Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) (32 page)

The grizzled old Scot peered up at his countryman with one eye and snorted. “Aye, and what would I do
wi
’ a wee lassie? I’d be happy to oblige Lord John, but I’m no a young man anymore. Nay, laddie, the job is yours whether ye wants it or not. Besides, you’re the only one that ca
n
…”

“De Boyeee is right.” All heads turned as Kwaku made his way down the aisle. “Why should he be forced to do someding dat he does not want to?”

Dallan settled himself more comfortably against the shelf before casting the heathen a suspicious glare. “Just what d’ye mean by that?”

Kwaku shrugged. “It means dat we all go back to Muirara.”

Dallan stood up straight, his arms now loose at his sides, the action automatically ca
using the others to back up. Th
ey all knew what would
happen if Kwaku pushed Dallan too far.

“And you Boyeee go back to Genis Lee.” Kwaku pierced Dallan with a wicked grin. “To stay wid me… forever.” He chuckled softly.

Dallan’s jaw
twitch
ed
as his eyes narrowed. He began to pull his arm back to lay the heathen out, when suddenly his face took on an odd knowing look. He instinctively scanned the aisles, searching. “Nay, not here. Not now…” he whispered
then
doubled over in pain. “No! John?”

John was already at the Scot’s side, tr
ying to keep him from falling fl
at on his face. Angus ran to the other side, and the two men were able to help the Scot to a sitting position. He sat in the middle of the aisle, his back against the many books, breathing as if he’d just run a mile, full out.

“Calm down, it’s okay, calm down now,” John instructed as he gripped Dallan’s shoulders.

“John,” Dallan rasped, “it, it’s coming…” He groaned loudly in pain.

“We’ve got to get out of here, Eaton, fast!” Lany warned, scooting back from the end of the aisle where he placed himself as lookout when he recognized the signs of the Call.

“Lany’s right,” John agreed looking to Kwaku and then to the end
of the aisle. 
“Somebody help me get him up.” He began to try and lift the Scot.

“Wait.” Kwaku bent to Dallan, who still sat breathing like a winded horse. “Do you want to go home, Boyeee? Do you want de pain to stop?”

“Kwaku, what are you doi
ng?" John
screetched
. "This is not the time or
place!”

Kwak
u reached up and put
a large hand on the Lord Councilor’s shoulder. “Dis is de time, and dere is no better place.” He then turned his attention back to Dallan. “You, Boyeee, are de only one among us dat has what de Maiden needs. She cannot survive
widout
it. And you will give it to her. Just as she will give you what you need. Den everyone will have what
dey
want. De choice is yours.
Eidar
win de Maiden’s trust, or go back to Genis Lee.”

Dallan’s breathing had slowed, allowing the rest of the company to hear anxious feet making their way toward their aisle. “Eaton…” Lany urged.

Dallan stared at Kwaku with murderous rage. “All right then, ye bloody heathen, I’ll play yer foul game and win the wee lassie’s trust for ye. But dinna count on me to do anything…” He doubled over in pain again. “John!”

“Out of the way! Stand aside! I’m a heal… a doctor!” Lany pushed his way past Kwaku and John and knelt in front of Dallan who wa
s now curled up on the fl
oor
. A small crowd of people had gathered at one end of the aisle by now, and gawked at the group, or rather
Kwaku, before searching the fl
oor for some other disaster.

Lany examined Dallan with quick deft moves, impressing even John. He swore his assistant had no healer’s training.

“Should somebody call 911?” A voice from the crowd suggested.

Lany poked and prodded Dallan a few more times as he shot Angus a confused look.

“They mean a hospital, laddie,” Angus began, his voice low. “No the place ye wants him if secrecy be yer wish.”

Lany nodded, clearing his throat. “
Um, that won’t be necessary. Th
is
man is in no immediate danger. We’d better get him to my…”

“Office,” Angus whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“Office, though. One never can tell if these things are contagious.” As if on cue, Dallan suddenly cried out in pain, clutching his stomach as he did.

The crowd, as one, backed up.

Lany’s face contorted and he held his brea
th. “Someone get him up,” he fi
nally managed through clenched teeth.

Kwaku stepped forward and bent to the fallen Scot. “You will win de Maiden, Boyeee, yes?” he whispered into his ear with a chuckle.

“
Yessss
,” Dallan rasped.

“Good.” Kwaku stood and promptly left.

John’s mouth fl
ew open, his face
red with rage at the Time Master. “Why that…”

“Not now, Eaton!” Lany huff
ed,
his own face white from the eff
ects of the Call pulsing through Dallan’s body and into his own. “She’s here.”

“What?” John squeaked.

“Get him up and away from these people!”

“Dallan, can you stand?” John asked urgently.

“I… I dinna…”

“You’ve got to try, Dallan, or we’re all in a lot of trouble.” John’s urgency doubled.

“All right, h
e’ll be fi
ne.” Lany spok
e loudly for the crowd’s benefi
t, his voice coming out in staccato. “Please, give him some breathing room!” Angus waved the crowd aside as John and Lany helped Dallan to his feet and led him to the nearest chair and table at the end of the aisle.

