Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
“I’m going with you!” Noah stood nose to nose with Taran just outside the cottage as the coming sun painted a pink tinge along the east ridge.
He couldn’t remember another time he’d contradicted a direct order from Taran.
As they stared at one another, narrowed gaze to narrowed gaze, Noah felt a slight quiver in his belly.
But he wasn’t about to stay behind to wait, worry and wonder.
Finding The Keeper was too important not to fight for the right to go along.
Emily was too important!
“If you won’t allow me to accompany you, I’ll simply follow,” Noah stated. “Or strike out on my own if I must. But I am going! Emily is my responsibility. I will see this quest through to the end with or without your support.”
His hands curled into fists as he waited for Taran’s reply. His stomach climbed to his throat and huddled there. Waiting. Hoping.
“I want ye wi’ me, Noah. I do. But we cannae ken what’s out there. If I dinnae return, I need tae ken ye’ll be here tae look after the family.”
“We could all go.”
Taran and Noah turned as one toward Paige’s voice.
“I thought ye were inside, Love,” Taran muttered.
“Nae. I’m afraid we cannae all go. No’ yet, at least. No’ until we assess the danger we’ll be facin’.
Until we do, we cannae risk the physical strain on Emily if this doesnae turn out as we hope.
’Twould be too much for her. And I cannae focus on what I need tae do tae find The Keeper if I’m worried about the safety and well-being of my family.
Emily and Brody need ye here, Paige. And Noah, I need tae ken ye’re watching over all o’them. ”
“You can’t go alone,” Noah pressed.
“Aye. I willnae. Finn is going wi’ me.”
“Finn?” Noah gasped. He’s taking the blacksmith?
“Aye. Like ye, he was ripped from his family when he landed here. He’s been alone since, yearning, mourning for them.
If no’ for Finn, Paige and I wouldnae have survived our first year.
He’s been a loyal friend tae us. If the stories are true, if portals exist, I owe him this chance to reunite wi’ his family.
And I’ll welcome the added protection along the way. ”
“That changes nothing,” Noah said through gritted teeth. “He’s welcome to come or stay. I don’t care. But I’m going. As I said before, with you or by myself. That part, I suppose, is up to you.”
Paige laid a hand on Taran’s arm. “With you, please. I need to know you’ll both be safe.
Finn, as well. You’ll be stronger together.
I want to go with you, desperately, but I have to agree that Emily’s safety comes first. I’ll ask Wilma to come and stay with us while you’re gone.
She’ll be a help to me, a comfort to Emily, and Brody adores her.
And she can go to the village for help if we need it.
Aiesha will help, too. She’s been coming by regularly to check on Emily and bring her teas she thinks might help. ”
Taran glanced from Paige to Noah. “It seems I’ve no choice. ’Tis settled then. Gather what ye’ll need, Noah. Finn will be here by full sun.”
Noah tightened the strap across his chest that secured his pack, glad the arguments were over and they were finally taking action.
He wished they had more to go on than hearsay and rumors to discover if The Keeper was more than just a myth.
It was hard to gamble Emily’s life on something so insubstantial.
But his hopes that she might recover on her own dwindled more every time he looked at her.
He’d knelt beside her just minutes ago, brushed the damp curls from her forehead and spoke softly to her, trying to explain that he’d be gone for a few days, but she’d barely responded.
Speaking, focusing, engaging, seemed to rob her of what little energy she had.
He’d come away more determined than ever to do whatever it took to find The Keeper and convince him to grant them access to a portal.
“I’ll be back for you,” he’d promised Emily.
“And take you to a place and people that can help you feel better.”
He’d kissed her forehead, grateful to find it cooler this morning, and whispered, “I love you. I’ll be back before you know it.”
She’d opened her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, now a shocking contrast to the paleness of her skin. “…love you,” she mouthed.
He knew he’d carry those words in his heart every moment he was away from her, using them to harden his resolve to do whatever was required to get her the help she needed.
Whatever it took! He vowed. He would not lose Emily, too.
“Ready?”
Noah turned to see Taran tuck his dirk into his boot.
He’d heard the story of Taran’s friend, Will, sneaking the coveted dirk into his pack when Taran parted from what remained of The 79 Jacobites at Wickham’s ranch.
He’d heard Taran recount tales of his fellow ghosts on Culloden Moor, the centuries trapped there, and the wee witch Soncerae’s sacrifice to give them all a second chance.
