Page 16

C rystal was glad to be out of the village.

She did like it, but it was starting to become too much for her.

It would help her mental state if she could see something else, anything else.

The mystery of the crime had piqued her interest and it was a good distraction but she also needed to believe that she truly was in a different time.

Seeing the open land would help that a lot.

There she could get reassurance that there were no airplanes flying over.

That she didn't hear the ringing of a phone or beeping of a car.

She needed to make sure of this on her own and not simply be told.

As they rode, she saw none of these things and instead saw the endless beauty of the land.

There were forests on one side of the long dirt road and rolling green hills on the other as well as just a peek of the lake, which Jamie said was Loch Ness.

Once leaving the village proper, there weren't any cottages out this direction, which surprised her and had her wondering where exactly this Maggie woman lived.

There was no sign of modern devices anywhere.

Even the people they passed along the road seemed from this time and not her own.

Crystal realized that the more she saw the more she had to come to terms with the fact that Melanie and Elena were telling her the truth. It was a hard truth to stomach but believing it was easier than not believing it.

"We are nearly to Maggie's, she lives just past this bend in the road. If you keep traveling this direction for another fifteen to twenty more minutes, you'll reach the land bridge to the Keep," Jamie said, his breath warm on her ear.

The ride to Maggie's seemed familiar to Crystal. It looked like the same area she had seen when she rode in Gavin's wagon after he'd pulled her from the lake. She hadn't seen a cottage though, so maybe she was wrong.

"So Maggie's cottage is on the shores of Loch Ness?" she asked as she took in the area.

"Aye, Maggie knows more about the fae than anyone, she's very protective of the land and the Loch especially.

I'd imagine if Gavin had not been out upon the water, Maggie would have made sure you were rescued.

She'd have also seen you made it up to the Keep as well, instead of taking you to the village. "

Crystal thought about being in the lake again.

It seemed like a dizzy dream. How she had kicked for the surface thinking she would die and the way she felt in shock when Gavin pulled her into his small fishing boat.

It all happening during darkness which made it seem so surreal as though none of it ever happened at all.

She still wondered how it was that she came to be there even though it had been explained to her she wanted to know every detail about it.

Did the drugs that Mason gave her cause her to die or did she die on the way to the hospital?

If she went to the hospital at all.

Perhaps she died there at the bar while Mason argued with the bouncer.

Did Mason mistakenly give her a drug that killed her instead of one that knocked her out?

She had so many questions and it annoyed her to know that she would never know the answers.

She wondered if the other women felt the same.

Maybe one day she'd be able to ask them how they dealt with the not knowing.

Crystal could see the old cottage they were headed to, but beyond it she could see a bigger portion of the lake. "Is that it, the lake… I mean loch," she asked.

"Aye, Loch Ness," he said.

"Loch Ness is pretty well known in my time, but I'd never visited it. It doesn't look the way I thought it would. It is so dark and much larger than I imagined it would be," she said.

"Aye, tis very deep and cold as ice," he said.

Crystal felt anxious about recalling that icy cold water and spending hours damp in wet clothes.

It also made her anxious that this meant they were almost to Maggie.

It made her nervous to be in this position especially if he had a special bond with this woman named Maggie.

It was possible that Maggie would see Jamie holding her on the horse and not be happy about it.

She was still getting used to this talk of goblins and magic and maybe this Maggie also was magical and could do something strange like curse her.

"Are you all right, lass?" Jamie asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You seemed to tense up and pull away from me," he replied.

"Oh, sorry, just recalling my time in the water," Crystal said, relaxing again, not wanting him to know what she was really thinking about. She hadn't realized that her thoughts about Maggie were coming through physically.

"I must confess that I am impressed with the way that you are handling everything. I think some of my own men would crumble if they had gone through the same thing that you are going through," he said with a tone of light-heartedness.

"I appreciate it," she said.

"I'm glad you're here to help unravel this mystery. I think you have a good mind for investigations," he said.

"Well when you write crime thrillers you have to be good at it, unraveling mysteries is the same as putting one together, just in reverse," she said.

