Stranded By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 2

by Preston, Rebecca

  To her surprise, the little library was empty, its collection of desks unattended. She realized with a start that it was getting dark — night was falling. It seemed the scholars had headed down for dinner for once. That was good, she thought with some amusement. She had gotten the very real sense from the men she’d met up here that they would have quite literally starved to death, so locked in arguments about faerie lore did they tend to get. Nancy wondered whether she should leave the room, given that it was unattended… but there was no need, not really. She knew she had permission to be here, and she remembered where the book in her hands belonged. The real trick would be finding where they kept the information about goblins. Was it too much to hope that there would be a single tome that described every kind of goblin?

  It was, it turned out. Nancy replaced the book she’d borrowed carefully, then moved over to one of the tables to borrow a candle to see by, as the gloom in the room was getting prohibitive. Then she started examining the spines of the books. It was quiet up here in the library… it seemed everyone was down at dinner. Perhaps she ought to be down there, too. After all, she’d skipped lunch. But somehow, she didn’t feel hungry. She felt… a lot of things. Sad about the tragic death of the fisherman whose only crime had been walking through the woods at night. Angry with the creatures who had killed and eaten him like an animal. And frustrated with Donal and Malcolm, whose over-protective, if reasonable, concerns had stopped her from doing the one thing she was good at — diving to the bottom of the lake and checking out the burgh.

  That being said, more research was probably needed on the burgh, too. After all, she didn’t even know what it looked like. Presumably, she’d emerged through it, but at the time she hadn’t realized that she should be taking notes. She’d need to swim down, find the burgh, and identify any problems with it… all within the forty minutes or so of air that she had remaining in her tanks. It was a tricky prospect. She’d look for a book on the burgh, too, while she was up here. A word caught her eye as she scanned the shelves, and that word was ‘redcap’.

  “Bingo,” she whispered to herself. Even though the library was empty, she still felt a curious urge not to disturb the silence too much. She drew the book from the shelf — it was a slim tome, not too weighty — and retreated to a desk to examine it. Flipping through the pages, she realized it was an illustrated guide to Redcaps — the murderous goblins that Malcolm had mentioned. Staring down at the illustrations, she could see what he was so worried about. They were unpleasant creatures, that was for sure… these creatures had wizened, tough skin, the notes indicated that their skin was usually green, which made her wrinkle her nose, and sharp, savage little faces. Claws on the ends of their bony little arms, and there were the sharp teeth— Nancy shuddered —that had chewed the flesh from the bones they had found. And their skin was covered in uneven layers of scales that came in patches. The overall impression was a diseased creature with a very nasty face.

  The notes were even more alarming. It seemed that Redcaps varied in their abilities, but often possessed supernatural powers. Some were incredibly strong and tough and could take physical punishment far beyond what a human was capable of withstanding. Some could also perform illusion magic… summoning visions that would lead unwary travelers from the path. Was that how these goblins had gotten Harold off the path, she wondered, staring down at an illustration of a man walking into the woods in pursuit of a strangely-shaped glowing light? Something else in the book chilled her, too. It said that the more powerful Redcaps — older and wiser ones, perhaps — could even cast illusions to allow themselves to pass as human beings. Nancy shuddered, thinking of all the people she’d met in the village… surely one of them wasn’t a goblin in disguise?

  That is enough for tonight, Nancy decided, slamming the slim book shut. She didn’t feel like she had the right to borrow it without permission, so she returned it to the shelf, frowning. After that, the last thing she felt like was food, but she knew she needed to eat something to stop herself from falling ill, especially in this cold weather. So after noting where the book was so she could come back to it later, she headed down the hallway toward the spiral staircase, frowning to herself. Goblins. They were a lot more powerful than she’d thought. The book pointed out that Redcaps were often charismatic leaders to other goblins, and strong ones often found themselves in charge of bands of them — not just other Redcaps, but other species of goblins, too, with skills and talents that the Redcap may find useful. She shivered at the thought, and resolved to keep reading, hoping to find out more about the various species of goblins that could be out there. Waiting for her. In the dark…

  She moved a little quicker down the stairs at that thought. The idea of goblins infesting the castle was ridiculous, but the irrational side of her mind — the side that was afraid of the dark — wasn’t interested in taking any chances. Nancy breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the brightly-lit dining hall.

