Grace Unchained - Phoenix Throne Book Five

by Walker, Heather

  The villagers saw or heard the McLeans on their land, and that’s as far as they thought the matter through. They wanted to believe the McLeans were their enemies, and that’s what they would believe until they saw the contrary evidence for themselves. They would have to see the McLeans die fighting the giants to believe otherwise.

  Jamie looked around the village with wild eyes. He had to find a way to convince these people. Lachlan and his wolf pack would come back here. They would come back to protect these backward villagers, and they would walk right into a trap.

  Wasn’t it enough the McLeans faced death fighting the giants? Now they would face a double threat from the villagers trying to kill them. The McLeans wouldn’t know the villagers stood against them until it was too late.

  Jamie had to find a way to warn Lachlan—but how? He couldn’t follow Lachlan himself…. or could he? Malcolm and the others went to round up their weapons. In a little while, they and Jock would set off to track Lachlan down. Jamie had to be there.

  If only Grace was here, she could explain to these people how the McLeans had saved her life and defeated the giants when no one else could. No one else could have saved her—except Jamie himself. He neglected to mention that little detail, either to Grace or to his relatives.

  He didn’t want them finding out he was a dragon—that his whole family were dragons and lived as dragons back in their dragon kingdom. Jock and his sons and their relatives developed a deadly vendetta against the McLeans for trying to help them. Jamie hated to think what they would do if the Camerons turned out to be dragon shifters. He shuddered at the thought.

  This whole situation got more complicated with every passing minute. Here he was, the only one of his brothers unattached. Here he was, in his home village, and he met up with the one woman from Carmen’s party still unattached to a man of Urlu. What did it all mean? Did it mean he would get together with Grace?

  He didn’t want Grace finding out he was a dragon, either. He thought Callum was idiotic to hide it from Sadie. Now he found himself in the same awkward position. He wanted her to like him for who he was—as a man. He didn’t want his dragon nature to complicate things.

  Aw, what was he doing, thinking like that? Things were already complicated enough without dreaming about her. First of all, she was thousands of miles and hundreds of years away. She would probably never come back, and why should she? None of those women would have stayed if they had a choice.

  Then there was the dead man lying at Jamie’s feet. He was her husband—or used to be. Now he was dead. She would go through Heaven only knew how many years of grieving over him before she gave her heart to another man.

  He shouldn’t think about her like that. He had no reason to think of her like that. She gave him no indication she returned his feelings. She belonged to another man up until a few minutes ago. She’d left, and she probably wouldn’t come back.

  Did he feel that way about her, or did he only think about her like that because she followed the pattern of the other women? He didn’t want her like that. He didn’t want to want her because everyone else was doing it. Just because four of his brothers married four of those women didn’t mean he would.

  He was his own man, free and independent. She was her own woman. She certainly was! She could come and go as she pleased, so why should she stay with him?

  She wouldn’t. The whole thing was beyond stupid. He refused to think about it anymore, especially when he faced the job of burying this man right now—her husband, no less. He couldn’t bury a man and want that man’s wife at the same time. That would be too crude and low even for a rake like Jamie Cameron.

  He picked the man up and carried him to the village burial ground down the fell. He laid the man down and studied the face. Rigor mortis had set in, and the face had frozen in a twisted mask of grotesque proportions.

  Jamie let his shoulders slump. He didn’t even know the man’s name, and he’d already developed designs against the man’s wife. Not even Jamie’s brothers would believe he could even think about that.

  He fetched a blanket and a spade from the village. They took some searching through the rubble before he found them, but he got them and brought them back to the burial ground. He laid the blanket over the man’s face. He couldn’t stand the disembodied husband watching him.

  He set to work chopping the stony ground. He worked long into the evening. He turned every shattering blow of his spade into a penance for even thinking about Grace. He punished himself for ever imagining himself with her. She was married. She was as married now as if that man sat on the fence and watched him dig the grave for someone else.

  Instead, he ran through the battle scene. He repeated in his mind every detail of how the wolves overpowered the giants. The giants couldn’t combat a threat in direct contact with their heads and faces. The gibbering, slathering, spitting wolves confounded the giants with their numbers, their berserk ferocity, and their fearless attack at such close range.

