“Come in.” He smiled as Daniel walked in and shut the door. “Take a seat.”
“Is Isla safe?” In khaki pants and a black muscle t-shirt, Daniel perched on the forest-green couch underneath a wall-hanging of a stunning black and white drawing of Matheson Castle as it had stood in the twelve-hundreds. He’d drawn that image himself from a vision years ago.
He motioned toward the print. “Isla is safe. She resides within the ancient House of Clan Matheson at this very moment. She made it through the vortex, and so too did Iain and his brothers. I’ve also contacted Michael and Megan and informed them of exactly what’s happened. They’re both relieved and excited for their sons and what the coming days might bring for them. They said Finlay and Kirk need to find their mates, and now they’ve finally been given that chance, they couldn’t be more thrilled. They’ve also asked me to keep them informed of any further visions I might have, and I’ve assured them I will.”
“Good.” Daniel rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. “The wait has been excruciating since you first told me a portal would soon open and take her away from us.”
“As it has been for me.” A seer’s life wasn’t easy, the skill of forewarning held by so few because of the depth of control needed to wield the ability. “Last night I also saw a vision of my grandsons, twins, and both seers. One day soon I hope to guide them just as my father guided me.”
“That’s good news.” Daniel grinned and eased back.
“Now there’s nothing more we can do but await Isla’s return.” He strolled to his chair behind his chunky wooden desk and sat. “You’re back earlier than I expected.”
“Owen and Ewan Mathie didn’t put up a fight when Nathan and I cornered them at Gerry’s garage. Isla would’ve loved to have been there when we took them down. After sedating them, we delivered them directly to our contact. The Mathies can’t shift until the next full moon, and I was assured they’d both be well contained on those nights.”
“Perfect.” He closed his eyes and focused on Isla. He couldn’t force a vision, but he could remain alert if one were close to surfacing. Images fluttered behind his eyelids then shimmered into brilliant life.
Isla wore a gown of rich red and long lacy sleeves that brushed her fingertips. She watched Iain, Finlay and Kirk as they stood in a circle, each clasping each other’s forearms. A soft smile lifted her lips and a twinkle lit her golden eyes, just as it used to light her mother’s. Her soft words, when they came, echoed all around, so hypnotically powerful. “It’s time,” she said to the men before her. “Together, we’re going to save the villagers, find Finlay and Kirk’s chosen ones and return home to our true time.”
Iain tipped his gaze toward her and she skipped across to him, slipped under his arm and stood within the circle of three. “And no one is leaving me behind.”
Murdock chuckled. Iain would soon learn that no one could tame a compeller, not when Isla loved as greatly as she did. Her mate was the one man she could never survive without, and at each other’s sides, they would remain at their strongest.
Aye, the ‘power of three’ was a formidable presence, but at their center stood his daughter. Isla would ensure their coming mission never had the chance to fail, of that he had no doubt.
Author’s Note
Clan Matheson descends from a twelfth century man called Gilleoin, a man who was believed to have been from the ancient Royal House of Lorne. The name Matheson has been attributed to the Gaelic words Mic Mhathghamhuim which means “Son of the Bear,” and the clan chief’s arms carry two bears as supporters. In the twelfth century, clan Matheson settled around the area of Loch Alsh, Loch Carron, and Kintail, and gave their allegiance to clan MacDonald whose chiefs were the Lords of the Isles. Clan Matheson became a large and powerful clan with a force of around two-thousand men, although by the middle of the sixteenth century they’d diminished greatly in size and influence due to the blood feuds raging across the isles at that time. This warring left them to possess less than a third of the original Matheson property on Loch Alsh.
Interestingly, the other main branch of clan Matheson lived near Loch Shin, Sutherland, at this time, and it was when I discovered this piece of vital information that the story I wished to tell of this once mighty clan and the whispers in ancient times of their ability to shift into the form of the bear became clear.