Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) Read online

  With Elena’s heart beating strongly on its own, Faolan wanted her to wake, but Brigid insisted she needed to heal, and sleep was the best medicine. Once she warmed to a normal temperature, Faolan reluctantly slipped out of her bed and dressed. He took over sole responsibility for giving her tea and broth when Lilly brought them in.

  As nightfall approached, it scared him that she hadn’t wakened yet. So many things could have gone wrong. Why hadn’t he taken her to the hospital? He could still call a doctor. “Brigid, I doona’ know what else to do. Why hasn’t she opened her eyes yet? What if something is going wrong?”

  Brigid was packing her bag to leave. “Doona’ worry, lad. She will wake for a time tomorrow, more the next day. You must just be patient and be there for her. Doona’ leave her. Give her time.”

  “Thank you, Brigid,” he said hugging her tightly.

  “Och, be on with you, Faolan,” and she patted him lightly on the arm.

  When everyone left, Faolan sat on the bed next to Elena. He felt her forehead, her arms, and reached under the covers to touch her legs, She felt perfectly warm, neither too hot nor too cool. It hurt him to see the dark circles under her eyes, the dirt smudges on her face. He took her hand in his, and kissed the ragged tips of her fingers. Faolan still had Elena’s brush and he began to brush small sections of her hair, gently removing the tangles. He tenderly washed her face and hands. Elena slept unmoving through all his ministrations.

  He lay down on top of the covers, cradled Elena tightly against his chest, and whispered, “Come back to me, love. I need you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  When Faolan woke the next morning, Elena was staring at him, her luminous green eyes filled with uncertainty. He quickly touched her forehead and Elena flinched. “Elena?” He sat up, pulling his arm back, and tried again, “Elena, love, ‘tis me, Faolan.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, “Oh, Faolan, tell me you’re real,” she whispered in a scratchy voice.

  “Aye, lass, ‘tis me. You’re safe now,” he said in a voice tight with unshed tears of relief. He touched her face, stroked and kissed her hair. “Drink up, lass.” He handed her the glass of water by the bed. He lifted her head, and Elena winced when she moved. He laid her back down, went to the door, and called for Lilly to bring some oatmeal and toast.

  When he returned to the bed, Elena was drifting off again. “Elena, love, doona’ sleep quite yet, you need to eat something.” Faolan helped her to a sitting position, just as Lilly walked in with a tray.

  “Faolan, go freshen yourself, I will stay with her for a few minutes,” Lilly said.

  He started to argue, but when Elena croakily assured him she would be all right, he went, saying, “I will be but a minute, love.”

  Elena was so weak that she could barely lift the spoon of oatmeal to her mouth. Lilly fed her three spoonfuls, a bite of toast, and Elena drank as much of the water as she could stand. The water made her realize another bit of business she needed to take care of, so Lilly helped her to the bathroom. A bath was more than she was capable of, but a washcloth and fresh pajamas felt good. Leaning heavily on the older woman, they returned to the bedroom. Faolan returned, took one look at her, swept her off her feet, and carried her to the bed.

  “Doona’ be tryin’ that again, lass. I will carry you wherever you want to go.”

  Lilly chided, “Doona’ be daft, man. A lass needs her privacy sometimes.” Faolan flushed.

  Elena lay down and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. They woke her every hour, to take a sip or two of tea or water, but she never really came fully awake. Faolan had a bath ready when he woke her for dinner. She let him carry her to the bathroom but smacked his hand away when he tried to help her undress.

  “I’m going to take this bath by myself, Faolan!” Although the bath was heavenly, the warm water brought back the lethargy and she pulled herself from the tub before she needed to call for help. In fresh pajamas, she wobbled her way back to the bedroom, where Faolan was waiting, with a tray of food. Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich never tasted so good, and she ate every bite.

  “Faolan, how long was I gone? What day is this?”

  “Och, love, you were gone for three nights. Then you slept through another once we found you. Today is Friday.”

  “Friday?” she gasped. “What happened to me? How did you find me?”