  Jamie kicked himself. He shouldn’t have blamed Lachlan when he didn’t really know the facts. He should have given Lachlan the benefit of the doubt. He should have known Lachlan would uphold the alliance with the Camerons.

  Jamie had to find a way to convince his Clan to trust the McLeans, but how? He could fly to Urlu in a few minutes, get Callum and Hazel and a few others, and bring them back. They could vouch for the McLeans and get these dirt villagers to back down.

  He stood back from the completed grave and eyed the dead man again. He ought to say a few words, but he didn’t know the man well enough to say anything intelligent. He passed his hand across his forehead. “Weel, he was a devoted husband, loved by his wife and family. He stood by her in times o’ distress, and he died tryin’ tae save her from danger. He’ll be missed by one and all, and the world is a poorer place withoot him in it.”

  What else could he say? He tucked the blanket around the body and lifted it as gently as he could into the hole. He stood silent and reverent another moment. He didn’t feel right covering this man with Earth. This man’s life was snuffed out too soon. He had so much more he could have done and seen and accomplished. Jamie hated to bring that to an end.

  Then he had an idea. He jumped down into the hole and uncovered the man’s hand. He tugged the gold band off the man’s finger and slipped it into his sporran. Then he set to work tossing the clods back into place.

  The sun started to set behind the mountains when he finally patted the mound smooth. He took the spade back to the village. When he got there, he found a bunch of women rummaging in the remains of their houses. They collected what food and cooking pots they could carry.

  Jock marched through the village and waved his hand at everyone. “Form up! Get ye ready tae march.”

  People scurried to obey him. They dropped whatever they were doing and formed a wide column. Children cried. Women carried their babies on their hips. They collected whatever they valued most, and at Jock’s word, they set off out of the village, up the brae into the mountains.

  Jock spotted Jamie. “I’ll take this lot up the wing tae Piper’s. Then I’ll come back ’ere. Ye and I and Malcolm and Daniel’ll gi’e chase tae the enemy and find out where they’re hidin’. If we find ’em, we’ll teach ’em a lesson they’ll no forget.”

  “I’ll no gang wi’ ye,” Jamie muttered. “If ye want tae harass the McLeans, ye’ll do it withoot me.”

  Jock glared at him. “Ye’d stop ’ere wi’ the women instead o’ takin’ the fight tae our enemies? I’m ashamed o’ ye. Yer father’d ha’e summat tae say tae ye aboot this, and so’d yer other brothers, I’ll wager.”

  “Me father’s no ’ere tae say’t, and me brothers’d take me part, if I ken aught aboot ’em,” Jamie fired back. “Rob and Callum and Fergus were wi’ us when we fought beside the McLeans, and Angus’d back me if he kenned the details. I ha’e said me piece and I’ll no say’t again. If ye want tae call me a coward fer standin’ by what I ken tae be right, I’ll no try tae
stop ye.”

  “Ye ken summat,” Jock snarled. “Ye ken summat aboot where they’re hidin’. That’s why ye dinnae want tae come. Ye ken what they’re up tae.”

  “I ha’e told ye what I ken aboot where they’re hidin’,” Jamie returned. “I ha’e told ye all I ken, and I ha’e made no secret on it. They’re no hidin’. Their brother Carson lost his miserable life defendin’ this village, and they ha’e ta’en him back tae Mull tae bury him. Ye’ll no find ’em lurkin’ around ’ere, and it’s ye and the rest o’ this mob that’ll live tae regret it, fer they’ll no be ’ere tae defend ye if ye need it. Ye’ll hike alaing the countryside in search o’ an enemy that’s no there, and ye’ll leave the place unguarded against the enemy that is there. Aw, what’s the use? I’m wastin’ me breath talkin’ tae ye. Take yer lads and go search on ’em. Ye’ll get no argument from me, but I’ll no help ye bring ’em down. If it comes tae a fight between ye and the McLeans, I’ll stand wi’ Lachlan. I’ll gi’e him e’verything I ha’e got, and ye may put that in yer pipe and smoke it!”

