“Do ye, lass? Did ye use one of yer spells to give ye the answer?”
I rolled my eyes as I leaned forward in my seat, staring at him straight on. The door swung open once more as Arran came to sit on the floor next to Eoin’s side.
“If ye doona mind, lass, I’d like to hear what ye have to say as well. Mary tried to explain a little, but I found I could no make sense from what she said.”
“It’s fine, Arran. I already told you. I’m not a witch. But it was one of your late aunt’s spells that brought me here.”
“And how exactly do ye expect she could’ve done that? She’s been dead for nearly thirty years.”
“I have no idea how she did it. All I know is that she did. Now, please, just listen to me. I guarantee you, I’m just as confused as you are about to be, so let me explain the best I can.”
“Aye. Go on.” He leaned back in the chair opposite mine, seemingly settling in for what he expected to be a long explanation. Truth was, I knew far less than he assumed I did.
“I’m not Blaire. I’ve never met or seen her in my life, but from what Mary tells me, we look very similar.”
“That ye do, lass. Exactly.”
“Right. Well, anyways. My name is Brielle Montgomery. Most everyone I know calls me Bri. I was born in the year nineteen hundred and eighty-five. I’m a kindergarten teacher in Austin, Texas. My mother is an archaeologist, someone who studies and tries to find objects from historical sites. She asked me to accompany her to Scotland, to help her with a dig on the ruins of this castle, nearly three weeks ago, in the middle of October 2013. Are you following me?”
“Nay, lass. I canna understand half of what ye say. What is ‘kindergarten’ and ‘Texas’?”
“Kindergarten is just a school for very small children. I teach five-year-olds how to read, count, and write. Texas is the name of a state in North America. It doesn’t exist yet.”
“Aye?” Eoin briefly scratched his forehead before exhaling loudly and leaning up into his seat so that our body positions mimicked one another.
I glanced quickly at Arran, who’d said nothing since entering the room and looked far more confused than Eoin. He saw me staring and nudged his head forward as if wanting me to continue.
“Yes. So anyway, we were digging at the ruins and found access into the old spell room. It held all of its original contents, unharmed by the fire and undiscovered during previous digs. We walked into the room, and I saw a portrait of myself, the same one that sits on the table there today. It frightened me terribly, and when I started to sound out the inscription written beneath it, something started to happen. I felt as if I was being torn apart and then everything went black. Shortly after, I woke up back here, with Mary looking at me as if I was an alien from outer space. She gave no real explanation at the time, and quickly rushed me upstairs to prepare for our wedding. Until you threw me in the dungeon, I thought perhaps I was dreaming.”
Both men sat unmoving, staring at me as if I’d sprouted three heads. “That’s all I know. I’ve been sneaking away to the spell room to try and find a spell that could get me back home. And get Blaire back here.”
Eoin was the first to speak. “If Mary dinna seem to believe ye, I’d think ye were the craziest lass I’d ever laid eyes on. Still, she seems certain that she saw ye appear here, and ye do speak verra strange.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t help it. Sorry.”
“Ach, lass. I’m sorry, too. I should no have screamed at ye so. I still doona understand, but perhaps we can all work together now to get ye home.”
“Please. And maybe I can help you as well.”
“What did ye mean when ye said ye knew why the horses were killed?”
“You remember that I said my mother studies things that happened in the past? She works to find objects that will help people understand things that have happened. She’s spent years working on the ruins of this castle, trying to find answers to who killed you all.” The words lodged in my throat, and I could barely get them out as I finished the sentence. It alarmed me how much the thought of that happening caused my insides to hurt and tears to fill my eyes.
“Killed, lass?” Eoin lifted his chin out of the palm of his hand and sat up to look at me more alertly. “The castle in ruins?”
“Yes. Your entire clan was destroyed at the end of December, this year. I think your aunt knew that and that’s why she cast the spell. Maybe we can stop it from happening. All we have to do is figure out who’s going to do it. They left no clues. It’s still a mystery even in my own time.”
“I assure ye that we will do all that we can to prevent it. But what do the horses have to do with this?”