Time Everlastin' Book 5 (9 page)

"No," she said, tears
spilling down her cheeks. "He'll come back."

"He'll find a way," said
Laura, her own face wet with tears, her voice not as reassuring as
she hoped.

"Damn me, I should have done
somethin'!" Roan sputtered and raked the fingers of one hand
through his disheveled hair. "It all happened so bloody
fast."

A few feet away, Jondee held
Ciarda, Beth and Lachlan's daughter. His wings retracted, he looked
like a young teenager, his handsome features shadowed with
puzzlement.

Laura's mother, Lauren,
cradled their sleeping son, Broc, against her bosom, her face taut
and wan, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

The cold October air outside
was degrees warmer than in the room. Beth shivered uncontrollably,
her teeth chattering.

"I didna know wha' to do,"
Deliah said in a small, quavering voice. Her hands moved
unconsciously over her protruding belly. "Shamefully, I be afeared
for ma younglin'. I couldna think—"

"No one is to blame," Beth
murmured, cutting her off. "Lachlan did what he felt he must. He—"
Her voice broke. "We have to believe—"

A preternatural sound of
rendering burst upon the house. The twins woke, wailing. Alby, Kahl
and Kevin clamped their hands over their ears. The adults remained
transfixed, terror-induced anticipation robbing them of their
ability to move. Countless, spectral voices chorused, the shrill
cacophony piercing the eardrums of the living.

Then...heart-stopping
silence.

Moments passed. The twins
quieted. The boys lowered their hands. The adults released pented
breaths.

"Fegs!" intruded a familiar
voice from the hall. "I willna do
tha'
again!"

Lachlan staggered into the
parlor, looking like a man who hadn't slept for months, his hair
standing on end from static electricity. Laura unsteadily rose to
her feet and moved aside, her mouth agape, her eyes wide and
blinking in disbelief. Lachlan grinned sheepishly at everyone he
passed, and came to a shuffling stop across from Beth.

"His Mightyship tossed me
ou'," he said with a comical lift of his broad
shoulders.

"God?" Beth whispered, too
stunned yet to move.

"Och, aye. He gave me the
boot, right enough." Lachlan thoughtfully scratched behind an ear.
"Och, lass, He gave me the distinct impression He wasna wantin' to
see me again so soon."

Beth felt Alby shift away
from her side. A glance revealed he was beaming up at Lachlan,
freeing her to rocket to her feet and throw her arms around
Lachlan's neck.

"I thought...I
thought...."

"I know, Beth-lass," he said
against her hair. He wound his arms about her, molding her against
him, and sighed contentedly. "The ghosties are gone, love. They'll
no' be back."

"Those v-voices w-we heard,"
she stammered.

"I dinna know," Lachlan
said.

"How did Cuttstone get
through?" Laura asked.

"I dinna know tha', either.
Fortunately, he wasna fully transformed. Orwise, I wouldna been
able to push him through."

"But you entered the Light
and returned," Laura argued.

"Aye." Lachlan's eyebrows
lifted. "But Cuttstone isna me, is he?" he added with a devilish
grin.

Beth loosened her hold
enough to lean back and stare into the depths of his dark eyes.
"Lachlan Ian Baird, if you ever—"

He kissed her, dousing her
scolding and the residual fear tweaking her awareness. He separated
his mouth from hers and framed her face, the humor in his
expression gone.

"Naught will ever keep us
apart," he said, his voice husky.

"Promise?"

"Aye, I do." Enfolding her
more snugly in his arms, he glanced at the others, his gaze
settling on Laura. "Twas brave o' you to tackle
Cuttstone."

"Stupid is more like it,"
she half-heartedly laughed. A new rush of tears flooded her eyes
and she hastily brushed them aside when they escaped. "I couldn't
let him touch Beth."

Beth left Lachlan's arms,
crossed to Laura, and embraced her. When Beth drew back, she
lovingly touched Laura's cheek. "You're the sister I never had.
Thank you, Laura, but don't ever risk your life again."

