Chapter 3

Chapter Three

D uring her first week at Dun Ard, Julianne's brain acted like a super-charged bouncy ball while she tried to figure out how she had traveled through time to land in twelfth-century Scotland. Almost everything confused her, and because she usually didn't think so much she kept giving herself headaches. She'd never been comfortable around strangers because of her limits, and these people weren't even Americans. Dun Ard was so huge she kept getting lost and had to ask the guards for directions, which was embarrassing. Living in a castle with fireplaces burning all the time, eating strange foods served in huge portions, and being watched by everyone else was definitely weird.

Just relax and watch, Eva would have told her. You'll catch on, you always do.

Julianne had noticed that the very buff clan dudes who walked around carrying swords and spears liked looking rather than talking to her. The less buff male servants did the same, nodding their heads at her, too. All of them gave her head-to-toe once overs every time they saw her, like she might have hidden an axe or two under her borrowed clothes. The maids who bobbed up and down like buoys proved to be just as judgey as girls in her time. They all gave her these weird smiles, as if they saw something she hadn't noticed yet, like a skirt hem caught in the back of her panties, or a long piece of toilet paper stuck to her shoe.

Why did I have to be the one on duty that day? Melanie would have so loved this clan stuff. Her co-worker had stanned that Scottish time-travel show from the first episode.

After she'd looked around Dun Ard, Julianne thought it was possible she'd travelled through time. The place reeked of uber olden times. Plus there were no electrical outlets, light switches or computers, not even hidden behind or inside stuff. Once she had talked with Valerie and Lark about their trips, and heard how their near-drowning situations had matched her own, then everything she'd been told could have been the truth. Caladh seemed pretty real, too. No one could have pulled off a prank island, not even for one of those depressing SF desert movies Mitch had always liked.

At least there aren't any ginormous sandworms in this place.

Julianne suspected the people at Dun Ard were holding out on her about some stuff, however. When she asked why there were no kids younger than teens at the castle, Valerie said they lived elsewhere and then started talking about the gardens. The maids only giggled when Julianne mentioned she'd like to meet some of the older MacMar. When she asked Lark why all the clansmen appeared to be the same age, the seamstress mumbled something about good genes. They seemed to be keeping as much from her as they were telling her, and she couldn't imagine why. It wasn't like she could call the Napa Valley Register for a tell-all.

Aside from her boobs, she had two other ongoing problems: the touchy thing, and Shaw.

Julianne had discovered the first when she'd accidentally bumped into one of the guards. A maid who had been cleaning out the fireplace in her chamber had come out to hand the ash bucket to one of the guards just as Julianne was coming in. She stepped aside to avoid walking into the maid, and her elbow brushed the other guard's arm. He yelped and skittered away, clutching his arm as if she'd jabbed him.

"You've the fairy's smite, Mistress," the maid said before hurrying down the passage so fast she left a trail of ash dust in her wake.

"It's probably static electricity," Valerie told her later when she stopped by the guest chamber to talk to her about the incident. "Our vassals generally blame whatever they don't understand on fairies. Anyway, let's give it a try." She held out her hand. "Go ahead, smite me."

All Julianne did was tap her fingertip against the other woman's palm, and a tiny spark jumped between her skin and Valerie's, making them both flinch.

"Very strong contact buildup static," the laird's wife said, frowning. "A bit like getting zapped by household current. Take hold of my hand, please." When Julianne did she jumped a little again. "It's just as strong the second time. Interesting that it doesn't lose some potency." Her brow furrowed, as if she were trying to work out something else.

She let go of Valerie. "Honestly, V, my boobs are bigger than my IQ. Also, they've been really weird, too. So, is what you said a good thing, or bad?"

"It's a strange thing. The jolt you give someone should stop as soon as you touch someone, and then take some time to build up again, but in your case it's constant." She frowned. "What's wrong with your breasts?"

"Every time Shaw comes near me they want to party with him." At the other woman's blank expression she added, "As in a sex tape type of party. The super freaky kind."

"Oh." She cleared her throat. "That's probably because you're attracted to Shaw."

"Do your boobs do that when the laird walks by you?" Julianne asked, and then sighed as Valerie dissolved into helpless laughter. "Come on, it wasn't that funny."

"I'm sorry, really I am," the other woman said, wiping her eyes. "Sometimes the things you say… Anyway, your physical reaction could also be related to your trip back in time, the trouble you're having with static, or even your new transporter ability to jump locations."

"That's it. I couldn't remember the name…ah, never mind." Julianne sighed. "Anyway, I can handle my breasts turning into pompoms for my man Shaw every five secs, I guess. Isn't there some way to stop jumping around and get rid of the shock and awe thing?"

