Even if he never touched her or kissed her again, at least he found out where she was. He could only do his best to free her, and whether he succeeded or failed, he could go home and tell Carmen and the others where she was and what happened. Then what? Would Angus mount a war against the McLeans to free her?
The details of that last pitched fight against the vampires came back to his mind. The wolves attacked him just when he prepared to escape with Sadie and his brother. How did that happen? He replayed the scene in his mind.
He didn’t see much of the wolves that ended the battle. He was flat on his face. The question that plagued him was, how? How had the wolves known to attack right at that moment? They must have been sentient wolves, and not just any sentient wolves.
If he had to guess, he could almost believe they attacked to benefit Lachlan and steal Sadie and Jamie from him. How was that possible?
None of it made sense, so he got up and started walking. He skirted the lake. That took long enough. He started to get hungry, and the sun dipped down behind the far hills. Where could he find something to eat? At least he didn’t have to worry about the vampires attacking. If they did, he wouldn’t hesitate to incinerate them on the spot now that no one was around to see.
He made a mistake not transforming before. He realized that now. If he let go of winning Sadie for himself—which he already did—he shouldn’t have hesitated. He should have changed right in front of her, told her to mount up, and rode off into the sunset with Jamie. He shouldn’t have bothered to sneak around and wait for a chance to tell Jamie his plans. He should have gone and done it right in Lachlan’s face.
So why didn’t he do that now? Why didn’t he take wing and launch himself at Duart Castle? He and Jamie and Sadie would be on their way in no time—unless he scared Sadie out of her wits and she ran screaming from him. That would be just fantastic.
He walked a long way around the lake until it turned back south. By that time, all the light went out of the world. He wasn’t getting any closer to his destination or to a decision about what to do, and he didn’t fancy the prospect of camping out here under the cloudy sky.
Without thinking, he jumped into the air. He spread his wings, but he didn’t fly north to Duart. No, he had something more pressing to attend to. He turned his wings west and raced back across Mull to the stormy sea beyond. He passed a few specks of islands. In a few minutes, nothing but flat ocean spread out on all sides.
He rocketed into space and tilted against the clouds. He folded his wings against his back and narrowed his eyes. He plummeted out of the heavens at terminal velocity and hit the water with a massive impact. He plunged into the bottomless depths.
For half a second, he swam around underwater before his senses detected what he was looking for. He wrenched his neck sideways and snapped. The force jerked his head sideways, but he didn’t let go. He coiled his neck around the thing and fought his way to the surface. An instant later, he broke into the icy air. He pumped his wings and took to the skies with a huge squid flapping in his teeth.
He stalled at the very peak of his flight. He wrestled the thrashing creature. It lashed its tentacles at him and clapped its beak. Callum couldn’t wait another instant. He tossed it into the air, and when it came back down, he swallowed it whole.
He undulated his neck a few times to work the thing down into his stomach, but the deed was done. It filled him up and satisfied his hunger, and he turned his sights for Mull once more.
He circled the island at an altitude that hid him from view. Somewhere down there, Jamie and Sadie waited inside Duart Castle. He had to find them and get them out if it was the last thing he did. The only question was, how?
He dropped out of the sky heading straight for the curved promontory where Duart overlooked the channel leading into Loch Linnhe. Callum spiraled lower and lower, but he made sure to stay out of sight. He touched down in the forest just downhill from the high walls.
Night descended over the spot, and lights shone through the castle’s many windows. The sea crashed against a rocky shore. No one could get near that castle to attack it—no one but a dragon.
Voices drifted on the wind to Callum’s ear. He couldn’t see the entrance from his hiding place, but he heard people coming and going through it. Lachlan must be pretty confident in his position to leave the castle undefended with the vampires not far off.
Just then, a shadow flashed by Callum’s peripheral vision. He strained his eyes in the dark and saw ten big wolves running through the forest near him. They kept to a straight line on their way toward the castle. They ran right up the hill and vanished inside.
