Ye yearn for something that ye canna find. What ye seek canna be found in battles and bloodshed.
“But...but...how is that possible?” Lily asked. “How can a little old lady travel through time?” She gave a shrill laugh. “I cannot believe I’m even asking that question!”
“Irene MacAskill isnae just a little old lady,” Oskar replied. “She’s a Fae and traveling through time is the least of her powers.”
Lily stared at him incredulously. “She’s a what? That’s not possible. I don’t believe you.”
“I dinna tell lies, lass,” he snapped.
He held her gaze and he could see the conflicting doubts and fears playing in her eyes.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “Oh my God.”
She staggered and Oskar darted forward to catch her, setting her back on her feet.
“No,” she muttered. “This can’t be right. It can’t. How come you three seem to know so much about time travel anyway? And how come you know this Irene MacAskill? Didyouhave something to do with bringing me here?”
Oskar glanced first at Magnus and then Emeric, wondering how much he should reveal. Finally, he decided on the truth.
“We know about time travel and about Irene MacAskill because we are all members of the Order of the Osprey,” he said. “We are an order of warriors dedicated to protecting Scotland from its enemies, both human, and non-human.”
“Non-human?” she squeaked. “What does that mean?”
“Alba is an ancient land and there are beings here that are all but forgotten by human kind. They were here long before us and will be here long after we are gone. They are the Fae, both the Unseelie and the Seelie. We serve the Seelie Fae who seek to keep the Balance and guard humanity. We fight against the Unseelie, those who would enslave humanity and destroy the Balance. Irene MacAskill is one of the Seelie Fae. She has guided the Order from time to time.”
He couldn’t believe he was telling her all this. What had happened to not trusting her? But the wide-eyed fear in her eyes did something strange to him inside and he found that he wanted to do something, anything, to make that fear go away.
“Dinna worry, lass,” he added softly. “We will figure this out.”
Where had that come from? She was no responsibility of his!
She squeezed her eyes closed and he could feel her shaking where he held her. Her features twisted with pain. “I think I need to sit down.”
He released her and she collapsed cross-legged by the fire, putting her head into her hands. Oskar shared a long look with Magnus and Emeric. He saw the same wary expressions on his sword-brothers’ faces. They all knew what this meant. If Irene MacAskill had involved herself in their business, then things were going to get very complicated.
Magnus resumed his seat and after a moment Oskar joined them all by the fire. Lily kept her face buried in her hands and nobody spoke, giving the lass time to work through everything she’d learned. Emeric went back to stirring the stew over the fire.
Outside, an owl called, but other than that the night was still. Oskar could feel the tension in the room like a black cloak that had been thrown over them all. They should have carried on straight to Edinburgh, like he said, rather than stopping to tendAlfred’s injury. That way they would never had ended up in this situation and he would never have met Irene MacAskill.
Lily looked up finally. There was a little more color in her cheeks and she seemed a little calmer. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Let’s look at this logically. If some kind of portal or gateway brought me to this time, then it stands to reason that a portal or gateway can take me back again. Right?”
“Right,” Magnus rumbled.
“So where is this portal? That arch of branches where I woke up? I have to get there right away.”
“It’s not that simple,” Magnus replied. “Only one with Fae blood can open the portals. If Irene MacAskill brought ye here, then it’s Irene MacAskill who has the power to send ye back. But in my experience that willnae happen until ye’ve completed the task she set for ye.”
“Task? What task?”
Magnus shrugged helplessly. “I wouldnae presume to second guess one of the Fae.”
Lily threw up her hands in frustration. “I don’t care about any task! I just want to go home. Please! If you know of anything that could help me you have to tell me.”
Magnus rubbed the side of this face, glancing at Emeric. The archer merely shrugged.
“Oh for the love of God!” Oskar snapped. “It’s a little late for secrets dinna ye think? And why should we keep the Fae’s secrets anyway? It’s Irene’s fault we’re in this bloody mess in the first place?”
“It’s not the Fae’s secrets I’m thinking of, but the Order’s,” Magnus replied.
