Time Everlastin' Book 5 (34 page)

Broc's head turned, his
expression guarded. Their eyes met. Lachlan lowered his arm and
stepped back as an inexplicable chill gripped his lower
spine.

"Let's go home," Blue
said.

"Aye!" Roan
seconded.

"I need to gather some o' ma
things," Broc said. He glanced at Taryn. "I left yer journal at the
river."

Taryn blinked. "My journal?
You mean Ciarda's?"

"Ma mither's?" Lachlan
exclaimed, outrage darkening his features.

"Why did you take the
journal from my pack?" Taryn asked Broc, ignoring
Lachlan.

"To read it."

"Ma mither's journal?"
Lachlan said with more emphasis.

"Have ye read it?" Broc
asked him in a calm tone.

"No, but tha' gives you no
right—"

"It isna like I used the
pages to wipe ma arse!" Broc shouted, and Lachlan lunged at him.
Once again, Reith was quick to position himself between them, his
palms braced against their heaving chests. His attempt to remain
calm failed miserably, so he focused on cooling the heat suffusing
his face.

"Ma lords, wha' must I do to
end this childish conduct atween ye?"

"So you do have a temper?"
Lachlan said to Reith, bemused. "And a grand one, no
less."

Dead serious, Reith
countered, "Ye dinna want to see me in a real snit,
sir."

"I can vouch for that," Blue
said dryly.

"Dinna ye start!" Reith
warned her. "Ye and I will be settlin' a few wee matters when we
return to Baird House, tha' I promise ye."

"Sounds like a threat," she
sneered, and folded her arms against her chest. "Have you forgotten
what I can do to you?"

Reith's eyebrows inched
upward as a challenging gleam brightened his eyes. His arms dropped
to his sides. "I havena forgotten." He walked to within two feet of
her. "I havena forgotten wha' ye
think
ye can do to me, when in
reality,
annsachd,
yer power be no mair or no less than ma own."

"We'll see about that," she
said sweetly, but her eyes threw daggers his way.

Roan gave vent to a long,
long, long sigh, and said, "Am I goin' to have to step in as
referee between you two now?"

Affording Blue his most
charming smile, Reith bowed at the waist before turning to Lachlan.
"Home?"

"Aye, and no' too
soon."

Broc released an
ear-piercing whistle. "I've called for the horse," he explained.
"It'll carry the women above ground while we fetch ma
belongin’s."

"I'm not leaving without
you," Taryn said.

"Aye, ye will," Broc said.
"Ye an' the fair fairy."

"I'm far from helpless!"
Blue huffed.

Broc inclined his head
respectfully. "Twas no' ma intention to imply ye are."

"Then why can't Taryn and I
tag along?"

"Because," Lachlan said, "we
men can gather the items mair quickly on our own."

"That's crap," Taryn sulked.
"I know most of the chambers down here as well as you," she said to
Broc.

"Aye, tis true, but the
Faerie queen willna be able to keep up." He cast a sympathetic look
at Blue. "Aye?"

She regarded her legs a
moment then shrugged in resignation. "Okay, so I can't exactly
sprint...yet."

"And ye, lass," Broc said to
Taryn, "wouldna want her goin' above alone now, would
ye?"

"I think I've just been
conned into leaving," she said with a pout. "No, I guess
not."

"I'll be perfectly safe with
the horse."

"Blue, I really don't mind,"
Taryn said, and offered a smile. "Besides, the sooner the men
finish, the sooner we head home."

"Wha' abou' you?" Lachlan
asked Roan. "Is yer shoulder achin'?"

"A wee, but I would like to
see some o' this place before I leave."

Broc's black steed galloped
into the chamber and slowed to a stop in front of its master.
Patting the white blaze on the animal's brow, he firmly issued
instructions. The horse's response was a whinny and vigorous
nod.

"Hold fast to his sides wi'
yer legs," he said to Blue and Taryn. "The climb up the stairway be
steep, but he'll go slow to accommodate ye."

Taryn smiled wanly before
releasing a breath through pursed lips. "Okay. I-uh, have never
ridden before."

