Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

T hrough heavy eyelids, Owen watched the sailors drag Iseabail onto the ship. At least she was safe. That’s all he cared about. He was too tired to fight anymore. The waves continued to crash over him as he swallowed even more water, and as he was tossed about, like a leaf in the wind, he resigned himself to the fact that this was it.

I cannae fight any longer. The boat is too far away. Iseabail is safe. That’s all that matters.

His eyes closed, and he began slipping into darkness, when suddenly, he felt someone tugging at his plaid. Seconds later, more hands grabbed at him, followed by yells and shouts of many men.

“Grab him.”

“I’ve got him.”

“Come on, lads. Pull him up.”

Flickering his eyes open, Owen saw strange faces gazing down at him with worry, and then he felt the hard boards of the deck.

“I need a blanket,” he heard Iseabail demand.

Her voice seemed so far away, and for a moment, Owen wondered if he wasn’t dreaming. But then, hands were on him again, and he felt himself being lifted from the deck and placed somewhere else. After that, a blanket was wrapped around him, and he felt a tender hand brush across his forehead.

“Dinnae leave me, Owen,” Iseabail cried.

When he opened his eyes, he saw her face gazing down at him. She was like an angel, her skin so soft and pure, her eyes sparkling with tears. His precious Iseabail.

“Am I dead?” he gasped.

“Indeed, ye are nae dead, and I compel ye tae stay that way.”

A slight and weary smile grew on his lips. “Ye’re so bossy, woman,” he croaked.

His eyelids fluttered, and once more, he heard Iseabail’s cries.

“Ye have tae stay awake, Owen. Please. Stay awake fer me. I promise I will never take ye on another boat fer as long as ye live.”

He nodded his head slowly, and tried with all his might to fight the sleep that threatened to overwhelm him. But his eyelids grew heavier and heavier by the minute. Eventually, he could fight it no more, and closing them slowly, he let the darkness take him.

Wearily, and with the feeling of a slight ache in his arm, Owen flickered his eyes open. He stared up at a low ceiling, feeling utterly confused.

Where am I? What happened? How did I get here?

Letting his eyes move about him, he noticed that the room was dim and small, lit only by a few flickering candles, and daylight trickling in from a tiny window.

Only upon lifting his head from the pillow did he see Iseabail beside him. She was holding his arm, but sitting on a chair with her head resting on the bed. Clearly, she was fast asleep. In that second, everything came flooding back. The sea, the boat, the sailors, and the men he had fought. The men who had caused the injury he now gazed at, his upper arm well-bandaged.

Gazing back at Iseabail, he sighed deeply, for wherever he was, it was she who had got him there. For a moment, as he had struggled against the raging waves, he imagined he might never see her again, but somehow, the gods had had other plans. No doubt, it was not all the gods doing, though. Iseabail was a force to be reckoned with, and as he thought about it, he wondered if she had not compelled the sailors to help her. He certainly wouldn’t be surprised.

After the night they had spent together, something magical had happened between them, and he knew now that his feelings were reciprocated. When she had asked him about that kiss, he had been too much of a coward to tell her how he really felt. He did not want to look like a fool, for he feared she might laugh at him. But he had been more of a fool not to tell her, for during their lovemaking, she had made it perfectly clear that she felt for him as he felt for her.

The sound of a door opening across the room alerted him, and as he lifted his head off the pillow once more, an old woman looked over at him. She wore a scarf that held her grey hair off her forehead, and upon her approach, he noted the wrinkles that lined her face. When she smiled down at him, however, she appeared kind and warm.

“It is about time ye were awake,” she said quietly, clearly not wanting to wake Iseabail. “Ye’ve been out o’ it for three days.”

Owen’s jaw dropped at her words, and she nodded. “Och, aye. But I would say that ye’re well rested now.”

She lifted a crooked hand and held his chin, moving his head back and forth while she examined him. “Aye, ye’ll be as right as rain. Yer lady friend there,” she nodded to Iseabail, “was terrified ye’d never wake again, but I assured her ye would, and here ye are.”

A hundred questions flew through Owen’s mind, and choosing one at random, he said, “But how? How did she get me here?”

The old woman smiled knowingly. “Och, I have a good idea how. She has quite a way about her, does she nae? Anyway, me name is Ada. And yer both welcome tae stay as long as ye need tae.”

“Thank ye, Ada. I appreciate yer kindness.”

“I have the room tae spare, and besides, even if I hadnae have wanted ye here, yer friend paid me well with a necklace. O’ course, she need nae have bothered. I would have let ye stay at any rate. But she insisted. She was determined that I take care o’ ye.”

Owen gazed down at Iseabail, still soundly sleeping beside him, and smiled. “Aye. She is a good lass. I’m lucky tae have met her.”

Ada gave Owen a long look. “And when exactly did ye meet her?”

“We havenae kent each other long. But in the short time we’ve been together, and the trials we’ve overcome, we’ve got tae ken each other very well.”

“I see,” Ada said.

There was something in the old woman’s tone that made Owen look at her. She was smiling at him, almost mischievously.

“What?” Owen said, desperate to know what was going through the old woman’s mind.

“I just wondered if ye kent how in love with ye she is?”

Owen broke into a light chuckle and shook his head. “Och, I think ye’re mistaken. Like I say, we’ve only kent each other a short time.”

The healer then looked at him even more curiously. “Och, is that right? And yet, I dae believe ye may be even more in love with her than she is with ye.”

Her words took him by surprise, and feeling unable to reply, Owen could only stare back at her in stunned silence. Was he in love with her? Moreover, was she also in love with him? Could that possibly be, even though they had shared so little time together?

Ye have gone through more trials in the last two weeks than the last year o’ yer life. Ye cannae deny the bond that has grown between ye.

