Aimnéise Place of Pendants 2

Chapter Twenty Two

Sneaky Trip To Milan

I grabbed Dougall by the shirt and said the words to transport us back to the farm, landing in the kitchen and frightening the shite out of Ula. Normally she would throw a teacup at me. She was barely without a cup in hand. This time she had a loaf of bread that hit Dougall fair square in the face.

Dougall looked stunned for a moment. “Really Ula, bread? I should be grateful ye weren’t holding a knife, I could have lost an eye.”

Ula screamed bringing Sloane rushing into the room. Then she saw the blood soaking my shirt from where the dagger had hit. Ula as bossy as ever pushed me down into a chair and tore my shirt off across the shoulder.

“Ula lass this is me good shirt ye are tearing like a mad woman.”

“Conall, haud ye wheesht and sit still.”

“What happened lad?” Sloane came around to take a closer look at my wound as if he had never seen one before. “Looks like ye are losing yer touch.”

He reached out to touch it getting his hand slapped out of the way by Ula.

By the time she had cleaned the wound and stitched it up between Dougall and me we had told them everything that had happened.

Sloane looked totally pissed off. “So, Aoife is at it again. We need tae destroy her once an fer all.”

I couldn’t agree more, but my worries were now concentrated on Morgan. Had Aoife found her? I didn’t think she had by what Garrison had said. “Do ye think Aoife ordered tha Brollachan to send Morgan through time.”

“I would say so, but I think tha Brollachan forgot to send her to where Aoife had told him. With him dying I think he sent her where he wanted to be. That be ma guess.” Sloane muttered.

“How did tha Brollachan ken tha words to say?” Dougall asked trying to wrap the whole thing around his head.

Ula fussed with putting the kettle on and washing cups for tea. “Aoife must have told him, who else would have known, how the hell she knew though is a mystery.”

“Ula the only ones tha can use tha pendant is me an Dougall.

Tha question is how did tha Brollachan do it?” This had been circling my mind since Morgan vanished in time. Ula simply shrugged. “We need to find Morgan.” I growled getting out of the chair only to be pushed back down by Sloane and Dougall.

“You will not be going anywhere just yet Conall, your wounds need to heal. You are no good to her in this condition.”

“Ula I cannae sit here if she is in danger!”

Sloane patted me on the shoulder. “Ula is right lad, ye need to heal. Give it a couple of days an then see how this wound heals. Ye ken ye should have gone to see tha Cailleach again to let her ken what happened.” To that I shook my head, there was no way I was going to see her until I got my wife back.

“And,” Ula added. “You can’t go in your kilt or your breeks, it’s not Scotland you know.”

“Aye I ken Ula, I don care how I’m dressed.”

“You will if you get arrested as a witch or a spy.” Ula snapped putting tea in her teapot. I had never met anyone who could drink as much tea as she did. “If they catch you, there’s no trial. They will simply tie your Scottish arse to a pyre and set you on fire.”

“If anything has happened to Morgan then they can tie my Scottish arse to a pole and fire it up, I don care.” I grunted to a slap across the head from Sloane.

“Hey.” I yelled. “Ye are hittin’ an injured man here.”

Sloane leaned his face close to mine. “Shut ye griping lad, ye sound like a wee bairn.”

Ula made tea for everyone and set the cups in front of us. Here we go again sitting around drinking tea while my wife could be in danger. Sloane poured a dram of whiskey in each cup waiting for a nod from his wife before he poured some in hers as well.

Ula sat next to me and patted my knee. “Conall, you have to trust Morgan, she is not defenseless. She is talented with her crossbow, and she took it with her. Don’t forget her Earth ability. Our Morgan can look after herself. Trust that she is ok, love.”

“I ken ye are right Ula, but…”

“I know love, you miss her, we all do and if there is any way for her to get back to you she will find it, and you have your travel pendant.” There was no way Morgan could get back without the travel pendant. I understood that she was trying to keep me calm, I also ken that the only person to find Morgan was me.

“Ula did ye find what year I need to go?” I asked hoping she had an answer for me.

“The best I can do is go by the so-called experts on da Vinci paintings. Most of what I read is between 1495 to 1497, that’s as close as I can get, no one really knows.”

“Conall I think you and Dougall should bunk down in Morgan’s cottage for a couple of days.” Ula took a sip of her tea.

I raised my brow. “Morgan’s cottage?”