"If Joana's ring is causing these side effects, then it may be difficult. All three of us tried to remove the ring when we first came here, with no luck," the laird's wife said, looking sympathetic now. "My theory is that it remains in place until we serve a specific purpose. For example, I discovered the true reason why Connal's first wife committed suicide. Lark exposed the murderer who had killed two of Fletcher's former lovers. Caroline—you haven't met her yet—helped Nyall deal with the serious emotional damage inflicted on him during childhood."

"So I'm supposed to help as well as guard Shaw?" Julianne asked, wondering if she also had to consider him her ‘guy.' "V, I usually don't get picked for stuff like that."

"The magic and motives of the Fae are very hard to understand," Valerie admitted. "All I can do is look at myself and the other two women the ring brought to Caladh. We all seem to match our men in strange ways. My first husband killed himself, so I struggled with terrible guilt, just as Connal did over his first wife's suicide. Like our seneschal, Lark has always believed she was jinxed with bad luck that takes away the people she loves. Caroline and Nyall both had abandonment issues, and never allowed anyone to get close to them. We've all supported each other and together overcome a lot of trauma."

"But there's nothing wrong with me, except that I'm going through a bad divorce," Julianne said. "I'm not like possessed by something that turns me into a super speedy oil slick. I'm also not a ginormous brain like you, or have any kind of excellent skills like Lark. So this has to be about Shaw's problem and maybe bringing him back to you guys. At least you didn't kick him out of the clan." She saw Valerie cringe. "Oh, no, seriously?"

The other woman made a helpless gesture. "Just before you came my husband thought it might be time for his brother to leave Caladh and find somewhere to live away from people."

"Seems like this would be when Shaw needs his family most, and instead you voted him off the island?" She shook her head. "That's cold, V."

"We didn't know what the chieftain would become when he lost the fight with the dark magic inside him. Nyall witnessed that, and when he described it to us…" The laird's wife paused, and then cleared her throat. "Please understand that we're simply trying to keep everyone on the island safe."

"Sure," Julianne murmured after she left. "Everyone except Shaw."

She had her own issues with the chieftain, mainly because he followed her everywhere. Each day when she went to go downstairs for the morning meal she found him sitting outside her door, always awake. From there he escorted her and sat with her as she had breakfast with the laird, Valerie, Lark and Fletcher. After that he tagged along after her as one of the other two women from the future showed her around the castle and the grounds. If she stopped to observe some fine twelfth-century artisans and makers at their work, Shaw would hover. He then sat with her through the evening meal, and even escorted her on the walk she liked to take around the bailey before going up to her room.

Her boobs loved this, of course. They seemed to be permanently in lust with Shaw.

"Lady V mentioned that you're second in command here," Julianne said to him at breakfast on the third morning after arriving on the island. "Don't you have some, you know, like second in command stuff to do?"

"Captain Nyall and Seneschal Fletcher, they've attended to my duties. The laird wishes me look after you." He eyed her empty plate and placed two jam-covered oat cakes on it. "Eat more, my lady. You're too thin."

"You worry about me too much. I'm good." She glanced around the hall and saw Caroline Parish walk out of the kitchens. "Excuse me, I need to meet someone from my side of time."

For once Shaw didn't tag after her as she walked up to the woman Valerie told her had been a salvage diver in the future.

"Hi, I'm Julianne." She didn't hold out her hand to avoid jolting Caroline. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, if you'll walk me to the cliff stairs," the diver said.

Once outside the stronghold Julianne sensed a bunch of stares on her back, and imagined one of them came from Shaw. She knew he wanted only to protect her, but his constant presence was starting to make her boobs so throbby sometimes she couldn't sleep at night. She also wondered how she could talk to the diver without freaking her out.

Might as well apologize upfront. "Sorry about this."

"Shaw giving you grief?" Caroline asked.

She glanced at her and saw amusement in her turquoise eyes, and decided not to mention her pervy boobs.

"He's just being nice and sticking close so I don't like fall off a tower or something." Lark had mentioned that the diver could be touchy, so she was careful as she said, "I know that captain of the guard dude is your husband, but I noticed you don't seem to live here like Lark and V. Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm a complete bitch," the other woman said, and chuckled. "Not so much anymore, really. I just prefer my own space. Although I'm married to Nyall MacMar, I'm also in a relationship with Jamaran, the Selseus garrison commander. The maids and some of the clan's more uptight men like to whisper about us and our wicked threesome."

