The Highlander's Servant: Book One of the Highlander Possession Series (29 page)

             
“Roderick,” she hissed at him, gaining his attention. He peaked at the sound of her voice and came closer to her, “Kirstin?”

             
“Aye, ‘tis I. Are you well?” she rushed.

             
“Aye, I am well.” Roderick said, and only when he got closer did she make out the dirt and grime on his skin, “but Lachlan, no’ so much.”

             
Kirstin frowned, “I ken. Graham is taking me to him. He has come to accept that I willna give him my heart, but I donna ken if he will let ye all go.” She whispered the last part so that Graham could not hear her from a few feet away, and Roderick nodded in understanding. Then she continued, “I will do my best to convince him otherwise.”

             
A wry smile crossed Roderick’s lips and he replied, “I wish ye the best. I wouldna be surprised if he left us all down here to starve.”

             
Kirstin ignored his words and said her goodbye, before turning back to Graham and demanding, “Take me to him.”

             
He nodded once and took a pair of keys from the wall. He guided her to the very far end of the aisle, to the last cell. Kirstin grew impatient as he unlocked the door that creaked open. When Graham stepped aside, Kirsitn was lost of breath.

             
Lachlan lie on the grime covered floor, face up, with four arrows coming out from his chest. She hesitantly took a few steps forward, and only then did she notice his labored breathing.

             
She turned back to Graham and practically begged, “Please, we must do something.”

             
As much as it pained Graham to help his long-term enemy, he could not bare to see Kirstin hurt anymore. He had seen her tears and felt her shaking for the past four days of traveling, and could not tolerate it anymore. So, he nodded and whispered, “I will do what I can.”

             
Then he walked away, and Kirstin was confused at first until she saw Graham unlock Roderick’s cell and let him out. He whispered something to Roderick, in which Roderick responded with confirmation. Together, they walked back over to Lachlan’s cell and picked him up. Roderick had his feet while Graham carried him beneath the shoulders.

             
Kirstin quietly followed the two of them up the staircase, after sparing a hopeful look to the rest of Lachlan’s men who were giving her their words of appreciation.

             
They continued to carry Lachlan up another flight of stairs, until they came upon a room with many shelves and a bed that stood against the far wall.

             
“Set him here,” Graham said, “Turn him to his side so that the arrows are not pushing weight onto his wounds” Roderick did just that, and then backed away from his laird and awaited Graham’s next instructions.

             
“I will go get my clan’s healer. Stay here.” He said, looking more so at Kirstin. As soon as he left, Kirstin covered the distance to where Lachlan lay, unconscious.

             
“Lachlan,” she whispered, cupping the side of his face, “Donna worry, I am here now.”

             
He showed no signs of hearing her, and she couldn’t help but let the tears fall again. Roderick came up to her and put his hands to her shoulders, “He is strong, Kirstin, and he will live.” His tone sounded more hoping than anything, as if to convince himself instead of her that the laird would survive his wounds.

             
Only a moment later did an aged woman come rushing in. She spared a look to Kirstin and Roderick, and then focused on Lachlan.

             
“I will see what I can do, but I canna promise that he will live.” She murmured to Graham who came in behind her. Upon entering, Graham noticed the saddened look on Kirstin’s face, and the tears that she had shed for Lachlan. Something in him broke in that very instant, and it was as if he had an epiphany.

             
When the healer began to push and pull the arrows from his body, Kirstin had to look away.

“Why donna ye wait outside, Kirstin?” Graham suggested, and even though she wanted to remain by Lachlan’s side, she could not tolerate watching the process. She went to stand outside the room, observing the
stone walls and a lone window at the end of the hall. Kirstin gazed out of the window for a long time, watching the clouds float and birds flutter by. She grew tired, then, and the exhaustion from the past week began to hit her as she gazed upon the serene scene of outdoors.

Kirstin slid against the wall, uncaring of who would see her. She rested her head against the hardness of the stone, and wrapped her arms around her legs. It was no sooner that she closed her eyes, and fell into a deep slumber.

Graham had picked her up in his arms that night, and carried her to a guest bedroom. He kissed her upon the head and rubbed the loose strands of hair from her face, and then whispered, “I see it now,” he paused for a few seconds before finally finishing, “Yer no’ meant to be mine.”



              When Kirstin awoke, she was no longer out in the hallway. She looked out of the window from the room she was in and observed the darkened sky. No one was in the room with her that was very much like the room Lachlan had been lying in.

             
Then, she remembered Lachlan.

             
Sitting up with a jolt, Kirstin got out of the bed and went to open the door. The knob turned easily under her hand, but it was not so easy for her to find her way around the many hallways.

             
After her feet padding against the floors in the dark silence, she finally found the foyer. Kirstin stood there for a long time, trying to remember the way to Lachlan’s room.

             
“Kirstin,” came a voice, and she jumped with a squeal. Neil approached her, “Do ye need something?”

             
Her mouth had fallen agape and she could not help but ask, “Why are ye no’ behind bars?”

             
Neil shrugged and whispered lowly, “Graham still thinks I am loyal to him. He never caught the last group of us, and so the fifty men who were with us are planning a raid against the Ruskin Clan. They are hopeful to free the rest of Lachlan’s men. Meanwhile, I am going back and forth, and Pa is leading them.” Then he embraced her in his arms, “Graham had told me ye came back with him, but I had to see for myself. I couldna sleep, knowing that yer here.”

