Free Dragon Knight's Medallion by Mary Morgan Page A

chest.
    Her breath came out in small gasps, and she found herself staring at the large tapestry in the great hall. It was the one that had drawn her toward him last night. The set of his chin suggested a stubborn streak. One she understood well herself. Instinctively, she reached out and grazed her finger along his chin, as if she could awaken him from his unearthly gaze with her touch.
    “Talk to me, Sir Stephen. Tell me this cannot be.”
    The salty tang of the sea drifted past her, and she longed for the water’s soothing comfort. Not waiting for an answer from her Knight, Aileen left the great hall seeking the solace of the ocean. A force unknown, each step bringing her closer to the water, drove her. Aileen could not get there fast enough, and her walk shifted to a full out run. She stumbled once, but kept the pace until the foam of the sea lapped at her boots.
    She watched as the waves rocked back and forth to a timeless rhythm all their own. Their gentle cadence working their magic, Aileen felt her heart fall into tune with the sound. Her fingers were still tightly woven around the journal, and with strength from the water and something else she could not explain, Aileen opened to the first page of the journal.
    Journal of Stephen Malcolm MacKay
    January, in the year of our Lord, 1205...
    Cold…so verra cold.
    Then below the words was a drawing of a snowy landscape, partially done. Without thought, Aileen started to move down the sandy beach turning each page carefully. Pictures of the foliage jumped out at her, their Latin names coming to life before her eyes. Sometimes they would be followed by a personal observation, others just a passing scribble.
    Her footsteps brought her to a small cave. Looking up, Aileen noticed she had wandered far from the castle. The sun streamed down near the entrance beckoning her to come forward. Closing the journal, she stood in front of the opening, hesitant to enter. The darkness was not her friend, yet something winked at her within its depths.
    She blinked several times, thinking it nothing but a trick of light, but there it was again, a flash of something inside. “By the Goddess, get a grip, Aileen,” she muttered. Walking carefully over the rocks, she glimpsed an object just inside the moss-covered opening. Stepping gingerly past a sand crab, she made her way inside the cave.
    The briny smell assaulted her senses as she bent to look at what had caught her eye. It was a dazzling green stone lodged between the crevices of a boulder and the sand. Reaching out, she gradually eased it away from the confines of the wall. The stone warmed in the palm of her hand.
    “Holy crap!” Aileen stumbled out from the cave and into the sunlight. The green stone was just not any green stone, but a medallion. The heavy chain attached was stunning in its craftsmanship. She blew across the top to remove some of the sand particles, and then her heart froze. Recognition flared in her mind, realizing where she had seen this.
    Aileen was trying hard not to shake. However, in her trembling left hand, she held the journal of Stephen MacKay, and in her right hand...his medallion .
    “No! Impossible. Isn’t it?” She swallowed the bile coming forth, glancing at her hands in disbelief.
    “I need help,” she uttered looking around in desperation.
    Clutching both items against her, she walked as quickly as her feet could carry her across the beach and back home.
    When Aileen pushed through the front door, she was still running, and in an effort not to collide with her aunt, they both succeeded in tripping past the entry table, spilling the contents in Aileen’s hands across the entryway.
    Aunt Lily was the first to start laughing. “What the hell! Are you okay?”
    “Physically or mentally? At the moment...I don’t know,” she exclaimed in frustration.
    Her troubled remark put a stop to her aunt’s laughter, and she looked at the items strewn along the floor. Bending, she picked up the journal