Loki held the door for the old man, peering at the wee one by the man’s side. He spoke to the innkeeper, who led them to a small private dining chamber with a table for six and a warm hearth.
Loki handed the man a coin and said, “Meat pies and ale for all, and some goat’s milk for the wee one if you have it.” The urchin was a lass, gaunt and still shivering, who looked no older than two summers. She never spoke, just stared at them with dark circles under her eyes.
When the innkeeper left, he turned to the man in furs, as yet unnamed.
“How do you know my name?” Kenzie blurted out.
The man settled in the chair closest to the hearth, lifting the wee lass onto his lap and covering her with his furs to warm her. He lowered his hood again, revealing chubby cheeks and a full beard of a mixture of white and gray whiskers. Wrinkles covered his skin where it was visible, and his kind eyes were a shade of gray unlike anything Loki had ever seen before.
Once they were all seated, the man replied, “I had hoped to see you again someday. We met, och, mayhap two summers ago. You were a new one in the land of orphans, and I offered to take you home with me, just as I’ll do with this wee one on my lap.”
“But I don’t remember you,” Kenzie declared, clearly frustrated by this piece of news.
“Who are you?” Loki asked.
Fergus stood abruptly, interrupting them. “I’ll search the area, make sure we’re safe here for the night. Then I’ll find a place for the guards to stay.”
Loki nodded, then waved him off.
“I go by many names,” the man in the furs said, “but you may call me Bor. I travel to save the wee ones. ‘Tis how I met Kenzie here. He took the death of his parents hard. I invited him to stay with me, but he refused. ‘Twas his choice, but I wished him well.”
“Bor…” Kenzie began. “But I do not ever remember speaking with you.”
Loki put his hand on the lad’s shoulder. “Sometimes when pain is fresh, it prevents aught from settling in your mind. You may have met him immediately after you lost your parents. The mind protects itself in odd ways.” At least, he was fairly certain that was the reason he couldn’t remember why his name was Loki. He’d blocked it out for some reason.
With a twinkle in his eye, Bor nodded. “I accept it if you do not remember me. We’re all here together now.”
“There was a lad who lived behind the inn in Woodgait, the same place my papa and I once lived,” Kenzie said. “Where is he? They said he was ill.”
Bor shook his head. “He is back at my cottage, healing. The cold, damp conditions were too much for him, and he was quite sick. I’m heading that direction on the morrow. I wish to get wee Ami back before it’s too late for her. She needs heat.”
“Ami is her name?” Loki asked. The lass was as cute as any young lass could be, though she lacked the fat needed to survive the harsh winters in their land.
As if on cue, the wee lass climbed off of Bor’s lap and stepped cautiously over to Kenzie, tugging on his hand. “Does she not speak?” Kenzie asked, as he hauled the wee bairn up onto his lap.
“Nay, but she is only around two summers old. Her full name is Amice. You’re young, lad. She seeks your heat, the heat that I can only give her with my furs. Wrap your arms around her to warm her.”
“Where did she come from? She’s too young to lose her mother,” Loki said.
“I found her at the kirk. She’d wandered in and settled on one of the benches. I know not how the priest knew her name, but he did. All he could tell me was that she was English and her parents were gone.”
Kenzie warmed Ami as best he could, wrapping his arms around her. She cuddled next to him, stuck her thumb in her mouth and closed her eyes.
Not long after, the innkeeper came in with a tray of meat pies along with a sweet-smelling broth full of root vegetables, goblets of ale, and goat’s milk for sweet Ami. Before he left, he said, “Your sleeping chambers are ready for you, my lord.” Loki thanked him and advised him they’d find him when they were ready to bed down for the night.
They all ate heartily, especially Ami, who took a special liking to the warm broth. She stayed seated between Loki and Kenzie on a tall stool the innkeeper brought in, occasionally offering them all a warm smile. Once they finished the meal, Bor looked at Kenzie and said, “I sense you have more questions for me, lad. Go ahead and I’ll answer what I’m able.”
Kenzie glanced at Loki, who nodded, encouraging him to ask his questions. Mayhap the end of their journey was already upon them, although Loki doubted it would be this easy.
He was certain of one thing. This was the man in his dreams.
Kenzie struggled to find words, but he finally met the man’s eyes and said, “I have had dreams about a man in furs. Are you that man?”
Bor chuckled. “Son, there are many men who travel covered in furs this time of year. We do not all don plaids as the Highlanders do. I am an older man, so I must do my best to keep warm.”
“How many years are you, Bor?”
He chuckled. “I don’t know if I can answer that, to be honest. I believe I’ve lost count.”
“How many years have you been searching for orphans? And where do you go?” Loki interjected. He wanted more information from the man.
