Highlander Lord of Fire
Macardle Sisters of Courage Book 3
Donna Fletcher
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
About the Author
Also by Donna Fletcher
Also by Donna Fletcher
Highlander Lord of Fire
All rights reserved.
Copyright November 2019 by Donna Fletcher
No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to being stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of the author.
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This is a book of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover art
Kim Killion Group
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Visit Donna’s Web site
www.donnafletcher.com
http://www.facebook.com/donna.fletcher.author
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
13th century, Scotland
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“Don’t be afraid, lassie, we’re not that far from home. There’ll be a nice fire in the hearth and a hot cider to warm you.”
“I look forward to it, Finn,” Snow said, trying not to let fear creep into her voice as she spoke loudly to be heard over the swirling snow and wind.
“I’m going to tie this rope from my horse to yours so we don’t lose each other. With a blinding snowstorm like this one, it’s easy to get separated and we wouldn’t want that to happen.”
“No, Finn, I wouldn’t want that,” she said, keeping her voice raised just as he did.
“Worry not, lassie, I’ll get you home,” Finn shouted and patted her arm to reassure her.
Thaw’s head poked out from Snow’s fur-lined cloak to give a quick bark.
“Right you are, Thaw. You keep Snow safe,” Finn called out.
Snow hugged Thaw against her, the pup having sprouted a good bit in the last month, but she still didn’t want him wandering on his own in a snowstorm.
“We’re all set, next stop… home,” Finn said cheerfully, giving his left arm a good rub. “Old wounds can pain in the cold. Can’t wait for that warm fire myself and a tankard of ale.” He laughed as he walked to his horse.
Snow listened, his laughter caught by the swirling snow to drift away as he disappeared in the wildly falling snow. She recalled what Finn looked like, a big, thick, strong man and a fine warrior. She remembered how he had scooped her up with one arm when she was a wee bairn and how his whole body would shake with laughter. She felt safe with Finn and she knew he would see her home safely.
When she and Finn had left her sister Willow’s home the snow had been falling lightly, a dusting on the ground. They hadn’t been on the road long when the snow began to pour down around them.
She couldn’t see anything in front of her. Not that she could see anyway, having lost her sight in a fire about a year ago now. She had been so happy when some of her sight had begun to return, leaving her to see gray shadows. It took time to grow accustomed to it, since she had felt as if ghosts constantly surrounded her, never able to see anyone or anything clearly. She would recall what they looked like, as she had done with Finn, but anyone unfamiliar to her left her feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable.
Her two sisters, Willow and Sorrell, had helped tremendously, but they both had wed and had their own homes now, Sorrell living a distance away and Willow living not that far, a walk that would take less than an hour, but not in the dead of winter and certainly not in a snowstorm.
Willow and her husband, Slatter, had suggested she stay when light snow had begun to fall. But she had already stayed a week to help her sister settle into a new home. It was time she returned home and allowed the couple time to themselves.
Her visit also had allowed her half-brother James time with Eleanor, who had helped look after her when Willow had gone to visit Sorrell. She was a lovely young woman who James had taken to on first sight. Eleanor had equally been taken with him and love had blossomed quickly. A wedding was being talked about and she couldn’t be happier for James and Eleanor.
There would never be a wedding for her. No man would want a blind wife. It saddened her at times, especially since she had always dreamed of having lots of children to fill a home with laughter and love. Now she would spend her days going from her sisters’ homes to her home with James and Eleanor and enjoying the nieces and nephews that would come along.
Willow was already with child and would deliver in the summer and she would be there to help whatever way she could. Not that Willow would need much help, since she was a skilled healer growing even more skilled with time.
Snow tucked her hood down to keep the snow from whipping at her face. The snowstorm seemed to grow worse by the minute. She worried that Finn was having a difficult time maneuvering his way through the blinding snow that had to be accumulating rapidly on the ground, his pace having begun to slow to almost a crawl.
When her horse came to a stop, she grew even more concerned. Had Finn decided the snowstorm was far too dangerous to continue on? Would they need to seek shelter? She waited anxiously to see what he would say.
Thaw suddenly popped his head out of her cloak and gave a bark.
“It’s all right, Thaw,” she said, trying to calm him. “We’ve stopped for a moment.”
But Thaw wouldn’t settle, he barked again and wiggled to get out of her arms.
