Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels #5)(9)
Author: Catherine Bybee

“He shifted. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”

Colleen twisted to address the men filling the room. “I need every traveler to gather those left behind. Rory, you and Allen congregate those here into the safe room. Colin, you and Owen spread throughout the compound with the others…inform everyone to gather and await further orders.”

The men nodded and hurried from the library.

Kincaid rested his right hand on his sidearm, comfortable that it was close by. He was reminded he’d left no less than three back up weapons in his suite. Sloppy! You’re getting sloppy, Kincaid! He scolded himself and moved about the room reaching beyond his shield to sense if the energy that shifted Giles was past or future.

Before he could narrow the energy, Colleen announced. “He’s gone back.”

Her gifts often scared him, and nothing scared him. “Agreed. But how?”

“Was he chanting? Reading from a book?” She moved around the room as if some bit of evidence would manifest. All the while, the strobe light blinked off and on in the room.

“Not chanting. He did possess a book. But when does Giles not have a book in his hand?” That was nothing new.

“What were you talking about?”

“The MacCoinnich’s.”

“The first family?”

“Yes. I asked him to research a portrait I noticed on our last journey. The paths led back to them.”

From the hall, he heard several people moving quickly through the house and down the stairs.

Colleen closed her eyes and lifted her hands into the air. “The energy is strong and unlike any I’ve felt before.”

“A strong blaze.”

“No. A short, hot blaze. I don’t think Giles has gone back far. Two…three hundred years at most.”

How the hell does she know that? Even as the question filled his head, he knew better than to ask it. Colleen’s gifts were greater than any. That was why she led them.

“Can you sense where he went?”

She hadn’t yet opened her eyes. “Nowhere. He’s…oh hells, he’s still here. Right here.”

“In the fortress?”

Colleen’s lips drew into a thin line and a tiny bead of sweat rolled off her brow. “Not such a strong fortress. The bands aren’t secure, which is why he easily slid through.” Then, without warning, Colleen opened her eyes and shook her head. “It’s gone.”

So was Giles. But at least they knew he was still in the house. How difficult could searching back two or three hundred years be?

Chapter Five

Nervous anticipation ran like fire ants up and down Giles’s spine. He was rooted into the seat he’d been offered and didn’t dare move. Amber MacCoinnich, in the flesh, watched from beneath her hooded cloak. The lady was ill—that was plain to see from the ashen color of her skin to the dark circles beneath her eyes. Even still, she was more beautiful than Kincaid suggested. Giles had a million questions but didn’t dare ask any.

The young woman who’d protected Amber from his touch had asked that they not begin to unravel how Giles had come to be in the twenty-first century until after her husband returned.

“How does my library change through the years?” Mrs. Dawson asked, obviously making small talk while waiting for the man of the house to arrive.

What surprised Giles was how few people were in the home now. Such little protection for the women was a grave mistake.

“The shelves surrounding the fireplace are the very same. The others have been remodeled and more are added to hold the growing collection. I believe that wall…” He pointed to the wall behind Amber, “is pushed back, making the room larger.”

“And you’re the librarian?”

Giles smiled into the thought. “I suppose you can call me that. I’m the fortress historian and am called upon often to search out a particular time or genealogy.”

“How fascinating,” Mrs. Dawson said. “I would think computers and those electronic book things would make these old books obsolete.”

“They are. But some work shouldn’t be translated into a computer where anyone could hack and collect the data. A keeper of the books, that would be me, has been a part of this library since…well, since you.”

Mrs. Dawson shook her head. “You’re mistaken about that. I may own these books, but I have very little knowledge about most of them. I haven’t even attempted to collect more since Mr. Dawson passed away.”

Giles knew for a fact that the books never stopped growing in numbers. Many of the tomes were spread among the safe houses in the world, but their point of origin was right here in Dawson’s Manor.

From the front of the house, he heard a heavy door slam against a wall, instantly bringing Giles to his feet.

Before he could move more than a foot, a massive man filled the doorway. His stony expression and sheer bulk made Giles’s heart kick in his chest. Now this was a warrior. Giles stood no chance in battle against a man this size, and there was no telling if he held Druid blood.

“Simon, please,” Amber whimpered. “This man means us no harm.”

“Are you sure, lass?”

“Positive. He is from the future and is Druid. Now please, calm yourself so I might be able to hear what he has to say before I am forced to retreat. Your fear is unfounded.”

“I don’t fear him.”

“No, you fear for us. You can see we are unharmed.” Amber lifted a pale hand to her head.

Giles pushed past his comfort and extended a hand to the warrior. “I’m Giles,” he told Simon. “Your wife and Mrs. Dawson somehow summoned me.”

Simon hesitated, but then clasped Giles’s hand. His strong grip was painful, as if to remind him he could snap him if necessary, not that this man needed to do anything other than walk in the room to prove that.

“Helen?” Simon addressed his wife. “What have you done?”

Giles backed into the couch and waited to hear what Helen had done.

Simon didn’t sit. Instead, he took up the space beside his wife while she explained.

“Mrs. Dawson was searching inside a few books…looking for a cure for Amber. I attempted to find the right book with my gift. I sensed something by the windows, but found nothing. We requested help from the Ancients and Giles appeared.”

“And you know a cure for Amber?” Simon asked.

“I don’t know what is ailing the lady. But perhaps I can help. I do have extensive knowledge of the books in this library and many others. I’d be honored to help if I can.”