             
“Neil,” she said, pushing away from him, “Is Lachlan all right? Last I remember, I had fallen asleep when the healer was tending to his wounds.”

             
He gave a curt nod, “Aye, he is alive.”

             
At any other time, Kirstin would have frowned at his words at knowing he was just alive and not well, but alive was better than dead.

             
“Can ye take me to him?” she asked, curiously wondering if her brother knew what room Lachlan was in.

             
He gave another curt nod, “Aye, follow me.”

             
Neil turned around and she followed him down the hallways. While they walked, she quarried, “What about Roderick?”

             
Neil let out a long, shaky breath, “Graham put him back behind bars after he help tend to his laird.”

             
“Oh,” was all Kirstin could say in response.

             
Upon arriving at the familiar room, Kirstin instantly pushed the door open and walked into the dim lighting. Only a single candle was lit next to Lachlan’s bed, but she could visibly make out the cloth bandages that were wrapped around the majority of his torso. She slowed her pace when she realized that he was still unconscious, but his breathing had become almost normal.

             
“Lachlan,” she asked quietly. Neil watched from behind her, observing any reaction that Lachlan might show upon hearing her voice, “Lachlan.” She repeated his name several times, and then knelt down beside the bed, “I love ye, Lachlan Bateson.”

             
There was no response, not even the flutter of his eyes. Right when Neil and Kirstin were about to give up all hope, five words left his mouth, “I love ye, too, Kirstin.” It had been so inaudible that Kirstin looked back at Neil to see if he had heard them. By the shocked look on his face, it was confirmed that he had. Neil rushed towards them and knelt down beside his sister, “Laird Bateson.” His name rolled off of Neil’s tongue in a demanding way, but Lachlan did not respond to him.

             
Silence met their ears again, until Lachlan he said Kirstin’s name once more.

             
“I am here, Lachlan.” She cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks but not out of sorrow, and instead relief.

             
“Quick!” Kirstin demanded to Neil, feeling his forehead, “Fetch some clean water and a new cloth for his forehead. I donna want him to catch a fever from his wounds.”

             
“’Tis practically a miracle he has no’ already.” Neil murmured, and then left the room.

             
“Lachlan,” Kirstin begged, “Yer going to be okay.”

             
When her tears continued to fall, she got onto the bed next to him and put a hand over his own, “Yer going to be okay.” She repeated, hoping her words would be true.

Chapter Thirty-Five

             
Neil helped Kirstin tend to Lachlan throughout the night. Graham’s healer came in once that early morning to check on his progress, and then left just as suddenly as she had come. Kirstin did not sleep much, or at all for that matter, because she was anxious for Lachlan to say more even though he did not.

             
Lachlan had been dreaming though, because the muscles in his arms jerked every once in a while, and his eyelids fluttered. It made Kirstin relieved that he was no longer in full unconsciousness, and was now sleeping.

             
She spent the rest of the week with Lachlan. Graham let her be, only coming to her when she needed to eat. He would not say much, but would practically force her to go to the dining quarters and would not let her leave until she ate at least a plate of food.

             
By the next week, the color had come back to Lachlan’s skin, making him look less pale. He had been taking down water, which was good.

             
It was on one particular day that Neil had come into the room and sat down on a chair, that her mood had fallen sour.

             
“The raid is going to occur in two nights.” He had said, making Kirstin frown in response.

             
“We canna just wait a bit longer?” she asked, her stern gaze meeting his, “After all, Graham has nice enough to leave me be and give Lachlan a chance to live.”

             
“Kirstin,” Neil snapped, “Donna ye see it, though? He does it in high hopes to win yer affection. He keeps Lachlan’s men behind bars, and starves them with only the bare minimum to live.”

             
“Then, mayhap I can talk to him. Mayhap I can get Graham to let them all go?” She pondered aloud.

             
Neil stood up from his chair and gave her a grave look, “Ye have two days to talk to him before Pa and I lead this raid. Do ye understand me?”

             
Kirstin frowned, “And if I donna persuade him, what then? Ye will be outnumbered.”

             
“Nay,’ he retorted, “We have recruited men from nearby allies. Besides, a chance is better than no chance.”

             
Kirstin walked towards him but stopped when she was only two feet away. She glared at him, her eyes penetrating his very similar ones, “So be it.”

             
Kirstin left the room not long after Neil had. She had only gotten halfway down the hall when she saw Mrs. Croft approaching her, “Kirstin!” She yelled loudly.

             
“Ma?” Kirstin could not entirely believe that her mother was walking towards her.

             
“I apologize for no’ coming sooner.” Mrs. Croft rushed, “Mrs. Ruskin and I fled when Laird Ruskin told us about the attack that Laird Bateson had planned.”

             
Kirstin gave her a puzzled look, “What are ye talking about?”

             
“Oh, dear!” She exclaimed, “Donna ye ken? Bradan and Farrel told Graham about the attempt Laird Bateson and his men were going to make on the Ruskin clan. Surely, ye ken that is why Laird Ruskin was prepared and counter attacked the Bateson clan, which is why they are now behind bars!”