"Aye, I suppose it is," he said.

Crystal felt that this conversation had a casual nature to it than any previous conversation they had had so far. It was a good sign to her because it meant that he was starting to get to know her a little better and that was something she welcomed.

"Are you cold, lass?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she said. "This cloak and dress are plenty warm."

"Good. You seem able to handle the brisk Scottish air. I suppose after being found in the Loch, and being cold and wet in the night that once you've gone through something like that, you can handle anything," he said.

"You could be right," she said, smiling up at him over her shoulder. "And as I said, this cloak and dress are surprisingly warm." "Aye, they're from good Scottish wool," he said. "We're here."

He reined in the horse and dismounted and then helped her down. Crystal looked around as he tied the horse to a tree. A moment later, he removed his belt with his sword and attached it to the horse.

"Do you have the dagger?" he asked.

Crystal pulled it from her pocket. "Yes?"

"Let me have it for now. Maggie doesn't like weapons in her cottage."

Crystal handed it over and he put it in the saddle bag.

She turned back to look at the cottage. It was made of stone and had a thatched roof.

Off to the side she could see a large garden area that seemed to extend behind the cottage.

Something about the place reminded her of a witch's house in fairytales.

If this Maggie had magic, maybe she was a witch?

The idea that she was going to piss off a witch because she was with her sweetheart, had her anxiety spiking.

"How do you know this woman?" she asked quietly.

"Woman?" Jamie chuckled. "I'm not sure I would call her that exactly," Jamie said.

"What?" Crystal scrunched up her nose as her confusion built.

"Maggie isn't what you're thinking, lass," he said with a snicker as though enjoying keeping this little secret from her.

As they drew closer the door opened. A mound of rags stood in the doorway. It moved down onto the front porch and raised a hand in greeting.

"Is that her?" Crystal whispered. "Is that Maggie?"

"Aye, tis me." Maggie cackled.

Crystal was taken aback by the fact that she'd heard her question and Jamie laughed. A moment later the others arrived too and dismounted, some letting their horses roam the area eating grass instead of tying them up as Jamie did.

Maggie shuffled off of the porch and over to Crystal and Jamie. As she grew closer, Crystal noticed she wasn't just a mound of rags, and they weren't rags at all, but layers and layers of sweaters. Beneath all of that was a wizened old face.

Up close, Crystal could see the fine lines and wrinkled skin.

There was a seriousness to the look in the old woman's eyes.

She looked human, but there was something otherworldly about her as well, Crystal thought as she studied her.

Maggie on the other hand intrusively looked at her turning Crystal around and examining her like a piece of meat. Finally Maggie spoke.

"So you're the new lass the Sidhe have sent to us then? I felt you come through the Burgh, you know. Nessie would have seen to you if Gavin hadn't been there to help you out." Maggie nodded and the mound of sweaters shifted with her movement.

Crystal wondered who Nessie was, but didn't ask, she was beyond confused by how Maggie had felt her come through the Burgh, which again, she still didn't understand.

Maggie cackled again. "Come, come. Darter will be excited to meet you too." She waved to Elena, Maggie and the others."

Crystal looked at Jamie completely confused. He raised his brow, arching it very high and grinned sideways, then followed after Maggie with one hand on Crystal's elbow to guid her and a bundle of something in his other hand.

Crystal looked over to Melanie and Elena who simply shrugged their shoulders and gestured for her to go with Jamie, though they followed behind. Shaw and the other Watchmen stayed outside and sat down on the wall, pulling their flasks from their waist belt.

"So what did you bring me, Jamie boy?" Maggie asked, eyeing the bundle.

Jamie chuckled. "Well, it's not Blair's, but I think you'll find it nearly as tasty." He handed over the bundle.

Maggie opened it. "Aye, shortbread from the tavern is almost as good." She broke a piece off and gobbled it down, then sat down on a sofa in the cluttered room and began pouring tea. "Sit, sit." She waved her arm toward the chairs and sofa by the fireplace.