Maka polished off her third hamburger, balled up the paper wrapping, and tucked it back in the bag.
"Better?" Tsubaki asked with a fond smile.
"Oh, yes," she said with a contented sigh. She'd never tasted such scrumptious, decadently juicy, perfect hamburgers in her entire life, though she suspected not having eaten in over twenty-four hours might be biasing her the teeniest bit.
She gulped thirstily at her super-sized water; all the walking and worrying she'd done today had left her feeling dehydrated.
Leaning back against the seat of the SUV, she stretched out her legs.
She was feeling tremendously better, buoyed by food, heartened by the discovery that Soul was somewhere safe, and quite frankly delighted that she wasn't going to have to sleep beneath a bridge somewhere tonight using newspaper for blankets.
"Och, Christ, have I told you how sorry I am?"
"Only about a hundred times now," she told Black Star dryly.
"I feel like such an ass. I wouldn't have taken the mirror if I'd thought it would leave you in any danger. Please believe that."
"I do," she assured him. "And it's all right. Everything turned out okay. Thanks to you and your wife. I'm here, Soul's safe, and no one's the worse for wear."
Although, she appended silently, she wasn't going to feel a hundred percent okay until she saw Soul with her own eyes.
She glanced over at Black Star who was sharing a relieved look with his wife.
It was full dark outside and the only light in the SUV came from the faint green glow of the dashboard's electronics, but she could see his features perfectly.
He looked a lot like Soul in the low light; same strong features, long hair, powerful body.
His quiet respect and responsibility toward women reminded her of Soul as well.
He'd been searching for her for hours, he'd told her, when they'd finally crossed each other's path.
At a complete loss for what to do upon discovering the SUV missing, Maka had commenced methodically searching every street, alley, and parking lot in Inverness, hoping against hope that she would somehow miraculously stumble upon it somewhere.
It was a terrible plan, and she knew it, but she'd needed to take some action, any kind of action, to avoid having a meltdown.
The truth was, she'd not really expected to find the stolen vehicle again and, near dusk, when she'd spotted it at the end of the next block, idling by the curb, she'd been flabbergasted.
She sprinted eagerly, stupidly toward it the moment she'd glimpsed it.
Belatedly, she'd checked herself and stopped warily, a dozen feet away.
Then Soul's descendant had stepped from it.
Hey, she'd blurted to his back, without thinking, I know you! What are you doing with our SUV?
The sudden fear that he might be a bad guy, too, had spiked through her then.
But he'd turned and looked at her and his expression had been one of such pure relief that her fears vanished.
Thank God! There you are. I've been looking all over for you! he'd exclaimed.
A tall black haired beauty had descended from the SUV and pulled her close in a motherly embrace. "Dont worry, you're safe now, and so is your highlander."
Exhausted and starving, Maka had nearly burst into tears.
Soul was safe. She wasn't all alone and lost in Scotland with nowhere to turn, after all. Someone had been looking for her. Someone was glad to see her.
Black Star had told her, with the first of his many apologies, that he'd only taken the SUV because he'd seen the Dark Glass in it and been worried about what was being done with the Hallow.
He'd been home already when he'd discovered Soul in the mirror, and been sent back by his furious ancestor to find her.
His furious ancestor, he'd said.
He knew.
And he wasn't the least bit weirded out by it!
Although Blackstar had referred to Soul as "kinsman" in Tiedemann's, Maka had thought that Black Star must have believed they were somehow distantly related in current day, that Soul was an illegitimate, distant cousin or something.
Certainly not that he was an ancient ancestor who'd been trapped in a mirror for eleven centuries.
Really, what sort of person would readily accept that kind of nonsense?
She certainly hadn't.
She'd resisted until the last possible moment, only when she'd been forced to concede that her life was at stake.
But Black Star wasn't having any problem with it at all and neither was his wife.
Which pointed to only one logical conclusion.
"So, I guess none of you McEvans are normal, huh?" she probed.
He smiled faintly. "No, not exactly. I'm fairly certain my wife would agree with you on that one."
"He's a druid as well." His wife said, seeming very proud of the fact.
Maka blinked. "Are you a good druid or did you turn too?"
"Turn? Into what?" Black Star asked.
"Into a dark sorcerer," she clarified. "Is that a family thing?"
Black Star made a choking sound. "By the sweet saints, is Soul a dark sorcerer, then?"
"Don't you know anything about your ancestor?" Maka asked, worried shed given Soul away.
"His name was stricken from all the family records eleven centuries ago. The only thing we knew about him was the stories passed down through the generations. We believed him a legend, nothing more, until just recently while doing some renovations an underground chamber was reopened. We found old relics, documents with his name, and a painting in pristine condition."
"A painting? Of Soul?"
"Aye, it was supposedly commissioned by his sister after his disappearance and hidden away before the rest of the clad had stripped away his name from existence."
