Page 65 of The Cruel Highlander's Healer
She was exhausted. There was no part of her that wanted to venture any farther than the few steps it would take for her to collapse in her bed.
But that exhaustion didn’t stop her mind from being bombarded with images. A tiny, spindly-legged creature that was whinnying in pain, scared and afraid and not knowing what would happen next.
No matter how much she wanted to turn down the request for help, Eliza knew that she did not have it in her. She would hate herself for the rest of her days if she didn’t at least try.
The bed will still be there when I’m done.
“Aye,” Eliza said, trying her best to hide the tiredness from her voice as she spoke. “I’ll help. I’ve nae been to the stables yet, though. So I’ll need ye to lead the way.”
Alistair nodded, giving her another quick bow of thanks before turning and heading in the way he’d come.
She followed after him, trying her best to bring some life back into her steps as she did. She needed to be awake, needed to be alert if she wanted to be able to help the poor creature when they arrived.
Thankfully, Alistair didn’t move as quickly as some of the other guards, and she could take a slower pace, one that allowed her to gather herself. When they stepped out into the evening air, a breeze tickled her skin, helping to wake her.
She listened as they approached the squat stable building, trying to make out any sounds of an injured animal. But there was nothing except the whinnying and braying that you’d expect.
Mayhaps the animal is unable to cry out?
Eliza wasn’t sure why, but the thought didn’t sit right with her. If it was a foal, surely it would be crying out for its mother? Or, at the very least, be crying out in pain?
Pushing the thoughts down, she continued on her path. Alistair led her not toward the large opening on the other side of the building but through a small, wooden side door.
He held it open for her, stepping aside and looking at her expectantly she moved closer.
“Poor beast is just in here,” he said.
His eyes lit with something that Eliza couldn’t place but she didn’t take time to analyze it. She was too focused on getting in there and assessing the creature. The sooner she finished with this, the sooner she could go back inside and lay down.
Moving past Alistair, she stepped into the small space. It opened into what appeared to be a tack room. It didn’t take more than a quick scan to see that there was no injured animal within it.
Maybe it was further inside the building. Eliza whirled to face Alistair, inquiring about where she could go to find the animal, but what she saw when she turned had fear lighting deep within her belly.
Alistair was still there, but he was changed, somehow. The stooped, sniveling man she’d met a few days ago who had led her to the stables was gone.
He was standing at full height, and Eliza realized he was taller than she’d thought. He was wider, too. He was still quite gaunt, his sunken, pocked marked cheeks jutting out aggressively beneath his skin. But Eliza could not deny that now that he was standing straight and facing her head on, he cut quite a menacing figure.
She took a step back, retreating a bit farther into the room to put distance between them. A terrible, cruel smile tugged up the corner of Alistair’s lips as he took a step further, shutting the door to the tack room as he did so.
The light filtering in through the one, small window was weak, and it took Eliza’s eyes a moment to adjust. Eliza heard him, though. Heard his footsteps as he surged forward.
She sucked in a breath, preparing herself to scream, preparing herself to fight. But Alistair was on her in a flash, his slow and measured movements of just a few moments before disappearing entirely.
“None of that now,” Alistair growled in a voice much deeper than the one he’d been using.
Just as Eliza’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, a rag covered hand jutted up to cover her mouth. It smelled sour, a scent that burned her nose and seeped into her brain.
She screamed, but it was muffled by the fabric being held to her lips. Spots began to dance at the edges of her vision.
Was that just the shadows of the room?
No, they were growing larger, pressing in as the entire world surrounding her began to blur.
Her scream cut off, all thought driven from her mind as a haze descended upon her. The fuzziness of moments ago began to darken, the shadows pressing in on her completely.
Slowly, consciousness left Eliza’s body. And the last thing she heard before everything went dark was a cruel, dark chuckle.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
