My Highland Lover (24 page)

Beala crouched behind the upended cot she had pulled to the corner. The closer Aileas approached, the higher the young girl peeped from behind her barricade. A smile lit up her small, pinched face. “Mother Aileas.” Beala cackled and clapped her hands together with chilling excitement. “Have ye finally come t’praise me for helpin’ ye and m’lovely Fearghal?”

“Shut yer maw.” Aileas sliced a shaking fist through the air. “Keep yer vile mouth closed. No one wishes t’hear yer lies.”

The smile faded from Beala’s face. A worried frown replaced it. “But I set the fires just as ye asked. The evil woman in the tower died so she canna cast n’more spells upon the keep.” Beala crept from behind the cot, her hands twisting in front of her rounded belly. “And now Fearghal can be chief. I made certain old MacKenna could nay escape the judgement of the flames either.” Beala’s voice settled into an eerie singsong chant. “Old MacKenna and his witch are dancin’ wi’ the devil. Old MacKenna and his whore are gone t’the fiery pits o’ hell.”

Aileas plunged forward, wrapped her pudgy hands around Beala’s throat, and shoved her backward. Beala crumpled beneath Aileas’s weight. As Aileas landed atop the girl, she repeatedly bashed Beala’s head back against the hard floor. “Shut it, vile bitch. I told ye hold yer tongue!”

“The babe,” Beala choked out as she squirmed beneath Aileas’s weight. “Take care lest ye kill Fearghal’s babe.” She rasped and coughed, weakly flailing against Aileas’ attack.

Gray charged forward, only to be yanked back by Gaedric’s iron grasp. The man’s face had turned blood red; his eyes glittered wild and crazed. Gray fell back to Trulie, spreading his arms to shield her from any attack.

But Gaedric didn’t turn on him. Gaedric lumbered around and plowed his way to Aileas. He sank one hand in her knotted hair and yanked her away from Beala’s limp and bloodied body.

Aileas screamed and clawed at Gaedric’s arm as he threw her back against the opposite wall. He spread one hand across her throat and pinned her to the stones beneath the window. “Ye kilt m’only son. Our son. Ye kilt him with yer infernal plottin’. Why could ye no’ be happy with yer lot in life?”

“Ye think I would have m’clan see I gave birth to the son of a crippled simpleton?” Aileas sputtered, and clawed at Gaedric’s arm with both hands. “Ye should thank the gods m’wicked father allowed ye t’live. I told him ye took me by force after he did.”

“I loved ye.” Gaedric’s face crumpled and he sobbed out a groan as his left hand joined his right around Aileas’s throat. “And now I’m cursed wi’ the blood of honorable people because I listened to ye and didna lift a hand to stop ye from yer evil ways.”

“He’s gonna kill her,” Trulie whispered in a horrified gasp behind Gray.

“Let him,” Gray growled in response. “He has earned the right.”

Gaedric roared out another broken sob as he slammed Aileas back against the wall. Aileas sputtered, her face bloodred as she strained against the attack. She brought her boot up hard between Gaedric’s legs. As his grip loosened from around her throat, she dug her thumbs into his eyes.

Gaedric bellowed in pain as he staggered back, one arm clamped across his eyes and one hand clutching his crotch.

Aileas screamed and charged forward, both hands raised to attack him again.

Gray shoved Trulie back in the corner. “Stay,” he ordered. A red haze filled his senses as bloodlust pounded in his ears. He grabbed Aileas by the hair and yanked her off Gaedric. Just as she rolled to attack Gray, he pressed the point of his dirk against the folds of her double chin. “Gi’ me one reason why I should nay slit yer throat for ye.”

Aileas’s beady-eyed gaze darted from side to side as she stilled in Gray’s hands. Her gasping wheezes echoed through the chamber as she held her hands in the air with fingers outstretched. “Forgive,” she finally sputtered with a heaving breath. “Forgive.”

“I beg ye, Chieftain. I beg ye…dinna kill her.” Gaedric fell to his knees beside Gray and raised his clasped hands upward. “I beg ye let her live.”

“Knowing all she has done, ye still wish her to live?” Gray couldna believe the man kneeling at his feet could be so blind.

“There are many punishments worse than death,” Trulie murmured from the corner. The calm serenity of her tone held Gray’s inner beast in check.

