Ian (5 page)

“Aye, ye ken the sayin’.” Kyla looked right at Ian when she recited it. “If ye love me, pop and fly, and if ye hate me . . . burn and die!”

Why did Ian feel as if she were telling him to go to hell for what he’d done? He didn’t like the way things were turning out this night already.

“Well I dinna believe in witchery or spells,” said Ian, trying to sound convincing. In reality he believed in them
a lot, as he’d seen from first-hand experience just how well they worked.

“Kyla says she saw some glowin’
eyes in the forest,” relayed Coira. “And she heard someone hummin’ an eerie tune as well.”

“
Nay, ye must be mistaken. It’s probably jest someone walkin’ around with a carved gourd with a candle in it as they go aboot beggin’ fer soul cakes,” said Ian. “I wouldna worry aboot it at all.”

“I ken what I saw,” Kyla told him
. Her eyes bore into him. “I am no’ a child makin’ up stories jest te get attention.”

“Who said ye were?” he answered
back.

“I am sure thet’s what ye are thinkin’.”

“Come on, let’s go te the bonfire, and stop all yer bickerin’ already, will ye?” Onyx said as he put his wildcat on the ground and it took off into the shadows.

“We’re no’ goin’ anywhere afore ye two take off tho
se ridiculous costumes,” growled Ian.

“Fine,”
said Aidan, taking off his shawl and pulling the ribbon from his hair and throwing them to the ground. Onyx did the same. “But if ye and Kyla are goin’ te be bickerin’ all night, ye’re goin’ te ruin the whole celebration. Now kiss and make up already and let’s get goin’.”

“What?” asked Kyla and Ian at the same time.

Aidan laughed at their reaction. “Ye fools, ye sound as if ye thought I really wanted ye two te kiss.”

“I dinna think thet,” said Kyla, crossing her arms and looking the other way.

“Neither did I.” Ian stared at the ground.

“Well, guid thing,” said Aidan puttin
g one arm around Ian’s shoulder, and the other around his sister’s. His squirrel scampered across their shoulders and to the ground, disappearing into the night. “Becooz,” Aidan continued, “if I e’er even thought ye two were kissin’ I’d kill ye both.”

They both just stayed quiet and looked
away from each other. Onyx laughed and then Aidan joined in.

“I’m jest kiddin’,” said Aidan
, hitting first Ian and then his sister on the shoulder. “Ye two need te have some mountain magic and loosen up already. Ye both seem so uptight tonight. I’ve ne’er seen ye like this afore.”

“I’m fine,” said Kyla, pushing away from her bro
ther and heading off with Coira toward the bonfire and away from the men.

“Ian?” Aidan looked at him.

“What?” asked Ian raising his hands in mock surrender. “I kent ye were jestin’ all along.” He flashed a smile and hurried toward the bonfire just wanting this night to be over.

Chapter 5

Kyla threw another hazelnut into the fire, not caring if it popped or burned. She knew now that no matter how hard she wished she and Ian could be together as a couple, that it would never happen.

He was used to more experienced women. Women who were used to baring their breasts in the stable and spreading their legs at just the flash of a smile from him. She
could never be that way. She’d only just now experienced her first kiss from a man, and though she enjoyed it, she’d also been nearly scared out of her mind.

But she
liked it. A lot. And her mind kept racing as she wondered just how it would feel to be laying back upon the hay with the air kissing her naked flesh and her legs spread wide as she welcomed the aroused manhood of –”

“Ian.”

“What?” She looked up, wondering who was reading her mind.

“I said Ian has been watchin’ ye all night,” said Coira, motioning with her eyes to the other side of the bonfire.

Kyla looked up to see Ian hunkered down in front of the fire, breaking up kindling and throwing it into the flames. His gaze was focused on her, and for a brief moment their eyes interlocked. She felt a wave of excitement surge through her, and then purposely looked the other way and forced a laugh.

“
What are ye laughing aboot?” asked Effie, walking up with one of the children who had been singing for soul cakes. Effie sat down next to her and pulled the youngster onto her lap. She then handed the young boy one of the soul cakes they’d collected that night.

