Onyx (15 page)

“Nay,” he said. “I’m English and dinna belong here. I’m no’ one of the clan, so I dinna wish te be here anymore. I will gather me things and also the witch and leave at once.”

He left the table, and ran from the hospice, not stopping until he made his way into his small cottage, throwing the box down on the
pallet that was torn from his earlier expedition, and pacing the floor, madder than a hornet.

“Why did
na they tell me I am English and no’ one o’ the clan?” he said aloud. Then he paced back the other way. “Me mathair lied te me. Arrrrrgh!” he cried out, taking his hand and swiping the contents of a nearby table to the ground. The things clattered to the floor loudly.

That’s when he saw the witch
standing across the room, her arms hugging her own body from in front of her. His eyes met Lovelle’s, and neither of them said a word at first.

“I heard what you said,” she finally spoke. “Is it true? You are English and not really a MacKeefe after all?”

Suddenly, a memory he willed himself to forget four years earlier surfaced, and he knew if he didn’t tell someone, he was going to burst. Though he still wanted to keep his distance from her, not sure what to think of her anymore, he knew he was like her now. English. And that thought didn’t fare well with him at all.

“Sit down,
” he said, pointing to the torn-up pallet. She didn’t move at first, and the caution was evident in her eyes. “Please,” he said, closing his eyes and trying to take deep breaths, hoping to hell he wouldn’t have one of his little death spells again right now since he was so upset.

She walked across the room slowly, then reached down behind her, her eyes fastened to him the whole t
ime and settled atop the pallet.

“Onyx, I’m here for you. Please, talk to me. Mayhap I can help.” She held out her hand to him, but he was too upset by everything that had happened, that he couldn’t take it. Instead, he paced back and forth when he relayed
to her what just happened inside the hospice.

“Well, mayhap it’s not true,” she said, and he knew she was only trying to make him feel better.
“Mayhap they have the story mixed up. You should wait until you see your mother and ask her.”

“Why?” he ground out
. “So she can lie te me again, the way she’s done fer the last twenty years?”

“She cares for you Onyx. She raised you as
her son, so that should count for something.”

“It counts for naught, I tell ye. And now thet I know she
is a murderer and a thief, fer all I ken she coulda killed me parents and stolen me too.”

“Now, you don’t really believe that, do you?”

He stopped pacing and let out a deep breath, his eyes closing for a second in the process, then reopened again.

“Nay, I
dinna believe thet fer a moment,” he said softly. “Becooz somethin’ happened te me four years ago thet I forced meself te ferget becooz I thought it was all a lie.”

“Sit down, please,” she said, patting the pallet next to her.
And when he did, she gently laid her hand atop his and urged him to continue. “What happened four years ago?” she asked.

When he was silent for a moment, she rubbed her fingers over his hand, and it felt good and calming. Much like his mother – or Fenella, that is, used to do also.

“I was approached by the Lowland clan of the Kerrs four years ago. I was by meself in the Lowlands when they found me. They said their chieftain and a few of their men had been taken captive by some English bastards. They had them in the dungeon at the border at Montclair Castle. It was a new castle being built. They wanted me te break them out. The castle’s defenses were low at the time, so it would be easy te do. I wanted te do it, as it was a challenge and somethin’ I’d ne’er done afore.”

“Why would they ask you, a Highlander to do it?
And why would you really consider such a dangerous act when you knew your life would be at stake?”

“I live fer danger, as it makes me feel alive.
I was in the Lowlands searchin’ fer adventure at the time, so I accepted. And the reason they asked me was becooz the lady o’ the castle told them she was related te the MacKeefes. An obvious lie, as no MacKeefe would be related te the English.”

“But I thought Clarista was English?” said Lovell
e. “And didn’t Storm marry an Englishwoman too?”

“Aye,” he said with a shake of his head. He knew they were English, but
he had always thought of them as Scottish and part of the clan. Probably the same way they thought of him . . . until now that is.

“So what happened? Did you help them escape?”

“I succeeded,” he said. “But the lady o’ the castle caught me, and once she saw me dagger, she somehow kent me name.” He rubbed his hand over his dagger when he said it.

“Well, that makes no sense at all.”

“I ken what ye say. And then the girl told me she was me sister. And when a man appeared, she said he was me . . . me . . . faither.”

“
Your father? Really? How exciting. Then you know who they are.”

“Nay. I
dinna ken their names. And neither do I want te. The man said his son was deid. That he ordered him te be . . . put inte the sea himself. And thet the deith o’ his wife was me fault fer jest bein’ born.”

The door opened just then and Aidan, Ian, and Clarista hurried in. Snow swirled around their feet in a cold gust of air as they closed the door behind them.

“Ye fergot Tawpie,” said Aidan, handing over the wildcat to him. Onyx put the cat on his knee, but it went over and plopped down in Lovelle’s lap instead. She jerked backward, taking her hand from his, but he reached out and put her hand gently on the kitten’s fur.

“Pet her so she’ll like ye
.”

“But she swiped at me before. And she’s
. . . wild.”

“And
so am I,” he said quietly.

She did as
he told her to, but cautiously, and the cat closed its eyes, seeming content and went to sleep.

“Onyx, I don’t like to see you so upset,” said Clarista, hurrying over to him. “I never should have told you.”

“’Tis all right,” he said, and forced a sad smile. “I need te know the truth. So . . . this box.” He pointed to it, not even able to touch it. “’Twas to be me coffin, wasna it?”

Clarista just looked at him, and he knew it was the truth.