"Oh." Julianne suddenly liked the diver, who seemed more down to earth than the other women from the future. "Never would have guessed. Your hubs, he seems like a scary dude, but he's truly okay with your other guy?"

Caroline nodded. "Jamaran is like a brother to Nyall as well as my best friend. It's pretty wicked, at least from the medieval point of view, but it works great for us. Also, we don't care what anyone else thinks."

"Hey, if you're cool and it's not hurting anyone else, right?" Valerie hadn't mentioned the Selseus, so Julianne would have to ask her about them. Which brought her to her next question. "Okay, so why does everyone treat Shaw like he's Satan and they want him gone?"

"You mean, besides the fact they think he's Satan and they want him gone?" Caroline stopped as she reached the top of the cliff stairs. "It's not that I'd call the guy the devil, exactly, but what the chieftain has been doing lately scares the crap out of the clan. That includes my husband, who does not easily spook."

She frowned. "You mean, like when Shaw's eyes go totally black, and him turning into the superspeed oil slick thing?"

"Yeah, and he may be losing control of that." The diver's expression softened. "The guy doesn't scare you?"

"Not a bit. I mean, okay, sometimes, when he gets uber intense, and I think about having to leave him in a lurch when I go back, a little. But I mean, like in the ordinary way, not the I'll need therapy after way, you know?" She moved her shoulders. "I like him. He reminds me a lot of that Omelet guy."

Caroline blinked. "Omelet?"

"You know, that to be or not to be dude whose girlfriend totally overreacted after he booted her to the curb. So not a story a lifeguard likes. Anyway, Shaw hides it but he's sad like Om, maybe because he's worried everyone blames him for the Big Bad. I guess no one ever helps him because they're so scared of the oil-slick thing, but how do you think he likes it?" She shook her head. "Nobody is okay with slugging around that kind of tragic."

"You're right," the other woman said, looking a little surprised. "The fact that the chieftain actually went to the future and brought you back might have to do more with him than the ring, too. Since he's the only one who knows the real deal, I'd talk to him about what's going on."

Julianne nodded. "Is it maybe not a good idea for me to be around him so much? I mean, did I read him wrong, and could he really hurt me or something?"

"I don't know." Caroline glanced back at the stronghold. "The first time I met the man I knew he was scary dangerous. I even punched him in the face. We had a problem with each other for a while after that. He could have hurt me a couple of times, and I'm sure the thing in him wanted to do worse, but instead he left the stronghold and kept his distance from me. I'd bet good money that Shaw doesn't want to hurt anyone, but because of the dark thing, he might not be able to stop himself. Does that help?"

"Kind of. He's never tried to hurt me, but sometimes the way he looks at other people is a little serial killerish. No, not that bad." She thought for a moment for a better description. "You know how alligators always look, like they're not in the mood, and hate themselves, but also wonder how tasty your face is? Like that."

"He reminded me of a starving shark, so yeah, I get it." The diver nodded. "The biggest problem on this island is hardly anyone is ever straight with each other. Maybe it's a medieval thing. My advice is to talk to the man and tell him what's worrying you."

Could she tell Shaw that her breasts wanted to stalk and jump him? "Thanks for the assist, Caroline."

"Another thing." The other woman pointed to one of the small islets ringing the bay shallows. "I live over there in a sweet little cottage. You're welcome to come and visit any time, just not after dark. I go to bed early, and not alone." She winked and started down the cliff stairs.

On her way back Julianne noticed Duncan walking out of the forest toward the gates, and changed direction to join him on the trail. He limped along as he carried a heavy-looking sack under his arm, so she offered to take it for him. As she did she noted how handsome he was, even with the threads of silver in his black hair. She'd always had a thing for older, quiet, good-looking dad types. They tended to be less jerk-faced than guys her age.

Weird that my boobs don't get excited over the healer. He's definitely more my style than pretty boys like Shaw, so why no cartwheels?

"My thanks for your offer, my lady, but I'm well." He wiped some sweat from his upper lip and paused to shake the leg that seemed to be bothering him. "How fare you at Dun Ard?"

"Okay, I guess. I like your family. The food is carb-heavy, but at least everything's organic. Your bathrooms are totally gross. Your castle needs less torches, bigger windows, and some house plants." With a quick move she took the sack from him, and although it seemed as if he'd filled it with rocks, she slung it over her shoulder. "Don't argue, dude. I'm freaking strong for a girl, and you look like you're ready to pass out."

"You're wondrous kind." He sighed. "I appreciate your aid, my lady."

