All The Time You Need (5 page)

A nervous giggle spilled over her lips as she fit the stone into the opening and waited.

And waited some more.

“What an idiot,” she muttered at last, chuckling at her own gullible expectations that something wonderful would happen when she put the stone into the hole. “I hope you’re having a good laugh up there, Nana E,” she said, glancing toward the sky.

Somehow this all had to fit together, if she were only clever enough to figure it out. Maybe she was missing something.

Once again, she studied the carving. “There must be a meaning of some sort,” she said, tracing her finger first over the
A
on the left side of the square and then the
E
on the right side. She sat back and squinted at the carving, trying for some perspective. “A, heart, E,” she said aloud, reading the markings as they appeared with the stone in place.

The only halfway clever thing she could make from that was the obvious:
Aiden loves Ellen.
It was like something kids would come up with in high school.

What if she turned the stone around so that it would read
A, little heart, E?

Still not anything that made sense to her. But if it didn’t mean anything, why did someone bother to carve both sides and make them different? Was the carver just practicing his craft?

She sighed, running her hands over her face. Either the frustration or the ponytail was giving her a headache. She pulled the elastic band from her hair and scrubbed her fingers against her scalp. When was the last time she’d had a drink of water? Dehydration headache, maybe? She reached for the bottle she’d brought along with her, and tilted it to her mouth for a nice, long drink.

Maybe it had nothing to do with how the letters and the symbol read. Maybe she was being too literal and the meaning was more abstract. Maybe it had something to do with the overall picture.

One heart was big and one small. How else could she interpret that? One heart appeared far away and one close-up. Okay, if the carvings were somehow related to her grandmother’s situation, maybe there was a way to rationalize their meaning. Maybe that was how her grandmother might have felt about a lost love. Ellen was here and her Aiden was far away.

But why carve their initials on the square, Aiden on one side, Ellen on the other, separated by…what? A hole? And why make each side of the stone different?

“Suppose I put this in the other way around,” she mused, slipping the heart out of its space. Maybe seeing it the other way would trigger some brainstorm that had so far eluded her.

As before, the stone felt warm in her hand, tingling against her skin when she turned it over to face the little heart out to fit it back into the opening where it apparently belonged.

The instant the stone fell into place, a loud buzzing filled Annie’s ears and she ducked, one arm over her head, convinced an entire hive of bees must be after her. At the same time, the breeze picked up, swaying the branches over her head.

“What the heck?” she murmured, unable to spot the source of the odd green light glowing around the heart-shaped stone. It was as if the light came from inside the stone bench.

Around her, the wind continued to pick up speed, whipping her loose hair until it stung against her face and neck. The green light emanating from the bench grew until it filled the entire arbor like some massive spotlight. Tiny shards of colored lights shot past her head. It must be strange insects whose noise beat against her eardrums. Impossible to be sure. Since they moved so quickly, she could only distinguish them as bright points of rainbow-colored sparkles.

With a glance over her head to try to spot where the angrily buzzing insects massed before they attacked, she cautiously rose to her feet. Whatever was going on in this arbor, she wanted no part of it. She snagged her shoes and clutched them to her chest as she started forward but, before she could manage two steps toward the exit, the ground began to pitch under her feet, tossing her backward.

She tensed her muscles, waiting for the impact of the hard stone bench against her body, but she felt only a glancing blow to her cheek, which did nothing to slow her fall. Around her, the green light intensified, multiplied by an array of angrily buzzing, colored streaks, blinding her as she continued to fall. Her descent picked up speed, pitching her forward, faster and faster, as if she were falling into a deep and endless pit.

Her mind struggled to comprehend how such a thing could be possible and then, without warning, her body jerked to a sudden, bone-jarring stop. Suspended in midair, surrounded by a million shards of light and cocooned in a blanket of emerald green, her mind gave up any attempt at rational thought. Her eyes fluttered shut and the bizarre world around her faded away into oblivion.

Chapter 3

Highlands of Scotland

1295

“Uh-oh. Best you look to a hasty escape, my friend.” Finn MacCormack’s elbow to Alex’s ribs accompanied his words, as did a throaty growl from the wolfhound lying at Finn’s feet. “And quickly, at that.”

Alex turned his gaze from the trencher in front of him to the direction his friend indicated to find his sister headed toward him, her eyes fixed upon him with a determination he recognized all too well.

“Too late,” Finn added, dipping his head to concentrate on the food in front of him as if he thought to make himself invisible.

For one wild instant, Alex allowed himself the luxury of envisioning an escape from his sister. He wasn’t sure he could stand another bizarre round of conversation where Alissaundre MacKillican regaled him with stories of Faeries cavorting about, making mischief in their woods.

“I need you to come with me,” she said as she approached, one hand on her hip, already signaling her defiance. “And be quick about it, brother. I fear we’ve no time to waste.”

“Calm yerself, Lissa,” Alex began, but stopped as he really looked at his sister.

Though they were twins, Lissa was the opposite of him in almost every way. Where he was quiet and contemplative, she was outgoing and talkative. Where he took his time and rationally thought a thing through, she jumped in with both feet, guided always by her emotions.

But with all their differences, never had he seen her present herself in the great hall in such a disheveled state. Her copper curls escaped from her braid in every direction and mud coated the front of her gown and streaked her face.

“What in the name of all that’s holy have you been up to?” he demanded. “Yer a sight, lass.”

“The way I look is of no matter, Alex. You must come with me now and be quick about it,” she urged, reaching his side and fastening her fingers on his arm before pulling.

