Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) (20 page)

****

After looking at scores of web pages, Elena decided there was a lot of crap out there in cyber space. However, not all of it was wild imaginings. She was beginning to put together a picture of what was happening, and it wasn’t something she had prepared for in law school. The things she was learning about required a leap of faith so large, it couldn’t be held within the realm of the world as she understood it.

Faolan was right; there were things not of this world. Or rather not
of this world as she knew it before she came to Scotland. Was there really an otherworld? According to many of the sites she visited online there was. Druids existed in ancient times, but there were modern-day versions as well. Druids, Wiccans, and others actively practiced magick. Werewolves, vampires, banshees, and all manner of heretofore-fictional characters, walked beside her, she just couldn’t see them. And Fairies? Apparently, the Fae had walked the world for thousands of years as immortal and powerful beings.
Who knew Tinker Bell had so much hidden potential?

None of the others had known anything about a mirror, and Elena wanted to understand a bit more before she told them what she’d found. She thought she could place the one she’d found in the
15
th 
or 16
th
century. This made sense, considering all the other items in the chamber. She couldn’t say why it was so important to her to figure out the approximate age of the mirror, except maybe because there were so many unanswered questions surrounding everything else.

Several of the websites theorized that Druids could project powerful spells into inanimate objects, imbuing the object with magickal power. Could this be related to the spell needed to remove the curse of the wolf? Something about that idea tickled her brain, but she couldn’t place what she knew about it.

Again, she examined the evidence, but this time she included the evidence of her heart, and began to weave her own theory. Whatever Faolan’s father was…probably a Druid Priest, he must have been extraordinarily powerful. The secrets he protected were valuable beyond her understanding. A spellcaster… or something, had placed a protective curse on that knowledge. This had to be old magick. It couldn’t have come from one of the start-up or revival groups she read about on the Internet.

Something hidden on this land held secrets that were valuable to Druids.
Worthington’s ancestor murdered an entire family, and stole this farm to get it. Could it be the mirror? Obviously, Worthington knew about the mirror and he wanted it badly enough to kill for it. The mirror was at least three hundred years old. Was it possible?

Elena looked up at Faolan. So proud, like a true Highland warrior, doing everything in his power to take care of his clan. He carried the burden of his father’s
duty. He lived to do the right thing for Lilly, for Red, for the future of his bloodline, and for her. She needed to help him, and she thought she had some of the answers within her reach. She just needed a few more pieces of information.

She decided to trust her head with her heart, Elena asked, “Faolan, how old are you?”

Faolan closed the book he’d been reading and set it on the ground, and stared into the fire for a long moment. Then he turned and looked at Elena, with eyes as old and lonely as his years, “I was born over three hundred years ago, lass. ‘Tis part of the curse that we not age in the normal way.”

“I see,”
Elena said carefully, as though this were a common event in her experience. “Did you know about the mirror, Faolan?” she asked. “Did you know that Worthington was looking for a mirror?”

“Aye, lass.”

“And to lift this curse, we need to find the mirror, the spell,
and
your true heart?”

“Aye, ‘tis what we believe, Elena.”

“Worthington believes the mirror is here, so if we find the mirror and the spell, do you know your true heart yet, Faolan?”

Faolan turned to stare out the window and hide the lie. “Nay, lass.”

Elena’s heart was breaking. She paused, not sure she wanted the answer to this last question. “When you get all three, the mirror, the spell, and your true heart, then what? What will happen then, Faolan? What will happen to you?”

“I doona’ know, lass,” he groaned, his voice a rough whisper against her heart. “I doona’ know if I will stay in this time or return to the past. I doona’ know if I will resume my normal aging process or age suddenly and die, a very old man, in the blink of an eye.”

Elena moved across the couch to climb into his lap, put her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his chest. Sometimes there just weren’t any words.

The next morning, Elena knew she had some decisions to make. After telling everyone she needed some time alone, she locked herself in her room after breakfast. She crawled on top of her bed with her laptop, backpack, and cat, and got to work. She pulled the books out of her backpack first. Elena hated feeling fuzzy about what happened to her in the chamber, but she was sure she remembered finding what she thought was a spell.

As she looked through the largest volume, more of the missing three days came back to her. She found the page with the pictures of the wolves and opened the secret hiding place in her fireplace. Sure enough, the mirror the spellcaster was holding in the illustration looked just like the one that she now held in her hand.
Was this it? Could we be this close to finding Faolan’s cure?

What had those women said to her in her vision? Had Brigid really been there too? She said something about being Faolan’s light. That was it! She was supposed to be Faolan’s light and guide his way. Somehow, fate had led her here to find the spell and the mirror, and guide Faolan to find his true heart. She would ease the suffering she saw on Faolan’s face when he thought no one watched. The robed women said she needed to reflect and follow the path of learning. She was convinced that on this path of learning, she would find the last piece Faolan needed. Elena had it in her power to save him.
And lose my own heart forever.

Before she gave Faolan the treasures he needed, she was determined to give him something else, something they both needed. Tonight would be the first and last time for them. He might try to be noble and spare her heart, but it was way too late for that. She would lose her virginity to him tonight in one last evening of romance. In the morning, she would give him the spell and the mirror, and they would devise a plan to find the last piece he needed to lift the curse. Then, Elena would leave, because as long as she was still here, Faolan would never seek his true heart.

****

Elena took Lilly into her confidence about her plans for the evening, and told her she wanted tonight to be very special for Faolan. They needed a special dinner, special wine, special everything. Lilly enthusiastically agreed and promptly shooed Elena out of the house to go to get new “
everythings,” in Inverness.

