Donna Fletcher Short Story Collection (15 page)

“Then if you believe me a witch, don’t you
fear being enticed to your doom?”

He shook his head and crossed his arms over
his chest. “I saved you, therefore, you are beholden to me.”

Why did she have to be impressed by his
muscles? Here she was having traveled through time and what does
she do? She admires a Highlander’s muscles. Was she an idiot? She
had to take control not only of the situation, but of him. And the
place to start was with his name. At least knowing it would allow
her to weave a spell if necessary. And buy her time for her family
to locate her and bring her home.

“What is your name?” she asked firmly, though
kept demand out of her tone.

“I would be a fool to reveal that to you,” he
said with a grin. “I am not completely ignorant of a witch’s way,
though I will have
your
name.”

She saw no harm in it and gave it freely,
hoping he may at some point change his mind and share his name with
her. “Jade.”

“Jade,” he said, “a strange name for a
beautiful witch.”

He thought her beautiful.
She caught
herself before she responded with a smile. Whatever was the matter
with her? Her circumstances were dire and here she was sensitive to
the fact that he thought her beautiful. Need she forget that he
also thought her a witch?

“Why do you say I am beholden to you?” she
asked rubbing the chill from her arms.

He walked over to a three-legged chair lying
on its side on the earth floor, grabbed it and snapped it over
bended knee to break easily into pieces. He scooped them up, tossed
them in the fireplace and set to work starting a fire.

Only when he got a fire going did he answer
her. “Being a witch you know why, but I will play your game for in
the end you know you cannot deny me.”

Deny him
. She didn’t like the sound of
that, even though he was right. It was part of the Witches Code,
though a very old part that very few were aware of or acknowledged.
Perhaps it was known well in this time period.

“A witch is beholden to anyone who saves her
life and does her no harm.”

“For how long?” she asked, though knew the
answer.

He moved closer and took hold of a strand of
her hair that curled at her shoulder and rubbed it between his
fingers. “Silky and soft, the color of moonlight, and so very
lovely.”

It was odd to hear a man admire her hair in
such a way. A modern man might comment on her being a natural blond
but never would one compare it to the color of moonlight. And she
found she rather liked the comparison. It was romantic.

She gave herself another silent warning. She
was letting control of the situation slip away from her and that
could prove dangerous. She had to keep her wits about her. It
wasn’t easy though with him standing so close. Where before a chill
had run through her, heat now slowly consumed her body and the fire
wasn’t providing the heat. The Highlander was affecting her like no
other man ever had. And it was so unlike her to feel this way on
first meeting someone. Naturally, she had been attracted to the men
she dated, but never had she experienced such a strong appeal to a
man so soon.

She had always been careful and selective
when it came to men. She wanted time to get to know them, while
they wanted to get to know her intimately right away. Not an option
for her.

When it came to the Highlander she wondered
if she would want to wait to get to know him or be careless and
throw caution to the wind as Aunt Sydney would say. That thought
was like a slap in the face to her. Was she losing all sound
reason? She always prided herself on her sensibility when it came
to men. And this foreign reaction of hers to the Highlander was far
from sensible.

She forced herself to remain focused. “How
long?” she repeated realizing he hadn’t answered her question.

“Until the witch bestows a favor.”

Jade felt herself backed into a corner. He
believed her a witch and she doubted he would relent and believe
otherwise. Therefore he would not release her. She could admit she
was a witch and grant him a favor, allowing her to be on her way.
Both solutions meant revealing herself as a witch, a dangerous
declaration in this era.

He leaned close, as if he meant to kiss her
and said, “Your loveliness stuns the eyes.”

Were her knees going weak from his words?

His arm slipped around her waist and drew her
close. “You grow weak?”

Damn if she wasn’t. He was melting her with
his romantic words.

She had to put an end to this. He was a
Highlander warrior and she was a modern witch. Nothing could ever
come of them. If anything, it was a mere romantic fantasy, the
stuff that books were written about.

She had to get rid of him and concentrate on
connecting with her family and finding the way back home. The only
way she could do that was...

She gave him a gentle shove and said, “You’re
right. I am a witch. What favor do you want of me?”

He smiled. “I knew it as soon as I first laid
eyes on you. Your strange yet enticing scent, your garments just as
strange and just as alluring and your beauty like no other I have
ever seen. You had to be a witch, for you tempted my soul at first
glance.”

He was all but blaming the witch in her for
tempting him and yet he made it sound romantic. She shook her head
at the crazy thought and warned herself once again to concentrate
and be done with him.

“Let me think,” he said and took a step
toward her.

Jade backed away from him, his dark eyes
warning that he may ask for something she would not be willing to
give.

“You cannot deny me.”

She didn’t like the reminder and she grew
more concerned over the favor he would ask of her. “Your favor can
bring harm to none, otherwise I can deny you.”

“I wish no one harm,” he said.

“Then ask your favor and be done with
it.”

“And you will grant it?” he asked a bit
doubtfully.

Jade had enough. “Ask and get it over or I
just may turn you into a toad for annoying me.”