  Jock fixed his brooding eyes on Jamie’s face. He pursed his lips in that intractable way he had. He said nothing. That was his way.

  Jamie said nothing more, either. He didn’t care. Let these thick-headed farmers run off across the landscape searching for the McLeans. These men couldn’t harm a hair on the McLeans’ fur. They just didn’t know it.

  Jamie’s mind whirled. The giants had started on Mull. They’d started at Duart. Then they’d attacked Ballachulish. Now they’d attacked Kinlochleven. They were moving up the land, heading north and inland. Why?

  They must be converging on the source of the curse’s power. Jamie’s experience with these curses told him that much. One of the time-traveling women who created this curse must be nearby. Fergus said one of them was under the ocean off the Lochbuie coast, near the Tower House.

  If the giants were heading for that woman, they would be headed south. The McLeans never would have left Mull. Instead, the giants crossed Loch Linnhe. They’d moved up the channels to Ballachulish. When they finished with that, they traveled a long way, farther up the inland waterways, to Kinlochleven.

  Lachlan was right. The giants would come back, and they would come back stronger, in greater numbers. Four of them wasn’t enough, and if any more came, no force on Earth could stand against them. Wolves couldn’t defeat them—but dragons could.

  Jamie stood his ground and watched the villagers march away. Daniel walked at Marri’s side and helped her when she needed it. Jock and Ganny helped their other friends and relatives. What Jamie wouldn’t give to go with them, to be one of them. He would give anything to be part of this village.

  That was the worst part of the whole project. He wasn’t part of this village—not anymore. He’d spent his youth with these people. He’d slept in their houses and ate their food. He’d played with their children as one of them.

  Those days would never return. He’d left, and he came back an Urlu. He could never be part of this village again. He could never be one of them. He couldn’t even be their cousin anymore. He belonged to a different race, a powerful and warlike race. He belonged to the skies.

  He ached for his brothers. Even Ewan Munro knew better than to belong to this broken old world. Jamie belonged there. He never belonged here. That’s what Callum tried to tell him, but Jamie wouldn’t listen. He had to come all the way back here and learn this painful lesson the hard way. He had to get it shoved in his face and stabbed into his heart before he would believe it could be true.

  The villagers passed out of sight, and Jamie turned away. Dusk fell over the land, and the wind bit cold with winter coming on. He had to find a place to spend the night, but there wasn’t one house left standing in sight. He turned all the way around until he faced the hill rising out of the hollow heading south toward the river.

  As he stood there, a lone figure rose over the hill. She walked to the top of the hill and stopped. She surveyed the broken ruins with a sad expression on her face. The wind whipped her hair aside. Jamie gazed up at her, and she gazed down on him. It was Grace.

  Chapter 9

  Grace strode down the hill into the darkened village. She could scarcely believe the devastation all around her. The beautiful little village she fell in love with lay destroyed and abandoned all around her. Nothing remained but the planter—and Jamie.

  She stopped at his side. They looked into each other’s eyes like they’d known each other for years. She held no secrets from him, and he kept no secrets from her. Not even that mysterious brooding power beneath the surface of his skin could hold them apart. She understood him. Finding out what that power was could never disturb the depth of knowing between them.

  He studied her in silence. She had to break the spell herself. “Where’s Mike?”

  “Who?” he asked.

  “Mike. My husband. The man who died in the woods.”

  He jerked out of his trance. “Oh! Aye. I buried him in the village burial ground. I didnae place any marker as I didnae ken his name, but if ye tell me, we can place it fer him. I…. weel, I said what I could, but he’s buried now. Ye neednae concern yerself wi’ that.”

  “I want to see him,” she replied. “Show me.”

  He led her out of the village without a word. Behind a low field beyond the fell, the land leveled out. A few wood and stone markers dotted the grass. Jamie stopped next to a bare mound of loose dirt.

  Grace stared down at the spot. “Mike Spencer. That’s his name. Michael David Spencer. He was born April 22, 1987, and he died….” She broke off.

