Angus: A Highland Warrior Brief Read online

  "And him, if he's alive," the gaunt elder said.

  "Should we send another Seeker?" the quietest of the elders asked.

  "None of the others had any luck," the youngest said. "Perhaps we could send Angus. He's been asking to go, and it would get him out of our hair. I think he's been inside my room."

  Anna nudged Angus in the ribs, and he grunted. He was going to get himself killed.

  "Perhaps." The Chief Elder's eyebrows straightened into a thick white line across his forehead. "I'm also concerned about Walter’s warnings regarding Anna."

  "Me?" Anna whispered.

  "Walter claims he isn't sure what it means," the gaunt elder said. "You doubt him?"

  "I had a feeling he wasn't telling me everything," the Chief Elder said.

  "Perhaps it concerns Angus and Anna's search for the Book of Battles," the youngest said. "Have they learned anything more?"

  "Nothing helpful, though Angus is about as eccentric as Walter," the Chief Elder said.

  Angus stiffened. "Bastard."

  "But he's good," the Chief Elder added. "He's found things he shouldn't have. Perhaps we should send him to look for the key. We have to do something about Druan."

  "Bloody hell," Shane whispered. "Druan's one of the ancients. If he's making a new virus..."

  "And if the stories are true," Angus said, "the only thing that can destroy him is locked up in a time vault."

  Niall grunted. "I feel like I'm trapped in a time vault." He leaned back and stretched, and his shoulder hit the wall with a thud.

  "Quiet," Angus said. "I think they heard us."

  All the elders were looking in their direction. The Chief Elder walked toward the wall, and several others followed, all wearing frowns.

  "Can they get here from there?" Shane whispered.

  "Aye," Angus said. "There's a door that opens into the meeting room a little farther down. He shut the cover to the hole. "Time to go."

  They hurried from the tiny room back into the narrow passageway. Muffled voices sounded nearby. "This way." Angus led them through twists and turns, and then he pushed something on the wall and a door opened. "Quick."

  "I didn't know about this door either," Shane whispered.

  "Another bloody fairy room," Niall said. "How do we get out of here?"

  Angus did something to the wall, and a door swung open. They followed him through to a bedroom with antique twin beds—one unmade, and probably had been all day—and furnished with an old chest of drawers, a desk, a table, and a small, squat chair. Papers were spread over nearly every surface, including the second bed.

  "This is your bedroom," Anna said. "You have a secret door? That's why you always take this room?"

  "And how you're able to sneak about like a ghost," Niall added.

  Angus grinned. "Aye."

  "You and your papers. How can you even think with all this clutter?" Shane's hand hovered near a notebook.

  "Don't touch that," Angus said.

  "His life's mysteries are in there," Anna said.

  "Blimey. I'm not going to touch your precious notebook." Shane shook his head, and his black ponytail swung between his shoulder blades like a silk cord. Anna knew women who'd kill to have Shane's hair and any other part of him.

  "I think I need a drink," Niall said. "Eavesdropping is hard work."

  "Ronan's got a bottle of whisky in his room," Shane said.

  Anna frowned. "Ronan doesn't drink except..." When he was thinking about Cam.

  "Aye," Shane said. "It's nearing the anniversary of Cam's death."

  "It wasn't his fault the demon dragged Cam off," Angus said.

  "No, but he was supposed to be standing guard, and he'd gone to take a piss," Niall said. "I get why he feels responsible."

  "Declan feels guilty too," Shane said. "He was sleeping when it happened."

  "I've often wondered if it might have been one of the ancient demons," Angus said. "Cam was one of our strongest warriors. One demon shouldn't have been that much of a problem with Declan and Ronan close by."

  "If they'd found the body it would have given them some closure," Anna said.

  Niall rubbed his belly. "Let Ronan keep his whisky. I'm going to find some food. I didn't have much supper."

  "I'll go and make sure he doesn't eat the refrigerator," Shane said.

