Embrace the Highland Warrior

by Anita Clenney

“Shay, I have some bad news. There’s no good way to say it. Lucy is dead.”

  Shay’s mouth tightened, and her eyes teared up. “The bones?”

  “Aye. I’m sorry.”

  “How?”

  “She didn’t die in the fire. She was already dead.”

  “Was it Ellis?”

  “The police suspect him, but they may need to ask you some more questions.”

  “Everyone around me is dying. If we don’t stop this thing, everyone I care about will be gone.” She gripped his hand and linked their fingers.

  “I’ll fix it,” he said. “I promise.”

  ***

  “Coira wants to know how Jamie’s doing,” Cody said into the phone. Sam and Jamie had been gone only for a few hours, but Coira was like a mother hen with the warriors.

  “He’s good,” Sam said. She sounded breathless, making Cody wonder exactly what kind of good Sam meant.

  “She said to make sure he changes the bandage and gets plenty of rest.”

  “I will. We’re going to check out another lead I have on Anson Masters. Shouldn’t be so hard to find him with that streak of silver in his hair, but he seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.”

  “Silver streak?”

  “Yes. It’s quite startling, according to the guy at the police station. Why?”

  Cody cursed and smacked his fist against the wall. Anson Masters was Malek. “Don’t try to find him. Do you hear me? Don’t. He’s too dangerous.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know. Tell Jamie. Tell him that Anson is Malek.”

  “Who’s Malek?”

  “Jamie will know. Don’t touch Anson. Swear to me.” After she promised, Cody hung up, pissed that he hadn’t thought to get a description of Ellis’s boss. He thought his appearance with the letter providing evidence against Ellis had been a little too good to be true. Malek had posed as Renee’s client while his minion, Ellis, had posed as Shay’s, probably trying to discover her identity. Malek must have gotten the book from Bree’s ex-boyfriend, and Renee probably stumbled onto Malek’s plot and hid the book. Malek must have assumed Renee put the book in one of the tables and shipped it to Shay. How the vampires found out was a mystery, but it put Shay in the middle of a war between vampires and demons.

  Why hadn’t Michael assigned Malek to a warrior? Was he going to let the demon slaughter them all?

  ***

  “Ronan, are you all right?” Coira asked. “You hardly touched your dinner.” They were having an early meal so the warriors could start hunting. “You need your strength after giving so much blood.”

  “Yeah, you look rotten,” Bree agreed.

  He looked like a man tormented, Cody thought. Declan was pissed at Ronan for not telling him about Cam, and Ronan was eaten up with guilt for not warning the clan about the vampires two years ago, even though he hadn’t believed it himself until recently.

  “I’m fine.” Ronan glanced at Shay—he’d been doing a lot of that since the transfusion— frowned, and pushed his chair from the table.

  “Vampires, demons, both wanting our book. What a mess,” Sean said. He’d just returned from taking the warrior’s body home.

  “At least Shay is looking stronger. You’re the picture of health,” Coira said, patting Shay’s cheek as she put down a plate for her. Shay had surprised them all by joining them.

  “I actually feel wonderful,” Shay said, sipping her iced tea, “but I had the weirdest dream while I was unconscious.”

  “Tell us about it,” Bree said. “We could use some make-believe after this real nightmare we’ve been living in.”

  Shay looked almost nervous, first glancing at Bree, then at the others around the table, and finally Cody. “I’ve had similar dreams before. There was a man. He was tall, really tall, and beautiful. He was so bright, it hurt to look at him.” Everyone froze, staring at Shay. “He told me to destroy the demon.”

  A loud ding sounded as Cody’s fork chipped his plate. He saw Ronan’s knuckles go white on the door casing, his face pale. “What demon?” Cody whispered.

  Shay swallowed. “Malek.”

  Chapter 19

  “She can’t,” Cody raged. “She’s had no formal training.” They were in the library, where he insisted on talking to the warriors in private after Shay’s announcement, which created pandemonium. As if they didn’t have enough to worry about.

  “How can she fight an ancient demon?” Duncan asked.

