Dangerous Highlander

CHAPTER FOUR

Lucan raced back to the great hall, his blood pumping in his veins. It had been a few months since he had fought, and he found himself looking forward to it. Apodatoo, the god within him, clawed to be free, to mete out his vengeance on those who would dare to attack the castle.

And Lucan freed him.

Lucan’s teeth elongated, and his nails grew to sharp, black claws that could behead a man with one swipe. His skin tingled as it changed to ebony. He had learned after being turned in Deirdre’s mountain that each god had distinct powers and when a Warrior let his god out the Warrior changed to the color of the god.

Lucan, Fallon, and Quinn changed to black.

By the time Lucan reached the great hall, Quinn and Fallon had their hands full. The brothers had witnessed for themselves the varied monsters men turned into when a god was inside them.

A small pale yellow creature launched itself at Lucan. He jerked his hand up to impale the thing on his claws and cut off its head with his other hand. With a jerk, he flung off the dead monster and readied for the next attack. He grimaced. A wyrran. Creatures made by Deirdre’s black magic.

Again and again the wyrran came at them, smaller than Lucan remembered. They were completely hairless, their mouths so full of teeth that their thin lips couldn’t close over them. The wyrran hissed and screeched and yelled, but they didn’t roar as Quinn did, as a Warrior did.

“You. Will. Die!” Fallon bellowed as the blade of his sword severed a wyrran’s head from its body.

Lucan glanced at his brother, amazed that even now Fallon hadn’t given in to the god and changed. He didn’t have long to think about it, though, as four wyrran jumped from the walls onto him.

They clawed and bit at his flesh. Lucan threw one off him after it gnawed on his shoulder. Another he beheaded with a slash of his hand. The one on his leg he kicked toward Quinn, who ripped it in two.

Lucan reached behind him to the wyrran that hung on his back. Its claws dug into his waist and shoulders. He could feel his blood dripping from him, the pain dulled by the fury inside him.

He grabbed the creature by the back of the neck and flung it over his head. The wyrran landed on its back with a howl, its teeth bared. Lucan knelt beside it and plunged his claws into the creature’s abdomen and ripped out its heart.

“I hate these damned things,” Fallon said as he made his way toward Lucan.

Lucan tossed aside the heart. He rose and noticed the blood on his brother. “Me as well.”

“It seems Deirdre wants a battle.”

Lucan blew out a breath as he looked at all the dead bodies of the wyrran. They were Deirdre’s pets, used by her to track whomever she wanted. “Are they all dead?”

“I think,” Fallon answered. “Where is Quinn?”

Lucan shrugged. “He was just here.”

Then they heard the howl, Quinn’s howl of rage. Lucan pointed to Fallon with his claw. “Stay here in case more come.”

Fallon nodded, and Lucan leapt onto the stairs and raced to find Quinn. Lucan followed the growls and bellows to the top of a tower where Quinn battled a tall, slim monster. Lucan climbed closer to them, the wind and rain making it difficult to see. Until lightning streaked across the sky and he saw the royal blue skin of the Warrior.

“Shite,” Lucan murmured as he recognized that Quinn battled one like them.

Quinn was strong, but his adversary moved so quickly Quinn couldn’t keep up. In a heartbeat, the beast had Quinn on his back, his head hanging over the side of the tower. One long royal blue arm lifted, its claws aimed at Quinn’s throat.

They might be immortal, but they could be killed if their heads were removed. Lucan had failed his brothers once already by bringing Cara into the castle. He wouldn’t let them down again.

He jumped and landed beside the Warrior. Lucan backhanded him and followed the Warrior as he fell over the side of the tower. He heard Quinn bellow his name, but Lucan couldn’t stop. Not now.

The Warrior landed on his feet next to the cliff moments before Lucan dropped down beside him.

“You just won’t die, will you?” Lucan taunted the Warrior.

Blue lips peeled back in a laugh. “My mistress is tired of your games. She wants you back at her mountain.”

Lucan’s blood went cold. “Deirdre can want all she wants, but we’re not going anywhere.”

The Warrior shrugged. “Though she wants you, MacLeod, do you think you three are the only ones she’s after?”

They circled each other, waiting for a time to strike. “Isn’t that why you came?” Lucan couldn’t imagine another reason why Deirdre had sent part of her army to the castle.

The Warrior threw back his head and laughed. “You have no idea, do you?”

“Tell me.”

“Ah, Lucan,” he said. “We are all just men who are fortunate enough to have powers unlike any other. Why deny what is in your blood? Give the god inside you what he wants.”

“Become like you, you mean? Bowing to Deirdre and her need to dominate? Despite the evil inside me, I fight on the side of good.”

“Do you really think you have a choice? The Druids set in motion things that cannot be undone. Hide in your castle for as long as you can, but be forewarned. This isn’t the last you’ve seen of us.”

Lucan lunged at him, but the Warrior disappeared into the night. Lucan started after him, but Quinn’s shout from the battlements brought him up short.

“Hurry,” Quinn said before he jumped to the ground and rushed to the castle.

Lucan ran under the gate house, through the bailey, and into the castle. To find the great hall empty except for Quinn. Where was Fallon?

