Highland Nights Page 3

  "I'm sorry you were made to leave the MacDougal's. I can understand what you are feeling, but your sisters need you."

  She snorted very unladylike. "I don't believe that for a moment. Moira has never needed anyone but herself. If she could do this herself she would."

  The loathing that laced her words surprised him, but it wasn't the time to ask about Moira. Instead he patted her mare's neck. "I do understand."

  Her green eyes swiveled to his. "Really? Why is it that I don't believe you? How could you possibly know what it feels like to have your family make you leave your home?" she asked and nudged her horse forward.

  "You'd be surprised," he said under his breath. It was going to be a very, very long journey. He didn't fault her for being testy. Hell, he'd do a lot more if someone was making him leave his home.

  He caught up with her as they reached a fork in the road. Without hesitation he veered left toward the mountains. He smothered a chuckle when he heard her sigh and just knew she had rolled her eyes as well.

  "What are you doing?" she asked. "Cormag told me Laird Conall's home was to the east. Wouldn't it be easier to take the road to the right and venture through MacAllister and MacLachlan land?"

  "Nay."

  "Nay?" she repeated. "Is that the only answer you are going to give me?"

  He blew air out of his mouth as she neared. They hadn't been gone but a short while, and already he wanted to pull his hair out.

  "That's the only answer you'll be getting," he said over his shoulder.

  "Well, I demand more. You are taking us into the mountains, the long way around, and I think I should be given a reason. Especially after informing Helen and Cormag of the urgency."

  He'd had enough. With one tug of his finger he wheeled Morgane around to face Fiona. "We're going this way because 'tis the way I'm going. That's the only reason you need."

  Fiona glared at Gregor. She knew he was deliberately avoiding telling her why he had chosen this route, and she didn't know what agitated her more. The fact that he refused to tell her or that she was going to have to travel through the rough, dangerous mountains.

  One look at his black eyes and she knew she wasn't going to get any more out of him. While still at the MacDougal's he had shown the patience of Job, but she had seen the deep-rooted despair in his mysterious eyes.

  But that sadness wasn't what she glimpsed just a moment ago. Instead there had been the tiniest hint of anger in what otherwise would have been a flat stare. Gregor might be able to fool others but she was a Druid and could see things others missed.

  She clicked to her mare and sent her trotting after the infuriating man. Already they had begun the assent onto the mountains. She gripped her mare tightly and refused to look down when she heard the sprinkle of rocks as they fell.

  They traveled in silence for a while. She didn't have anything to say, and begging him to take her home would fall on deaf ears. She began to wonder if he realized she was still following him.

  They crested a hill and she turned for one last look at her home when she spotted the smoke. "Gregor," she called.

  In a heartbeat he was beside her. " 'Tis the MacDougal's."

  "I must help them."

  His hand gripped her arm painfully. "Trust me, Fiona. You don't want to see what's down there and this only hastens our need to reach Conall's."

  She wrenched her arm free. "I refuse to sit by while my clan is in need. Stay here if you must, but I won't." She kicked her mare and sent her running down the path.

  Gone where her earlier worries of plummeting to her death on the jagged rocks as she raced her mare down the steep slope. All she cared about was reaching the only family she knew. Her mare stumbled, but quickly righted herself and continued their headlong dash toward the castle.

  Much to her delight she reached the bottom of the crag faster than when she had climbed it. Once her mare's feet touched the flat ground, she lowered herself across the horse's back and kicked her into a run.

  The castle came into view and she gasped at the many men that swarmed her clan. She swerved to go through the gates when a hand reached out and snatched the reins from her hands. She shouldn't have been surprised to find Gregor beside her.

  "Do you want to get yourself killed?" he spat through clenched teeth.

  "I want to help."

  "How do you think you'll help? Take a look around. There isn't much you can do."

  "I'm not afraid to die," she cried and slid from the mare.

  She heard his footfalls behind her. She picked up her skirts and dashed to the postern door in the curtain wall. She had just opened the door when he stopped her.

  "You are going to get yourself killed."

  "Maybe, but I must see if I can do something."

  She watched as he struggled with something before finally giving in. "All right. But when I say we need to leave, we leave."

  She gave him a smile and rushed through the door. With his help, they managed to make it into the castle without being discovered. Quickly, she led him into the castle through the kitchens.

  They reached the main hall and had Gregor not pulled her back she would have ran into an enemy soldier. "What clan are they?" she whispered.

  "MacNeil," he whispered into her ear.

  "Why?"

  "It doesn't matter," he said.

  "I demand you tell me."

  "Well, since you demand it, I will import a wee bit of knowledge to you. MacNeil is here for you. To kill you."

  Her mind refused to believe he had managed to find her so quickly after all these years. "Did you lead them here?"

  He spun her around to face him. "Never. 'Tis my duty to make sure he fails. I should never have let you come this far. We must return to the horses now. I cannot let anything happen."

  She was about to go with him when she heard a loud crash and jeers coming from the hall. She jerked out of Gregor's hands and peered around the corner.

  "Nay," came a whisper in her ear before large hands covered her eyes. "You don't want to see this."