Alby was first to fling his
arms about Lachlan's leg. Kevin and Kahl rushed to their adopted
uncle, holding fast, their bodies trembling with relief.

"Ma lads," Lachlan choked.
Disengaging their hold, he knelt and swept them into his arms. "Ma
lads," he repeated and cupped a hand at the back of Alby's head and
pressed his mouth to the boy's brow. "Ye're no' hurt, are
you?"

"Nope," Alby said through a
tenuous grin. His chin quivered and his face scrunched up with an
onslaught of tears. "I shouldn't've let him trick me."

"Now, now, Alby," Lachlan
soothed, swiping away the wetness on Alby's face with his thumbs.
"Tell me wha' happened."

Alby cast Laura a woeful
glance. "I woke Aunt Laura cause I wanted something to drink. Not
water. Cocoa. Then...then...." He slumped, burying his face against
Lachlan's shoulder, and wept.

"We were in the kitchen,"
Laura continued, "when Alby said something I didn't quite catch,
and ran into the parlor. I called for him to stop, but he ran into
the basement. I didn't see Cuttstone until he grabbed
Alby."

"Alby? Look at me,
lad."

Alby drew back and
timorously lifted his face.

"Alby, I want you to promise
me, mon to mon, you will never do somethin' so rash
again."

"Is rash stupid, Lannie?
‘C-cause I won't be stupid again."

Lachlan smiled. "Rash means
no' thinkin' afore you do somethin'."

"Okay," Alby said in a small
voice.

"I have yer
word?"

Alby nodded
vigorously.

"I think it's time the
children went to bed," said Lauren. "Come along, boys."

"Do we havta?" complained
Kevin.

"Aye," said Lachlan,
standing. "Scat, and dinna give your grandmither any
sass."

Jondee inclined his head to
the occupants of the room. "I will remain wi' the
twins."

"Thank you," Beth
said.

Lauren and Jondee herded the
children into the hall.

When their inquisitive
voices were heard ascending the staircase, Roan said to Lachlan,
"Just when I think you've out-rashed yerself,
old
mon, you add a few mair gray hairs
ta ma collection."

Lachlan chuckled, crossed
the room, clamped a hand at Roan's nape and planted a wet kiss on
his brow. He laughed outright and stepped back when Roan swiped the
back of a hand over the spot.

"Damn me, Lannie," Roan
grumbled, scowling.

"I see nary a gray hair,"
Lachlan chided playfully, and returned to Beth's side, slipping an
arm about her waist. He tilted his head toward Beth while keeping a
humorous eye on Roan. "Now we know where the lads' penchant for
exaggeration comes from, aye?"

Despite his mood, Roan
grinned. "Kiss me again and ma foot and your arse will come to
blows."

"No' enough excitement
tonight?" Lachlan crooned.

Roan muttered beneath his
breath, then sighed. "Plenty. I was havin' a nightmare abou' Taryn
when all this hit."

Laura, stepping behind him,
wrapped her arms about his middle and pressed a cheek between his
shoulder blades. Winston drew Deliah into one arm, his free hand
tenderly stroking her belly.

Blue remained on the sofa,
her hands clasped atop her lap. Although she had never felt more
alone than at that moment, she hid it well. "I was thinking about
her before I went to sleep."

"Thinkin' in wha' way?" Roan
asked, apprehensive.

"Wherever she is, she's
about to...."

"Wha'?" asked Roan, panic in
his voice.

Blue pondered the remnant
impressions before voicing them. "She's...close."

"To Baird House?" Lachlan
asked.

Blue shook her head and
frowned. "To her destiny. She's safe, but...."

"Sweet Jesus," Lachlan
groaned. "But wha', Blue?"

Blue's eyes took on a
faraway, glassy look. When her expression cleared, she offered a
shrug of apology. "I don't know any more."

