Page 7 of Duncan

Out in the passage he closed the door and nearly dropped. His heart pounded so rapidly in his chest it seemed as if it might burst out of its cage of bones. When he pressed a hand over it he expected his own bruised ribs protest, but no pain came. Because he and the rest of the MacMar Clan had been born to a Fae sire and a mortal màthair, they had many boons, including the ability to heal very quickly—but never had he recovered this fast. There was also the fact that he had not absorbed her pain through his touch. His mortal weakness forced him to share for some hours all the discomfort his patients suffered.

“Why stand you in the hall, Duncan?” Fletcher, the clan’s seneschal, asked as he joined him. Two maids followed, their arms filled with neatly-folded clothing. “Nyall told me of the sodden state of the lady who rescued you. I reckoned she’d want linens for washing and dry garments. The laird wishes speak with you.”

“My report, ’twill wait.” He nodded at the maids, and opened the door for them. As soon as they were inside he closed it again. “Did the captain tell our lord and Lady Valerie everything?”

“I reckon no’, for everyone’s still in the great hall celebrating our victory over the raiders and the Cait Sith. Only the laird retreated to his chamber when Merrick came demanding a word.” The seneschal glanced at the infirmary’s door. “She’s from the future, then?”

Two shrieks came from inside the chamber, and both maids rushed out, stopped long enough to bob unsteadily, and then fled. As Fletcher went after them Duncan stepped inside, and saw Nicole, dressed only in an overlarge leine that reached her knees, standing beside the table and frowning at her palm.

“I didn’t mean to scare those girls.” She held up a small pair of trews, and then held them against the lower half of her body as if measuring them. “I just wanted to know if I can make some calls to the U.S. from here. May I borrow your phone? I should really contact my family, as well as the authorities so they can call off the search for me.”

The clan had already gone through the hazards of explaining what had happened to the ladies from the future four times now. In Duncan’s opinion, completely withholding the truth was just as bad as revealing only part of it.

“I must tell you some things that shall test your reason,” he said. “I dinnae wish cause you dread or more shock, but ’tis best you ken all now.”

Nicole pulled on the trews, lacing them up before she reached down to cuff the too-long legs. When she straightened, she said, “All right, go ahead.”

“The ring on your hand belonged to our laird’s first wife, Lady Joana, who drowned herself to protect us and our home. ’Twas enchanted by her sacrifice and my sire’s magic, and of late seeks out other females facing death by drowning.” He paused, watching her face before he added, “When the ring finds a woman in such terrible straits, it saves her and transports her through time to the island of Caladh. We’re hidden from the rest of the world by the mist barrier that surrounds our island, but three hundred leagues to the south lay Scotland. You’ve come to the twelfth century, my lady, and now abide with the immortal half-Fae sons of Prince Mar.”

Nicole said nothing for a long time after that, but watched him closely as if she expected him to claim it all a farce. When he didn’t, she gathered up her wet crystal-covered gown and placed it in an empty bucket. She then sat down on the edge of his exam table.

“I’m not sure I understand. Why would your enchanted ring bring me to a Scottish island during medieval times?” she asked. “If it wanted to save me, shouldn’t it have taken me to a place of safety in my time?”

“’Tis done the same for four other ladies from the future,” Duncan admitted. “All came to aid my clan so the MacMar may keep secret our island. Didnae you hear voices when you found the ring?”

“I thought I was hallucinating. I really made a deal with them to help you and your clan, is that right?” As he nodded, she smiled. “Then, what can I do for you, Healer?”

“We dinnae ken such until the time of crisis arrives.” He couldn’t believe how calmly she was taking in all of the fantastic details of what had happened; every other woman from the future had reacted by doubting or even refusing to believe any of it. “What you may do shall depend on a boon granted you by my sire’s magic. You shall acquire a power to do such beyond the scope of mortal kind. ’Tis but we dinnae ken what ’tis until you first wield such.”

“You poor people.” Her expression grew sympathetic. “This must be as much a shock for you—the arrival of your time travelers.”

That she spoke with such compassion for others she’d never met touched Duncan, and gave him hope as well.

“We expect our visitors now,” he told her. “Our clan, ’tis been hunted by Derdrui, a wicked Fae enchantress who desires slay us all, for centuries. The Fae king imprisoned her for some time in Elphyne, but she escaped and again returned to the mortal realm so she might hunt us. She commands a horde of Cait Sith shape-shifters, and if she finds Caladh, the clan, ’tis doomed.”

“So you have a terrible villain to go with your enchanted island, your miraculous ring, and your castle.” She gestured around her. “This is the castle on the cliffs that I saw from the beach, I presume.”

“Aye. ’Tis Dun Ard, our home.” He went to his work table and took down a pot of calming herbs, although he doubted she needed them. Indeed, she completely fashed him with her calm demeanor. He glanced at her again. “You accept my word with ease, my lady.”

Her brows rose. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“The others who came from your time didnae believe our claims until they saw proof,” he countered.

“I first spoke to you through a mirror on my father’s boat,” Nicole said, coming to join him. “After I fell into the sea, the water lit up with strange lights. Some voices in my head then offered me a bargain, and when I accepted, they healed me, and brought me to you. That’s why I believe everything you’ve told me, so don’t worry.”

The fact that she had picked up on so much from him with such ease baffled Duncan, for even his brothers had trouble fathoming his concerns. Before he could reply, the door to the infirmary opened, and the laird and his wife entered with Nyall following.

“Welcome, my lady.” Connal MacMar bowed to Nicole as if she were a visiting princess, but as he straightened he frowned at her for a long moment. “I’m Laird of the MacMar Clan and Duncan’s eldest brother.” He gestured at the blonde woman beside him. “My lady wife, Valerie.”

“My name is Nicole Fairley. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Without hesitation she dropped into a curtsy so elegant she might have been practicing such for years.

ATOP THE RIDGE, Meg had stood watching as the strangely-gowned woman waded out of the bay. Her garment appeared encrusted with ice or diamonds, both highly unlikely adornments unless she had come from a time when such garments could be made. She seemed upset to find Duncan MacMar in the dunes, and fussed over him before helping him to his feet. The Finfolk male that had stopped by them and then flung himself in the sea had been cloaked, so the woman would not have seen his gills or webbed hands and feet.

’Tis enough here on the island that shall scare the wits from her.

Meg suffered no guilt for pushing the healer off the seaside cliff; as a half-Fae immortal he couldn’t be easily killed. Such a plunge would simply cause him some bruises that would soon fade. If she hadn’t done so, the Finfolk might have snatched the woman before she could be rescued. At least, that was what she had been thinking when she’d spotted the woman in the water surrounded by blue-green lights, just a few moments before she’d shoved Duncan.

I hope ’twas my intention. Her thoughts at the time had been muddled, as they often grew lately.