“What is it?”

Quinn’s chest rose and fell rapidly, the rain dripping from his black skin. “I heard Fallon.”

Lucan opened his hearing. It took him a moment, but he finally heard Fallon’s voice. “Shite. He’s below the castle. Where I hid Cara.”

* * *

Cara covered her ears with her hands, but nothing drowned out the sounds coming from above. The inhuman screeches, the eerie screams. It reminded her too much of the night her parents died, a night she fought every day to forget.

She tried to hum, anything to mask the sounds. At least there was light from the torch. She wouldn’t be so calm if it were dark. How she loathed the dark.

Her fingers began to tingle, and this time she gave in to the urge to touch something. She placed her hands on the dirt floor as another boom shook the castle.

As suddenly as the battle in the castle began, it ended. She leaned her head against the wall behind her and fixed her gaze on the door, silently waiting for Lucan to come for her.

There was a light scratch on the door that sounded like claws. She rose to her feet, assuming it was Lucan or his brothers. Until the door rattled on its hinges.

She took a step back and ran to the wall, her gaze darting to the door and the dust and dirt that flew every time it was jerked.

“I know you’re in there. I can smell you and your magic,” a deep, raspy voice called from the other side of the door.

She glanced around the small chamber. Magic? What was he talking about? She had no magic. There was also nowhere to escape, no place to hide. The only thing separating her from whatever was on the other side was a wooden door that was centuries old. How long could it last?

As soon as the thought flitted through her mind, the wood cracked. An evil laugh filled the chamber as the man doubled his efforts in pulling apart the door.

The wood splintered with a loud crack. Cara flattened herself against the stone wall, her heart in her throat. She screamed when an ash-colored hand pushed through the hole in the door.

The monster’s claws scraped on the wood, gouging the door with five long streaks. Cara squeezed herself into a corner, icy prickles of terror racing over her skin. With one yank, the door was wrenched in two. She screamed again when a face, the same ash color, came into her line of sight.

Thick horns rose through the man’s blond hair atop his head. He laughed, peeling back his lips to show his fangs. His eyes were the same color as his skin and scanned her up and down as he chuckled.

“What a reward I will get for being the one to find you.” He pulled the rest of the door off its hinges and made to step into the chamber.

He got no more than one foot inside before the tip of a sword pushed through his stomach. Cara’s heart stopped as the creature looked down at the blade protruding from his abdomen. A heartbeat later the beast was jerked out of the chamber, his claws raking down the sides of the stones.

Cara caught a glimpse of Fallon, his tunic covered in blood.

“Are you all right?” Fallon asked.

She nodded.

“I’ll keep him occupied. Get out and find Lucan.”

Fallon moved into the darkness of the corridor. Grunts and growls filled the space as Fallon and the monster fought. Cara started toward the doorway and stopped when she saw seedlings had sprouted where her hands had been. With no time to think about it, she reached for the torch. No matter how much she strained, it wouldn’t loosen from the holder.

Cara blinked back the tears that threatened. Her fear had made her too frightened to move the night her parents were killed. If she didn’t do something now, she would receive the same fate as they had.

Yet she couldn’t see. How could she get past the monster if she didn’t know where he was?

“Cara!” Fallon shouted. “Run. Now!”

She lifted her skirts and shouldered her way through the broken door, all the while praying she didn’t crash into anything. She could hear Fallon and the other man—monster—in their skirmish. Fallon grunted and something heavy hit the wall.

Cara tried to dart past them, but something bumped into her, knocking her off her feet. She pitched forward, her skirts forgotten as she put her hands out to catch herself. She landed with a hard thud and hit her chin on the ground, biting her tongue.

Tears welled in her eyes as pain swam through her and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She tried to get to her feet, but something grabbed her ankle. The laugh that echoed around her sent a chill of foreboding through her.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” The monster jerked back on her ankle, pulling her toward him.

Cara clawed at the ground, dirt clumping under her fingernails. She kicked back with her other foot and missed. The second time she tried, she connected with something. There was a grunt, and then the beast cursed and gave her leg a vicious yank.

With her breath coming in ragged gasps, she began to pray, mumbling the prayers the nuns had taught her to help ease her fears.

“You belong to us,” the monster said. “You and the Demon’s Kiss.” The beast’s hands gripped her waist, hauling her next to him.

Cara knew if the creature left with her Lucan would never find her. No one would ever find her. That was enough for her to put aside her terror and strike out with her hands and feet. She hit the monster multiple times, but he never eased his hold.

When he gained his feet and started walking, Cara knew she had one last chance in Fallon, if he wasn’t dead. “Fallon. Fallon, please!”

One moment she was being held above the ground, and the next she was on her stomach with a heavy weight atop her. She tried to move, but the creature was too heavy. He pinned her to the ground and laughed in her ear.

Then she heard Lucan’s voice yell her name in the dark. She tried to wiggle from underneath the weight only to have a large hand wrap around her arm, his claws digging into her skin.

“If you want them to live, don’t move,” the beast murmured.

Cara blinked and tried to see in the darkness. Everything had gotten quiet. The only sound she heard was her own harsh breathing.