He’d heard the tales so often he couldn’t question them, or the existence of magic in the coexisting worlds, familiar and unfamiliar.
How could he question it, when he and Emily had been swept away by it themselves?
He only wished he knew if the particular magic they’d been caught up in was good or evil. And even more, which of those realms The Keeper’s magic, and his purported daughter, adhered to.
“Yes. I’m ready.” He gestured toward his small collection of weapons. The bow and arrows he hunted with. The finely crafted knife Taran and Paige had given him for his birthday the second year he was here. The snares he used for small game. His flints for starting a fire.
“’Tis good,” Taran nodded. “Paige is putting together a small pack of food. We’ll hunt for what else we need. And we—”
“Top of the mornin’ to ya,” Finn called as he came around the corner of the house, his Irish brogue as crisp as the morning air.
“Welcome,” Taran called, eyes shifting to the long fur-wrapped bundle Finn carried.
When he came close enough, Finn shoved the bundle at Taran. “For you, as thanks for this opportunity. And mayhap a bit of self-preservation. We should avail ourselves of all the helpful tools we can, aye?” he winked.
Puzzled, Taran unwrapped the bundle, gasping at the prize inside. Noah’s reaction echoed Taran’s when he pulled the gleaming sword from its leather sheath.
“What?” Taran exclaimed. “How?”
Noah didn’t miss the admiration gleaming from Taran’s eyes as he examined the blade and tested its balance. “’Tis magnificent. But...”
“I’ve been collecting bits of steel for a fair while now, as ye well know,” Finn remarked, a twinkle in his eye. “I couldn’t imagine a finer use for it. Besides,” he flashed a grin, “it gives me peace of mind knowing ye’ve got somethin’ handy to keep my backside safe.”
His roaring laughter filled the air as he clapped Taran on the shoulder.
“I may know how to forge a fine weapon, but ye know best how to wield it. May the good Lord grant us the luck not to need it during our travels. Still, it puts my mind at ease knowin’ ye’ve got it, just in case the winds turn foul. ”
Taran turned the sword over and over in his hands. “I ken ye’ve hoarded bits of steel for years, but I never dreamed… ’Tis the finest thing I’ve ever seen. The engraving. The hilt. I dinnae ken how tae thank ye. Ye’ve been hiding yer talents, my friend.”
“There’s far more need for the practical side of my talents in this place. A good cooking pot outweighs a bit of shiny steel any day.”
“A sad truth, for sure. What about you?” Taran asked, barely able to tear his gaze from the sword. “Have ye something like this for yerself?”
“I have what I need,” Finn stated, putting one hand on a wicked-looking knife and the other on a small double-edged hatchet, both hanging from his thick belt.
“Aye,” Taran grinned. “I ken ye do.” He glanced at Noah. “I ken ye both do.”
Paige stepped out of the cottage with a small hide-wrapped bundle while Brody followed, his small arms grasping a leather water flask.
“I’m sorry, Da, but I cannae go with you,” Brody said solemnly as he handed the flask to his father. “Ma said she needs me to stay and take care of the women.”
Noah hid his smile as he watched the interchange. Brody was so much the image of Taran in every way it was almost eerie. He had no doubt he’d fill the assigned role to the best of his five-year-old ability.
“It eases my mind tae ken ye’ll be here, watchin’ over ’em,” Taran replied, kneeling to give his son a handshake before pulling him to his chest for a farewell embrace.
When he stood, Paige moved into his arms, the two of them whispering private words to one another.
Noah wondered, not for the first time, what it must be like to love and be loved so fully.
He knew what it was to love his family, deeply and completely.
But the love between a man and woman…it must be a different kind of love, indeed.
Perhaps someday he would find it. He prayed if he did, it would be as deep and enduring as Taran and Paige’s.
“’Tis but a temporary goodbye, Love,” Taran said as they separated. “I’ll be back as soon as we’ve found the answers we need.”
Paige stepped back and placed a hand on Brody’s shoulder, blinking back the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Safe travels. All of you.”
None of them voiced the fact that no one had ever returned from this quest.
As they gathered the last of their packs and turned toward the distant, unknown southern mountains, Noah heard her parting words. “Come back to us.”
Taran stood at the edge of the tree line, his expression carved from stone. “Once we’re inside, we move fast, we move quiet. Understood?”
Finn and Noah exchanged a look before nodding, then followed Taran past what they considered the safety zone, into the forest and the unknown territory The Others were suspected to occupy.