  “Doona’ worry about that now. You need to rest. You could barely walk across the room just now. I promise I will tell you what happened, but not tonight.”

  She really was tired, but she couldn’t shake the feeling there was something she was supposed to do; she just couldn’t quite remember what it was. She drifted back to sleep, secure in Faolan’s arms.

  With the morning came the dream of a small, familiar-looking mirror. The glass was cloudy, and filled an image not unlike the great mist that rolls in over the hills. A wolf’s face appeared in the fog. The scene changed, and Elena was on the small hill outside the farm with the wolf. His sharp teeth bared, his maw dripping, wet with blood, and he slowly turned and looked at Elena with familiar tawny eyes.

  The dream Elena was frozen in place, unable to turn away, unable to run. The wolf crouched, stalking slowly toward her, coming closer with each step. With a growl deep in his throat that raised the hair on her neck, Elena watched, mesmerized, horrified. He was coming for her. Elena screamed as the wolf sprang.

  Faolan was there to wake her from her nightmare. He cradled her against his broad chest, murmured into her hair, and rocked her until her heart stopped pounding so frantically.

  It was early in the morning, and further sleep was elusive, so she told Faolan she was going to the library to read. What she really wanted was to get on her laptop and conduct some research. She insisted that she could walk and she was right. Her legs were still shaky, but she suspected that was due to lack of use during the six days since she’d been lost. Faolan tucked a blanket around her legs, and then brought her a cup of tea, and a coffee for himself. They sat companionably on opposite ends of the couch, in front of a cozy fire.

  “Faolan?”

  “Hmmm,” he answered, dragging his eyes up from the book he was studying.

  “What happened? How did you find me?”

  Faolan, stirred uncomfortably in his seat, and said, “Are you sure you’re ready, lass?”

  Elena sighed, “Yes, Faolan, I’m ready. What happened?”

  ****

  Faolan hadn’t yet decided exactly what he would and would not tell Elena. Between what Brigid and the ancestors told him, he knew he needed Elena in order to be released from his curse and claim his heritage. She was his light, his heart.

  Och, but she was so much more than just the key to his transformation. She was his life now, his life for hers he had vowed to the gods. Elena was already in mortal danger from Worthington. How much worse would it be if Worthington knew for sure who Faolan was and that Elena was his mate? He couldna risk losing her.

  He looked at her a long time before beginning. He took a deep breath and began his edited version of the story. “Brigid wanted to meet with us to tell us that the time to end the curse is coming. We still have to find the spell and true heart, but she said the signs are ripe, the time is nigh. She wanted me to search for my true heart. We discussed some details of how I could search. When I took her home, I thought you must have gone somewhere in the Rover.

  “It wasn’t until dinner we realized your car was parked in the barn. By then it was dark, and I was in a panic. Red and Lilly tried to track you to town or nearby hotels in case you had decided to leave. We also spent a long time tracking the known associates of Worthington. I looked everywhere I could think of, lass. For three days and nights, I couldna find you anywhere,” his voice lowered to just above a whisper on the last sentence.

  Without looking at her he continued, “Brigid came to the house on the last day and spoke to her spirits. Och, I didna believe in her spells at first, but they brought you back. I
found the path behind the pile in the steading, and we found you lying on two chairs.” He stopped then. Up until that point in the story, he had been all business, but now his throat worked, and he struggled to continue.

  “I carried you to your bed. Brigid again called on her spirits, and I held you to warm you. Lilly gave you tea and broth. You wouldna wake, I thought—

  He swallowed hard. “I am grateful to have you back,” he said, resting his hand lightly on her leg.

  Faolan thought about what he hadn’t told her, of the things that had happened while she was lost. He had run to find her, to share the news that she was his true heart, to make love with her. He’d had much time to think while he was looking for her, and he now realized he couldna tell her the truth, couldna give her false hope for a future that wasna his to give.

  ****

  “What were you doing, Elena? How did you find that place?”

  Elena thought about her response for a minute. “I don’t remember too much about it, to tell you the truth. I found that room while I was cleaning the steading, but I wanted to know more before I told you.