Gray yanked Aileas’s head back farther and pressed the knife to her flesh until a single crimson drop of blood beaded up and trickled down the length of his blade. Aileas sucked in a hitching breath and squinted her eyes shut.

“Please, great MacKenna.” Gaedric pawed at Gray’s elbow. “ ’Tis no’ her fault. Her cruel father made her what she is. I beg ye…I will take her to the Isle of Man. There are places there. Remote places. She will ne’er do harm again. I swear it.”

Gray stared at his bloodstained blade. It would be so easy to slit the bitch’s throat and silence her without question.

“Gray.” Trulie’s quiet plea reached him. “Listen to Gaedric. I don’t want her blood on your hands.”

Gray forced his gaze away from the knife and locked eyes with Trulie. How could she expect him to let the bitch go?

“Please,” Trulie whispered.

“Guard.” Gray yanked Aileas around and held her at arm’s length. When his men entered the room, he shoved her toward them. “Bind her and leave her locked in this room until I give the order. She will be leaving with Gaedric as soon as he’s readied for his journey.”

“Thank ye, m’lord.” Gaedric kissed the hem of Gray’s plaid before he rose and took hold of Aileas’s wrists.

Gray pulled away from Gaedric’s fawning with a single shake of his head. “I advise ye to kill the wicked bitch afore she kills ye first.”

Then he held out a hand to Trulie and led her from the room.

Trulie hugged the light wrap close about her as the wind moaned through the bailey. The blinding sun, high in the bright-blue sky brought no warmth today. Heart heavy, Trulie watched as Gray oversaw the pair of shrouded bodies loaded into the back of the wagon. His face was cold. Expressionless. Gray looked years older than the first time she had set eyes on him just a few short months ago.

Gaedric sat on the wagon’s seat, the slack reins wrapped around one hand. Aileas, puffed up and silent with wrists still bound, sat beside him. The wagon creaked as the last of the supplies were loaded around Fearghal and Beala’s remains.

Gray nodded once to Gaedric, then turned and plodded up the stone steps. Trulie’s heart ached even more. She wished there had been a way to spare him all this pain.

Gaedric clucked to the horses and slapped the reins across their backs. The wagon groaned as it shifted forward and started its last journey from MacKenna keep.

“And so it ends.” Gray’s voice rumbled deep and weary as they watched the wagon creak and sway across the courtyard and pass through the outer gate.

Trulie slid her arms through his and hugged her cheek against him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry all this happened.”

Gray took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Without ye here…” His voice broke, and rasped lower as he closed his eyes and pressed her hand to his cheek. “I ne’er would ha’ survived it,” he finished in a strained whisper.

“I wish you never had to endure it.” Trulie wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her cheek against his chest.
Dammit, I wish I could erase your mind.
She and Granny had discussed doing that very thing to relieve Gray’s pain. But they’d both sensed the same eerie knowing, the knowing sent from the Fates. Gray’s memories were to be kept intact. For some inexplicable reason, Gray needed this pain.
Damn the Fates and their cruel rules.

Gray held her tight as he rested his chin atop her head. One of his hands idly caressed a path up and down her spine. “Ah…but then, who knows if Fate would ha’ seen fit to bring us together.”

“Fate, or Granny and Tamhas?”

“Either.” Gray’s chest expanded beneath Trulie’s head as he took in a deep breath. “Are ye certain…” Gray’s soothing baritone rumbled against her cheek, then faded into a whooshing exhale.

“Am I certain about what?”

“Are ye certain the Fates would punish ye if ye traveled back to the past to prevent such evil? How could the gods frown upon ye for stoppin’ one such as Aileas?” Gray eased back and peered down into Trulie’s face. “Are ye certain ’tis forbidden? How could they punish ye for changin’ it all for the good? So many lives would be saved.”

Trulie’s heart fell at Gray’s question. She had expected the subject to surface again. The man was as unrelenting as the Highland wind, and it was just human nature to wonder how the world could be improved if you just went back and corrected the past.

“I’m sorry, Gray. Fate doesn’t give any wiggle room on this.” It killed her soul to refuse him. She had to make him understand the delicate balance of actions and accountability. Fate chose what it allowed a time runner to change. Fate’s order could not be disobeyed. “I can’t do it. It’s the surest way to destroy a time runner…and very possibly, all those around me.” A chill stole across Trulie’s body as she slid an arm’s length away.

