Tharaen (Immortal Highlander Book 2): A Scottish Time Travel Romance

by Hazel Hunter

  Rachel had often wondered if she should tell her fiancé about her uncanny intuition. But David might think she was delusional, and over the last few weeks her sensitivity had been so muted she rarely even felt her own emotions. His father had to be happy about the marriage. If nothing else, Rachel was now one of the richest women in the country.

  It was all thanks to her dad, who had used the millions he inherited from his corporate CEO father to become the most successful start-up investor in modern history. From solar-powered smart phones to 3-D printed replacement heart valves, the ventures Sheldon Ingram bankrolled always proved wildly innovative as well as profitable in the extreme.

  “I’m not a genius,” Sheldon told a reporter once. “I invest in people. Guessing which ones are going to change the world is what I do best.”

  Her father had slowed down only long enough to romance and marry Beatrice, Rachel’s Italian heiress mother, who had brought old world money, blue blood, and ancient connections with European royalty as her dowry. He’d built this Mediterranean chateau for her when she’d gotten pregnant with Rachel, called it Avalon, and then set up his kingdom in the Covenant.

  Her father had always fancied himself a Merlin rather than a King Arthur. Since everything he touched turned to gold, Midas might have been more appropriate. Thanks to him, Rachel would never have to work, or worry, or do anything except what she wanted.

  But all she wanted was what she could never again have.

  Rachel would happily give every cent she’d inherited to hear once more the reassurance of her father’s deep voice, and the sweet trill of her mother’s easy laughter. They had given her so much love she’d never once considered how it would feel to be without it. She would beggar herself to bring them back to life. If only she’d skipped the weekend shopping trip to L.A. with David and his mother. She’d have been here when the fire started. She knew she would have woken up in time to get them out of the house—or not.

  I could have died with them.

  How long Rachel stood there wishing for what she could never have, she didn’t know. She only came out of her trance when her fingers began to cramp, and glanced down to see the white-knuckled grip she had on the balcony railing. Carefully she released it and turned around to face Avalon, now fully cleaned and restored. The only signs of the electrical fire that had consumed the master suite and burned her parents to death was scorched earth around the newly-built wing. In another week the landscaping company would finish putting in the new sod, and even that would be gone.

  Like her parents, cremated in their own bed.

  “Darling?”

  From inside the sunroom David Carver emerged, his elegant hands holding two slender goblets of champagne. From his razor-cut short blond hair to his spotless white shirt and shorts he looked immaculate, but then he always did. Rachel knew he had spent the morning playing tennis at one of his mother’s charity fundraisers, and yet he still appeared pressed and polished, as if he’d just gotten dressed.

  Rachel admired his perfection—who didn’t?—but something about his appearance this morning bothered her. He seemed almost too spotless. Did her fiancé even have the ability to sweat?

  • • • • •

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  Glossary

  Here are some brief definitions to help you navigate the medieval world of the Immortal Highlanders.

  Abyssinia - ancient Ethiopia

  acolyte - novice druid in training

  addled - confused

  advenae - Roman citizen born of freed slave parents

  afterlife - what happens after death

  animus attentus - Latin for "listen closely"

  apotheoses - highest points in the development of something

  Aquilifer - standard bearer in a Roman legion

  arse - ass

  auld - old

  Ave - Latin for "Hail"

  aye - yes

  bairn - child

  banger - explosion

  banshee in a bannock - making a mountain out of a molehill

  barrow - wheelbarrow

  bastart - bastard

  bat - wooden paddle used to beat fabrics while laundering

  battering ram - siege device used to force open barricaded entries and other fortifications

  battle madness - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

  bawbag - scrotum

  Belgia - Belgium

  birlinn - medieval wooden boat propelled by sails and oars

  blaeberry - European fruit that resembles the American blueberry

  blind - cover device

  blood kin - genetic relatives

  bonny - beautiful

  boon - gift or favor

  brambles - blackberry bushes

  bran'y - brandy

  Brank's bridle mask - iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head

  Britannia - Latin for “Britain”

  brownie - Scottish mythical benevolent spirit that aids in household tasks but does not wish to be seen

  buckler - shield

  Caledonia - ancient Scotland

  caligae - type of hobnailed boots worn by the Roman legion

  cannae - can't

  cannel - cinnamon

  canny - shrewd, sharp

  catch-fire - secret and highly combustible Pritani compound that can only be extinguished by sand

