Chapter Five
As John drove to the door, Magda rushed out. She saw Malcolm in the back holding Carrie. As he carefully got out, he looked toward Magda and shook his head to let her know to be quiet in case she woke Carrie. Magda followed Malcolm into the bedroom and watched him gently lay Carrie down on the bed and covered her up. He kissed her cheek and walked out of the room with Magda. He left the door open in case she needed something and so he could keep watch over her.
They walked into the kitchen where tea and biscuits waited. Magda poured the tea, and they both sat at the table before she finally asked Malcolm what happened. Malcolm explained how Carrie had heard Bobbie’s life force reach out to her for help. Magda listened carefully, not interrupting until he finished the story. What she said next filled Malcolm with dread.
“Well, I think we need to take her to the Cailleach,” she said. “There’s no doubt she is very gifted. We need to find out if she is meant for us. If she is, and she is willing, we will have to perform the ceremony for the Chosen One.”
Malcolm wasn’t keen at all on that idea. “Ma, I want to wait. I want to take Carrie through the mating ritual first if she is willing. I will be able to hear her thoughts. I can already feel what she is going through. I need to know if something goes wrong in case she needs me. I can’t let her go through a ceremony that hasn’t been performed in hundreds of years, not knowing what to expect. None of us know what kind of risk she’s taking, and I won’t be left blind. I must know she’s going to be all right. Give me some time to ask her about the mating ritual and tell her what we think she might be. It might be more than she can take. I think I’ll visit Aldain and let him know what’s happening. Hopefully having Tori and him here will help give Carrie some moral support.”
Magda agreed. She couldn’t imagine someone finding out they were the mate of a dragon shifter and a Chosen One in such a short amount of time. Carrie could use all the support she could get. Malcolm wanted to wait until Carrie woke up before he left. He needed to know she was going to be okay. Malcolm slept in a chair by her bedside, and he was glad he did because, like she had warned him, strange things happened.
Carrie opened her eyes to the sound of a woman’s voice calling out her name. She looked around, thinking it came from somewhere in the house. Everything seemed quiet, so who was calling her? She noticed that Malcolm had fallen asleep in a chair by her bedside. So as not to wake him, she slowly, quietly, got out of bed and dressed. She started to follow the voice that continued to call her name. It sounded like it was coming from the direction of the boat dock. As she got closer to the dock, she noticed about twenty feet in the middle of the water stood an old woman. She had long, gray hair, and her eyes were white. She beckoned to Carrie. Carrie felt a tingling course through her body. Her manner changed. It was like she was being compelled to walk to the old woman. She started walking toward her, arms outstretched, oblivious to how deep the water was getting.
Malcolm woke with a start, his dragon screaming at him that their mate was in extreme danger. He checked all over the room but there was no sign of her. How did she make it out without him hearing anything? He frantically searched the house and the grounds. Malcolm started to panic. He knew something was horribly wrong. He reached out to see if he could sense where she was. He could reach her, but her feelings didn’t make sense. It was like she was in a dream state. He could tell she was at the closest boat dock. His heart skipped when he realized she was in the water.
Without thinking he screamed, “Carrie, NO!” Knowing she was too far away to hear him, he sent her warnings as he shifted into his dragon form. He hoped his feelings would be able to stop her or at least slow her down until he could get there.
Carrie continued walking toward the old woman, the water to her chest. She became motionless for a minute. She thought she felt danger. The old woman noticed and beckoned to her again.
“Come to me, Chosen One. Let me help you take away your gift of sorrow. I can make you normal. Come to me.”
Carrie continued walking. She was almost to the old woman, just a few more steps. As the water reached her mouth, Carrie heard a roar and felt herself being lifted high in the sky. She could hear the old woman scream in frustration, her victim being taken when she was so close.
Malcolm didn’t see or hear anything but was surprised to feel invisible power in the water near Carrie that almost caused him to drop her, making him tighten his grip.
The farther away Carrie got, the clearer her mind became. She suddenly realized she was in the air being held in the talons of a huge, blue dragon.