There was no living with her when she had her mind set in this way, so he might as well do as she asked.

With a resigned sigh, he rose from his seat. “Where do you think yer dragging me off to, Wee Lissa?”

The glare she returned at his use of the childhood name was exactly as he expected.

“To Grandda’s arbor,” she responded.

“You were outside the gates?” he demanded, abruptly stopping in his tracks, jolting her to a stop as well, since she held his arm still. “Alone?”

Hadn’t he enough to worry over, what with the half the people who came before him claiming some infraction against them or their property by marauding Gordons? Hadn’t he made himself clear enough on the matter when he’d spoken in the great hall, instructing all the inhabitants of the castle to remain inside the protection of the walls?

“Of course I was,” she answered, without even a remote touch of guilt in her expression. “Which reminds me, we have need of the gate key before we return. Do you carry it on yer person or must we waste more time doubling back to the laird’s solar?”

“
My
solar,” he growled, claiming it more to remind her of her place than out of any desire to actually
be
the laird. He also claimed her arm, wrapping his fingers tightly around her wrist. “I want an explanation, sister, before I take another single step. What were you doing outside the protection of the walls?”

“She’s come,” Lissa said with a shrug. “As I told you she would. Exactly as the Fae predicted. And it’s Da’s solar, no' yers. While he draws breath, it still belongs to him. You may well be acting in his stead, but I’ll no' bend a knee to you as laird until Da either declares it so or breathes no more.”

Alex sighed, not sure whether he should rebuke his sister for expressing the same doubt in him that he held himself or instead deal with the greater infraction, her endangering her own safety. Safest to deal with that which could not be disputed. Even now, as a woman grown, she still professed a ridiculous belief in Faeries, and because of that, she’d disobeyed the one and only thing he’d demanded of her. Lissa had spent far too much time in their grandda’s company growing up, digesting every half-wit Faerie story the old man had fed her.

“I’ve had more than enough of yer Faerie blether,” he said, dropping his hold on her wrist and turning his back on her. That he’d left a perfectly good meal on the table to attend to her ridiculous fantasy annoyed him to no end. “And beyond enough of yer games. Yer forbidden to leave the walls again.”

“And what business is it of yers that makes you think you can tell me what I can and canna do? I’ll take the keys and a bench to climb upon, if I must, and I’ll release her my own damn self. It’s no' as if I need you to get things done. Lord knows, if I’d waited for that, nothing would have happened here for the past year.”

As if her defiance were the final stick upon a workman’s back, all Alex’s frustrations of the past few days gathered themselves and burst forth as he whirled around to face his sister.

“You’ll do as I say because I tell you to do it,” he roared, fighting to calm himself and lower his voice as he strode back to tower over Lissa. “You’ll do as I say because I am Da’s heir and tannist. It falls to me to see to Dunellen’s safety and that of her people, and, whether you like it or no', little sister, that includes you. Until Da is up and on his feet again, you
will
do as I say.”

“But—” Lissa began, her hands on her hips.

“And I’ll thank you no' to challenge me in front of the whole of the clan, aye?” He held her gaze until her defiance began to melt. “I’ve no love of keeping you from what you want to do, as you should well know. I’ve always been the one to support yer eccentricities, have I no'?”

Too often, it now appeared. Maybe if he had been on their father’s side rather than hers, he wouldn’t be faced with this challenge now.

“You have,” she answered meekly. “And yer right, of course. My apologies, brother. I’ll no' challenge you publicly again. Our arguments are best left to be carried out in private.”

“Good enough, then,” he muttered, turning once again to return to the meal he’d left behind.

He sat down, took a bite that felt as wood shavings in his mouth and looked up to the spot where Lissa had stood only moments before. Something about his sister giving in so easily didn’t set right with him.

“She’s a fiery lass, for a fact,” Finn commented, his attempt to hide his grin failing miserably. “With a temper to match her beauty.”

“Neither my sister’s looks nor her temper is any of yer…” Alex automatically began, his words trailing off as he considered what Finn had said.

His friend was absolutely correct. Another marked difference between Alex and his twin had always been his long-simmering, calm demeanor as opposed to her quick, fiery temper.
Meek
was not something she did. Ever. No wonder the exchange between them hadn’t sat right. He might have been gone for a long time, but he had little faith that Lissa would have changed so drastically. Though they were different in many ways, his twin was every bit the stubborn fighter he was. Maybe even more so.

With a huff of frustration, Alex rose from his chair. Confronting her directly without taking the time to check would only make the situation between them worse. Especially if he were wrong about this. But even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew he was rarely wrong when he had one of these feelings.

“Want company?” Finn asked, rising to his feet.

“Yer welcome to come along if you like,” Alex answered.

If his suspicions were correct, having a second swordsman along could well end up being a good thing.

They strode out into the hallway and beyond, all the way to the laird’s solar. One look inside confirmed Alex’s suspicion. The keys his sister had wanted were missing from the peg where they were kept.

“Damn my slow wits,” he growled, grabbing his sword from the bench where it rested and hastening toward the massive wooden door at the entrance of the keep. It was the fastest route to where his sister was headed, and no doubt the way she had gone. “You’ve yer weapon on you?”

A low snort was Finn’s first response. “Even if I didn’t, I’ve got Dog. Though think upon it, my friend. Have you ever seen me without my weapon close at hand?”

Now that Finn pointed it out, Alex realized he hadn’t. He also had never seen his friend without his huge, scraggly dog at his side, a formidable weapon in its own right, just as he’d indicated.