Sword of the Highlander Read Free Page B

from a stone that fell from the sky. The metal was lighter and shinier than iron and the MacChumail wanted it.”
    “And of course, her father gave it to him because it was his destiny?”
    “Nae. The smith planned to sell it to the high king, but the faerie fancied herself in love with MacChumail, so she stole it. The old mon placed a spell on it, though, that cursed anyone who tried to steal it. As she was about to bestow the wondrous gift, she tripped and fell upon the sword. With her dying breath, she told the MacChumail her faerie blood would make the sword always strike true.” Niall stopped and smiled at Cassidy. “And that is how MacChumail became the Great Féinn.”
    “Fascinating. These myths and legends always are. This story is as good as the Lady of the Lake handing Excalibur to King Arthur!”
    Niall gave her a strange look. “Ye would be wise not to mock the gods of auld.” He opened his sporran and laid a handful of gold coins on the table. “These should pay for the sword. ‘Tis sorry I am I canna stay, but the MacBheatha will be waiting.”
    He stepped away from her and gripped the sword with both hands, raising it high as he closed his eyes. He muttered something in Gaelic that sounded like a prayer and then, in a voice that made Cassidy envision him as the warrior on the hill once more:
    “To Alba, Mac an Luinne .”
    For a moment, white crystals shimmered around him and he began to fade. Cassidy held her breath. Was she really going to see someone leap through Time? No one would ever believe her. Worse, she would probably be committed to a psychiatric hospital if she told anyone.
    The air sparkled as his shape wavered and then, just as suddenly, the light was gone. Niall opened his eyes.
    Cassidy smiled uneasily. “You’re still here,” she said.
     
     
     
     
    Three
     
     
    By the time they’d walked the few blocks to a rather shabby-looking bungalow that Cassidy called home, Niall was becoming accustomed to the noise and fast pace of the things called ‘cars,’ but he didn’t like them.
    Cassidy smiled as she pushed open the rickety gate in front of the small house. “Just wait until you see the cable cars and trolleys tomorrow when we go to Union Square,” she said.
    “Why do ye want to go there?” he asked and then added, “Whatever it be.”
    “It’s where we can shop for clothes for you.”
    Niall looked down at his plaid. “What be wrong with my breacan feile ? ‘Tis of the finest weave.”
    “It is.” Cassidy took a key from her purse and inserted it into the lock on the door. “And, in Haight-Ashbury—even here in lower Haight—people don’t look askance at someone dressed like a Highlander, but in the rest of San Fran, it would be best if you dressed like the rest of us. Keep a low profile.”
    “Profile?” Niall turned to the side and looked down at her. “Ye do not like my looks?”
    “No. I mean… Yes, I do. Um, well, not that I mean…” Heat warmed her face and Cassidy then tossed her head. “Your profile has nothing to do with your looks. What I meant was, that until we can figure a way to return you to 1039, it would be better if we didn’t draw attention to you.”
    “Verra well, then. I’ll hunt some game in that wee forest back there in the morn, afore we go.”
    Her brow furrowed. “Forest? Oh. You mean Buena Vista Park. There’s no hunting there.”
    “Saks, lass! Where do ye find yer meat then?”
    “In a supermarket.”
    Niall looked down the street in the fading twilight. “I see no market.”
    “Never mind. I’ll explain tomorrow.” Cassidy opened the door and touched a switch that flooded the room with light.
    He followed her in. She had touched such a thing earlier in the store that had made it dark. It was very interesting, this world.
    “Once it gets dark outside, it’s better to be indoors.” She slid a bolt into place across the door.
    “Ye fear intruders?” Niall quickly drew his sword from the baldric on his back