Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels #5)(59)
Author: Catherine Bybee

Amber hated the divide from her brother, but there wasn’t anything she could do now that she and Gavin were bonded.

Family filled every corner of the massive room.

“You look like yourself again.” Lora smiled when she spoke.

“I feel like myself again,” Amber told her.

“Amber tells me you’re the one who knew I’d come,” Gavin said.

“I didn’t know who would come, only that someone would.”

“Are you truly married?” Briac asked.

“Aye, son, they are,” Duncan spoke for them.

“But doesn’t grandpa need to approve? I mean, you are his daughter.”

Most of those in the room turned their gaze to Ian.

“’Tis a little late for that now, lad. Though I would have preferred some knowledge before any vows were exchanged…”

“There was no time, Father,” Amber told him.

I don’t think your dad likes me. Gavin’s words spoke inside her head.

Give him time.

“Simon stood as witness. He understood the urgency,” Amber said.

“Why didn’t he return with you?” Lizzy asked.

“He didn’t know I was coming home.”

“How could he not know, lass?”

Guilt about the way she left swelled in her chest.

“He couldn’t have come even if he knew,” Gavin said. “There were important matters to attend to when we left.”

“What matters?” Fin asked.

How much should I say in front of the kids? Gavin asked her.

How much is there to say? Did I miss something?

Things were erupting after you disappeared.

Are they in danger?

Someone in the room cleared their throat.

“Selma, can you take the children outside so we might speak?” Amber asked Liz and Fin’s oldest daughter.

A collective sigh of disappointment rose from all eight kids. But not one of them argued as they stood and left the room.

Gavin sat on the arm of the chair beside Amber while the rest of the family waited for some explanation.

Amber rested her hand on Gavin’s leg. “What happened?”

“I felt you running, knew when I went to our room that you wouldn’t be there. When I didn’t find you, panic filled the house. Selma’s panic.”

“Selma?” Lizzy asked. “Do you mean Selma Mayfair?”

“Yes. She’s been staying with us for a few days. Someone threatened her, and Jake insisted she be around others.”

Todd sat up. “Jake? My partner Jake?”

“Aye, Todd. It seems the two of them are attracted to one another. He seemed quite worried when she was threatened.”

“Was the threat magical?” Duncan asked.

“It didn’t seem that way at first,” Gavin told them. “But when I was leaving I knew Selma’s panic matched my own. She was terrified for Jake’s daughters. She believed something awful was happening to them.”

“Jesus,” Todd jumped to his feet. “We need to help him. Jake’s girls are all he has.”

Ian lifted his hands in the air. “Calm yourself. We will not rush into anything.”

Gavin nodded. “And traveling in time to alter a single event for one’s own personal gain is forbidden. Besides, the Ancients only allow us to travel where they want us to go.”

“But Jake—”

“He has Simon, Helen, and Selma with him.”

“And Giles,” Amber added.

“Who is Giles?” Tara asked.

“He’s from my time,” Gavin said.

“Your time?” someone in the room asked.

“When were you born?” This question came from Tara.

“Twenty-one ninty-nine.”

“Really?”

“Wow! What’s it like in your time?” Tara asked.

It seemed as if everyone in the room focused on Gavin.

“Harder…some things are easier. The political world is volatile and on the brink of civil war in nearly every ‘free country’. Our natural resources are waning, as would be expected with the population growth and the advancement of medicine. Many of us live as far off the grid as we can to go unnoticed.”

“Off the grid? What is the meaning of that?” Ian asked.

Gavin grinned. “Much like how you live here. Your resources for living…food, shelter, and power…manpower are all provided within the walls of the Manor. I live in Dawson Manor, which is much different from the Manor you know. The home is the same, but larger. The grounds extend for acres. The homes there now are occupied by those in our brotherhood.”

“Brotherhood?”

“Or sisterhood. Many of us are Druid. Some are family or sworn friends to our cause. Not unlike what you have here. Laird Ian has his family and those watching the walls of this fortress. his men, and his servants making sure everyone is fed, clothed.”

“And who manages this fortress?” Ian asked.

“It’s more of a collective of Druids that manage and protect those who are not. We follow the leadership of a brother and sister whose powers help guide our path.”

Duncan pushed away from Tara’s side as if he couldn’t stand still. “You said something about a cause? What cause do you speak of?”

Gavin narrowed his eyes and paused. “Yours. All of yours. We serve you.”

“How is that possible?” Lizzy asked. “You don’t know us.”

“But I do. I know all of you. More than you will ever know me, I’m afraid.”

“Do you meet us in the future? I don’t get it.” Tara exchanged confused looks with her sister.

“No. Nothing like that. You set into motion many things. The recovery of the trunk that Selma Mayfair retrieves with a stone in the twenty-first century?” Gavin paused. “That trunk needs to travel in time undisturbed for hundreds of years before it reaches its destination. We, those of us who are branded warriors, make tasks like that happen.”

“Wait.” Todd tossed his hands in the air. “How?”

Gavin smiled and Amber felt the entire room riveted to his words. A level of honor washed over her as she watched him speak.

He slowly lifted the sleeve of his shirt and exposed the embedded ink circling his upper right arm. “The ink used in this mark is derived from one of the original stones. Those stones are spread throughout the globe in my time. I believe at least two reside in this home throughout time. Only warriors, strong Druid warriors, are given the ability to shift time. We have learned, from the librarians, of your trials and the risk that Grainna posed to all. Imagine if the one stone had not made it to Selma when it was needed most? How would that one task have changed all of our lives?”