“You’re stronger than you think, Eve.”
She scoffed. “I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I watched you run up those stairs in the museum that night. I watched you kick Bruce in the face.”
A small smile flickered over her face. “I did do that.”
“You did. We’ve never talked about that night,” Chloe said. “I was terrified something horrid had happened to you. I had no idea where you were. When the police came afterward, they brought me your shoes and handbag. They swore to me you were nowhere to be found.”
Her face contorted in pain. “I’m sorry, Chlo. I never intended to use the keystone to go back in time.”
She grinned. “I know that now. I retraced your steps that day we spent on the Royal Mile with Bruce. That’s how I ended up at the antique store.”
“Mystic Treasures,” she said with a nod. “And you saw Moira there.”
“I did. And she gave me the piece of keystone I have now.” She patted her pocket to reassure herself it was still there. The weight of it was slight but the object was still there.
They lapsed into silence as Evie continued to rest against the wall.
“What do you suppose Brianna is doing right now?” Evie asked.
Chloe snorted. “Probably lounging on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean, sipping a drink with a little umbrella.”
“Probably. But I do wonder how she’s going to end up in Edinburgh at Mystic Treasures when she hasn’t spoken to us in years.”
It was something that had crossed Chloe’s mind as well. She and Brianna didn’t get along so well. The grudge Chloe held wasn’t small—her sister’s behavior after their parents had died etched a bitterness too deep to ignore. Brianna had been interested in doing what she had to do to make sure she and Evie graduated high school. Once they’d turned eighteen, she washed her hands of them. She’d headed back to her sunny beaches and her mojitos as if they’d never existed.
It cut Chloe to the bone.
Evie, though, was more forgiving. She liked to give Brianna the benefit of the doubt. Chance after chance. Brianna, though, did nothing but disappoint them both time and time again.
“You know she’s not interested in what we’re doing,” Chloe said. “I can’t see her stepping foot in Edinburgh. Not after spending most of her adult life as a beach bum.”
“But we know there are three pieces to the keystone. Three pieces that represent Present, Past, and Future. Brianna is the future. Shehasto come, doesn’t she?”
Hope lit her sister’s face, spilling into her voice. Chloe had her doubts about their older sister appearing in the past, but the last thing she wanted was to crush that spark.
“Maybe Moira will find a way to bring her to us,” she suggested. Then she changed the subject. “Are you ready to keep going?”
Evie pushed off the wall and nodded. “No, but I don’t think we have much of a choice.”
She laced her arm with Chloe’s. Together, they started through the inky shadows once more. They walked and walked and walked. Eventually, the narrow corridor widened, giving her hope. At last, they saw what appeared to be a door carved into the wall. Halting, Chloe stared at it for a long moment, then glanced at her sister.
“A way out?” she whispered.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Chloe replied.
She handed the torch off to Evie. Then she pressed both hands against the door. There was no knob. It looked as though it were merely an indention within the wall. Taking a deep breath, she gave it a weak push. It didn’t budge. She tried again, pulling instead of pushing, and it cracked open.
A whoosh of cool air seeped through the crack. She peered through it but saw nothing. Or, rather, it appeared to be a tapestry. The hidden door was behind a wall hanging. Men’s voices floated to her. At first, she was unable to make out what they were saying.
“I say we kill him,” said one man, his voice rough and gravelly.
“Och, we cannae do that, laddie,” replied another man. “If we do that, the whole MacLeod army will be upon us.”
Chloe sucked in a sharp breath.MacLeod. Who was on the other side of that tapestry? Was it Malcolm? Had he been captured?
“What is it?” Evie whispered.
