Page 19 of Draped in Plaid
The screaming had stopped. We’d all discerned that the lady of the castle, the one we’d seen sleeping, had given birth and talk from the servants was that the young bairn had been stillborn.
Even the dungeon, the last place we looked, was empty.
“Moira,” I whispered up at the darkened ceiling in a long corridor. “Where are ye?”
There was no answer.
I was weak. Tired. Hungry. Drained.
Shona laid her hand on my shoulder. “We should seek shelter and rest. We are no good to our friends if we make a mistake from exhaustion.”
Exhaustion and misery were etched into her face. All of this had to be hard on her mind but also her body. I nodded even though I didna want to. I didna want to stop. We couldna stop. But Moira would never forgive me if her sister was injured, or the precious bairn.
I prayed Emma and Logan were fine. Mayhap they’d fallen sleep somewhere, or had decided on a moment of intimacy, however inappropriate that seemed when searching for a missing person.
We’d come searching for one and now we searched for three.
And while some time ago, anyone else would have given up, I could feel in my bones we were in the right place. Every time I asked myself if we were, that was the resounding answer.Aye. We are. Moira is here.I just had to figure out where.
“Think of her when ye lay down,” Ewan said. “Envision her. Answers have come in dreams before. I pray we are lucky to see the answer before the dawn.”
I couldna put a voice to agreement. So, I simply nodded and allowed them to lead me back to the tower.
“Shouldna we shelter elsewhere?” I asked.
“Aye,” Ewan said. “But if Emma and Logan return they will look for us there.”
Return. “Ye mean wake from their nap, or escape from whomever has taken them hostage. Or maybe they’ve found Moira and are trying to free her now.”
Ewan’s expression did not give away his thoughts. “Or return. Has it not occurred to ye that they may have time traveled?”
“I suppose it should have. Whenever anyone disappears that seems to be the answer.”
“I’ll bar the door in case any servants come poking around,” Ewan said. “We can sleep in shifts.”
“Aye.” Reluctantly, we returned to tower chamber, barring the door behind us.
Shona took the bed, and I settled on the floor. Ewan set a chair in front of the chamber door, taking first shift.
Not a breath after I flopped my arm over my eyes, I felt myself falling, slipping off the edge of a void and tumbling into darkness. I flailed, but caught nothing.
“Rory…”
My heart skipped a beat. The voice belonged to Moira.
“Moira,” I called into the darkness, trying to find my bearings in a world that was filled with black.
She called to me, her voice floating all around. I shifted forward, feet on solid ground, and still nothingness.
There seemed to be a light shining in the distance. I hurried toward it, calling out to her, hearing her reply, and then there she was, lying on a table, her limbs strapped down.
“Moira!” I lurched forward, yanking on her bonds.
“Don’t,” she said. “I need you to listen to me…”
“Nay, I must! I must release ye.” I yanked relentlessly at the leather. “Who did this to ye? I’ll kill them.”
“You will not be able to free me, Rory. This is a dream. You must listen. I need you to listen.”
