Veiled Threat (32 page)
Authors: Helen Harper
‘It’s a shame the MacBains weren’t here for longer to help sort out this place,’ I said, gazing up at the high walls.
‘I can stay for a while,’ Morna said. She wagged her finger. ‘I’m not swearing fealty, mind, but I’ll help put some life back into this place.’
‘And we don’t need the MacBains now we have the trolls,’ Brochan said. ‘There are more than enough hands to get everything shipshape.’
Tipsania appeared in the doorway. May shuffled in behind her, with a shy smile on her face. Chandra’s eyes lit up. I knew exactly what she was thinking: there might only be one Fomori demon in the whole of the Highlands but if the wily assassin had her way, she’d be that demon’s fashion designer. Before I could say that we needed to keep May’s existence as much of a secret as mine, Tipsania spoke.
‘What are you cretins doing?’ she shrieked. ‘I’m not your slave! There are floors that need scrubbing and rooms that need to be emptied. Get a move on!’
Everyone turned and stared at her.
‘It’s four o’clock in the morning,’ Speck complained.
‘You’re up, aren’t you, Four Eyes?’
I winced. Tipsania still needed some work to become a functioning member of our tiny society. We’d get there though. Somehow we’d all get there. I couldn’t stay dead forever but for now everyone was safe. I had to separate the part of my heart that yearned for Byron and focus on what we’d achieved. He was safe – and so was my country. We’d won the battle, if not the war.
Epilogue
Neither Jamie nor Byron said a word until they reached the outskirts of Perth. Jamie’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly the entire way that he had cramp but that was nothing compared to the pain that Byron was feeling. He ignored the blood which continued to seep through his clothes and the sapping weakness which drained his body. The physical pain was nothing and the cuts would heal. His power would return. Not everything else would, though.
Byron stared out of the window when Jamie stopped at a petrol station to fill up. This was all his fault. Integrity, with her laughing violet eyes and smile that would light up the entire country, was gone.
‘That MacQuarrie bastard,’ he ground out, when Jamie returned. ‘Coward.’ He cursed and his shoulders drooped. ‘So are we. We should have stayed. We should have done something.’
Jamie stayed silent for a long moment. ‘We couldn’t have done anything. You barely had the strength to lift your head and I have no useful Gift. Not against Fomori demons, anyway.’
‘She’s dead.’ Byron spoke in a strangled voice. ‘Integrity is dead.’
His friend gripped his hand, squeezing it tightly. He didn’t say anything else.
The gaping chasm inside Byron grew until he was overcome by a void of grief and pain. He kept seeing her face over and over again, that cheeky grin, the way she flipped her hair over her shoulder when she was trying to make a point. Her godawful jokes. He went over and over it in his mind. It had happened so quickly. Who the hell was that woman who’d shot her? What could he have done differently to prevent it from happening?
He clutched his head. It didn’t feel like she was gone but he’d seen her die right in front of his own eyes. He’d chase down that woman – and anyone else who’d had a hand in Integrity’s death ‒ and make them rue the day they’d crossed Integrity’s path. If he couldn’t have her, he’d have vengeance instead.
‘Here.’ Jamie reached into his pocket and pulled something out, tossing it into Byron’s lap.
He shook himself and frowned. ‘This is the old Adair emblem.’
‘Yeah. Integrity gave it to me before she went through the Veil. She wanted me to use my Gift on it.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t suppose it matters much now.’
Byron turned it over in his fingers. He lifted it up to see if her scent still clung to it but all it smelled of was old metal. It wasn’t much to remember her by but he held it up to his chest, pressing it tightly against his heart.
‘What did you see?’ he asked dully. Jamie didn’t answer. ‘What did you see when you used psychometry on it?’ Byron asked again.
Jamie’s jaw tightened and a muscle ticked in his cheek. ‘It’s antique,’ he said finally. ‘There’s a lot of history to it. It was forged by a blacksmith before anyone in Scotland had even heard the word Fomori.’
‘And?’
He sighed heavily. ‘It was passed down through generations. The Chieftain usually wore it.’
‘So Gale Adair was wearing it when he died? Integrity’s father?’
‘No.’ He swallowed. ‘It was stolen before that. It was passed to the Fomori demons as a symbolic part of a promise to wipe the Adairs from the country.’
For the first time since they’d left the Veil, Byron sat up straight. ‘What?’
Jamie gave an awkward shrug. ‘That’s what I saw.’
‘Who stole it?’
Jamie looked away. Somehow Byron already knew the answer but he still waited to hear it. ‘It was your father,’ Jamie said so quietly that Byron had to strain to hear.
He breathed in deeply. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Okay.’ There could be all sorts of reasons for that. Even if there weren’t, it didn’t mean Aifric was guilty of everything that Integrity had accused him of. He squeezed the brooch.
‘Your bag is there,’ Jamie said softly. ‘Angus MacQuarrie gave it to me.’
Byron pushed away the flash of anger at further mention of MacQuarrie and reached down to drop in the emblem. He’d keep it safe for now and speak to his father about it later.
Unfortunately, as soon as he unfastened the clasp, a strong smell escaped. It reeked of rot and death. Jamie recoiled. ‘What the hell is that?’
Byron shook his head. ‘I don’t know.’ As terrible as the smell was, at least it was a momentary distraction from the searing pain of his own thoughts. He peered inside. ‘It’s a haggis,’ he said finally. ‘A dead haggis.’ Big deal.
Jamie frowned. ‘Eh?’
‘Apparently Morna Carnegie has been using her Gift for less than salubrious reasons.’ Byron managed a weak shrug. What did one dead fur ball mean now?
‘Was it smothered by the bag?’ Jamie asked. ‘I thought magically imbued creatures were supposed to be tough.’
‘They are.’
Byron reached in and drew out the tiny creature. It lay limply in his hand, its features contorted as if it had died in agony. Something was caught in one of its tiny front paws. He gently pulled it free, holding it up as the first evidence of dawn began to appear across the sky.
Byron’s muscles bulged and, curling his fingers into a fist, he lashed out and punched the windscreen. It immediately shattered, making Jamie yell in alarm. Byron paid him no attention. His eyes were fixed on the dead creature.
The haggis was holding the vial which had contained the sleeping draught intended for Integrity. The one his father had given him. Except there wasn’t any of the liquid left. The little haggis must have drunk it; the little haggis that was now dead.
An inarticulate howl rose up from deep inside Byron’s chest while the sun continued to force its way upwards, signalling a brand new day.
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Thank you so much for reading Veiled Threat!
I really hope you enjoyed it. It would mean a huge amount if you could leave a review – any and all feedback is so very, very welcome and hugely important for independent authors like myself.
Find out more about me and my books, as well as the chance to sign up for my newsletter at
http://helenharper.co.uk
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The fourth book in the Highland Magic series is scheduled for release by December 2016.
After teaching English literature in the UK, Japan and Malaysia, Helen Harper left behind the world of education following the worldwide success of her Blood Destiny series of books. She is a professional member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and writes full time although she still fits in creative writing workshops with schools along with volunteering to teach reading to a group of young Myanmar refugees. That’s not to mention the procession of stray cats which seem to find their way to her door!
Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland.
Helen currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with far too many cats – not to mention the dragons, fairies, demons, wizards and vampires that seem to keep appearing from nowhere.
T
he
Blood Destiny
series
Bloodrage
Blood Destiny Box Set
(The complete series: Books 1 – 5)
Also
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T
he
Highland Magic
series
The
Olympiana
series
The
Bo Blackman
series
The
Dreamweaver
series