At the gates Julianne saw Shaw waiting on the other side. He looked like a different man, and she realized why when she noticed how dark his eyes had grown. "My bodyguard doesn't look too happy with me. Or am I his bodyguard? Ah, who the heck knows." Her boobs were already tingling again, the traitors.

Duncan took hold of her arm and tugged her to a stop. "Mayhap you should give back the sack now, Mistress Scott."

"Why would I do that?" She tightened her grip on the bag. "I don't need Shaw's permission to help you." She hesitated, remembering that the chieftain was second in command, and then whispered, "Hey, uh, do I need his permission?"

"No, my lady," the healer murmured back, sounding as if he were about to laugh.

As soon as the men raised the gate Shaw strode out, reaching for the sack on Julianne's shoulder and scowling when she went around him. "My lady, you neednae dance attendance on Duncan. One of the guards shall aid him."

Julianne strode through the second gate and then waited on the other side for the healer to catch up with her. As she did a guard came over and took the sack from her. Rather than wrestle with him over it she decided she needed to set some ground rules with the chieftain before he wrapped her in a blankie and carried her everywhere.

"You're really having a problem with that leg," she said to Duncan. "I've had first aid training, and I know a lot about muscle strains and tears, if you'd like me to take a look at it."

Shaw made a rumbling sound in his throat.

The healer smiled. "My thanks, Mistress, only 'twill soon mend after I rest."

Julianne watched Duncan hobble off before she turned and glared at the chieftain. "Come here. We need to have a little chat."

Nyall looked down from the watch tower to see Mistress Scott seize Shaw by the arm and march him into the stronghold. "Our healer's injured himself again, my lord. And 'twould seem Mistress Scott has our chieftain well in hand."

"Mayhap." Connal brought his wife's hand to his lips. "Would you do me a kindness and look in on Duncan, Wife?"

"You mean, will I leave you two alone so you can talk about things you don't want worrying me?" Her eyes sparkled with mirth. "Of course. Captain."

"My lady." Nyall bowed to her, and then made a gesture that sent the watchers on duty after her. Once he was alone with the laird, he lowered his voice. "You've heard from the druids, then?"

"Aye." Connal moved away from the battlements, as without Valerie he would quickly suffer from vertigo at such a height. "They claim the Pritani never offered up their lads to malevolent spirits. 'Twas but the practice of the NightRiver tribe, and 'twasnae discovered until after the last of those bastarts perished at the hands of their enslaved warriors. All those they inked chose to end themselves after dispatching the slavers." He met his gaze. "All but Shaw."

"Could the druids name the spirit that yet possesses our brother?" Nyall asked. "If we discovered what 'tis, then surely we might seek a cure."

"No, but I learned something just as important," the laird said. "The druids believe our màthair shared a bloodline with the Pritani. Without her blood, the spirit never could take Shaw."

Although it was certainly unusual, he didn't understand how it related to their problem with the chieftain. "Why does such matter?"

Connal's expression filled with sorrow. "The spirit possessing our brother may leave him and take hold of another who shares the same bloodline as Shaw."

"No." Now Nyall understood what his eldest brother meant to do. "You cannae sacrifice yourself so we may save the chieftain. 'Tis as terrible as permitting him suffer the beast. Worse, for he should never forgive himself for inflicting such on you."

"You didnae come upon him chained in a crowded pit of filth, so starved his limbs resembled skin-covered bones," the laird said. "When I freed him and offered him water and food he handed it to the others, and took only my blade. I'm glad you didnae see what he did to his former masters. Never again shall I see men die in that manner, I reckon."

"I ken he's your only full-blood brother besides Fletcher, but Shaw wouldnae want you suffer his affliction in his stead," he told Connal. "'Twould drive him mad."

"Mayhap Mistress Scott may help heal our brother, as the other ladies have us." The laird put his hand on his shoulder. "Make ready, for I sense great change, 'tis upon us."

After the laird left, Nyall summoned the watch back to the tower, and gave them instructions to look for any odd behavior from the chieftain, including any attempt he might make to leave Dun Ard with the lifeguard. He left the tower and went to Julianne's chamber, which he found empty. On a hunch he then went to Shaw's quarters, where he saw Lark standing and listening outside the door.

She lifted a finger to her lips, and he nodded as he joined her.

"You are making me crazy." That was Julianne's voice, sounding annoyed rather than angry. "You don't have two healers, either. I've had basic medical training. Why can't I help out the guy?"

"You're yet mortal, and dinnae ken how to tend to the MacMar," Shaw countered. "We're no' like other men."

"With a Fae prince for a father, superpowers, and who knows what else, clearly you're not." The door suddenly opened, and Julianne glared at both Nyall and Lark. "Do you need us to yell at each other a little louder? Don't want you to miss anything."

