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around, taking it all in. Until she saw him.
    Lynn hurried to the statue of a man tucked off to the side
in an alcove. She set the lantern on a rock and simply stared. He was the biggest
hulk of a man she’d ever seen. Dressed in only a kilt and nothing else. A pair
of large hands held a sword poised to strike. Strong legs held him in a lunge
position as if he’d started to attack but was halted instantaneously. Taut
muscles rippled his massive chest, abdomen and back. His mouth hung open. His
scream lost for eternity in time. The surprised anguish in his face tugged at
her heart.
    Here was a warrior prepared to kill or be killed. Instead,
he’d been cursed.
    She felt Jasper’s presence behind her. “Can ye help him?”
His voice came across as a whispered plea tearing at her heart.
    “What can I do?”
    Jasper floated to stand between her and the statue. “Ye must
speak the words o’ the anti-curse at the fall o’ night ta free him.”
    “Why have you not done this?” Curiosity gripped her. If
there was a cure then why didn’t Jasper free him? There had to be a catch.
    “In the words o’ Akira, ’tis only half a freedom.” He turned
to face the statue, lifting his hand to cup the distraught face of his friend. Lynn
dug deep to keep from crying at the sight. “Man by night and stone by day.
They’ve only now found a way ta free him completely.”
    Lynn sniffed against the threat of tears. “They? Who are
they?”
    Jasper returned his gaze to hers. “Akira and the brathairs who have been freed.”
    Puzzlement made her brows purse and boggled her mind. If
there was a way to free him why hadn’t the others come here to help? Why did he
need her to do it? Staring at him, something hit her and she couldn’t believe
she hadn’t asked him earlier.
    “Jasper, when did this curse occur?” He looked at her funny
as if confused. “What year did this MacGillivray recite this curse that froze
your friend in stone?”
    “Seventeen hundred and forty.”
    She stepped back and sank onto the nearest rock. Jasper had
been caught between dimensions for over two hundred years. Did he know what
year it was? Did he understand the concept of time?
    “Milady,” Jasper stated as he curtsied. “I am aware o’ the
length o’ time I have stood guard. Mi only regret is that I did naught ta
prevent this from happening.”
    Though it startled her that he seemed to have heard her
thoughts, she asked, “How did you find out it was time to set him free?”
    “On occasion, I ventured ta Castle MacKinnon and hid and
watched, waiting for any word o’ how ta save him. I felt it was mi duty ta
watch o’er Akira as well.” A grin brightened his features. “The lass no be o’
need o’ help. She be a strong one and knew how ta handle this mess. But still I
accepted it as part o’ mi duty ta watch her from afar. On one o’ mi visits, I
was surprised ta see Gavin and Ian had been freed.”
    He paused as if gathering his thoughts. “It stunned mi ta
see them in the light o’ day. I came back here ta think. I prepared ta question
Akira and returned. When I arrived, she had a visitor. The spirit o’ Mary
Campbell o’ Breadalbane had come in search o’ Akira. I lingered and listened ta
every word. The secret they shared be forever etched in mi memory.”
    “This secret, will it set him free?” she asked even though
she suspected she knew the answer.
    “Aye. But only at night. By day he will return ta stone. We
have ta get him ta Castle MacKinnon ta find out how ta free him completely.”
    Lynn pursed her lips. Her gaze lingered on the statue. Was
this really a man frozen in time in a casket of stone? Did she believe the
story? She looked at Jasper and considered the source. She believed in ghosts
and now she’d actually had a conversation with one.
    Yep, she decided. This story had merit. It had to be real.
Travis believed Jasper’s story so much that he’d convinced her to come here to
meet the ancient spirit. She