Page 30 of The Highland Curse
Incantation of the shining moon,
Incantation of all that is powerful
Show me Tevon MacGill!
Fingal stopped and stared intently into the bowl.
Adrina’s breath caught painfully in her lungs. Her father was away from the castle. Why did Fingal want to know where her father was located?
For long minutes, the advisor stared into the bowl as if the contents fascinated him. And for the same amount of time, her heart thudded painfully in her chest. It was clear to her that he was scrying to gain insight for the demand that he made. Suddenly he let out a string of curses.
“This is the third time I’ve tried this. Why the hell will ye nae show me where the bastard is?” he said, banging a frustrated fist on the table. In his anger he shoved the basin away from him, the container scraping across the wooden table.
Fingal lifted his head, and the light of the candle revealed an expression of pure rage. His brows snapped down, and he glared at the book as if it had somehow wronged him. Even though his furious eyes weren’t fixed on her, his anger nevertheless sent a chill down her spine.
Slamming the book shut, he pushed back the chair, and stood up.
“We’ll try again tomorrow,” he said aloud.
The raven on his shoulder let out a sound as if to answer its master.
Bending over, Fingal blew out one candle while he took ahold of the other, and made his way to the door.
With quick strides, Fingal moved toward the door. The chamber was pitched dark now, but the light from the candle illuminated his narrow visage, making him appear ghoulish and frightening. He was several paces away. She held her breath. Still, the thoughts whirled in her mind. Her father was supposed to return soon. But Fingal wanted to locate her father’s whereabouts before he arrived home. Somehow she knew that the advisor was working on an evil scheme. She needed to find out what it was, otherwise the entire clan was doomed.
Duncan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to her tale. He was wrong to say that Adrina’s tales rivaled Kila’s. Indeed, the lass’ story was even more fantastic than the ones that Kila told. He had often dismissed his sister as being silly and overly imaginative. He might have thought the same of Adrina except she appeared serious and sincere in her recount.
But even as he listened to her speak, he was well aware of how the sun shone on her chestnut colored hair. The angle of the sun struck her tresses, making the strands appear glossy and soft. Her features were perfectly formed, and once again he wondered why he was so drawn to her. And it wasn’t just her beauty that caught his notice. There was definitely something more…
Ridiculous,his mind chided, while annoyance gripped him. His logical mind simply couldn’t understand how the lass had gotten under his skin. Never had he allowed a woman to affect him in this way, and he would be glad when he returned her to her home. Only then he would be free of her, and he would be able to go back to his orderly way of life.
What was that?
He had been so deep in thought that he almost missed the quick snap of a branch in the distance. Leaning over, he grabbed the reins of Adrina’s palfrey, stopping the animal.
Although the forest was dense in this area and provided an effective screen, it still allowed the faint but unmistakable sound to come through.
“Men are approaching,” he said, his voice low.
Adrina looked at him, startled. “Are ye certain?” She glanced at him and followed his line of sight.
Her face went pale. “’Tis Fingel’s men,” she said, her voice low.
It was a puzzling choice of words, and he looked curiously at her. Again, there was something that she wasn’t telling him. But he had no time to question her. The voices were coming closer. And they appeared to be bickering over something. Duncan needed to backtrack, confirm their identities, and ascertain how much of a threat they were. Sliding off his mount, he gestured for her to stay where she was.
But she dismounted as well. He narrowed his eyes at her, although she ignored his glare.
“Stay here,” he hissed.
“Nay,” she said. “There’s two of them, and ye might need help.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t have time to quarrel. The course of action was already apparent to him. He needed to knock the men unconscious, and stop them from following them, or he could fight them. With armed warriors in their midst, and a lass in tow, the latter was not an option. He just hoped that she had enough sense to stay well behind him.
“The Master said that they’re here,”one of the guards said.
“We’ve been wandering for hours in these woods,”the other man said, his tone caustic.“Do ye see them anywhere?”
It was apparent that the men followed them. But luckily there were only two highlanders to deal with.
