When she found a moment alone with Myra, Helen asked what she could do. “What
’s wrong?”
“
’Tis her gift. Her empathy for others reaches beyond those she touches. The weight and worries of the impending battle is on everyone’s minds.”
“And Amber feels everyone
’s anxiety?”
“Grief, sorrow, hate—she feels it all.
’Tis worse in the past ten years or so. She’s careful not to touch others, but she doesn’t need her hands to channel her gift.”
“Can
’t she turn it off?”
Myra shifted a long strand of her coal-black hair over her shoulder. “Nay.”
“What about creating a buffer? Something to quiet the empathy she feels for others?”
“Like placing your head under a pillow to dull the noise?”
“Yeah. You guys have told me some fanciful stories about how you’ve read other peoples’ minds or kept the noise inside a room so no one would learn the truth about you. There has to be something we can do.”
Lora returned to the room with Tara and Lizzy. Most of the kids were already asleep in the two rooms set aside for them, boys in one, girls in the other. The women would take turns watching over the children since the men were often unavailable. Only when the kids were down for the night did the news of the day spill for Helen to hear.
“Selma, Briac, come here children,” Lora told the oldest.
Once the teenage kids were at her side, she graced them with a smile. “I need you to watch over the others so I might have a word in private with your aunts.”
Briac, who clearly felt he was too old to be cast aside as a child puffed his chest out. Tara stopped her son before he said a word. “Your father asks that you keep your sword at your side in your task, son.”
Briac
’s mouth quickly shut and he stood taller. He reached a hand out to his sword perched against the wall by the fireplace. The broadsword flew into his palm safely.
Helen swallowed. She
’s seen Myra open a door with her mind when her hands were full, but she’d never witnessed one of the kids do something so powerful. Ya kinda had to have a little respect for a teen with a sword, an attitude, and the ability to knock you on your ass with a thought.
“They
’ll be safe with me.” He sauntered out the door and to the boys’ room.
“What about me?” Selma asked Lizzy.
Lizzy reached for her daughter and smiled. “Myra and I’ll be in there soon. We don’t expect trouble tonight.”
The girl nodded and kissed her mother before following Briac from the room.
Alone, Helen asked. “So, what was that all about?”
“Briac needs to know he
’s helping or he’ll seek trouble. Cian was exactly that way as a teen. Best he stays with the others. His training isn’t complete to stand on the field with the men.”
“He
’s just a kid.”
“At sixteen, men are often placed in battle here.”
“That’s too young.”
“Mayhap,” Lora said.
“What news do you bring?”
The five of them moved closer to the fire and made themselves comfortable. “We
’ve learned one of the clan names who fight against us.”
Helen wouldn
’t know any clan names, so the answer wasn’t one she had any anxiety in hearing, but the other women in the room jumped at the news. “Who?”
“McNeil.”
Tara and Lizzy shrugged their shoulders. Myra pitched her brows together in thought. “Do I know that name?”
“I hardly know it,” Lora said. “Been many years since their name was whispered here. Long before our search for Grainna.”
That name Helen knew. All of the MacCoinnichs spoke of the evil Druid witch who sought to destroy every last MacCoinnich. She lost, thankfully, but not without cost.
“Why do they attack?”
“We do not know. To fortify this region with their own men? ’Tis hard to say.”
“So what, whoever has the biggest knife wins the house?” Helen tried to grasp why men fought in this time.
“In years past this happened more often. Seems with the shift in power in both Scotland and England this land and others that surround us have become worth the risk to take over.”
Helen wished more than ever that she
’d paid attention to her European history. Staying in school was hardly possible where she grew up. She dropped out and later earned her GED as an adult. Even took a few semesters at a community college. European art she knew something about. If a piece was forged during a particularly turbulent time the piece would be more valuable, but outside of those dates, she was clueless of the political climate.
Lizzy shook her head. “I don
’t get it. There isn’t any talk about a war in this region on the books.”
“The books, what books?”
“When we sent Myra forward in time I asked her to bring a few things back with her. History books were on the list.” Tara leaned forward as she spoke. “Not that we planned on changing history, but we thought it would help to keep the stones safe if we kept them out of war zones.”
“Not to mention a little self preservation,” Lizzy added.
“We’d not abandon MacCoinnich Keep even if we came under attack,” said Lora.
“But we wouldn
’t risk a total wipeout of the family by lying in wait for a bomb, either.” Lizzy didn’t believe in going down with a sinking ship. There was comfort in knowing someone in the house was willing to retreat if the fight was useless. Helen had survived a rather lousy childhood and didn’t desire a bloody death in the sixteenth century.
“We
’ve been fighting off small bands of men for nearly a year. There are several known mercenaries we’ve brought down, which proves whoever is behind the attack doesn’t have a strong loyal following.”
“Then how are they organizing such a grand scale attack? Seems to me all those beefy guys downstairs could easily overpower small search parties.” Helen tried to imagine a small rebel attack on an army. There had to be something she was missing. “How do the McNeil
’s inspire this fight?”
“That is the question. One I hope Lizzy might be able to find an answer to in her books.”
Helen turned to Lizzy. “I take it you’re the resident historian?”
“Because I loved school so much.” She rolled her eyes.
Helen laughed.
“I
’ll look up the name, see what I can find. It would help to know exactly where the family is now.”
“I
’ll show you on your maps when we retire.”
“Simon should be back by tomorrow with more news.”
