Highland Spirit: Highland Chronicles Series - Book 2

by Rose, Elizabeth

  Highland Spirit

  Highland Chronicles Series - Book 2

  Elizabeth Rose

  ROSESCRIBE MEDIA INC.

  Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Rose Krejcik

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual organizations or persons living or deceased is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the author’s written permission.

  RoseScribe Media Inc.

  Cover created by Elizabeth Rose Krejcik

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  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

  From the Author

  About Elizabeth

  Also by Elizabeth Rose

  Author’s Note

  Since my stories span the generations, I am listing a quick family tree for the entire series so you can use it as a reference guide when reading the books. To find a more in-depth family tree, including brothers and sisters of my heroes, please visit my website.

  Cast of Characters – Family Tree:

  (Highland Spirit features the hero, Ethan MacKeefe, and the heroine, Alana Chisholm)

  Hawke MacKeefe: Book 1

  Callum MacKeefe (Hawke’s great-grandfather)

  Ian MacKeefe (Callum’s son and Hawke’s grandfather – MacKeefe Clan Chieftain)

  Lady Clarista (Ian’s English wife and Hawke’s grandmother)

  Storm MacKeefe (Ian’s son and Hawke’s father – also MacKeefe Clan Chieftain)

  Lady Wren (Storm’s English wife, and Hawke’s mother)

  Hawke MacKeefe (Storm and Wren’s son)

  Ethan MacKeefe: Book 2

  Onyx MacKeefe (One of the Madmen MacKeefe and Ethan’s father)

  Lady Lovelle (Ethan’s stepmother)

  Janneth Chisholm (Ethan’s mother)

  Ethan (Janneth and Onyx’s illegitimate son)

  Caleb MacKeefe: Book 3

  Ian MacKeefe (One of the Madmen MacKeefe and Caleb’s father – not to be confused with Hawke’s grandfather, MacKeefe Clan Chieftain, also named Ian)

  Kyla (Caleb’s mother and also Aidan MacKeefe’s sister)

  Caleb (Ian and Kyla’s son)

  Logan MacKeefe: Book 4

  Aidan MacKeefe (One of the Madmen MacKeefe and Logan’s father)

  Effie MacDuff (Logan’s mother)

  Logan (Aidan and Effie’s son)

  Prologue

  “Yer uncle is dead, yer mathair has been abducted, and yer faither is bein’ hunted by his own clan.”

  Alana Chisholm froze, not able to believe the message that her father’s friend, Albert, just whispered in her ear. In a few minutes’ time she’d be marrying her childhood sweetheart, Ethan MacKeefe, and this news was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She’d been waiting for her family to arrive for the wedding but never expected this.

  “Nay, say it isna so, Albert,” she whispered back to the man, glancing over her shoulder at the members of the MacKeefe Clan who were not privy to her father’s immoral habits. The MacKeefes were already celebrating although she and Ethan had yet to say their vows. The entire camp had been busy all morning preparing food for the celebration, getting ready to welcome Alana into their clan as Ethan’s wife.

  Ethan waited near the archway of flowers, jesting with his good friends, Hawke, Logan, and Caleb. He looked so handsome in his saffron leine and purple and green plaid that were the colors of the MacKeefe Clan. The priest conversed with Storm MacKeefe, the laird of the clan. Old Callum MacKeefe was already passing out the Mountain Magic – his potent brew of whisky. Everyone was here except for Alana’s parents.

  The MacKeefes stalled while they waited for her family. Today, she was supposed to become wife to the man she loved. This wedding was crucial since Alana had a secret that she’d not shared with anyone – not even Ethan. “Please dinna tell me this now, Albert. I’m about to get married!”

  If this message was coming to her now, it could only mean one thing. Her family truly needed her. And she had to try to help them. Her body became numb at the news of her uncle’s death. Fear coursed through her to learn that her mother had been abducted. This all had to do with her father’s little problem of getting mixed up in things that were less than admirable, she was sure of it. If it wasn’t his gambling, it was his drinking or fighting, or something else that always landed him in trouble. If it weren’t for Alana usually being able to smooth things over for him, her father would probably be dead by now. Alana had a knack for making things right. Give her a bad situation and she was usually able to turn it around and find the good in it. But today, she had the feeling this would not be the case.

  Alana’s world came crashing down around her and she felt helpless to stop it this time. Laying her hand on her belly she tried her best to still the turmoil and anticipation welling within her. However, it did naught to calm her. She suddenly felt frozen in fear to think that she might not get to marry Ethan after all. She’d waited too long and she didn’t want anything to stop this wedding from happening.

  “We’ve got to go, Alana,” Albert told her with urgency in his voice. “Yer faither is waitin’ for us at the shore. He’s got a friend with a boat. Kirstine and Finn are already in the cart ready to go.”

  She noticed her younger sister and brother who had been here helping her prepare for her wedding now sitting in a wagon hidden behind some brush. The horse pulling the wagon neighed and snorted as if it were irritated as well. Albert knew all her father’s bad vices but was still his friend. So were a few others of the clan that her father trusted. These men now waited on horseback next to the wagon, ready to take her away.