  “For once, I agree, Duncan,” Sorcha said, looking a bit wan herself. Cody didn’t know if it was because of the prospect of battling an ancient demon or that she hadn’t recovered from Duncan’s kiss. “A woman who just learned she’s a warrior, going up against an ancient demon?”

  “Out of all of us experienced warriors, only two have been assigned an ancient demon,” Brodie said. “What’s Michael thinking?”

  “Watch it,” Duncan warned.

  The warriors didn’t always understand their orders, but they never questioned them. This was different. Shay would die. Was Michael going to sacrifice Shay to get rid of Malek? It made sense now why Malek had tried to kill Shay twenty-five years ago, but how had Malek known she was the one who was supposed to kill him?

  “While I agree with you all,” Faelan said, “if Michael assigned Malek to Shay, then it’s for a reason.”

  “What if it was Bree?” Cody asked. “Would you sit back and say ‘Michael knows best’ then? You told me when Bree was locked in a time vault, you considered having yourself locked in one so you could wake up when Bree did, and then you used your talisman to free her.”

  Faelan blew out a hard sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Sean pursed his lips. “It’s a dilemma. Sometimes these things don’t make sense on the surface.”

  “There’s only one thing to do,” Cody said. “I’ll kill him.”

  “You can’t,” Duncan said. “You’ll die too.”

  “What choice do I have? I won’t let Shay go up against him.” How could the archangel expect Shay to do it?

  “Even if you somehow manage to kill Malek, you’ll die. Where does that leave Shay?” Sorcha asked.

  “You can’t do it, Bro,” Lach added.

  “I’ll do it,” Marcas said, quietly.

  “No,” Cody said. “It has to be me.”

  “No one’s killing him today,” Sean said. “Let’s think it through.”

  “Excuse me,” Coira said from the doorway. Her face was flushed as if she’d been running. “Ronan just called. He’s tracked a bunch of vampires to Beauly Priory, and they have the Book of Battles.”

  ***

  Someone knocked on Shay’s door, interrupting her turmoil. The whole castle was in an uproar over her dream. She opened the door. Cody stood there, hands in his pockets.

  “How’d your meeting go?” she asked, her voice grating. She hadn’t been invited.

  “I’m sorry, Shay, but I needed to discuss some things with the warriors in private.”

  “Warriors? Michael seems to think I’m one. Stop protecting me, Cody. I’m a big girl, big enough to be assigned a demon of old.” The words swelled in her throat, choking her. Seeing the way he paled didn’t help, but she quickly got her emotions under control. “You’ve tried to protect me all my life. It’s time to let me go.”

  “Let you go?”

  “Let me live.”

  He pulled her close. “If you go up against Malek alone, you might not live. I can’t lose you. I lost you once before, and I won’t do it again. Do you hear me? I won’t lose you again.” His face was inches from hers, the flecks of gold in his eyes nearly covering the hazel. His mouth was tight, with frustration, not anger; she had known him long enough to know the difference.

  She touched his face, soothed the bunched muscle beside his full mouth, and stroked his jaw line, feeling the new growth of beard. “If you try to do what I think you’re planning, I’ll lose you.”

  Some emotion worked behi
nd his eyes. “We haven’t made any decisions yet. We’ll come up with something.”

  “We? You’re still doing it. I’m the one assigned to destroy Malek, but you’re trying to solve the problem without me.”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “You don’t know how to destroy him.” His chest rose and fell in a hard sigh. “Let’s not argue about it. I wanted to see you before I go.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Ronan tracked the vampires to Beauly Priory. He thinks they have our book with them. He’s waiting for us there.”

  “Do you have to go? Who’s guarding the castle?”

  “I have to help. Only a few of us are going. Most will stay here, and the warriors from Ireland have arrived to help. Still, I don’t want you to leave the castle. I’d prefer if you didn’t leave this room.” His eyes showed worry.

  She smoothed down his hair and ran her hands over his neck and shoulders, feeling the solid strength of muscle and bone. He was a warrior, but he was also human; he could bleed. And he could die. Her hand moved down his arm, and his hand turned over, linking with hers. Cody lowered his head.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said, his breath a whisper against her mouth.

