Binding Vows(75)

Tara asked what no one else dared. “When will she go?”

“On the next full moon,” Lora stated as if it was nothing more than a flight to Vegas.

Forcing a smile, Tara spoke with a confidence she only half felt. “Well, that doesn’t give us much time now, does it?” She kissed Duncan’s hand, let it go, and stood.

“Time for what?” Myra asked.

“Time to prepare you for the twenty-first century.” Tara stated as if the answer were obvious.

“Lucky for you, I know all there is to know about my time. You’re going to love it.” As her words came out, she knew they were true.

Myra let a small grin break through as she wiped her eyes dry. “You jest.”

“I’m not joking. And that is the word by the way, joke. If you go around saying words like jest you’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I don’t know.”

“No, you don’t. But you will, and I’ll teach you.”

Tara turned to Lora. “She has to go with all her gifts. Nothing can be stripped.”

“Of course she will,” Ian proclaimed.

“She will need every possible weapon against Grainna,” Duncan said.

“You mustn’t go near Grainna,” Lora’s command was direct. “My vision told me of your death if you stayed here, and safety for you in Tara’s time. But that doesn’t mean Grainna isn’t a threat. We all know if she finds you, she could...”

Myra put a hand up. “I won’t go near her. I have no wish to die.”

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Catherine Bybee



“But how are we to stop her from finding another virgin to end her curse?”

“We don’t have to concern ourselves with that now. It may be I’ll have another vision showing me the path to stop her. It’s hard to say what the future holds. No one saw this change in events.”

Tara took Myra’s hand. “We need to get started.

Lora, we need your help.”

“With what?”

“Making clothes.” Tara spun her newest sister around, giving Myra’s skirts a bit of wind. “Beautiful as it is, this simply won’t do.”

Tara placed a quick kiss on Duncan’s lips and smiled. Everything is going to be fine. “Don’t wait up.” The women left the room in search of material and thread.

The men poured large amounts of ale, seeking another plan.



****

Dressed in what looked like Capri pants and a young man’s tunic shortened and taken in, Myra looked more the part of a modern day woman. To make her feel more comfortable, Tara put on her own shorts and t-shirt for the training session.

Tara sent for Duncan who had yet to arrive.

“Self-defense is essential for a woman to know in L.A. There are no knights who will come to your rescue if you’re in a bad situation.”

“You mean if someone wants to harm me?”

“There are bad guys in every time. Knowing how to get away from them can save your life, and your virtue. Unless he’s cute, then maybe you won’t mind getting rid of your virtue,” Tara teased.

Myra blushed.

“And none of that. Talk about a dead giveaway.

Twenty-one year old virgins are few and far between. If you go around turning red at every crass 224



Binding Vows



remark, Grainna will smell you a mile away. Say the word sex,” Tara coached.

“Nay, I couldn’t.” Myra giggled and turned away.

“Sex, sex, sex.” Tara bombarded her. “Making love, doing it, horizontal bop. Come on, the more you hear it, say it, etcetera the better.”

“Sex,” Myra whispered.

“Louder.”

“Sex!”

“Better. Look, the blush is starting to fade.”

A knock on the door signaled Duncan’s arrival.

“Now, don’t say a thing. Surprise is essential for over powering someone bigger and stronger than you.”

Tara opened the door enough to see if Duncan came alone. She ushered him inside and slid a chair under the door knob to keep out curious eyes.

Instantly, Duncan’s eyes went to his sister. “I hardly recognize you in those.”

Myra turned to the mirror and slid her hands over her hips, smiling. “The clothes do allow more freedom. I see why women would want to wear them.”

“They do reveal more.” Duncan skirted his eyes away. Tara took pity on him. It was as if he was noticing his sister as a woman for the first time in his life. And he didn’t like the feeling. Tara didn’t need their special connection to see that.

Myra’s hair was tucked back in a ponytail. Her arms were bare as were her feet and ankles.

Will she be safe in your future? None of us will be there to protect her.

Instead of answering him, Tara moved to the center of the room, which had been cleared of furniture and extra rugs were tossed on the floor.