjusting as you
yerself
do. Ye’ve only been
marrit
a little over a week, and this is a whole new world for her. She’s curious, lad, nothing more.” As an afterthought he added, “She’s probably with Alasdair and Padric, in the cookhouse feeding the kittens.”

Dallan cringed. “Bloody good-for-nothing cats. Why did she ha’ to bring back so many? Och, two or thr
ee I can live with, but ten?
Th
at
Kitty Morgan will be the death o’ me.
Did I tell you how I got the burn on my arm?”

Angus chuckled.
About thirty times,
he thought to himself.

“The lass hit me with a hot pan! She’s destructive, she is! I hope Shona doesna want to visit her too soon. At least not until I’ve recovered from this last visit!”

  "Ye well ken ye could ha' had yer wife mend it."

  "Aye, but I wanted a reminder not to get too close to the wee chirper again any time soon."

Angus laughed loudly and handed him another sword just as Shona appeared with Alasdair and Padric, kittens spilling out of three sets of arms.

“Look, Dallan!” Alasdair began. “Their stomachs are full now. Shona says we can play
wi
’ them!”

Dallan watched as kitten after kitten ran right for him. For some reason, the little things loved him. He did not return the affection readily. “Why, ye nasty wee things! Get away from me!” Several kittens climbed up his soft leather boots, one managing to jump to his kilt and swing from the worn plaid, claws ripping the fabric in its desperate attempt to hang on.

Shona’s musical laughter reached her husband’s ears, calming his annoyance. “They like you, Dallan. Why do you not play with them awhile?”

Dallan pried the kitten off and looked at her, capturing her easily in a heated gaze. She was wearing the same dress she had worn during their joining and recent adventures, choosing now and then to wear it instead of her own clothes. He’d not had time to get her any new clothing; they had not yet been to the city and Genis Lee, by John and Kwaku’s order, had been evacuated to allow the newly joined couple some much-needed privacy. Only Padric and his father had been allowed to stay. “Come here, lass,” he beckoned in a velvet voice.

She put down the kittens she’d been holding and went to him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. At last, the kiss broken, Shona looked at the surrounding weapons. “What are you doing?”

Dallan
smiled, “Not what I’d like to be doing.” He looked about, scanning the a
rea, then whispered, “’Tis a fi
ne evening, let’s fetch the bla
nket out
o’
my
trunk and go to the meadow again tonight, Flower.”

She escaped his embrace and smile
d shyly. “Do you not have to finish here fi
rst?”

“The weapons can wait,” he again whispered to her softly. “I canna.”

She smiled again, picked up a saber and absently studied it. “It is very warm. Maybe we should go to the stream
Kwaku told us about
instead?”

Dallan began wrapping his sharpening stone and was about to agree when he noticed what she was doing. “Nay, Flower. Put the blade down. ’Tis sharp.”

Shona looked at him with a raised brow. “I know it is sharp.”

Dallan stood behind her and, wrapping his arms around her, took the saber from her hands. “Aye and I’ll no see ye hurt yerself. Dinna touch them again,
M’eudain.”

Angus drew his lower lip between his teeth a few times and motioned Alasdair and Padric over to his side. “Come, lads. Lets go see what’s left in the sweets barrel.”

Padric’s eyes widened. “But Angus,” he squeaked. “My father will kill us if we get caught!”

“Aye, laddie, but I aim to see we dinna get caught. Let’s be
off !
” Angus grabbed them and ushered them away from the cottage. He looked over his shoulder once to see Shona glaring at her husband’s hands, and began to laugh knowingly. He knew what was sure to happen next.

“I know how to handle a weapon, Dallan,” she commented calmly.

Dallan kept his hands over hers and laughed. “I’ll take care o’ my blades, Flower. I dinna want ye to get hurt.”

She turned in his arms to face him. “I said
,
I
can
handle a weapon.”

He brought his lips within a hairsbreadth
of her own
. “Aye and ye can handle me when we get to the stream.” He moved to kiss her but she squirmed out of his arms.

She picked up the saber again. “I can prove it.”

Dallan threw her a stern look. “Now lass, put the blade down.”

Shona stood straight, blade in hand and backed up a step or two. “No.”