"Me, too," Blue said,
walking to Taryn's side with slow steps.

Broc smiled in understanding
of their unease. "If ye start to slip, tell him 'halt.' He'll stop
till ye feel tis safe to continue."

Taryn and Blue exchanged a
half-hearted grin.

"Maybe I should go wi' them.
Lead the horse," said Roan.

"Tis up to you," said
Lachlan.

"We will manage just fine,"
Taryn said, and smiled in earnest at Blue. "Right?"

"We will," Blue said
resolutely.

"Taryn."

She turned her head as Broc
lowered his and captured her mouth in a kiss that was brief yet
thorough. When he pulled away, she was suffused with a glorious
warmth that tingled to the tips of her fingers and toes, and she
stared into his eyes, yearning at that moment, to steal him away
and wrap herself around him. A gleam of mischief danced in his eyes
as if knowing her thoughts.

"Aye, ma lass. Soon
enough."

"Promise?" she
whispered.

He nodded then brushed the
back of one hand down her cheek, an action that elicited a sigh
from her.

"Don't take too long," she
said.

"We willna.
Taryn?"

"What?"

Broc hesitated and rubbed
his chest in a vain attempt to alleviate the sudden heaviness
surrounding his heart. "Are ye sure ye want me? To go wi' ye, I
mean."

Taryn glowed with the smile
she offered him. "Surer than I've ever been in my life."

Relief softened the planes
of his features. "Braussaw will see ye safe—"

"What?" sang out five
voices, startling Broc.

The horse whinnied and
snorted.

"Wha' wha'?" Broc asked,
bewildered.

"The horse's name is
Braussaw?" Blue asked.

"Aye," said Broc, studying
each face around him in deepening perplexity.

"Was tha' his name afore you
came here?" Lachlan asked in an inordinately deep voice, his
penetrating eyes boring into Broc's.

"No' for some time efter.
Why?"

"I have a peacock wi' tha'
name."

Broc's eyebrows lifted
comically. "Ye do?"

"Aye." Lachlan stepped
closer, his bearing stiff. "The name came to me one morn...one
hundred and fifty some years ago."

An oppressive silence fell
upon the chamber. Broc, immersed in thought, his dark eyebrows
drawn down in a frown, stared off into space. "Mayhaps tha' long
ago," he murmured.

Roan laughed a bit
unsteadily. "Is it ma imagination, or do you two have some kind o'
link atween you?"

"On a psychic level
perhaps," said Blue.

"Aye," said Lachlan, his
tone flat. "We can delve into the possibility once we return to
Baird House."

"We better get going," Taryn
said. "Help me up?"

Without hesitation, Broc
swung her onto the horse's back, while Lachlan settled Blue behind
her. Blue's arms slipped around Taryn's waist and held
fast.

"I'm ready, she said, her
tone saying otherwise.

"Go slow, and be mindful o'
yer charges," Broc said to Braussaw.

The horse nodded, backed up,
then turned and trotted from the chamber. All eyes watched until
they were out of sight, then Roan grumbled beneath his
breath.

"Did you say somethin'?"
asked Lachlan.

"Aye. I should have gone wi'
them."

"Come," said Broc. "The
river be a ways off. We shouldna tarry."

The four men trekked from
Chamber to chamber, level to level, the majestic beauty of their
surroundings at times slowing the newcomers' pace. Lachlan followed
at Broc's heel, while Reith remained close to Roan's side, only
falling back when they entered a passageway only wide enough to
accommodate one man at a time, or when traveling a narrow
pathway.

When they arrived at the
grotto, Broc hesitantly stopped and stared beyond the maw of
stalagmites and stalactites. After several moments, he brusquely
led them to the final path to the river far below. Once on level
ground, Lachlan walked ahead, his gaze riveted on the waterfall
visible on the far side of the crystal forest.

"Wha's wrong?" asked Roan,
stopping at his side.

"I've been here afore,"
Lachlan murmured. "In dreams when I was a lad. There's a cave
behind tha' cascade. The walls have etchin's o' gargoyle's erectin'
the standing stones."

