Chapter 5

Oskar watched Lily intently from his place by the door. His shin still throbbed from where she'd kicked him but it was more than his shin that hurt. She'd lied to him. She'd lied to them all. She was a time-traveler and had tried to conceal it.

He wanted to march over there and demand answers, shake them out of her if necessary, but he'd tried that already and all it had gotten him was a sore shin. So he gritted his teeth, tamped down on the anger coursing through him, and forced himself to remain by the door whilst Magnus and Emeric did the talking.

Magnus's huge form dominated the space but his voice was gentle as he said, "Why dinna ye tell us what happened, lass? Then we might be able to piece this together."

Lily swallowed. She glanced up at Oskar and despite himself, his stomach did a strange little wobble. She looked frightened and vulnerable—and something in him responded to that despite his annoyance at her lies. He felt the sudden urge to go over there and tell her he was sorry for his outburst earlier. He stifled the impulse. How did he know this wasn't just another act?

"I...um...I was working with a patient. When I left her house, there was this swirling thing in the air beneath her garden arch. I thought it was just some kind of atmospheric disturbance. But then I stepped through it and ended up miles away, at the crossroad where Oskar found me."

"And that didnae strike ye as odd?" Magnus asked.

"Of course it did!" she replied. "But...but..." She swallowed. "Not as odd as it might have done. I've...um...had blackouts before. I thought it was another one of those."

The anguish in her voice tugged at something inside Oskar. He remembered the times he'd seen her wincing in pain even though she denied anything was wrong, and now she was telling them she had blackouts?

Magnus watched her for a moment then leaned forward. "Lass, what time period do ye think this is?"

She frowned. "You're all as bad as each other, you know that? All right, I'll play along. It's the twenty-first century. Happy?"

Magnus glanced over at Oskar and then at Emeric. The archer whistled under his breath. "Now that, I wasnae expecting," he said in a low voice.

"Lass," Magnus said, speaking softly as though she was a flighty animal that he didn't want to risk startling. "This isnae the twenty-first century. It's the fifteenth. 1476 to be exact. Whether ye realize it or not, ye have traveled through time."

Lily stared at Magnus. Her mouth fell open and her jaw worked a few times but no sound came out. She glanced at Emeric, then over to Oskar, her eyes wide and frightened.

"That's not funny," she said in a shaky voice. "It's really not funny."

"I know this must be frightening," Magnus replied softly. "But it's the truth. Think. Has anything ye've seen since ye met us made sense to ye?"

"Well no," she replied. "I mean, look at what you're wearing! And you have a cart instead of a car, and there are no roads, or houses or anything." She paled and put her head in her hands. "Oh God," she moaned. "This is real isn't it?"

Magnus reached out and put his hand on her knee. "I'm afraid so, lass."

Oskar's jaw tightened. Why was Magnus touching her and why was she letting him? When he'd done the same he'd gotten a bruised shin for his troubles!

She lifted her head. Her nostrils flared as she breathed deeply, clearly trying to gather herself. If this was an act, it was a good one. Did she really not know that she'd traveled through time? How could that be?

"How?" she asked Magnus. "How is this possible?"

"Ye said ye stepped through some kind of portal. Where did that come from?"

"I've no idea. It was just...there all of a sudden. I felt drawn to it, like it was pulling me in. I couldn't seem to resist stepping through."

Magnus sat back, thinking about this. Oskar shifted uncomfortably. He did not like where this conversation was heading.

Emeric took up the questioning. "Did anything else out of the ordinary happen before it?" he asked. "Anything unusual?"

"No," Lily replied with a shake of her head. "Nothing. It was just a normal day." She paused. "No. Wait. There was something a little strange. I met someone."

Here it comes,Oskar thought.

"Met someone?" Emeric asked. "Who?"

"An old woman. She said some strange things and then she just seemed to disappear."

Oskar sighed. And there it is.

"Let me guess," he said, pushing away from the wall. "Her name was Irene MacAskill?"

Lily looked up at him. "How did you know that?"

