She shook her head and turned away. “My life has been about as boring as you can imagine. Maybe that’s why I always wanted to get away. I wanted excitement and romance and adventure.”
“You’re having it now, lassie,” he pointed out. “There’s no’ many as spent their time under the ocean betrothed to the God of the Sea.”
She bit back a smile. “I guess you’re right. There’s not many who have spent their time in ancient Highland Scotland among a werewolf Clan at war with the God of the Sea, either.”
“No. I suppose you’re right about that.”
“I want to thank you, Lachlan,” she told him. “I want to thank you for getting me out of there. I would gladly have stayed to spare you what’s coming. I never meant to cause you any bother.”
“It’s no bother, lassie,” he replied. “No bother at all.”
“I know you were looking for me because you thought I could break that curse,” she went on. “Now you know I can’t. I let you down.”
He turned around to face her. “Lassie, will ye think on it, just for a moment? Ye told me ye had no power to work that spell. Ye told me ye couldnae help me, and I brought ye up from below just the same. Do ye think I’d have done that if it was all a muckle bother to me? I think no’, so ye need no concern yourself with me and my affairs.”
She lowered her eyes to the ground. “Thank you.”
“Ye said that already.” He grabbed the horse by the bridle. “Ye dinnae need to keep saying it, or you’ll bore me to death. Now mount ye up. We have no’ far to ride afore we’re home.”
They rode in silence for a long time until Lachlan broke in on her thoughts. “Ye have gone quiet on me. You’re no’ the most sparkling traveling companion I ever had, I can tell ye.”
She didn’t laugh. “I was just thinking.”
“And what, may I ask, were ye thinking on?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. She couldn’t tell him about his warm arms around her, about his chest supporting her behind her back, or about the slow, easy sway of the horse under her. She couldn’t tell him any of that. “I was just trying to figure out if there’s a way we can contact Alexis to come and help us.”
“If, as ye say, ye traveled back and forth to your own world whenever ye wished,” he suggested, “perhaps she’s doing the same thing.”
“How could she do that?” Ivy asked.
“I dinnae ken naught about it,” he replied. “Jamie Cameron told me Grace traveled back and forth at her will. She found a hole in the fabric somewhere, and away she went.”
“That’s amazing,” Ivy whispered.
“Hazel traveled back and forth as well,” he went on. “I dinnae ken if they do so now, but they did. That much I ken. Ye say ye have no power, that ye did it all through your mirror, but Alexis had the power to send ye both here. She must have the power to go back. Perhaps she’s already at your home somewhere.”
“I never thought of that. If it’s true, then how are we going to contact her?”
“I dinnae say we can contact her or that we should contact her,” he replied. “Ye said it, no’ me.”
She lapsed into silence again. After a while, she roused herself to the subject. “I wish there was something I could do. I wish I didn’t have to stand by and watch Aegir destroy everybody the way he wrecked that ship.”
“Which ship?”
“That ship we watched wreck on the beach near Jura,” she replied, “the one with your cousin and your brother in it.”
Lachlan snorted.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “What did I say?”
“That’s it, lassie,” he replied. “That’s the answer.”
“What is?”
“Kincaid. Me brother and my cousin traveled down the coast to bring back a wizard named Kincaid. We have to find him. He can help us deal with this—at least, I hope he can. He might to deal to the curse, but Aegir—he’s a different story.”
“No wizard or anybody else with their head screwed on straight is gonna want to deal with Aegir,” she told him. “I can tell you that right now.”
“Perhaps no’. We can only try. A man’s life isnae worth anything else.”
Without meaning to, she leaned back against his chest. She rested in his embrace, and the horse went its own way over the hills and dales. It wound its way along the coast and over inland moors until the Tower House came into view on the far horizon.
“There it is, lass,” Lachlan breathed. “We’re home.”
She smiled. Moy Castle was his home, not hers, but somehow it all made sense. She was coming back to the place where she belonged. She longed to get there and find out all about it.
