Highland Blood

Chapter 16

That night, the thunder boomed loudly, lightning streaking across the sky. I lay watching flashes of light through the cracks in the closed window casement.

“Can’t sleep?” Gillacoemgain asked, his hand sliding up my side, resting on my stomach.

I shook my head then sighed. “No. It’s too hot and too loud. The air is alive with too much magic.”

“I feel it as well,” Gillacoemgain said. “My mother taught me to be mindful of the old things, the old ways. My father adopted the appearance of worship of the White Christ, but my mother’s lessons stayed with me. I…I do feel the otherworld around us. When I am alone in the woods, I would swear I can feel Cernunnos’ presence.”

In the darkness, I smiled. “He is the lord of the forest and the hunt. It is only natural that you, who love such things, feel kinship toward him.”

Gillacoemgain sighed. “I’ve never had time to spend thinking about such things,” he said, then stroked the back of my arm. The sensation shot chills up and down my body.

“Perhaps, now that all is quiet…”

“Yes,” Gillacoemgain said, pushing my hair away so he could kiss my neck. “I will have time now, for that, for my wife, for my little ones.”

I rolled over and looked at him in the darkness. One candle lit in our chamber, but the lightning outside flashed endlessly, illuminating his face. How handsome he was, his rugged chin and alluring eyes.

Gillacoemgain smiled at me, his left cheek taking on a dimple, then leaned in and kissed me. His mouth was warm and tasted of the honeyed herb tonic he’d drunk after dinner. I caught his sweet scent, that woodsy smell mixed with the lavender.

“I know you are heavy with child. If I am careful…would you?”

I nodded. “Yes,” I breathed. In that moment, more than anything, I wanted to feel him. Gillacoemgain of Moray. Beyond all chance, my heart had turned to him.

Moving carefully, he pulled off my nightdress then discarded his own clothes onto the floor. He lay his cheek on my bare stomach, kissing my swollen belly.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered then, his hands dancing toward my breasts. “I’m so proud you are my wife,” he said, kissing my neck, his mouth drifting down to my breasts, his hand moving between my legs.

I gasped when he touched me, my hands feeling for him in the darkness.

“As I am of you,” I whispered in reply before a moan escaped my lips.

Gillacoemgain said no more then, as his mouth trailed down my body to my secret parts where he gave me pleasure like I’d never known before in all my life. And I, in turn, sought to please the man whom I had grown to love.

Once the storm arrived, it didn’t leave for days. The yard became a muddy mess as rain poured down relentlessly. The stream running near Cawdor, which poured into the River Nairn, started to break its banks. Gillacoemgain rode out with Fergus, Standish, and a few others to investigate the farms that sat close to the water.

Since I dared not brave the weather, I went instead to check on my garden which had also turned into a watery mess. The water in the small castle courtyard pooled amongst the stones. It rained too fast for it to run off properly. My herbs were drowning. I spent the morning digging drains so the water would wash away. By midday, I was, despite the shelter from castle awnings, wet and tired.

But I was also unreasonably curious. Since the day I had seen her shade, I wondered about Crearwy, Gillacoemgain’s sister. Knowing he was away, I left my work and crept up the back hallways to the unused section of the castle.

It was clear that this section of Cawdor had once been part of the regular household. Candles still sat in the tapers, tapestries adorned the walls. I lit a candle and went exploring.

The space was full of cobwebs and covered in dust. The chambers still had chairs and tables, dishes and goblets, beds, but no one had been there in years. I pushed open a chamber to see the bed was still made but covered in inches of dust. I moved down the hall to the room Gillacoemgain had mentioned. All the while, my raven eyes peered around for the shade. I didn’t know why I wanted to see her, but something drove me.

I entered a shuttered hallway. No light save the small candle I held illuminated the space. I was struck at once by the feeling of magic. My skin rose in goosebumps as I moved down the hall. I couldn’t see the chamber at the other end, but I knew I was somewhere thin. I walked past a window when a sharp breeze blew in, snuffing out my candle.

I steeled the fear that wanted to rise up inside me and moved ahead, reaching in the darkness for the door handle.

My fingers brushed against the cold metal handle. Pulling the chamber door open, I stepped into a dark space.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust.