“Mostly I travel to the royal burghs—Edinburgh and Ayr are the cities where I find the most orphans, though I have also traveled to Glasgow on occasion. Some are not orphans at all, but were dropped at the markets in Edinburgh because their parents had too many mouths to feed. They leave the eldest ones, or the ones who can help them the least.
“I can hold up to fifteen orphans. Bestla is my dear wife. There are other women who assist her with the others, especially when I leave on my journeys. The older children must learn to help, too. Basically, when I lose a few, I search for more. They grow up and move on.”
Kenzie looked more confused than ever. “So did you come to me in my dreams? I do not understand any of it,” he huffed out.
Loki knew exactly how his son felt. Why had the man told them to hurry? Why would he have come to the two of them at all?
“Kenzie, people who have dreams like that often have them because they are confused. Are you confused about something?”
Kenzie glanced at Loki again, and Loki nodded. It was time for him to tell all. “I loved my mama and papa verra much, but they died from the fever.” His eyes misted so he swiped at them roughly. “Then I lived behind the inn and I was always cold and hungry. Now I have a new mama and papa.”
“Why would you leave your new clan at this time of the year? The winter solstice is almost upon us. Don’t you all celebrate with mid-winter feasts and merriment?”
“Aye, and I did not wish to come because Mama’s about to have a new babe, and I’m worried I’ll miss Aunt Maddie’s giant banquet of food, and Grandpapa and Grandmama are at our keep and I love them. But is it wrong to love them and my true parents and Loki and Bella all together? Would my sire be angry with me if he knew I’d traveled to live with another?” He wiped a hand over his forehead as if exhausted by all the thoughts running through his head. “The man in furs came to me and he, nay, you told me to bring my papa to Ayr, but I don’t understand why, and Grandmama said something that confuses me even more.”
“What did she tell you?”
“She said that the more love you give, the more you will receive.”
“And you don’t understand that?”
“Nay. How do you receive love? They all give to me—food and clothes and hugs and a slinger and friends—and I don’t know how to give love back. What if they change their mind and want me to go away…” The tears erupted in full at his last comment.
“That will never happen,” Loki said firmly. “We all love you, Kenzie. We would never let you leave unless you were grown and wished to go somewhere else. Then it would be your choice.”
“Kenzie, I think you should visit my cottage,” Bor said. “Come and see the bairns I have living with me. Mayhap it will answer some questions you have.”
“May we go, Papa? I want to see the lad who lived in our spot.”
“Where is your cottage, Bor?”
“Closer to Edinburgh. If we leave early, we shall be there by high sun.”
***
In the middle of the night. Loki bolted up from his bed, wondering where he was. Once he recalled their plight, he rubbed his eyes to get the sleep from them.
The man in the furs had returned in his dream again, but this time his hood had hidden his entire face.
“Why do you not ask the man?” the hooded figure asked. “Just come out and ask him what you wish to know.”
Loki shook his head, refusing to ask any questions. Kenzie was managing to get many of their answers, so there was no need for him to admit that he, too, was experiencing the dreams.
In response, the man said, “But Kenzie does not know the answers you seek, does he? You are the only one who knows what tears at your insides. Ask the question.”
The man of furs was correct again. If he wished to be free of what haunted him, he needed to be open about it. His mother had named him Lucas, so who had given him the name of Loki?
It was a simple question, and yet his soul would not rest until he found the answer.
***
Fergus found his way back to the inn. He’d left again in the middle of the night, his soul unsettled. He brushed his fingers through the red beard he’d grown to warm his face for winter, then did his best to straighten his long locks. The ends had begun to curl. Mayhap he should have cut it, but it would keep his neck warm through the cold Highland winter. He had been born with the same coloring as his only brother Finlay, but Finlay’s had darkened while his remained a strong red. He was a bit shorter than his brother, though he’d spent much time working in the lists to build up his strength. His shoulders had broadened from the frequent swordplay.
Ever since Finlay had become Jamie’s second, Fergus had felt a bit lost. For a time, he and Finlay had both hoped to be Loki’s second, competing for the revered position, but their mother’s illness had called them home.
As far as Fergus was aware, no one had yet been assigned that coveted position. Though he was loath to leave his father and brother, he could not get much closer to Clan Grant than Castle Curanta. After they returned from their trip, mayhap he’d ask Loki for the title he still wanted.
He had two goals now. One was to impress Loki, and the second was to find the lass of his dreams. She was close—he could feel it. But where? He’d spent the night searching all of Ayr, asking everyone he encountered if they’d ever seen a lass who looked like the one he desperately sought.
Naught. Nothing. No one.
Where the hell would he find her?