Elena treated herself to an indulgent afternoon of pampering; she got her hair washed and trimmed and a manicure. She bought a low-cut, deep emerald-green silk dress that clung to her curves and highlighted her eyes. She also bought sexy new lingerie and even a lacy new nightgown, just in case she had to go to extra innings to get him to play.

She knew how careful Faolan was being not to cross the imaginary line he drew in their relationship, but he was still sleeping on top of her bed. He said he was keeping her safe. Elena knew he couldn’t stand to be away from her, any more than she could be away from him. So if he rebuffed her initial advances…well, heaven help him when she came out dressed for bed in this little bit of nothing.
Not playing fair? You better believe it.

Hurrying home to check on Lilly’s progress and to start getting ready, Elena knew she had to be careful. She didn’t want Faolan to catch on, to realize that this night was going to be different until the very last minute. She would leave him no room for excuses.

At Elena’s request, Lilly was preparing lobster tails with melted butter, twice-baked potatoes, and a salad. Lilly added chocolate dipped strawberries and thick cream, should they need dessert. She had selected a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne, and both were chilling. Red had taken it upon himself to lay a fire in every room and build them up. She supposed so that clothing could be optional in any of them. If Elena wasn’t so determined, she probably would have been embarrassed.

Everything was almost perfect; they just had the tricky part of having it all ready, before Lilly and Red snuck out. Faolan had been in the library all afternoon, oblivious to the preparations going on around him. Red had set up a small table for two in the lounge, not too near the fireplace, so they wouldn’t be having their romantic dinner at a table for ten. They had two wine buckets, champagne flutes, wineglasses, the best dinnerware they owned, linen tablecloth and napkins. It was an elegant setting.

The plan was simple. Elena would go into the library, dressed in her slinky new dress, carrying Faolan’s favorite, Macallan single malt whisky. Lilly and Red would sneak off and have a lovely evening of their own at the pub in Fairth. The food was plated and waiting in the warm oven, all Elena had to do was bring it to the table.

Once Elena was dressed, she came to the kitchen and twirled around the room in her new dress. Lilly made the appropriate noises to let her know she looked good. Elena left her hair down, with soft black curls cascading down her back. She’d added a necklace of a solitaire diamond nestled just barely above her cleavage at the perfect length to draw his eyes to her breasts.

Lilly and Red both hugged her and said their good-nights. Lilly called over her shoulder as they left through the back door, “We’ll be over around lunch time, dear,” and she and Red both laughed.

Red added, “Maybe we’ll take a couple of days away.”

Elena did blush at that; she was starting to get a serious case of nerves. She didn’t know how to seduce someone, what if she screwed this up? Would he laugh at her? Hate her? Leave?
Yikes, I need to get this started before I talk myself out of it.

She took the two crystal rocks glasses, with the finest whisky into the library. Faolan, looked up and smiled distractedly for a moment, and then did a double take, “Wow!”

Elena laughed, that was such an unexpected saying from her ancient Highlander! She spun for him, handed him his glass and sat next to him on the couch. His eyes roved appreciatively, starting at the bottom and slowly working his way up. When he got to her breasts, he paused for a long time before finally raising his eyes and finding her face. “Elena?”

“No questions, no promises. Let’s just enjoy this night together.”

“I’ll not be beddin’ you, lass.”

“I’m not asking you to,” she told him.
Not yet.
They sat together on the couch, although Faolan squeezed himself against the arm and away from contact with Elena.

She raised her glass to him, said, “Cheers,” which made them both smile warmly with the memory. Then Faolan tossed his drink back, and stood quickly to refill his glass. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Another?”

Elena declined, remembering all too well another night that she had fallen asleep at a very crucial moment. They each stared into the fire, the silence deafening. Elena was thinking of how to bring seductive suggestions into the conversation, and Faolan was probably thinking of how to deflect them. Either way, they were both quiet for a long time.

“Are you hungry? Lilly made us a lovely dinner.”
Oh God, could I get any more cliché?

“I suppose Lilly and Red are in on this, too?” Faolan smiled, and she felt the power of it deep in her stomach. Their gazes locked, beginning a slow simmering burn. He sucked in a ragged breath, and took two long steps, then wrapped her in his arms. “Elena.”

She turned her face up for the kiss she’d been waiting for, the kiss she needed to know she was alive. He crushed his lips against her, possessing her, punishing her. She opened her mouth in a small gasp at the fierceness of the kiss and he immediately thrust in his tongue claiming her mouth as his. Her knees buckled and he held her weight with the arm he had around her back crushing her to him.

The small voice in the back of her head, kept trying to get her attention, this was not right, not yet, he was angry, this was not right.
Not. Right.

When she pulled her head back trying to catch her breath, he switched to her neck, kissing and biting, scratching her with his stubble. There was desperation in his kisses. She didn’t want him to take her in this mood. “Faolan?”

He groaned.

She tried again. “Faolan?”

“Elena, you almost died. Nothing since I met you is right in your life. I am a curse upon you.”

Elena pulled slightly back from him, and he turned his head from her. She cradled his face and turned him to look at her. “Faolan, I’m okay. I told you, I’m tough,” she smiled. Seeking to relieve the tension, she added, “Let’s go eat dinner, come on.”

He took a deep shuddering breath and released her from his bone-crushing hug. Not looking at her, he started to turn away. She placed her hand on his arm, “Faolan, please. I really am okay, let’s relax, and enjoy tonight.”

He looked at her, and she could almost see the mental shake he gave himself. He smiled his killer smile. “Your wish is my command.”
I wish!