  Centurio - Latin for “Centurions”

  century - Roman legion unit of 100 men

  chatelaine - woman in charge of a large house

  Chieftain - second highest-ranking position within the clan; the head of a specific Pritani tribe

  choil - unsharpened section of a knife just in front of the guard

  Choosing Day - Pritani manhood ritual during which adolescent boys are tattooed and offer themselves to empowering spirits

  chow - food

  cistern - underground reservoir for storing rain water

  claymore - two-edged broadsword

  clout - strike

  cohort - Roman legion tactical military unit of approximately 500 men

  cold pantry - underground cache or room for the storage of foods to be kept cool

  comely - attractive

  conclave - druid ruling body

  conclavist - member of the druid ruling body

  contubernium - squad of eight men; the smallest Roman legion formation

  COP - Command Observation Post

  cosh - to bash or strike

  couldnae - couldn't

  counter - in the game of draughts, a checker

  courses - menstrual cycle

  cow - derogatory term for woman

  Coz - cousin

  croft - small rented farm

  cudgel - wooden club

  da - dad

  daft - crazy

  dappled - animal with darker spots on its coat

  defendi altus - Latin for “defend high"

  detail - military group assignment

  dinnae - don’t

  disincarnate - commit suicide

  diviner - someone who uses magic or extra sens
ory perception to locate things

  doesnae - doesn’t

  dories - small boats used for ship to shore transport

  draughts - board game known as checkers in America

  drawers - underpants

  drivel - nonsense

  drover - a person who moves herd animals over long distances

  dung - feces

  EDC - Every Day Carry, a type of knife

  excavators - tunnel-diggers

  fack - fuck

  facking - fucking

  faodail - lucky find

  fash - feel upset or worried

  fathom - understand

  fere spectare - Latin for “about face"

  ferret out - learn

  festers - becomes infected

  fetters - restraints

  fibula - Roman brooch or pin for fastening clothes

  filching - stealing

  fisher - boat

  fishmonger - person who sells fish for food

  floor-duster - Pritani slang for druid

  foam-mouth - rabies

  Francia - France

  Francian - French

  free traders - smugglers

  frenzy - mindless, savagely aggressive, mass-attack behavior caused by starving undead smelling fresh blood

  fripperies - showy or unnecessary ornament

  Germania - Germany

  god-ridden - possessed

  Great Design - secret druid master plan

  greyling - species of freshwater fish in the salmon family

  gut rot - cancer of the bowel

  hasnae - hasn’t

  heid doon arse up - battle command: head down, ass up

  Hetlandensis - oldest version of the modern name Shetland

  Hispania - Roman name for the Iberian peninsula (modern day Portugal and Spain)

  hold - below decks, the interior of a ship

  holk - type of medieval ship used on rivers and close to coastlines as a barge

  hoor - whore

  huddy - stupid, idiotic

  impetus - Latin for “attack"

  incarnation - one of the many lifetimes of a druid

  isnae - isn’t

  jeeked - extremely tired

  Joe - GI Joe shortened, slang for American soldier

  jotunn - Norse mythic giantess

  justness - justice

  kelpie - water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning of travelers

  ken - know

  kirtle - one piece garment worn over a smock

  kuks - testicles

  lad - boy

  laird - lord

  lapstrake - method of boat building where the hull planks overlap

  larder - pantry

  lass - girl

  league - distance measure of approximately three miles

  Legio nota Hispania - Latin name for The Ninth Legion

  loggia - open-side room or house extension that is partially exposed to the outdoors

  magic folk - druids

  mam - mom

  mannish - having characteristics of a man

  mantle - loose, cape-like cloak worn over garments

  mayhap - maybe

  milady - my lady

  milord - my lord

  missive - message

  mormaer - regional or provincial ruler, second only to the Scottish king

  motte - steep-sided man-made mound of soil on which a castle was built

  mustnae - must not

  naught - nothing

  no’ - not

  Norrvegr - ancient Norway

  Noto - Latin for "Attention"

