Page 97 of A Thistle Beyond Time
“A witch! Ha! You expect me to believe that,” he spat furiously.
“Jonathan, you travelled back in time – believing in a witch doesn’t seem that farfetched, does it?” Jenna’s patience with Jonathan was hanging by a thread. She knew she was walking a fine line and should avoid provoking him, or she might find herself dead sooner rather than later.
“Point taken,” he said. Jonathan began pacing back and forth at the foot of the bridge, when a shimmering light suddenly appeared on the other side. “What’s that?” he moved back away from the bridge.
The figure of a woman with blue hair appeared in front of them. She looked like a hologram, but Jenna knew it must be Edna. Jenna dismounted and moved as far away from Jonathan as possible.
“Young man,” Edna said. “I am afraid I am not in a position to send ye back home.”
Jonathan stared at her in disbelief. “What do you mean? You brought me here and now you’re going to send me back. And I’m taking Jenna with me.”
Sophia suddenly looked frightened and started shaking like a leaf. Jonathan was not planning to take Sophia back with him, Jenna realized. His plan had been to leave Sophia behind all along.
“Ye don’t seem to understand. Ye brought yerself here. I had nothing to do with it,” Edna explained carefully. “Ye went into the fog, looking for Jenna and were trapped by it and brought here. I cannot undo that which was not done by me. I’m sure ye understand.”
Jonathan pointed his gun at Sophia. “If you don’t send me back, I’m going to kill her.”
“Don’t be rash,” Edna said calmly. “Ye’ll need to give me some time, to see what I can do.”
“You better hurry up, I don’t have all day here,” Jonathan snapped.
“I’ll do my best, but put the gun down for now.”
Jonathan refused to do as she asked and instead stood silently watching Edna as she closed her eyes and threw back her head, arms flying out to the side. He was so mesmerized by the spectacle that Edna was creating that he didn’t notice when Sophia came up behind him intent on stealing his gun. They struggled for it and as they did, the fog began to swirl around Jenna. Jonathan saw what was happening and threw Sophia to the ground, trying to reach Jenna before she disappeared. Sophia stuck her leg out as he ran and tripped him. Jonathan quickly got back to his feet and turned on her, gun in hand.
“You’ve done it now, bitch. You’re not going to stop me again.” He started to pull the trigger as Cormac and Cailin came crashing through the brush. Jonathan fired the gun at Sophia while simultaneously turning in their direction. The shot missed her as she dove for the dirt. Sophia managed to get to her feet, running at him and knocking him to the ground. Jonathan grappled with Sophia for the gun and regaining possession of it, aimed it at her once again, but before he had a chance to fire the weapon, Latharn appeared out of nowhere and ran him through with his sword. The gun fell from Jonathan’s hand as he toppled to the ground, blood pouring from the wound he clutched with his hands. Seeing that he was obviously mortally wounded and no longer a threat, all eyes focused on the fog as it swirled up and away. Cormac leaped from his horse and tried to reach Jenna before she was gone, but he was too late, everything seemed to have happened in a split second of time. Jenna had left him, vanishing before his very eyes. He stared across the bridge to the spot where he’d last seen Edna, but she too had disappeared from sight. He sank to the ground in despair at the cruel twist of fate, which had taken his love from him before he could say a last goodbye.
Chapter 31
Jenna landed with a thud and when the fog receded, she realized she was back in San Francisco. She hoped she was in the right time. Everything seemed right, but after the events of the last few weeks, she wasn’t certain. The last thing she remembered before the fog swept her away, was seeing Cormac watching her with a pained expression on his face. Everything had happened so quickly, Jenna could hardly believe it. She’d had one more day to enjoy with Cormac in Breaghacraig. One more day. Jenna was grateful to Edna for saving her from Jonathan, but why had she sent her back early? She hadn’t been given the opportunity to say goodbye to Cormac. Would he know she hadn’t wanted to leave him?
Realization struck Jenna like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t wanted to leave him. Not when she did, and not if Edna had waited until the following day. She knew now, she would have stayed and made a life there with Cormac, Ashley and the MacKenzies. And instead, here she was, back in San Francisco. She’d screwed up the only good thing in her life. Could it be fixed? Only Edna could help her and there was no guarantee she’d ever show up again.
“Are you okay, Miss?” An elderly woman had stopped and was staring at Jenna.
Jenna nodded, and brushed off her clothes. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Did you fall? I was walking along the marina and I didn’t see you, and then all of a sudden, there you were. Of course, my eyes aren’t what they used to be,” the woman said.
“I guess I did fall. Thanks for your concern. I’ll be okay now,” Jenna offered her a weak smile.
The woman walked away, leaving Jenna alone. Tears began to fall as Jenna started walking towards the home she shared with Dylan and Chester.
“Dylan!” she cried, when she walked through the front door. “Dylan, I’m home!” Silence greeted her.Where could he be?The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of just how alone she was without Cormac.
She wandered into the kitchen and saw a sink full of dirty dishes. “At least I know he’s in the city,” she said to herself. She went into her bedroom and sank sadly onto the bed. “I can’t do this without you, Cormac,” she cried. She picked up her cell phone, which was on the end table next to the bed and pulled up the photo she’d taken of the two of them together. Staring at it, she saw two very happy faces looking back at her. Next, she watched the short video she had of Cormac.I can’t believe this. I’m such an idiot.“Edna, if you can hear me. I want to go back. Please, let me go back.”
Nothing. This was it. This was her life. She’d have to figure it out. If no one was going to help her, she’d have to do it on her own. She’d find a way to get back to him. She had to.
Jenna heard the front door open and she ran out of her bedroom to find Dylan and Chester staring at her in disbelief. She ran straight into Dylan’s arms and he held her and let her cry until she had no tears left. Chester was leaning into her legs, trying to get as close to her as possible. He’d always hated to see her cry.
“Jenna, tell me what happened. Why are you back?” Dylan questioned.
“I don’t really know why I’m back. I mean, I guess I know, but it wasn’t what I wanted. It’s just what happened.”
“Tell me all about it,” Dylan guided her towards the living room where she sat beside him on the sofa. “Are you okay? Can you talk about it?”
“Yeah. It’s all so unbelievable. I thought you were pulling a prank on me, but you weren’t.”
