Highland Darkness

by Lilian Jade

  “Kevan, come now!” Angus bellowed. Kevan came barging through the door, along with Duncan, Occam, and Hunter. Each one of them gasped at seeing the women, and Angus froze at the sight of all his brothers looking at the half-dead, arrow-ridden, naked woman. Angus roared, “Get out!” Looking flustered and confused, the men all turned as one and left the room. Duncan closed the door behind them. Angus sighed. He should have been a little more clued on. Grabbing the woman’s shredded clothing, he covered what needed covering.

  “Kevan!” Angus yelled again. Slowly, his brother again came through the door, looking quite timid. “Go down to her car, pop the boot and look around. Find anything of use to this woman and bring it back here. Quickly, go!”

  Five minutes later, Kevan stormed into the room. He halted and turned on his heel, standing so that his back was to Angus. Angus had to smile. “Och, not to mind, she is covered for the most part. You may turn.” Angus had her breasts and her sex covered with strips of ripped clothing.

  He was surprised to see what Kevan had brought back with him. There was a black suitcase, a silver handbag, and a small jewelry box much like his own, covered in the gold script that hung in the entryway of their home. Angus didn’t know how any of the items his brother held was going to be of much help.

  “Ah, Angus, she’s coming to.”

  Angus lowered his gaze to the woman. Her eyes were open—eyes of silver diamonds with a slight, milky-pearl color swirling in the depths of her irises. She lifted a hand, pushing it into the wound at her thigh. Blood welled up over her fingertips. She then pointed to the suitcase with a shaky finger.

  Angus reached over to Kevan and took the case from his grasp. He noticed that a gold panel popped up covered in intricate Scottish designs, something altogether otherworldly that he couldn’t quite make out.

  Not knowing what else to do, Angus looked toward Kevan, whose expression was as bewildered as his own. Angus held out the case and put it within reaching distance of the woman without a clue as to what might happen if he allowed her access to it. Both he and Kevan watched, awestruck by what was unfolding right before their eyes.

  Her blood started to drip on the gold panel. Slowly, the blood flowed through the engraved, rose-like patterns. All of a sudden, everything went so bright that Angus was blinded. He couldn’t be sure, but for a moment he thought he glimpsed a gold-plated book. Then just as quickly, the light was gone and the arrows were falling to the floor. The woman was unconscious once again. Angus was dumbfounded. He could think of nothing to say as he and Kevan stood looking at each other, mouths agape.

  Lilith awoke sometime just after six in the evening. The sun was still out, but disappearing fast beneath the hills. Lilith gasped as she sat up in a very large, soft bed. She was wrapped snugly in a black and silver silk comforter. The bed frame was so large it looked as though it were made for royalty with its four wooden posts¸ each one intricately designed with Celtic patterns. There was a canopy of blood-red silks over her head, making her feel enclosed in luxurious comfort.

  A fire glowed in the middle of the room. Two Victorian-style cane chairs with black silk cushions sat in front of the fireplace, each with a soft, velvety throw over the back.

  A large desk was situated on the far right side of the room, its back facing large French double doors that opened up to a gorgeous patio. Black wooly rugs adorned the floor.

  Lilith was alone in the room. Pulling the blankets aside, she realized that she was completely naked. Where had all her clothing gone, and how the hell had she acquired all these wounds? Slowly it all came back to her. She had been hit by some hunter … had she been kidnapped? “Oh my God,” she spoke. “Damn it, don’t panic, Lilly. Think.” She attempted to mentally coach herself through what was becoming a horrible anxiety attack.

  “Okay. I made it to the car. I drove … then I drove some more … then what? Shit, the house! No, not house, castle. A castle with people.” And that was it. Everything else from that moment on was totally blank.

  Lilith knew she had to find a way out. But where was her things? She needed clothing first of all. Looking around, Lilith found a chest with metal engravings. The bedroom looked to be fitting of a male, considering the lack of feminine décor.

