Highland Shadows (Beautiful Darkness Series Book 1) (14 page)

Cora squatted down beside him. “’Tis alright. Ye can tell me,” she said, her voice soft and velvety.

He shook his head, burying deeper beneath his arms.

“Ye needn’t be afraid. I’ll protect ye.” Holding the blanket about her shoulders with one hand, she reached out and touched his silvery hair. “Tell me.”

He raised his head and looked up at her. In a shrill voice he said, “I’ve told ye everything.”

Cora gave him a curt nod before she stood and took Fergus by the hand, leading him to the door. “Please go and prepare a cell for him.”

“Aye, my lady,” Fergus said. Then he left.

Cora spun around, her hair fanning wide, and stalked toward Edmund. “Tell me,” she demanded.

He scurried back, shaking his head. She dropped the blanket, leapt into the air, and released the wolf, landing on all fours in front of him. He screamed, his eyes bulging wide as he scurried away, but she followed, slowly opening her jaw. He shrank against the wall, his fists pressed to the sides of his head.

“They were men,” he cried. “But they weren’t natural. Their eyes glowed, and they had fangs, fangs as sharp as yours.” His feverish eyes locked with Cora’s. “He wants ye,” he shrieked. “He’s coming for ye!”

Alex’s heart pounded in his chest. He sunk to his knees. “Come to me,” he said. Cora turned and padded back to him. He wrapped a blanket around her snowy shoulders, and she exhaled away the wolf.

Jamie started toward Edmund, but he leapt to his feet, sobbing, his back against the window. “This land is cursed.” He clutched his arms around himself. “We’re dead men,” he wailed. Then his head jerked up, and he locked eyes with Alex the instant before he pitched forward out the window. Jamie dove for him but was too late. Alex hastened forward with Cora in tow and peered down into the courtyard, but he straightened up, recoiling from the sight of Edmund’s broken body. Jamie pressed against the wall and slid to the ground. “Saints above, what just happened?”

Alex had no answer. His mind remained fixed on Edmund’s warning.
He’s coming for ye
. He pulled Cora closer, pressing her hard against him. But she tore from his arms.

Cora stormed to the center of the room. Gripping the sides of her pounding head, she sank to her knees unable to breathe. “Oh God.”

Alex rushed to her side. “I won’t let anything happen to ye.”

“Ye don’t understand. The night I took to the moors, I smelled a presence, someone dark and old. It must have been him. He must have sensed me too.”

His arms came around her, but she wrenched free. “Did ye not hear what Edmund said? He described creatures like the demon who attacked my family. If I’m right, they feast on humans. I’ve seen it. We don’t stand a chance.”

“Is this true?” Jamie said

Cora’s chest heaved as she struggled to breathe.

“We mustn’t panic,” Alex said.

Cora fought for calm. Still, her mind raced. She reached out and fell into Alex’s open arms. He touched her cheek. “Everything is going to be alright. I promise ye.”

She looked up into his mismatched eyes and whispered, “Ye don’t believe that.”

~ * ~

“Keep the line moving,” Alex shouted to the villagers filing into the courtyard. “Fergus, get those people moving. Everyone must be within the inner wall before sundown.”

Fergus nodded. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Ye heard our laird. Make haste.”

“Alex,” Jamie called as he crossed the courtyard. “The watch is set on the outer wall. The garrison is also in place, and the great hall has been cleared, ready for the villagers if the outer wall is breeched.”

Cora shook her head. “’Tis a waste of time.”

“What do ye suggest?” Alex said, stepping forward.

Their pounding hearts mingled with her own heartbeat, blaring above the din of villagers and the call of birds crossing the evening sky. “Enough,” she shouted, blocking her ears with her hands. Her canines sharpened. From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Alex’s brows drawn with concern and the naked fear weighing down Jamie’s fine features. Sweat beaded her forehead, and stung her eyes. But she did not care. Power surged through her. Her finger grazed the points of her now razor sharp teeth. She was no simple maid. Speed and strength lived within her body. Throwing back her shoulders, she turned and looked Alex straight on. “I will not hide.”