“Stay!” she ordered, but Thaw would have none of her command. He wiggled himself free and jumped from her arms.
“Thaw! Thaw!” she yelled, worried she’d lose him in the snow, though his continued barks let her know he was close. “Finn!” she shouted, concerned he wouldn’t hear her through the relentless wind.
Thaw continued to bark and with the horses stopped and no sound from Finn, she began to grow uneasy. She couldn’t just sit there with the snow whipping viciously around, she had to do something.
“Please, Mum, help me,” she pleaded as she slid off the horse.
Her mum had died from complications from the fire that had blinded Snow. Though, not before she had tended Snow’s eyes, bathing them day after day in some solution she had brewed. She had told her to keep hope strong in her heart and mind, that her vision would return.
“Never give up hope, my daughter. I named you appropriately. Snow can blind, but it leaves everything fresh and sparkling clear after settling on the land. One day you will see again,” her mum had said.
Snow held hope that her mum had been right and that was why she reached out to her whe
n frightened or in need.
Snow kept her hand on the horse’s side, following along it until she found the rope Finn had tied from her horse to his. Her hand followed along the rope to Finn’s horse, Thaw’s barking growing louder.
“Finn,” she called out and Thaw stopped barking for a moment then started again. “What is it, Thaw? Did something happen to Finn?” Thaw barked twice, stopped, and barked again.
Snow’s stomach roiled. Something was wrong, horribly wrong.
“Where’s Finn, Thaw?” she asked and she suddenly felt the pup tugging at the hem of her tunic. He wanted her to follow him. Finn could very well be hurt. But did she chance leaving the horses? Would she find her way back to them?
Thaw’s tugs grew more frantic. She tried to untie the rope on Finn’s horse to keep hold of it, but the snow, cold, and strength of the knot made it impossible. She had little choice but to step away from the horse, letting Thaw know she’d follow. He didn’t let go of her hem, he used it to guide her steps. She counted each one so she knew the distance.
Thaw stopped and so did she.
He barked once and she knew he had delivered her to Finn. She moved her booted-foot forward and touched something.
“Finn!” she cried out, but got no answer.
With trepidation, she slowly lowered herself down, the swirling snow making it difficult to see even gray shadows. She reached out and her hand touched snow, but it was what she felt beneath that frightened her. After brushing the snow away, she removed her glove to touch Finn’s chest. There was no rise and fall to it. She moved her hand up to his face, brushing off the snow that had accumulated there and pressed her fingers to his cold lips.
No breath came from his mouth.
He was dead.
She felt around his face and top and sides of his head for a wound and ran her hand over his chest again. There were no signs of blood. His heart must have stopped as her mum would say when someone suddenly died without any apparent reason.
Tears threatened her eyes and she brushed them away. It would do no good to mourn Finn now or spend time senselessly crying when a snowstorm raged around her. But what did she do? Without her sight, how did she determine the direction that would take her home? Thaw would be of no help, since he had yet to learn the path between Macardle keep and Willow and Slatter’s keep, though Slatter had promised he’d teach the pup soon.
“The horses,” she whispered and slipped her glove back on.
She needed to make sure she stayed with the horses. She would turn and backtrack her steps the best she could. She was bound to bump into them.
“The horses, Thaw. We need to get to the horses,” she said, hoping he understood her.
He barked and raced around her and she turned and began to walk, Thaw running ahead of her. She counted her steps and when she reached the spot where the horses should be, she reached out but nothing was there. She took a few steps in one direction, then another, still nothing.
Now what did she do?
Thaw’s bark drew her attention and she wondered if he had found the horses.
“Where are you, Thaw?” she called out and he continued to bark.
She followed the sound of his barks, and she realized with every step she took that the snow had reached her ankles. The snow was accumulating fast. Thaw’s barks stopped and so did she and she was relieved when she felt him at the hem of her tunic, tugging at it once again.
She followed and Thaw barked a warning too late. She bumped into something. She let her hands explore and found it was a tree trunk. Thaw had brought her to shelter under a tree.
The pup slipped under her cloak to rest against her leg as he always did when he felt she was in need of protection.
Snow reached down and scooped him up, tucking him in the crook of her arm beneath her fur-lined cloak to keep him warm.
“We have a problem, Thaw,” she said, turning and lowering her head to keep the wind from hitting her face.
They couldn’t find the horses and with no idea where she was in relationship to home, and the snowstorm growing worse, and with no sufficient shelter, their fate was sealed. They would freeze to death.
