"I know you have the last key. Give it to me and I’ll let him go."
"What key? What are you talking about?" She had a horrible sinking feeling she already knew the answer.
"The silver key, the one that brought you to this time. Without it I cannot lose the last of my chains. Look at this thing." He lifted the cowl to reveal a small chain around his ankle. "Such a little thing and yet its choking my powers. Give me the key!"
"I don’t have it."
The barefoot man laughed. "I know you don’t. I’m only teasing you. I know who does have it though. Someone you probably want to see."
"Lennox?"
"Someone who you haven’t seen for quite a few years? Goes by the name of Anthea?"
"Mom?"
"Come with me and I’ll reunite you with your mother. How’s that for an offer?"
"I don’t believe you."
"And I thought we were starting to trust each other. How about this? You come with me and I let Lennox live. You refuse and I let him die. He has a most dangerous poison in his system but in this bag is the one thing that can cure him. One drop and he'll awaken as if nothing happened. Without it, sadly he won't last another hour. Go on then, off you wander."
Rose swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions under control, not wanting to show him he'd riled her. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing much. I just want you to travel to my tower with me. Unlock a door. That’s all. Do that, Lennox lives, and you get to see your beloved mother again."
She narrowed her eyes. "I will come with you only if you prove he is still alive."
"This way." The barefoot man was on his feet a second later, walking out of the clearing without looking back.
She followed him. There on the ground, beside a hawthorn bush, lay Lennox, his eyes closed. "Is he dead?" she asked, her voice quietening.
"Not yet," the barefoot man replied, opening his bag to reveal a thin glass bottle that contained a dark green viscous liquid the consistency of honey. "See for yourself."
She knelt by his side, hand on his chest, feeling it slowly rise and fall. "He lives," she said, leaning closer to his face. "I love you," she whispered, suddenly certain she would never see him again.
She went to kiss him, but the barefoot man coughed politely. "I wouldn't. Wormwood is a lingering poison." She moved her mouth, planting a soft embrace on his cheek instead. She stood up, ignoring the tears that formed in her eyes.
The barefoot man pulled the stopper from the bottle, lowering it to Lennox's mouth, allowing a single drop to fall onto his lips. "He will be awake soon enough. Sadly it will not be in time for you two to reunite. We must be away. There is much to do and time is pressing."
He grabbed her hand, his grip painful and cold as ice. He pulled her away from the trees that surrounded Lennox. "This way," he said, walking faster.
Rose looked back over her shoulder. The Highlander had already been swallowed up by the trees. She felt an overwhelming sense of loss, knowing she would likely never see him again.
"Come on," he said. "We have far to go."
"Where are you taking me?" Rose asked.
The barefoot man ignored her. "Just think," he said. "Soon the world will be mine and it will all be thanks to you, Rose. You are the key to my freedom. "
18
Lennox woke up in darkness. He tried to move, but nothing worked. For a brief moment, he was confused, unable to work out what had happened.
Then it came back to him. He had been in the clearing with the monk. It was no monk of course. It was the barefoot man. The scourge of the Highlands, the devil himself if the rumors were to be believed.
Lennox wasn’t so sure about that part. What he was sure about was that Rose had been taken from him. He needed to get her back.
He tried to move but it seemed an impossible task. With a monumental effort he managed to make his hand twitch. Another minute and his arm was moving, and soon after that his left leg. He managed to sit up with some effort, sweat coating his brow, a wave of nausea washing over him.