I had expected to find a simple bedchamber, but as my eyes settled in, what I found was something quite different. I was standing just outside my bedchamber in Ynes Verleath. At once, the smell of wisteria assailed my nose. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent. Quite by accident, I had walked between the worlds.

I walked out to the terrace where Andraste stood stirring the cauldron. Nimue dropped sprigs of herbs into the pot.

“By the pricking of my thumb, a certain sister this way comes,” Andraste said, looking up at me.

“How now, Andraste? Nimue? Why have you called me here?”

Nimue smiled at me, but I saw she wore a sad expression behind her smile. She dropped a feather into the cauldron.

“Be bloody, bold, and resolute,” Andraste said. “All will burn. Make your heart ready, Cerridwen.”

“And more,” Nimue said.

“Hover through the fog, the snow, the filthy air. There to meet with Macbeth,” Andraste intoned.

“Macbeth?”

“Anon,” Andraste said, waving me away.

“Anon,” Nimue told me with a broken smile.

A moment later, I felt a small hand in mine.

“M’Lady?” I heard someone call. “M’Lady?”

I recognized the youthful voice belonging to the lad, Eochaid.

“Eochaid?”

“They’re searching the castle for you,” he told me then. “I…I found…you know how. He…we knew where you were. Can I help you out of here, Lady? I don’t think Lord Gillacoemgain will be pleased to find you here.”

I was lying on the floor. From the dim light of Eochaid’s lantern, I could see I was in a bedchamber in the closed section of the castle. I looked all around. I spotted a spindle, gowns hanging in a wardrobe, and other women’s things. And on the floor nearby, I spotted a large, dark stain on the flagstones.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Please.”

Eochaid helped me up then led me to a tapestry on the other side of the room. Moving the musty tapestry aside, he led me down a set of winding stairs. The dust was thick there. Clearly, the space had not been used in years.

“It’s not far,” Eochaid reassured me. “Just this way.”

A moment later, I smelled the cool, rain-soaked air. Eochaid and I emerged in a passageway not far from the chapel. The boy quickly led me to a door at the back of the chapel then inside.

“Stay here,” he told me. “Tell them you came inside to shelter from the rain and fell asleep. I’ll find you.”

Still disoriented from my walk to the otherworld, I nodded. Was it night already or had the sky simply grown dark from the rain?

I sat down on one of the pews inside the chapel.

“She’s here,” I heard Eochaid call then. “Lord Gillacoemgain, she’s here.”

With Eochaid’s lantern beside me, I sat waiting in the dark chapel.

“Macbeth?” I whispered to the darkness.

There was no reply.

“Gruoch?” I heard Gillacoemgain call, his voice full of worry. “Gruoch?”

“I’m here,” I said, standing. My knees were shaking.

Gillacoemgain entered the back of the chapel then rushed across the room quickly, pulling me into an embrace. “Corbie, where have you been? No one could find you.”

“I…” I began, passing a look to the boy who stood by the chapel door, “I was working in the garden when the rain started falling hard. I came into the chapel to wait out the downpour. I guess I must have fallen asleep.”

Gillacoemgain stared at me, and I saw the look of fear and worry leave his face. He laughed out loud.

“Lord Gillacoemgain?” I heard Standish call.

“She’s here. She’s fine.”

Shaking his head, Gillacoemgain offered me his hand then led me out of the chapel. Eochaid, who was staying out of the way, smiled at me, nodded, and then ran off.

“Should have known, a pregnant woman can fall asleep anywhere,” Gillacoemgain said, shaking his head.

Understanding, Standish laughed. “You gave us a scare, Lady. Here we thought maybe Thorfinn had come and abducted you.”

“No, I…” I began, shaking my head. “I’m very sorry. I just fell asleep.”

Gillacoemgain kissed me on the forehead. “Let’s get my Lady to bed.”

Slowly coming back to myself, I realized then that Gillacoemgain was soaked. “You’re wet from head to toe.”

He nodded. “It’s bad out there. Lots of livestock lost, damaged crops. Hopefully, the rains end soon.”

I nodded, part of my mind rushing quickly down the list of farms along the stream, but more of me was focused on a single name: Macbeth.