Anita Clenney - Embrace the Highland Warrior

“Pulse is slow. What’s this?” Coira asked, looking at the red scratch on Shay’s pale skin. It looked even angrier.

“She said she scratched it. I was going to get you to look at it.” He leaned down and sniffed. It didn’t smell sulfurous, like a demon scratch, but it probably wouldn’t, since it was several days old. “Is it infected?”

“I don’t think so, just inflamed. Her pupils are normal,” she said, shining a light into Shay’s eyes. “That’s good.” The blood pressure cuff beeped. “Blood pressure is low.”

“Maybe we should take her to the hospital,” Cody said. They tried to avoid hospitals if possible. It opened the door to too many questions they didn’t want to answer.

“I think she’ll be okay. Let’s let her rest for a bit. What was that out there, Cody?”

“All I saw was a shadow with black hair.”

“You think it was the same thing that attacked Jamie?”

“I don’t know.” Jamie hadn’t been able to remember much about the attack. “Why didn’t he hurt Shay? He just stood there, like he was waiting for her.”

“This is unnerving. Those things getting inside the castle wall, even inside the secret passages. I’m starting to wonder if Angus was right about the traitor.”

She wasn’t the only one wondering it. The castle had two lines of guards around the perimeter. How had this—whatever it was—found the place and gotten through?

“Go find it, Cody,” Coira said fiercely. “Before this thing finds Shay.”

Cody bent and pressed a lingering kiss to Shay’s forehead, and stood, his face set tight, prepared for the hunt. He knew what had to be done. He would destroy Malek, at least weaken him, even if it meant his own death. But there was one place he needed to stop first.

***

“Malek? Hell, are you sure?” Cody asked.

“My memory was cloudy before, but now I’m positive,” Jamie said, his face gray. “How did he find her?”

“He must have followed us from the airport or from Shay’s house. I suspect the fire was a trap to draw Shay into the open, but if someone followed us, he was invisible. We had another breach earlier. Someone tried to lure Shay outside, but it wasn’t Malek. This guy had black hair.”

Jamie threw back his covers. “Is she okay? What happened?”

“Coira’s taking care of her. She’ll be fine.” He couldn’t consider anything else. “The three guards closest to where we found her were unconscious. All they remember is hearing the wind. Next thing they knew they were waking up. The other guards farther away were unaffected, but they didn’t see what was happening. Ronan and Niall are tracking it. I’m headed out now.”

Jamie swung his feet to the floor and went pale with the effort. “I’ll come with you.”

“You still need rest.”

“I’m sick of rest.”

“You need to heal,” Cody said, putting his hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “You’re lucky to be alive. Not many can say they’ve battled one of the old demons hand-to-hand and lived to tell about it.”

“You said another warrior was killed before I was attacked. It must have weakened Malek. That’s probably the only reason I’m alive.”

“Maybe, but you are alive, and you’re a good warrior, and we’ll need you when you’ve recovered.” He hoped Jamie took the words for the apology it was. It wouldn’t make up for his jackass jealous behavior, but it was a start. “We have other warriors coming to help.”

“I feel like a bloody invalid, lying here while the castle is attacked. Are you sure Shay’s okay?” he asked stiffly. It was still awkward for the two of them to mention her.

“She’s okay, thanks to that damned cat. It darted between Shay and whoever was in the woods. It might’ve saved her life. Matilda’s too. You don’t know about Matilda. She said she killed a man in the secret passage. We found a pile of dust.”

“Vampires? Inside the castle!”

“Must have entered through the tunnel. Matilda thinks the cat attacked whatever she saw. Hell. That cat probably saved all our lives. If the vampire had waited until we were asleep, he could have killed us one by one.”

“Maybe it’s a vampire-killer cat. So a castle that’s remained a secret for centuries has been breached three times in a matter of days, by a demon and a vampire and who knows what else?”

“I don’t know what that was outside, but he must be powerful, to knock out three warriors without even touching them. I’m beginning to think the whole underworld has joined forces against us.”

“What’s next?” Jamie asked. “Werewolves?”

Cody’s mentor had told him about a creature he saw when he was a kid, a human that changed into an animal. Daniel swore it wasn’t a demon. He spoke of it only once, when he had too much whisky following a hard battle.

Jamie shifted, wincing. “Is someone guarding the tunnel?”

“Shane and Tomas checked it earlier, and we’ve posted two guards there.”

“Maybe we should move Shay to New York,” Jamie said.

“If we move her, we’ll risk having her out in the open until we can get her inside the castle walls there. Even though we’ve been breached here, more warriors are on the way. France has a dozen on the way, and Ireland’s sending twenty.” He hadn’t asked the clan in Ireland, not after sending one of their own back in a casket, but they had volunteered. “We can line them up shoulder to shoulder, if we have to.” Cody looked around the room, trying to decide how to ask Jamie what he wanted to ask. “I need a favor.”

Jamie looked surprised. “I’m listening.”

Cody held Jamie’s gaze and remembered staring at him across the body in the woods, thinking Shay was dead. “If something happens to me… I want you to take care of Shay.” His throat tightened at the words, but he had to make sure she would be okay. Jamie loved her. He would protect her. Give her a good life.

Jamie watched him for a minute and then he nodded. “You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

Duncan stuck his head in the door, his scowl even more pronounced than usual. “Has anyone seen Sorcha? Bloody woman’s never where she’s supposed to be.”

“She’s guarding the gate,” Cody said. He hadn’t seen Sorcha and Duncan together since Duncan kissed her during the Council meeting.

“I’m going to check on her,” Duncan said, passing Coira on the way out.

“Have you been to the bathroom tonight?” she asked Jamie.

He rolled his eyes. “Not yet.”

“Better do it while you have a man to help you, or I’ll have to stick a bedpan under you. I’m going to sleep in the infirmary so I can watch Shay. Don’t forget your pain pills. Won’t do anyone any good if you don’t rest so your body can heal.”

“Damn,” Jamie said, after she left.

“Uh… you need to go?” Cody asked.

Jamie nodded and slowly sat up. It took him a minute to stand. Cody put his arm around Jamie, supporting him, and helped him into the bathroom, wondering if this was some kind of karma or penance for acting like an asshole.

***

Ronan frowned as Bree stood over Shay’s bed. He and Niall had spent the night hunting that thing in the woods. Cody left minutes after they had. He hoped Cody had better luck. It was as if it had vanished into thin air with not even a track.

“What’s wrong?” Faelan asked Bree.

She leaned closer and touched the bandage on Shay’s arm. “Vampire,” she said, and blinked several times. “She’s been marked by a vampire.”

Chapter 18

Ronan felt as if he had swallowed a frog. “Are you sure?” he choked.

“I think so,” Bree said.

Faelan moved closer. “Marked by an ancient demon and a vampire? Damnation. Poor wee lass.”