  She buried her face in his neck, the side that had the mate mark, her mark, feeling his pulse beating there. “You’re the one going after vampires.” He held her tight. Too tight. “What’s wrong?”

  He leaned back, studying her face as if trying to memorize it. He kissed her, tender at first, then desperate.

  Faelan appeared in the hallway behind Cody. “Ready?”

  Cody pressed his lips to her hair for a long moment. “I have to go. I love you. I’ve loved you forever. Always know that.” With a look that made her knees weak, he turned and strode away.

  ***

  The warriors parked behind Beauly Priory, near the river, where they had less chance of being seen. The priory had been built in the thirteenth century by monks. There wasn’t much left of it, other than a few walls and the north transept, which had been restored and used as a mausoleum for the Mackenzies. If the vampire legends were accurate, and the vampires needed to avoid daylight, that was where they would be, since the roof of the priory had long since been gone. It was almost dusk; they wouldn’t sleep much longer. Only ten warriors were here. They agreed not to pull more from guarding the castle. It should be enough to catch the vampires off guard and get the book. The warriors entered the priory grounds, moving stealthily, weapons hidden. So far, they hadn’t met any other visitors.

  Cody slipped the dagger from his boot. Marcas and Lach were at his back, which gave some comfort, as did the others, whom he considered brothers.

  “P-s-s-s-t.” Ronan stood behind one of the old walls motioning to them. “They’re in the mausoleum,” he said, when they reached him.

  “How many?” Lach asked.

  “Nine, maybe more. They must be using the mausoleum to rest during the day. They’re stronger at night. I don’t know why they’re staying so close to the castle, but it can’t be good.”

  “Well, we’d better hurry before they wake up,” Brodie said, looking at the lengthening shadows. “We’re losing daylight.”

  “You sure they’re vampires?” Shane asked.

  Ronan nodded. “I saw that blond vampire. Nobody touches him. He’s mine.”

  Duncan pulled out his dagger, which made a soft ring when he extended it into a sword. “Guess we take their heads, like we did in Druan’s castle.”

  “Works every time,” Sorcha said, pulling her dagger from her boot.

  “If the legends are right and they’re sleeping, we can grab the book and lop off their heads before they wake,” Niall said.

  “Keep one,” Cody said. “We need to find out why they still want Shay.” Just speaking her name made him ache all the way to his bones.

  “I’ll keep the blond,” Ronan said. “He should have more knowledge. Quiet now. We don’t know how sharp their hearing is, and we don’t want the neighbors getting nosy.”

  “No battle cries, Brodie,” Sorcha said.

  “One friggin’ mistake,” Brodie said.

  “But outside the Sistine Chapel?” Sorcha said. “I thought that tourist would have a heart attack when you stabbed that old woman.”

  “She wasn’t an old woman any more than I am.”

  “Shut up, you two,” Ronan said. “Keep to the walls and stay out of sight. We don’t want an audience. Let’s go.” Ronan and Cody reached the door to the mausoleum first. Ronan put his ear to the door and shook his head, to show that he heard no sound. The warriors lined up, swords ready, and Ronan eased the door open. “Damn!”

  A hiss came from inside. Ronan rushed in with Cody right behind him. Several vampires had been lounging on the floor and the crypts, not a one of them asleep. They leapt up and rushed toward the door.

  Ronan took the head of the one closest, and the vampire fell to dust. Another rushed at him, slamming him against a wall. Cody picked off two trying to get out the door, clearing the path for the others to move inside. A short vampire leapt at him, teeth dangerously close to his neck. Niall batted the thing down, and Cody drove his sword through its heart. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Niall said, and turned to meet another one.

  The space was small, making for dangerous fighting. Cody attacked every vampire in his path, taking his anger and frustration out on them so he didn’t have to think about what he had to do.

  “Leave some for us,” Lach said, behind him.

  The vampires were strong, and quick, but not as fast as they were in the woods. They were, however, escaping.

