Page 71 of Highlander’s Hope

“Goodbye, Marjorie,” he whispered, staring at the closed door and wondering how he was going to breathe in a world where she didn’t exist.

He went to his bedroom, where three wounded lay sleeping, and quietly changed to his cargo pants, his T-shirt, and his jacket. He’d been here, what? A week or so? He’d lost count of how many days. The modern clothes felt foreign on him, as though they belonged to another life.

To another man.

He considered stopping by Colin’s bedroom and saying goodbye, but he didn’t want to wake the boy.

From the pocket of his military jacket, he fished out the watch Andy had given him. It was 5:34 p.m. The second hand on the watch ticked, cutting the time, stealing it bit by bit from Konnor.

He didn’t want to leave Marjorie and Colin. But he couldn’t leave his mother alone.

And even if he didn’t have his mom, nothing could change the fact that he just wasn’t great husband or father material. A little game of soccer and him saving the boy hadn’t changed that. He was a soldier, and it was a soldier’s duty to protect and save people. And soccer… Big whoop. Anyone could kick a ball around with a boy.

Still, he’d miss Colin. He climbed the stairs to the next floor and opened Colin’s bedroom door. It was dark inside with the shutters closed. The boy lay in the bed and slept peacefully under the blanket. Konnor found himself itching to tuck him in and kiss his forehead to say goodbye.

He put his watch on one of the chests in the corner and threw a last glance at Colin’s unruly head of hair. Why did it feel like betrayal that he was leaving him and Marjorie?

He walked through the courtyard where dead bodies lay lined along the wall. A razor blade was cutting out his heart with each step he took. He wanted to say goodbye to Muir and Malcolm and other warriors he’d fought shoulder to shoulder with. He wanted to help bring Tamhas’s body back.

But it would be better if he left now.

As he walked out of the gates, someone called after him.

“Konnor!”

He looked back. Isbeil wobbled towards him. For the first time since he’d met her, she looked tired. Her eyes were sunken deeper into her sockets, and her aged skin had an ashen undertone.

“Leaving, are ye?” she said when she came to stand and face him. Her black eyes, though bloodshot, pierced him sharply.

“Yes.”

“Hm. I thought more of ye.”

“I never promised to stay.”

She nodded. “Aye. ‘Tis true. Are ye saying the faerie that commands the magic of time travel was wrong about ye?”

He swallowed a lump the size of a boulder. “Unfortunately, she was. I have to go. I’ve fulfilled my duty here. Marjorie is safe, so is Colin. I have a person in my life who’s waiting for me, and who needs me.”

“Be well, Konnor. Something tells me, though, I still may see ye.”

Konnor shook his head, and on a strange whim, leaned down and hugged the tiny woman with one arm. She smelled of herbs, blood, and something waxy, like old wood. “Take care of her, will you?” he murmured.

When he released Isbeil, her eyes watered.

Without another word, Konnor turned and left the castle. Time crawled. With each step, he felt like the ground itself clawed at his feet, making it difficult to move forward. He followed the stream that went into the woods and continued down into the ravine to the east.

Twilight had descended by the time he made it to the ruin. He studied the remnants of the ancient tower, the rubble around it, and finally the damned time-traveling rock itself. Compared to a few days ago, he felt like he was coming back as a different man—broader, bigger, and lighter. Expanded.

But with a huge, open wound and his heart ripped out from his chest.

A figure in a long cloak sat on one of the stones of the tower and held something in her hands. Marjorie, he thought, his gut squeezing with excitement.

“Loves me, loves me nae…” A white petal flew in the air. “Loves me, loves me nae…” Another petal fell.

The figure raised her hooded head.

“Sìneag…” Konnor murmured, his stomach dropping with disappointment.