  But she already had. Blood. So much blood flowed on the hall floor that Helen had always kept immaculate.

  "Come," Gregor murmured urgently.

  When they turned to retrace their steps they found the way blocked by four MacNeil soldiers. "Is there another way?"

  She nodded and ran down a hallway. Gregor stayed close behind her, and although she wouldn't have admitted it to him, she was glad he was with her.

  They reached the side of the hall, hidden from view by a tapestry, when she heard the bellow of pain. "'Tis Cormag," she said. She turned and looked beseechingly at Gregor.

  He closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath about Moira and his hide before he nodded. She ran towards the sound of his cry of pain and came into contact with one MacNeil soldier. Before the soldier could alert anyone to their presence Gregor had already slit his throat.

  She watched the dead soldier fall to the ground when Cormag groaned again. "He's in the solar. I know a way in where they'll never see us."

  Gregor gave a quick nod and followed. She hurried through the maze of hallways until she came to the spot. She turned and looked at Gregor before she leaned against the wall. "Come," she said before the wall turned.

  Had the situation not been so dire she might have laughed at his incredulous expression. Instead, she had only to wait a moment before he followed her example and stood beside her in the dark passage.

  The passageway was very narrow and with him now beside her, Fiona couldn't help but notice the hard maleness of his body. He radiated power and authority with little more than a look or touch. Her skin heated when his hand touched her face, then her neck.

  "Where are we?" he whispered as his hand grabbed her shoulder.

  She was thankful for the diversion of her mind from his body. "Cormag's ancestors liked to build these secret passages throughout the castle. I've found many of them, but I'm sure there are many more I haven't come across."

>   He grunted in response, which caused her to grin. "Stay next to me. I have to feel my way through these passages, and I don't want you to become lost."

  When she had told him to stay close she hadn't expected him to mold himself along the backside of her, nor put his hand around her waist. Never had a man been this close to her, and the fact she enjoyed it bothered her immensely.

  She concentrated on feeling her way through the passage as quickly as possible. She found the spot where the passage wall turned suddenly to the right, and where she needed to continue forward.

  She was surprised that Gregor never questioned her. Thankfully, they came to the end. As silent as ever the wooden door swung toward them to reveal another of Helen's massive tapestries.

  "This is one of the first passages I found, and Helen admitted to hiding the door with this tapestry."

  "I'm glad she did," Gregor said and pushed her behind him.

  She allowed him the first look. "'Tis clear for the moment. Cormag is in there, but ..."

  "I know," she said and swallowed hard. She didn't know what she expected to find, but when she looked around the tapestry it wasn't to find Cormag strung on a rack that had wrenched his shoulders out of socket.

  Blood stained his shirt at his shoulders, and it was all she could do not to run to him. Gregor must have known what she might try because his hands came around her waist.

  "Cormag," she whispered.

  His bruised and bloodied face turned toward her. He opened one eye barely a crack because of the bruises. His other eye was sealed shut with blood and puss. "Lass? Is that you? What are you doing here?" he asked before coughing blood.

  "I came to help."

  "You must leave. All of Scotland depends on you. Where's Gregor?"

  She was shoved aside as Gregor moved around her. "Here."

  "You fool man. Get her out. He's come for her."

  "I know. We're leaving now."

  But Fiona wasn't finished. She pushed Gregor away and ran to Cormag's dying body. Tears she couldn't control ran down her face. "Don't leave," she begged.

  "Ah, lass," he said. "I will always be with you. Now, go so you can save other clans from this destruction."

  "Nay," she cried and tried to hold onto him, but Gregor's arms encircled her.

  "Get her out, lad," Cormag ordered.

  She was no match for Gregor's strength when he picked her up and carried her back to the passage. Cormag was right. She needed to get away and quickly.

  Without any urging from Gregor she swiftly retraced their steps, but she misjudged. When they opened the door they were no longer inside the hall, they were now in the kitchen.

  "This way," Gregor said and pulled her after him into the bailey.

  She stayed at his back as he dispatched any enemy that came in their path. They were passing the blacksmith's hut when she heard the scream. Gregor was busy fighting a MacNeil soldier, and she looked into the doorway to find another MacNeil raping one of her clanswomen.

  She saw the long metal rod by the door and picked it up as she walked toward the man. She raised the rod above her head and sent it down upon his back with all the strength she could muster.

  The soldier stopped his rutting movements and turned on her. "Ah, ye want a piece of me, do ye?" he snarled. "Come on then, lass."

  He was a great bear of a man and before Fiona could muster a scream in her throat he was on her, jerking up the hem of her gown. She struggled, but it seemed as if he had the strength of twenty men.

  Of a sudden he let out a roar and rolled away from her. She watched in amazement as he clawed at his back, and it was only then she saw the dagger sticking out of him.

  Her eyes went to the doorway to find Gregor standing there. He gave her a little nod, and she got to her feet as he walked out of the cottage.

  "Fight me like a man," the soldier bellowed at Gregor.

  A shiver went down Fiona's spine at the feral look that came into Gregor's black eyes. He twisted his wrist, sending his sword dancing around him. With the other hand he motioned for the soldier to come at him.

