He was certain that rock pool had not been there a moment ago. Lir stepped up to the pool and stared into its depths. Hesitantly, Arran joined her. It was deep, far deeper than any rock pool had a right to be, so deep he couldn’t see its bottom. There was none of the seaweed, small crabs, and other things he might expect to see. Instead, it looked like a clear, bottomless blue hole that led to… what?
“The MacFinnan line didnae die out,” Lir said. “The power of the spellweavers resurfaced again, but far into the future. If ye wish to save yer people, ye must travel to the future, find a MacFinnan spellweaver, and convince her to travel back here with ye to restore the magic.”
“Travel to the future? That’s impossible.”
“Ye are good at saying that,” Lir replied, making a tutting sound. “Look closer, my laird.”
Arran found himself leaning forward, staring into the blue depths of the pool. As he did so, it began to change. Images appeared deep below the surface, strange, alien images that made no sense. He saw tall buildings, far taller than any of the castles or spires of Alba. He saw strange metal boxes on wheels moving at incredible speeds. He saw more people than he’d ever seen in one place before, bustling along smooth streets lined with glass-fronted buildings and many-colored lights.
“What is that place?” he breathed, looking at Lir with awe.
“That is the future. The place to which ye must go if ye wish to save Skye.”
The image in the pool began to change, and this time he saw a woman. Close to his own age, she had long hair the color of midnight. He couldn’t see her face clearly, but she was sitting on the porch of a building with her knees drawn up to her chest.
“Is that her?” Arran asked eagerly. “Is that the woman I need to find?”
“Aye,” Lir replied. “What is yer choice, my laird? Will ye accept this task?”
“Gladly,” Arran said with a nod. He didn’t even have to think about it. He would takeanychance, no matter how small, no matter how insane, if it gave him even a tiny hope of protecting his people.
Lir cocked her head and regarded him with her strange eyes. “Aye. I chose well in ye, Arran MacLeod. But know this. This will be different to any battle ye have yet faced. It will be harder. Darker. Are ye ready for that?”
No, he wasn’t. He wasn’t ready for any of this. But he met Lir’s stare head on.
“I’m ready.”
“Then jump into the pool. Remember, ye canna force her to come back with ye. That must be her choice. Ye must find a way to convince her, my laird.”
“I’ll find a way,” he said more confidently than he felt. How would he convince a woman to travel through time just to help him?
He stepped up to the edge of the pool, his boots scraping on the rock. Lifting his gaze, he looked out over the bay one final time, taking in the remains of the fishing boats bobbing in the swell and the horrific sight of the bodies floating next to them. He’d find a way. He had to.
Pulling in a deep breath, Arran MacLeod jumped into the pool.
Chapter Three
“Bunny!” Jenna shouted.“Here, girl!”
She always felt faintly ridiculous shouting that name. “Bunny” was no bunny at all but a great big slobbery Great Dane who belonged to Mrs. Turner, Jenna’s neighbor. Since Mrs. Turner had a hip replacement a little over a month ago, she’d been unable to walk Bunny and so Jenna had volunteered for the job. After all the home-cooked meals and delicious cakes that Mrs. Turner had showered her with over the years, it was the least Jenna could do.
Bunny came ambling along the path, taking her own sweet time to catch up. For such a big, powerful dog, she was incredibly lazy, and Jenna was pretty sure she’d be perfectly happy snoozing on Mrs. Turner’s couch all day given the choice.
“Will you hurry up? Anyone would think you don’t want to go for a walk!”
Bunny gave a huff as if she understood every word, sniffed Jenna’s hand, and then trotted off along the path that hugged the edge of the lake. It was a lovely spot, with the lake looking like a polished silver coin on such a sunny day as this. The evergreens that bordered the lakeshore whispered in the light breeze and a family of geese paddled along, keeping pace with Jenna and clearly wondering if any food might be forthcoming.
Jenna breathed deeply and did her best to push her worries out ofher mind and concentrate on the beautiful day. But it was hard. So hard. No matter what she did, her thoughts kept returning to Alex’s betrayal and her money worries. Her future, which only a week ago had seemed bright and full of promise, had turned into a murky wasteland which she could no longer see a path through.
Oh, hell. What was she going to do?
Bunny suddenly gave an excited bark and went pelting down to the water’s edge, sending mud flying. Jenna sighed. Again? Seriously?
“Bunny!” she shouted. “Are you ever going to learn? It doesn’t matter what you do, you arenotgoing to catch one of those geese!”
But the dog ignored her, dancing around the lake’s edge like some excited puppy, tail whipping from side to side, and back end wriggling madly. She barked again, a loud yip that was entirely too high-pitched for such an enormous beast.
Jenna let out an exasperated groan. “Fine! Have it your way. You’re going back on the leash.”
