“Where or when ye are?”
Caitlin threw up her hands. “I’ve been telling you all day I haven’t got a clue!” Her voice was shrill, on the edge of hysteria.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. “I thought—” He looked up at her. “All right. I’ll explain everything, but not here.”
He walked away, gesturing for her to follow. Caitlin trailed him to one of the larger buildings. It was a pub of some sort, with a sign hanging over the door that readThe Drunken Piper. It didn’t look like any pub she had ever seen. The walls were made of rough-hewn timber and the windows were small and set high up in the wall.
Kai pushed open the door and gestured for Caitlin to go inside but she hesitated.
“Dinna worry,” Kai said. “It’s safe. Come on.”
Reluctantly, she followed him through the door. The interior of the pub was dimly lit, with flickering candles casting shadows on the rough wooden walls. Caitlin could see a few men sitting at a table in the corner. They looked up as Kai and Caitlin entered, their eyes flickering with curiosity and suspicion. Caitlin shifted her feet, uncomfortable under their scrutiny. Why was this place lit by candles? Had they had a power cut?
Kai walked over to the bar and spoke briefly with the woman behind it. The woman nodded and disappeared into a back room, reappearing a moment later with a set of keys. She handed them to Kai and spoke in a voice too low for Caitlin to hear.
After a moment, Kai returned and led her up a narrow staircase at the back of the pub, the rough wood creaking beneath their feet. They reached the top of the stairs and Kai unlocked a door, pushing it open to reveal a small room. It was sparsely furnished, with a bed, a table, and a chair. The only source of light was a small window.
“Ye can rest here for a while. I’ll bring ye something to eat and drink,” Kai said.
He headed to the door but Caitlin darted in front of him, blocking his path. “Don’t you dare! You said you would explain!”
Kai sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Fine. But ye have to promise me that ye’ll stay calm and listen to what I have to say.”
“I’ll try.” Although she couldn’t promise anything on that score. Already she could feel panic bubbling again.
Kai took a deep breath. “I thought ye realized what had happened to ye but it seems that ye dinna. I asked ye earlier if ye knew where and when ye are. Ye said ye didnae knowwhereye are but ye didnae answer my second question. Do ye knowwhenye are, lass?”
Caitlin blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“What century do ye think this is?”
“What sort of a ridiculous question is that?”
“One I need ye to answer.”
“It’s the twenty-first, of course!”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “The twenty-fist? Lord above, ye’ve come a long way, lass. This isnae the twenty-first century. It’s the fifteenth. The year 1495, to be exact.”
Caitlin stared at him, her mouth dropping open. “Is that supposed to be funny? You promise to tell me what’s going on and come up with a ridiculous story like that? How stupid do you think I am?”
Kai’s expression hardened. “I’m not joking, Caitlin. Ye’ve been transported back in time. Back to the 15th century.”
She heard the words. She understood them. And yet they still made no sense. Transported back in time? What utter rubbish! It was impossible. And yet...and yet... everything she’d seen tallied with what Kai said: the strange clothes, the old-fashioned buildings, the lack of technology.
It didn’t matter. She was not going to fall for such a ridiculous lie.
She tried to laugh but it came out as a shaky shriek. “Yeah, pull the other one why don’t you? It’s got bells on it.”
“This is no joke,” he said softly. “I assure ye.”
There was no humor in his eyes now. All the amusement was gone. Hell. Did he believe what he was telling her? She swallowed thickly. “That’s not possible. Time-travel isn’t real.”
“Of course it is—although there are only a few who are capable of it. I met one right before I met ye. I suspect ye did too. Her name is Irene.”
“You mean Irene MacAskill? That little old lady whose cat I rescued from a tree? What has she got to do with any of this?”
“So yedidmeet her—” He stopped and shook his head. His expression suggested a deep unease. “I think ye better start at the beginning, lass.”
