He was a master brainwasher. A mighty voice one could hardly argue with. He had no sixth-sense but his ability to manipulate could definitely vie for the label. When and if they ever made it to Inveraray to talk to the clans, Nathair would have already swayed the leaders, the representatives, the cousins and kin.
Thane would end up Heir to nothing but a cruel and bloody end. Not even Aini’s ghosts could protect him from a battle tipped in Nathair’s favor.
Chapter 10
A Hidden Enemy
Silver lochs and sage green fields slid past the windows as Aini followed Thane’s directions toward Huntingtower Castle. Rain that was partly ice leaked from the sky and wept onto the windscreen where it froze before the wipers could do their work.
“Why didn’t I listen?” Aini tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, ticking off each thing she’d done wrong in the last twenty-four hours.
Thane covered her hand with his very large, warm one. “To what? This wasn’t your fault, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“It is though. Partially at least.”
“What?” Neve scooted forward to lean over the seat that divided the front of the cab from the back. “How in the world would anything about this be your fault? This is Nathair’s fault. The king’s. Not yours. Not mine. Not any of ours.”
“You fought well. Especially considering you have no real training. You were amazing,” Thane said quietly.
“I persuaded you all to travel during the day on main roads. I put the Coronation Stone in the back in a bag instead of in your hands where it might’ve done some good.”
Vera shook her head and studied her broken nails. “No, no, no. We decided together, Seer. And none of us thought to have that wild candy you all make in our pockets just in case we were stopped.”
Thane nodded, put a hand on Aini’s leg, and rubbed circles on her thigh with his thumb. “She’s right.”
His newly black hair hung over one light eye. She resisted the urge to tuck it behind his ear or shift it out of his face. This road was far from straight and she needed both hands on the wheel. Especially with Thane touching her leg like that.
“You are all very nice to try to make me feel better, but this is reality. I’m not afraid to admit I made mistakes.” She pressed on the gas to speed up a little as they drove past a black car that looked like it could’ve been an undercover kingsman. “We should’ve traveled less known back roads. Samantha and Rob would still be with us if it weren’t for my suggestion to stay on the main routes. I should’ve agreed to the others’ suggestion that we keep our heads down instead of throwing us into the open.”
An image of Samantha lying in the dirt and grass, bleeding and broken, blinked behind Aini’s eyes and speared her through the middle, making it difficult to breathe.
“Aini. Hen.” Thane scooted closer and put a hand on her back. “It’s all right. It’s not your fault.”
Stupid tears burned Aini’s eyes. “Let’s just get to your uncle’s. We have to keep moving forward.”
Vera tuned the radio to a station playing a sad song about a strange tide going out and taking a lover away. The gray tide would never bring him home again…
Swallowing, Aini focused on the winding road and began a list in her head.
We need to have altered sweets and the Bismian on hand at all times.
Unless we believe we will be searched in the near future.
We need a plan on what to do with the stone and how to protect it and use it at the same time.
The kingsman will all have guns soon.
We need more training on disarming and handling such weapons ourselves if we are to win this.
“What is our plan when we get there?” she asked Thane. “Are you just going to walk up and tell them who you are and hope things go well from there? I think maybe you should…” But her idea died before she could say it aloud. So far all her ideas had done is get Samantha seriously injured. She’d almost been at fault for getting them all killed.
“Tell us,” Thane said.
“No.”
He shook his head. “Fine, but you’d better snap out of this, hen. We need your brains. We should stop a few miles from the castle and arm ourselves with the altered sweets.”
“And guns,” Vera said.
“No, no guns. They’ll see those and then it’ll be over before it starts.”
A crumbling car park appeared around the bend, beside a closed down convenient store.
“How about there?” Aini asked. “It’s out in the open but…”
“Yes. That’ll work.”
Aini pulled them into the lot, and they set to work on dividing up the gravity-reducing hard candies, aphrodisiac cherry drops, vials of Bismian, speed caramels, strength chocolate drops, vision-inducing chewing gum, and golden taffy.
Bran crossed his arms. “This is too much for each of us to carry. We’ll be stuffed like Christmas geese.”
“I’m not having any trouble.” Vera was cramming wrapped candies into her cleavage.
Neve shook her head, grinning.
“How about we each choose two to have on us?” Aini took a handful of the lavender hard candies since she’d used them several times in the past. “How high up will I go with these new ones? We haven’t tested them yet, right? Neve? Did you test them at the safe house?”
“No, I didn’t have time.”
Aini really hoped she didn’t end up on the moon. “I’ll take the taffy, too. I want to give it a swing on this ghost that supposedly haunts Earl Callum’s old castle. Maybe I’ll see her and figure out how to better make use of the ghost kings that Thane can summon with the stone.”
“That is the most kick butt statement I’ve ever heard in my life,” Myles said.
“Just be sure you don’t take the taffy and the gravity-reducing hard candies at the same time,” Thane said. “Both access areas in the back of the brain—parietal and occipital, specifically—and we haven’t tested the combined effects on brainwaves and heart rate and—”
Myles shushed him. “Okay, science man. She’s heard enough and so have I. She won’t take them at the same time, right Aini?”