  Optia - rank created for female Roman Legion recruit Fenella Ivar

  Optio - second in command of a Roman legion century

  orachs - slang term for chanterelle mushrooms

  orcharders - slang for orchard farmers

  ovate - Celtic priest or natural philosopher

  palfrey - docile horse

  paludamentum - cloak or cape worn fastened at one shoulder by Romans military commanders

  parati - Latin for “ready"

  parched - thirsty, dry

  parlay - bargain

  penchants - strong habits or preferences

  perry - fermented pear juice

  Pict - member of an ancient people inhabiting northern Scotland in Roman times

  pillion - seated behind a rider

  pipes - bagpipes

  pisspot - chamber pot, toilet

  plumbed - explored the depth of

  poppet - doll

  poppy juice - opium

  pottage - a thick, stew-like soup of meat and vegetables

  pox-ridden - infected with syphilis

  praefectus - Latin for “prefect”

  Prefect - senior magistrate or governor in the ancient Roman world

  Pritani - Britons (one of the people of southern Britain before or during Roman times)

  privy - toilet

  quim - woman's genitals

  quoits - medieval game like modern ring toss

  repulsus - Latin for “drive back"

  rescue bird - search and rescue helicopter

  roan - animal with mixed white and pigmented hairs

  roo - to pluck loose wool from a sheep

  rumble - fight

  Sassenachs - Scottish term for English people

  scunner - source of irritation or strong dislike

  sea stack - column of eroded cliff or shore rock standing in the sea

  Seid - Norse magic ritual

  selkie - mythical creature that resembles a seal in the water but assumes human form on land

  semat - undershirt

  seneschal - steward or major-domo of a medieval great house

  shouldnae - shouldn't

  shroud - cloth used to wrap a corpse before burial

  skelp - strike, slap, or smack

  skin work - tattoos

  smalls - men's underwear

  SoCal - slang for southern California

  solar - rooms in a medieval castle that served as the family's private living and sleeping quarters

  spellfire - magically-created flame

  spellmark - visible trace left behind by the use of magic

  spew - vomit

  spindle - wooden rod used in spinning

  squared - made right

  stad - Scots Gaelic for “halt"

  staunch weed - yarrow

  stupit - stupid

  Svitiod - ancient Sweden

  swain - young lover or suitor

  swived - have sexual intercourse with

  taobh - Scots Gaelic for "Flank"

  tempest - storm

  tester - canopy over a bed

  the pox - smallpox

  thickhead - dense person

  thimblerig - shell game

  thrawn - stubborn

  ’tis - it is

  ’tisnt - it isn’t

  toadies - lackeys

  tonsure - shaved crown of the head

  TP - toilet paper

  traills - slaves

  trencher - wooden platter for food

  trews - trousers

  trials - troubles

  Tribune - Roman legionary officer

  tuffet - low seat or footstool

  ’twas - it was

  ’twere - it was

  ’twill - it will

  ’twould - it would

  Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth

  wand-waver - Pritani slang for druid

  warband - group of warriors sent together on a specific mission

  wasnae - wasn’t

  wee - small

  wench - girl or young woman

  wenching - womanizing or chasing women for the purposes of seduction

  white plague - tuberculosis

  whoreson - insult; the son of a prostitute

  widdershins - in a direction contrary to the sun's course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.

  w
illnae - will not

  woad - plant with leaves that produce blue dye

  wouldnae - would not

  ye - you

  yer - your

  Dedication

  For Mr. H.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2017 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.

  Making Magic

  Welcome to Making Magic, a little section at the end of the book where I can give readers a glimpse at what I do. It’s not edited and my launch team doesn’t read it because it’s kind of a last minute thing. Therefore typos will surely follow. Be careful where you step.

  I think I write about Scotland because of the weather.

  I’ve lived in California all my life. Sure, there are some rainy and cool spots in northern part of the state. But here in SoCal, it’s pretty sunny and not often chilly. But in my writer’s head, a cool, rainy day is the perfect time for reading and for writing. On the rare occasion that it does rain here, I’ll actually just watch it for a while before I write. It provides a kind of white noise that’s both soothing and keeps distractions at bay. It’s perfect!

  Of course I don’t have to drive in it much, since I no longer have an epic commute. You’d think from all the accidents that happen on a rain day here that we Angelenos don’t know how to drive in the rain (which may be true in my case!). But the reality is that oil from our millions of cars builds up on the roadways. When the first rain finally hits, it’s slicker than owl snot.