  The men were already off on patrol, she assumed, scanning the hall… but at least Anna was here, sitting with Maeve and chatting merrily about something over their bowls of stew. Nancy hurried to serve herself, her stomach beginning to wake up now that the smell of the food was in her nostrils. It was amazing how quickly her appetite was returning. Even after everything that had happened, her body still kept trucking. There was something reassuring about that.

  “There you are,” Maeve said brightly as Nancy slid into the seat beside her, a steaming bowl of stew in her hands. “We were just wondering where you’d gotten to.”

  “We thought you might be with Malcolm, but he’s on patrol,” Anna said slyly, her eyes twinkling.

  Nancy was still irritated with Malcolm, and the shadow of vexation that passed over her face was noted by both women. Maeve raised an eyebrow.

  “What’s he done? I’ll have a word to him if you need me to,” she said warningly, and Nancy couldn’t help but giggle at the idea of Malcolm getting a scolding from his mother.

  “Nothing that bad,” she said irritably. “I offered to dive to the bottom of the Loch and figure out what’s going on with the burgh, but he and Donal both said it was too dangerous.”

  “Typical,” Anna said immediately, rolling her eyes. “Just like Donal, assuming that a woman’s going to get herself hurt just because he doesn’t understand that they’re skilled… I’m surprised Malcolm agreed with him, though.”

  “They kind of had a point,” Nancy admitted, gritting her teeth. “I mean… apparently there are aquatic species of goblins that might be able to hunt me down while I’m down there, and it’s not like I can fight very well underwater, so…”

  “Goblins?” Maeve’s silver eyes widened with worry. “Is that the theory on what’s happening in the village? A band of goblins?”

  “Yeah,” Nancy said heavily. “We went down past the village this morning to look for a fisherman who’d been missing for a couple of days… found his remains by the road. Malcolm said it was a Redcap.”

  Maeve’s breath hissed between her teeth. “That’s sad news. I’m sorry. Redcaps are nasty creatures.”

  Anna was frowning. “Redcaps?”

  “They’re a kind of goblin,” Nancy explained, fresh from her research trip. “Murderers, usually. Four foot tall, scaly, super tough and strong. Some of them can do illusion magic, apparently.”

  Maeve was eyeing her with approval. “Clever girl. You’ve been doing your research.”

  “There’s not much else I can do at the moment,” Nancy admitted, some of her frustration at her helplessness coming through. “Research and hope that things turn out okay. It’s not like I can help the men on patrol…”

  “Yet,” Anna said firmly. “You’ve got great promise with the sword. We just need to keep training.”

  They continued with their meals, chatting about lighter subjects, which Nancy appreciated. The worry just kept gnawing away at the center of her chest. What were they supposed to do about goblins, when they had so much power, so many
abilities at their disposal? More research, she thought to herself, more research would surely help… but there was only so much that knowledge could do. What was the use in knowing how powerful a creature was if you didn’t have any tools at your disposal to defeat it?

  She’d just have to have faith, she decided, looking up at her friends. Faith in the Sept, and in its people.

  Chapter 39

  The next morning, she rose early after a night of restless sleep. Just as she’d expected, the gnawed bones made an appearance in her dreams… this time, there were much less shadowy figures of goblins pursuing her through the woods, chasing her down and beating her with the bones as though they were weapons. Unpleasant dreams, that left her sweating and disconcerted when she woke up.

  Not exactly the best start to a day… and the memory of her dispute with Malcolm made her heart feel heavy, too. She didn’t like being on bad terms with him… he was one of her closest friends here, for a start, not even taking into account her more romantic feelings about him. She resolved to talk to him today — swallow her pride if she needed to and apologize. After all, he’d been right — it was a dangerous idea to go diving in the Loch at the moment, even if it did have the potential to help with the situation they’d found themselves in.

