Needed By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 5)

by Rebecca Preston

  “What will we do once the villagers are convinced?” she asked as they rode, more to break the silence than anything.

  Niall grinned. “Well, for a start we’ll get them armed with iron and give them a more active role in keeping their flocks safe. If these things are as susceptible to iron as my little test this morning indicates, then they ought to be easy enough to kill. We’ll still need more information, of course, on the size of the herd and the like…” He heaved a sigh. “We need more information on the creatures in general, if I’m honest.”

  “Maggie did say she’d give it some thought,” Helen pointed out, thinking back to what the old woman had said when they’d last visited her. “Could we go back and visit, see if she’s remembered anything? I wouldn’t mind asking if there’s something special we can get for the Monster as a treat, too,” she added with a chuckle.

  “Oh, aye. She’s more than earned a reward,” Niall agreed.

  “I remember Nancy told me she once lured her out of the water with a whole roast chicken. We could try that.”

  “Aye, if you can talk Blair into surrendering a whole bird at this time of year, with so many mouths to feed,” Niall shrugged. “I’m sure the fishermen are spoiling her rotten with fish, too. At least a dozen of them said they’d be splitting their catch. Maybe we should limit her treats so she’s still peckish enough to want Kelpie for dessert.”

  Helen laughed as they rode into town. The morning was well underway, and passersby gave Niall, Helen and their mysterious bundle more than a few curious looks as they rode past. Niall steered them up toward the church, where there was a big clear area — a kind of town square, she supposed, though she didn’t know the layout of the place well enough to call it that for certain.

  He leapt down from his horse, then moved over to help her down from hers — she was still a little embarrassed about how clumsy she was at getting on and off, though Niall assured her it was only a matter of practice. While Niall unwrapped the Kelpie’s corpse, she lead the unsettled horses over to the fence that surrounded the church, finding a good spot to tether them where they wouldn’t be close enough to see or smell the dead Kelpie. By the time she headed back, a crowd of villagers had already formed around Niall, the villagers all speaking in low, shocked murmurs about the corpse.

  The mane and tail still looked dripping wet, she noticed with fascination, moving to stand at Niall’s side as the villagers approached to study the creature. It wasn’t long before Father Caleb was there, bustling out of the church with a worried look on his face that soon gave way to surprise… before returning like clockwork to worry. She couldn’t help but smile a little at the priest. He was a neurotic young man… but she knew, now, that he had a good heart under all that slightly sanctimonious worry and fussing. She realized with a shock that she was looking forward to seeing what kind of priest he would be as he got older… did that mean she was thinking about this place as a permanent home? That was a thought that could use some exploration, she thought with a frown. For so long, she’d been living in the short and medium term, with very little consideration given to the distant future… even when it came to thinking about her relationship with Niall… this consideration of the longer term had taken her by surprise.

  But for now, she had to focus on what was happening in the present, not the future.

  “This is a strange creature indeed,” Father Caleb pronounced after a few minutes’ study of the Kelpie. Using a stick, Niall had lifted the creature’s lip to demonstrate its sharp, serrated teeth, and gently pressed open one of its dead eyes to show that they were black, not brown like a regular horse’s. She realized with surprise that the group of villagers gathered around Father Caleb were listening to him intently. How did he hold such sway over them? He’d earned their trust and respect, she realized with a smile. Just like he’d earned hers.

  “What is it?” one of the villagers demanded.

  “An abomination,” Caleb said firmly, and an uneasy murmur rippled through the crowd. “An ungodly creature, fit only for death. Laird Donal and the good people of the castle call these beasts Kelpies — as good a name as any, I feel. It seems they are what is responsible for our terrible losses.”

  “These are the bastards that ate four of my best dairy cows?” demanded a gruff-looking man who had given the Kelpie a discreet kick in the ribs.

  “Aye, this one or one of its fellows,” Niall explained, and the villagers nodded — she could tell that Father Caleb’s tacit support had guided them to listen to Niall.

