Page 7 of Stopped By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #14)

CHAPTER 7

“ W hich guest room?" Hamish asked the woman on Mary's other side.

"Hmm, might be best to put her in the small room at the end of the hall on the second floor. The one we use for quarantine? That way the staff will stay away from it and her until we can figure out a way to fix her."

They spoke well above Mary's head, which was slightly annoying and made her feel like a small child. She wasn't a small child though, she was a grown woman and all of this was just making her upset.

"Aye, that would be good. I'll help to make sure she has everything she needs. Food and drink, blankets…" Hamish agreed.

"Thank you, Hamish." Ivy smiled at him over Mary's head.

Mary felt an overwhelming urge to claw that smile right off her face for directing it at Hamish, but she refrained by curling her free hand into a fist, digging her claws into her own palm. A moment later she was distracted by trying to mount the stairs with her short legs. It wasn't exactly easy going up the massive stone steps. By the time they reached the second floor, she was weary with exhaustion.

"That's it, lass, just a little bit further now," Hamish said.

Ivy paused. "You know where to go, let me run back down to the kitchens and have something prepared for her to eat."

"Aye, that might be best."

Ivy turned and easily jogged back down the stone steps. Mary watched her dainty figure with jealousy in her heart. It wasn't fair that she now looked like a grotesque monster. Feelings of despair began to build within her.

"Here we are, lass." Hamish opened the door and led her inside.

The room was fairly simple. It contained a single twin bed, a night table, a wardrobe, a table and chairs, some sort of washbasin like from an old fashioned household, a full length mirror, and a fireplace with a mantle. Mary didn't understand why she was being put in such an old fashion room. Wasn't there something more modern in this castle? Where was the bathroom? she wondered.

"Food will be on its way up in a few minutes. I told Blair to knock and one of us would answer," Ivy said, appearing behind Mary. "Oh, good, there is a mirror in here. I wasn't sure if there was. I think we might want to start with that, Mary. There's a lot to tell you and I think seeing what you actually look like might help you to understand everything."

Mary was confused. She'd already seen her reflection in the moonlight. How much worse could things get? "Okay?" She looked up at Hamish as if to confirm it was a good idea.

"Go ahead, Lass, I'm not going anywhere." He gestured to the mirror.

Mary took a tentative step forward and stumbled, forgetting how large her feet were now. She righted herself and began again, walking toward the mirror. As she stepped in front of it, her heart began to beat erratically. Some kind of force built inside her, some kind of anguish over of her appearance filled her with anger and wraith. Seeing her new form was so much worse than what she'd seen in the lake water. She was beyond hideous and grotesque. She was truly a horror to behold and that broke her.

She began to shake and a primal scream escaped her lips. The decorative bowl on the mantle fell to the floor and shattered, the mirror cracked into several pieces, and still Mary could not stop. It was too much.

Suddenly there were arms around her, holding her, stroking her hair, her back. A sense of calm took over her, bringing her back from the abyss she'd been in moments before.

"Shh, lass, it's all right, you're all right, we'll fix this, we'll fix you."

Hamish's voice soothed her soul, evened out her feelings. Her breathing returned to normal and she pressed herself to his chest. It was then she'd realized that he'd knelt down to her level to gather her in his arms. She pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed.

"Shhhh, don't cry, lass. Please," he murmured gently.

Mary sniffled and pulled back slightly, she turned her face away from the handsome man, not wanting him to see her disturbing face. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Here." He held a square of cloth out to her.

Mary took it and dried her eyes and wiped her cheeks as there was a knock on the door. Hamish moved quickly, standing up and blocking the person's view of Mary as Ivy opened the door.

"Everything all right? We heard some crashing?"

"It's fine, just a slight mishap, nothing to worry about. Is that for our guest?"

"Aye, porridge with honey, fruit, and some bread. I brought you both tea and ale, like you asked."

"Thank you, Blair." Ivy stepped back with a tray in her hands and nudged the door closed. "Here we are." She walked over to the table and set the tray down.

"Come sit down, lass. You'll feel better once you've some food in you."

Mary stepped over the broken shards of the bowl to the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break all of this. I didn't know that would happen."

