Part 16 (1/2)
Lizzie stood with her hand held open, looking down at the gold. ”Thank you, that's so kind, but I don't think-”
”She willna need it,” Quinn boomed, scowling at Piper. She blushed. ”Why does everyone have such a low opinion of me?”
”Historical precedence, lad,” Lachlan said, clapping him on the good shoulder. ”Dinna take offence. Let Lizzie take the gift. I'm sure your extended absence from the farm has caused some sort of trouble that it may help solve.”
”And if you don't need to sell them, they're very pretty,” Piper said encouragingly.
Now Catie quietly sniffled in the dark, cramped s.p.a.ce while Lachlan ground the necessary herbs. Lizzie kept jumping at every sound while Quinn patted her hand. Piper's head ached worse with every pa.s.sing minute and she wanted to urge Lachlan to hurry, but he was being methodical, not wanting to take a chance of the spell not working.
Before he began the chant, he kissed Catie's forehead and told her he loved her, causing her to sob in earnest. He clasped Quinn's arm.
”I dinna say it enough, perhaps I've never said it.” He looked at Piper and she nodded encouragement. ”But ye've done well. I have faith in ye to continue to do well.”
Piper's throat closed up at the sentiment, and she hugged Quinn hard around the neck.
”Thank ye, Lach,” Quinn said, clearly nervous about returning.
Piper squeezed Lizzie's hand and gave even the reluctant, crying Catie a hug and kiss on her tear streaked cheek.
Feeling as silly as she ever did when they performed the spell, she sang Mary Had a Little Lamb after Lachlan chanted.
Catie, Quinn and Lizzie cut their fingers and all held tightly to each other, while she clung to Lachlan's hand. They'd never tried this spell where they sent someone away and stayed behind themselves. Piper secretly wanted to see Bella's children, and she would have loved to see her old friend Pietro, but she knew she shouldn't wish to get sent along for the ride. They had things to do here.
A gust of wind blew through the closed pa.s.sage and she held her eyes shut tight, always a bit skittish, no matter how many times they did this. Something intuitively told her she did not want to see what happened during the transition.
The air settled and she opened her eyes. The candle they'd lit had gusted out and she reached for her phone for some light. Before she could click anything, she heard Catie's sniffle, and hurriedly turning on her phone, saw that they were all still there.
”What in the h.e.l.l?” she asked, looking to Lachlan. He shrugged.
”Ye better do it, Piper,” he said, looking meaningfully at her. Since she'd been possessed by Daria, her powers were stronger than ever, but she feared using them.
”Is it the castle?” Lizzie said in a hushed voice.
”No,” Piper snapped, then sighed. Why hadn't it worked? ”Lachlan's done it so many times,” she said, shaking her head. ”I don't get it.”
”Love, it's all right. If ye feel certain it works inside, ye must do it.”
Her head throbbed and her vision blurred, but Lachlan squeezed her hand rea.s.suringly.
”Close your eyes and buckle up,” she said.
Lizzie squeaked nervously, then everyone went still. Piper poked around in the recesses of her mind, finding the spot, the tiny dark spot that still remained, and prodded it, telling it to wake up and get to work.
A buzzing feeling tingled over her skin and she said the words without thinking them, just opened her mouth and let them fly.
Lachlan's grip almost broke her hand and she forced the terrifying power from it's hiding place and into the pa.s.sage. A burst of light exploded behind her eyes and she cried out from a pain so terrible, she was momentarily blinded.
”It's blocked, or something,” she said weakly, clutching her head to keep it from breaking.
The air in the tight s.p.a.ce grew even closer and she groped for the opening in the wall, desperate to be free. Lachlan pushed it open and helped her out, where she gasped for breath. She blinked against the dim light, grateful she could see, but the pain grew worse, thousands of hot needles trying to p.r.i.c.k through her skull.
”Love, ye're bleeding,” Lachlan said.
Catie handed her a handkerchief from the waistband of her dress, her face drawn with worry. ”It's killing her,” she said, voice breaking.
Piper held the cloth to her b.l.o.o.d.y nose and saw that it was just a few drops. Everything above her shoulders crackled with pain. It was agony just to shake her head.
”It's not killing me,” she said, not sounding the least bit believable even to her own ears.
In fact, she had to cling to Lachlan's arm to keep from completely freaking out. Something had forcefully blocked her when she tried to do the spell, like a hand pressing against her, or ... more like a claw. Lachlan put his arm around her and she rested against him, absorbing his strength. She felt his heart pounding hard and fast and knew he was almost as upset as she was.
Laughing nervously, she tried to sound airy, but it came out tense. ”It's too late now to try it in the woods again. Let's get a good night's rest and we can head out in the morning.” She looked from one to the other, everyone stricken and pale.
Downstairs, Piper called Evie, who waited anxiously to see if it worked. She'd gone to hang around in the barn, always scared to get caught up in the blast radius of the spell. While Evie loved time travel novels, she hated and feared actual time travel.
When she learned they were going to sleep on it, she begged Lachlan to let Catie spend one last night at her house.
”I would so love to say goodbye to wee Magnus, and kiss his fat cheek once more,” she said, clasping her hands and turning wide, beseeching eyes to Lachlan.
”I'll bring her back at the crack of dawn, if not before,” Evie said, turning the same look on him. ”Mags gets up at five, so it won't be a problem.”
Lachlan relented and they left, leaving Lizzie and Quinn to attend to. Piper tried to tell them to take any room on the second floor, offer them clean towels and anything else they might need, but her splitting head wouldn't let her.
”Take the room ye were in when the physician bandaged ye,” Lachlan said, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs, he scooped her up, carrying her like a baby to their room. She protested the invalid treatment even as she wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her face against his chest. His heartbeat was now rea.s.suringly steady and she closed her eyes and let the rhythmic thump soothe her.
Once in their room, he helped her get into bed, took off her shoes, and handed her a gla.s.s of water.
”You're so good to me,” she said.
She couldn't hide how badly her hands shook when she accepted it and the water did nothing to ease the hot pain that still sliced through her. His face was tight with concern and he frowned, taking the gla.s.s before she dropped it.
”What happened?” he asked, sitting beside her and tucking the blankets up to her chin.
She wriggled her arms free and took his hand, trying to figure out what had transpired in the secret pa.s.sage. Her thoughts flapped around in her aching head and a dark image flashed through her mind. A shadowy presence, the thing with the claws. Sweat beaded at her hairline and she struggled to remain calm for Lachlan.
”There's something,” she said. ”Something was stopping me from doing it.” She studied him, tracing the solid line of his jaw with her finger. ”It felt like something from the outside, something angry, didn't want them to go back.” Her eyelids felt heavy and she let them drift shut.
He jostled her shoulder, but she'd never felt so exhausted. ”Piper, what if this has to do with what's happening in Bella's time?” His voice sounded so panicked, she forced her lids open and reached out to him. His eyes were wide with fear and he clung to her hands. ”I shall try again. I'll go myself at once, and fix this.”
This roused her enough to get her to sit up, and was rewarded for the effort with more stabbing pain. ”No, you can't,” she said, each frantic word making her weaker. ”Look what it did to me. I can barely move.”
He stood up and ran his hands through his hair as he prepared to argue with her. She closed her eyes against his tortured face.