  “What can we do about it?” asked a lean, fierce-looking woman who was eyeing the Kelpie as though daring it to get up. “What’re their weaknesses?”

  “Iron and fire,” Niall said. “If you lack iron weapons, send word to the Castle — we’d be more than willing to supply you until such time as these creatures are no longer a threat. It seems there’s a herd, and they hunt in groups, so be careful about going out at night without an armed escort. And whatever you do — don’t touch them or attempt to ride them.”

  “That’s a nice little fairy story,” came a familiar voice, ugly and drawing.

  Niall looked up, a furious look of recognition on his face. Sure enough, there stood Perry, a handful of the men who supported him standing behind him with identical looks of scorn on their faces.

  “Perry,” Niall said, forcing himself to sound calm. “I was hoping you’d come.”

  “Is that so?” he sneered. “I suppose you’re wanting to show me this dead horse.”

  “It’s not a horse,” Niall said, frowning. “It’s a Kelpie. It’s one of the creatures that killed your brothers, Perry —”

  “Don’t insult my intelligence,” Perry snarled. “You’re really going to ride in here dragging the carcass of some old nag from your stables and expect me to believe it’s some magical creature? The Monster in your Loch killed my brothers, not this poor dead horse.”

  “It’s got pointy teeth and black eyes, Perry,” one of the villagers said, frowning a little and clearly disturbed by what Perry was saying. “See for yourself.”

  “Aye, come and look at it,” Niall said, his frustration clear on his face. “I promise you, Perry, this is no trick. This is the monster that took your brothers — took all the missing men. This one, or its fellows. And it was the Monster in the Loch who killed it.”

  A murmur of surprise went up among the villagers — Helen could see from their faces that there were a range of responses here, from fear, to gratitude, to skepticism. But Perry was unconvinced — she could see the anger darkening his face as he strode forward to examine the Kelpie’s corpse, shrugging Niall aside when he tried to help show him.

  “I’ll look for myself,” he sneered, scanning the body, running his hands over its flanks. “It’s just a regular horse. Nothing spooky about it… or am I meant to be taken in by this?” he added, reaching its head and peeling its lips back.

  “What horse have you ever seen with pointed teeth?” Niall demanded, frustration clear on his face.

  But Perry just uttered an ugly laugh. “So you filed a dead horse’s teeth down. So what? I could do the same thing to any old nag. Wouldn’t change the truth of the matter — that it’s your Monster doing this harm. He’s trying to protect their pet!” he yelled, turning to the crowd of villagers.

  Helen’s heart sank… but she hadn’t been counting on the irascible nature of the villagers.

  “Oh, can it, you old fool,” the steely woman who’d spoken before said, disdain dripping from her voice. “You know as well as any of us that you sound like an idiot. What reason would Niall have to lie to us?”

  It wasn’t long before a yelling match had developed, the frustrated villagers either yelling abuse at Perry or taking his side, though the latter were in the minority, to Helen’s great relief. Father Caleb did his best to get control of the group, but he gave up quickly, moving to stand beside Niall and Helen with a dejected look on his face.

  “Sorry about all of this,” he s
aid with a shrug. “Unfortunately, yelling matches like this are something of a local hobby.”

  Niall shrugged, a rueful grin on his face. “Aye, I’m used to it. I’m only glad that not everyone was convinced by Perry’s poison.”

  “He’s not a well man,” Father Caleb said softly. “The loss of his brothers… I’ve tried to speak with him about it a little, to help him start grieving, but he’s unwilling. It seems he’d prefer to take refuge in anger and vengeance… no matter how irrational that begins to seem. And unfortunately, he has a few followers. Not many, of course. Not a majority, by far. But a dozen or so — which I’m afraid will be more than enough to cause you all some problems.”

  Niall sighed. “As though we didn’t have enough of those already, with a roving pack of flesh-eating horses to contend with.”

