Page 3 of See A Highlander (A Highlander Across Time #10)

CHAPTER 3

A nnie felt rage rush through her, or was it something else? She had never felt so mad at Bella before. How dare she ruin her livestream with these childish antics. Even though she knew that she was filming, she couldn’t stop herself from fighting back. Bella had started it and now Annie couldn’t stop.

“Aye, this is a sight, is it not?” a deep voice said.

Annie only vaguely registered it over Bella’s screaming.

“You are such a stuck-up showoff, Annie. You’ve made a fool out of me all over the internet!” Bella shouted.

“Let go of my hair,” Annie shouted back.

Deep laughing reverberated around them. Strong arms moved around her waist. Annie felt herself being pulled from Bella, and lifted to her feet.

“I don’t think the Laird will be believing this one,” another burly voice said.

Annie stopped trying to fight. She turned her head to look at the two men for the first time. They were tall with broad shoulders. One had dark red hair and the other a dark blond. They wore tartan plaids tied at the waist by heavy belts and kilts. On the belt hung a sword and various leather pouches and short sheaths. Their tunic shirts looked as though they were once white, but had aged well. Their heavy boots were thick with mud and were well-worn.

“What? Who are you and where did you come from?” Annie asked.

“Oh look it's the same as the others, the way she’s talkin’,” the red haired man said to the blonde man.

“Why did you pull us apart? This is none of your business. Go on with your stupid re-enactment or whatever it is you’re doing here. Leave us alone,” Bella shouted at the men. Her anger still resonated.

“No. Don’t listen to her. Thank you for stepping in. I’m so sick of this one,” Annie said to the men.

“Aye, I would prefer to let you go at it. But it seemed like it was getting rough between you. I think I could watch it all day, though,” the redhead said, obviously amused.

Annie looked around at the surroundings. Something wasn’t right. There were very few cobwebs, and no dust like in the previous room. It wasn't dark, instead it was dimly lit by torches leaning out from the wall. The fire in the hearth burned brightly, and the smoky air was thick.

Her eyes moved from the walls to the two men standing in front of her. She had done enough research on costumes to know that these weren’t cosplay. They were too good. They were rough and well worn. The threading was frayed and there were a few holes here and there. The men also smelled earthy as though they were actual working guards.

Bella continued to rant about her selfish behavior.

Annie moved past the two men. “Mitch? Mitch, where are you?” Annie said.

“Who’s this Mitch you speak of?” the blond asked.

She turned toward the wall behind her. For the first time she saw the door realizing that she and Bella had managed to roll through it as they were fighting. But the door was no longer open, it was closed, and she could see that it was made of heavy wood and sealed with an iron bar across it.

“Mitch are you there?” she said again. She pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “It's stuck.” This time she used her fists to bang on the door calling out Mitch's name.

There was no response from him and Annie was beginning to feel a panic move through her body. There was something wrong with this scenario though she couldn’t put her hand on it.

The two guards stood watching them as they conversed. “Think this Mitch is her husband?” the red-head asked the blond.

“Don’t rightly know. Not usually married though, are they?” the blond said.

“I can't open it. My cameraman, Mitch, is on the other side. Do you think you can help me out here? You two look strong enough,” she said to the guards.

“Mitch isn't here? You mean he didn't get any of this on the livestream? Oh that's just great.” Bella groaned.

“Won't be any opening of that door, lass. It's sealed shut. We've tried hundreds of times every time you lot come through. It never opens. There's no point to it really,” the blond guard said.

“Sealed shut? No it's not. We just came through it. I was on the other side, it's dark. There's a room there. Our friend is on the other side. I'll try calling him.” Annie pulled out her phone.

The two guards stared at it. Annie typed a text message and hit send. A notification came up alerting her that she didn’t have service.

“What? We must be too deep underground. It's not going through. I wonder if the livestream had a bunch of glitches in it. There's bad reception down here. You’d better hope so, Bella, so that my audience didn't see the crap you pulled.”