“I dinna ken how stopping Aileas from killin’ m’parents could possibly destroy ye.”

Trulie drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She’d tried to explain this before. What else could she say? Trulie pulled the MacKenna colors tighter about her arms.

“I told you about Granny’s twin sister, Tia.” Trulie reached for Gray’s hand and pulled him to follow. Maybe a walk through the private gardens would make the explaining easier. Fresh air and the sounds of early summer in the Highlands tended to soothe the soul. Trulie glanced up at Gray. The tension in his face wasn’t reassuring. Gray knew what he wanted, but she had to convince him it was best he didn’t get it. “Tia not only dabbled with history, she manipulated it. She affected countless lives…and she paid for it. Now she’s a reminder to all Sinclairs about what we must never do.”

“Explain.” Gray pushed open the carved wooden gate leading to the inner courtyard. He held Trulie’s hand and steadied her as she picked her way across a small bridge. Water gurgled in a peaceful shallow stream around the perimeter of the garden. “Lass?” Gray prompted again.

A worrisome uneasiness nagged Trulie as she walked. Something deep inside told her this was not going to end well, no matter how she phrased it. It was difficult enough to accept Fate’s rules even when you knew in your heart how dire the consequences could be if you broke them. She took a deep breath and continued. “Tia would stand in one era and study any timeline she pleased without fully jumping. She had a penchant for watching several possible futures, then backtracking through time to see what triggered the events.”

Trulie trailed her hand down through the soft catkins sprouting beside the path. She glanced back at Gray. His expression was even less reassuring than before. The look on his face clearly conveyed that he didn’t see how Tia’s gift was such a bad thing. Trulie took another deep breath. She was getting to that part, and hopefully Gray would understand. Granny had compared Tia’s gift to watching different channels on television and rewriting the scripts as an example. Trulie smiled to herself. That analogy wouldn’t quite work with Gray.

Trulie finally pointed to the shallow waters of the reflecting pool built in the center of the garden. “What if you could stand right here, look down into the water, and see what was happening anywhere in the world during any time period you wanted?”

Gray arched a dark brow as he thoughtfully stroked his chin. “That would be a fair gift indeed.”

“And what if you could split those visions to see every possible option for a particular line of time depending on which choice was made? What if you could pick the future you liked the best and step back through the water to alter it even more—tweak it to occur exactly as you wished?” Trulie sat down on the low stone wall and dipped her fingers in the water.

Gray’s eyes widened as he slowly voiced his thoughts. “I could make the world a better place. I could ensure no ill befell anyone.” He sat down beside Trulie and leaned forward, his face bright with interest. “Think of the people ye could save. Think of the evil ye could avert.”

Trulie frowned down into the water as she disturbed her reflection with her hand. “And what if after you changed things for what you thought was an even better version of the future, it triggered a different chain of events you hadn’t foreseen? Worse events. What if those you tried to save ended up suffering an even more terrible fate? What if those you loved turned on you?”

The smile faded from Gray’s face. His expression darkened into a troubled scowl. He tossed one hand in the air as though dismissing what Trulie said. “Then I would jump through time again and repair the damage I caused. Ye could always undo what e’er had been done.”

“And when you did that, even more things spiraled out of control, because no matter how careful you were, something unexpected always happened. Somehow, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t foresee every possible reaction you might trigger.” Trulie folded her hands in her lap, her heart heavy at the frustrated disappointment in the slump of Gray’s shoulders.

“What happened to your grandmother’s sister?” Gray leaned forward and stared down at the ground. The muscles of his jaw rippled beneath the dark dusting of his late-afternoon beard.

“Fate took away her ability to bear children. Tia became corrupted with jealousy and rage. When she lashed out and sought revenge…she was ordered destroyed by the only man she ever loved.” Trulie stared down at her hands. “He declared her an abomination to the natural world and watched while they executed her…slowly.”

Trulie could tell by the expression on Gray’s face he still didn’t agree with the rule. “Tia needed to be destroyed, Gray. She had become a monster. People suffered because of the things she did. Just because we’re allowed to travel across the web of time doesn’t mean we’re allowed to change it to suit our own desires. Every thread is part of the whole. Nothing can be manipulated without affecting everything else. We must trust the wisdom of Fate and what will and won’t be allowed.”