“No. Definitely not.” She was pretty glad Myles had cut off the warnings.
“We have enough risks going on now,” Myles said as Thane nodded and walked over to inspect the candies for damage. “No need to test out the idea that science lectures can kill.” Myles raised his eyebrows and let out a little whistle.
Thane whipped around, the shining aura around him glowing. “What was that last bit?”
Myles held up his hands. “Nothing, Lord Highlander. All is good. You are fabulous and science rocks.”
Thane scowled, then turned back to the candy. He scooped up a vial of Bismian and some of the speed caramels. “I’m going with knocking folks out and being really fast.”
“I like it.” Myles grabbed the strength chocolate and some vision gum. “Can we be twinsies?” he said to Neve.
Her one crooked tooth showed in a wide smile as she snatched up some chocolate and gum too. “Definitely.”
Vera had a bit of everything down her dress and Aini wasn’t about to question it. She was just glad Vera was on their side.
Bran fisted some hard candies and cherry drops. “I’m good at explosions and maybe there will be a moment when we need one up high?”
Vera eyed him, almost shyly. Aini was shocked to see her look anything but brazen. “You don’t need those cherry drops, love.”
Bran’s mouth fell open, then he broke into a laugh. “You’re gorgeous, but I know better than to open myself up to one like you.”
Vera huffed and stomped away.
Thane pressed his finger along the bridge of his nose, moving glasses that weren’t there right now. He ran a hand over the shaved sides of his head, then through his dyed hair above. “The rest we’ll store in the secret compartment in the truck along with the stone. We can’t let Uncle Callum see that we have the stone until we’re
sure he’s on our side.” The glow around his hands showed up brighter against the section of hair he still had.
“Good thinking,” Aini said. “We don’t want to have some very visible, very wild battle that won’t get us closer to beating Nathair and the king.”
“I’m still impressed you can just say that sort of thing out loud without a tremble in your voice at all. I love it!” Neve patted her back. “Should we show off the stone if we win Callum over?”
“Thane, what do you think?” Aini asked.
“We’ll see what the old man has to say. Play it by ear, so to speak. All right?”
“Agreed,” Aini and Neve said together.
The rest gathered up their goodies and talked strategy. Myles found a boulder to sit on while he loaded candy into the secret pocket inside his thick shirt. Vera wiggled her dress higher and a candy fell onto the grass. Neve headed toward the truck.
Aini caught up with her. “Can you drive? You know this area well and I think I should sit in the back with Thane and have a talk about what he’s going to say to his uncle.”
“Aye. No bother.” She took the keys from Aini with a sad smile. “It’s not going to be an easy confrontation. No matter how it goes. This is the first time Thane will be open with who he is. With being the Heir and all. He’ll really have to own it.”
“Yes.”
“And so will you, Seer,” Vera said from behind. She pinched Aini’s elbow lightly and shouted at Bran. “Will you sit with me in the back of the cab?”
“Only if you promise to keep your hands to yourself,” Bran said.
Thane said something that made Bran chuckle and go a little red in the ears. “No, I won’t be driving down that road, I can promise you,” Bran said.
Aini eyed Thane. “Can we sit in the cargo hold and talk?”
“Sounds like you’re in trouble, lad,” Bran called over his shoulder.
Myles jumped off the boulder and nudged Neve, fluttering his eyelashes. “I want to be in trouble.”
“This is too much,” Aini said. “All these couples. I think those cherry drops leaked into the air somehow.”
Thane gave Aini an appraising look. “I think we all just almost died and this is how humans respond. It’s purely chemical.”
“That is such a Thane thing to say.”
“Is that such a bad thing?” he asked, following her into the darkness of the cargo hold.
When they’d settled onto some sacks of cotton shirts in the corner, knees nearly touching and backs pressed against the cold, metal walls, Aini plunged right into the topic at hand. There was no time for mincing words or being careful with feelings.
“What are you going to say to your uncle to persuade him? How do you know he won’t have us shot on sight?”
“I’ll tell him I want to discuss Clan Campbell and Nathair. He’s brought up complaints from his townsfolk many times. It’s no secret he has problems with the way Nathair helps King John oppress our own people. Rabbie told me he argued his way into a near fist fight with Rodric about the tartan law last time he was at Inveraray with the clan representatives. Said he should be able to wear any tartan he feels tied to and so should the rest of Scotland.”
“So he’s a passionate man?”
Thane gave her a wry grin. “When you said you’d like to spend time with me in the back of a truck, I didn’t think you’d be asking me about my uncle’s passion.”
“Thane.” She gave him a look. “I mean, passionate people make the best rebels. Look at Vera. She’s a maniac.”
“True.”
The truck bumped them both off balance and they each put a hand to the wall.
“So we use his passionate nature to work him up,” Aini said, “and persuade him to support us in convincing the rest of Scotland to do it too.”
“You’re a little bit scary, you know.”
“I’m practical.”
“Exactly.”
Aini brushed her purple hair out with her nimble fingers. “How is Callum related to you?”
“Oh, his deceased wife was my mother’s sister. She died a long while back.”