He urged the horse forward. They covered another several miles. The castle dropped out of sight when they passed through valleys. It rose into view again when they emerged along the coastline.
All the time, joy and contentment filled Ivy’s heart. She never wanted this to end. This whole day would live in her memory as the first day of her life—her real life, the life she always wanted to live.
At last, toward late afternoon, they crested a low rolling hill and gazed down the long fields to the castle in the distance. The sun shone on its walls, and tiny men moved back and forth across the roof.
While they stood there in silent contemplation, a cloud passed in front of the sun. It cast a chill over the landscape. Lachlan looked up at the sky. The instant he did so, Ivy understood. The sky roiled in angry black cloud, and a bitter wind slashed across the countryside.
Lachlan delivered a hard kick to the horse’s sides. The animal squealed in alarm and shot forward, thundering down the hill. Lachlan’s arms tightened around Ivy’s waist, and he pushed her down low over the animal’s neck. He hissed into her ear. “Hang on!”
He lashed the horse with his reins. The animal screamed in terror, but Lachlan never let up. The horse flattened its ears against its head and pounded across the fields toward the castle, but Ivy saw it was already too late to avoid the cataclysm.
In seconds, pelting rain stung her face and hands. She gripped the saddle horn with all her might. She stole a peek under Lachlan’s arm and saw the nightmare unfolding that she dreaded since yesterday.
Chapter 8
Lachlan glanced over his shoulder. To his right lay the beach and the rocky Lochbuie coastline heading down to the Tower House. Waves seethed out of the depths to crash against the rocks. Mountains of spray exploded into the steely air, only to shower down on the rocks and reefs.
The sky grew black, and the freezing rain turned to driving sleet and hail. Lightning barked across the sky and touched the hills beyond the Tower House. Thunder boomed over the landscape, but he didn’t let up whipping the horse across the field.
He could run all he liked. He would never reach the Tower House in time. He knew it. Ivy knew it. The horse knew it, and whatever force caused this tempest knew it, too.
He made it to the bottom of the hill before it happened. He cast a quick glance to his right again. Another monstrous wave burst over the rocks, but this time, a huge dark shape came with it. When the water fell back into its bed, the shape kept rising higher until it touched the sky.
The horse shrieked in terror, but Lachlan couldn’t take his eyes off the thing. It burst into the air, but he couldn’t recognize the figure. A pointed head stuck up out of the thing, with two black spots for eyes. Tentacles slithered all around it.
In front of Lachlan’s eyes, the thing slid out of the ocean onto the rocky shore. It propelled itself on its tentacles over the sharp stony ground and into the field before heading straight for the castle.
Ivy caught sight of it and cried out in astonishment. Lachlan whipped the horse harder than ever, but the poor creature couldn’t run faster if it tried. It rolled its eyes at the monster and ran for its very life.
While they watched in horror, another geyser of spray shot out of the ocean and disgorged another monster from the depths. This time, the creature resembled
a gigantic crab. It walked on spindling jointed legs and clacked its pincers in front of it. Its eyes bobbed on stalks before its face, and it twisted them around to look at everything.
Next came a giant blob of some transparent jelly. It gleamed in the eerie light and humped its way over the ground on a trail of slime. One after another, the most disgusting creatures imaginable rose out of the churning sea. The ocean spat them onto the shore, and they migrated across the field toward the Tower House.
Lachlan barreled onto the field before he saw his mistake. He yanked the reins hard to turn the horse, but the animal didn’t feel a thing. It knew only its own reckless terror. It spotted shelter, and it wouldn’t turn aside. It charged straight into the creatures’ midst.
Lachlan craned his head back to look at the enormous things. The horse moved so fast the monsters took a few seconds to register what was happening. They turned their eyes or antennae or whatever they had on the fugitives, but by then, Lachlan’s horse already charged somewhere else.
For an instant, confusion reigned. The horse dodged around the slimy blob and raced for the castle, but Lachlan saw the gate shut. The men on the roof ran all over the place to ready their defenses against these things. They didn’t realize who the rider was.
