What had Irene meant by that? How could being thrown hundreds of years into the past help her find what she was looking for? But then her eyes strayed to Deryn and she wondered...
“Tell me exactly what happened, lass,” he said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Every detail, no matter how insignificant, from the moment ye met Irene MacAskill.”
Maddy relayed the events of that day from the time she’d left Helen at the office and hurried to Rory’s school, to the moment Deryn had hauled her out of the ravine. She left nothing out, not her terror at finding Rory gone, not her fear at discovering Rodric MacKay had taken him, not her relief when Deryn had come to her aid, not her utter confusion at finding herself here, and finally, not her utter panic and flight when she’d realized she’d gone back in time.
“I didn’t tell you because I was worried you might think I was a witch or something. Don’t you burn witches in this time?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not in the Highlands we dinna. Up here the Fae are as much a part of our lives as the Good Lord is and we ken better than most that there are strange forces that we canna explain. Although there are only a few of us who are privy to the secret of time travel.”
There he went again, hinting at things that he didn’t explain. “I don’t get it. How can you know about time-travel? Even in my time, it’s thought to be impossible. Even in my time, if I told someone I was a time-traveler, they would think I was nuts, but here you are accepting it as though it’s perfectly normal!”
He watched her steadily for a moment. Finally, he sighed. “I wasnae always a farmer,” he said softly. “I used to be a member of the Order of the Osprey. A society dedicated to keeping the Balance. We are allied to the Fae and there are a few of us who know all about time travel.”
“You do?”
“Aye. We are not the first to have our lives upended by Irene MacAskill, and we are not likely to be the last either.”
“But...but....” She had a sense of the world shifting around her, as if everything she’d thought to be rock-solid and immutable was suddenly as unstable as quicksand. And yet...there was something else there, too. An emotion she struggled to put a name to. Relief. She wasn’t crazy after all. What was happening to her wasn’t so inexplicable as she’d imagined.
“So ye were trying to get back to the place I found ye?”
She nodded. “I hoped it would take me home.”
A look flashed across his face. Disappointment? Hurt?
“Well, it’s worth a try,” he said tightly. “I will escort ye there.”
He stalked off, leaving Maddy staring after. A tangle of emotions went through her one after the other. But as she watched Deryn’s retreating back one overrode all the others.
Regret. Ah, damn it!
“Rory!” she called. “Come on, we’re leaving!”
Grabbing the little boy’s hand, she hurried after Deryn.
SHE WAS A TIME TRAVELER. A damned time-traveler. No wonder she was like no woman he’d ever met. No wonder she spoke and dressed and behaved so outlandishly. She was hundreds of years out of her time.
What is yer game, Irene?he asked silently as he stomped along the ridge, Mara keeping pace at his side.Why have ye done this to me?
It is never too late to choose another and when we do, we might just discover that there is a life open to us yet. A life that can be filled with light and love like the one we’ve lost.
Easy for Irene to say. She had not lived the life Deryn had, had not made the mistakes he had.
He glanced over his shoulder. Madeleine was struggling along behind, carrying Rory. He knew he was setting a brisk pace and forced himself to stop and wait for them. The wind was blowing Madeleine’s honey hair around her head like a halo and it had put a pink blush into her cheeks.
Lord help him, she was beautiful. And intelligent. And resourceful. And kind-hearted. And—
And going home, he thought.
Madeleine reached him, puffing, and Deryn nodded at Rory. “Do ye want me to take him?”
“Do you know what?” she wheezed. “I wouldloveyou to take him. Otherwise, I think I might collapse and not get up again for a week.”
“Ye hear that, lad?” Deryn said to Rory. “How would ye like a piggy-back the rest of the way?”
Rory nodded, so Deryn waited whilst Maddy lifted the boy onto his back, holding onto his legs to keep him in place.
They set off, Madeleine striding by his side this time. His thoughts turned to Rodric MacKay as he walked. What part did he play in all this? And how had Madeleine ever met him if they were from different centuries? A vague sense of unease walked down his spine. He was missing something, something important.