  Jamie looked down at the dirt. When she didn’t say anything more, he glanced around. “We mun’ return tae the village. The light’s gone, and I mun’ find a place fer us tae stop fer the night and build a fire. We cinnae stop out ’ere in the dark and the cold.”

  She didn’t move. She couldn’t leave that grave. He watched her, but when she didn’t respond, he took her hand like a child. He escorted her back to the village and sat her down on the planter.

  He busied himself around the village. She didn’t watch him. She didn’t care about anything. Now that she came back here and saw the terrible destruction caused by those giants, all the horror and heartbreak came back. Why did she have to come back here? Why couldn’t she stay away? Why did she have to torture herself staring it in the face?

  She’d lost Mike, and now she’d lost the village. If she had stayed where she belonged, she could let herself believe the village was still there. She could fantasize about it the way it was when she first saw it. It glowed in peaceful contentment in the back reaches of time. Nothing could disturb it—until now.

  Now it would never exist for her again. She would always remember it like this—destroyed.

  Jamie returned. Full dark blanketed the area. She could barely see the wreckage anymore, but it remained before her eyes. It haunted her no matter where she looked.

  Jamie picked up her hand. “Come. Ye’re half frozen.”

  She paid no attention to where he took her. What difference did it make, anyway?

  He steered her to one of the houses, guiding her to the open door. That’s when she noticed the house was still standing—at least, most of it was. A bright fire blazed on the hearth. Most of the roofbeams sat in their places on four stout walls.

  Only one corner of the roof sagged where a few stones dislodged from the corner. Other than that, the house looked perfect. This was the first time she saw one of these houses on the inside. The huge stone fireplace dominated the one room. A rough table flanked by two benches stood before it. A bed constructed of rope and a hay mattress tucked into a corner.

  Jamie pushed Grace down on the bench in front of a fire roaring up the chimney. He rummaged around the room and came back with a basket. He set it on the table and sat down next to her. “Good auld Aunty Ganny! I kenned she wouldnae let me down in me hour o’ need.”

  She stared at him. He got out a knife and started cutting up col
d meat and slicing hunks of bread off a loaf. The fire started to thaw her heart, and her mind cleared. “Where is everyone?”

  “They ha’e gone up the mountain tae Piper’s wing. Piper…weel, he’s summat o’ a wizard around ’ere, although he’s no much on a wizard if ye ask me—no that ye did. It’s just I ha’e seen wizards, and I ken aboot Piper. Anyway, that’s where they ha’e gone. Jock thinks Piper’ll protect ’em from the magic. He’s a fool. He doesnae ken aught aboot it, and he doesnae e’en ken he’s a fool. That’s the worst part o’ it. Anyway, they ha’e gone, and we’re ’ere.”

  “Why didn’t you go with them?” she asked.

  He stopped what he was doing and fixed his eyes on her. He moved his tongue back and forth inside his mouth like he was thinking about something. All at once, he leaned forward. “Ye shouldnae be ’ere. Ye should ha’e stayed in yer own place. It’s no safe ’ere fer ye.”

  “And it’s safe for you?” she asked. “Something’s going on, isn’t it? Tell me what it is.”

  He shook his head and went back to cutting up the food. “No. I’ll no tell ye.”

  “Do you know a woman named Hazel Green?”

  His head whipped around, and his eyes blazed. She saw the truth written all over his face. He knew Hazel. She suspected as much all along. He was connected with the man Hazel took to Angelo’s shop. Grace was never more certain of anything.

  He went back to his work, but he couldn’t settle down. If he wasn’t moving so fast, she would have sworn she saw his hands shaking. He separated the meat and bread into two portions. He put one portion in a bowl and handed it to her. “’Ere. This’ll make ye feel better.”

  “Will it make you feel better?” she asked. “You better go ahead and tell me. Get it off your chest.”

  He cast one more terrible glance her way. He tore a chunk of meat off the slab and chewed while he regarded her. His eyes burned into her soul, but at least they understood each other. He knew something. He knew a lot more than he let on, and she intended to find out what it was, one way or the other.