No, he couldn’t. In fact, as he thought more deeply about Ada’s words, he had to admit that perhaps this old healer might have seen right through him.

“Dinnae ye worry,” she said, patting his arm. “I have a feeling it’ll all work out in the end.”

Absently, Owen reached for his necklace. It was something he did when considering things, and it had long become a habit. But when he realized it was no longer around his neck, he gasped.

“Och, nae. I have lost it,” he exclaimed. “It must have fallen off when I was in the water. Dammit all tae hell!”

Ada did not appear worried at his outburst, and instead, nodded her head and looked at the table beside him. Owen jerked his head in the same direction, and felt a rush of relief as he saw it sitting there, perfectly safe.

“Thank the gods fer that. I thought it was gone forever.” But then he frowned. “But why is it nae at me throat?”

“Och, well, there is a simple answer tae that, me dear.” She smiled. “I simply couldnae heal ye while ye wore it.”

Owen frowned again, and then, suddenly realized what her words meant.

“Ye have powers too?” he gawked.

Until Eden had walked into his life, he had never known such gifts existed. Not once in all his years had he come across anybody who claimed such powers, and yet, since her arrival, his eyes had been truly opened, for he now knew there were far more people than he could ever have imagined that were blessed with these gifts.

“Me gift is one o’ healing,” she said. “The whole purpose o’ me being, and something I believe I received for a reason. I have spent me life using it for good, as many others I ken dae, too.”

“I will admit, I have only discovered recently that people like yersel’ exist,” Owen replied. “But I realize now, I’ve probably been surrounded by people with gifts all me life and never kent it.”

The old woman nodded. “Aye, we have had tae hide what we ken. For many years, I have worked under the pretense that the herbs and tinctures I use have done the work. But really, the gift is in these.” She lifted her frail hands and turned them back and forth. “It was only when I discovered Iseabail had a gift that I felt safe tae use mine freely.”

“How did ye ken?” Owen asked.

The older woman laughed and shook her head, clearly remembering something. “As I said ‘afore, she has a way about her. When she first arrived, all panicked and in distress, she tried tae compel me tae help her. At the same time, she offered me her necklace in payment, and thus, I kent she was a good soul.” She looked at Owen with a soft gaze. “She’s a keeper. That’s fer certain.”

“But she didnae compel ye,” Owen said, deducing such by the old woman’s words.

Ada shook her head. “Nae. I kent when I’m being forced tae dae something. I’ve had it done by others who didnae mean well, and ye get a very specific feeling.”

Owen nodded, remembering it well when Iseabail had compelled him to drink.

“Later, when I asked her about her gift, she told me she had tae look someone in the eye tae get them tae dae her bidding. But she was so worried about ye, she didnae actually look at me. We laughed about it later. I could see she was desperate. I also sensed that her heart is good.”

“Aye,” he said, gazing back at Iseabail. “Nearly too good.”

“Well, ye are far better than ye were ‘afore,” Ada said. “That gash on yer arm was very deep, and ye had lost a lot o’ blood. That’s the reason it has taken ye three days tae heal.”

“I cannae thank ye enough,” Owen replied. “Truly. Ye are a good and kind soul, and I will ever be grateful fer what ye’ve done fer both o’ us.”

Ada looked at him and inclined her head. “What did ye mean just then when ye said, Iseabail was too good?”

Owen sighed, and while Ada was indeed, a good and kind woman, he was wary of telling her anything about their mission. He didn’t trust many people, and certainly not after such a short period of time.

Seeing his hesitation, she nodded to the necklace. “Has it anything tae dae with that powerful weapon ye usually wear around yer throat?”

Owen frowned. “What dae ye ken o’ it?”

“I ken it blocks powers. But I have a strange feeling that ye ken a lot more about it than I,” she said knowingly.

After yet another moment of consideration, Owen decided to take the plunge. She was, after all, an old woman. What harm could it do to tell her about what they had been doing?

“We are on a quest,” he began. With another glance at Iseabail, he continued. “I shouldnae really be telling ye this, but Iseabail’s faither and braither are being held against their will by a madman who is determined to get his hands on something far more powerful than me necklace. The crystal we seek is far bigger, and in fact, is where that small piece came from. If she doesnae find it and bring it tae him, her family will die. It was the same man’s men who gave me this injury.”

Ada suddenly looked worried. “Ye ken when ye find it, that Iseabail cannae lay her hands upon it? With her gift, and with the power the main crystal holds, it may well be fatal for her.”

Owen nodded. “Aye, another told us the same thing nae so long ago.”

“I have heard rumors that what ye’re looking fer is hidden behind a waterfall nae far from here. It is hard tae find, and many ‘afore ye have searched fer it. The crystal is very powerful and disguises itself. It takes on the color o’ the water, which is why those who have looked have nae discovered its whereabouts.”

“Well, someone has,” Owen replied, “or I wouldnae be wearing a piece o’ it around me neck.”

“Then maybe it is gone already, and what I tell ye is o’ nay use tae ye.”

“Nay,” Owen said, shaking his head vehemently. “I’m grateful for the information. When we left South Ronaldsay without the knowledge we sought, we had nay idea where else we could look. Now, we at least have a place tae begin.”

“I only hope ‘tis useful,” Ada said with a tinge of sadness in her voice. “By the looks o’ it, that lass has suffered enough.”

It was at that moment, that Iseabail began to stir, and stretching and yawning, she sat up in the chair.

“I’m away tae leave ye two alone,” Ada said. Leaning in a little closer to Owen she added, “I’m going intae the village tae collect some herbs, so I’ll be a while.” She then winked mischievously at him.

He felt heat rush to his face, for he knew exactly her meaning, and as the healer shuffled from the room, Owen turned to look at Iseabail.