  “I remember trying to find something that might help lift the curse. I thought I would look for it while you had your meeting with Brigid. When I tried to leave, the door was locked.” In a very small voice, Elena added in a whisper, “I don’t like enclosed spaces.”

  Shuddering, she continued, “I kept trying to get out. I didn’t have a watch, and I lost track of the days. I remember I tried to use a dagger to pry off the doorplate.

  “Then, um, then these women,” her voice rose at the end, like a question. She knew how crazy this was going to sound. “These women came to me and cared for me, they gave me water. I know I must have been hallucinating. I know they didn’t actually give me water, but it seemed so real, and that gave me hope. I thought about my mother, my Grandda, but mostly about you. Brigid said you would come find me.” Tears threatened and in a thick voice, Elena said, “I don’t remember any more.”

  Her talk with Faolan had taken its toll, and she was ready for a nap. Faolan brought her a fresh glass of water, stroked the hair back from her face, and kissed her forehead. Then he picked up a book to read while she stretched out on the couch and slept.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Elena thought someone was shouting as she surfaced slowly from sleep. Her unfocused eyes settled on two men pointing cross bows at her, and Faolan was nowhere in sight. Their outfits seemed vaguely familiar, black sweats with hoodies and ski masks. Elena stared at the ridiculous dream characters, willing herself to wake, when one of them slapped her with a gloved hand so hard her ears rang. Not a dream.

  Elena sat up quickly, her head spinning, and clutched the side of her face. While it was the taller man who hit her, the shorter, stockier one might be the more dangerous. The arrow of his crossbow pointed straight at Elena’s heart, and his finger was on the trigger. His hand didn’t waiver.

  The tall one said, “Give it up, bitch. We know the mirror is here somewhere. Give it to us now, and you can still walk away.” Then for emphasis, in case she wasn’t taking him seriously enough, he raised his cross bow so the tip of the arrow rested next to her ear.

  “What mirror? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elena asked confusedly. She wasn’t even lying at first, mostly because she’d forgotten about the mirror she’d found when she first entered the chamber. It was commanding her attention now, through dreams, visions, and now thieves. There must be something important about it. Apparently, her blank look and stupid question hadn’t been convincing because they didn’t go away.

  “Don’t lie to us, you stupid bitch. We will kill you! Get us the mirror now!”

  “What mirror? What’s it look like? What kind of mirror?” Elena stammered, firing questions at them, stalling while she tried to figure out where Faolan had gone.

  “It’s a mirror. It looks old. Now quit stalling, and get it.” Again, from the taller man, which she took to mean he was the one in charge. He didn’t sound as though he knew what the mirror looked like, so he must be working for someone else. She wasn’t going to underestimate them though; they were serious about their crossbows.

  A wolf howled outside.

  “Listen, I’m not sure about any mirror. None of the mirrors in the house are old,” Elena said, “but there’s a large pile of antiques out in the steading. Maybe what you’re looking for is there,” she added helpfully.

  “Show us,” the taller one ordered. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and jerked her to her feet, then shoved her toward the door. He seized a handful of her hair, twisted it painfully tight around his hand, and forced her to walk ahead of him. I know who this is; I kicked him in the shin. It’s that bastard, Liam.

  Elena tried not to whimper. She walked slowly, partly because she was terrified, but mostly because she was still unsteady on her feet. Outside it had grown dark; Elena realized she must have slept longer than she thought. She had a good idea of what was going to happen next, but she couldn’t be sure. Just get them through the door…

  As soon as both punks stepped through the barn door, the wolves were on them. Three snarling wolves surrounding you can be a terrifying sight when experienced up close and personal.

  They’re the most beautiful sight in the world.

  The wolf she knew was Faolan leapt at Liam, knocking him off his feet. Then Liam was on his back swinging his arm up to try to push Faolan back. Snap. Elena heard Liam’s wrist break in the maw of the massive animal.