A crowd of fi
ve or six lingered still
eager to witness calamity. “Th
ere
be
nothing to see here today. Be off
wi
’ ye now!” Angus shooed at them. They slowly left, occasionally looking back. But
as
there was nothing
life-threatening
, no blood spilled; the sight would soon be forgotten.

Dallan doubled over again, groaning and cursing into the hand John had placed over his mouth. “By the Creator, we’ve got to get him out of here!”

“Leave him.” Kwaku had returned and stood towering over John and Dallan, an unfamiliar serious look on his face. “Leave him now, all of you.”

“Kwaku…” Lany began.

“You especially,
Mos
-go-fi -an. You know she is near. Let her be de one to ease his pain. Den perhaps he will not be so hesitant in approaching her when de time comes.” Kwaku’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Be quick now. De Maiden nears.” He began to usher them away from Dallan, back to the concealment of the shelves.

“John… dinna leave me…”

John’s expression tensed at the sound of Dallan’s voice, but he knew as well as Kwaku that there was nothing any of them could do for him.

Only the Maiden could ease his pain.

* * *

Shona approached Dallan from the opposite direction in which Kwaku escorted the rest of the party. She swallowed, unsure of what to do. There was no one else around
and this man was obviously in pain. In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she would say he was in the same pain she was in at the moment, though it seemed to be disappearing rapidly.

Shona suddenly stiff
ened as the pain assaulted her again.
Th
e man in the chair also t
ensed, hands now balled into fi
sts as he turned his eyes to hers.

Their eyes locked.

The pain immediately lessened.

The man’s anguished expression faded as he straightened himself in his chair. He stared at her in bewilderment as if something of great enormity had just made itself clear to him. His eyes gripped her own and clung to them like a lifeline.

Shona felt her entire body tense
,
then relax, not knowing how to respond to that look. Oh, if only she hadn’t come back! If only she had gone with Tomy and Kitty to get something to eat. But no, she wanted
to come back to the library, fi
nish the math Tomy had given her, get it done so she would have nothing to worry about tomorrow night when the…the… she couldn’t
seem to remember what was to happen
.

The man stood up.

Panic wrapped its ugly fi
nger
s around her nerves as every muscle tensed
.

Th
eir only interest in you is your talent and what they can get from you.

Julia’s words raced through Shona’s mind as raw fear now linked itself with her panic.

The man took
a step toward her, his face intense.

She rapidly sucked in her breath, still unable to move, her quick breaths now coming out in short pants making her
dizzy as the man approached
.

He
rushed to her side as she doubled over in pain, but stopped a few feet from her as she struggled to right herself.

Shona straightened and looked up, way up, to the face of the man in front of her, a face governed at the moment by grave concern. Could it possibly be for her?

No, not for you.
None of them will ever actually care for you. Only what
you can do for them.

She slowly shook her head to rid herself of Julia’s haunting words, words she had heard c
ountless times over the past fi
ve years.

You know it’s true. Don’t trust him. Don’t trust any of them.
Except Philip.
You know you can trust Philip.

Shona found she could now move her feet. She knew she should run from this man, run from the
library,
get as far away as possible. But she could not bring he
rself to tear her gaze away. Th
e man held her with a simple look just as he had done earlier when he watched her.

Dallan instinctively backed up to allow her more space, to let her know he posed no threat. The Maiden
watched him warily, her eyes fi
lling slowly with an odd combination of fear and recognition.

As did his.

* * *

“Is it too soon for them to recognize each other?” John whispered in Kwaku’s ear as the little company from Muirara, hiding among the nearby stacks, watched Dal
lan and the Maiden get their fi
rst good look at one another.

Kwaku shook his head. “Too soon, Councilor. De Boyeee balks at her Muiraran blood. See how he refuses to get too close to her?” He said and pointed to Dallan.

John follo
wed the direction of Kwaku’s fi
nger and saw how Dallan had positioned himself just out of the Maiden’s reach. “I don’t understand. How can he possibly know? No one has told him anything yet.”

“De Boyeee is pure and
very
compatible to her inner hear
t.
De heart causes him to balk. He can feel it, but does not yet know what it is. He does not recognize de Maiden just as she does not yet recognize him. But her heart knows, and it will be her heart dat will prompt de bonding. Unless de Boyeee is made of better stuff dan he displays.”

John looked at Kwaku, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Kwaku shrugged. “He is boy. She is girl. What is dere to not understand, Councilor?” He chuckled as softly as he could. “He may be more of a man dan I dought. See how he looks at her?”

John glanced back to the pair staring at each other with confused interest. The Maiden still looked as if she was on the verge of bolting, but Dallan looked less confused and much more interested. He stood, arms loose at his sides, the intense
stare he held the Maiden with
softening considerably. He
then
cocked his head to one side and began to take his time studying her. He appeared quite rec
overed from any recent side eff
ects of the Call, a phenomenon obviously due to his close proximity to the Maiden.

* * *

Shona watched the man standing in front of her, hear
t in her
throat,
a dull thudding caused
it to ache terribly
.
She wanted to say something, anything that would get him to release the strange hold he had on her. How on earth was he able to do such a thing? Who was he? What was his name? Where did he come from?

Shona swallowed hard as her
hands turned quickly to ice. H
er apprehension
suddenly
grew at a frightening pace
, her whole body prepared to flee. Blast! Why was this man aff
ecting her like this?