  “I wish I could help,” Father Caleb said simply. “But unfortunately for men like Perry, the only person with the power to help them… is themselves.”

  “With any luck, he’ll see sense,” Niall said heavily. “In the meantime, we’d better get out of your hair. Sorry to leave you with such a mess to clean up.”

  Father Caleb shrugged. “Such is my lot,” he said philosophically.

  “Should we take the Kelpie away?” Helen asked, frowning. “We can’t just leave it to rot outside the Church.”

  “We’ll dispose of it,” Father Caleb said softly. “A bonfire, I think. It may help the villagers heal, to watch their enemy go up in smoke.”

  “Aye, fire’s the best way with Fae,” Niall agreed. “Thank you, Father Caleb.”

  “If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.” The priest bowed his head, a worried look on his face. “I only hope the rest of these beasts soon follow their friend.”

  “Aye, Father Caleb. So do we.”

  Chapter 38

  Yet again, the ride back to the castle was somber. Both of the horses seemed very nervous after the events in the village — the leftover effects of being so close to the Kelpie, as well as the vociferous argument that had broken out between the villagers, had clearly put them both in strange moods. The horse Helen was riding kept shying at small things — birds, the breeze through the trees — and she found herself hanging on very tightly with her legs in a way that made her suspect she’d probably have some muscle soreness the next morning. Still, it beat the hell out of falling off a horse and breaking something. That was the last thing they needed.

  “Blast that man,” Niall finally said, after a long silence in which he was clearly brooding. “Blast him and his foolish head.”

  “Niall, this was a good result,” Helen said with a heavy sigh. She’d been working on this argument, aware that Niall was disappointed with the outcome of their visit to the village. “All of the villagers will see that Kelpie’s corpse before it’s burned — and the majority of them who saw it agreed that it was a monster.”

  “Aye, but Perry didn’t. And he’s the problem. He’s the ringleader who’s got designs on the Monster. And if even the corpse of a Kelpie isn’t enough to convince him… well, I’m beginning to suspect that nothing will. Which means we have a different kind of problem on our hands altogether.” His hands were tight on the reins and his jaw was gritted and Helen heaved a deep sigh, worried about him.

  “He’s just one man.”

  “More, if you count the ones he’s convinced.”

  “Yes, but he’s the ringleader. If we get him, those men will fall in line with common sense, surely?”

  “Aye, but how do we get him? At this rate, it’s looking like the only way to convince him is to lock him in a dungeon.”

  “We tried that, remember?” Helen said drily.

  “Aye, well, we ought to try it again,” Niall said darkly, frowning at the horizon. “I’m sorry, Helen. I’m not especially good company at the moment.”

  “It’s alright,” she said gently, trying to catch his eyes as she smiled her most reassuring smile. “It’s okay to be frustrated. This is important. But I just want you to remember that a lot of good came out of what we did today. All those villagers who saw the creature, now they know what they’re looking for. They’ll be less scared now that they know what the creatures look like, what weaknesses they have. Whatever Perry MacCullen does, we have more allies among the villagers today than we did yesterday, and that’s worth celebrating.”

  He was silent for a long moment, then he nodded firmly, and she could see a weight lifting off his shoulders. “Aye, Helen, you’re right. As always,” he added with one of those heart-stopping grins. “Whatever did I do without you?”

  “It’s a miracle you didn’t lapse into despair,” she said primly, drawing a laugh from him… but there was a knowing note to that laugh that made her feel a little uncomfortable. Perhaps it was a little too close to the truth… after all, hadn’t he been lost in the misery of losing his wife for a long, long time? Again, her fear of being seen as a replacement for Erin surfaced. That was no foundation on which to build a relationship… she knew that much from television shows, even if she’d never had the chance to learn it in person.

