Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series) (12 page)

“Yeah, I was playing on Anne’s computer in the office a few weeks ago, and I accidentally saw it and then my stomach growled, and I thought about eating more frozen pizza or another one of her meals, and I just thought maybe it would be a good idea to send it and see if she showed up. And she did, and her food is great so there’s no problem, right? I’m not in trouble?”

Morna ran over to the boy, scooped him up in her arms and planted kisses all over his face.
 

“Cooper, after what I put ye through today, I wouldna get on to ye about anything. I couldna be more pleased that it was ye and not Grier responsible for Sydney’s arrival.”

She set Cooper down on his feet and then came over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.
 

“I’m sorry, lass. I’m sorry for so many things. I hope with time ye’ll come to think differently than ye do of me right now. Welcome to Cagair Castle. If ye’ll open yer mind and yer heart, ye will find many special things here.”

CHAPTER 15

In the short moments following Morna’s departure from the dining hall, Callum watched Sydney closely. She didn’t appear frightened, but he knew she must be.
 

The entire room was silent, everyone waiting for her to speak. Eventually, rather than reward their silence, she stood and walked from the room without a word.
 

He waited a moment to give her time to get out of the dining hall then rose to follow her.
 

“Sydney, wait,” he called after her as she took the stairs upward to the castle’s second level two at a time. With his leg still tender, he would never be able to catch her. When she stopped and spun toward him, he exhaled in relief that he wouldn’t have to. He didn’t want her to see him limp or wonder why it took so long for him to follow.
 

“Callum, what is going on?”

They each walked in the direction of the other, and he didn’t answer until they met mid-way down the curved staircase in the main entryway.
 

“I’ll tell ye every bit of it, lass, and I swear every word will be true. I’m sorry for all of it. I’m sorry if it upset ye, if ye are frightened or confused. ’Tis something every lassie at that table has experienced in one way or another. It just seems to be the way of it.”

She pointed at him, stepping close enough that the tip of her finger lightly touched the center of his chest. Her hand trembled against him. He wanted nothing more than to gather her up in his arms to comfort her, but he refrained from doing so—she was too upset for that now.

“See? All of that strange stuff that you all keep saying—what does it mean? ‘Every lassie?’ Every girl at that table has been drugged and toyed with their first night here? If so, why the hell did they stay? I need answers Callum, lots of them.”

“I know ye do. Go and grab yer coat and come with me. I need to show ye something outside.”
 

He waited for her, and he hoped with every passing second that she would take all of it well. It was a difficult thing for all of them, but he found the men of his own time—a time where magic was often believed and sought—accepted it a little easier than all of the modern lassies he’d grown to know and love. In time though, they all adjusted. Surely, Sydney would do the same. He didn’t want her to take the second vial he held in his grasp, and he didn’t want her to leave the castle.
 

He wanted her to stay and to know and accept the truth of all of it. He wanted time to get to know her better.
 

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

She walked right past him when she returned, not waiting for his direction on where he meant for them to go. Once outside, she faced him.

“Okay. Spill.”

He reached for her arm, and he smiled when she allowed him to take it. Slowly, he walked her further away from the castle.
 

“I want ye to see the whole castle, every bit of it, so ye can see the difference between this time and the last easily.”

“Oh, for the love of God, can you people quit it with the strange references to things that don’t make any sense?”

“Sydney,” he paused and reached to pull her chin upward to him so that she looked him right in the eyes, “ye’ll understand all of it in a moment, but ye must stop going on about it first. Just listen.”

She huffed and pulled away from him, crossing her arms as they stared up at the castle together. The full moon shone brightly behind it, illuminating the silhouette of every tower and peak.
 

“Okay, Callum. I won’t say another word if you start talking now. I promise. What are we looking at?”

He knew it would be a miracle if she truly stayed silent long enough for him to tell her what he needed to. She wouldn’t believe a thing until he took her to his own time.
 

“I want ye to take notice of everything. Ye see the tower in the back? ’Tis full and not crumbling. The lights in front are electric. The cars in front many. Aye?”

He grinned to himself as she nodded. Even after asking a question, she stayed true to her promise.
 

“Earlier, when Cooper told ye what ye thought was a story—his talk of the magic, Morna’s witchcraft, the staircase leading to the past—’tis all true. In the year sixteen hundred and fifty, Cagair Castle belongs to me. Many that ye dined with this evening were born and live in that time, as well.”

Her face remained unchanged at his words. If anything, he thought she looked bored.
 

“Sydney, did ye not hear what I just said?”

“I did hear. I’m just trying to figure out how far and long I will have to run until I get to the nearest town and can escape you crazies. I’m sure it’s far, but I’m a great runner. Truly, even if it’s thirty miles away, I can make it.”

He laughed, making certain to keep hold of her arm lest she truly try to run.
 

“I’ve no doubt of it. Ye are tight as a bow string, and ye’ve not an ounce of stuffing on ye. Do ye wish to see proof that I’m not mad? I’ll take ye to my time if ye will allow it.”

“Please, do take me. But if we get near that staircase and it ends up being some sort of cage or trap, you should know that I’ve taken self-defense classes. It doesn’t matter that you are nearly three times my size, I swear I will kick your ass. Got it?”

Every new thing that came out of her mouth made him like her more.
 

