must have
stuck in her head, she decided. She fumbled with the folded paper she tugged
from the back pocket of her jeans. Thanks to Mary, she felt she knew the
pronunciations well enough to speak the anti-curse. Lord knew Mary’s
persistence wouldn’t let her rest until she’d gotten it right last night. No
wonder she’d slept so late.
Caledonia peeked around the corner of the shed toward the
house. The men were safely occupied inside, thanks to Momma. Her fresh-baked
scones were the perfect ruse to draw them into the house for tea. It had been
her plan all along so Caledonia would have private access in order to complete
her task uninterrupted.
She swallowed, trying to quell the nerves crawling up her
spine, which threatened to take over her vocal cords and prevent her from
speech. A nervous laugh escaped. What if she got it wrong? Caledonia paced
around the solid stone being. A strange tingling bloomed in the pit of her
stomach and blossomed to spread across her abdomen and then stretched upward to
her nipples.
She licked her lips, took a breath then spoke in as steady
and clear a voice as she could. “ Ceum saor de clach. Be ye biast air duine.
Tis gaol dara slighe. Ge ye be mèinne. Dh’oidche mur dh’là. ”
Nothing happened. Was it supposed to be instantaneous?
Caledonia rolled her eyes. That was one thing she’d forgotten to ask. How long
would it take for the anti-curse to work?
“It will be the fall o’ night before ye see his handsome
face.”
Caledonia turned to see Mary hovered inside the shed
directly behind Struan’s statue. “Why nightfall?”
“It is the way o’ the curse of the gargoyle. Man by night.
Stone by day.”
That explained though ye be mine by night if not by day —sort
of. Curse of the gargoyle. Weren’t those mythical creatures that were stone by
day and alive at night? She made a mental note to check that out later.
Gargoyles weren’t exactly on the top of her list of important things to study,
so she didn’t know much about them, if anything.
“Are you sure it worked?” Caledonia whispered, stepping
inside the shed, closing the distance between them.
“Nay,” Mary stated as she shook her head. “We shall see come
nightfall.”
The back screen door slammed, causing Caledonia to jump.
Mary vanished. Male voices sounded and got louder as they moved closer. Great.
She sat on a stool and stared at the statue. This was going to be the longest
day of her life.
* * * * *
Through binoculars he watched. She acted oddly the moment
the men went into the house. But it didn’t matter. She was probably overly
excited about her success. With the double doors facing the dock opened, the
view of her prize was spectacular from his position opposite the loch.
From this distance, it wasn’t easily discernable as to the
era from which the statue came. It appeared to be some sort of Scotsman, which
made sense. She did retrieve it from a Scottish loch. But who was it supposed
to be? Had she stumbled upon a sculpture of a famous Scottish warrior, like Rob
Roy or maybe William Wallace? Wouldn’t that be grand? he mused.
If it turned out to be one of them, then its value would
double. Maybe even triple. He let the binoculars drop to hang around his neck.
Now that he knew what she’d found, all he needed was a buyer. Taking it from
her wouldn’t be hard, considering where she stored it. A shed in the backyard
of her parents’ home didn’t exactly equal a high-security vault.
* * * * *
For once in her life, she was right. The day dragged. Every
time she thought she heard something odd, like a creak or a snap, she studied
the statue for a crack. To the others, her actions must have seemed strange,
but none commented if they noticed. She tried to remain calm, but she couldn’t.
She’d spoken the words and the closer it got to nightfall, her heartbeat increased
and anticipation captured her imagination.
Was this real? In the afternoon, she’d taken the time to
read up on the
stuck in her head, she decided. She fumbled with the folded paper she tugged
from the back pocket of her jeans. Thanks to Mary, she felt she knew the
pronunciations well enough to speak the anti-curse. Lord knew Mary’s
persistence wouldn’t let her rest until she’d gotten it right last night. No
wonder she’d slept so late.
Caledonia peeked around the corner of the shed toward the
house. The men were safely occupied inside, thanks to Momma. Her fresh-baked
scones were the perfect ruse to draw them into the house for tea. It had been
her plan all along so Caledonia would have private access in order to complete
her task uninterrupted.
She swallowed, trying to quell the nerves crawling up her
spine, which threatened to take over her vocal cords and prevent her from
speech. A nervous laugh escaped. What if she got it wrong? Caledonia paced
around the solid stone being. A strange tingling bloomed in the pit of her
stomach and blossomed to spread across her abdomen and then stretched upward to
her nipples.
She licked her lips, took a breath then spoke in as steady
and clear a voice as she could. “ Ceum saor de clach. Be ye biast air duine.
Tis gaol dara slighe. Ge ye be mèinne. Dh’oidche mur dh’là. ”
Nothing happened. Was it supposed to be instantaneous?
Caledonia rolled her eyes. That was one thing she’d forgotten to ask. How long
would it take for the anti-curse to work?
“It will be the fall o’ night before ye see his handsome
face.”
Caledonia turned to see Mary hovered inside the shed
directly behind Struan’s statue. “Why nightfall?”
“It is the way o’ the curse of the gargoyle. Man by night.
Stone by day.”
That explained though ye be mine by night if not by day —sort
of. Curse of the gargoyle. Weren’t those mythical creatures that were stone by
day and alive at night? She made a mental note to check that out later.
Gargoyles weren’t exactly on the top of her list of important things to study,
so she didn’t know much about them, if anything.
“Are you sure it worked?” Caledonia whispered, stepping
inside the shed, closing the distance between them.
“Nay,” Mary stated as she shook her head. “We shall see come
nightfall.”
The back screen door slammed, causing Caledonia to jump.
Mary vanished. Male voices sounded and got louder as they moved closer. Great.
She sat on a stool and stared at the statue. This was going to be the longest
day of her life.
* * * * *
Through binoculars he watched. She acted oddly the moment
the men went into the house. But it didn’t matter. She was probably overly
excited about her success. With the double doors facing the dock opened, the
view of her prize was spectacular from his position opposite the loch.
From this distance, it wasn’t easily discernable as to the
era from which the statue came. It appeared to be some sort of Scotsman, which
made sense. She did retrieve it from a Scottish loch. But who was it supposed
to be? Had she stumbled upon a sculpture of a famous Scottish warrior, like Rob
Roy or maybe William Wallace? Wouldn’t that be grand? he mused.
If it turned out to be one of them, then its value would
double. Maybe even triple. He let the binoculars drop to hang around his neck.
Now that he knew what she’d found, all he needed was a buyer. Taking it from
her wouldn’t be hard, considering where she stored it. A shed in the backyard
of her parents’ home didn’t exactly equal a high-security vault.
* * * * *
For once in her life, she was right. The day dragged. Every
time she thought she heard something odd, like a creak or a snap, she studied
the statue for a crack. To the others, her actions must have seemed strange,
but none commented if they noticed. She tried to remain calm, but she couldn’t.
She’d spoken the words and the closer it got to nightfall, her heartbeat increased
and anticipation captured her imagination.
Was this real? In the afternoon, she’d taken the time to
read up on the
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