  God, she really did have barely any experience with these matters, didn’t she? She worried at her lower lip as they rode back to the castle, losing herself a little in reflections on the nature of her relationship with Niall. He was wonderful, true… she could see herself being with him in ways she’d never been able to even imagine with anybody else. But that just gave rise to a whole host of new fears. What if she screwed it up, somehow? What if her lack of experience in these matters caused her to make some terrible rookie mistake that would destroy permanently a relationship that could have been better? Not for the first time, she cursed herself for never bothering with romantic relationships when she was younger. At the time, she’d thought it was the mature choice — she’d seen all the people around her making terrible mistakes in love, destroying their lives, losing sleep and time and energy to these terrible, toxic relationships… but now, she realized the value of those seemingly disastrous experiences. Experience was the best teacher. And when it came to love, Helen had absolutely no experience to speak of. Which meant she was as good as a kindergartener when it came to making good decisions.

  Take the start of this relationship, she thought crossly, gazing over at Niall. He’d kissed her! He’d actually taken her into his arms and kissed her… and like a frightened child, she’d fled from what that meant. They’d never talked about it. Who knew what he was thinking? Had he taken it as a rejection of his feelings? Had it been an accident on his part, was he grateful she hadn’t brought it up again? She had no idea — because she’d been too scared to admit that she didn’t know what she was doing and could use some help. She ground her teeth, impatient. It was simply a skill set she lacked.

  Well, she thought after a moment of wallowing in self-pity. This wasn’t very useful, was it? Sure, she had no experience in love. That went without saying. But what skills did she have? Was it possible that she could use what she was good at — investigating and solving crimes, putting information together — to solve this particular problem? She stifled a giggle at how silly that sounded… but when she thought about it, she suspected she was onto something. Why not use her strengths to make up for a weakness? It sure beat continuing to flounder around in confusion. And with this welcome break in the case of the Kelpies, she’d have time to dedicate to the case of Niall’s handsome face… she grinned to herself, formulating a plan.

  What did you do when you were conducting an investigation? Why, you spoke to eyewitnesses, people with experience that might be of use. And who knew more about falling in love with someone from your own distant past than the four other women who’d come here and gotten married? She’d talk to all four of the women, she decided. One at a time, of course — a group conversation might be too overwhelming. And because wisdom was always useful, she’d have a chat with Maeve, too — provided she could borrow her from Blair long enough to have a cup of soup and a chat.
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br />   “What’s the plan?” she asked Niall as they lead their horses into the stable. She’d learned how to tack and untack a horse — a simple skill, but a very useful one, as it would enable her to go riding any time, not just when she had someone to do the work for her.

  “Well, I’m going to report to the Laird about what we learned in the village,” Niall said. “I’m going to advise he posts more guards around the Loch, especially over near the village — that way the villagers will have someone to call on if they happen to spot a Kelpie or two. I don’t want them doing anything heroic on their own,” he added with a frown, “and knowing them, they might just get reckless with this little bit of information.”

  “Good thinking,” she said, nodding as they headed into the castle. She realized with a start that she hadn’t had breakfast in all the excitement of the discovery of the Kelpie — her stomach was growling at the smell of lunch cooking. “I might grab some lunch and see how Anna’s getting on with Eamon,” she said with a smile. “I’m happy to look after him for the afternoon, if you need.”

  “That would be great,” Niall said gratefully, reaching out to pull her into a one-armed hug against his side that made her whole body tingle. “You’re a lifesaver, truly, Helen. I’m so glad you’re here.” He tilted his head, looking thoughtful. “Remind me to tell you my theory about the Sidhe a little later, when we’ve got a moment.”

  She blinked at him curiously. “I will.”

  And then he was gone, leaving her shaking her head with amusement. She headed upstairs to find Anna to see if she needed rescuing from Eamon — to find, to her surprise, that the little boy was fast asleep on a cot Anna had set up for him in their quarters. Gwyneth, too, was fast asleep in her cot. Anna stepped out, a grin on her face.