  “B-but, surely this can wait. Please,” she begged him. Her heart about beat from her chest and she felt like she was going to swoon. Turning back to see the MacKeefes across camp laughing and talking, her eyes settled on Ethan’s tall, dark, and handsome form. She’d waited so long for this day. She was already eight and ten years of age and still not married like most of the rest of the girls in her clan. She’d known Ethan her entire life and only had eyes for him. They belonged together. “Today is my weddin’ day, Albert!” she said, her bottom lip trembling. Her knees quaked as anxiety grew within her.

  Alana couldn’t deny a request from her father. He counted on her more than anyone, ever since her mother threatened to leave him because of his ill-conceived ways. Alana had to be there for him. She couldn’t let him down. But neither could she walk away before she’d married Ethan. They’d planned a future together and she would not be the one to take that away from him.

  “I canna go,” she cried.

  “Ye must! Now, let’s move quickly. Yer faither awaits us at the docks with a ship ready to sail to Ireland.”

  “Ireland?” she asked, just as surprised to hear this as the rest of the news. “But our home is in Scotland.”

  “No’ anymore, it isna, lassie,” the man told her with a frown. “I’m afraid yer faither is considered a fugitive now. He’s done some very bad things. He’s a wanted man b
y more than one clan. A group of those he’s wronged are headed this way to find him as we speak. Anyone related or tied to him in any way is in danger. Ye must come with us for yer own safety and ye canna tell a soul. It is yer faither’s orders.”

  “Nay! I’ll be safe here with the MacKeefes,” she told him. “Ethan will protect me once I’m his wife.”

  “I’m afraid that might no’ be true,” he said sadly. “Ye see, while the MacKeefes were preparin’ for yer weddin’, yer faither has stolen their livestock from the hills and tried to sell it to the MacDougals. However, the MacDougals were no’ so easily fooled. All hell is about to break loose. Once the MacKeefes find out what happened, they’ll want yer faither’s head like everyone else.” Albert took her by the arm and pulled her along with him. The bouquet of flowers she’d been holding dropped to the ground. Hurrying along, she almost tripped on her long skirt as they made their way over the rocky ground to the wagon.

  “Wait,” she said, breaking free of the man’s hold. “I need to say somethin’ to Ethan before I go. I need to let him ken I still want to marry him. I have to tell him when I’ll be back. When will we return?”

  “Lass, Ethan will no’ want ye after this. And I’m no’ sure we’ll ever be back,” said Albert shaking his head.

  “Never?” she asked in astonishment. “Well, then I’m no’ goin’ with ye! I’m sure Ethan will understand I had nothin’ to do with this.” Once again, she laid her hand on her belly, rubbing it in small circles, lost in thought. “My place is here with Ethan.”

  “Ye’re wrong! Yer family needs ye now more than ever, Alana. Do no’ leave them at a time like this. It is important that yer family stays together no matter what happens. Ye have always been the one to keep them together, so dinna desert them in their time of need. Ye need to help find a way to free yer mathair.”

  “What can I possibly do?” she asked, not wanting to leave Ethan but also not wanting to abandon her family, especially her mother, at a time like this. To think someone might be hurting her mother or treating her like a prisoner made Alana very angry, indeed. The weight of the world was on her shoulders now. Her family depended on her for her strength. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. No matter what choice she made, she would lose someone she loved before this day was over.

  “Alana, hurry!” called out Kirstine, her sixteen-year-old sister from the cart. She clutched their eight-year-old brother, Finn to her chest in a protective manner. “There are men approachin’ on horseback and they look angry.”

  “Losh me! It’s the MacDougals,” said Albert, looking up over Alana’s head. “They got here faster than I thought. We need to leave at once!” He turned to go but stopped and looked back at Alana when he realized she didn’t follow. “What is yer decision, lass? What shall I tell yer faither? He canna do this without yer help. Ye ken he is a weak-willed man and always looks to ye as his savior.”

  Alana had to make a choice quickly. But whatever she decided, she was sure she would someday regret it in the end.

  With her mother’s life at stake and her father running for his life, there was nothing else Alana could do. She had to protect her siblings and help her family. Maybe together they could figure out a way to free her mother and clear her father’s name. But to do that she’d need a miracle. If all that Albert told her was true, and if she stayed behind, it could possibly mean she’d never see her family again.

  “I will come with ye,” said Alana softly, her heart already breaking by her choice. “Guidbye, Ethan,” she whispered, looking back at him with tears in her eyes as she headed for the wagon. A group of angry Scots rode into the MacKeefe camp shouting and chaos broke out. Holding her hand over her belly, there was only one thing that would comfort her now. Even though she had to leave the man she loved, a part of him would stay with her forever because she was pregnant with Ethan MacKeefe’s baby.

  They made it to the shore quickly, racing to the small trade ship preparing to leave. They’d all climbed aboard but what Alana saw made the blood freeze in her veins.