"Now we have the real deal at our home." Tsubaki laughed lightly. "What a a strange family reunion!"
Maka smiled at the raven haired woman. She was quite, but she felt an instant connection with her. They were Soul's family, being here with them somehow felt right.
"So is he a dark sorcerer, then?" Black Star asked, bringing Maka back to reality.
"He seems to think so. I'm not so sure."
"How did he end up in the mirror?"
"I don't know. He won't talk about it. Yet," she added firmly.
Maka had several epiphanies today while hunting for Soul, terrified that she might never see him again.
The day had stretched on and on, and, alone with her thoughts and fears, certain facts had attained a stark clarity in her mind.
One was that she wanted to know everything there was to know about Soul.
All of it, good and bad.
She knew from the parts of his stories that had penetrated her stupor the night he'd killed the assassin masquerading as Room Service, that he'd had a wonderful childhood in the Highlands.
She knew also that, somewhere, something had gone terribly wrong. It seemed very painful for him to talk anout.
She wanted to know what it was; how he'd ended up in the mirror; how he could think he was a dark sorcerer when every time she looked at him, she saw goodness and light.
Maybe not pure sweet blinding light. Not even close.
Soul wasn't that kind of man and would never be.
Truth was, she didn't much like that kind of man anyway.
Soul wasn't one of the bad guys, but he could be if necessary, at the drop of a hat and utterly without remorse. But "bad guy" wasn't his primary persona.
He was what psychologists and anthropologists would call an Alpha male, men who were defined by an inherent lawlessness.
They obeyed only their own code, and if it happed to briefly converge with the laws of society-at-large, it was mere coincidence.
One could never be completely certain what an Alpha male would do if he, or those he considered his, were threatened.
One could only hope to stay within an Alpha male's protected circle—or as far out of his line of sight as possible.
Maka knew where she wanted to be, smack at the center of Soul's protected circle. And not just because someone was after her, but because he wanted her there under any circumstances.
That was the second epiphany she'd had today while frantically hunting for him.
"So you don't think he's dark or dangerous?" Black Star jarred her from her thoughts.
"You think he's a good man? Do you believe in him? With your heart?"
Maka looked at him curiously.
There was a note of urgency in his voice, as if the question was very important to him.
"You don't even know me. Would it matter to you if I did?"
"A woman's thoughts and feelings always matter to the McEvans men."
Hmmm. With each passing moment, she was liking McEvans men more and more.
"So? Do you?" he pressed.
"Yes," Maka said without reservation. "I do. I believe in him with all my heart."
Black Star and his wife shared a knowing look. "Well that's good enough for us. There's nothing stronger than love." Tsubaki sighed dreamily.
Love?
Do I love him? Maka thought as they drove away into the night.
When they got to the castle... Crimeny, she was in a castle!— Black Star guided her through at such breakneck speed that her surroundings whizzed by and she hardly managed to see a thing.
She got a brief, astonished glimpse of a magnificent great hall with a fabulous fairy-tale staircase that descended from both sides of the upper stories, a rapid look at a stunning suit of armor in an alcove, and a much-too-hasty glance into a darkly paneled room adorned by ancient weaponry, with claymores, battle-axes, spears, and broadswords gracing the walls in intriguing geometric patterns.
Maka positively itched to grab a chair, pull them down, and begin testing for authenticity.
Though she suspected everything she was seeing was the genuine article.
Why wouldn't the contents of the castle be from centuries long past?
The occupants had lived here through the ages.
After steering her into a library, Black Star deposited her there, then hurried off to gather the mirror.
Now, waiting by herself, she proceeded to take a thorough, fascinated peek around.
The library was a beautiful, spacious, yet cozily inviting retreat. Tall bay windows, draped in velvet, overlooked a manicured garden.
Cherry bookcases were recessed into paneled walls.
An enormous, dusky-rose stone and marble fireplace climbed one wall, the elaborate mantel climbing all the way to the ceiling.
There were many richly brocaded, overstuffed chairs and ottomans arranged in various conversation areas, beside lavishly carved, leather-detailed occasional tables.
The trey ceiling had ornate embossing and three tiers of elegant moldings.
A stately bar was custom-crafted into a section of the bookshelves.
From what she'd seen on her rushed way through, the entire castle was a historian's dream, liberally scattered with antiques and relics, and the library was no different.
Centuries-old tapestries adorned the walls. The room was illumed by exquisite—and she was willing to bet real—Tiffany table lamps that cast a stained-glass amber and rosy glow about the room.
The majority of the books on the shelves were leather-bound and some looked quite old, resting with care on their flats, not their spines.
A massive desk with a top inlaid of three gleaming burled panels divided by intricate Celtic knot-work occupied one corner, with a tall leather chair behind it.
Library tables perched beneath spotlighted portraits of McEvans ancestors. Muted antique rugs warmed the room, accented by an occasional plush lambskin.