“Well, I look at the cottage now as Morgan’s, it just feels right, it’s hers.”

I nodded. We had built the little cottage inside the hay bales before Morgan came to stay with them after Joe had beaten the crap out of her. The more I thought about it the more I had to agree, it was Morgan’s cottage. We had after all built it for her.

I wasn’t happy to be sitting here drinking tea when I needed to get out and find my wife, but I will wait, finish my tea, make my excuses and then travel back in time, injured or not.

“Ula, Sloane, I think I will go rest now, it’s been a long day.” I downed the last of the tea.

“Conall give me your pendant!” Ula ordered, holding out her hand. I stood there staring at her, stunned she would demand it from me. I wasn’t giving her my pendant. My intention was to travel as soon as I was out of sight.

Sloane moved up beside me and held me in place with a hand to the back of my neck squeezing just slightly. “Lad give me yer pendant.”

My da was the Laird of the Sutherland clan, but it was Sloane who had actually raised me. We had more arguments and fights over the years than I can remember but when he gave an order I was expected to comply, and most of the time I did.

“Now, Conall! I’ll no ask ye again.” He growled.

I took my pendant off and slammed it into his hand before I stamped out of the room.

Dougall shouted after me that he would be down soon. Whatever, I wasn’t in the mood. I just wanted to go save my wife, and every time I tried a brick wall slammed into my face.

As soon as I entered the cottage I caught the scent of Morgan. I went into the bedroom to lay down. I don’t ken if Ula had changed the sheets or not. I could smell her on the pillows. Holding the pillow over my face breathing in her scent my heart broke once again.

I lay there in the dark thinking about the first time I saw Morgan coming through the cottage door. The look on her face when she first saw me, scanning me from head to foot. I couldn’t take my eyes from her. The bonniest lass to cross my path.

My thoughts wandered to how she had fallen over me when I slept on the floor outside her door, for which I teased her mercilessly saying she had jumped on me. I loved to see her fire up and her face turn red. She was the most beautiful sight to behold.

I laugh to myself at the time she ranted and raved outside my cabin about her wearing breeks instead of a dress. Jabbing me in the chest to get her point across. God, I miss her. I’m coming for you baby hang on just a little longer.

I heard the door open, obviously Dougall was looking to sleep for the night here in the cottage. Well he could sleep on the sofa, there’s no way he’s sharing this bed, polluting Morgan’s scent.

“Bràthair are ye awake?” He whispered at the door to the bedroom.

I didn’t answer him, happy to lay here remembering every moment I had with Morgan.

“I ken ye are no asleep Conall, get ye ass up out a bed.”

I groaned. “Fuck off Dougall.”

“Do ye want to go get yer wife or stay wrapped up in yer own despondency an misery in there?”

“What?”

“Come on ye big keely, before Ula and Sloane find out I swiped ye pendant?”

I was up out of bed and the room faster than a rabbit running from a fox. “Do ye have me pendant?”

Dougall stood there grinning swinging the pendant in his hand. “Aye, why did ye think I delayed coming here. I happened to see were Ula stashed it, and waited until they went to bed.” A grin crept across his face. “I swiped it.”

“What are ye going to say in the morning when they realize the pendant and I are gone?”

Dougall shrugged. “I don ken, cause I’ll no be here. Ye are no going by yerself.”

“Dougall.” I warned.

He put the hand holding the pendant behind his back.

“I am going, whether ye like it or no. Ye are injured and if Morgan finds out I let ye go by yerself she will kill me. Nope am going, no argument.”

“I could just take it.”

“Aye an I’ll scream like a banshee waking Ula and Sloane up. Against Ula, no a problem but I doubt ye will match one against Sloane.”

He was right, maybe. Still it would be good to have him along, two pairs of eyes are better than one.

“Alright ye can come but behave yerself, an when we get back Ula is going ta skin ye alive. This is about finding Morgan an not about where to park ye knob!”

Dougall rolled his eyes, handing me the pendant. I pulled it over my head relieved to have it back again.

“We will go tae 1495 first.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Despondency eh? A big word fer ye.”

Dougall shrugged. “What can I say. I’m brilliant. Thought ye would ken tha by now.”

I shook my head and dragged him by the shirt to stand beside me said the words to take us to Milan 1495 arriving in the dead of night in the middle of a road.

Shite if it had been daylight we would have been grabbed and dragged to the pyre. I really should have thought about and looked at some maps of the area as to where to actually land.