“Why hasn’t he tried to help your mother escape Nathair?”
The question scratched at an old wound inside Thane. “Because she refuses to ask for it. She is a stubborn woman, let me tell you.”
Aini smiled, her teeth very white in the dim. “I’m going to like her.”
“Yes, yes you are.”
The road gave way to a gravel drive up to a hulking castle of stone. The brakes squeaked as Aini parked the truck by the gate.
Rain seeped from the grass and soaked the toes of Aini’s ratty boots. Crows called from a tree desperately holding onto the last of its leaves. Trailing Thane to the pathway into the modern gatehouse—which appeared to have been added well after the construction of this old place—Aini fought a chill and shook each boot to dry it.
“Why aren’t there any guards?” Myles asked, stepping out from behind Neve.
“Oh there are guards.” Thane’s sharp chin brushed his collar as he turned to check on Aini.
Sure enough, a man like a dragon slid out of a side door, his face ruddy and scarred. He spread his arms and smiled a smile that could definitely set someone on fire. And not in a sexy way.
“Good day, all. You do know this castle is not open for touring, aye?”
Thane’s shoulders straightened. “We need to see Earl Callum.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No. Tell him the last person to jump the fire is here.”
“If I’m wasting my lord’s time with a joke…”
“You’re not. I swear on my mother’s life.”
The nasty smile faded from the man’s mouth. He gave a curt bow and faced the door he’d come from. “Out here, lad,” he said to someone they couldn’t see. “Keep a good eye on these new arrivals.”
A sallow-faced man about Thane’s age walked out and glared. He had a walkie talkie clipped to his belt.
“Any news lately?” Myles asked.
Vera and Bran elbowed him hard from both sides. Aini agreed with the sentiment.
The man’s eyes widened. “News?”
Myles shoved Vera away. “Has the king issued any new decrees? Are the kingsmen searching for anything in this area? What’s the weather look like for tomorrow?”
Vera kicked him in the back of the leg. “Real subtle.”
Sweat beaded across Aini’s upper lip. “Ignore him. He’s not quite right.” She gave Myles a sad smile and he sighed dramatically, throwing up his hands and heading outside. Neve stayed with him.
Thane leaned over to whisper in Aini’s ear. “If they’d heard a report, we’d already be in chains.”
“But they could hear about it any minute.”
“Yes.”
The dragon man returned and waved a hand. “Come with me.”
“Myles. Neve.” Aini motioned for them to catch up.
Earl Callum stood in front of a fireplace Aini could’ve used as a parking space. His gold-red hair shone in the flickering light, and as he turned to greet his nephew, Callum’s bulbous eyes squinted. “Although I’m puzzled why you’re here, lad, it is good to see you.” He clapped a ham-sized hand on Thane’s shoulder, jostling Thane a little which really was no small feat. “I’ve not seen you since you were, what, twelve? Thirteen? Christ above, you’re tall.”
“I’ve missed you too, Uncle.” Thane smiled.
“What’s this you’ve done to your hair?” He ruffled a hand over Thane’s head.
“I’ll explain everything. I just need you to promise you’ll listen until I’m finished.”
Callum’s eyebrows lifted, and he motioned to a circle of leather chairs. Once everyone was settled, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and steepled his fingers.
“Does this have to do with Senga? You know she won’t listen to me. I tried again to talk her out of that house just a year back and she hung up on me. I swear it.”
>
“No. It’s not that. But it does involve my family.”
“Well, I’m ready, lad. Let’s hear it. I’m not getting any younger.”
Aini was relieved he hadn’t shaken their hands in greeting. A family ring sparked from his left hand and having a vision right now would ruin everything.
Thane stood up even though he’d just sat down. Aini began to stand with him, but changed her mind. This was his show, and it was probably better if she stayed on the sidelines here.
Hands linked behind his back, Thane paced. “You’ve never liked the way Nathair runs things.”
“Now, I never said those words and you know it,” Callum said.
Thane held up a hand and cocked his head. Callum waved him to go on.
“It’s growing worse,” Thane said over the flames popping in the fireplace. “He murdered those people in Edinburgh without a trial.”
“They were questioned. Some were sixth-sensers. All were rebels. They attacked Holyrood Palace, did they not?”
“There was no attack. They only hung a saltire flag on the outside. A fight started when the kingsmen showed up of course. Several were injured. None died. Their actions, while illegal, did not call for the firing squad opening up on them in a planned killing in the square.”
“Why tell me? Why not talk to your father about it?”
“Come on, Uncle. You know very well how that would go.”
“Do I?” His tone said he disagreed wholeheartedly with Thane, but his body language showed his true thoughts. He’d stood and gone back to the fire, his face revealing the frustration that could only come from his knowing Thane was right on all counts. Their leader was unmovable. Mad. Never swayed by the thought that what he wanted to do might not be right.
“Are you still listening?” Thane asked.
“Go on. Go on.” Callum rubbed his belly like he might be sick.
“He supports the latest moves King John has made against us, against Scots, his own people. The new marriage rules? The taxes that will cripple our businesses further? You can’t say you agree with his stance.”
The Edinburgh Seer Complete Trilogy Page 34