Chapter 8 – Runes and More Mysteries
BPOV
Since leaving the marriage ceremony of Maribella and Iain, the Algiz has appeared in the strangest places and it was always paired with the McGregor seal or a crown. During one visit another sigil appeared with it. The sigil looked a little like a flamboyant capital "F." The first message was clear: someone in the McGregor clan was evil, whether it was the Laird or one of the mages was unclear. But what the second sigil or crown meant was alluding me. And the only person I could ask was Uncle McCullough and I haven't encountered him since the wedding ceremony.
I sighed and closed the journal I was writing in, the third. I had no idea what day it was as time had become a foreign concept to me. One event blended into another and I learned a little from each. Like Uncle McCullough, I hadn't seen Maribella, Iain, or Ewan. If it wasn't for my knowledge of the McCullough clan history, I would have believed they had died. In reality, they left a fortnight after the wedding, in the dead of night, after McGregor had found out Maribella had married Ewan in secret and disowned her. So, the trio had no choice but to leave.
Their disappearance didn't stop me from moving through time. Some events went on for days, even weeks. Once I was in one place for a month. Each time period I found myself in, I learned from. The last thing I learned, before finding myself back in the gray room, or as I deemed it, my journaling cell, was that none had seen the McGregor. When he withdrew from public life, I couldn't find out nor did Carlisle.
Carlisle was a constant and kept an ear out for information during the times when I was writing. He hadn't learned much more than what I knew from history lessons taught by my grandmother. When I reappeared the last time, a few weeks after learning of McGregor's withdrawal, Carlisle had a gift for me. He presented me with a leather-bound book with carefully drawn pictures of the markings from the trees I had found the day Ewan and Maribella married and other markings he had found in a cave when he and Edward sought shelter from the sun. I still couldn't make heads or tells of the tree markings even though Uncle McCullough translated them. I trusted his translation. The ones from the cave I could easily read.
I open the second journal, turning to my translation of the cave markings. I read for it thousandth time, "The key to saving the McGregor and McCullough clans lies in the bite of a vampire."
Venom?
It couldn't be. I would have a seizure if I drank… drank. My drinking the venom of the Cullens had been the plan but then I had a dream or was it a vision, of what would happen to me.
I shivered at the image of me laying on the ground convulsing. It was scary and still haunted me. I wished Alice was with me. She would tell me if it was a possibility. I pushed the thought of seizures and Alice from my mind and turned my attention back to the translation. The word "bite" caught my eye.
A vampire biting me never crossed my mind or anyone else. What I didn't know was the precise moment when I was supposed to get bitten, or what would happen for that matter?
Looking up from what I was reading, I saw a flowing script on the wall. Words from the prophecy, or rather part of a personal message included at the end of the prophecy.
Blood, life, and magic will combine on a dark night where neither mage nor those who are ignorant will be able to see.
It was a reminder of part of my charge. The meaning was lost to me but I vowed to find the answer. All I did know was I wanted Edward to transform me. My eyes strayed to the ring Edward gave me on Valentine's Day. He was my anchor as much as Carlisle was my guide. I would get back to him. Turning back, I finished reading the entry.
A long yawn left me as I closed the book. When was the last time I slept? I couldn't remember.
A cot appeared in my cell. Above it the words: "Rest, Isabella."
I collapsed on the bed. My exhaustion was so deep that I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
When I woke, Carlisle was standing over me.
"Where am I?" I asked, sitting up and looking around.
The room I was in was small and had a single curtained window and an archway with a curtain. I was on the only bed. It was a little bigger than a full but not quite a queen. What surprised me was how soft it was. The blanket had slid down and was a dingy grayish brown, luckily I was dressed or I would have been pulling it up.
"My cottage," he answered. "Edward found you in the woods not far from here. He brought you here when he couldn't wake you."
"Nooo!" my mind screamed. I probed around me and found Carlisle was the only being near me.
"The strange thing is he didn't know who you were," he added. "Any idea why?"
I had one guess. "Maribella," I said. "She must have spelled him after he kissed me and I disappeared."
Carlisle took a seat in a wooden chair in the corner near the window. He was silent as he continued to study me. It felt like he was analyzing me like he would when trying to diagnosis a patient.
I squirmed under his scrutiny. He knew almost everything I did; although, I hadn't shared the fact Edward had kissed me.
"The Edward of this time period is connected," he stated. "How?"
A long breath left me before I divulged what the cave marking said and the message I read in the prophecy. I told him how I felt Edward was the key to it all. How I needed help figuring out what "dark night" was supposed to aid me in my task.
When I finished, Carlisle was once more silent. His thumb was under his chin as his forefinger rubbed his lip.
The action made me miss my family and a single tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away with my right hand.
"You have a long journey ahead of you, Isabella," Carlisle said at length. "I will continue to help you in every way I can. Where do you think we can find the answers you need?"
"The McGregor library," I replied without much thought. "And maybe the hidden journals Maribella kept."
Carlisle looked over his shoulder and I followed his gaze. Edward was approaching with a string of fish. I made a face, not relishing the idea of eating the fish. My stomach decided to make its presence known. Fish it was then.
I continued, knowing our time was about up. "Astronomy books might be the best place, but any book will do, especially books on the McGregor clan as I do not know anything of their history. The histories would help me with figuring out what I need to do to save both clans."
Carlisle nodded. "I'll see what I can sneak out of the manor. The journals will take longer."
I groaned, knowing Edward had hidden them. "Be careful when you speak with Edward about them," I said. "And guard your thoughts."
A smile split Carlisle's face. "I have been, Isabella."
"Carlisle," Edward called out.
The door closed and a minute later the curtain separating the sleeping chamber opened. Edward's gaze turned to me and he smiled.
