by Hazel Hunter
Meri didn’t have to say it was half Emeline’s size. Everyone knew how fat she was. Especially their coworker Lauren Reid, who dropped sly digs about her weight whenever she could. Ironically Emeline had been on a strict diet for the last eight weeks in order to slim down enough to get into an off-the-rack dress. No one had noticed, not even Meri. Still, as her best friend and worst enemy nattered on, Emeline kept her forced smile firmly riveted in place. So what if she was black affronted by two reed-thin women who’d never know what deliberate starvation felt like? She had to stop making this about her. It was all for Meri.
“Healer McAra,” Ruadri said as he came closer, the snow crunching under his boots. “Havenae you yet slept?”
Tears burned in Emeline’s eyes as she was yanked back to the present—or the past—or whenever she was.
“I’m no’ tired.”
And now she was lying. She’d tried to sleep, but the pain of her side wound and ankle combined with thoughts of him had made it impossible. She should tell him that since coming here last night she’d never felt more hurt, exhausted, or anxious.
The last was his fault. Since the first moment she’d seen the shaman he’d made her as nervous as a drunkard in a minefield.
“’Tis cold,” Ruadri said as he stopped just behind her. His scent rolled over her. He smelled of something darkly decadent and spicy, like a chocolate spiked with serrano. “You should come inside, out of the wind.”
Come inside with you, and find a dark room, and throw myself at you, yes. Oh, please, yes. The chill seeping through the wool cloak Emeline wore suddenly felt biting, or was it his worry, growing sharper? He doesnae care about me. I’m just a great bausy nuisance.
“I’m no’ a bairn.”
“Aye, that I ken.” Ruadri came to stand beside her and held out his huge black and amber plaid tartan. “You’re shivering. Wrap yourself in this.”
He was too close now, and any moment he would touch her with those large, strong hands that looked so capable and clever. Emeline didn’t think she could stand that, and then felt the sensory wall inside her head begin to crumble.
“No, thank you.”
Blast her ankle, she had to get away from him this instant. Emeline limped away, stopping at the edge of the river to pull back her hood and look down at the blurry reflection of herself in the ice, made only more vivid by the sunrise. For weeks she’d been a battered, starved prisoner, and it showed. So many snarls tangled her black hair it resembled a mass of poorly-done dreadlocks. The yellowish-brown bruises on the puffy side of her face made it look like a moldy cheese wheel. Her mouth seemed like a smear of faded red paint beneath the sunken hollows of her eyes.
Death oan a pirn stick, her grandmother would have said.
A shadow stretched over her reflection like the wings of some fallen angel. “If you keep walking in that splint you may shatter that ankle, Healer.”
Before she could stop herself, Emeline turned to face the shaman’s broad chest. Well over two meters tall, and as wide as two caber tossers, Ruadri completely dwarfed her. She wondered if she simply talked to that wall of muscle that this time she might maintain her composure. But no, she couldn’t see the shaman and not look up into his striking face, or his enigmatic gray eyes, the color of moon shadows. Silver spilled from his temples into his hair in two wide swaths, chasing the blue-violet glints that dawn had painted on some of the black strands.
Handsome men made Emeline nervous. Ruadri stunned and terrified her.
“I’m no’ cold. My ankle’s mending. I’ve told you I’ll look after myself.” She realized her voice had risen almost to a shout, and quickly dragged in a steadying breath. “I’ve been through an ordeal, Shaman. All I wish is to be left alone.”
“I cannae do that,” Ruadri said. “Ever.”
• • • • •
Buy Ruadri (Immortal Highlander, Clan Skaraven Book 3)
DO ME A FAVOR?
You can make a big difference.
Reviews are the most powerful tools I have when it comes to getting attention for my books. Much as I’d like it, I don’t have the financial muscle of a New York publisher. I can’t take out full page ads in the newspaper—not yet, anyway.
But I do have something much more powerful. It’s something that those publishers would kill for: a committed and loyal group of readers.
Honest reviews of my books help bring them to the attention of other readers. If you’ve enjoyed this book I would so appreciate it if you could spend a few minutes leaving a review—any length you like.
Thank you so much!
MORE BOOKS BY HH
For a complete, up-to-date book list, visit HazelHunter.com/books.
Get notifications of new releases and special promotions by joining my newsletter!