A pretty ladder with sides of carved scrollwork slid along the walls of bookcases on padded wheels, atop the gleaming perimeter of wood floor.
Maka was just moving toward the ladder, to push it to an especially interesting-looking pile of manuscripts, when the Raven haired woman walked into the room.
"Welcome to Castle McEvans," she said breathlessly.
Judging by her rounding stomach walking up the stairs was an endeavor for her.
"Thank you for having us, Maka said softly.
Talking with other women had never been easy for her.
"We can't wait to hear your story. You can start now if you'd like," she said brightly. "I've been waiting all day since your man in the mirror got here."
"Oh, he's not really my man." Maka stammered, heat flushing her cheeks. "We're more like two people who got thrown together by a bad stroke of luck."
Tsubaki raised one dark brow at her. "Luck, even bad luck, is still a work of fate. Maybe the circumstances that brought you together weren't perfect, but the end result is what matters."
The end result? Maka mulled that over.
What would be their end result when all of this was over?
What would they do after Halloween when the curse was broken?
Black Star walked in then, toting the mirror, holding it by the sides.
She'd half expected to hear furious bellows heralding his approach, and was somewhat surprised that the glass was silent.
He crossed the room and propped the mirror up against the bookcase, near the conversation area where she and Tsubaki sat.
She peered at it. It was flat silver and there was no sign of Soul.
Maka hurried over to the looking glass, reaching instinctively for it.
At the same moment, Soul's hand rose within the silver as he stepped forward, making himself visible.
The world receded around her and narrowed down to nothing but Soul.
The expression in his crimson gaze was stark. "Och, Maka," he said, his butter-rum voice rough and low.
He was silent a moment, drinking her in.
"I'm not much of a man when I can't even protect my woman. The bloody glass reclaimed me and I couldn't get to you!"
My woman, he'd called her.
She could see in his eyes and hear in his voice that the day of worrying had been hell on him too.
She was sorry it had been; and she was glad. Glad it hadn't been just her going crazy. Glad because it meant his feelings matched hers.
"Yes, you are," she told him fiercely. "You're more man than any I've ever known. You're more man than any other man could ever hope to be. You've saved my life twice! I'd be dead if it weren't for you. Besides, you couldn't possibly anticipate that your stupid descendant would steal you. Who could have seen that coming?"
Behind her, someone cleared his throat.
With a note of wry amusement in his voice, he said, "His stupid descendant wishes to know how you release him from the glass."
She pressed her other palm to the glass. Soul aligned his to hers. They stared intently at each other. After being afraid she'd lost him, she needed to touch him, ached to feel his body against hers, to taste his kisses. To feels his hands claiming her.
His woman, he'd called her, and she was pretty sure those weren't words a ninth-century Highlander ever used lightly.
"Is it okay if I tell him?" she asked Soul.
He shrugged. "Aye, I suppose so. He has been nothing but kind to you?" Maka nodded her head then said over her shoulder, "There's a summoning spell—Lialth bree che bree, Soul Eater McEvans, drachme se-sidh—but it won't work right now because—" Even as she was about to explain that not enough time had elapsed since that morning when he'd last been out, the runes carved into the ornate frame began to blaze with a brilliant inner light and the parameters of the library felt suddenly skewed.
Maka's jaw dropped.
Soul looked just as startled as she. Then his dark eyes blazed with exultation.
"Maybe because the last two times were so short, lass," he exclaimed hoarsely. "Who cares the why of it?"
He pushed forward, reaching for her. One moment Maka had her palms pressed to cool glass, the next it was full black and icy, and then the warm strength of his hands was closing around hers.
He separated from the mirror, peeling away from the silvery rippling pool, walking her backwards, his eyes glittering with emotion and something else.
She shivered with anticipation.
Distantly, she heard Black Star and Tsubaki's startled exclamations, then heard nothing more as he drug her body against his, as close as he possibly could.
He held her in the kind of hug one gave to someone who you missed with all your being.
She melted against him, wrapped in his warmth.
"Is this castle warded, kinsmen is it safe?" he grated over her shoulder.
Black Star, at a loss for word, could only nod.
"Good, now get the bloody hell out of here."
Black Star bristled. "Not until you give us some answers kinsman."
"Later. I swear it on our family name." Soul said, as he buried his face in Maka's hair and sighed.
Black Star opened his mouth to protest, but Tsubaki took his hand gently.
She led him out of the library and shut the door firmly behind them.
"Holy hell, he just walked out of a blasted mirror! Love, we need some answers."
"The answers can wait for now my dear. Don't you remember how it feels to be separated from each other?"
Black Star smiled down at his sweet wife. "Yes, I keenly do. It's agony."
"Then lets give them some time to be together," Tsubaki said as she led her husband down the hall to their own room.
Black Star gave his wife a slow and wicked grin.
"I suppose that will give us some much needed time together too."
Black Star scooped his wife into his arms and trotted the last few steps to their bedroom, both laughing between kisses.