She had felt helpless many times since turning blind, but never as helpless as she felt now. It wasn’t a far distance between Macardle keep and McHenry keep, the clan that Slatter was now chieftain of and Willow and he called home. But she had no idea of direction and to strike out blindly would be foolish.
“I don’t know what to do, Thaw,” she said, and the pup reached up and licked her face. She kissed the top of his snout. “I love you so much, Thaw.” He licked her cheek again, showing her he felt the same.
Snow thought of her sister Sorrell. She would have been on the move already, battling through the snow. but then she had her sight. No matter what she thought others would do, it didn’t matter since she had her blindness to contend with.
Think, Snow, think, she challenged herself.
She got a sudden thought. The horses. They knew the way home, hopefully they would instinctively take her there. If she could find them, she could get home.
“We need to find the horses, Thaw. They’re our only hope,” she said, silently praying they would find them.
Thaw barked and wiggled in her arms.
“You can’t go too far from me,” she warned and hope he understood.
He barked again and she placed him on the ground. “Find the horses, Thaw.”
Snow took careful steps, keeping her arms stretched out in front of her and following Thaw’s barks. Every now and again, he’d return and grab the hem of her tunic and take her in a different direction.
After what seemed like a senseless hunt, Thaw started barking non-stop and hope soared in Snow that he’d found the horses. She headed in the direction of his bark, though it was difficult to tell the true direction with the wind swirling the snow furiously around her.
She was relieved to feel him at her hem again, though this time he scurried in front of her and began to growl.
Her heart felt as if it stopped beating for a moment. He was warning whatever stood not far from her to stay away from her. She couldn’t see anything. Was it an animal? A person? Whatever it was Thaw had sensed it was dangerous, and she stood blind before it.
Thaw’s growl deepened in warning and that’s when Snow saw it. A large, shadowy blur nearly on top of her. It had to be a person, but who could it be? A traveler caught unaware in the snowstorm like her and Finn? And would he help her or be of danger to her?
The blur drew closer and Thaw’s growls increased, though he didn’t attack. He kept a protective stance in front of her.
Thaw’s growl didn’t seem to bother the blur, he kept approaching and Snow reacted instinctively. Her hand shot out to stop whatever it was from getting any closer.
Her hand met a snout and sharp teeth, and she yanked her hand back.
Her heart felt as if it would beat right out of her chest. And it wasn’t the freezing cold that sent shivers rushing through her, it was fear. She forced herself to remain calm. It couldn’t be an animal. It would have attacked by now. But why had she felt what she was sure was the head of an animal?
Thaw kept up his steady, threatening growl.
It came to her then… who would wear the head of an animal?
Barbarians.
Chapter 2
Snow almost lashed out at the shadowy creature when he grabbed her arm, but stopped when he let out a growling shout.
“Shelter.”
He intended to help her, at least she prayed that was his intention.
She hurried to reach down and scoop Thaw up, but his strong yank prevented her from doing so.
“My pup,” she protested and was propelled forward with the strength of his grip. She was grateful to hear Thaw bark and keep pace alongside her as she was hurried through the snow.
Shadows and blurs rushed around her and his firm hold tugged her now and again, preventing her from hitting anything. From his confid
ent pace, he seemed to know where he was going, though how he could see through the raging snow was beyond her.
He stopped suddenly and before letting go of her arm, ordered, “Stay.”
She did as he said, fearful of this stranger who wore an animal head, yet fearful of being left alone in the snowstorm. She was relieved to feel Thaw slip between her legs and lean against her protectively. That he didn’t bark or growl made her think that the pup had realized the stranger would help them.
The man was suddenly in front of her again, his hands at her shoulders as he guided her a few steps and gave her a slight shove. No snow fell around her and the space was tight. She felt Thaw slip in between her leg and her fur-lined cloak to huddle there against her.
The strong scent of old wood filled the space and her guess would be he had placed her in the hollow of a dead tree. And he would no doubt join her, which he did not a moment later.
His one arm slipped past her cloak to settle around her waist as he pressed tight against her, his back blocking the opening. She had no choice but to rest her face against his fur-covered chest and it didn’t take long for the closeness of their bodies and his furs to provide some heat.
The warmth felt so good that she found herself wrapping her arms around his waist, beneath his furs, to stay as close to him as she could.
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