Generous splashes of cool spring water helped to wash the grit and weariness from her eyes. Lilia soused her extra T-shirt into the brook, wrung it out, then draped the damp twisted cloth across the back of her neck. She pulled in a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes. Where was Graham now? How was he? What were those bastards doing to him?
Stop it. Panic helped nothing.She reached down and splashed more water on her face. Stretching tall, she rolled her shoulders, working the knots out of her muscles. Hours of riding coupled with mounting tension had wound her tighter than a steel coil.
Downstream a few feet, both horses sloshed in the shallows of the softly gurgling stream, drinking long and deep from the clear crystal flow. She’d hated to stop but she’d pushed the animals hard. If she didn’t give them some rest, she’d soon find herself walking.
From the position of the sun, it had to be barely past noon. Maybe. Lilia shaded her eyes, studying the azure sky streaked with wisps of white. She wished she’d listened closer the last time Granny had explained figuring time and direction using only the tools provided by nature.
Lilia felt pretty certain of where she was because she and Odin had explored the Highlands many times. She’d also ridden through them during brief visits back to the past to see Granny and her sisters. The Highlands she knew the best were the mountains and glens of twenty-first-century Scotland. But amazingly—not that much had changed. The biggest difference she noticed was the absence of asphalt roads.
Moving to a better position to see past the sparse hedging of trees growing along each side of the creek, she studied the area. Thankfully she was still very much alone. No sign of any rogue Buchanans hot on her trail nor had she come across the ones holding Graham and Angus prisoner. She’d specifically kept to the higher elevations to avoid catching up with the Buchanans. She intended to rescue Graham and Angus but it was futile to go against a dozen or so men by herself.
A wistful sigh escaped her.Please let him be okay.She swallowed hard and scrubbed her knuckles against the center of her chest. She ached to have this over and done. Graham’s rescue had to end well. It just had to.
Shaking free of her fears, Lilia made note of the growing harshness of the landscape to her left and the direction of the stream, then turned to her right and squinted up at the sun again. “Good. That was west and from the looks of those cliffs, the keep shouldn’t be much farther.”
Both horses lifted their heads and looked at her.
“Sorry, guys. Talking to myself.” For some strange reason, talking out loud made her feel better. She huffed out a bitter laugh. “Got to keep myself centered somehow.”
Pulling in another deep breath and blowing it out hard and fast, she firmly shut down, once and for all, the sickeningwhat ifsplaying through her mind. She refused to acknowledge anything other than a successful rescue. Period.
Moving back to the shelter of the trees, she took some comfort from the fact that the lay of the land was looking more and more familiar. She was positive she had ridden through here before. This was MacKenna land and she should reach the keep well before nightfall.
A subtle movement in the branches of a nearby tree caught her attention. Lilia moved closer, shading her eyes against the bright sunlight flickering through the shifting foliage.
An owl. A white owl at that, perched high up in the branches and peering down at her with great dark eyes. Around one ankle, barely visible beneath the tufts of pearly white feathers and almost brushing the owl’s powerful talons, was a ribbon. A purple ribbon.
Lilia smiled. Purple was her niece Chloe’s favorite color. The owl was her guardian, Oren. She must be closer to the keep than she thought.
“It’s good to see you, Oren.”
The owl spread his wings, silently launched out of the tree, and floated down to a closer branch just above Lilia’s shoulder. He primly settled himself more comfortably, turned his head to gaze southwestward for a long moment, then swiveled his attention back to Lilia and slowly blinked.
“I really wish you could talk,” she said.
The owl looked southwestward again, then turned and stared back at Lilia.
“What are you looking at?” Lilia shifted, aligning herself with the owl’s line of sight and looking in the direction he seemed to find so interesting. The tightness knotting her shoulders eased exponentially.
Two riders, one tall in the saddle with long dark hair in a flowing ponytail and the other rider so tiny as to almost be hidden behind the great horse’s head and neck. And what from this distance looked like a half-grown black bear lumbering along in a gamboling run beside the pair of horses. Trulie, Chloe, and Karma.
Lilia vaulted across the shallow stream, waving both arms as she cleared the trees. “Trulie! Chloe! Over here!”
Karma sounded off with a deep baying bark that echoed across the land. He kept up the happy racket as he stretched into the fastest lope his huge body could muster. He plowed into her at full speed, knocking her down with happy yips and well-placed slobbery kisses.
“Oh, Karma, please . . . stop,” Lilia giggled, twisting and turning to keep from getting her face thoroughly washed. “I’ve missed you too.”
“Auntie Lil! Auntie Lil!” Chloe’s ecstatic squeal madeAuntie Lilsound like one long Gaelic word that meant pure delight. “Get me down, Mama, ’fore Karma gets all the kisses.”
Trulie dismounted, hurried around the horses, and held up her arms. “Jump, kiddo.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Chloe jumped, then wiggled free of her mother’s protective hold and hit the ground running. She flew across the short distance, dodged Karma’s wagging tail, then nudged the big dog out of the way with an impatient bump of her tiny hip. “My turn, Karma. Move.”
The huge beast immediately complied, sidestepping out of her way. He plopped down on his haunches, his long red tongue hanging out one side in an open-mouthed doggy smile.
“I’ve missed you, munchkin!” Lilia grabbed up Chloe, closing her eyes as she hugged the child tight.
Chloe squirmed free, smiling up into Lilia’s face. “I told Mama ye were here but she didna believe me.” Lightly patting a pudgy hand against Lilia’s cheek, Chloe barely nodded, her knowing expression chillingly identical to the look Granny always assumed when one of her plots had come to fruition. “Dinna fash o’er much, Auntie Lil. ’Tis all gonna be just fine. I promise.”