"Aye," said Broc,
positioning himself to Lachlan's left. His gaze shifted to meet
Lachlan's. "Ye were here, right enough, wi' a woman no' yer
mither."

Lachlan's blood turned to
ice. "Onora. How could you know abou' her?"

Broc stared at the falls. "I
thought maself daft the first few times I saw a lad and a womon
playin' in the pool. Thought they be ghosts come to torment me. I
stopped seein' them some years efter. Never gave them anither
thought till now." He again met Lachlan's gaze, imbibing their
troubled depths. "Who was she?"

"Ma guardian angel—least
wha' I believed her to be back then. Ma mither convinced me she was
only in ma imagination."

"I'll fetch the journal,"
Broc said, and walked off, leaving Roan to rest a hand on Lachlan's
shoulder.

"Are you all right,
mon?"

Lachlan nodded stiltedly.
"Aye. Feelin' a wee jaggey, is all. This place...I escaped ma
faither's wrath here. Twas ma safe place, where harsh words and a
heavy hand couldna reach me."

"Yer blood is linked to
Broc's on yer mither's side. Maybe yer knowin' gift comes from the
MacLachlan line."

"Possible, I suppose,"
Lachlan murmured. He shook himself. "I thought maself beyond
surprises," he added with a crooked grin at Roan.

"Wha' do ye think o' Broc?"
Reith asked, staring in the direction Broc had gone.

"I'm no' sure," Roan
replied.

Lachlan squared his
shoulders and sighed. "Wha'ever doubts I have o' him, he is kin
and, for Taryn's sake as weel as ma mither's bloodline, I will do
wha'ever it takes to make him welcome at Baird House."

"Aye," said Reith in a soft
tone. "There be somethin’ abou' him I canna quite grasp. Tha' ye
and he have a link, I've no doubt."

Lachlan cocked at eyebrow as
he watched Broc stroll in their direction, Ciarda's journal clasped
in one hand. He passed it to Lachlan as soon as he joined the trio,
his expression conveying he expected another scolding from Lachlan.
It vanished when Lachlan offered a humble thank you.

"I would like to take along
some o' ma personal belongin's," Broc said, the gruffness in his
tone failing to appease his unease with leaving this world behind.
"I dinna have much I want to keep."

Lachlan slipped the journal
into the front of his shirt and reverently pressed a palm to it
when it sank to rest at the gathered material above his waistband.
"Give me a moment," he said, and headed toward the
waterfall.

Unaware the three watched
him, Lachlan stood at the pool's edge for some time, his misted
gaze penetrating the turbulent rushing water, and his mind
envisioning the cave beyond. Echoing laughter caressed him, his own
and Ornora's, as he imagined them romping in the falls and pool,
splashing one another.

Lachlan spied a watery
version of Ornora’s face appear in the cascade, smiling at him as
she had countless times during his boyhood. He sank to his knees,
tears spilling down his cheeks, and smiled back.

"Why here?" he asked in a
choked tone. "Why did you bring me here?"

A watery hand materialized,
and the water image blew him a kiss. Moist air brushed his cheek
and he sucked in a shuddering breath. She vanished. Lachlan slowly
stood, a hand pressed over his heart.

"Lannie?" Roan said
gently.

Swiping an arm across his
face to obliterate his tears, he faced the others, took another
unsteady breath, and joined them. Wordlessly, they started their
journey back, Broc in the lead.

The procession remained
steady until they reached the grotto, where Broc again hesitated.
When he started ahead again, Lachlan said, "Wha's beyond there?"
pointing to the maw.

"Karok’s
treasure."

"Show us."

Broc turned to Lachlan, his
eyes flashing. "No good can come from it."

Lachlan abruptly walked off,
the others following when he disappeared beyond the stalagmites and
stalactites. He stood in the heart of a crystal cave when the
others caught up, staring in awestruck wonder at his surroundings.
Broc alone was not impressed with the treasure, for he had seen it
too often to care.