  Niall made a rude gesture and left with Shane smirking behind him.

  "Shane's in a good mood," Anna said. Usually the warrior was silent, but he had a quiet sense of humor at times.

  "He was with a woman last night."

  "How do you know that?"

  Angus shrugged. "I saw them."

  "Do you know everything about everyone?"

  "Not yet." Angus frowned. "Coira made me some cock-a-leekie soup earlier. I hope Niall doesn't find it."

  "She's always making special things for you," Anna pinched his cheek. "But then you do have your lovable moments."

  Angus sat on his bed and rubbed his neck. "That's me. Lovable."

  He sounded frustrated when he said it. He must be troubled over the Council meeting. So was she. "Does your neck hurt?"

  Aye.

  When he spent too much time researching and snooping he got terrible neck pains. She moved behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, then began kneading the stiff muscles.

  He leaned his head forward and groaned. "That feels good."

  "You're tense. I bet you've had your head in your research since we battled those demons at the pub. You need to get the blood flowing."

  His neck reddened. What was up with him? He'd been acting odd for a couple of weeks. He turned and glanced at her. There was a look in his eyes she hadn't seen before. Desire? His gaze dropped to her lips for a moment before he quickly looked away.

  Anna moved back, a bit rattled. It must have been her imagination. Angus wasn't interested in her like that. She punched his arm. "Tomorrow you have to wrestle Brodie. That'll take some kinks out. Or put some in. Brodie's good."

  "Blimey. I forgot about that."

  "He hasn't. He's taking wagers."

  Angus still looked troubled.

  "You're worried about the Council meeting," Anna said.

  "We need to talk to Walter. I want to find out what he knows."

  "And I want to know what he dreamed about me."

  "Lots of men dream about you," he muttered.

  "That's disgusting. He's a Watcher. How do we find him? We don't know where he is." Watchers often visited the castle for meetings or stayed there for periods of time, but they usually lived away from the clan seat.

  "I know where he is," Angus said. "Are you up for a little trip?"

  CHAPTER THREE

  Walter the Watcher—Angus and Anna had private names for many people and places—lived in a cottage in the woods about half an hour from Beauly. It was already getting late when they left the castle. Anna wasn't entirely comfortable making an unannounced visit this late, but Angus insisted it was all right.

  "It's only ten. Watchers keep late hours."

  "How do you know?" she asked as the car left the main road and wound down a small lane.

  Angus shrugged. "I heard it somewhere."

  "I wish you'd heard his phone number so you could have asked permission to visit. He's liable to shoot us for showing up this late."

  "You worry too much," Angus said. "See those lights? That's his house."

  Three lights flickered in the distance like fireflies on a summer night. When they drew closer Anna saw they were candles in the windows. "Doesn't he have electricity?"

  "Not here. This is where he goes when he's troubled."

  "You're scary."

  Up close, the house looked like something from a fairytale, with the golden glow at the windows and the cottage covered in vines. Wisps of smoke curled from the chimney and vanished into the night sky.

  Angus parked his Range Rover next to a beat up Vauxhall. "He's here."

  "You go first in case he shoots."


  Angus walked up the cobblestone path to the front door and knocked as if it were the most ordinary thing to surprise someone with a visit in the middle of the night.

  "Who's there?" a voice called from the other side.

  "Angus Connor and Anna MacKinley. We need to talk to you."

  It took a minute, but the door creaked open, and a man peered out at them. He held a lantern in his hand. Anna hadn't seen him often. The Watchers didn't do a lot of socializing. Walter could have been fifty or eighty. He had a tuft of graying brown hair and bright blue eyes. "Angus and Anna. Come in."

  "I'm sorry we're here so late," Anna said, casting a reproachful glance at Angus. "We were worried and wanted to discuss something with you."

  He nodded as if he knew what they were talking about. "You're alone?"