The horse galloped toward the Tower House, but Lachlan didn’t dare get down to open the door or wait around for someone else to open it for him. He hauled on the reins one more time and veered the horse left.
The animal never stopped running. It wheeled around the giant crab thing. It ran in a circle around it and headed back for the Tower House, where he and Lachlan confronted the same problem.
This time, Lachlan wheeled to the right. He had to find a way inside, or else he had to lead the things away from the castle. They were after him and Ivy. He never doubted that. Once these creatures got it into their nonexistent brains who and what he was, the jig was up.
He ran circles around them until he turned back to face the coast. More and more strange things came out of the water. They would never stop. Ivy was right. Aegir would never quit until he got her back. He would throw all his power at the McLeans until they gave her up or he destroyed them utterly.
The curse meant nothing. Ivy and Lachlan didn’t need to search for Alexis to lift the curse. Aegir would wipe them out long before the curse got anywhere near them.
The creatures’ delayed reaction couldn’t last forever. The tentacled creature shook itself. Without turning, it lifted one floppy tentacle and brought it down on the ground in front of Lachlan’s horse. It slammed the tentacle so hard the rocks bounced out of their sockets and rattled down around the horse’s feet.
The animal shot sideways to get away. Ivy’s weight hit Lachlan’s arms. She almost unseated him, and the horse bolted to the right. It almost left Lachlan on the ground, but he righted himself just in time.
He grabbed the reins to get the animal under control, but by that time, the other sea creatures recovered. They converged around Lachlan’s horse to cut off its retreat. The crab’s pincer darted out and snapped the animal’s leg out from under it.
The horse plunged into the ground with a fearful screech. It plunged and thrashed and pinned Lachlan’s leg under its weight. Lachlan struggled to get his leg out from beneath the animal. The fall flung Ivy a few feet away. As Lachlan predicted, the sea creatures turned their attention on her.
Ivy saw them coming and fought her way to her feet. She cast a desperate glance around. Lachlan couldn’t get to her. He kicked against the horse, but the animal’s terrified convulsions only stuck him more firmly to the ground. He couldn’t budge.
He heard voices shouting in the distance, but he couldn’t make out the sound. He looked up at the sea creatures towering over him, and his heart died in his chest. The tentacled monster scooted across the ground coming straight for him. The crab walked around the horse’s body. Its pincers clapped in the air, and its eyes boggled on the ends of their thin stalks.
The creatures surrounded Lachlan. He lost sight of Ivy behind the blob thing. He would never see her again. That thought sparked a furious rage in his soul. He couldn’t let this happen. He had to stop it. He didn’t free Ivy from Aegir to watch it end like this.
In a fraction of an instant, he drew his saber. With a heavy heart, he slashed it across the horse’s neck and severed the animal’s head from its body. The beast fell still and flopped on top of Lachlan, but at least now he could get to work freeing his leg.
He kicked his heel hard against the horse’s shoulder and yanked at his leg. The body slumped across his leg. He scraped skin off his knee tugging his leg free, but it started to give way. The tentacled monster towered over him. It raised one whip-arm over Lachlan’s head and lashed to destroy him.
Lachlan gave one last tremendous pull at his leg. His calf slid out and stuck at the ankle. He couldn’t wait an instant longer. He raised his saber and delivered another vicious cut to that tentacle coming at him. It sliced through the gelatinous tissue, and the tentacle flopped a few feet away.
The creature bellowed in rage. Lachlan dropped his sword and seized his leg in both hands above the knee. He gave it an almighty heave, and his foot and ankle came free. He snatched up his weapon and set off at a run.
The first thing he saw was the crab scuttling after Ivy. She ran up to the Tower House and pounded on the door with her fists. Her voice echoed across the valley. “Help us! Somebody help us! Open this door!”
The crab came up behind her. It snapped its terrible pincers in the air around her head. It could break her neck in one pinch, but when it closed its claws around her neck, it stopped short of hurting her. It closed around her neck in an iron grip so she couldn’t get away. Inch by inch, it hauled her away from the door.