  “Papa? she asked, seeing her father bound and gagged, tied to the center pole. Her mother lay in a heap at his feet. “Mathair,” screamed Alana, running and dropping to her knees, leaning over the woman and screaming to see her bruised and bleeding body. “Why did they do this to ye?” she cried, not understanding any of this at all.

  “Alana,” her mother whispered, pushing up to her knees. Alana put her arm around the woman and leaned over to hear her soft voice. It seemed to take most of her mother’s strength just to speak. “Yer uncle died to protect the secret. So will I, if need be.”

  “What?” asked Alana, thinking she’d heard her mother wrong, bending closer to her so she wouldn’t miss a word. “Forgive yer faither, and protect yer siblin’s when I’m gone.”

  “Blethers, Mathair, what do ye mean? What is goin’ on?”

  “Welcome to hell, lassie,” came a low voice and chuckle, causing her to turn her head. A dark-haired man about twenty years her senior walked down the pier and boarded the boat. He was followed by a few other men. “Set sail, quickly,” he told his crew before turning back to Alana. “My name is Diarmad and ye are all now my prisoners.”

  Alana’s heart sank as the ship set out to sea with them on it.

  “Who are ye and why are ye doin’ this?” she screamed at the man, cradling her mother’s head on her lap. She heard Kirstine and Finn crying behind her.

  “Yer faither trusted the wrong man, and then he crossed me. But now that I’ve got ye all together, one of ye can tell me where to find the treasure. If no’, ye’ll all end up dead like yer uncle, or beaten like yer mathair.”

  Alana recognized Diarmad now. He was a man her father brought to live with the clan recently. She always felt he was no good and now this proved it. Diarmad’s men surrounded them, providing no means of escape.

  “I dinna ken about any treasure,” she told him.

  “Alana, if ye ken where yer uncle hid the Templar treasure, tell them,” her father urged her in his slurred speech. He was either soused again, or possibly near dead.

  “Nay! Never tell them,” said her mother, Gavina. She held on to the bulkhead of the ship and got to her feet, looking as if she barely had the strength to stand. “Alana, we must keep it safe.”

  “But Mathair, I dinna ken where any treasure is hidden.” She snuck a glance at Diarmad from the corners of her eyes. She’d known her mother and her Uncle Freddie used to whisper about keeping a treasure safe until someone came to get it. But she never understood what it was all about.

  “I’m dyin’, Alana. Come give me a hug and a kiss guidbye.” Her mother held one hand under her cloak and reached out to Alana with the other.

  “Nay! Dinna die, Mathair. I need ye.” Tears dripped down her cheeks and she moved closer to her. “Mathair, I am pregnant with Ethan MacKeefe’s baby.”

  “What?” growled her father. “How could ye do such a fool thing?”

  “I’m happy for ye,” said her mother, reaching out and taking Alana’s hand in hers. “Ethan MacKeefe is a guid man. He can help ye . . . find the answers.”

  “Enough!” commanded Diarmad, moving toward them as the ship got farther from the shore. “Now someone better tell me where that treasure is, because I’m no’ releasin’ any of ye until I get what I want.”

  “I am the only one who kens where it is,” said her mother. “My husband and children ken naught about it.”

  Alana kissed and hugged her mother, and when she did, her mother slipped something into her hand and whispered in her ear. “It is all up to ye now, Daughter. Never give up. Find the madman. He will help ye.”

  Alana looked down to see a small metal key in her hand with a Templar cross engraved in the middle. She quickly hid it from Diarmad, dropping it into her pocket. She was about to ask her mother what she meant, when her mother pulled a hidden dagger out of her cloak. She pushed Alana aside and lunged at Diarmad.

  “Nay!” crie
d Alana as she stumbled and fell to the ground. She watched in horror as her mother tried to kill the evil man. But a guard jumped in front of him with his sword drawn and stabbed her mother right through the heart.

  “Mathair!” screamed Alana, frozen in fear. Her mother’s hand opened and the dagger hit the wooden deck. Then her knees buckled beneath her and she fell to the ground at Diarmad’s feet. “Nay!” shouted Alana, getting up and trying to run to her, but another man held her back. Kirstine and Finn held each other, watching in horror and crying.

  “She’s dead,” announced the guard, pulling his sword out of her mother’s chest. “I saved yer life, Diarmad,” he said proudly.

  “Ye fool!” shouted Diarmad. “She was our last hope of ever findin’ that treasure. I didna want her dead! Ye’ll pay for this.” In anger, Diarmad drew his sword and killed the guard. The man’s body crumpled in a heap, falling atop her mother.

  “Get them out of here,” commanded Diarmad as it started to rain. He sheathed his sword and walked over to Alana. Alana struggled against the man who held her.

  “Yer mathair said somethin’ to ye about the treasure, didna she?” he asked. “Tell me. Where is it?”

  “I wouldna tell ye even if I kent!” she spat.

  He reached out and slapped her across the face. Alana had been numb because of what she’d just witnessed, but the pain made her feel the anger welling within her, making her feel alive again.