Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

M ary had been restless for two days straight. This new routine of agonizingly waiting for word from the village was her new normal and she did not like it one bit. But she had no choice in the matter and had never felt more helpless in her life. Just when she had become used to her routine a few days prior, now things had to become chaotic. They were even becoming dangerous. She didn't know if Nellie would come to find her and if she did, what would she do? She still hadn't gained any sort of control over her powers, nor had she really figured out what all she could do. It was too much to think about and all that she wanted to think about was Hamish's safety.

Not knowing what was going on in the village was excruciating. In this moment she wished she had the convenience of her modern time being able to find news at her fingertips or by turning on the television. Instead they had to wait for reports to arrive by messenger and even those reports weren't shared widely if the Laird didn't want them to be.

Mary sat in her room with a book from the library, she'd been learning to read the Gaelic that it was written it, which was actually helped by the goblin in her. She could look at it at night and actually understand it, so that when she read it during the day, she knew most of the words. Any she found frustrating she just waited until the transformation and then read that part again and she'd understand it. Once her brain translated it, it seemed to stick, so she was grateful for that being one of the positive aspects of being a goblin. She had to look for her silver-linings where she could find them.

At about four-thirty she heard some shouting through the window, which she had open. Curious, she got up and looked out. She didn't have a straight view of the gate, she had to stand on the chair and stick her head out to see it, but once she did, she noticed it was being raised because there were Watchmen galloping up the land bridge. She wondered if Hamish was one of them.

She really hoped he was. With that in mind, she climbed down, straightened her dress, and fixed the covering on her bed. She sat down and once again picked up her book, but she was too nervous and excited to read.

Ten minutes later there was a knock upon her door. "Come in," she called, hoping it was Hamish. She stood up and walked toward the door. "Hamish, it is you," she cried as she threw herself into his arms.

Hamish held her close, burying his face in her neck, but he didn't say a word. He merely held her as though he hadn't seen her in more than a year.

"Are you okay? What happened? Something happened, I know it, are you hurt?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not hurt lass, but some of the others are."

"Oh no."

Hamish let her go, dragged a hand through his hair and then noticed the whisky canter on her table. She hadn't actually finished it the night before, so she wasn't surprised when he strode over to it and poured himself a cup.

When he'd downed it, she asked, “What happened?”

“It is worse than we expected. We confronted the sorceress. She looks exactly like you, lass, though her voice is much different. It is strange indeed. She is powerful and dangerous, and as I said, gravely injured two of the Watch. We brought them to Maggie, she is the best we have to heal them.”

Mary was astonished by what he said.

“I am so sorry. I'm sorry for the men and that you had to confront her. She is frightening, I know. She still has my body then? The counterspell didn't make her lose it?”

“Aye, she does. I don't think the counterspell affected her at all.”

“That makes me very sad and angry,” she said.

“I should not be telling you this, but I had to see you immediately. I missed you greatly while I was away. I know the Laird expects me to report to him all of this before telling anyone else, so maybe keep all this to yourself,” he said with another weary sigh.

“I will, Hamish. What do you think he will say?”

“I don’t know, lass. Her magic is strong and I'm not sure what we are going to do,” he said. "I might suggest we ask Maggie for help, she's not exactly a mage, her magic isn't really meant for battle, but perhaps she can help."

Mary lit up with an idea. It had been something she had been thinking about since she'd started trying to work out her various powers.

“Do you think the Laird would let me accompany you to see Maggie? I am wondering if she could train me to use the powers that I have when I'm in the goblin form. They might be a match for Nellie if they are her own powers. It seems to make sense to me. But I don't know how to control them properly. I need training.”

“Aye, I’ve seen what they can do when you have the temper on you,” he said with a grin as he moved closer to her. "You do need some training, I'll agree to that."

“Hey, don’t make fun of me. It’s not my fault, that things get a bit out of control when I try, I've only been a goblin for a few weeks, I'm still learning,” she said playfully.

“I know and I think it a brilliant plan, lass. I will ask the Laird,” he said. “Now what reward have I earned on returning to you from battle,” he whispered. His voice was thick with lust.

“What do you want?” she asked looking up at him seductively.

Hamish grinned wickedly. He put his hands on Mary's waist and pulled her to him. His touch was scorching, lighting a fire within her. He lowered his lips to hers and teased her, softly kissing her everywhere but her lips in a maddening way, that drove her crazy with need. She wanted him. She wanted him more than she'd ever wanted any man ever. Finally he captured her lips plundering them.

His hands moved from her waist up the side of her body toward her breasts. Her breathing grew heavy and she wanted more. She wanted Hamish to pick her up, place her on the bed, and make love to her all night long.

She wanted it badly, but in that moment she started to feel something else inside of her and she knew exactly what it was. She pulled away from him and stepped backward with regret.

“What's wrong, lass?” he asked huskily, his voice filled with a touch of confusion

“The sun is about to set. I can feel it happening. I'm not going to be me in a few minutes,,” she said softly, looking away from him in shame.

“It's all right. I don't care. I have seen you before, lass,” he replied.

“I know that you have, but… I'm hideous in that form, and I just… I don't want anyone seeing me like that.”

Hamish sighed and pulled her back into his arms. "You aren't hideous in any form, lass, but if you would like me to leave, I will. I should go see the Laird anyway and give him my report. He is probably waiting on me." He caressed her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Thank you for understanding, Hamish." She smiled at him.

"I'll have Leith bring you up some dinner, seeing as I kept you from gathering your provisions."

Mary nodded. "Thank you."

"Good night, lass, we'll talk in the morning."

"Good night."

Mary listened as the door closed and could hear the guards coming up the stairs. She was glad that Hamish had listened to her wish for him to leave. The change was coming and she didn't want him to think of her in her goblin form. They had put a lot of time between him seeing her in that way and the way she was now and she hoped that it was slowly being erased from his memory.

She only wanted him to think of her in her human form. It was frustrating that they had finally been so close to taking that next step only to have it ruined by her stupid transformation. If only he had made that sort of move before he went on the mission to the village.

Now all she felt was frustration and shame over the fact that there was someone out there who looked exactly like her causing harm to the very people that were taking care of her. It was unfair but only made her more determined to try to learn to use the powers that she had.