  "Yes," Angus said. They followed him inside. The interior of the cottage was as quaint as the outside. Bookshelves covered one wall, and several books—old from the looks of them—lay open on a window seat. Candles and lanterns covered the mantle and the tables. The furnishings looked like something that might belong to a grandmother. Anna didn't have a grandmother. She'd barely had a mother.

  "Have a seat, have a seat," Walter said. "I've been expecting you."

  "You knew we were coming?" Anna asked, choosing to sit on a wooden bench. Angus sat next to her.

  Walter sat nearby, the animation in his face making him look like an excited gnome. "Yes. But I thought you'd be a few minutes later. The tea isn't quite ready."

  She gave Angus a sideways glance, wondering if he thought this was as odd as she did. Angus's eyes were scanning the inside of the cottage like a camera taking snapshots.

  When she looked back she was startled to see Walter's eyes intent on her. His gaze moved over her face with much the same intensity that Angus studied Walter's cottage. "You look just like her," the Watcher said.

  "Who?"

  "Your mother."

  A ball of hurt formed in the pit of Anna's stomach. "You knew her?"

  "I did. She was a powerful warrior. One of the first females to beat a male warrior. She fought many demons. Won many battles." He frowned. "So beautiful, but so troubled."

  Anna nodded. That was an understatement.

  He took Anna's hand in his. "Be strong. Heartache often precedes joy." Walter let go of her hand and went to check on the tea.

  Anna glanced at Angus and raised a brow in question. "What was that?"

  Angus shrugged.

  Walter returned from the tiny kitchen. "Another minute or two on the tea," he said. "Many troubling things are happening. I've spoken to the Council about it, but sometimes I doubt they listen."

  Anna wasn't sure if he was still talking about her mother. "You mean your visions about Druan?"

  His whole face lit. "You have them too?"

  Anna started to say no, but an image from last night's dream stopped her. A demon had been chasing her, trying to kill her. She had attributed the dream to her and Angus's earlier battle, but something was different about this demon. His face had been hidden, but she remembered the demon calling her name. "I'm not sure."

  Angus gave her a puzzled look and Walter kept talking. "I know Druan is planning something." Walter stood and started pacing. "If we don't stop him, I don't know what will happen. To us. To them. I just see darkness. Darkness. Unless we find the box. We have to find the box." With each word, Walter sounded more frantic.

  "What's in the box?" Anna asked.

  Walter looked surprised, as if he'd forgotten he had company. "The Mighty Faelan."

  Angus eyes narrowed. "You mean the Mighty Faelan's time vault?"

  "Of course," Walter said, and then he frowned. "I could be mistaken. It must be him."

  "We don't know where the key to his time vault is," Angus said. "The clan has searched for it for ages and no one can find it."

  "It's in the papers."

  "What papers?" Angus asked.

  "He left them for us. He needed us to know."

  "Who?" Angus's hands clenched on his thighs. "Who left them? What did he need us to know? Is the key in the papers?"

  "The clue," Walter said. "You'll find the clue in the papers."

  "Is this connected to the Book of Battles?" Anna asked. "You know Angus and I have been trying to trace its disappearance. The Council believes Faelan could have the Book of Battles with him."

  Walter continued to pace. He seemed agitated. "It's all connected. All connected. And there's more."

  "More?" Angus asked. "What else?"

  "Secrets," Walter said. "Hidden keys. They must know where to find the keys."

  "Who?" Anna asked.

  "The man and the woman. They've been watching us."

  Anna glanced around the cottage but no one else was there.

  "Who's watching us?" Angus asked.

  "I don't know their names. I see them in my dreams."

  Angus looked frustrated. "You don't recognize them?"

  Walter shook his head. "No. They have white hair, and their eyes are like emeralds."

  Walter couldn’t be thinking of her mother because she’d had dark hair like Anna. Angus had a puzzled look on his face, but didn't comment. Walter might be more unstable than she'd thought. "Why are they watching us?" she asked. Whoever they were?

  "I don't know."

  "What about the keys? Do you know where to find them?" Angus asked.

  "The papers will show you," Walter said.