  She washed her face in the adjoining room to her quarters, taking some comfort from the fresh, cool water on her skin. She’d need a sharp mind if she was going to spend the day wading through books in search of information about goblins. She knew enough about Redcaps to be getting on with, but the book she’d read had said that they often worked with other species of goblins. She was especially interested in learning about the aquatic ones — it would make sense for a few of those to have come through the burgh, especially if Nessie had had trouble tracking them down. Maybe adept swimmers with webbed toes were quick enough to get away from her. Would it be worth talking to old Maggie about goblins? Maggie probably knew her fair share about the creatures… besides, it would be worth keeping the woman in the loop about the bones that had been found. She resolved to visit her later in the morning, after her lessons with Kaitlyn concluded. That meant Nancy had time for breakfast and then a bit of reading — and she’d make sure she was back at the castle early. She wanted to sit in on the meeting that afternoon, the meeting at which the murder of the man in the woods was going to be discussed. It would be a sad meeting, but a necessary one.

  She grabbed a couple of oatcakes for breakfast, not wanting to spend too much time eating, though her eyes strayed longingly to the porridge… the sacrifices I’m making for this Sept, she thought to herself, chuckling as she climbed back up the spiral staircase, heading for the library. This time, it wasn’t empty — a quiet old scholar looked up with interest as Nancy entered, her wrinkled face creasing in a welcoming smile.

  “You’re Nancy, aren’t you? The Sidhe brought you.”

  “That’s me,” Nancy said, smiling. “Nice to meet you —”

  “Aileen,” the woman said. “What brings you up here, Nancy?”

  Nancy hesitated. Should she mention her mission to this woman? She wasn’t sure whether the goblin identity of the attackers was common knowledge yet or not… but it would be soon enough, and she was sure Donal wouldn’t mind her jumping the gun a little and sharing with Aileen. “I’m looking for information about goblins.”

  “Ah,” Aileen said. She didn’t seem surprised. “I thought that might be what was plaguing the villagers.”

  “You did?”

  “Just a theory,” she said, shrugging, “but my hunches are rarely wrong. Redcaps?”

  “That’s what Malcolm thinks,” Nancy said, grateful to have someone else to talk to about this. “I flipped through a book about them last night… but I’ve heard there are other types as well, and that Redcaps often work with them in groups? I want to know as much as I can about all of them,” she said. “Especially the aquatic types.”

  “Ah, yes. Glashtyns. Worth knowing about, what with the Loch on our doorstep,” Aileen said, her eyes twinkling. She moved over to the bookshelf at a sedate pace, scanning its shelves with confidence, then withdrew a slim book from the same section as Nancy had found the book on Redcaps. “Here. There’s a section on Glashtyns in here. Tricky name — there’s a kind of water horse that’s also called a Glashtyn, but it’s a type of goblin, too. Worth reading about Bogeys, too — same book, different chapter.” Aileen brought the book to her, and Nancy took it gratefully.

  “Bogeys?”

  “Aye — Bogeys, or Bogans, or Bauchans, depending on who you ask. Mischievous creatures… very dangerous if led by a Redcap, I’d warrant.”

  “And if they’re not?” Nancy asked, thinking of what she’d been reflecting on the ride home the day before. Were all goblins inherently evil? Aileen seemed to be following her line of enquiry — the woman shrugged a little in her black robes.

  “There are various tales through history of mischief-makers and tricksters who fit the description of goblins… as well as nastier tales of murder and torture, of course.” Aileen was shuffling back to her desk and the huge tome she’d been poring over when Nancy arrived. “Difficult to tell what creatures are being discussed, more difficult again to tell which stories are true and which are made up for long winters’ nights…”

  “Do you think all goblins are invariably evil?” Nancy asked, holding the book to her chest. “Is there any hope for… talking to them, maybe finding out why they’re doing this? A peaceful way to put an end to the raids?”