"Because our Order has had dealings with this woman before," he replied. He met Lily's wide-eyed stare. "And because I saw her too."

Magnus and Emeric's eyes snapped to him. "Ye did?" Magnus asked. "And ye didnae say anything?"

Oskar scowled at his sword-brother. "What difference would it have made?"

"What difference? Have ye lost yer senses, man? What difference? Ye know what the appearance of that woman signifies! And ye didnae think we needed to know about it?"

Oskar glared at Magnus. "We had a mission to complete. Nothing she said had any bearing on that!"

Magnus rose to his feet. He towered over Oskar. "And what exactly did she say to ye?"

"Nothing important. The usual Fae nonsense about destiny and choices. It doesnae matter!"

"Dinna ye think we should have been the judge of that?"

"It changes nothing!" Oskar snarled, his hand going involuntarily to the hilt of his sword. "I swore to deliver Alfred Brewer for trial! I swore I'd ensure he faces justice and I will do that no matter what some doddery old woman has to say!"

"She's no doddery old woman, Oskar, ye know that."

"I dinna care!" he exploded. "I willnae be manipulated! I willnae be controlled! If she thinks she can get me to do her bidding, then she's picked the wrong man!"

Magnus glared down at him and Oskar glared back, fury pounding through his veins. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to have a fight, to get it all out in the open and be damned.

"Stop!" Lily cried, suddenly coming between them. "Arguing won't help!" She put one hand against Magnus's chest and one against Oskar's and shoved. "Back up, both of you!"

She didn't have the strength to move either of them, but her words broke the spell. Oskar looked away, took a tight rein on his anger, and stepped back. Magnus did the same.

Lily turned on Oskar. "Are you telling me you met Irene MacAskill here? In this century?"

"Aye, lass," he replied. "Just this morning. Right before I met ye."

Ye yearn for something that ye canna find. What ye seek canna be found in battles and bloodshed.

"But...but...how is that possible?" Lily asked. "How can a little old lady travel through time?" She gave a shrill laugh. "I cannot believe I'm even asking that question!"

"Irene MacAskill isnae just a little old lady," Oskar replied. "She's a Fae and traveling through time is the least of her powers."

Lily stared at him incredulously. "She's a what? That's not possible. I don't believe you."

"I dinna tell lies, lass," he snapped.

He held her gaze and he could see the conflicting doubts and fears playing in her eyes.

"Oh my God," she breathed. "Oh my God."

She staggered and Oskar darted forward to catch her, setting her back on her feet.

"No," she muttered. "This can't be right. It can't. How come you three seem to know so much about time travel anyway? And how come you know this Irene MacAskill? Did you have something to do with bringing me here?"

Oskar glanced first at Magnus and then Emeric, wondering how much he should reveal. Finally, he decided on the truth.

"We know about time travel and about Irene MacAskill because we are all members of the Order of the Osprey," he said. "We are an order of warriors dedicated to protecting Scotland from its enemies, both human, and non-human."

"Non-human?" she squeaked. "What does that mean?"

"Alba is an ancient land and there are beings here that are all but forgotten by human kind. They were here long before us and will be here long after we are gone. They are the Fae, both the Unseelie and the Seelie. We serve the Seelie Fae who seek to keep the Balance and guard humanity. We fight against the Unseelie, those who would enslave humanity and destroy the Balance. Irene MacAskill is one of the Seelie Fae. She has guided the Order from time to time."

He couldn't believe he was telling her all this. What had happened to not trusting her? But the wide-eyed fear in her eyes did something strange to him inside and he found that he wanted to do something, anything, to make that fear go away.

"Dinna worry, lass," he added softly. "We will figure this out."

Where had that come from? She was no responsibility of his!

She squeezed her eyes closed and he could feel her shaking where he held her. Her features twisted with pain. "I think I need to sit down."

He released her and she collapsed cross-legged by the fire, putting her head into her hands. Oskar shared a long look with Magnus and Emeric. He saw the same wary expressions on his sword-brothers' faces. They all knew what this meant. If Irene MacAskill had involved herself in their business, then things were going to get very complicated.

