Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) (22 page)

It was cool in the cell, with the window opening at the top, but not nearly as cold as the outside temperature. The underground position of the room offered protection from the weather. She needed to keep Faolan from going into shock, so grabbed him by the ankles, twisted and pulled, until she had him all the way onto the edge of the rug. Once there, she folded the other end of the rug over Faolan, making him into a giant burrito. It still wasn’t warm enough, but the only other covering in the room was the tapestry. It would be next.

Elena grabbed the bottom of the tapestry and pulled for all she was worth.
No effect
. She grabbed it again and swung, twisted, tugged, and pulled before it finally came loose. It fell like a ton of bricks, landing on her and sending dust motes around the room. She dragged it over next to Faolan.

“Faolan, Faolan wake up. I need you, Faolan. Please come back to me.” Elena’s voice was choked with unshed tears. She cradled his head and checked on his wound. The bleeding had nearly stopped, but he was still unconscious. She gently felt around his head, feeling for any bumps or lumps. “Faolan, can you hear me? Faolan?”

He started to moan. “Elena?”

“
Shh, I’m here, Faolan. Don’t try to move.”

“What happened?” he asked hoarsely.

“Oh Faolan, I’m so sorry. Don’t try to move. That bastard shot you. I thought you were dead.” Elena went on like that for a while until he reached up with his good hand and pulled her to him by the front of her dress and kissed her into silence. She was so stunned, she kissed him back before she got a hold of herself and pulled away.

“Lie still while I check.” She pulled back the makeshift bandage, watching his face for any signs of extreme duress. Seeing none, she continued and probed gently at the edges of his wound. “Okay, I don’t know how, but you’ve stopped bleeding. Worthington will be back to let us out soon, and I’ll get you to the doctor, as soon as I can. Are you in much pain?”

He tried to sit up, and winced. Elena pushed him back, “Wait a minute,” and she moved the tapestry against the cell wall. “I want to try to move you onto the tapestry. Do you think you can move if I help?” She knew the added thickness would help keep him warmer.

“What do you mean, Worthington is coming back? Elena, what happened? How did I see the mirror?”

“Oh Faolan, this is all my fault. I didn’t know about the mirror until I figured it all out yesterday. Then I thought we could have a romantic evening and then I would give you the mirror. I didn’t know he would come, I didn’t know he could sense it.”

“Listen to me, Elena. This is very important. Doona’ explain anymore right now,” he said urgently, placing his fingers over her lips. “You can tell me later. There are some things I have to ken before he returns." Dropping his voice even lower, he whispered, “Did you find the mirror in the chamber? Does it have the spell?”

“I found it in the first secret room, a long time ago, but forgot all about it. I found a spell book when I was locked in the chamber. The spell is hidden someplace else, not with the mirror.” Elena matched his whisper, in case Worthington came back unannounced and was trying to listen.

“And you told him where to find the mirror?”

She nodded miserably.

“I have many more questions for later,” he said, “but this is really important. Since you were locked in the chamber, twice now your thoughts have been projected into my mind, and I think into Worthington’s mind today too when he asked about the mirror. When he comes back, you must block him from your mind. He will not let us out, so we must try to get him to come in.”

Faolan lay back down and pulled the covers up high, then continued to whisper, “You must pretend I am hurt much worse than I am. Try for any boon that makes him come inside with us. If you canna get him to come inside you must go out. Doona’ stay in here with me. You must get out. He comes.” With that, Faolan closed his eyes, and moaned.

“Faolan,” Elena cried, he opened his eyes and winked, then closed them and moaned again. “Oh, my God, Faolan, wake up. Please wake up.” Elena went over near the window and yelled for help. Not because she expected any to come, but because she wanted Worthington to believe she was desperate.
Who am I kidding? I am desperate.

“Miss MacFarland, stop your yowling. No one can hear you. Is he dead yet?”

Elena shook her head. “Let us out! You promised you would let us out when you got the mirror. I know you have the mirror now, so let us out! I must get him to the doctor. He may be dying.”

