Angus discovered when he returned that things weren't quite the same as when he left. It seemed quite some time had passed. His father, who was the chieftan of their village, and several others were now dead. A clan from north of them had come down raiding and many battles had been fought. Angus' brother Jamie was the chieftan now, since he'd disappeared. Their old house was gone too, burned down by the raiders. Jamie had built a new one and a hall. Everyone saw him in the tavern said they'd thought he was dead. He'd gone there because he knew Jamie would be there. Jamie was nearly always there. That hadn't changed. "Ah'm dead tired," he said with a lame smile, embracing his brother. "I'm goin' home an' sleep. We'll talk later." That was when he learned about their house and the hall. Jamie told him he could sleep in the hall. There were beds upstairs, Jamie told him. Sometime in the night, he began to dream. As she promised, Moira came to him in the dream. But then something changed. "Am I dreamin' now?" he said as he felt her body come down on his. "Ya seem so real. What happened, Moira? Why 'as sooch a time passed? Ever'thin's diff'rent now. I feel lost." Nevertheless, he was more than happy to see her looking down at him. "Ya look bonny, Moira. Yer so beautiful." She waited for him to finish, then kissed him on the forehead. "No, yer not dreamin'. I've stopped time fer now so's ye won't lose nae more. I forgot about that, Angus. I'm sorry ya lost ever'thing. T'was selfish of me ta lead ya off as I did. An' now I fear there's more trouble afoot. Because of what I did." "I ain't sorry lass. Not in the least. Chances are, I'd be dead masel' if it weren't fer ya leadin' me off." She laid down on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. "I would nae care if a thousand yarens passed, if I could be wi' ya. What's this trouble now, ya speak of?" She explained to him about Mog and his sister. "They's pure evil, Angus - an' I fear Mog'll find some way ta harm ya because o' me. I've done nothin' but make a mess o' yer life. I feel so bad." Moira sniffed, then was silent for a long moment. "If ya see strangers comin' round be wary, Angus. Mog won't come after ya, but 'e might set that witch Damara on ya. Don't e'er let 'er get ya alone. Make no mistake Angus, there ain't nothin' in either of 'em that's good. Nothin'." She sniffed again. "Are ya cryin' Moira?" Angus stroked her hair. He felt purely blissful with her there, hearing her voice again. "I can't nae more, but I wish I could." She rose up again over him. "I got ta go now, darlin' man but 'fore I do, I want ta give ya somethin'." "Noooo, don't go," he begged her. "I must." She laid a silver brooch on his chest, then bent and kissed him - a real kiss this time. "You'll ne'er ferget me now," she said. "Cos if ya do, then you'll ferget what I just told ya. Yer the only one I love Angus. Remember that no matter what. I'll watch o'er ye. Nothin's gonna happen ta you - not if I can help it." And with that, she disappeared in a wisp of fog. ***** Thank you for looking and for your comments on "Down Below". I hope you have a wonderful week my dears! Rayvn