*Cameron reached the cairn as the last stone settled, blocking Mariam within. She could not live alone, in the darkness, locked inside the tomb.
“Mariam!” The sound of his ragged breathing punctuated the air and mingled with the thudding of his heart. He skidded to a stop. His hands shot out as he thumped the solid stones before him. Pain rippled through his hands to his forearms, but it did not stop him.
“Release her!” He continued to assault the stone with his bare flesh until his fingers bled. When finally his attack on the cairn yielded no results, he drew his sword and thrashed at the stone with even more force.
He had to reach her. He could not leave her in there alone in the darkness.
Pain jabbed at his side as he threw his sword to the ground and started digging with bloody fingers, loosening the stones until one slipped out and then another. He had dislodged a dozen stones before he felt a presence at his side. “Help me reach her. Use your magic to free her,” he demanded of the woman he had known as Mistress MacInnes.
“You really love her, don’t you?”
“More than life itself,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. He pounded the stones before him. “Take me. Take me instead . . .”
Beside him, Mariam’s mother stretched an arm out to the sea and pulled it back along with an arc of seawater. With another wave of her hand, the wave crashed against the stones, creating an opening. Cameron jumped over the rock and ran to Mariam’s side, falling to his knees beside her. He cradled her in his arms. “I’m here. I’m here, Mariam.”
Bathed in moonlight, Cameron could clearly see the paleness of her face, the stillness of her chest. Fear and horror and panic coiled in his stomach. The light that had filled her when she’d summoned the wind had gone out of her fully now. She looked as fragile as a shell upon the beach. He looked up to see her mother standing beside them. “Use your magic. Bring her back to me!”
She looked stricken. “That I cannot do. Mariam has destroyed our power over life and death.” Her gaze moved to the back of the cairn, to where the cauldron used to reside. In its place was now a crater in the earth, surrounded by a light dusting of ash. The cauldron and all Mariam had flung inside it had vanished.
Her sacrifice had worked for everyone except herself.
A bleakness like none Cameron had ever known invaded his soul. For the first time in his life he had nothing to cling to, nothing to hope for as he stared down into the vacant, green eyes of the woman he loved.
She was so cold. He rubbed her hands. He caressed her cheeks.
There was no response.
“We are in a place of magic, and yet nothing can save her?” The words felt as though they were ripped from his throat. Tears welled in his eyes as an unbearable ache twisted his insides into a fiery knot.
“There is nothing more for us to do but say our goodbyes.” Sorrow laced her voice.
Cameron’s throat tightened, closed. He could not find the words to bid his love farewell. Instead, he bent his head and placed one last kiss upon her lips.
*
Mariam fought her way through the darkness, clawing with as much tenacity to reach Cameron as he had used to reach her inside the clutches of death. She fought the lethargy that weighed her down until she could summon a simple whisper of air. She pulled it into her lungs and breathed.
*
Cameron felt a hint of breeze upon his cheek. It was so soft at first that he dismissed it as only a figment of his imagination, then it came again, more forceful this time. He pulled back to see Mariam’s cheeks were tinged with pink. Her eyelids fluttered. His breath hitched.
Was she alive? Had she come back to him? He wanted to touch her, just to make certain this was no illusion, but he didn’t. If it was an illusion, he never wanted it to end.
But then tears welled in the green eyes that looked back at him. “I love you,” she whispered.
“Mariam—”
“I thought I could leave you in order to free the world of death and disease, but I could not go. I could not leave you.”
“You rid our little part of the world of those things anyway.” He finally brought his finger to her cheek, stroking it softly. She was real. “It is a miracle.”
“It is magic.”
He smiled. “I never truly believed in magic before, but I do now. Every bit as much as I believe in you and your goodness. You did it, Mariam. You saved us all.” He kissed the damp trail of tears on her cheeks, tasting the saltiness on his lips, his tongue. He kissed her eyelids and the downy softness of the hair at her temple.
“Where does this leave us? Will things go back to the way they were before we came here?”
“Tomorrow the sun will rise and we will be together. I will not risk losing you to anyone who fails to understand that your magic is not something to fear. That you are not anyone to fear. They will never know what you have done for them all, because we cannot tell them. But I know. And now it is up to me to keep you safe for whatever time we have left in this strange and wonderful world.”
“Is there anywhere safe?” Mariam asked. “I used to think I was safe at Ravenscraig Castle, but there will always be darkness and people who fear me. There will always be illness and fires, storms, and so many other things we cannot control.”
“You are right. There is much we cannot control.” The words had barely left Cameron’s lips when shapes appeared out of the darkness. The men they had left on the ship came closer, swords drawn.
Cameron helped Mariam to her feet, keeping his arm around her, supporting her until she regained her full strength. Beside him, Mariam’s mother raised her hands, ready to summon the water. “Hold,” Cameron demanded of the woman.
“You’re alive!” Alexander exclaimed as he sheathed his sword and hurried to Cameron’s side. The other warriors did the same. “Are you unharmed?” His gaze passed over Mariam, then Cameron, and finally the woman who he had known as Nessie. His eyes widened with surprise at the change in the old woman.
Orrin approached. “We feared the worst when that storm came out of nowhere and seemed to unleash itself right where you had gone.” He scanned the area. “But there is no evidence of any storm other than these stones strewn about.”
The others gathered around him and Mariam and Moira, their faces filled with concern more than fear. For that Cameron was grateful. His men were beyond brave. They had proven so many times in battle. “Men, what you have seen here is nothing short of a miracle. Though we may not understand the hows or the whys of it, Mariam and her mother, Moira, have gifts that have greatly benefitted us all by clearing the land of ash and ridding the air of sickness.”