“Wake him,” he commanded.

“I can’t. He’s unconscious. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

“I have my gun pointed at Miss MacFarland, wolf, shall I shoot her?” Worthington asked silkily.

Faolan groaned weakly. “No,” he moaned. “Let her go,” he said, sounding feeble.

Elena looked up at Worthington. He was peering in through the window, his eyes fixed on Faolan. “You have the mirror, I can see it. You gave your oath, now let us go,” she demanded.

Worthington ignored Elena and spoke to Faolan, “What is the spell? You will tell me. You cannot hope to win this battle, wolf.”

Elena went to Faolan and added a gasp for effect, “He’s still bleeding. Get us out. You promised. He’s going into shock. It’s freezing, and we have nothing to keep us warm, no food or water. He needs a doctor.”

Worthington turned, said “Shut up,” and fired his gun over Elena’s head. She screamed, and Faolan pulled her down and covered her with his body. Worthington began to laugh. “Never show an enemy your weakness, wolf. You will give me the spell.”

“I doona’ know the spell.  I never even saw the mirror,” Faolan said, still speaking weakly. “Let the girl go. I gave you my oath to help find the spell. A boon for a boon, the girl for my help.”

“Come to the window, wolf. Look at the mirror,” said Worthington.

“Help me, lass.” Faolan struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on her, barely able to lift his head. Only Elena knew he wasn’t putting any weight on her shoulders. They slowly crossed the cell.

“Hand me the mirror,” Elena reached up expectantly.

“Do I look stupid?” Worthington roared. “The mirror is mine. I will have my true desires! We have sought this mirror for hundreds of years, as have you. I will never let you have it, Wolf; I will see you in hell first.”

Faolan stumbled, coughed, and moaned. Elena thought he might be playing it a bit thick, but Worthington seemed to buy it. Worthington held the mirror toward Faolan but kept it carefully back from the window, and only showed Faolan the silver plating of the mirror, not the glass. Elena focused, picturing the mirror on her dresser, imagining her reflection from last night, when she’d first put on her new dress. She didn’t want to reveal anything she’d seen in the mirror.

Faolan slumped down against the wall, and Elena went back to work. “You’re going to keep us in here, aren’t you? We need blankets. We need food and water, light. We’re freezing; we’ll die by morning if you don’t help.”

“An excellent suggestion, Miss MacFarland. You have one hour to tell me the secret to the mirror, wolf.” Without another word, Worthington walked away.

They spent the time waiting for him to return looking around the cell while there was still a little light. Elena focused on the stones in the wall, looking for one that was loose, warm, or any other indication that something wasn’t what it seemed. Faolan walked around slowly and looked at the ceiling, the floor, and the window bars. The bars fastened on the outside; there was no surface to try to pry loose. The door was solid oak, with iron fastenings, and hung from the outside. There was no obvious way out.

Worthington returned when the hour was up. Ordering them to sit against the far wall with their hands flat on the floor, he unlocked the hasp; then he propped open the iron grating that served as their prison bars. He threw in blankets, a flashlight, and a bag with food and drink. With a long, triumphant look at Faolan, he locked the grate.

“I will keep you alive until you tell me, wolf. Tonight, however, you will solve a surprisingly persistent problem for me. Tonight, in this cell, that which you hate the most will destroy what you most desire.”

Worthington walked away.

Faolan paced. He walked in circles muttering under his breath, the power of his words resonating in her soul. He came to a stop and sat heavily on the tapestry, his eyes closed. Elena left him alone for a few minutes, while she examined the contents of the bag: bottled water, crackers, cheese, apples, and a bottle of whisky.

She took one of the blankets over to Faolan and wrapped it around his shoulders. Sitting down next to him, Elena untied the bandage and carefully checked his wound. It looked like it was several days old already! All the bleeding stopped, and the healing was well underway. She didn’t replace the bandage. She used some of the water to dampen an unsoiled part of the cloth and washed the blood from his shoulder, and then cleaned her hands. 