“Aye, lass. I have most assuredly ‘got it.’ Come this way.”

The lamps around the castle illuminated the path. When they reached the top of the staircase, enough light exposed the steps so they could both see the stone wall at the bottom. He knew it would be difficult to get her to enter.
 

“It’s stone, Callum. I’m not walking down those steps just to walk straight into a wall of stone. Is this all for you to get a good laugh? Are you trying to see how gullible I am? Because I’m not. At this point, I’m just placating you while I try to figure out a plan of escape.”

“Ye are not a prisoner here. If ye wish to leave, ye are free to do so. I hope that ye will not.”

He gauged her reaction carefully. He didn’t think she would run, but it was difficult to tell with the way she kept continually glancing back over her shoulder.
 

“You have to go first. If you walk to the bottom and don’t smack your nose right up against that wall, I will follow you.”

He didn’t know if she would actually follow him, but he didn’t plan to haul her down the staircase against her will. If she wanted to come, she would have to do so on her own. The decision would be hers.
 

“Fine. Ye’ll see me disappear. When ye do, walk down the steps and doona hesitate to walk straight through. Ye’ll find no resistance at the bottom of the stairs.”

“Right. I’m sure that I won’t.”

Her voice was filled with disbelief, but he thought her eyes reflected more wonder than skepticism. It caused hope to rise within him. Surely once she saw everything with her own eyes, her resistance and fear would fade.
 

Callum gave Sydney a quick smile then took the steps downward, turning his head as he stepped through to watch her eyes as he disappeared before her.
 

The shock was evident. He knew with all certainty she would follow him.
 

CHAPTER 16

1650

I only allowed a handful of seconds to pass after Callum disappeared at the bottom of the stairwell before I ran down the steps after him. I intended to stop short of the wall, to reach out and touch it slowly, but my proximity must have been too close for it pulled me through with force.
 

When I opened my eyes in the same spot I’d stood a moment before, the first difference I noticed was the darkness. My logical mind still demanded I deny the possibility of truth here, but it was undeniably dark in the stairwell. The same moon still shone, but no traces of electricity illuminated my path.
 

I felt my way upward, looking up to see Callum’s hand reaching downward to guide me out of the cellar-like entrance.
 

“Let’s go to the front of the castle.”

It was the first thing I wanted to see. After all, it was the whole reason he’d made me look at its silhouette only moments ago. He wanted me to see the difference.
 

Within ten feet, while I kept moving my feet forward, I knew I didn’t need to see the front to know that all of it was somehow remarkably true. The cars were gone, the lamp posts non-existent, and the silence in the air was almost eerie in its palpability.

“All right, lass. Turn around.”
 

I did as he asked. I enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapping around my back, although I knew he only did so to point ahead of me and draw my attention to the shape of the castle.
 

Sure enough, it was very different. The tower at the back was only half there.
 

I twisted in his arms, and he took a half step away from me. I was no longer angry, no longer scared, just immensely curious and intrigued.
 

“All right. You have my full attention. How is this possible?”

He jerked his head toward the castle doors, and I walked next to him eager to see its interior.
 

“I canna tell ye how ’tis possible for I doona know, but I’ll tell ye what I can. It’ll be dark, Sydney. The windows are few until we reach the tower. I’ll lead ye straight there. Do ye mind if I take yer hand?”

“Please do. I’d rather not stumble around in the dark.”

The touch of his hand warmed me right through, and I felt safe as he led me through the darkened halls of the castle.
 

“I doona wish to take the time to light a torch. When we reach the tower, the walls still standing will block the wind, and the moon will be bright enough for us to see.”

I tried to make out as much as I could in the darkness, glancing this way and that for the possible sight of a light switch or an outlet, but as far as I could tell, none existed. He walked quickly, and I had no trouble keeping pace. When we reached the tower, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the moon’s brightness.
 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the moon put off so much light.”

“Aye, I agree. I doona know why, but it seems ’tis brighter in this time. Come and sit now that ye are not so ready to flee. I’m glad that ye dinna leave me standing on this side of time all alone.”

He continued to hold onto my hands as he spoke, gently rubbing them to keep me warm. We couldn’t have been in the crumbling tower for more than half an hour, but in that time, he told me more than I ever would have expected to learn in such a short amount of time.
 

Everything about the fire, the wretch of a man who set it, how he knew Morna and her strong connection with nearly everyone staying at Cagair in the present, and finally, Grier, the mysterious witch who helped him so many months ago. I asked little as he spoke, intent to soak up every word he wanted to share. When he finished, he gave my hands a gentle squeeze.
 

“What are you thinking, lass?”

“So many things. I’m sorry for the fire—for the pain it caused you, for the lives lost in it. I can see in your eyes how speaking of it still hurts you.”

His eyes widened at my words. I guessed he expected me to question rather than console him. I’m sure I would have questions later, but for now my mind was too filled with processing everything he said.

“It does, but I was lucky. It only pains me that I was not here to keep the others safe. Had I not been absent, Macaslan would’ve taken his anger out on me, not those innocent people. I would’ve made certain even if it cost me my own life.”

I scooted closer to him, every inch of me wanting to be nearer to him.
 

“If not for you, Nora would’ve died in that fire, as well. There’s no way to know that you could have kept Macaslan from hurting the others. There’s no looking back from things like that. You just have to move forward.”