Emma hugged the towel to her chest, ignoring the blast of chilly air rippling across her damp skin as Laynie’s accusing glare pinned her against the wall. Well. There it was. Laid out in the open between them. How could she explain it to Laynie? “Torin is a bit—different.”
“Yeah. I pretty much figured that part out.” Laynie folded her arms and leaned back against the bathroom door. “Now answer the questions. Where does he want you to go? Some other country? Is it permanent? What? And explain the time thing. That’s the part that really didn’t make any sense.”
“So, were you faking the snores so we would keep talking or what?” Emma wrapped the towel around her body, snugged the end securely under one arm and hugged the heavy terry fabric inplace. Laynie hadn’t missed a bit of last night’s conversation. So much for gently easing her into the truth.
“You are stalling, Sis. Spill it.”
Okay. Spill it she would. “Torin is from over a thousand years in the past. He is a magical guardian over the stones of Callanish, which are actually portals to other dimensions. He needs my help battling some kind of world-destroying beast and re-sealing one of the gateways. Then he wants me to travel with him to wherever it is some of his clan members have gone. Some other reality that is not of this world.” Emma glanced at Laynie’s silent scowl. This wasn’t good. Laynie only became silent when her mind shifted into over-drive.
“Okay. Either you’ve developed a really warped sense of humor while here on this island or you’ve gone off the deep end because of your water-phobia. Which is it?”
“Neither. Everything I just told you is fact. I swear.”
Laynie’s eyes narrowed and her mouth flattened into a thoughtful line. “So, you’re telling me he’s some sort of time traveler? And you’re dead serious?”
“Yes. I am dead serious and no, he is not a time traveler. Well. Not in the sense you’re thinking.” Emma patted the wadded towel against her throat. Laynie was taking this a lot better than she had anticipated. “Apparently, he was placed in stasis when he angered the old woman from the moors.”
“Are you sure you haven’t gone delusional on me? Have you started drinking or doing drugs to cope with living so close to the water?” Laynie shifted positions against the bathroom door, her gaze flitting across the cluttered bottles scattered across the countertop.
“You know me better than that.” Emma closed the medicine cabinet and squirted a glob of toothpaste on the end of her toothbrush.
“Then why did hedropinto your life? How in the world did you happen to meet him?” Laynie stood behind her, staring over her shoulder into the bathroom mirror, forcing Emma to look her in the eye.
“Because, he says I’m a stone guardian too and he needs the help of my magic.” Emma scrubbed her teeth, glancing at Laynie’s wide-eyed expression. Baby sister was clearly perplexed.
“Your what? Did you say magic?” Laynie backed up a step and held out her hand. “Hand over the drugs. I can get you help.”
Emma rinsed her mouth and spit into the sink. “I told you. I’m not doing drugs and yes, I said my magic.”
“If this is your idea of a joke, it’s becoming really not funny. I love you dearly but you know you’ve never had much of a sense of humor. You always screw up the punch line in a joke.” Laynie picked up a bottle of amber liquid off the counter, wrinkling her nose as she unscrewed the lid and sniffed at the contents. “Are you trying to reel me in with some kind of Scottish prank the two of you cooked up to explain your torrid affair? It’s not necessary, Sis. I’m glad you’re finally getting some action. You’re way overdue, you know?”
Fingering the amulet dangling around her neck, Emma concentrated on the bottle in Laynie’s hand. It disappeared out of her sister’s grasp and re-appeared where it had originally sat on the counter. “No. This is not a joke or prank. But trust me, I had a little problem believing it all myself at first.”
Laynie’s mouth fell open. Her mouth formed a perfectly shapedoas she pointed at the bottle of perfume on the counter. “How…”
“The magic.” Emma released a heavy sigh. Things would never be the same between them. The safe security of their everyday relationship evaporated into thin air just as the bottle of perfume had disappeared out of her sister’s hand. Regretweighed heavy, crushing in from all sides. Emma wished she had never come to the Isle of Lewis.
Chapter
Fifty
“What have you done to my sister? And what’s up with this so-calledmagic?” Laynie blocked his path off the porch with her feet spread and her finger pointed directly at his chest.
He’d wondered where Laynie had gone this morning. He’d searched for her while Emma was in the shower. Torin glanced back inside the croft. Good. Emma was still perched at the kitchen counter with her head drooping over a steaming mug of coffee. “As soon as your sister leaves for the clinic, I’ll explain everything to ye.”
“She’s not going to the clinic. She said she’s spending the day with me. Start talking. Now.”
Torin scrubbed the scarred side of his face, flinching as a searing tingle surged across his jaw. Not a good sign. His scars warned him of impending disaster. With a sardonic snort, he rubbed his face again. Draecna magic and stone guardian magic made for an unstable mix. But he supposed he owed the beast a heartfelt thanks. When the lethal foreclaw had ripped open his chest, the Draecna venom had infected him with abuilt-in warning system that would follow him through every incarnation.
Casting one last glance inside the croft, Torin fanned his courage with a determined breath. Now was the time, while Emma’s gaze was focused on the liquid in her cup. He flexed his senses, then turned back to the glowering female tapping an impatient foot. “Now we can speak as long as ye like. Where would ye like me to start?”
“What do you meannowwe can speak for as long as we like?” Laynie took a step closer, her eyes widening as the wind chime hooked to the overhanging roof of the porch hung suspended in mid flutter as though frozen while dancing in the breeze. “What have you done?”
“Slowed time for a bit.” Torin rolled his shoulders, focusing his energies. Every muscle flexed, tensing with concentration. The lass had no idea the strain it took to hold the ancient wheel in its eternal spin. “Now we can talk. What do ye wish to know?”
Laynie reached out and barely touched one of the horizontally extended rods of the wind chime, frowning when it didn’t move. She flicked the copper tubing harder, flinching as her finger thunked against the immovable chime. Rubbing the tip of her finger with her thumb, she whirled to face Torin. “What are you? And what are you trying to do to my sister?”
He closed his eyes with a groan. How could he make her understand? “I’m not trying todoanything to your sister. Unless ye count finally showing her a way to happiness.”