"We haven't heard from Reith
for over a week," Beth said.

"He said he would phone if
he picked up her trail again," Winston said.

"Ma gut says she's in
trouble," Roan murmured.

Lachlan shot him an
exasperated glance. "Mair'n likely
makin'
trouble. I would rather face
off ten Cuttstones than yer sister."

"Damn me, Lannie!" Roan said
with a scowl. "She is ma kin!"

Lachlan expelled a breath
and slapped a palm to his brow. "Och, I'm for a scotch," he said,
and worked his dry mouth. "Anyone care to join me?"

Although Lachlan had spoken
in earnest, Winston threw back his head and laughed. It was a laugh
that, like a virus running amuck, infected everyone in the room,
temporarily releasing the remnants of their anxieties.

Chapter 5

Gentle gurgling sounds
stirred Taryn from a realm of serene darkness. Reluctantly, she
submitted to a need to open her eyes and stared through slits into
vibrant blueness. It took a moment for her to lift her lids fully.
A craggy, rock wall several feet away and bathed in the ethereal
blueness, stretched across her line of vision.

She rolled onto her back and
observed two facts at once—three, actually. One: she lay atop a bed
of cushiony fronds piled thick enough to award the same comfort as
a soft mattress. Two: the same variegated fronds were woven with
vines, creating a blanket. Three: she was naked.

Blinking rapidly, her mind
trying to digest all the thoughts vying for dominance, she gazed
about her. The gurgling sound came from a small, two-tiered
waterfall in the far corner. At the base of the cascade was a clear
crystal segmented basin. The water brimming within appeared to be
lit by glowing blue moss—or what looked like moss—covering the
bottom of the basin, the luminance lighting the chamber, which was
no larger than an average-sized bedroom.

With the exception of the
pool and her bed, the room was empty.

She unsteadily got to her
feet. Her gaze pinging around her temporary quarters, she lifted
one of the mattress fronds and held it against her.

How did I survive the
fall?

If the barbarian had
cushioned the impact, he couldn't have survived

And if he hadn't survived,
who undressed me?

She didn't ache. Not even a
twinge of discomfort for what she had endured.

Had she imagined the
fall?

No. There has to be a simple
explanation.

"Hey," she called weakly,
then a louder, "Where are my clothes?"

She crouched and, dropping
the frond, hastily unfastened her French braid. Her hands shook
with the effort to release the long strands, her desire to use her
hair as a partial cover stronger than her need for answers. When
she was through, she held the same frond against her and took one
precautionary step at a time in the direction of the only opening.
She paused at the threshold, gawking at the world that lay
beyond.

Her chamber was set in a
massive rock wall, back from a thirty-foot ledge that stretched in
both directions as far as she could see. Scattered among gigantic
stalagmites and rising from the cliff walls and along the pathway,
were towering crystal columns, their faceted edges gleaming from
glowing blue and white-green pools scattered on every flat surface.
In the distance, she could hear running water.

A river perhaps?

She walked to the edge of
the path and peered down. Tiny specks of light were visible in the
otherwise blackness.

"Where the hell am I?" she
murmured.

Her gaze crept upward to
where columns and some stalagmite peaks vanished into menacing
patches of darkness. Taryn shivered uncontrollably, not from cold
because the air was surprisingly comfortable, but from the vastness
of this underworld. For the first time in her life, she truly felt
inconsequential.

"Hello! I want my clothes
back! Hey, barbarian, do you hear me?"

Silence but for her echoing
words.

Her knapsack came to mind.
She hadn't packed a clean set of clothes, but she did have a small
revolver hidden in one of the inner pockets.

Releasing a breath out one
side of her mouth, she forced her legs to carry her along the rock
and dirt floor of the pathway and past the small blue pool ten feet
from the opening of her chamber. Minutes on, she quickened her
pace, her gaze darting in every direction, her ears keened to
detect the slightest sound, of which there was none but for those
she made, and the distant rippling of flowing water.