  Angus's hands tightened into fists. "Where are the papers, Walter?"

  "In the castle. The papers will tell the truth."

  "Did you write them?" Anna asked.

  "No. He wrote them. You will need this." Walter stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a key.

  "What does this open?" Anna asked.

  "Secrets." Walter said.

  Angus looked like he might explode or strangle the old man. "Where did you get the key?"

  "It's mine." Walter started pacing again, continuing to talk about secret societies, traitors, and the woman and man with white hair. Anna and Angus watched, fascinated and confused. Walter sat down and closed his eyes, his voice a whisper until he said nothing. The tea kettle had started whistling but even that didn't rouse him. Anna went in and took it off the old wood stove. Walter still hadn't moved when she got back.

  "I think that's all we're getting from him," Angus whispered.

  "Should we put him in bed or something?"

  "Leave him. Watchers are like this sometimes."

  "Are you sure you're not a Watcher?" Anna asked.

  "That doesn't sound like a compliment."

  They left him sitting there and walked out to the car. As they pulled away Anna looked back at the flickering candles in the windows. The house looked lonely. But Watchers tended to be loners, all wrapped up in their thoughts and dreams. "Poor Walter. He seems almost sad."

  "He's not sad. He's got the answers to more stuff in his head than most of us have. Can you imagine the things he's seen? I wish I could trade places with him."

  "I wouldn't want to be a Watcher. They're always troubled." Of course warriors sometimes were too. "And what was that about heartache preceding joy and the white-haired woman and man? You got a strange look when he mentioned the woman and man."

  "Who knows what he was talking about." He frowned. "No doubt he's a bit odd, but this key goes to something."

  "You're going to try to find it tonight, aren't you?"

  "Aye," Angus said. "I wonder if it opens the archive room."

  "I bet that's it." Before the time of computers and databases, all the clan's records were kept in the archive room. Information about demons, their activities, sightings, human identity, minions, contacts, anything involving the demon. There were also files on warriors, Seekers, and Watchers, anything involving the clan. Now all the clan's information was kept in databases in a tech room in the castle and other disaster recovery sites that were secret to all but the Council and the network guys. And probably
Angus. But the archive room was highly protected. If a warrior wanted something from the room, he had to go through the Council. Except for Angus. He just used his stolen key.

  "If we're looking for a paper, it'll probably be there," Angus said. "Are you coming with me?"

  Anna sighed. "This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack."

  "A fascinating needle."

  They drove back to the castle in silence. Angus was in one of his quiet moods. He got like this when he was mulling over a puzzle. And if Walter was right about any of this, it was the mother of all puzzles. She still didn't understand how she was connected unless it had to do with her and Angus's search for the missing book. Or maybe Walter had just foreseen their visit.

  "Do you still have your key to the archive room?" Anna asked. "Just in case Walter's doesn't work."

  "I'll get it. Meet me in my room in ten minutes."

  After she'd made a trip to the bathroom, Anna tapped on Angus's door, one short and two long taps that signaled her identity, then she went inside. He was bent over digging in a box. "What are you doing?"

  "I lost something."

  "Your notebook?" He took the thing with him everywhere.

  "I never lose my notebook." He rooted around a few seconds more and then sat back on his heels, holding a file in his hands. "Found it."

  "What's that?"

  "One of the Watchers kept a file on the Book of Battles detailing the steps taken to find it. The specific warnings from Watchers, how many Seekers had been sent, anything connected to the book."

  "I won't ask where you got it."

  "I borrowed it from the archive room."

  Anna rolled her eyes. "Did you learn anything new?"

  "The Watcher mentioned Nigel Ellwood."

  "The Watcher who went missing in the eighteenth century?"

  "This Watcher thinks Nigel knew something about the book," Angus said. "But I don't know what."

  "While you were pilfering did you happen to see any files belonging to Nigel?"

  "Nothing. It was like he never existed."

  "I'd love to know what happened to him," Anna said.