“Are ye suggesting we ride out to meet them?” Alex asked.

“I ride alone.” She turned on her heel and headed toward the stables.

Alex grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Ye will not.”

Cora took a deep breath. “We must do what is best for the people and keep the enemy as far away from Sonas as we can.”

“Ye’re not going anywhere without me,” he said.

“Where are ye going?” Jamie asked, coming up behind them.

“I’m riding out to meet the enemy,” Cora said.

Alex frowned at her. “We’re riding out.”

Jamie crossed his arms over his chest. “If ye’re going, then so am I.”

“Ye’re not,” Alex said. “Cora has told ye what hunts her. I’ll not have your blood on my head. Ye’ll do as I’ve ordered and remain behind. I am your laird.”

Jamie planted his feet wide. “True that, but ye’re also the closest thing I have to a brother. In your own brother’s absence, I will stand by your side.”

Alex’s thoughts turned to Murdock. Wherever his brother was, Alex could only pray he was far from MacKenzie land.

“What we face isn’t human,” he said, gripping Jamie’s shoulders. “I do not believe our blades will be of much use.”

“Ye’ll be like children, brandishing wooden sticks,” Cora said.

Both men turned to look at her. She could smell their fear.

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Then she moved to stand before Alex. She took his hands in hers and brought them to her lips. “Please stay,” she implored. “’Tis me he wants.”

“Ye already know my answer. Ye’re my wife. I will protect ye.”

“Protect me?” she said, backing away. “I could kill both of ye right now before either of ye had time to unsheathe your blades. And I am no match for what comes this way. Ye’ll be lambs to the slaughter.

“Then I shall die,” Alex snapped, closing the distance between them. He reached out and cupped her cheek, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Ye’ll not face this foe alone.”

She shook her head. “There are worst fates than death.”

“And I would accept them all if it meant protecting ye.”

She wanted to fight his honor, but she knew the only thing more hopeless than her effort to change his mind was the prospect of any of them surviving the night.

Cora turned from Alex and tried to reason with Jamie. “If Alex will not stay, ye must. He will need ye to lead in his stead.”

“Nice try,” he said. “There is naught ye can say to make me back down.”

She looked into his dark blue eyes. His blond hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. She closed her eyes and listened to his racing heart.

“Are ye certain ye wish to go?”

Jamie straightened and squared his shoulders. She felt his courage take hold. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. “Ye have a brave heart.”

He flashed his winsome smile. “If I am to die, doing so for a bonny wolf lass like ye would be my wish.”

“Liar,” she whispered and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind his ear. Forcing a smile to her lips, she said, “With such courage and goodness on our side, mayhap we stand a chance after all.”

CHAPTER 16

Alex watched the last glimmer of sunlight sink below distant hills.

“The day has ended,” Cora said. “Now they will come.”

He peered down at her. “How do ye know that?”

“The night belongs to the damned,” she said. She wore only a tunic, which she had not bothered to belt, and her bare feet sunk into the snow. Already her blue eyes began to glow in the twilight.

Alex looked back. Shadow consumed Sonas Castle. “Do we keep walking?”

Cora closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Aye, to the forest.”

Jamie froze. “Ye wish us to enter Daonnan Forest?”

“Ye needn’t follow,” she said. “Neither of ye need go.”

“I would sooner slice my own throat then have ye carry on alone,” Alex swore.

Jamie arched a brow at Alex. “That’s a pretty image.” Then he shifted his gaze to Cora. “My vow will not be so bloody or spoken with the same vehemence. Then again, I am not a man in love. Still, I’ve made a promise. I’ll not abandon ye, though I pray I live to regret it.”

“Be careful what ye pray for,” Cora warned.

A fragrant wind blew, stirring dried leaves and a thin layer of snow into a frenzy at the outskirts of the forest. Alex knelt and grazed his hand across petals of bluebells that poked up through the ground in every direction.