“Malcolm, is that you?” she said. “What’s happened? Why are you in dragon form with me in your talons?”
Malcolm sent her soothing feelings as he landed outside his mother’s house. He gently set Carrie down before shifting back.
“Carrie, what were you thinking? Why were you trying to drown yourself? What made you do such a thing?” Malcolm held her close to his body, shaking from the thought of almost losing her.
Carrie looked at him in shock. “What are you talking about? I was having a bizarre dream about some old woman wanting me to come to her in the water but I—” She noticed she was soaking wet. “Oh, my God, it wasn’t a dream, was it? I was really walking into the water!”
Malcolm grabbed her by the shoulders. “You don’t remember? Who was the woman you were trying to reach? I didn’t see anything other than you almost going under.”
Carrie was shaking as much from almost drowning as the cold. Her lips were turning blue. Malcolm quickly whisked her inside where he was able to build a fire and cover her with a warm quilt.
As Carrie started to warm, she told him what happened. “I was sleeping when I heard a woman’s voice call out to me. I noticed you were sleeping by my bed, so I was quiet. I didn’t want to wake you. I remember following the voice to the dock. There was on old woman with white eyes in the middle of the water. She was telling me she could take away my ability and make me a normal woman. I don’t remember much else until I was up in the air with you holding me in your dragon form. I—I thought it was a nightmare.” She shuddered and had a wild look in her eyes. “What’s happening, Malcolm? I’ve never done anything like that before? If you weren’t there to save me, I would be dead.”
Malcolm was just as confused. It was like she was under some kind of spell or sleepwalking. "Did you say she had long gray hair and white eyes?”
Carrie felt Malcolm stiffen. “Do you know who she is?”
Malcolm, not wanting to scare her more, hugged her and said, “I think so, love, but before I know for sure, I need to consider this a little more.”
Malcolm carried her into her room, found some clean night clothes for her, and tucked her into bed. He stayed by her side until the sun came up.
The next morning, Carrie walked into the kitchen where Malcolm and Magda sat. She looked gorgeous, wearing a shirt tied across her stomach and shorts that showed off her beautiful short but shapely legs. Malcolm’s heart flipped when he saw her. To him, there wasn’t a woman on earth as beautiful as Carrie.
Malcolm hugged her. “Well, I have to say, lass, you look lovely after the night we had.”
Magda raised her eyebrows. “What kind of night might that have been?”
Malcolm didn’t want to go into details just yet with his mother, so winking at Carrie, he said, “It seems Carrie sleep walks. I caught her at the boat dock but managed to get her home safe.”
Carrie smiled at him. “That you did, my hero,” she said as she pecked his cheek. She wasn’t used to showing displays of affection. She’d never had someone she cared enough about to show how she felt in public before now. It would just take time for her to get comfortable doing that.
She asked if anyone had checked with the hospital to see how Bobby was doing.
Magda smiled. “I called this morning, and he is demanding to go home. They finally tracked his parents down. They were in Edinburgh visiting relatives. His parents want to meet you to thank you for saving him. He wants to see you too. I told them when you were up to it, they could come over and we would have a little gathering for dinner. You just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll let them know.”
Carrie smiled. “That would be great. Xan we have them over on Saturday?”
Magda didn’t see why not, so she went to call the Adairs to see if that day was good for them. They were excited to meet Carrie, and Saturday worked for them. As Magda spoke to them, Malcolm told Carrie that he had some business with Aldain.
“I have to go see Aldain today,” he said. “I have some things to discuss with him. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m sure Ma and you will be getting things ready for Saturday, so she will keep you busy. I’ll miss you while I’m gone.” He grabbed Carrie and drew her to him. His kiss took her breath away. It felt like he was branding her; she kissed him back just as passionately.
Carrie knew she would miss him, but it was just for a day. She had a feeling Malcolm was going to discuss what happened last night. She would be anxious to know what he found out.
