The platinum blonde, a mature woman whose laugh lines hinted at quite a few decades of mirth, short-stepped forward in a pair of black, rhinestone-studded tennis shoes. The shoes sported three-inch platforms that flashed rainbows of light on every surface in the shop. Shiny black spandex leggings encased her spindly legs up to the point where her body blossomed into generous curves. A silky, crimson tunic, shot through with silver threads, hugged teasingly low across her ample bosom. The complete picture created by the lady’s flamboyant attire was that of a great sparkling apple set on two shiny black stems.
The smiling woman held out a finely manicured hand with nails as fiery red and glittering as her blouse. “Eliza MacTavish, dearie. ’Tis a grand pleasure to finally meet ye.”
Kenna blinked, then slammed her mouth shut. “Please forgive me. I . . . uh . . . wasn’t expecting—” She cut off her words. Manners dictated she should not admit out loud that Mrs. MacTavish’s appearance surprised her.
Eliza chortled, clapping her hands until the dozens of silver bracelets on both her arms rattled like wind chimes during a storm. “Aye, lass. Dinna fash yerself.” The woman winked as she carefully patted her perfect curls that had been firmly shellacked in place. “I dinna usually wear this much red, but I wanted to get cranked up good and proper to meet the lovely granddaughters of my verra best friend in all the world.”
“Now those are some awesome shoes,” Lilia said as she emerged from the back room with a basket of multicolored bottles balanced on her hip. Her grin turned into a full-blown smile as her gaze took in the complete Eliza package. “You must be Granny’s friend.”
Eliza toddled forward and patted Lilia’s hands between her own. “And ye have the look of Nia about the eyes. Which lovely granddaughter are ye?”
“I’m Lilia.”
“She’s the evil twin,” Kenna interjected as she adjusted the window blinds at the front of the shop. The sunlight flashing on Eliza’s sparkling shoes was dangerously close to pushing her dull, throbbing headache into a full, roaring migraine. Or maybe it was the building stress of knowing her time with her sisters was running out. Either way, she needed a little less light on the situation.
“Pish now.” Eliza wagged a bejeweled finger in Kenna’s direction as she clucked her tongue with mock disapproval. “Spiritedis the word we use. And in my book, there is not a damn thing wrong with being a wee bit spirited. ’Tis the feisty ones who change the world for the better.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eliza. I’m Kenna.” The one doomed to travel back to the thirteenth century in a couple of days.Kenna forced a smile. No sense making everyone miserable about what couldn’t be changed.
Eliza gently patted Lilia’s hand one last time, then walked over to Kenna. Her brightly painted smile softened a bit as she took Kenna’s hand between hers and squeezed. “’Twill be all right, lass. I know this is not an easy task for any of ye. But I swear on all four of my husbands’ graves that I will take good care of yer sisters until it’s time for them to join ye. Yer grandmother is a fine woman and an even better seer. She knows what’s best for the lot of ye. Try to trust in her ways, aye?”
Eliza’s touch transmitted a deep sense of caring, and the longer Kenna looked into her dancing blue eyes, the more relaxed she became. Long minutes passed until the antique mantel clock behind the counter chimed out the time and broke the trance. Kenna blinked hard, then opened her eyes wider. She felt as refreshed as if she had taken a power nap while standing in the middle of the store. Eliza smiled, released her hand with another soft pat, and returned to perusing the shelves.
“Are you related to us or something?” Kenna rubbed her eyes and rolled her shoulders. What a strange feeling. And all signs of her nagging headache were gone. Had Eliza somehow caused them to disappear? And did she say four husbands? Fourdeceasedhusbands? Kenna peered more closely at the elderly woman picking and prodding a long shiny fingernail through the herbs and oils neatly displayed on the mirrored shelves. “How exactly do you know Granny?”
Eliza plucked up a bottle of essential oils and carefully uncorked it. Her eyes closed and her face lit with pleasure as she wafted the bottle beneath her nose and took in another slow, deep breath. “Lovely. Just Lovely. I so adore the cleansing scent of peppermint.” She chuckled as she stoppered the bottle and placed it back on the shelf. “Quite good for nausea. Settles the humors when something wicked has given them an ugly stir.”
“I don’t think she heard you,” Lilia whispered.
Eliza immediately turned, her eyes so wide her false eyelashes nearly touched her forehead. “Oh, dear. Forgive me, lass. I oft get overly caught up in things and forget those around me. Now, what did ye ask me, dearie?”