Glossary
Here are some brief definitions to help you navigate the medieval world of the Immortal Highlanders.
acolyte - novice druid in training
Am Monadh Ruadh - the original Scots Gaelic name for the Cairngorm mountains, which translates to English as “the red hills”
apoplexy, apoplectic - medieval terms for “stroke” and “suffering from a stroke”
arse - British slang for “ass”
aye - yes
bairn - child
bastart - bastard
baws - balls, testicles
beastly - British slang for something horrible or arduous
Beinn Nibheis – old Scots Gaelic for Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland
besotted - British slang for strongly infatuated
blaeberry - European fruit that resembles the American blueberry
bleeding - British obscenity, roughly equivalent to “damned” but much more offensive in the UK
bloke - British slang for a male
blethering - chatting
bleezin’ -drunk
blind - cover device
blood kin - genetic relatives
bloody - British obscenity, see bleeding
boon - gift or favor
boyo - British slang for a boy or man
Bràithrean an fhithich - Brethren of the raven
braw - Scottish slang for “outstanding”
brieve - a writ
brilliant - British slang for excellent or marvelous
buckler - shield
bugger - British slang for a contemptible person
cac - Scots gaelic for “shit”
caibeal - Scots Gaelic for “chapel”
cairn - a pile or stack of stones
Caledonia - ancient Scotland
cannae - can't
caraidean - Scots Gaelic for “friends”
chap - British slang for a male
cheeky - British slang for slightly disrespectful
Chieftain - the head of a specific Pritani tribe
chundering - British slang for throwing up
clodhoppers - British slang for work boots
clout - strike
cocked up - British slang for something done very badly
coddle - pamper
codswallop - British slang for “nonsense”
comely - attractive
conclave - druid ruling body
conclavist - member of the druid ruling body
cosh - British slang for “hit”
couldnae - couldn't
cow - derogatory term for woman
croft - small rented farm
cross - British slang for “angry”
cudgel - wooden club
daft - crazy
demi - French term for a half-size bottle of champagne; holds 375 ml
dinnae - don’t
disincarnate - commit suicide
doesnae - doesn’t
dru-wid - Proto Celtic word; an early form of “druid”
eagalsloc - synonym for “oubliette”; coined from Scots Gaelic for “fear” and “pit”; an inescapable hole or cell where prisoners are left to die
ducat - a gol
d European trade coin
ell - ancient unit of length measurement, equal to approximately 18 inches
epicure - a person who takes particular interest and/or pleasure in gourmet dining and drinking
fack - fuck
facking - fucking
famhair - Scots Gaelic for giant (plural, famhairean)
fathom - understand
feart - Scottish or Irish for afraid
firesteel - a piece of metal used with flint to create sparks for fire-making
fortlet - a little fort
fortnight - British slang for a two-week period of time
Francia - France
Francian - French
Gaul - ancient region that included France, Belgium, southern Netherlands, southwestern Germany, and northern Italy
Germania - Germany
goosed - Scottish slang for “smashed”
gormless - British slang for someone with an acute lack of common sense
granary - a storehouse for threshed grain
greyling - species of freshwater fish in the salmon family
hasnae - hasn’t
Hispania - Roman name for the Iberian peninsula (modern day Portugal and Spain)
incarnation - one of the many lifetimes of a druid
isnae - isn’t
jolly good - British slang for “excellent”
keeker - black eye
ken - know
kip - British slang for “nap”
knackered - British slang for exhausted
lad - boy
laird - lord
land of the white bear - the Arctic
larder - pantry
lass - girl
league - distance measure of approximately three miles
leannan - Scots Gaelic for “beloved”
lochan - a small lakelot - British slang for a group, usually made up of people
magic folk - druids
make a hash of it - British slang, to do something badly
manky - British slang for “disgusting”
mate (nickname) - British slang for “friend”
mayhap - maybe
mind-move - telekinesis
minging - stinky
mojo - American slang for “magic”
morion - a brown or black variety of quartz