Callum froze. So that was the answer. The McLeans were the wolves who attacked him. They drove off the vampires and took Sadie and Jamie captive, but the truth hit him in the eyes. The McLeans were wolves, exactly the same way the Camerons of Urlu were dragons. They could change at will, and Lachlan took advantage of the vampires’ attack to separate Callum from Sadie and Jamie.
Callum’s mind race and his heart pounded. He already understood Lachlan’s intentions toward Sadie. He must have decided to keep Jamie as his ace in the hole against the vampires. Jamie already used his dragon fire to get rid of the vampires when they attacked.
How much did Lachlan understand? Did he realize Callum was his rival for Sadie’s affections, or did he just want to get rid of an Urlu he couldn’t use as a weapon to his own advantage?
Callum pushed all those thoughts out of his head. He couldn’t linger out here in the dark one more instant. If he wasn’t going to attack the castle with all his power, only one avenue remained open to him.
He started walking. He followed wolves’ track. He circled the castle and found the front entrance door standing wide open to the world. He never gave it a second thought. He marched right inside like he owned the place.
He found himself in a courtyard. Smooth stone walkways headed off in different directions. He didn’t need to see where he was going. He went. He entered the first room. Ordinary people crowded around a table. They ate and drank and talked and laughed. They paid no attention to Callum. Then again, none of them were the McLeans he met at the Tower House.
He left that room and found several others, along with staterooms, libraries, and many others. Men talked and smoked, women chattered, and people lounged near blazing fires in the fireplaces.
Callum slipped down a hall and found a closet where two young female servants folded table napkins on a wooden table. First they jumped in surprise at seeing a stranger in their midst. Then the shorter one, a plump girl with curly black hair, smiled at him.
He smiled back at her. “Ha’e ye lassies seen the young Cameron lad brought in wi’ the wounded leg? Ye mun’ ha’e seen or at least heard o’ him.”
“We ha’e seen him, awright,” she replied. “We ha’e been tae change his dressin’s since he arrived.”
“Can ye tell me where I can find him?” Callum asked. “It’s urgent I speak tae him.”
“Aye,” the girl replied. “Findin’ him’s no bother. Ye gang aloft o’ the third level and down the landin’ tae the farthest south end. He’s the last room on the left afore ye come tae the windae.”
Callum slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek before he made a dash for the door. He left the girls screeching with laughter.
He tore up the stairs two at a time. He came to the third level landing and stopped a moment to catch his bearings. Servants and McLeans in their family tartan passed him going both ways, but he still saw no sign of Lachlan or his brothers or cousins from the march. Where were they?
For all he knew, they were arming to come and capture him. He better move fast if he want to see Jamie before it was too late.
He strode down the landing until he found the window. He turned left and raised his hand to knock on the wooden door. He didn’t knock, though. If Jamie was in that room, Callum had to see him. He had to get word to Jamie now of what he planned to do. Even if Jamie s
tayed in bed for the duration of this adventure, he had to understand Callum’s plans. He had to be ready when the time came.
Callum eased the door latch down and swung the door open. To his surprise, he found his brother lying on a huge bed in a magnificent state room. Jamie brightened up when Callum entered. “Why, mon! Where ha’e ye been allus time?”
“Ne’er ye mind aboot that.” Callum sat down on the edge of his bed and spoke in a low murmur. “I mun’ warn ye while I ha’e the chance. Ye mun’ be ready tae launch at a moment’s notice. Ye gang stay ’ere in this room and let the pretty lassies tend tae yer leg, but ye mun’ be ready when ye hear me word. Understand, lad?”
“Aye, I understand ye weel enough,” Jamie replied, “ainly I dinnae ken why ye want tae launch. Ye said tae launch in the forest, but it wasnae tae be. What’s afoot, mon? What makes ye want tae flee when ye ainly just got wi’in sight o’ our destination?”
Callum cocked his head. “Do ye remember the fight in the forest, when those wolves attacked the vampires and knocked me o’er? Can ye remember what happened?”
