Highland Mist (16 page)

“Gregor,” she called.

Instantly he was by her side, holding the torch so he could see her face. “What?”

“You must stop Conall. He’s going to fight MacNeil, but he’ll die. MacNeil has a man hidden behind a boulder to kill Conall when he walks from the gates.”

Gregor turned and ran from the cave without another word. Glenna sank to the ground, her thoughts of Conall. All she could do was pray she had seen the vision in time.

“Moira,” she called. “Moira, I need you.”

Several moments passed without any sound then a whoosh of wind whipped around her.

I’m here, Glenna
.

“I’ve seen Conall’s death. You must help him.”

I’ll do what I can
, she said, and then was gone.

Glenna wrapped her arms around herself. She prayed for another vision, anything to let her know what was going on, but nothing happened.

Instead, she had only the darkness and her thoughts for company.

* * * * *

Conall walked from the castle gates, Angus’ harsh words ringing in his ears. Angus hadn’t wanted him to leave the safety of the castle, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to avenge Iona.

He stood ten paces from the MacNeil when the sound of footsteps approaching from behind made him turn around. “What are you doing?” he asked Gregor.

“Saving your arse.” Gregor walked around a large boulder and returned with a dagger held to one of MacNeil’s clansmen.

Conall turned his eyes to the MacNeil.

MacNeil shrugged. “I never said I fought fair.”

Conall circled around MacNeil, his sword raised. He brought it down hard on MacNeil’s. MacNeil pivoted and thrust his sword, but Conall anticipated the move and smiled when his elbow connected with the bastard’s nose.

MacNeil wiped the blood from his broken nose and sneered. He charged, his sword swinging in a downward arc. Conall parried and tried to duck MacNeil’s fist.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He spit and swung his sword around before he launched another attack. This was his chance for vengeance, and he refused to fail.

He was fierce, giving no quarter. He slashed MacNeil’s chest and blood soaked the front of his plaid. After ducking a weak swing to his midsection, Conall lunged and delivered a nasty cut to MacNeil’s arm. Blow after blow he hammered MacNeil until the older man’s arm begin to weaken.

Triumph soared through him. He had MacNeil backed against a boulder. This was it. With one flick of his wrist MacNeil would be gone from this world. His father would be avenged, Iona would be returned and Glenna would never have to worry about returning. And all of Scotland would be safe from this murdering bastard.

Conall raised his sword but a piercing pain stopped him. MacNeil’s wicked cackle reached his ears. He looked down to see an arrow sticking from the top of his arm. Out the corner of his eye he saw MacNeil raise his sword.

Fool that he was, he had turned his back on MacNeil and now he would pay with his life. Conall’s thoughts centered on Glenna and how she would fare once he was gone.

Before MacNeil’s sword penetrated his skin a vicious wind whipped around them. The wind howled loudly, and Conall could barely open his eyes against it. He raised his arm to shield his eyes and saw MacNeil running toward his horse.

“Another day,” MacNeil called as he mounted his horse and he and his men rode away.

Angus and Gregor reached Conall as the wind died down to nothing. “Shall we go after them?” Angus asked.

“Nay. If we leave the castle he wins, and he can never win MacInnes Castle.”

Conall looked toward the forest and raised his face to the cliff. Gazing down at him was Moira. Only one other time had he ever witnessed her control over wind. She had helped him. It gave him pause, but he refused to give her the upper hand.

“This doesn’t mean I’ll allow Glenna to come to you,” he whispered, and knew she heard every word.

Chapter Twelve

Glenna trembled in the dampness of the cave. Gregor had taken her so deep she couldn’t hear anything but the constant dripping of water. She bit her lip and moved to her left. Bugs. She just knew there were bugs crawling on her. She hated bugs, but she hated spiders more. And once she thought about a spider, every place on her body felt as though hundreds of tiny legs crawled on her.

At first she tried to ignore it. She couldn’t. She moved her hair out of her face, but the sensations steadily became worse. Her skin and scalp tingled just thinking of those nasty spiders. Every sound was those eight legs crawling on her.

It was too much. She jumped up and ran in the general direction she thought Gregor had taken her. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself she was being silly for running from something she wasn’t sure she had felt, the fact was that there might have been something. Her fear was too much. She chided herself for not paying better attention after running into a couple of walls.

But then it was hard to notice when there was nothing but blackness around with the occasional torch to guide her. Her eyes had become accustomed to the dark, but not enough so she could really see. She would have to talk to Conall about that. How did they expect a person to walk in this blackness?

Then she went face first in a spider web the size of a castle.

She shrieked as she struggled to get the web off her. Had anyone asked, she would have sworn she could hear the spiders crawling toward her. Her heart pounded and the more she tried to get the web off, the more it clung to her. Hysterics set in. Something touched her side. She screamed and banged into a wall as she jumped.

Her hair clung to her face with sweat, and it wasn’t until she brushed a strand away from her face that she felt it.

A spider.

The unmistakable feel of eight legs crawled rapidly over her finger and it was all she could do not to faint. Her mind told her to fling it off her hand, but her body refused to move. She stood frozen in terror. But when it sank its fangs in her, she let out a scream and viciously flung the spider off. Then she flipped her head over and swung her hair around to make sure there weren’t more of them hiding in her hair.

Unfortunately, spiders were drawn to her, and the one she had flung off came right back toward her.

* * * * *

“Where the hell is she?” Conall demanded.