mustnae - must not
naught - nothing
no’ - not
nod off - British slang for going to sleep
NOSAS - North of Scotland Archaeology Society
nutjob - American slang for a crazy or foolish person
nutter - British slang for a mentally-disturbed person
on about - British slang for “talking about”
on the mooch - Scottish slang for spying on someone á la a Peeping Tom
oubliette - a dungeon with an opening only at the top
ovate - Celtic priest or natural philosopher
pike - pole
plonker - British slang for “idiot”
prattling - to talk for a long time on inconsequential matters
Pritani - Britons (one of the people of southern Britain before or during Roman times)
quim - medieval slang for the female genitals
quisling - a traitor who collaborates with the enemy
reeks like an alky’s carpet - very smelly
ruddy - a British intensifier and euphemism for bloody
scarper - British slang for “run away”
schiltron - a medieval battle formation used to form a living barrier or wall of troops
scullery - a small back room off the kitchen where the dishes or laundry are washed
scunner - Scottish slang for an object or person that causes dislike and/or nausea
shag - British slang for sexual intercourse
shambles - British slang for an extensive or serious mess
shambolic - British slang for “chaotic”
shite - British slang for “shit”
shouldnae - shouldn't
side ladders - the slatted upper sides on the back of a medieval cart or wagon
skelp - strike, slap, or smack
slee - sly, cunning
sod (verb) - British slang for “screw”
sod all - British slang for “nothing”
solar - rooms in a medieval castle that served as the family's private living and sleeping quarters
solicitor - British term for lawyer
speak-seer - a druid who can communicate with the dead and channel their voices
spew - vomit
staunch weed - yarrow
stone (weight) - British weight measurement equal to 14 lbs.
Tha mi a ‘gealltainn - Scots Gaelic for “I promise”
’tis - it is
’tisnt - it isn’t
tor - large, freestanding rock outcrop
tree-knower - the Skaraven nickname for the druids of their time
thick with - closely involved, relating to “thick as thieves”
transom - a weight-bearing support crossbar
trencher - wooden platter for food
trews - trousers
’twas - it was
’twere - it was
’twill - it will
’twould - it would
uisge beatha - old Scots Gaelic for “whiskey”
undercroft - a room in a lower level of a castle used for storage
vole - small rodent related to the mouse
wanker - British slang for a useless person
wasnae - wasn’t
watchlight - a term for a grease-soaked rush stalk, used as a candle in medieval times
wazzock - British slang for “idiot”
wee - small
wench - girl or young woman
willnae - will not
wouldnae - would not
Yank - UK slang for “American”
Pronunciation Guide
A selection of the more challenging words in the Immortal Highlander, Clan Skaraven series.
Ailpin - ALE-pin
Althea Jarden - al-THEE-ah JAR-den
Am Monadh Ruadh - im monih ROOig
Aon - OOH-wen
apoplexy - APP-ah-plecks-ee
Aviemore - AH-vee-more
Beinn Nibheis - ben NIH-vis
Bhaltair Flen - BAHL-ter Flen
Black Cuillin - COO-lin
Bràithrean an fhithich - BRAH-ren ahn EE-och
Brennus Skaraven - BREN-ess skah-RAY-ven
Bridei - BREE-dye
caibeal - KYB-al
cac - kak
Caderyn - KAY-den
cairn - KAYRN
Cailean Lusk - KAH-len Luhsk
caraidean - KAH-rah-deen
Coig - COH-egg
Dha - GAH
Domnall - DON-uhl
eagalsloc - EHK-al-slakh
Emeline McAra - EM-mah-leen mac-CAR-ah
famhair - FAV-ihr
Ferath - FAIR-ahth
Galan - gal-AHN
Gwyn Embry - gah-WIN AHM-bree
Hendry Greum - HEN-dree GREE-um
Kanyth - CAN-ith
Kelturan - KEL-tran
Liath - LEE-ehth
Lily Stover - LILL-ee STOW-ver
lochan - LOHK-an
Maddock McAra - MAH-duck mac-CAR-ah
Manath - MAN-ahth
McFarlan - mick-FAR-len
Moray - MORE-ray
Murdina Stroud - mer-DEE-nah STROWD
Ochd - OHK
Oriana Embry - or-ree-ANN-ah AHM-bree
Perrin Thomas - PEAR-in TOM-us
Rowan Thomas - ROW-en TOM-us
Ruadri - roo-ah-DREE
schiltron - SKILL-trahn
Taran - ter-RAN
Tha mi a ‘gealltainn - HA mee a GYALL-ting
Tri - TREE
uisge beatha - OOSH-ka bah
Dedication
For Mr. H.
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Hunter
This is a work
of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