  “The blond just got away,” Shane said. “He has the book.” He turned and cut off a female vampire’s head so fast Cody didn’t even see the blade swing.

  Ronan took off after the blond vampire, picking up the bow he had left by the door. Declan headed out after him. The vampires that were left spread out among the priory ruins. Dusk had settled, giving the warriors some cover but not enough if anyone was nearby. “Get them,” Cody said.

  “Keep the one who has the book alive,” Faelan called.

  Ronan had the blond vampire pinned to a tree with an arrow on either side of the heart. The vampire hissed, bearing broken fangs, his eyes burning with hatred. He tried to pull free, but the arrows were stuck deep.

  “I got it,” Ronan said, dodging the creature’s short fangs as he removed the satchel. “Here, I think the Mighty Faelan should hold the book until we can get it to Sean.”

  The vampire’s eyes widened. He stared at Faelan, and the blue in his eyes turned red.

  “He seems wary of you,” Ronan said.

  Faelan took the satchel, opened it, and looked inside. He closed the satchel again.

  “Aren’t you even going to look at it?” Brodie asked.

  “That’s for Sean to do,” Faelan said.

  “They’re all dead,” Marcas said. “What are we going to do with him?” He nodded toward the vampire.

  “Take him to the castle,” Ronan said.

  “Sure we want to do that?” Duncan asked.

  Cody tucked his dagger back inside his boot. “This is our chance to find out what these things are and what they want.” He had to save Shay.

  “Whatever we do, we need to do it fast, before someone sees him,” Marcas said. They bound the vampire with so much rope, his clothing couldn’t be seen.

  “He looks like a damn mummy,” Brodie said.

  “No one in sight except a few kids over by those houses,” Lach said. “They’re not paying attention.”

  They loaded the vampire into one of the Range Rovers. “I’ll meet you back at the castle,” Cody told them.

  “Where are you going?” Marcas asked, his eyes narrowed.

  “I’ve got something to do first.”

  ***

  Shay stood at the French doors, looking over the driveway. The night was beautiful. It should have been like a thousand others,
but it wasn’t. Both vampires and an ancient demon were after her for God knew what reason, the same demon who killed her parents and tried to kill her as a baby. Michael the Archangel had told her she was assigned to destroy the demon. Twenty-six-year-old Shay, versus a nine-hundred-year-old demon, and vampires, one who marked her for God knows what. Not a normal night.

  From what she overheard of the meeting, Cody wanted to take on Malek, but the others were trying to talk him out of it. Shay wouldn’t let him do it. A warrior couldn’t destroy a demon as powerful as Malek, unless the warrior was assigned; otherwise, he would die. She wouldn’t let Cody die. The whole thing seemed ridiculous. Cody, a seasoned warrior, revered by his clan, killer of an ancient demon, couldn’t touch Malek, but Shay, with no experience whatsoever, who never killed anything except Ellis and one vampire, was expected to take down a demon who was nearly a thousand years old. What was it about God working in mysterious ways? Maybe he was bored and wanted to stir things up.

  On the other hand, she wasn’t a complete weakling. She killed that vampire at the cabin, and Cody claimed she’d moved just as fast as the vampire had. Maybe she should have gone to Beauly Prior with the warriors. They were powerful, but their talismans didn’t work against vampires.

  She watched the dark shadows of the guards, pacing first one way, then another, bodies alert, watching. She glanced at her watch. Cody and the others had been gone for two hours. The warriors suddenly halted, and Shay heard vehicles coming down the driveway. She watched as two Range Rovers parked. The doors opened, and the warriors piled out. She searched for Cody, but he wasn’t there. Had he been injured?

  She ran downstairs and met Bree in the hallway. “They’re back,” Bree said. “And they’ve brought a vampire.”

  “Where’s Cody?” Shay asked.

  Bree frowned. “I don’t know. He didn’t come back with them.”

  “He’s okay?”

  “No one was hurt.”

  “Bree,” Faelan called, and Bree moved away.

  Shay held on to the wall for support, breath wheezing through her lungs as she remembered the look on Cody’s face, the desperation in his kiss, urging her to remember that he loved her.