Ivy went into a frenzy. She screamed and kicked, but she couldn’t do much with that pincer around her neck. The crab lifted her off the ground, and her legs kicked and swayed in mid-air.
Lachlan roared his challenge at the creature. He lunged at the thing and slashed with his saber. He struck the joint where the claw attached to the rest of the limb. The claw separated from the crab and fell to the ground with Ivy still locked between the teeth.
The crab whipped around to face Lachlan. It still possessed one pincer with which to fight him. Lachlan retreated to calculate his strategy, but the other sea creatures already moved in. The tentacled thing slapped its long limbs at Lachlan. He sliced his weapon at anything that came near, but he couldn’t fight them all.
Ivy wriggled free from the crab’s claws. She bolted for the Tower House one more time, but she never got there. She made it a few steps when one of those terrible tentacles slithered out and grabbed her around both ankles. She pitched forward on her face with a grunt.
Lachlan leapt forward to help her, but the crab’s pincer shot between them. It gave one mighty snap and broke his weapon in half. He couldn’t fight these things without it. He pulled out his dirk with his left hand, but he already saw the battle slipping away from him.
Ivy rolled over on her back. The tentacle tightened around her ankles so she couldn’t move. She picked up the broken end of Lachlan’s saber and cut at the tentacle holding her, but the creature only sent another and then another to bind her tighter. One of them snaked around her wrist and wrestled the weapon away.
She cried out in fear and frustration. The Tower House was right there, just a few feet away, but it might as well be a million miles. They would never reach safety. Lachlan cast his eye over the scene, and a crystal clear vision awoke in his mind. He gauged his position and poised to attack.
In one fluid motion, he plunged forward. He slashed his dirk through the air and sliced off the crab’s eye stalks. They fell over to one side and dropped to the ground. The creature made a heinous snap with its remaining pincer, but Lachlan wasn’t there anymore.
He dashed forward, and with one cut, he severed the tentacles holding Ivy’s legs. He didn’t wait around to see her unwind them. He spun around to
face his foe. Another tentacle whipped out of the air coming for his head. He raised his weapons when two powerful hands seized him from behind.
The hands pulled him off his feet. They gripped his shirt behind his armpits and hauled him off his feet. They dragged him backward. He barely had time to turn his head when he saw Christie take hold of Ivy the same way. Colin flung one beefy arm around Lachlan’s body and pulled him back, through the open door into the Tower House, and slammed the door behind them.
Chapter 9
The young black-haired Highlander set Ivy down on the cold stone floor in the castle’s entrance hall. Ivy gasped for air. “Christie! You saved me.”
Christie glanced back and forth between her and Lachlan. “Forgive me, lassie. Do I ken ye?”
“Ye dinnae ken her,” Lachlan told him, “but she kens ye. This is Ivy Tennant, the woman from under the ocean.”
Christie’s eyes popped open. “Aye? That’s wonderful news!”
Lachlan held up his hand. “It’s no’ like that, lad. She doesnae have the power to lift the curse.”
“Unfortunately,” she replied, “we now have a much bigger problem.”
“Never ye mind,” Lachlan returned. “You’ll come inside and welcome, too.”
“We’ll none of us have time to welcome naught,” Colin interrupted. “Those things out there havnae gone away. They’ll keep at us ’til they destroy us.”
Just then, a terrible shudder shook the whole building. All four of them looked up at the ceiling. The roof beams shivered in their places. While they stood there listening, dozens of voices echoed off the stone walls. “Quick! Everybody down! Get inside afore they kill ye!”
Men stampeded past, and the pounding noises got louder. Lachlan caught one of the men. “What’s amiss? What’s going on up there?”
“They’re blasting down the roof!” The man tore himself out of Lachlan’s grip and ran on.
“What’s going on?” Ivy asked.
Before anyone could answer, the ceiling gave way in one corner. All four of them stared up at the tentacled creature standing tall and terrible against the stormy sky. It raised its tentacles one after the other to smash in the castle roof.
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