"Sorry. I heard the shouting from my work room, and I was worried about you." The seamstress glanced past her. "The captain is, too, I think."

Nyall nodded. "I saw you bring Shaw into the stronghold in an unhappy manner, and worried the situation might grow worse."

"Does everyone in this castle watch us?" Julianne demanded. The chieftain came and tried to slam the door in their faces, but she stopped him. "Knock it off, will you? They're just being nice to a guest. You're supposed to– Oh, never mind."

"Really sorry, Julianne," Lark said before she hurried off down the hall.

"Mayhap you and the chieftain should part ways," Nyall suggested.

"Good idea." She beamed at him before glancing over her shoulder. "Shaw, I'm sick of yelling at you, so I'm leaving now. Do not follow me."

As Julianne stalked down the passage Nyall fell into step beside her. "'Tis truth that Duncan's injury wasnae like that of mortals."

"Because you're all half-Fae, and have strange weaknesses that are sometimes like super powers, and I should mind my own business. Yeah, yeah, I've been told." She stopped and pressed her hand to her brow for a moment. "Captain, I totally need to get out of here before I go big mad. Can I go for a run through that forest out there without freaking out the guards and V and company?"

"Aye, if you wish." He considered offering to accompany her, but thought that would only aggravate her more. "Follow the trail on the right that enters the woods by the ash grove. That one, 'tis the smoothest."

Nyall parted ways with her outside the great hall, where he stood waiting for a time until the chieftain came from the stairs. "Dinnae follow the lady, Brother."

Shaw gave him a narrow look. "She came back with me. Concern yourself with your own woman."

"Remember how Connal wouldnae permit you a moment of peace for months after freeing you from the Pritani?" he countered. "The same, 'tis what causes Mistress Scott's annoyance."

"Lady Valerie demanded we keep her from learning too much about the clan and the island too quickly." Shaw dragged a hand through his hair. "Thus she doesnae ken of the Finfolk, our immortality, the Cait Sith and Derdrui, and every other facking thing beyond the scope of the mortal realm."

"You wish explain such upon her discovery, then." Now his behavior made sense; Nyall recalled just how frightened Caroline had been when confronting the strangeness of the clan and their allies. "She's but gone for a run in the woods, where you cannae safely go. Give her the time she wishes alone."

"'Tisnae me." Shaw leaned back against the passage wall, pulling up his tunic sleeve to show his ink whirling restlessly over his flesh. "The facking thing believes her in danger."

"It wishes protect her?" Now he grew astounded. "All that demon desires, 'tis slaying anything that breathes."

"Aye, except my woman." Shaw shook his head. "I speak out of turn, for I ken she's no mine. The thing, 'tis shaping my words beyond my will."

"You've the power to speak with the thing?" A glimmer of hope rose inside him. "Cannae you convince the beast leave the clan alone?"

"It no more cares for the well-being of the MacMar than you do the Cait Sith." The chieftain banged his head into the stone a few times. "'Tis Julianne that captivates the beast. 'Tisnae slept since she came here. 'Twillnae rest unless I'm near her."

The hunger in Shaw's eyes echoed the tautness of his voice; what he and the beast desired was the woman herself, Nyall guessed. Since he'd suffered the same longing for his wife from the moment she arrived on the island, he experienced a surge of sympathy for the chieftain. He also wondered if Julianne would be able to free him from the malevolent grip of the dark magic the Pritani had poured inside him.

"You shall drive her away if you continue forcing your presence on her," Nyall finally told him. "Our ladies from the future, they wish rely on no one. Give her the time and solitude she desires, and she shall return and look upon you with favor."

"I shall be in the lists." Shaw stalked away.

Nyall went to the outer gates, where the guards told him that Julianne had passed, and then climbed atop the wall to look out at the forest trail. Fletcher already stood with the watchers, and greeted him with a raised brow.

"Dinnae tell me you fret over Mistress Scott as well?" he asked.

"Lark told me of their argument, and bid me check on the lady." He nodded toward the forest. "She runs like a deer."

Nyall's gaze shifted to the trail he'd recommended, on which Julianne now dashed along as she fled in the direction opposite that of the forest. She jumped smoothly over the sea wall as she raced down to the shore, but her haste seemed excessive. He frowned, scanning the bay, and saw two small figures struggling in the water. A streak of black poured down the side of the cliff and streamed into the shallows.

"Fack me." He pulled off his sword, shoving it at Fletcher as he jumped from the wall to the ground outside, and ran.