Jamie blinked. “Ye went down on top o’ me. That’s all I remember. One minute, the monsters were all around us. The next, I couldnae see a thing fer yer muckle stoot on top o’ me. Then Arch and Clyde were there and they picked me up. They carried me away and left ye behind.”
“Did ye ask ’em why they left me?”
“They said ye mun’ ha’e been injured, and they had tae get me tae safety in the castle while Colin and the others took care o’ ye. That’s what they told me. I couldnae help ye meself, mon. Ye mun’ understand that.”
Callum nodded. “I understand, and I dinnae blame fer’t. I’m ’ere now, and I’m no leavin’ this castle withoot ye, lad. Just remember that and be ready tae leave.”
“I dinnae like me chances o’ gettin’ tae our own land,” Jamie remarked. “I like tae think on returning tae Urlu and seein’ tae this ’ere leg.”
“Ye’ll no go on,” Callum replied. “I’ll take ye home, alaing o’ Sadie.”
“Sadie!” Jamie gasped.
Callum faced his brother. “Aye, Sadie. She’s one o’ the group that came through wi’ Carmen and the others, and we cinnae leave her behind. Asides, Lachlan’s set his cap fer her, and she doesnae wish tae marry him against her will. We mun’ take her home wi’ us.”
“Did ye tell her we’re…...?”
“No,” Callum replied. “She’ll find out, though, when the time comes tae mount up and ride. That’s the ainly way we’ll get her tae Urlu against this lot.”
“Ye had better warn her, then,” Jamie pointed out. “Ye’d better warn her tae be ready tae fly. Ye can forget me. I’m allus ready tae fly. It’s her I’m worried on.”
“I ken’t” Callum replied. “I’m on me way tae see her right now. Do ye ken which room she’s in?”
“Back down the landin’ tae the far end,” Jamie told him. “Last room on the left. That’s what the lassies tell me, anyway.”
Callum sighed. “Right. I’ll see ye in the air.”
He started for the door when Jamie called him from behind. “Callum?”
Callum glanced over his shoulder before he walked out the door, nodded, and slipped out. He better get this done before all hell broke loose. He cast his eye up and down the landing, but he didn’t see anyone. His heart pounded against his ribs. His knees knocked, but he pressed forward to the opposite end of the landing.
Another window looked out over the open sea. He could just catch sight of mountains rising out of the mist in the far distance. That would be Cameron land. He could almost put out his hand and touch it, but it might as well be a million miles away, for all the good it did him.
He would never get there now. He would never see his relatives and friends. If he lived to escape this castle with his life, he would take Sadie and his brother home to Urlu. After what happened, Angus might never give his consent for any Cameron to leave Urlu again.
Callum came to the last door on the left. He could just walk right in on Jamie, but he wouldn’t do the same with Sadie. He raised his hand to knock when he heard voices inside. He cocked his ear to listen.
Chapter 17
Sadie arranged her skirts over her knees on a bench by the window. She watched the waves break over the rocky shore under her window. The grey-blue ocean chilled her heart.
The maids took her pants away and left her with this gown. She never wore anything this fancy at the Tower House. When they told her the Laird insisted upon it, she understood. Lachlan wouldn’t allow her to tend the wounded any longer. She would become his Lady. That was all there was to it.
She resigned herself to this—for now. She would hold her cards close to her chest for the moment, at least until she found a way to get out of here. Jamie Cameron was still in the castle. The maids told her that.
Where Callum might be, she could only guess. None of that mattered now anyway. She couldn’t rely on him to get her out of here. He had some sure-fire way to escape with her—at least, he led her to believe he had. He also led her to believe he knew a way she might be able to get back to her own time and place. Now he was gone, so she better come up with her own plan.
The maids envied her for winning Lachlan’s heart. She didn’t bother to disillusion them. She accepted their attentions. She might be stuck in this castle for a while. She couldn’t afford to alienate any potential friend that came along.