  Red was standing on the chest of the other man, snarling and baring his teeth. Liam screamed as Faolan shook the arm in his mouth. Lilly pushed the crossbows away from the two men with her snout. Then as one, all three wolves looked at Elena, as if waiting for something.

  Oh, right. I have to be the spokesperson. “All right, assholes,” Elena growled, trying for fierce, “who hired you and what’s this mirror you’re looking for?” Liam’s face was ashen with pain, but he wasn’t going to talk, so she looked to the short one. “Tell me now, or you’ll be next.”

  “You stupid bitch, he’s going to kill you,” said the one she thought was called Steve.

  “How much is Worthington paying you?” she fished, hoping to reel in a big answer. What she got stunned her.

  “He doesn’t need to be paying me. He is the next Master. You have no idea what you’re fucking with. There are powers here beyond your ken. You canna possibly hope to defeat him. He knows you, knows the only thing here is a novice, a sapling. Get out while you can.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Liam roared.

  Faolan shook the arm he was holding again, causing Liam to scream in agony, but he had nothing more to say. The other one just smirked. “You can kill us. More will come.”

  “Hold them,” Elena said, and she ran to the house for her digital camera. When she came back outside, she pulled off their hoods and took pictures. They both had the same tattoos on the insides of their left wrists, the letter ‘Z’ tilted at an angle. She’d been learning a lot conducting all this research lately, and she knew this was called a Z-rod, and it was an ancient Celt or Pict symbol. This particular Z-rod had a hissing serpent wound through it. A symbol of afterlife.

  Elena searched them and found a long dagger sheathed in Liam’s boot. She piled all their weapons to the side and then looked to Faolan. He seemed to leave the next decision up to her. “Get out of here now and don’t come back. Next time, they’ll kill you.”

  The punks ran for the door, and the wolves stalked them down the road. Elena assumed they followed them until they were off the property. She heard a car start and drive away. Shortly after, Faolan was running back, this time in his human form, calling her name.

  ****

  After looking at scores of web pages, Elena decided there was a lot of crap out there in cyber space. However, not all of it was wild imaginings. She was beginning to put together a picture of what was happening, and it wasn’t something she had prepared for in law school. Th
e things she was learning about required a leap of faith so large, it couldn’t be held within the realm of the world as she understood it.

  Faolan was right; there were things not of this world. Or rather not of this world as she knew it before she came to Scotland. Was there really an otherworld? According to many of the sites she visited online there was. Druids existed in ancient times, but there were modern-day versions as well. Druids, Wiccans, and others actively practiced magick. Werewolves, vampires, banshees, and all manner of heretofore-fictional characters, walked beside her, she just couldn’t see them. And Fairies? Apparently, the Fae had walked the world for thousands of years as immortal and powerful beings. Who knew Tinker Bell had so much hidden potential?

  None of the others had known anything about a mirror, and Elena wanted to understand a bit more before she told them what she’d found. She thought she could place the one she’d found in the 15or 16 century. This made sense, considering all the other items in the chamber. She couldn’t say why it was so important to her to figure out the approximate age of the mirror, except maybe because there were so many unanswered questions surrounding everything else.

  Several of the websites theorized that Druids could project powerful spells into inanimate objects, imbuing the object with magickal power. Could this be related to the spell needed to remove the curse of the wolf? Something about that idea tickled her brain, but she couldn’t place what she knew about it.

  Again, she examined the evidence, but this time she included the evidence of her heart, and began to weave her own theory. Whatever Faolan’s father was…probably a Druid Priest, he must have been extraordinarily powerful. The secrets he protected were valuable beyond her understanding. A spellcaster… or something, had placed a protective curse on that knowledge. This had to be old magick. It couldn’t have come from one of the start-up or revival groups she read about on the Internet.

  Something hidden on this land held secrets that were valuable to Druids. Worthington’s ancestor murdered an entire family, and stole this farm to get it. Could it be the mirror? Obviously, Worthington knew about the mirror and he wanted it badly enough to kill for it. The mirror was at least three hundred years old. Was it possible?