“I told ye,” Jamie said, kneeling to inhale the sweet perfume. “’Tis the return of the fairfolk. I ken it to be so.”

Alex marveled at the flowers. “If only that were true. With the faeries on our side, we would, indeed, stand a chance.”

But as they wound their way through twisted trees, Alex began to doubt Jamie’s prediction. It took all their might to cut through the tangled thicket. Branches seemed to shift and stir of their own accord, snaking around Alex’s sword. The more he cut the more strangled the pass became. Then Cora seized his blade. “These trees have suffered enough. Were ye not the one who taught me how to care for the living?”

She eased around him, taking lead. Expelling a deep breath, she closed her eyes and stepped forward. The gnarled limbs and thorny bramble parted at her feet. Alex stared after his wife in wonder. He started to follow when Jamie touched his shoulder. “We’re being watched.”

“I ken,” he said, peering through a space in the thicket at the glow of watchful eyes on the other side.

“We’re surrounded by wolves,” Cora breathed.

“Is that all,” Jamie scoffed. “Merely a pack of vicious and, no doubt, hungry wolves.”

Cora extended a placating hand in his direction. “Ye needn’t fear them while I am near.”

They trudged deeper into the wood until the earth began to slope down, opening to a vast clearing. Moonlight illuminated the glade.

“Why have we stopped?” Alex asked, taking his place by Cora’s side.

She met his gaze. “They’re coming.”

Alex and Jamie reached behind their backs, drawing their swords.

“Can ye hear their hearts beating?” Alex asked, his eyes straining to see through the trees.

She shook her head. “They have no hearts. But I smell old death just as I did out on the moors. Your eyes will see them soon enough.”

She looked up at him, and for the first time since Edmund’s confession, he saw fear flood her eyes. “Why now?” she whispered. “For so many years I’ve welcomed death. Why is this happening now when I want so much to live?” She reached for him, and he pulled her into his arms.

“Ye shall live,” he promised.

“Ye believe that, don’t ye.” She touch his face. “Ye carry so much faith in your heart.” Then she stiffened. “We’re not alone.”

“No you’re not.” The spoken words coiled around them, seemingly coming from every direction. Alex glanced left, then right, trying to guess the fiend’s location. Then two men stepped into the clearing at the base of the slope. Both were lean of build and dressed as though they had just come from court. One had penetrating green eyes and long, blond hair, slicked back away from his face that shone stark white in the moonlight. Arrogance laced his voice, his gaze; it was evident even in the tilt of his chin. The second man trailed a little behind, appearing reluctant to follow. His hair was black, and his indifferent eyes glinted with blue vibrancy.

The blond man smiled, locking eyes with Cora. Alex expelled a quiet breath when he saw even, square teeth; however his relief was short lived.

The man stepped closer, his gaze continuing to fix on Cora. “I have thought of nothing but you since I had the pleasure of observing your run.”

Alex reached for her to draw her behind him, but she shook her head and stood her ground while the devil continued to speak, his voice silky and unhurried. “You looked in my direction with those sky blue eyes.” He eased closer still. “You’re as lovely as I remembered.”

Cora took a step forward, her chin raised high. “I’ve spoiled your plans.”

Alex gripped his sword tighter when a smug smile curved the man’s lips. “Actually, my dear, you’ve played right into my hands.” Alex’s stomach twisted. He reached for Cora, and this time she did not resist.

The man took another lazy step toward them. “I knew your clever nose would sniff out that sniveling bookkeeper if he believed he’d betrayed you. So I invented a scheme and put him at the center. I’ve been patiently waiting right here for
you
to come to me.” His eyes slowly traveled the length of Cora’s figure. “I’m going to make you my slave.”

Alex lunged in front of her. “Ye will not!”

“Do you truly believe you can protect her, Highlander?” He turned to his friend. “Did I not tell you of Highland courage?”