  Aileen looked at her thoughtfully, clearly reflecting on the question. “Stranger things have happened,” she allowed. “But if the leader is a Redcap, and they’re eating lost souls in the woods… I wouldn’t imagine diplomacy could do much. And one must be very careful, very careful indeed when it comes to making any kind of deal with a Fae. Their rules aren’t the same as ours, not the same at all.”

  Nancy nodded, her hopes a little crushed… she’d had a vague hope that they could organize some kind of trade deal with the goblins to dissuade them from their murderous ways, but it seemed that that was an idea that was going to be more trouble than it was worth. Still — Aileen hadn’t said that all goblins were evil, just a lot of them. That information might be useful, down the line. She thanked the woman for the book, then left her to her study, deciding to take the book back down to her room to pore over while she ate her oat cakes for breakfast.

  Sure enough, as Aileen had promised, there was plenty of information — and more drawings — of these other species of goblins. Glashtyns were interesting creatures. They were smaller than Redcaps, maybe two or three feet tall, and tended to have gray scales covering their bodies like fish (compared to Redcaps, whose scales were patchy and more to do with armoring weak points than allowing for smooth swimming.) The exception to the scales were their ears, which were furry, and sat high on the sides of their heads like horse’s. They had webbed hands and feet and were by all accounts very quick in the water. Nancy even found herself smiling a little at the drawings — these creatures seemed a lot less intimidating than the unpleasant Redcaps she’d seen in the other book. But the description warned that they were tricksters, too, and often lead unwary boats off their courses, hoping to feast on the bodies of drowning sailors. Nancy’s smile disappeared, and she shuddered gently. That was enough about Glashtyns… the idea of a quick, aquatic goblin swimming up beside her on a dive and taking a mouthful of her flesh with its needle-sharp teeth was not pleasant at all. She felt briefly glad that Malcolm and Donal had discouraged her so sharply from going diving. If there was the risk of attack from an aquatic goblin, she was safer up here.

  Bogeys were an unpleasant lot. They had clawed hindfeet, and sharp talons on their hands, and unlike their Redcap and Glashtyn cousins, they didn’t seem to have any scales at all… just black hide covering their bodies. They weren’t as tough as Redcaps, the book told her, but what they lacked in stamina they made up for in speed… and in inventive cruelty. Bogeys were clevere
r than the average goblin, more likely to be skilled with tools and weapons, and much better at playing pranks and tricks on unsuspecting humans.

  Overall, it wasn’t looking good. These three species of goblin alone seemed to have a range of powers and abilities that would make them fearsome enemies… no wonder the villagers were having such trouble. She frowned to herself, closing the book and setting it aside… the sun was high in the sky, now, and she knew she should make haste to Maggie’s if she wanted to get there and back before the meeting. Best to leave the book for now, she decided. She’d had quite enough unpleasantness to be getting on with.

  But when she reached the ground floor of the castle, it was to discover a band of unfamiliar faces standing impatiently in the entrance hall. To her surprise, Father Caleb was there with them, a look of deep worry on his pinched face.

  “Father,” she greeted him, a little confused. “Good to see you. Isn’t the meeting a little later on?”

  “It couldn’t wait, I’m afraid,” Caleb said grimly, an uncharacteristically steely tone in his voice. “We’ve brought upsetting news.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said faintly, worry gnawing at her belly even more sharply than it had been already. Upsetting news? More upsetting than gnawed bones in the woods? Just how much worse could this situation get?

  Donal appeared from the dining hall, his face drawn with worry, and invited them in. Nancy followed, deciding that visiting Maggie would just have to wait for the time being.

  Chapter 40

  The dining hall was a little messy — the servants were already in the process of serving lunch, and they were fussing about trying to get the serving platters all moved to one table at the back of the space to allow Father Caleb and the villagers to use the tables at the front of the hall. Donal was waiting for them, standing at the front of the room, looking imposing despite his clear exhaustion.