Page 18 of Wendy Meets the Highlander Hamish (Scottish Highlander I Never Knew #5)

A s they reached the fort, Hamish guided their horses through the entrance, Shaw’s call announcing their return to the courtyard.

Dismounting gracefully near the stables, Hamish offered a lift down to Wendy, who accepted it with a grateful smile. After speaking with the stablemaster, they made their way through the bustling courtyard, toward the castle doors.

“I suggest we speak with Cam first, see if he knows of a way to contact Dub Sith,” Hamish said as they entered the great hall.

“Okay, I’m happy to do that, especially if he can help.” Wendy nodded.

They headed for Cam’s door and Hamish knocked. A moment later, Cam told them to enter, but upon seeing them, he looked very cross.

“Hamish, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be out at Loch Finlaggan sorting this kelpie mess.

I just sent you eight men to help and here you are, galivanting about with your lass, as though I sent you to water the garden!

I thought you were more responsible than that!

I figured with that kelpie injuring your brother, you’d be the first to want the kelpie caught and dealt with!

” Cam seethed as he pushed himself away from the massive table and irately read Hamish and Wendy the riot act.

“Sir—” Hamish started.

“No! I willnae have it! You have a duty to the clan, and you need to see it through?—”

“But if you’ll just listen to him,” Wendy said, stepping in.

Cam turned his steely gaze on her and Wendy gulped.

“What is going on in here?” Jen said, coming into the room. Her gaze landed on Wendy and Hamish, and she smiled. “Oh, hi Wendy, when did you two get back?”

Wendy’s startled gaze went from her to Jen’s husband Cam, but she held her tongue.

“Wendy had an idea,” Hamish started to explain.

“I donnae care what mad idea the lass had! I want that kelpie captured before it kills or hurts anyone else!” Cam slammed his fist down on the table.

“Cam MacDonald, you calm your ass down right now!” Jen demanded. “You and I both know that Wendy was brought here for a reason!”

Cam gave her a pointed look. “I know the reason.”

“Not that reason !” Jen said heatedly. “The other reason. It’s been the same with each of us. You know it as well as I do. Hear them out.”

Cam stared at his wife for a moment and then seemed to deflate and some of the tension left his shoulders. “Very well. Sit down and explain.”

Feeling a little intimidated, Wendy took her seat next to Hamish while Jen sat next to Cam. She looked at Hamish and waiting for him to explain. Hamish gave her a reassuring smile.

“We’ve tried to capture the kelpie with the bridle, but tis nae working. The creature is fast and easily escapes us. Twice Crisdean was injured. The first he was nearly drown, but Wendy was able to get the kelpie to let him go.”

Cam’s brow furrowed and he looked at Wendy. “How did you do that?”

Wendy licked her lips and then said, “Honestly, I’m not sure.

I cried out to it, pleaded with it and it let Crisdean go and came toward me.

It didn’t try to hurt me. I asked it some questions and it was trying to communicate with me, but before I could understand what it was trying to tell me, it got frightened by Hamish and his brothers with their iron and it raced back into the water. ”

Cam frowned and looked skeptical. “How could it even try to answer you? It is not a creature capable of speaking.”

Wendy huffed in frustration. “I know. It was more like feelings and images that I picked up on. I can’t really explain, you’d have to experience it.”

Jen put a hand on Cam’s forearm, halting his next comment. “Perhaps it’s some sort of magical connection? The creature is Fae after all.”

“Exactly,” Hamish said with a nod. “Which brings us to why we’re here.

Wendy thinks that Dub Sith may be able to help us with the kelpie, or help us figure out how to speak to it and find out why it’s attacking people when for hundreds of years it’s lived peacefully in that loch without harming anyone. ”

Cam sat silent for a moment and then shared a look with Jen. “All right, I take your point. Perhaps speaking with Dub Sith is what needs to be done. The question is how are you to go about doing such a thing?”

“We were hoping you’d have an idea about that. You’re the leader of the clan and it was your ancestor who made the pact with him,” Wendy said.

“Aye that tis true, but I’ve met the wee man once. Jen and then other ladies have had more interaction with him than I.”

Jen looked thoughtful. “Well, we know that he keeps tabs on us. I don’t know how he does it though. So maybe we could walk through the castle and call out for him?”

“Do you think he’ll show up?” Wendy asked.

“Maybe,” Jen said with a shrug. “It won’t hurt to try it. I’ll get the other ladies to help too.”

An hour later, all of them were walking through the castle, each of the couples took a different floor and called out to the Fae man.

Wendy could hear their shouts, which sounded bizarre even to her.

She nearly giggled as she called, “Dub Sith, are you here? We need your help with the kelpies please!”

Unfortunately, there was no sign that the little elf man was paying them any mind. Their calls echoed down corridors and down stairs, bounced off stone walls and reverberated throughout the castle. Yet their pleas for his assistance went unanswered.

Hours wore on, each minute passing with a heaviness that echoed the weight of unfulfilled expectations. Wendy, her spirits dampened by the futile search, felt the corridors closing in on her. The flickering torches cast shadows that seemed to dance in mockery of her earnest calls.

Hamish leaned wearily against the wall and sighed. “Lass, I donnae think he’s here to listen to us calling for him.”

Wendy moved to stand next to him and nodded. “I think you may be right, but I don’t know what else to do.”

"Dub Sith may be elusive, but Aine, she's a different sort. Let's seek her counsel. She may have insights that will help us with the kelpies. She is, after all, half-Fae."

Wendy, willing to try any avenue that might lead to a solution, nodded in agreement. “All right, let’s find the others and let them know.”

Wearily, the two tracked down all the others and told them their new plan, seeing as Dub Sith was nowhere to be found. Mae joked that he was probably in the twenty-first century hunting down the next woman to bring back in time.

“Do you think that might actually be where he is?” Wendy asked, slightly shocked.

“You never know with him, do you?” Mae replied, smiling. “But I do think going to speak with Aine is a good alternative. If anyone around here can help, it’s sure to be her.”

As Wendy slipped beneath the covers of her bed later that night, the castle embraced her in a timeless cocoon.

The flickering candle in her lantern cast gentle shadows on the walls, and the fire burning in the hearth warmed her room to a nice toasty temperature.

Wendy closed her eyes, hoping that the dreamscape would offer insights that eluded the waking world.