She sat in a bedroom more lavish than any other in the castle, even Lachlan’s personal bedroom. The McLean brothers didn’t give her a chance to look around the castle at the other bedrooms when they brought her in from the forest, but the maids told her so.
The bedroom door clicked and swept open. She turned to see Lachlan enter without knocking. He closed the door behind him and pocketed the key. “Weel, lassie, do yer accommodations meet yer approval?”
She turned her back to him with a sigh. “What do you want, Lachlan?”
“Ye’ll attend a state dinner tonight,” he told her. “Ye’ll attend as me consort.”
“Your consort! That’s a joke.”
He held up his hands. “Ye’ll attend nonetheless. Ye’ll perform yer function as me Lady until the day we’re married.”
“And when is that?” she asked. “When do you plan to marry me against my will? The last time I checked, the Church doesn’t allow that.”
“They’ll allow’t,” he replied. “I’ll see they allow’t in this case, at least.”
She shivered. She entertained no doubt he would see to it. “So when’s the big day?”
“Two weeks tonight on Candlemas. I ha’e already begun the invitations tae the other Clan leaders. Once it’s done, we’ll rule the Isles and consolidate our power.”
“What about the vampires?” she asked. “Don’t you think you better deal with them before you start planning your glorious future?”
Her words didn’t anger him in the slightest. “We’ll need fightin’ men tae combat ’em. We’ll need tae call on the men o’ the outer Isles. That’s why I mun’ consolidate me glorious future, as ye call’t, as soon as possible. We cinnae defend this castle against them alone.”
She faced the window again. “I get it. Here I thought you were interested in me, when it turns out you only want me for your own political interests.”
He came up behind her. “Ye didnae think I would choose a woman I didnae want, did ye? O’ course I wanted ye fer yerself. Ye ken I wanted ye from the first.”
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter now.”
He slipped his arms around her from behind. He folded his hands over her stomach and nuzzled her hair. “Come tae me, lassie. Dinnae put me off any lainger. I cinnae bear it.”
Sadie relaxed into his arms. She refused to make this any more difficult for herself than it already was. The hard handle of the dirk dug into her skin where she kept it concealed under her bodice. She hid it there when she first changed her clothes, and the maids never discovered it wh
en they helped her change into this dress. She hid another under the pillow on the big, beautiful bed where Lachlan no doubt expected to consummate his strategic union.
He hadn’t done anything to make her use her weapon. She wouldn’t use it until she had a clear objective to get out of this castle and never return. She wouldn’t draw blood for any lesser reason. She even planned to sleep with Lachlan and like it if that’s what it took to accomplish her aim.
Wasn’t he handsome? Wasn’t he pleasant? He only turned nasty when she resisted his advances. As long as she went along with his plans, he would give her everything. Still, she hedged her bets by keeping a weapon handy, just in case this thing turned into something she didn’t care to imagine.
Lachlan stiffened behind her. His arms tightened, and she steered him away from the dirk so he wouldn’t feel it under her clothes. “What is’t now, lassie? Dinnae tell me ye’re no inclined tae marry me.”
“Why do you even ask that?” she returned. “You know very well I don’t want to marry you. I’m here against my will. I would never marry you by choice, and that’s the way you want it. Don’t make it any worse by making me say so out loud all the time when you have no intention of changing anything. You just go right ahead with your plans and leave me alone. Don’t try to convince me because I won’t be convinced. You want to make a mockery out of this wedding, so go right ahead. You don’t need my permission for that.”
He flung her away so hard she landed chest first against the bench. “Ye foul-mouthed wretch! I ha’e a mind tae turn ye out tae the monsters the next time they appear. Ye ha’e an ungrateful tongue, ye ha’e, and no mistake.”
She spun around to face him. “Go right ahead. I’d rather take my chances with them than marry you. You’re a brute. That’s all you’ve ever been, so don’t come courting me like I’m going to be your loving wife. We both know perfectly well that’s not going to happen.”
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