Somewhere in the distance, she heard Lachlan’s voice. Isla closed her eyes and prayed she wasn’t dreaming.
Chapter 16
Lachlan hovered outside the entrance to the burial tomb. He called Isla’s name again, but there was no reply.
“You’re certain Malmuirie heard them say they were coming for a walk out here?” Lachlan exhaled. Panic flared again.
“Aye, she’d have heard them. The woman has the ears of an owl,” Douglas said. He put his hands on his knees and bent his head to catch his breath. “And she has the same pinched face to boot.”
Lachlan stared at the opening leading down into the tomb. “Someone has moved the boulder.” They would have struggled to move it on their own. “I’m going to go down there.”
“It will be far too dark,” Leo said revealing a hint of frustration. “We should have stopped to pick up a lantern before dashing out as though the barns had caught fire.”
Lachlan did not take offence at Leo’s blunt tone. They were worried. The emotion created a level of anxiety that was hard to bear.
“Wait here.” Lachlan marched over to the entrance.
Leo stepped forward. “I’m coming with you. If you should stumble in the dark, we will be none the wiser.”
Douglas nodded. “I’ll stay here in case the lasses stroll on by with nary a care in the world.”
Both Lachlan and Leo squeezed through the gap. They had taken but a few steps along the tunnel when the sound of a sorrowful melody surrounded them. The mournful notes tugged at Lachlan’s heart. The unusual words penetrated his addled brain. The rhythmical sound made his head feel too heavy for his neck, and he struggled to remain upright. The lure of sleep proved too potent to ignore.
Lachlan blinked rapidly to prevent his eyes closing. “Do you hear singing?”
“Yes. I do not understand the words but it sounds rather sad.”
The words drifted around him like a lover’s soothing caress, stroking, stroking, until he had no choice but to close his eyes. The weight of his head falling forward suddenly jerked him to attention. “I am struggling to stay awake. It is the song. All I want to do is sleep.”
“That’s strange,” Leo whispered from behind him. “It has no effect on me. Cover your ears. It may help.”
Lachlan put his hands over his ears to muffle the sound and continued to edge forward.
As they neared the large chamber, Leo put his hand on Lachlan’s shoulder. “The singing has stopped.”
“Isla,” Lachlan whispered. His eyes were growing accustomed to the darkness, and he could see two black shadows in front of him. “Isla?”
“Lachlan. Is that you?”
Relief coursed through him at the sound of her voice, but he resisted the urge to dart forward, not knowing what awaited them in the chamber. “Yes. Are you hurt?”
“No.”
r /> As they left the narrow tunnel and entered the chamber, Lachlan stopped abruptly. A wispy cloud of white mist hovered in the air. As though it recognised the presence of strangers it began swirling back and forth, shaping into the outline of a figure.
“Remind me to say no the next time Douglas offers me a dram of his whisky,” Leo whispered. “There have been many times in my youth when I dreamed of conjuring a woman out of nothing but air. The reality is not as arousing as I imagined.”
Lachlan narrowed his gaze to focus on the feminine shape forming before him. To some extent, the spectre reminded him of Isla, what with the long golden hair and sensual smile.
“Rest in peace. Rest safe in the knowledge I shall return your bracelet to you.” Isla’s calm tone surprised him. But then she was a woman who had experienced the impossible on many levels.
The white smoke dispersed in response to Isla’s reassuring words, disintegrating into the dank atmosphere. A faint haze lingered over the coffin like an eerie morning mist before vanishing into nothing.
It took Lachlan a moment to gather his thoughts, for his mind to assemble what he had witnessed. He stepped forward. “Where are you?”
“On the floor just a few feet in front of you.”
“On the floor,” he repeated as he located the darker grey mass below his line of vision. “You said you were not hurt.” He fell to his knees and crawled the last few spaces. When he reached for her hand, he realised they were tied behind her back. “Did Boyd do this?”