"Miss, you do know falling asleep out in the open is dangerous," he said.
Always protective.
I nodded. "Thank you for bringing me here, Sir."
Edward's smile widened as he stepped further into the room.
My heart clenched as my eyes roamed him from head to foot. There were not many differences from twenty-third century Edward to the one standing before me. The only visible difference was he was wearing a plaid. The Cullen colors: black, white, and gray.
Dazzling.
I couldn't recall if I ever describe the impact Edward had on me but in this moment, he was magnificent. Being in his presence, it took my breath away. He made my heart speed up… made me want to throw caution to the wind and throw my arms around his neck. Kiss him. Another tear slipped down my cheek. In the future, or was it my past, I never analyzed my feelings for him. God, I loved him. And I wished I could tell him, but saving the clans kept my lips pressed together.
My clans?
Realization dawned on me with those words. I was the future laird of both clans. A history lesson, Grandfather taught me, came rushing back to me.
Little is known about the when and how of the arrival of Maribella, Ewan, and Iain. They were just part of the clan one day and no one questioned it. What is known is that they arrived in the dead of night during a rainstorm.
In the journal of Laird McCullough, Maribella's uncle (as he had not met his maker yet), a letter from Laird McGregor was found. It was heated and demanded Maribella and Iain return to McGregor lands immediately. It further stated this:
"In the eyes of the McGregor clan, Maribella's husband is Iain. If Ewan ever steps foot on McGregor lands, he will be put to death... upon sight."
Grandfather placed the green book down on the table and looked at me. There was a faraway sadness in his eyes. I was afraid to ask him what was wrong. After a moment or two more, he continued the lesson.
It is unknown if a reply was sent, though it is clear Maribella and Iain did not return home.
Laird McCullough's journal and the records of the McCullough's physician state Maribella was in no condition to travel. She was with child... Ewan's child.
Iain, you see, never slept with Maribella. And he was forced to sign the marriage contract before the mages had him under their control.
From Maribella's journal, we learn:
"No one thought to check the marriage contract after Iain signed it, for if they did, they would have seen he had signed Ewan's name. I said nothing, mainly because I could not speak when I signed. Iain's genius didn't stop there. Unbeknownst to all, Iain went to the little cottage Ewan and I spent time at, after Uncle's priest married us, and gathered the sheets with proof I was no longer a maiden. Magic hid them until they were needed. Only Iain did not know they would be needed so soon. When he produced them after the farce of a ceremony the mages made us go through, I laughed. In the morning, Father confirmed that I had been bedded," Grandfather read from a blue book.
No McCullough journal ever mentioned if word was ever sent to Laird McGregor about his grandchild. However, it was written the McGregor mages could not cross into McCullough lands. Magical wards prevented them and kept all who were within the boundary safe.
Laird McCullough, upon Maribella's arrival, gifted her with a necklace, and he told her as long as she wore it, the mages would not be able to harm her. That necklace was passed on to her granddaughter and so on until today.
Maribella's necklace hung around my neck and I fingered it. Had Grandfather been trying to tell me something with that lesson? I knew I was Maribella and Ewan's descendant. It was yet another puzzle. I gasped when realization hit me. What Iain told me about Grandfather… was true. I hadn't wanted to believe Iain but the truth was always right in front of me. Grandfather had told me with the only history lesson he taught me.
"Are you all right, Isabella?" Carlisle asked.
Glancing down, I noticed the necklace was glowing green, not that I needed the confirmation it gave me. My gaze turned to Carlisle, and I shook my head.
"Edward, give us a few minutes," Carlisle said.
Edward left without question. It was so unlike him, well, the Edward I will get to know. I wasn't taking chances of being overheard or having Carlisle's thoughts tapped, so I put a silencing spell on the small room.
"Talk to me," Carlisle requested.
How was I going to explain? Blowing out a breath, I gazed out the window and told Carlisle everything. I hoped was he might make connections I hadn't. See something that might help me. I saved what Iain told me for last.
"Maribella was sent into time because of some illness," I said.
Carlisle leaned forward. "What do you know of the illness?" he asked.
"Rapid heartbeat, fatigue, unease, and feelings of hopelessness," I rattled off. "Iain told me Maribella felt like the mages were on McCullough lands. He also believes there will never be a cure."
Carlisle pursed his lips. "Did future me have any theories?"
My face contorted into a grimace. "I didn't speak with you before slipping into time."
The fatherly look he gave me had me squirming again.
"I know, I know," I said. "I should have sought you out—"
He cut me off. "Maribella gave birth. It is not uncommon for a new mother to feel all those symptoms. It does have a name. I have heard some doctors call it insanity. To me, it doesn't fit. Most get better but others get thrown into hospitals."
"Postpartum depression," I whispered.
Carlisle gave me a curious look.
"That is what it will be called in the future," I explained. "New mothers are monitored closely while in the hospital. I believe they are giving literature on the subject and told to talk to their doctor if they are experiencing any of the symptoms," I explained. "It is no longer 'a dirty little secret' but a treatable disorder."
"Hmmm," Carlisle started, "if it is treatable, then why was Maribella not brought back from where she was sent."
A long breath left me. "That a mystery I have to solve, too."
I fell silent a moment. "Can I ask you something?"
Carlisle chuckled. "Yes, Isabella, ask me anything. I will answer if I can."
"What is the date?
"The thirty-first of May," he replied. "Why do you ask?"
Closing my eyes, I probe the area. The only person I sense is Edward. It was a bit weird. This was the first time the mages weren't around. "How soon can you get into the library?"
"Tonight."
I sighed and nodded, praying that I would still be around when Carlisle got the books for me.