Alexander’s gaze shifted between Mariam and Moira. “The wind . . . The waves that crested over the isle . . . My first response is to reject such an idea as nonsense and impossible. But then, after what we have just seen and experienced, it is hard to deny the truth.” He drew a ragged breath. “You did those things?”
Hesitantly, both women nodded.
“Magic,” Alexander said with wonder. “And you really are witches, aren’t you?”
In Cameron’s arms, Mariam tensed.
Seeing her anxiety, Alexander dropped to one knee before her. Orrin and the others followed his lead. “You have nothing to fear from us. We are honored to be your protectors. Your magic is a gift, not a curse. You have saved us all from many years of suffering by clearing the ash. We are grateful.”
“Thank you, Alexander, and all of you, for your loyalty,” Mariam said, her tension easing. “My mother and I are white witches. Our powers are to be used for good, not evil.” Mariam stepped out of Cameron’s arms and approached the men. “Please stand. We are all members of the same family who reside at Ravenscraig.” As each man rose, she placed her hand upon their shoulder. “What do you feel when I touch you?”
At first, they hesitated to answer but as she continued to touch each of them, they smiled and replied as a group, “Peace. Love. Hope. Life.”
Orrin’s eyes widened when she placed her palm on his shoulder. “I have never experienced anything like it. It’s as if I know you will make certain there is a positive outcome for my life.”
Mariam nodded. “As you protect me, I will protect you.”
“Does that mean you will return home with us?” Orrin asked.
Mariam looked back to Cameron. “If you will all have me.” The men cheered, their voices rising into the night.
Cameron moved to her side once more and took her in his arms. “Marry me?”
“But you are my guardian. Is such a thing possible?”
“About that, my heart.” He brushed his lips against her temple, pulling her closer still. “When I went to Falkland Palace, I asked the king to release me from that obligation and to grant me something more.”
“What was that?”
“You, as my bride.”
Her eyes widened. “Truly?”
He chuckled. “Why are you so surprised? You know I would do just about anything to keep you at my side. I wish to see you every morning when I get up and watch the waves curl against the shore with you each night before we go to bed. I want nothing more than to have you with me all the remaining days of my life.” As he said the words, the moon broke free from the clouds overhead, casting a silver light that encompassed them both.
“And I only want to spend the rest of my days with you.” Her smile was radiant. “Aye. I want nothing more than to marry you.”
Another cheer rose up from his men, and Moira’s face lit with pleasure.
Filled with joy, Cameron lifted Mariam off her feet and twirled her around until they were both breathless and laughing. As their laughter faded, Cameron’s hold loosened and he slid her down the length of his body to the ground. His gaze moved over her face, memorizing each curve, each nuance.
As she stared back, her joy seemed to fade as a hint of worry entered her eyes.
“What is it, Mariam?”
“Your men here have accepted my mother and myself and our magic, but what of everyone else at the castle? All it takes is one of them to speak out against us to the authorities, and we will be put on trial.”
“If you would feel more at ease, the three of us could move to Kinmount House with Quinn and Vivian. All who reside there are given immunity and cannot be charged. Would that bring you peace of mind?”
“You would leave everything at Ravenscraig behind for me?”
“I could put Ian in charge while I am gone. He would make certain all are cared for as I would care for them.”
Mariam looked beyond Cameron to the men who stood beside him. Their heads were bowed with disappointment. “Nay,” she said straightening. “I want to go back to Ravenscraig. That is my home and these men and their families are my people. I must trust that they will accept me for who I am.”
Happiness filled Cameron. “It’s settled then, let us set sail as soon as we have morning light.”
*
It was close to evening the next day when all who had sailed to the Isle of May returned to the castle. Mariam rode with Cameron as they made their way over the drawbridge.
Cameron pulled her against him. “Ever since you arrived here, I was always eager to see those gates, knowing you waited within.”
Mariam turned in the saddle to bring her gaze to his. “I never thought I would ever be this happy. Thank you, for giving me back my life, and hope for the future.”
He brushed her forehead with his lips as they made their way through the outer bailey. “Our life here and our children will fill these walls with not only hope, but also love.”
“Children?” Her hand came up to span her abdomen. “I had not considered a child.”
“Would you give me a child, Mariam? A magical daughter? A warlock for a son?”
“Or a typical baby with no magic at all,” she said with a teasing smile.
“Would you like that? To start a family?”
As they processed into the inner bailey. The sight that greeted wrought a gasp of surprise from Mariam. Cheers went up as she and Cameron rode through the crowd. Everyone congregated in the courtyard to greet them. All signs of influenza were gone. Men, women, and children all appeared hale and hearty.
Vivian and Quinn stood beside the open castle doors, holding their infant twins in their arms. Vivian waved as Cameron brought his horse to a stop. “Welcome home.”
Cameron dismounted, then reached up to lift Mariam to the ground. She looked about the courtyard that had not long ago been filled with ash. Not a trace remained. Even so, there were signs of what had happened here. The plants were withered and the grass had dried to a russet brown. But just as there had been for her, a rebirth would come as soon as the first rain fell.
Mariam slid her arms around Cameron’s waist and held on to him. Even though they were surrounded by people, it felt as if she and Cameron were the only two people in the world. Closing her eyes, she let the moment settle inside her so that she would always remember this, the moment she and Cameron had started their lives as husband and wife. They had yet to take their vows, but a ceremony didn’t matter. This moment was the beginning of their new life together.
Cameron must have sensed her thoughts because he smiled down at her as he took her face in his hands and kissed her with the promise of forever between them. “You no longer have to be afraid.”
Mariam grinned and looked up at him with bright, shining eyes. “Nay, I no longer have to be alone.” She rose up on her toes and kissed him as exuberant shouts and whistles filled the courtyard.
She would never be alone again.
The End
Want more? Check out Vivian and Quinn’s story in Seven Nights with a Scot!
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