“It was. We were all very worried about you. How do you feel?” Dylan asked.
“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. Brielle forced me to drink some dreadful tasting concoction. I couldnae move, I couldnae fight it, no matter how hard I tried.” His focus switched from Dylan to Maggie. “Thank ye, lass. I ken ye saved me life.”
“I couldnae have done it without Auntie Edna,” Maggie said.
“Where are ye, love? I cannae see ye, but I ken yer here.” An exhausted Angus searched the room with his eyes for his wife, but couldn’t locate her.
Unlike the way she had spoken with Maggie, Edna’s voice now came from the fireplace and both Angus and Dylan could hear her. “I’m here, Angus, back at the inn. I was so worried for ye. Thank heavens yer safe now. I dinnae know what I would’ve done without ye.”
“We have much to talk about, Edna, but it will have to wait, as I’m verra tired.” With that announcement, Angus fell into a deep, but thankfully natural sleep.
“Auntie, he’s right. There is much we must speak of,” Maggie said. “I have so many questions. I found Brielle’s talisman. I don’t know if she left it on purpose or if it was an accident. Do you ken what it is?”
“Aye, it is the key to her power. She didnae leave it and she will want it back. Be careful, she will do anything she must to have it returned to her possession,” Edna explained.
“Auntie, Brielle told us that the whole reason you sent me was to fight for the bridge. Is that the truth? I don’t understand why you couldn’t have done it. I’m confused about so many things.”
“Yer right, Maggie, there is much to talk about and we will, but now is not the time. Ye must find Brielle before she hurts someone else.” Edna was suffering a guilty conscience and it was weighing heavily on her mind. She hadn’t been totally truthful with Maggie or Angus when she sent them off to Breaghacraig. “I cannae hold my focus for much longer and my fire is dying on this end. I have faith that ye can do this, Maggie. I love ye, child.” Edna closed the connection to the sixteenth century and wept. She had almost lost her husband and her niece was still in grave danger.How did I let this happen?
***
Maggie moved away from the bed where Angus now slept comfortably. She was shaking from the effort she had put forthto heal him. Glancing in Dylan’s direction, she saw him smiling at her. It was a soft, warm smile that made her heart sing. He came to her and she relaxed into his arms.
“It’s okay, Maggie. It’s over for now.” Dylan rubbed her arms and back soothingly.
“Oh, Dylan, I was so afraid. I thought we were going to lose him.” Dylan’s strength flowed into her, giving her the comfort she needed. “I don’t know if I can go on fighting her. Maybe I’m the wrong witch to deal with this. She’s so strong.”
“She’s strong, but you’re stronger, Maggie. You can do this. One step at a time. Don’t think too far ahead, if you do you’ll overwhelm yourself.” Dylan continued stroking her and holding her close. “I’m here for you. I won’t interfere, but I’m here if you need me.”
“I do need you, Dylan,” Maggie’s eyes lifted to his and then lowered to his lips. She wanted so badly to kiss him, but felt this might be a very inappropriate time. Before she could make a decision, Dylan’s mouth found hers, his lips gently pressing and his tongue tempting and teasing. Maggie responded like a woman in great need of nourishment. She put everything she had into answering his kisses with her own. A moment ago, this had seemed the wrong time and place, but now it seemed it was exactly the right time. Dylan cradled her head in his hands, holding her in place as Maggie’s hands went to his chest, exploring the hard muscle beneath his liene. She heard a whimpering sound. Had it come from her? No. She was reasonably sure it hadn’t. She continued to enjoy the warm, wet kisses she had wanted for so long. She heard the whimpering sound again and this time Dylan’s head shot up. They both scanned the room, searching for the source of the noise and when they finally found it, Dylan and Maggie released one another simultaneously.
Chester stood in the doorway looking quite a mess, blood was dripping from a wound that wasn’t clearly visible, and onto the floor. They both ran across the room to him and dropping to their knees, did their best to find the wound. Dylan ran his hands over Chester, covering every inch of his fur. As he approached Chester’s hind leg, the dog yelped in pain.
“It’s okay, Chester. It’s okay.” Dylan calmly reassured the dog. “What happened to you?”
Maggie scrambled around Chester to the site of the injury and gasped when she finally saw the wound. It was deep and had a foul odor emanating from it. It had been hard to notice at first because of Chester’s black fur, which had camouflaged the injury, making it almost invisible. “It looks as if someone stabbed him,” she observed anxiously. “Don’t worry, I can fix this. It will be a piece of cake compared to healing Angus.” Maggie placed her hand over the wound and muttered a healing incantation as she did so. Chester visibly relaxed and leaned into her. “There, there, Chester. Yer going to be fine. Dinnae fret, my sweet.” Once again, Maggie focused her healing powers on the wound and as she watched, it closed up right before her eyes. Had she not seen it firsthand, she wouldnae have believed it were possible. She released a big breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Wow! Did ye see that?” she asked Dylan.
***
Dylan sat beside her on the floor, his eyes filled with admiration for what she had just achieved. He had seen a lot of amazing things today—things that tested evenhisusual acceptance of all things weird and unusual. “Maggie, you’re absolutely amazing! Thank you.” Dylan cradled Chester’s huge head between his hands. “Chester, who did this to you?” Chestercocked his head to one side, as if he understood exactly what Dylan was asking him. “If only he could talk.”
“He was missing from your room this morning when I woke. When was the last time you saw him?” Maggie asked
Dylan gave this question some thought. “Last night when I left him with you, but since we’ve been here, it’s been hard to keep track of him. He wanders off on his own all the time, something he couldn’t do back in San Francisco. He loves everyone here and follows anyone he thinks is headed off on a fun adventure.”
“I’d bet anything that Brielle had something to do with this,” Maggie announced firmly. Dylan watched her as she silently contemplated a much-happier Chester. “The wound itself had the touch of dark magick surrounding it. Chester, can ye try to tell me who did this to ye.” She sat perfectly still, closing her eyes and listening intently.
“Are you trying to talk to Chester?” Dylan asked with a touch of disbelief.
“Shhh… I cannae hear him if yer talking to me.” Maggie tipped her head to one side and Chester wriggled closer to her. He lifted his head and sniffed her hair, nuzzling against her ear. Maggie began to giggle. “Chester, yer tickling me. Uh-huh… Uh-huh… I see.” Maggie raised her head and turned to Dylan who was watching the exchange with bemusement. “ItwasBrielle, just as I suspected. Chester saw her earlier today when she first arrived in the courtyard and he ran down and tried to rescue Angus. She slashed at him with a dirk, which I’m sure was probably charmed, but he was able to get away with only the one wound. He hid until after she disappeared and then came to find you. And it’s a verra good thing that he did. The dirk had some kind of poison on it, which entered his body when he was stabbed. It created that horrible odor we could smell. Since I knew it was there, I was able to drain it from his bloodstream.It would have killed him if he hadn’t found us soon. Oh, and he says he’s verra sorry he’s been avoiding you lately.”
“Are you telling me that Chester cantalkto you?” Dylan knew he no doubt looked as bewildered as he felt.
“I wouldn’t saytalk,but I seem to be able to read his thoughts. That’s the best way I can describe it. I see pictures relating to what he’s thinking.” Maggie eyed Dylan anxiously, wondering if he would believe her.
Dylan leaned in and drew her close. Chester licked Maggie’s hand and then laid his head in Dylan’s lap contentedly.
“Chester, don’t get too comfortable,” Dylan warned the dog. “Maggie and I have things to do. You stay here with Angus, boy.” With a quiet yap, Chester repositioned himself so that he was curled up on the floor by the bed.