"It's no problem, we'll clean it up, not to worry," Ivy said.

"I think you've got some residual powers from the goblin who switched bodies with you," Hamish replied. "It would make sense. From your current appearance, I'd say the goblin is a sorceress, a powerful one."

"She'd probably have to be to have stolen Mary's body," Ivy added.

Mary climbed up into the chair and sat down. Her feet dangled over the edge of the chair, not touching the floor. She gingerly picked up the spoon and attempted to hold it as she normally would, but it slipped from her hand and splattered in the bowl. "Damn it," she muttered as she tried again.

"It's a new body, be patient with yourself, okay?" Ivy suggested.

"I'll try," Mary said wryly. "Sometimes if I get overwhelmed this… I don't know what to call it, energy? I guess? It builds up and bursts out of me without me even realizing I'm doing it. That's twice now. The first time I think I caused some sort of dirt devil out by the lake."

"Aye, I can attest to that. It's what drew our attention to you." Hamish stood off to the side, leaning against the stone wall, his ankles crossed and her arms folded over his massive chest.

"Okay, so try to contain that overwhelming feeling because I've got a lot to tell you. If you start to feel that energy, let me know and we'll stop."

"Okay." Mary nodded as she slowly brought the spoon to her mouth.

"Right, so by now you are aware this isn't the same world you were in before. This one has Fae, both good and bad. The ones who saved your life, those are the good ones, the Seelie Fae. Goblins belong to the Unseelie. They are mostly the ones who cause trouble for us. We are currently in Scotland, the lake outside is Loch Ness, and we are in the middle of the sixteenth century."

Mary dropped the spoon and looked at Ivy. "What?" She blinked, completely stunned. "Say that again."

Ivy repeated her words and then waited.

"I…" Mary stopped, confusion over took her and she looked to Hamish, hoping he'd tell Ivy to stop messing around, but he simply nodded. "The sixteenth century? Seriously?"

"Yep. And you and I are not the only two women from the future. There are more than a dozen of us now. All of us from America, and from the twenty-first century. I was a child therapist in Chicago when I was brought here. Nancy, another of us was a scuba instructor, Anna, who is married to our Laird, was a self-defense instructor, Elena was a police detective, Helen worked for the FBI, Kay was a veterinarian… still is for us here, um, who else…"

"Wait, stop…" Mary held her hand up. "All of you came here and stayed? I don't understand. Why didn't you go back?"

Ivy winced and looked up at Hamish then back to Mary. "That's the thing. The other thing we all have in common. We all died in the twenty-first century. And seconds before death could take us, the Fae intervened, brought us to their world, healed us, and then sent us here through the burgh in the Loch."

"The door with the water," Mary whispered, her eyes widened. "It was gone after I went through it. I turned to go back, but it disappeared."

"Nancy has been down there, the door got stuck once and she was able to go fix it, but it used the last of her scuba air. Not that any of us want to leave, even if we could. We've all found our lives are good here."

"So I died? My parents, my co-workers, they all think I… was murdered by those bank robbers?"

"We don't know for sure what happens. We believe that is the case, that some form of our bodies remained behind when the Fae take us, so that there is closure there."

"Anything else I should know?" she whispered. "Am I going to stay like this forever?"

Ivy and Hamish exchanged another look. One that made Mary's heart sink in her chest.

"We hope not."

Mary looked down at her hands clutched in her lap. She still wasn't used to their appearance. "Me too."

"I am sorry I did not believe you when you spoke of your predicament before, lass. If I'd had a way to know you were you, I would never have put you into that cage. I'm sorry your fingers were burned."

Mary looked up at him, giving him a smile. "You couldn't have known. These creatures are horrid. I don't blame you for thinking I was trying to trick you. I expect that is what they do."

"They are very unpleasant creatures, I can agree with that. Still, I should have realized you were not one, it is very obvious now."

"Thank you for that." Mary yawned.

"You must be exhausted. We should let you rest." Ivy rose from the chair. "I will return later to see if you need anything."

"And I will as well," Hamish added.

"You have both been very kind. Thank you." Mary hopped down from the chair and followed them to the door.

"Get some rest." Ivy opened the door and she and Hamish left.