It didn’t take Malcolm long to fly from the island to Aldain’s castle. Aldain knew he was coming, Malcolm had telepathically told Aldain to expect him. Malcolm landed behind the castle in the glen. Aldain wasn’t far away; he was heading up to the glen from the castle as he landed.
Tori had been feeling ill for the last few days and was inside resting. Aldain tried not to worry about her, but it just wasn’t like her to be so lethargic. He was glad to see Malcolm. Maybe his visit would help keep his mind off his mate and keep him from worrying about her so much.
Aldain put his arm around his friend’s shoulders as they walked to the castle. “So, is everything okay with the Clan, Malcolm? Are there any major problems I need to know?”
Malcolm cleared his throat, “Well, there might be a major problem you need to be aware of.” Malcolm felt Aldain’s body tense.
“Okay, let’s go to my den and you can tell me what it is I need to know.” They were quiet the rest of the way.
Malcolm was thinking how much he should tell Aldain. He knew having a possible Chosen One was a huge thing, not to mention Carrie almost drowning herself.
They went into Aldain’s den and got comfortable. Aldain sat, waiting for Malcolm to tell him why he was there. Malcolm ran his fingers through his hair. Aldain could tell he was agitated, which was very unlike him.
“Come on, Malcolm, spill it. It can’t be as bad as you are making it seem. You can tell me, then we’ll talk about it and fix it like we always do.”
Malcolm sighed. “Well, first, I want to tell you that Carrie is my mate. She knows what we are and is actually thrilled to find out we exist.”
Aldain smiled and stood up to shake his friend's hand. “I’m happy for you both. I don’t understand what the problem is with that. What aren’t you telling me?”
Malcolm sat back down. “You should know that when she first met us, she started dreaming of dragons. She saw mine out of the corner of her eye—a blue one to be exact. She’s had the gift of sight from an early age. When we were in the woods, she heard or felt someone calling for help. I didn’t hear a thing. She found a severely wounded young man. She said she heard his life force calling to her. Ma thinks she may be a Chosen One and wants to take her to see the Cailleach but Carrie also seemed to be under a spell last night. I found her walking into the middle of the water at the boat dock. She had no idea what she was doing. It was as if she was being compelled by someone I couldn’t see. She said a woman’s voice was calling her name, so she followed it. She thought she was dreaming. When I grabbed her out of the water, I could feel some kind of energy force in front of her. When she described the woman calling to her, she described the Cailleach.”
Aldain tried to process what Malcolm just told him. “Is Carrie okay? Was she injured in any way?”
“Yes, she’s fine. I got to her just in time. She was obviously shaken up, but I told her I was coming to talk to you, that I wanted to investigate further. I didn’t want to tell her about the Cailleach yet.”
Aldain thought there hadn’t been a Chosen One for hundreds of years. Was it possible they were coming back? He wasn’t even sure what part they played in a dragon clan. This wasn’t something to take lightly. Also, why would their Cailleach want to harm Carrie?
“I have the original tome that tells about the Chosen Ones,” Aldain said. “I’ll read it and see what it says. It’ll take a few days. The tome is huge. Tori is her best friend. I can ask her questions about Carrie and see what she says regarding these abilities of hers.”
“Whatever it says, I want to have the mating ritual with her first,” Malcolm said. “I want to have the mind link with her before anything is decided. I must know I can protect her, and I want to know if the Cailleach was trying to kill her and why. I’m not sending her there to be harmed. If it was the Cailleach, we need to know.”
Aldain agreed.
Malcolm continued, “We’re having a small gathering on Saturday. The parents of the boy Carrie saved want to meet her, so they’re all coming to my parents’ house. Would that give you enough time to read the tome? We could discuss it then, and I’m sure Tori and Carrie would like to see each other. It would also give me enough time to tell Carrie what we think she might be. I haven’t told her yet because I didn’t want to overwhelm her after just finding out we were mates and I was a shifter.”
Saturday was almost a week away, and Aldain agreed that would give him enough time to read the tome and talk to Tori.