Dallan’s face fell into shock for a split second before his eyes narrowed. “Put the blade down, Flower. Now, please.”

She grabbed another saber from the table and threw it at him.

He caught it and took a threatening step in her direction. “Saints, woman, what d’ye think yer doing?”

“Do not get angry, Dallan. I wish only to prove a point.”

“As do I. Put that blade down!”

She smiled, stepped away from the table, and assumed a fencing position. “En
Garde
.”

Dallan’s face fell. “Ye canna be serious, lass. Come here and give me the blade.” He began to slowly approach her.

She sensed the predatory air about him and backed up a step, then took on her previous position. “En
Garde
.”

Dallan rolled his eyes. “Och, lass, ye try my patience.”

 
She smiled and giggled.

“Oh, yer having a wee bit o’ fun now, are ye? Weel, we’ll see about that.” He began a purposeful stride toward her when she suddenly stood straight and alert, her e
yes fl
ying to the edge of the nearby woods.

Dallan was immediately at her side and took the sword from her. “What is it, Flower? What’s wrong?” He searched the area with his own warrior’s senses, following her gaze, then suddenly relaxed and brought her close to his chest.

She looked up at him expectantly. “Someone is there.”

“Aye,” Dallan agreed.

Shona cocked her head and searched the surrounding woods with her heart. “Oh. That is who it is.”

“Aye,” Dallan replied. “Blasted, bloody, good-for-nothing heathen.” He began to usher her back to the table. “Probably up a tree.”

Shona looked over her shoulder once to the woods and smiled. “Why are they here, Dallan?”

He set the swords on the table, turned and pulled her into his arms. “Better to ha’ the heathen nearby than a passel o’ guards from the city,
M’eudain.”

“I do not understand. What guards?”

“Seems the Elders deem the two o’ us a rare commodity, and they want nothing to happen between now and the formal
Sutyne
next week. Yer mother and father here havena returned from wherever it was they went, and they left orders. I didna think
ye’d
be verra comfortable
wi
’ all those people around, even if they are yer own kind. I thought ye might like the privacy. I ken I do.”

She smiled and snuggled closer. “Thank you.” Her hand reached
around him and grabbed a handful of his kilt, giving it a light tug.

“Och, lassie! Not here. Can ye no wait, Fl
ower? Let me get the blanket fi
rst.”

She gave him a huge grin then suddenly jumped away from him, sword in hand. “En
Garde
.”

Dallan groaned. “I’ll no tell ye again, lass. Give me the blade and let’s go to the stream.”

Shona’s eyes became fi
erce, her body tense and ready. “
En
Garde
.”

Dallan stood to his full height and eyed her, measuring her up. He shook his head in resignation. “The Almighty says ‘tis better to sleep on the
roof o’ yer house than be under it with a quarrelsome woman. He didna say anything about a woman
wi
’ a sword.” He picked up the other saber. “I’ll no play
wi
’ ye, lass. Ye’ve used up my patience.”

Her eyes narrowed.

He stood there a moment in regretful anger. “Have it your way.” He lunged at her and she blocked him expertly and sent him to the dusty ground. Dallan had never seen anyone move so fast. He climbed to his feet and looked her up and down in disbelief.

She smiled at him. “I told you. I know how to handle a weapon.”

Dallan began to smile as well. “Aye, little one, I see ye do. Now, let’s see how well.” He circled her, lunged, and for a second time was blocked and thrown to the dirt.

He shook himself this time, surprised at the force with which she’d landed him and again climbed to his feet. “All right, I’ll no play
wi
’ ye any longer. En
Garde
.”

With that, Shona
attacked, and they fought as warriors.

Kwaku’s laughter boomed from his hiding place in a huge oak as he drew his wife into his arms. They watched the couple battle each other, the new Time Master obviously the better of the two, proving it by
occasionally grabbing his wife
to kiss her as he feigned a pass or thrust.

“Dey battle well
togeder
, yes?”

Zara curled into his arms. “Yes, Kawahnee, they do.”

 
Kwaku held her tighter and whispered into her ear. “Hungry, beloved?”

 
She looked up a
t him as her ebony eyes fil
led with passion.

He smiled and kissed her, then looked back to the couple. “Let us go to de stream, den. She will keep him busy here for awhile.”