  Lilith found she was right when she saw that the chest was filled with men’s clothing. Nothing within the chest would fit her, so Lilith made do with a very large, woolly turtleneck, the sleeves of which she had to fold back four times just so her hands could pop through. The woolly jumper came to her mid-thigh, covering everything Lilith felt was necessary to cover; after years of playing football and hanging with boys, she wasn’t very modest or ladylike. A body was a body no matter what the sex. You either accept what you have or you live your life hiding what you were born with. So Lilith went by the “Live it loud, live it proud!” philosophy.

  She checked the room further for any sign of her belongings but found none. So she decided to try the door, extremely relieved to find that it was unlocked. Lilith stepped quietly into a well-lit hall. She dropped to the ground as low as she could, fearful of being seen. By her quick scan of the hall, it looked as if she was on the top floor. Sticking low to the ground, Lilith crawled her way to the first flight of stairs and started to make her way down. She stopped every few steps to listen for any other sounds of life. Heart beating in overdrive, pulse throbbing like a galloping stallion, Lilith knew it would be nearly impossible to hear any other noises.

  Angus sat in the main hall with his brothers and sisters-in-law, nervous as hell. The reporter was in the house, and to top it all off, he had a fucking fae woman upstairs in his bed.

  She was giving off vibes of a human female, but that little trick she pulled up there in his room reeked of fae. Angus wouldn’t have known any better, except now two crazy, suicidal fae were outside their home trying to get in. They threw fireball after fireball of some kind of arcane energy that kept blasting at his invisible barriers.

  Angus knew that he had wards around his home for protection against demons and crazy, possessed humans, along with a few other creatures. He hadn’t known whether or not they were protected from the fae … Devlin must of known that shit like this was going to happen. But what about the fae creature that had made her way inside the keep? Angus thought. How the fuck were they meant to keep their family safe with one of those mutts within their walls? Angus was like a bull ready to charge with all of his built-up anger. But he had to keep his cool, lest word got out and the whole damn keep was riddled with reporters and their floozy cameras.

  “Mark, would you mind helping us with dinner?” Elle got to her feet, making her way out to the kitchen.

  “Sure thing.” The reporter followed Elle out while Marissa stood at his back, pushing him out towards the kitchen.

  Angus sighed. “Have you figured out how to open the case?” he said to Duncan. They all had taken turns using their various gifts and strengths. They even tried sawing the thing open, but nothing they did penetrated the case.

  “Nay,” he answered. “But we saw the girl use her blood to get it open. And I even tried using her blood that was caked all over her body, but still it did not open.”

  “I believe that it may open only by using the fae woman’s fresh blood,” said Angus.

  “What about the other two that have been coming and going all evening?” Hunter asked. “Why can’t they get in? Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that they can’t … but how is it happening?”

  Angus thought Hunter was a bit off when his head got to working too often. “Devlin must have put up wards,” Duncan answered. “I don’t know if it was done recently or years ago, but the damn thing is so strong that I can almost taste the power it possesses. And I know it wasn’t there before. If it were, I would have felt it. I guess it’s possible that the wards were triggered once the girl got here, or when the other faes arrived.” Duncan said while scratching his head

  “Either way same difference, all things considered,” Duncan interjecte
d. The brothers turned their heads in unison to look at Duncan. Duncan cocked a brow, staring mischievously at each one in turn. “Did I not tell you I have come to acquire a new talent? It started a few months back. I had no idea why it was happening at the time, but now … I know how to track wards back to their caster. I can smell whether it is being used for good or bad, or maybe even a little of both. Get this, what’s even better, is that I am able to pull them apart like a spider pulls at her own web before being able to refashion it to however I please. How cool is that?”

  Angus just looked at Duncan as if he had grown a second head. “What say you?” Angus growled the demand quietly, trying desperately to keep his cool. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Something so big and important, yet his brother had forgotten to mention this vital bit of information to him.