Faolan never said a word.

“
Faolan, I’m sorry.”
No response
. “Yesterday when I realized that I probably had found the mirror and spell, I was so happy. I knew I had it in my power to give you nearly everything you needed to break your curse. I kept thinking the only thing you still needed was your true heart. I knew you needed to focus on finding her, to not be distracted by me. I just wanted one night with you before I left. I didn’t think it could hurt,” Elena finished lamely, her heart breaking.

Faolan still didn’t speak, so she stumbled on, “Now I realize my stupidity. My selfishness could cost you your life. I don’t blame you for hating me; I put my own pleasure before your
well-being. I’m sorry. Oh God, I am so sorry.” Then the tears she fought so hard started to spill. She didn’t cry heart-wrenching sobs, just quiet tears, slipping down her cheeks.

Faolan pulled her onto his lap and held her, while she cried for every lost opportunity, for the love they would never have. Elena cried for herself, for being such a terrible person, and mostly she cried for Faolan, because she was afraid Worthington would kill him in the morning. Faolan kissed her hair, rocked her, and cradled her in his arms.

Eventually, Elena began to be aware of things besides her tears: his broad chest, naked and warm against her face, his strong arms surrounding her, and there seemed to be something pressing against her underside.

She looked up at Faolan; his face was etched in pain. He brushed his lips so very lightly against hers that she might have imagined it. She had to look away.
I betrayed this beautiful man.

“Elena, love, ‘tis my lie that I canna live with. Look at me, lass. Let me look at you.” He cupped her face in his hands and the look he gave her seared her heart.

“When Brigid came to the farm to meet with us, she told me the time to find my light, my true heart was here. I didna ken just what she meant, but I have a duty to listen to her. Her spirits have provided guidance much of my life. Names have e’er been important to Brigid, and I wondered if she was referring to a name. I used your computer.” And finally he smiled.  “I told you once you had claimed my soul. Do you remember, lass?”

Elena nodded, her heart happy to see a hint of her smiling Faolan.

“So, there I was, looking at names and their meanings and I found my light. Elena means light. Brigid said I had finally found my light, and my light was my true heart.”

“What are you saying, Faolan?” she asked, breathless, her own heart beating erratically.

“I am saying you are my light, my true heart. You are all I have ever wanted, someone to love and someone to love me. I could spend eternity looking into your eyes, feeling your skin, listening to you laugh. I love you, Elena.”

Elena’s heart rejoiced at his words. The breath she’d been holding was released on a sigh. That this man, tormented by a terrible secret for so long, could still love was amazing. That he loved her, nothing less than a miracle. She reached up to pull his face to hers, but he resisted with a little shake of his head.

“Nay, love, there’s more I must tell you.” He looked away. “I went to find you as soon as I knew, to explain that you were my light, but instead you were lost. Find your light Brigid had said, and I lost you before you even knew. When Brigid returned to help me find you, she gave me a Druid ceremony to perform.

“Our family was supposed to carry on the ancient traditions, and you know my father died before I was trained. In all the years since my father died, the ancestors have never once spoken to me. This time the ancestors welcomed me.

“I went into a trance, and they guided me to you. They filled me with power when you were in bed almost dying. They helped me save you. I wanted to tell you what I was, that somehow, although I am untrained, I am still Druid.

“At first, when you were so sick, I
couldna tell you, and by the time you were well, I decided not to tell you. I didna ken how long it would take me to find the spell nor if I would be able to be with you once the curse was lifted. I decided to send you away while I looked for the cure in order to keep you safe.”

Elena started to speak but again Faolan stopped her, placing his fingers on her lips and shaking his head.

He continued, his voice nearly a whisper, “I knew what you wanted last night, but I was determined that we would wait. Once true hearts mate, each will never know another. If I died when the curse was lifted...you would be alone for the rest of this life. I couldna do that to you.”