“’Tis a tall order for a hostage,” Taran countered. “Let’s hope he doesnae spend the week in a dark hole in the underbelly o’ this rock.”
Noah, still reeling from Finn’s barb about Skye favoring him, barely heard Taran. If Finn had read Skye’s feelings so easily, had he been able to read his thoughts as well? Had Taran? Had either of them sensed his immediate fascination with her? He’d hardly admitted it, even to himself. And then promptly dismissed it, of course. Or at least tried.
Their worlds couldn’t be further apart, that is, until he found the portal and made that distance literal.
He couldn’t define the trickle of disappointment at the finality of that, but he also couldn’t allow himself to examine it or let it matter. He had one purpose here, and one alone.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” he finally stated. “You two just focus on getting the lot of you back here safely.”
“Aye,” Taran nodded. “And we’ve a very narrow piece o’ time tae do it. We’ve less than a fortnight before the moonless night.” He looked between them with a tortured gaze. “If we fail, I dinnae ken the lass will make it tae the next one.”
The words rang in Noah’s ears. Their window of time was narrowing even as they spoke.
“One last thing,” Taran stated, his eyes hard. “If ten days pass and we havenae returned, leave this place by any means ye can. Look tae yerself. No’ for us. I’ll have yer word on that, son.”
Noah shook his head. “You ask for something I cannot give.” Turning his back on them was a promise Noah couldn’t make. Not now. Not ever.
“Ready, then?” Finn asked, shouldering his pack. “Let’s see about getting our weapons back and setting out for home. We’ve still a few hours of daylight. Let’s not waste them.”
Taran pulled his gaze from Noah to nod at Finn. “Aye. Every moment we waste is one of Emily’s.”
They found Skye waiting just outside their door, as promised.
“You’ve made your decision?” Her gaze shifted between them as she eyed their packs, clearly noting Noah carried his loosely under his arm while Taran and Finn had theirs firmly secured on their backs. The barest hint of a smile curved her lips.
“Aye, lass,” Taran replied. “But we’ll need our weapons for the trip home.”
Skye nodded. “Already arranged. Keir awaits you at the gates. I’ll show you out.”
Traveling the same maze of corridors bedecked with unusual items displayed like trophies, Noah’s curiosity was piqued even more than when entering. Who had brought these things here? For what purpose? Perhaps Paige, who’d lived in the newest century known to any of them might shed some light on the intended purpose of some of the items.
Suddenly, he realized how much he didn’t know about the world, or worlds, beyond the portals. He knew a limited amount about his own colonial time, heard Taran’s stories of the Jacobites’ struggles in the eighteenth century, and Paige’s experience in the twenty-first. But they were like bedtime stories. These items were tangible proof of other times. Other places.
How many times? How many places? And through how many portals?
Noah waitedwith Skye in the opening between the enormous steel doors, apprehension gnawing at his insides as Keir sorted their weapons, handing Taran and Finn theirs while keeping Noah’s. There was no mistaking the gloat on his face when their eyes met.
Trying to mask the fear that he may never see his adopted father again, Noah said goodbye with a tight, determined smile. “I’ll see you soon.Allof you,” he added.
“Dinnae forget my request,” Taran reminded him. “Ten days.”
Noah shook his head. “I’ll see you before then.” He held his father’s gaze for several seconds, attempting and surely failing to convey his love and gratitude for the last five years. “Safe travels.”
With a somber nod, Taran turned toward the trail that descended to the valley floor, with Finn close behind.
“Do you know of The Others?” Noah asked Skye, watching Taran and Finn disappear around a large boulder. “Have they ever come this far south?”
She glanced at Keir, giving him the faintest shake of her head as she turned and ushered Noah back inside. “Come. I’ll show you to your chamber.”
Ignoring Keir’s smug expression as he closed the mighty doors with a solid thud, Noah followed her down a new set of corridors, narrow, dim, and unadorned with any of the oddities he’d seen earlier.
“Am I to be a prisoner, then?”
CHAPTER SIX
Silently, Skye led him past a series of doors and alcoves.
“Thank you for convincing your father to let them bring Emily here,” Noah finally said, breaking the silence.