  Duncan wiped the smile off his face at the tone of Angus’s voice. “Sorry, Angus. I … I thought that I told at least one of you but … now that I can see the looks on your faces, I think I must have forgotten.” Shrugging, he turned his attention back to the TV that displayed a live American football game.

  Angus was about to throw a cushion at Duncan’s head when he heard Elle call out in alarm.

  “Angus!” she screamed.

  He pushed to his feet, a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Angus knew this was going to be bad. Spinning on his heels, he looked into the hallway, his eyes flying around the expanse of the hall and beyond. His sight suddenly landed on the woman frozen mid-stride at the top of the first flight of stairs. Her eyes locked with his, standing frozen, Angus took in all her beauty. She was clad in his beige, woolen turtleneck jumper.

  Why? he thought. Why did she have to look so good in his clothes was beyond him. And he could just bet she was bare-butt naked under his jumper. Her hair was tussled in raven waves against her sun-kissed skin.

  “It’s okay,” Elle spoke timidly. “We’re not going to hurt you. In fact we saved you … do you remember?” While Elle tried to calm the fae woman, not once did she take her eyes off of Angus. Nor did he take his eyes off of her.

  Fuck! Calm down, Lilly. Don’t do anything stupid. She took careful notice that she was in a room full of mostly men. And they were very large men. Especially the one named Angus. He was something of a pure, manly-man. All raw, defined muscles, with a massive chest, thick thighs, and black-diamond eyes, and luscious lips she couldn’t help noticing, and his hair which he had swept back in a short ponytail was the same color as his eyes. Even the clothes that he wore were black: tight, V-neck t-shirt, denim jeans, and boots. He certainly took on the look of “man of the house”. Lilith just knew he was someone not to be challenged.

  Her belly quivered, and her mouth watered just from the look of his beauty. While he didn’t have the qualities of a male model out of Vogue, he looked deliciously rough around the edges. Lilith smirked inwardly. Men like him, Lilith McGregor, are the very type you should stay far away from, she told herself.

  Lilith could hear the woman down below telling her all was well, but how could she know who to trust? Lilith didn’t know anything about these strangers. She felt like she was a million miles away from home and she had no family left. All Lilith had was herself, and she had to try and get herself out of there. She had a life to live, even if it was a lonely one. To hell with these freaky people keeping her captive to do God knows what to her. She had to make a move now, and fast.

  Crouching down low, she started down the stairs as quickly as she could, pouncing into the air and hurdling over the entire lower half of the staircase. She hit the ground hard on the balls of her feet and felt her teeth crack together as she landed. Ignoring the pain, Lilith stood and ran the small distance to the front door. She was mere inches from reaching the knob of the door when she felt a hand wrap around her waist, tugging her away from the door and slamming her back up against something solid.

  She screamed long and hard at the pain that seared through her, almost as if something was slicing her brain in two. Her sides, her back, her head … her entire body felt like it was on fire.

  That’s when she felt the tight grasp around her waist release her. Fighting off the pain, Lilith took that as a sign to make her move. This time she got through the door and halfway off the porch before she felt something hard wrapping around her wrist and yanking her back inside to the dreadful place she was trying so desperately to escape.

  She let out another howl of a scream as gut-wrenching pain shot up her arm and almost stopped her heart. Lilith could no longer see straight. Her vision was blurred, and all she could do was listen to the people around her yelling and cursing. One thing was for sure; Lilith was yet again captured, her body pressed, no, forced up against a wall. Breathing rapidly, Lilith forced herself to take a slow, steady breath. Her vision cleared, and she could see that her arms were being held high over her head. She felt her body twitching uncontrollably.

  “Please, let me go … let me go … let me go.” Lilith started to panic. She didn’t care to listen to what these people had to say. She started to struggle in this man’s hold. “Let me go,” she repeated. “Let me go now … now … let me go!” She wriggled her entire body, trying to free herself from him. She looked everywhere except for at the man who held her captive. She heard and felt a low growl that vibrated in her ear and on her chest. Lilith finally lifted her gaze, meeting the eyes of the one they called Angus. Astonished by what she saw, Lilith jerked her head backwards. Without meaning to, she slammed the back of her head hard into the solid wall behind her.