  Fiona barely had time to blink before Gregor smashed the hilt of his sword into the soldier's face, sending him to his knees. He then put the end of his sword on the soldier's neck and sliced.

  She opened her mouth in shock, but Gregor had already pulled her behind him as he raced from the small cottage. "Do you understand now?" he asked. "We must get you to Conall's posthaste."

  * * * *

  "Where the hell is she?" MacNeil demanded of Cormag. "Tell me, and I will give you an easy passing."

  Blood bubbled from the corner of Cormag's mouth as he laughed. "She's gone and you'll never find her. The prophecy will come to pass, and you'll be sent to Hell where you belong."

  This couldn't be happening, MacNeil thought to himself. How had they missed the bitch? How hard could it be to kill these Druids? The parents had died easily enough.

  He would be here soon, wanting to know where Fiona was, and still Cormag had told him nothing. If only Glenna wouldn't have left him he would have no need of the man, but now MacNeil needed him more than ever.

  With one last effort, MacNeil grabbed Cormag by his shirt, "Tell me and I will cut you loose. Tell me," he ordered.

  "Roast in Hell," Cormag uttered as the life drained from his body.

  "So," said the voice that sent chills down MacNeil's back, "I see you have failed once again."

  MacNeil turned toward the doorway to see the cloaked figure. Even after all these months he still hadn't gotten a name out of the man. Most people called him The Shadow, which is exactly what he was.

  "I know she left here recently," MacNeil answered and shifted his feet nervously.

  "Hmmm," The Shadow said as he walked into the chamber. "Gregor traveled faster than I anticipated. I could have been here sooner had there been no need to retrieve you."

  MacNeil refused to show The Shadow how much his tone terrified him. After all, MacNeil was the one known in Scotland as the Butcher. This Shadow should fear him. This thing that wore the black cloak that shielded his face at all time.

  "Then we ride to MacInnes Castle. Again."

  "Nay."

  MacNeil heard the violent note in the Shadow's voice. "Gregor takes her to the Druid's Glen. We must get to them before they reach that haven."

  The Shadow's laughter resounded in the chamber. "They won't be headed to the glen and MacInnes Castle. Yet. I have something planned for them."

  MacNeil rubbed his hands together. Whatever the Shadow had planned for Gregor and Fiona would most definitely be gruesome.

  "About time," he muttered and looked down at the dead form of Cormag MacDougal.

  "Cut off his head," he told his soldiers. "Place it on a pike at the gatehouse. I want all to see what happens to any who oppose me."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Fiona didn't need to see the storm clouds to know they were about to burst. For hours her soul screamed her sorrow as they rode farther and farther away from her home, but she kept silent as she always had when in pain.

  She kept her gaze to the ground, but she could feel Gregor's eyes on her. The dam of tears was about to rupture and she refused to allow him to see them.

  A fat raindrop landed on her hand, and she pulled her mare back to let Gregor lead the way. When he was far enough ahead, she raised her face to the clouds and called for the rain.

  Gregor cursed when the sky opened up and let the rain fall. This would slow their progress, but it would also slow MacNeil. He turned and saw Fiona lower her face. She had been silent and withdrawn since their departure from the MacDougall's, but he couldn't blame her.

  She had seen her clansmen murdered and her foster father dying. He didn't want to think about what happened to Helen or Brigit, and he prayed Fiona never asked. He expected her to shed tears and had been rather surprised when she had remained quiet.

  He slowed Morgane's pace until Fiona caught up with him. She said not a word, but he could have swo
rn 'twas tears he saw through the rain.

  "Fiona?" he asked, wondering if he should comfort her. He recalled the many times his sister, Anne, had told him how he should console a woman in distress. Now was obviously one of those times, but Fiona was anything but what one would classify as a normal lass.

  "I'm all right," he heard above the drone of the rain.

  He snorted. She was anything but all right, but he wasn't about to argue with her. At least she was smart enough to wrap her plaid around her to help her stay dry.

  They forged on until his stomach began to rumble. All this time and Fiona had not complained about anything. His respect for her grew, much to his vexation. She was one woman he had to--at all costs--stay away from.

  And yet he was extremely attracted to her.

  At least he needn't worry about her wanting him. She had made it painfully clear she couldn't stand him. He put her from his thoughts and concentrated on finding the old cave. It had been many years and as far as he knew it could have new occupants.

  He squinted through the rain and pulled up on Morgane's reins. This was it. He dismounted and crept toward the cave entrance. He palmed the dirk from his boot and stepped into the darkness.

  It didn't take long to find the only inhabitants were a few bats toward the back. He whistled to Morgane as he emerged and motioned to Fiona.

  "We'll be dry in here for the night," he said as he helped her dismount. "I will get a fire started while you get out of those wet clothes."

  She nodded and walked into the cave. "I didn't realize it was so big."

  "There's enough room for us to make camp on the right while I tie the horses on the left." He led the horses into the cave and began to unsaddle them. "Just stay away from the very back. There are bats."

  She chuckled behind him and it sent a tingling up his spine. "I'm not afraid of bats."

  "Good," he said and tossed her a plaid from her bag. He quickly gathered what wood he could find in the cave and set about making a fire.