He walked over to her, rested his hands at
her waist and said, “Be my wife.”

~~~

Jade stared at him speechless for several
moments before she was able to ask, “Be your wife?”

“Aye,” he nodded.

“That’s more than a favor you ask of me.”

“It is best for both of us.”

“I don’t see how,” she said slipping away
from him only to have his strong hands draw her back to him
again.

“Trust me when I say we were fated to
meet.”

“Trust you?” she said with a choked laugh. “I
don’t even know your name.”

“You will if you marry me.”

Jade was beginning to wonder if perhaps she
had fallen down the rabbit hole, nothing made sense.

His hand slipped around her neck and his lips
drifted to hers. “Can you not feel the magic between us?”

He felt it too, this pull, tug, draw that
refused to let go, that made no sense but somehow seemed so right.
Could it be real?

“My name is Tor, I give you my name as you
freely gave me yours.” He waited his lips hovering just above
hers.

His words struck a familiar chord that she
had heard before but couldn’t quite grasp, like a word on the tip
of the tongue one fought to recall.

She went to shake her head but his mouth
caught hers and he kissed her, chasing the last of sound reason
from her mind and leaving nothing but the kiss. It melted her
defenses and she was soon lost to its power.

Tor’s head shot up suddenly, though his arm
remained firm around her waist.

“Come out, witch, we know you’re in there,”
yelled a man outside the cottage.

“Stay close and hold tight. I will keep you
safe,” Tor warned and with that he tugged her along as he hurried
them outside.

Fear shot through Jade as she glanced at five
men who stood sword in hand. In the middle of them sat a stack of
tree branches, kindling for fire to burn the witch. This was not
happening. This was all a dream and she needed to wake up. She had
wasted precious time on the Highlander when she should have been
trying to connect with her family.

She silently reached out to the ones she knew
had the power to help her.
Aunt Tempest, Uncle Michael, I need
your help.

“Let the witch go and we will not harm you,
we will free you of the spell cast over you,” one man said.

“We have wed,” Tor said as if it settled the
matter.

The men gasped. “Yea has wed a witch?”

“Jade is my wife,” Tor said and turned to
her.

Jade knew he wanted her to confirm the same
and at the moment she thought it might be in her best interest to
do so, after all her words meant nothing. “Tor is my husband.”

The men gasped again.

Jade felt the earth shudder and she almost
sighed aloud with relief. Her family had found her and was opening
the sands of time to bring her home.

“Let us save you,” one man called out. “The
witch has befuddled you just as
he
befuddled poor Margaret.
Let us burn
him
and save your soul.”

Jade couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
It was Tor they searched for; he was a witch?

He pulled her up against, grinned, and then
kissed her as they were yanked into the swirling void and damn if
he didn’t rob her of her senses again and she didn’t surrender
again.

Jade landed with a thud on a bed of thick
grass that had barely softened her landing. She didn’t want to open
her eyes and have to face her family.

“Wake up, wife, we’re home.”

Jade bolted up, her eyes turning wide at the
castle a few feet in front of her. People in peasant garb tended
numerous bonfires that burnt brightly, which were meant for only
one thing; to help the souls of the dead find their way home on All
Hallows Eve and to keep evil spirits away. She knew well the
activities, her family often talking of past celebrations, which
meant she was still far from home.

She struggled to get to her feet, forgetting
her feet were bare while demanding, “Where am I?”

“Where your family intended you to be,” Tor
said reaching down and with a firm arm around her waist lifted her
up in a flash.

She gave his chest a good shove and almost
stumbled when he abruptly released her. He was quick to grab hold
of her again.

“Have your footing yet?” he asked with a
grin.

“You can release me now.”

He did, though said, “Aye, I’ll be doing that
soon enough.”

Jade sensed that they weren’t speaking about
the same thing and it was about time she got clarification. “Start
explaining.”

“It that a demand, wife?”

She wanted to wipe his growing grin off his
face when she realized how appealing he looked in the dark of night
with a full moon silhouetting him.

Full moon? Last place there was a waning
moon.

She shook her head. “Yes, it’s a demand. What
do you mean I’m where my family intended? And after you released me
you implied that you would be releasing me yet again. What do you
mean? I want answers and I want them now.”

“Your family should be the ones subjected to
that temper of yours.”

“I do not have a temper. I am a reasonable
person, wanting sensible ans—”

He grabbed her and kissed her once again
turning her legs weak. When he ended the kiss all too quickly, he
said, “A pleasant way to silence you.”

Jade took a moment to gather her thoughts,
his kiss somehow always leaving her weak and breathless. “I’ll
remain silent if you will explain.”

Tor nodded and held out his hand. “Let’s
walk; they’re expecting us.”

Jade almost asked who was expecting them, but
clamped her lips shut and slipped her hand in his. His large hand
wrapped around hers, his warmth seeping into her, offering
comfort.

“Your mother and father had an idea that the
rest of your family thought a wise one. And so they fashioned a
plan, All Hallows Eve being the perfect time for it. The sands of
time would open and make time-travel that less difficult.”

Tor looked to see if she would comment and
when she didn’t he smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. “Your
parents know how important your studies are to you and so they
arranged for you to study with the wisest of teachers.”

Jade couldn’t contain her excitement. “Edrea,
the wise?”

Tor nodded. “My grandmother.”

That turned Jade speechless.

“So it is not only kisses that turn you
speechless.”

“Surprise does have that effect on me as does
your
kisses.” Had she just admitted to his kisses alone
silencing her? There was no question about it, she was losing her
mind.

“That is good to know, lass,” he said and
before she could respond he continued. “All was set. The transport
was to take place at your home, that mortal party you had to attend
delaying the surprise. Your cousin Alex was charged with seeing you
transported here before All Hallows Eve ended where everyone would
be waiting to celebrate the remainder of the three day festival and
your good fortunate of studying with a renowned healer.”

“What went wrong?” Jade asked.

“Do you recall an old hag giving you an apple
just before transporting?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And you are well aware that all manner of
creatures and evil spirits walk the earth on All Hallows Eve
intending harm?”

She nodded.

“That woman was one of them and that apple
was cursed by a spell. Alex made it to the castle yonder but you
were sent spinning out of time and place, landing you in Scotland
during the burning times.”

Jade frowned. “Why send you and not my Aunt
Tempest or Uncle Michael?”

“I often travel through time and I am
particularly skilled at traveling the sands of time and...”