“Kyla’s pretendin’ te be happy, but I ken she’s no’,” said Coira.

“Really?” Effie looked to her in question. “And why would ye be doin’ somethin’ like thet?”

“I am happy,” Kyla lied. “I have no reason no’ te be, do I?”

“I see.” Effie looked across the fire and Kyla’s eyes followed. She saw Ian stand up quickly and walk over to join Onyx and Aidan as they passed around a sheep’s bladder of mountain magic. “Did somethin’ happen with Ian, by any chance?”

“Nay!” Kyla answered
quickly, not wanting to look at Effie or she’d know the truth. But she couldn’t lie to her best friends. Besides, Effie was very aware of everything going on, and she could read Kyla like a book. “Aye,” she admitted with a sigh, and looked down and dragged her finger through the dirt aimlessly.

“Sweetie, go on and play with the others,” said Effie, sending the little boy away. Then she turned back to Kyla. “Are ye goin’ te tell us aboot it or did ye want us te guess?”

“Aye,” said Coira anxiously. “Tell us what happened.”

“All right,” said Kyla, “but ye both have te swear
ye’ll tell no one what I am aboot te say. And if ye dinna agree - then me lips are sealed.”

“Kyla, ye ken I willna say a wo
rd,” said Coira softly. Kyla knew that was the truth, as the girl was very shy and barely spoke to anyone but her and Effie.

“
I dinna want me brathair to ken what I am aboot te say.” Kyla looked directly at Effie when she said it.

“Kyla,
why would I tell me husband? After all, we all ken thet Aidan canna keep a secret, but I can. Ye have me word thet I will ne’er tell him thet somethin’ happened between ye and his best friend if ye dinna want me te.”

“Did Ian say somethin’ te ye?”
Kyla asked, needing to know if Ian had spilled their secret.

“Nay,” answered Effie.
“No one had te tell me, as I see the way the two o’ ye look at each other. Now tell me already afore I’m forced te go ask him meself.”

“Nay! Dinna do thet. I’ll tell ye.” She took a deep breath and then released it, and closed her eyes when she answered. “We kissed.”

“Ye did?” asked Coira anxiously. “Like friends, or like lovers?”

Kyla’s eyes opened and she spied Ian on the other side of the bonfire. Two girls were
holding onto his arms and he was laughing and smiling and she wanted to spit in his face.

“Well, thet all depends on who ye ask,” Kyla answered. “I say lovers, but he said he kissed me only te try te make me leave him alone.”

“Thet makes no sense,” said Effie. “I’m sure he felt something between ye and jest didna want te tell ye.”

“I dinna
think so,” said Kyla, shaking her head slowly. “And I feel like such a fool, as I was pesterin’ him jest like he said.”

“Nay, ye werena,” said Coira.

“Aye, I was.” Kyla stood up and rubbed her hands together to wipe off the dirt. “But dinna worry, as it’ll ne’er happen again. Because as o’ this night, I ne’er want anythin’ te do with Ian MacKeefe e’er again!”

Ian watched from the corner of his eyes as Kyla got up and walked away from her friends. He then let go of the two girls on his arms, making an excuse, and went over to join Onyx and Aidan. He felt bad having to march around with girls on his arms in front of Kyla, but if he didn’t, she might think he had eyes for her. He couldn’t have her, nor any of his friends, thinking that. He would do whatever it took to forget about that kiss in the stable, even if her essence still lingered on him and he wanted more than anything to do it again.

“Come on, Ian,” said Onyx, holding his baby in his arms. Lovelle was at his side. “Aidan is goin’ te tell ghost stories te the
bairns and we ken how much ye like thet.” He grinned devilishly knowing Ian did not like ghost stories at all.

“Aye,” said Aidan, “and afterwards,
auld Callum is goin’ te bring out more spirits, and I dinna mean the kind thet fly, but the ones thet make ye feel like ye’re flyin’ after a swig or two.”