“I left her right here,” Gregor said, and held the torch higher to shed more light.

“She must have ventured off.”

“Unless she can become invisible, I think you’re right.” Conall tamped down a groan as blood trickled down his arm. “She could be anywhere. These caves go deeper than I’ve ever explored, even as a child.”

“I knew I should’ve stayed with her,” Gregor mumbled.

They both stopped and stared at each other when the scream reached them.

“Glenna,” they said in unison, and ran in the direction of the scream.

* * * * *

Glenna stopped running when her lungs begged for breath and a stitch started in her side. She had no idea how far she had gone, but it was definitely not the way to the castle. All she saw when he looked around was never-ending walls of stone. She wished for a torch so she could be sure the spiders were no longer following her.

A flicker of light caught her attention. She quickly followed, hoping it was Conall. Instead she found Moira.

“I wondered how long it would take you.”

Still gasping for breath, Glenna asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I wanted to see if you could find your way without hearing the music. You did. Your Druid powers are more than I expected, especially at how little you’ve been taught.” With that Moira turned and walked away.

Glenna stared stupidly after her. Had she really found her by herself? “Moira?”

“Remember the way,” she called out, her image fading in the darkness. “This is where I will meet you. This cave leads to the stone circle.”

Glenna’s mouth dropped open. Was it coincidence she happened upon this route?

“Go, Glenna. Conall is coming.”

She followed Moira’s urging and turned back to retrace her steps. She hadn’t gone far when Conall and Gregor rounded a corner.

“There you are,” Conall said, and rushed toward her as he held up the torch. “Are you all right? We heard the scream.”

She nodded. “It’s silly, really. I hate spiders.”

“You ran because you saw a spider?” Gregor asked.

The torch shed enough light to let her see they both thought she was daft. “It wouldn’t leave me alone. I think it was upset because I ran into its web.” She shivered and rubbed her hands along her arms.

“Did you kill it?” Conall asked.

“I couldn’t. Gregor reached you in time I see.” She was anxious to make sure he was unharmed, to know her vision helped.

“Aye.”

It was the slight wince that drew her attention to his shoulder. She spotted the blood and the hastily wrapped bandage around his upper arm. The thought of him injured sucked the breath right out of her.

She gently laid her fingers on his arm. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s only a scratch. Angus tended to it.”

“It doesn’t look like a scratch. What happened?”

“A soldier tried to prevent me from killing the MacNeil.”

“Oh, is that all,” she said, anger making the words harsh.

How could he be so nonchalant about it? There was blood. He was in pain. Not to mention she hadn’t had a vision about someone trying to kill him. How would these visions help if she couldn’t have one when it counted?

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been wounded, nor do I think it will be the last. Now tell me. Did you have another vision?”

She shrugged. “It seems I’ve had a few of them lately. But I didn’t see this,” she said, and again touched his arm.

He turned her face to his with a finger under her chin. “You saved Ailsa’s life as well as mine this day.”

It was the sadness in his voice and his eyes that told her what she had been dreading. Tears she couldn’t control ran down her face. “He didn’t bring Iona, did he?”

He shook his head and wiped her tears away.

She yearned to scream her anguish. Instead she put her trust in Conall. “What will you do now?”

He put a hand on her back and urged her to walk. “I’ve some thinking and planning to do. He’s made it known he wants MacInnes Castle. He’ll do whatever it takes to get it. He was mighty upset at not seeing you.”

“I thought he might,” she said. “I’m sorry he is such a bad man. I never knew.”

“No one should be reared by a man like that.”

“Where is the MacNeil? Does he wait outside your walls?”

“He and his army are gone. For now. They’ll be back with more men, I’m sure.”

“But you’ll be waiting for them.”

He stopped and stared at her. “Aye, I will. I aim to kill him.”

Glenna started to speak when the torch went out. A sound came from farther down the cave and she just knew it was the spider. Anger and fear welled up inside her. “I need light. I can’t stand this darkness. The spiders will come.”

“I know the way,” he said, and put his hand on her back.

But Glenna didn’t move. Fear had frozen her again. She closed her eyes and wished with all he might for some light.

The torch blazed again. She opened her eyes and found Conall looking from the torch to her.

“You did this?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“She did,” Gregor said.

* * * * *

Conall ran his hands down his face and stared at the mead flask sitting between him, Gregor and Angus in the now-empty hall. His arm throbbed, but the cream he had found sitting on the table in his chamber had lessened the pain and stopped the bleeding.

He didn’t even want to know how Moira had gotten to his chamber to leave the healing cream without being seen. Aye, he knew it was she who had left the cream. Her healing abilities were legendary, but why she would want to help him after everything he had done to her was a mystery.

Angus cleared his throat. “We can go after the bastard.”

“His men outnumber us.” Conall rubbed his eyes as weariness set heavily on his bones.

“What are you thinking?” Gregor asked.

Conall shrugged. “I’d been planning his death for some time now, but I won’t leave my people defenseless. This castle has withstood many sieges from lairds hungry for our land. It will again.”

“MacNeil has a weapon you don’t know about.”

Conall raised his eyes to Gregor. “And just what weapon is that?”

“Glenna.”

If one of the Fae people had suddenly popped in front of him Conall wouldn’t have been more surprised. “Explain yourself.”

Gregor lifted his goblet and drained its contents. “It’s why she didn’t want to be able to see or hear MacNeil. Iona taught Glenna just enough…”