  Lilith’s head was spinning; she felt so close to the edge of blacking out. She heard more murmurs and curses. She felt her entire body weeping, as if her toes were slipping in water. Still struggling in the man’s vise-like grip, Lilith muttered, “Where are my clothes, and what did you do with my keys?” She emphasized the demand by kicking out with her legs, her body twisting in his grasp.

  “Keep still, fae!” he barked at her. He growled harder, the sound coming from deep within his chest, so low that Lilith was sure only she could hear it. Lilith realized she felt something solid prodding her belly. She gasped at the notion of knowing this badass was hard as a rocket, his cock pressed hard up against her belly. Lilith felt her face redden instantly at his accusation, trying to still herself but to no avail. And what the hell was a fae?

  “My name is Lilith, not fae!” she spat out between her teeth. “Where are my clothes?” She made the mistake of looking deep into his eyes. Her gaze froze there. He was hell, sex, heat, desire, and pure man all wrapped up in one.

  “They are gone,” he growled. His timbre was deep and sultry.

  “And my keys?” she ground out.

  “Safe,” he said. “Now be you still,” he spoke, nearly grazing her right ear with his lips. Lilith felt her body shudder at his closeness, the feeling of his unshaved stubble prickling along her cheek. How did he expect her to do what he asked when his very aroused cock prodded her belly? Breaking eye contact with the sexy asshole named Angus, it was then she noticed for the first time the added pressure of men hoisting guns aimed her way.

  So they weren’t the good guys after all. Four men stood behind said asshole in a semi-circle. Three held guns, and the fourth held a suitcase with some weird gold pattern on the front of it. Lilith felt as if she had seen the pattern before when she was young, but couldn’t quite recall it.

  The men looked startled, angry, and a little worried. For whom, she didn’t know. But what she did know was that all of these men looked as though they wanted her dead, and she had no idea why. It took a little under fifty seconds for Lilith to assess her situation, and it didn’t take a genius to know she was totally and utterly fucking screwed.

  “So,” Lilith said to the big asshole holding her. “You’re going to kill me then?” The entire room gasped, including the man who held her. She heard the woman in the back make a choking sound.

  “Nay, fae, we are not going to do that. But—”

  “
My name is—”

  “Two faes have been following you,” the man continued, ignoring her attempt to correct him. “They have managed to attack you, and by doing so caused you dire injuries. You came to us for help, and here is where you will stay until this mess is taken care of.” His words became even more pronounced—deep, dark, and dangerous. Lilith didn’t know what to believe. Was he talking about the hunters who had missed their targets? Were they after her, and what was up with this pigheaded prick calling her fae?

  “My name is Lilith, and if you are referring to the hunters up in the mountain, they can’t be after me … I haven’t even been here two days. I haven’t met anyone yet, and I don’t have family … here or … anywhere.” Suck it up, Lilly, she thought to herself. She wasn’t a strong woman, but she would make it out of this alive. That’s what the pig head said, anyway. “So you won’t kill me then?” Lilith waited for an answer. It seemed to take forever.

  “Nay, lass, but you mind telling me how to open this, aye?” Lilith looked to the man holding up the suitcase with the funny pattern on it. Lilith looked at it, finding that she didn’t recognize it at all. She looked to the man’s face with a puzzled expression.

  “I have never seen it before.” The hands circling her wrist tightened just a fraction, as if to say don’t lie to me.

  “Really?” the man with the case replied. “You told us to get it from your car … in the boot.”

  That got Lilith’s attention. “That’s not the suitcase from my car … what were you doing in my car?” Her eyes flew around the room. If they had been in the boot of her car, then surely they would have her handbag, jewelry box, and her black suitcase—the one her grandfather had given her that she hadn’t opened yet.

  “How did you open this case, lass?”