“I’ll be there in a minute, go ahead,” he said. He’d seen Kyla heading away from the fire
looking upset. He wanted to stay there for a few minutes to make sure she was all right. There was a chill in the air tonight, and he still felt the sense of doom about him. And those damned birds were starting to circle the sky above him now.

Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.
But then again, he always felt this way on All Hallow’s Eve.

He turned back toward the fire
after the others headed away, only to bump into the same woman who’d been begging for soul cakes earlier. She held one in her hand now and looked up and smiled slightly. “Watch as I take a bite and release a trapped soul from purgatory,” she said.

“Go on away from here,
” he said with a shake of his hand. “I dinna believe in thet sort o’ witchery.”

“W
ell, ye should, Ian MacKeefe. Becooz ye’re aboot te witness it fer yerself.”

“How do ye ken who I am?” Ian watched the
woman take a bite of the cake and hand it to him. He instinctively took it. Then she did the oddest thing. She started humming the tune that had been stuck in his head for as long as he could remember.

“Who are ye?” he asked. “Are ye some sort o’ witch who can look inte me mind?”

“Ye’re the only one who can look inte yer mind and chase away the demons from the past,” she told him. “Look.” She held out a finger and pointed toward the bonfire. He turned to see what she was pointing at, and wished he hadn’t. A dark cloud appeared in the midst of the fire. He watched in amazement as it swirled around and then took form, into the shape of a man. And then to his horror, he saw the face of the man in the flames. Tearlach MacTavish. The man he’d killed three years ago on this night.

“Nay,” he mumbled to himself. “This canna be happenin’. Ye bastard, ye are deid!”

Kyla
held the half apple in one hand and a hairbrush made from boar bristles in the other. Coira stood in front of her holding up a shiny metal platter that they’d borrowed from the pub.

“Come on, Kyla, jest try it,” Coira urged her on. “The gypsies I used te live with always did this when they wanted to see their future husbands.
If ye want te find out, this is the night thet it will happen. All Hallow’s Eve is when ye can see the future as well as see deid spirits from the past.”

“I dinna ken,” she said, feeling the
heat of the flames of the bonfire at her back. “I feel silly and dinna want anyone te see me doin’ it.”

“No one is lookin’,” said Coira. “Besides, they’ll jest think ye’re eatin’ an apple and brushin’ yer hair. Now come on already. Do ye want te see yer future husband or no’?”

“All right,” she finally agreed. “Hold the platter a little higher.”

“Now remember, on this night ye’ll see the face o’ yer future husband o’er yer shoulder in the flames.
”

Kyla
’s eyes darted around quickly and she hoped her brother and his friends wouldn’t see this. If so, they would tease her about it for the rest of her life. She let out a deep breath and hurriedly took a bite of the apple while dragging the brush through her hair. Then she looked straight at the reflection in the platter of the bonfire flames directly behind her.

“Well?” asked Coira
with wide eyes. “Do ye see anythin’?”

“Nay. This is ridiculous.” Kyla was
ready to walk away, when all of a sudden she saw a face of a man reflecting in the platter from the flames behind her. “Wait. I do see someone.”

“Is it Ian?” asked Coira anxiously.

“Nay.” She squinted and looked closer at the platter. “It is a man thet seems te be more than twice me age and has dark, eerie eyes and a slight beard and mustache.”

“What else?” asked Coira. “Is he handsome?”

“No’ really,” she said in disappointment, shaking her head. “And I see a scar in the shape o’ an x on his cheek.” Then it seemed as if the man looked right toward her, with flames leaping from his eyes. It scared her, and she jumped back, dropping the apple and the brush. “No more!” She used her hand to knock the platter away and spun on her heel toward the fire to see the eerie face that was peering at her over her shoulder.

But when she turned around, the man was gone. And instead, through the flames she saw Ian standing there. He looked right at her, but didn’t
seem to even see her. He had a surprised look upon his face at first, and then his brows dipped and she could see what looked like fear mixed with anger. Then he threw something into the fire that looked like a soul cake, and turned and rushed away.