Helen had heard he was off again, but did her best to curb her worry for his safety. “Tomorrow? I thought he was back every night.”
“He needed to go further to see how far away the enemy is staged. We
’ve already spread our men beyond the eastern flank of the enemy.” Lora explained Ian’s strategy.
“He
’ll be back.” Lizzy covered Helen’s hand with hers.
“It
’s the waiting that sucks,” said Helen.
“I
’d much rather be out there kicking ass.”
“But exposing our gifts would bring more than the McNeil
’s. All of Scotland and most of England would join the fight to rid the region of witches.”
Lora glanced around the room. “Where
’s Amber?”
“Sequestered in her room,” Myra told her mother.
“I should have guessed.”
“She
’s not well. If I didn’t know what plagued her, I’d worry about an illness.” Tara walked over to the fire and placed another piece of wood on top of the flames.
“Helen and I were discussing Amber
’s plight. Helen thought maybe there was some type of blanket we could place over her to dull the onslaught of empathy.”
“A magical one?” Lizzy asked.
“I guess,” Helen said. “Not that I have a clue how to achieve it, but it seems like you guys might.” Helen pointed to a ratty cord draped over the handle on the door. Myra explained that the cord kept their conversations and noise within the room silent to anyone on the outside of the door. It was something Myra and Lizzy had come up with years ago to avoid the servants discovering the MacCoinnich secrets. The cord was kept handy, but only used when private matters needed discussing. “The cord you did your MoJo on works. Why not do the same to something else for Amber?”
The women quietly pondered Helen
’s words.
“I like the way you think,” Lizzy said.
“That might work.”
“We have to try. There
’s no telling how long this battle will continue. I hate to see Amber suffering.” Myra glanced at Helen with hope in her eyes.
“Constructing a circle with the Keep full of knights is risky,” Lora said.
“More risky than losing Amber?”
Lora shook her head. “Nay.”
“Then talk to Ian while we plan our next move. It will do us good to be doing something to help someone. Besides, if Amber were needed now to use her gift to detect a spy among us, she wouldn’t be able to.” Leave it to Lizzy to cut everything down to the basics. No wonder Simon had grown up so well adjusted even in the mist of time travel and magic.
“I
’ll be back.” Lora stood to leave.
“So, what
’s all this about a circle?” Helen glanced between the three women and waited their answer.
Chapter Fifteen
Helen sat on the floor in a circle with Myra, Liz, and Tara. Lit candles surrounded them and in the center of all of it was a plain brown cloak. The goal was simple. Light the candles, join hands and therefore forces, and draw upon their individual power before forcing it into the cloak. Liz was apparently the Druid of the hour. She had the knack to come up with rhymes or spells, or whatever the heck they called them, that worked.
Unable to leave her own chamber without enduring physical pain, Amber remained in her room. Joining hands, even with family, was too much for her senses to bear. She filled their thoughts even though she wasn’t with them.
“We need to hurry,” Tara said, glancing toward the door guarded by Cian. Outside Duncan watched and planned to divert any people who might be wandering around the Keep.
Lizzy presented her hand to Helen, which she took. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just listen to my words and believe them. Concentrate on the cloak.”
“And don’t let go,” Myra added with a slight edge in her voice.
“Even when we start to levitate.”
Levitate?
Helen felt her eyes grow wide. Liz squeezed her hand.
“Sorry, forgot to tell you about that. Whenever we do this, our gifts merge to some extent. Since I
’m the flyer in the family, you guys come along for the ride.” Liz spoke as if she was talking about a trip to the supermarket.
“What do you mean by ride?” Helen asked.
“We just hover. Nothing too drastic.”
Myra placed a protective hand on her protruding belly. “It
’s not dangerous or I’d be sitting this one out. Besides, Lizzy has more control over the hover thing. We only levitate a few inches now.”
Tara laughed. “We soared to a couple of feet at times in the beginning. The drop sucked.”
Helen’s hands grew damp. Even with the casual tone in the conversation, her anxiety about what was happening peeked. “Dropped?”
“We don
’t fall any more. Lizzy controls our descent.” Tara smiled at her sister when she spoke.
“Oh.” They sounded so breezy about all this. Helen
’s pulse tapped too fast, her breathing raced.
“If you
’re done tutoring Helen, you might want to move along,” Cian suggested without a hint of a smile on his face. “Everyone waits.”
Scolded for their chatting, Helen shifted her focus to the cloak lying in the center of their circle.
“Ready?” Lizzy asked.
A chorus of yeses was her answer. Helen watched the others and attempted to mimic their actions, all the while hoping her presence wasn
’t going to muck up the operation.
Lizzy lifted her voice and squeezed Helen
’s hand. “We cast our circle by candle light and seek great help for our sister’s plight. Her gift has weakened her mortal self and all we ask is for the Ancient’s help.”
As Lizzy
’s singsong voice lifted, so did their bodies. Sure enough, all four of them levitated slowly from the floor. Strange, her body didn’t feel a loss of gravity, or even the missing floor beneath her, but her dress now hung below her bent knees as did the others in the circle. The flames of the candles spiked like some special effect on a movie screen. Something in the air felt electric and the hair on Helen’s arms stood on end. It was hard to concentrate on Lizzy’s words with the strange sensations rolling over Helen’s skin, but she tried. Helen stared at the cloak and repeated Lizzy’s words in her head. She added the words, for Amber, and did her level best to ignore the fact that she was floating above the ground.