“Me? What about you? You’re just as much to blame as me,” Bella said. She pulled out her phone and looked to see if she had service. “My phone doesn't have reception either. This is terrible.”

“We better be getting you upstairs, lasses. The Laird needs to be alerted to your presence. Looking at those scratches on your arms it looks like we may have reason to call the healer for you as well,” the redhead guard said.

“Healer? What the hell are you guys talking about? Yes, upstairs is good. If you know another way out of here, then I'm all for it. Lead the way,” Annie said.

“The healer. We have one here, of course. Most castles this size do. With the guards getting hurt during battle or even drunken brawling,” the blond said with a hearty laugh as he elbowed his friend.

“Who’s down there?” a voice echoed from down the hall.

Annie was startled at how thick the accent was.

“It tis just us, Barclay and Leith. It's all right. But take a message to the Laird. Two more have come through the doorway. They’re young lasses like the rest of them,” the redheaded guard shouted down the hall.

“Another? Aye, I’ll report to the Laird straight away,” the guard shouted back.

“Laird? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Annie said.

The two guards exchanged a confused look.

“All right come this way,” the guard said, and one walked ahead while the other walked behind her and Bella, pushing them toward a long dark corridor.

“Good. I could use some water. How long before we go back to the hotel, Annie?” Bella asked.

Annie didn’t answer her. Instead she took in the environment. It was definitely not the castle ruin like the one she had seen when they arrived. This one was a working castle. The torches along the corridor were well kept. They were lit and it seemed that the closer they move toward the end of the hall the louder it became. There was a low murmur of chatter and liveliness coming from above. It was as though there were a lot of people moving about upstairs.

“Something's not right here, Bella,” Annie whispered to her.

“What do you mean? You think these guys are shady?” Bella said, her tone suspicious.

“It's not that. Though they are very strange. I don't think we’re in the same place. The castle seems different. Doesn't it seem different to you?”

“No not really. It's a castle. Lots of rock and dirt,” Bella said.

Annie wasn’t convinced. Finally they got to the end of the corridor and moved up the stairs. the guard led them through a door that opened into another hallway.

“Holy crap,” Bella said.

Annie couldn't say anything because she was shocked at what she saw. There were more men dressed exactly like the two guards. They were burley and broad-shouldered and looked directly at them accessing them.

“Another two? Scathach has been busy,” one of the new guards said, laughing.

Other guards chatted and laughed as well.

“What's going on, Annie?” Bella asked.

“I don't know. This is definitely weird. I still don't have reception, do you?”

"No. Nothing.”

“Come this way into the barracks. The healer has been fetched. We are waiting on word from the Laird. This room will be fine for now until we know what to do with you,” the red-headed guard said. He opened the door to a room. Inside was a table and chairs and bags of items. Annie thought they look like food storage, but she couldn’t be sure because they were unmarked.

“I'll be right outside,” the guard said and closed the door.

“What? What are you doing? Are we prisoners? Stop this! Open the door,” Bella shouted. She tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge.

Annie looked around the room. She didn’t want to believe what her logic was telling her. It was impossible. But everything was so historically accurate that unless there was some sort of game or prank being played on them, then she had to be right. They had somehow emerged into a different time when they’d gone through that door. At least it was the only explanation she could think of at the moment. Maybe the stress of her job and learning about Bella and Billy was getting to her, making her believe in magical nonsense.

“Are you just going to stand there? We've been taken prisoner. This is insane. Annie, do something,” Bella whined.

“I'm still taking it in and processing. Don't you think all those men out there were strange? As though they’re from a different time? The way they were dressed. The way they sounded. It's not just a Scottish accent it's something deeper and …”

The door opened. An attractive young man entered. Catching both women off guard. Bella was about to start nagging at him and berating him for keeping her in the room. But when she saw him, she relaxed a little and fixed her hair.

“Hello. I am Thomas MacLeod, but everyone here calls me Tom. I’m the healer here.”

Annie didn’t expect to find this man so attractive, but his grey eyes seemed to pierce her soul. His short, white-blond hair contrasted against his sun kissed skin. She was hooked.