Magnus resumed his seat and after a moment Oskar joined them all by the fire. Lily kept her face buried in her hands and nobody spoke, giving the lass time to work through everything she'd learned. Emeric went back to stirring the stew over the fire.

Outside, an owl called, but other than that the night was still. Oskar could feel the tension in the room like a black cloak that had been thrown over them all. They should have carried on straight to Edinburgh, like he said, rather than stopping to tend Alfred's injury. That way they would never had ended up in this situation and he would never have met Irene MacAskill.

Lily looked up finally. There was a little more color in her cheeks and she seemed a little calmer. "Okay," she said slowly. "Let's look at this logically. If some kind of portal or gateway brought me to this time, then it stands to reason that a portal or gateway can take me back again. Right?"

"Right," Magnus rumbled.

"So where is this portal? That arch of branches where I woke up? I have to get there right away."

"It's not that simple," Magnus replied. "Only one with Fae blood can open the portals. If Irene MacAskill brought ye here, then it's Irene MacAskill who has the power to send ye back. But in my experience that willnae happen until ye've completed the task she set for ye."

"Task? What task?"

Magnus shrugged helplessly. "I wouldnae presume to second guess one of the Fae."

Lily threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't care about any task! I just want to go home. Please! If you know of anything that could help me you have to tell me."

Magnus rubbed the side of this face, glancing at Emeric. The archer merely shrugged.

"Oh for the love of God!" Oskar snapped. "It's a little late for secrets dinna ye think? And why should we keep the Fae's secrets anyway? It's Irene's fault we're in this bloody mess in the first place?"

"It's not the Fae's secrets I'm thinking of, but the Order's," Magnus replied.

Oskar scowled at them both and then turned to look at Lily. "There may be a way. We know of someone who can open Fae gates. Our commander's name is Kai Stewart and his older half-brother, Rory, has Fae blood. It's possible that he might be able to send ye home."

Hope kindled in her eyes and she leaned forward eagerly. "Where is this man? Can you take me to him?"

"And that's the question isnae it?" Magnus rumbled. "What do we do now?"

"We have our orders," Emeric replied. "And our mission. We carry on to Edinburgh. We dinna have the time for any side trips right now. We have a responsibility to the Order."

"Aye," Magnus agreed. "But dinna we also have a responsibility to this lass? She's been thrust into the middle of our business without her consent or her knowledge. Perhaps we should turn around and head back to Dun Saith. We can hand the lass over to Kai and he can take her to Rory."

"And lose days of travel?" Oskar said. "And miss our chance to make Alfred Brewer face justice?"

"There isnae a time-limit on justice," Magnus replied. "The court will still be waiting when we get back."

"No!" Oskar snapped. He hadn't come this far to lose his chance now. "We carry on to Edinburgh."

"But—" Lily began.

Oskar held up his hand to silence her. "Let me finish. We carry on to Edinburgh as planned. Kai and Conall are both soon meeting us there anyway. We'll hand Alfred over to the king's justiciars and then wait for Kai and Conall to meet us. Then Kai can take Lily to his brother from there." He glared around at them all, daring them to argue. His plan was the only feasible option. Surely they could see that?

Emeric stared into the stew thoughtfully. "Makes sense," he said at last. "If we return to Dun Saith now, we'd likely have missed Kai and Conall anyway."

"Aye," Magnus agreed. "It's a sound plan."

Oskar looked around at them all, his eyes settling on Lily. "All right, lass. We'll all travel to Edinburgh as planned and once Alfred is safely handed over, we'll look at getting ye home. How does that sound?"

Lily let out a long, slow breath. There were tears in her eyes and the sight of them made Oskar's fingers itch. He had the urge to reach out and brush them gently away.

She nodded. "I'm grateful. Thank you, Oskar. Thank you all."

It was the first time she'd used his name and the sound of it on her lips made his stomach tighten. He coughed and turned to Emeric.

"Are ye gonna dish that stew out this side of Yule or what?"