“So me parents didna want me becooz of me eyes.”

“Dagger, the
t’s not true,” said Ian, pulling up a chair and sitting on it.

“’T
is true. And I was meant te die in thet box.” His eyes went over to the wooden chest and he felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. “God’s eyes, I woulda died and be at the bottom o’ the ocean right now if Fenella hadna saved me.”

“Tell her about the Englishman who was your father,” said Lovell
e.

Onyx told them his story,
and then Clarista smiled and nodded. “I think I know who you are, Onyx. My cousin birthed four girls before she birthed a baby boy and died. Her husband hates the Scots, so I haven’t seen the girls or talked to him since my cousin’s death. I believe you might be her son.” She walked over and grabbed his hands in hers and got down to her knees. “Don’t you see? If this is true, then you are related to the MacKeefes after all, Onyx. You need to go to them when you return to England and you need to find the truth.”

“I dinna want te
go te a family who disna want me.”

“
Dagger, ye should,” said Aidan. “You need to ken who ye really are.”

“And ye
’ll always be our friend, no matter what ye find out,” said Ian.

“That’s right,” said Clarista, squeezing his hands and looking directly into his eyes. “Do it, for my dear cousin, and the sisters
you may have. Even if you have ill feelings toward your father.”

“Please, Onyx,” said Lovell
e. “And I can help you find them.”

Onyx felt so alone in the world and also so confused. He also felt like he needed to know the truth or it would eat him up inside. He wo
uld approach his mother when they arrived in England, but if she still lied to him, he would have to find the truth on his own.

“All right,” he s
aid. “I’ll do it. So who was yer cousin, Clarista, and how do I find her family?”

“Her name was Mirabelle,” said Clarista with a smil
e. “And her daughters names are Ruby, Sapphire, Amber and Amethyst.”

“All named after gems,” he said, holding up his dagger and looking at it. He wondered if it was just a coincidence that he was named after a gem as well, and had this dagger.

“That’s right,” said Clarista, “I never really thought about it, but you have the name of a gem too.”

“Where did I get this dagger?” he asked her, already having the feeling of what she was going to say.

“Fenella said she found it under your little body in the chest,” Clarista answered. “So you see, that dagger must have been put there for a reason.”

“And what is the name o’
yer cousin’s husband?” he asked. “The man thet may be me faither?”

“His name i
s Talbot,” she informed him. “And he is the earl of Blackpool, so you can find him there.”

“Blackpool?” asked Lovell
e, sounding surprised. “Why, what a coincidence. Because that’s exactly where my son, Charles is being fostered. With the Earl of Blackpool.”

Onyx didn’t like this at all. And he had that aching feeling in his bones again when Lovell
e said it. He knew he should just give her the book and send her to England by herself and just forget all about the woman who called herself his mother. He should also forget about his supposed sisters and the man who might be his father who discarded of him like naught more than trash.

“What are ye goin’ te do, Dagger?” asked Ian.

“Aye,” said Aidan. “Do ye really want te go and find out? Or are ye goin’ te jest stay here wit’ us?”

He looked at his friends
, and all the memories they had together through the years flooded his mind. Then he looked into Clarista’s eyes, remembering how kind she had been to him throughout his life. He didn’t want to leave his friends, and he also didn’t want to disappoint Clarista. He felt sorry for her that she was never able to know her cousin’s children because of the hatred between the Scots and the English.

But for some reason, Onyx
still felt loyal to Fenella, even if she was a murderer, a thief, and most of all a liar. Probably because she had been the only mother he knew for the last twenty years, whether it was a farce or not.

And then he looked over to Lovell
e, wondering if she was a witch, and also wondering how the hell he had gotten himself into such a situation. He was a discarded baby, and not even Scottish, and about to take a trip with someone who would probably bring a curse upon him when she finally figured out the charms in the book.

Any man in his right mind would remove himself f
rom this situation and not go digging into a tarnished past, nor engage in a future that looked to be nothing but the same. He didn’t need this kind of turmoil in his life right now, and he would have rocks in his head if he really thought any of this would turn out well in the end.

“Dagger?” asked Ian with a smile on his face.

“Dagger?” mimicked Aidan with a grin as well. His friends waited for his answer, and they knew him well.

He looked over to the damned box again, and felt as if he couldn’t breathe. As if his world was clos
ing in around him and he was trapped, suffocating, and little by little he was dying. It wasn’t a good feeling at all, and he figured it might be some kind of omen, warning him not to go.

“Aye,” he heard himself saying, feeling as if a foreign voice were coming from his mouth. “I like an adventure and I live fer danger, so aye . . . I will do it!”

Chapter 11

It was snowing again when Onyx
said goodbye to the MacKeefe clan the next morning. He knew Lovelle was only too happy she’d convinced him to wait til morning to start on their journey back to England.

Clarista had
given a cloak and gloves to Lovelle to replace her lost ones, and to keep her warm. She’d also insisted Onyx wear a cloak, and he only agreed to it to get her to stop bothering him, though he didn’t feel as if he needed it. But he thought Lovelle might get cold later, and he would offer it to her, so he took it.

The
chieftain had been glowering at her since he’d decided she really was a witch, and he kept his distance, not wanting to even say goodbye to them as they mounted the horse to leave. Onyx felt bad about that, but he still had his reservations about Lovelle too, and knew he’d have to keep an eye out for anything strange she might do along the way.

“I put some food, ale, and
blankets in yer travel bags,” Isobelle told him.

“I put a surprise in there fer ye as well,” said Aidan with a chuckle.