“Cara!” Lucan called. “Are you hurt?”

The beast squeezed her arm. “Dinna answer him.”

“He can see,” she whispered, not knowing whether the beast could or not.

There was movement near her, coming closer with each heartbeat. Cara clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering in fear and cold.

She was jerked to her feet, the creature behind her with one of his claws at her neck.

“Back off, MacLeod. If you don’t want her throat slit, you’ll let me pass.”

“Why are you here?” Fallon asked from her left.

She sent up a silent prayer of thanks that he was still alive.

The beast laughed, the sound unnatural. And evil. “I’ve come for the Demon’s Kiss. And the woman.”

The silence that met his statement told Cara the MacLeods had no idea what the Demon’s Kiss was either.

“You have two choices. You can let her go and fight me, or you can die where you stand.” Lucan’s voice had grown closer with each word.

The creature growled. “I’m not leaving without the woman.”

“Then you die.”

The monster let out a loud bellow of pain, but he didn’t release her. Cara squeezed her eyes shut, thankful it was too dark for her to see anything. The sounds of blades sinking into flesh were terrifying enough.

By the beast’s yells, all three brothers were attacking him with their fists and weapons. Finally, his hold on her relaxed enough for her to get free.

Cara stumbled in the dark, one hand on the stone wall to catch her balance. She didn’t know which way she was headed, and it didn’t matter anymore. She had to get out of the dark and into the light.

Strong arms grabbed her shoulders, firm enough to halt her but light enough that she could break if she so desired.

“Cara. It’s Lucan.”

She sagged against him as all her emotions fell away. She had just gone through her greatest fear. But she was safe now. Safe with Lucan.

When he lifted her in his arms and walked away from the screams behind her, she was all too willing to wrap her arms around his neck, lay her head on his shoulder, and allow him to carry her burdens for a bit.

“What was that thing?” she asked after several moments.

“Later.”

His heat surrounded her, brandishing the cold and fear that had held her in its grip for what seemed like an eternity. She took a deep, steadying breath. “I thought I was going to die.”

“I told you I would protect you.” His voice held a note of displeasure, as if she should have known better.

Cara sank into his warmth, amazed that he could chase away the chill so easily. She was all too aware of the hard, lean man pressed against her, and his scent that put her senses into a whirl. Her breasts tingled from the contact, and she had the overwhelming desire to run her fingers through his ebony locks.

Lucan began to ascend the stairs that would take them to the great hall. Each step brought her farther into the light. When she could stand the awareness no more, she lifted her gaze and found him watching her.

Their eyes locked. Cara might be naïve about the ways of men, but there was no denying the hunger that darkened his eyes. She tried to swallow past the lump of excitement in her throat. Her chest felt constricted, her gown too tight against her skin. She wanted to be free of her clothing, to feel his skin against hers.

When his gaze shifted to her lips, Cara thought he was going to kiss her. It was there in his eyes, in the set of his jaw. He wanted her. And she wanted him.

Confusion filled her. She had pledged to become a nun, to fill her life with God and helping others. There was no place in her life for Lucan or the passion he stirred within her. Right?

She didn’t know. The longer she was around Lucan the more the idea of her taking the vows of a nun was preposterous. She had wanted a home, a family. She had found that at the nunnery with the Sisters and the children. She might not truly belong, but they welcomed her.

It took her a moment to realize Lucan no longer climbed the stairs. They were once more in the great hall, the storm still raging outside, much like her emotions.

Lucan released her legs, her lower body sliding down his until her feet touched the floor. Not even the cold stones could chase away the heat that engulfed her, though.

“Cara.”

A shudder went through her when he whispered her name with desire, with need . . . with hunger.

She forced her gaze away from him before she forgot the nunnery and gave in to the pleasure Lucan promised. That’s when she saw the blood and dead bodies that littered the great hall. She wasn’t sure what the diminutive pale yellow things were, but they were all dead.

“Cara.” His fingers tightened around her waist as if he wanted to hold her against him. His voice was edged with worry, and a hint of dread.

Thunder boomed, making her jump. She looked at Lucan to find his expression closed off and waiting. Something jabbed into her waist. It wasn’t Lucan’s hand that frightened her but the claws from his fingers.

Cara jerked out of his grasp and stepped backward. She stumbled over something, and when Lucan made a move to help her she hurried to twist away.

“Nay!” she shouted, her heart pumping wildly in her chest when she saw the dried blood on his chest through what was left of his tunic. “Stay away from me. I don’t know what you are, what any of this is, but I want to return to the village. Immediately.”

“Don’t let her, Lucan,” Quinn said from behind her.

She whirled around to find Quinn by the castle door and Fallon righting the table and benches. She hadn’t heard the two come into the great hall, but then again she had been preoccupied with Lucan and the delicious feelings he invoked.

The blood staining the brothers’ tunics along with the rips and tears of what was left of their clothes made her realize they were injured. She wanted to help, but how could she when she wasn’t sure what they were, much less what was going on?

She fought back the panic and tears when she realized Quinn had said she couldn’t go to the village. “Why? Why can’t I return to the village?”

Quinn met her gaze. “There’s nothing of it left to return to.”