Sisterly protectiveness raked a stirring claw across Kenna’s already raw nerves. How could this woman possibly be the adult supervision needed for her sisters? Mairi and Lilia were by no means wild, but from what Kenna had seen so far, Eliza MacTavish needed a keeper more than the two eighteen-year-olds did. “I asked how you knew Granny. The girls and I don’t recall her mentioning you before.”
Eliza’s smile faded a bit. The glitter-dipped tips of her long nails flashed as she primly folded her hands in front of her thick waist. “Yer grandmother and I were girls together. The verra best of friends. True sisters, in fact.” Eliza’s voice grew quieter as she slowly strolled across the shop. “Yer grandmother saved my life, she did. I owe her everything.”
“You’re from the past?” Kenna studied Eliza more closely. Surely if she was from another family of time runners Granny would have told them. Other families of gifted women able to skate back and forth across time were rare, but they did exist. She had encountered a few during her training jumps across the centuries. And why had Granny never told them about Eliza before now?
All mirth left Eliza as she sauntered about the room. “Aye. I am from the past—from the time when yer grandmother and I were nothing more than a pair of flat-chested lasses who looked more like laddies. But before ye ask, I am no time runner.” The woman inhaled a deep breath, stopped her wandering, and locked eyes with Kenna. “Yer grandmother cast me forward to this century when her sister, Tia, convinced our village to set fire to my croft while my family and I were still in it. Tia told the elders if they burned us whilst we slept in our beds it would save them from wasting all the precious wood a bonfire and stake would require.”
A sickening sense of shame settled in the pit of Kenna’s stomach. Granny had regaled them with horrifying stories of witch hunts. She had also told them of her wicked twin sister, Tia, and how the woman had exploited her gifts to manipulate others. Granny used those stories to remind them of the need to keep their abilities hidden and to respect their gifts. Even now, their very survival still depended on it.
“She convinced everyone you were a witch?” Why would Tia do such a thing? Especially when the Sinclair females weren’t exactly average. Kenna rubbed a hand up and down the gooseflesh tingling across her forearms.
Eliza gave a nonchalant shrug. “Aye. To keep the clan from accusing her of the wickedness she had wrought, she shifted the blame to me for the evil doings.” Eliza’s carefully powdered chin quivered as her voice grew softer. “The worst of it, though, was that I lost touch with my dear friend Nia. After yer grandmother cast me forward to this time, I had to be hidden and all ties to anything I had ever known had to be erased to ensure that the wicked Tia would never find me to take her revenge for our making her look the fool.” Eliza shuddered with a heavy sigh. “Wicked, prideful creature, that Tia, damned wicked and prideful.”
Kenna studied Eliza more closely, bewildered by the eccentric woman and the aura of peacefulness and joy emanating from her like the gentle warming of sunshine. “But you don’t seem angry. How can you be so free of resentment?” Kenna suddenly felt very guilty about her misgivings regarding Eliza MacTavish and her ability to properly chaperone Mairi and Lilia.
Eliza’s brightly painted smile returned, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Ye must never allow hatred or anger toward another to remain verra long in yer heart. When ye let such feelings grow and fester, ye give yer power over to the verra one ye hate.” Eliza stepped closer and pointed a glittering nail at the center of Kenna’s chest. “Never let another take yer power, dearie. Not ever.”
“But she lied about you to save herself.” Kenna forced herself not to squirm beneath Eliza’s scrutiny. How could Eliza not resent them—the closest living relatives of the very woman who had tried to have her killed?
“Oh, I never said she lied.” Eliza’s focus shifted to the large sparkling ring on the finger she currently held pointed at Kenna. She immediately balanced it on the shelf of her ample bosom, grabbed up a fold of her shirt, and feverishly set to rubbing the top of the oversized stone. She huffed a breath across the ring, then polished it one last time. As she held up her hand and wiggled the finger to catch the light, she glanced back at Kenna and winked. “Ye see, lass. Tia had the right of it. I am a witch.”
CHAPTER4
“Do ye remember what yer grandmother said about keeping yer eyes closed?” Eliza slid the strap of the nylon duffel bag across Kenna’s body. “Two large bags and a backpack? Are ye certain it’s wise to jump the web with so much baggage? Will it not risk throwing ye off course?”
Kenna hefted the bulging backpack higher on her shoulders. “Yes, I remember what Granny said about Trulie being blinded for a while when she jumped through the web with her eyes open. But don’t worry—I always have to close my eyes to keep from puking in the portal. And no—three bags are not too much. I have a lot of essentials. I can’t start a new life without my essentials.” Kenna swallowed hard against the battalion of butterflies already suiting up in her stomach.
