Read Online Highland Thirst by Lynsay Sands, Hannah Howell - Free Book Online Page B

completely.”
    “And
do ye really live forever?”
    “Nay,
but we do live a verra, verra long time. We are nay sure just how long for too
many of our Elders eventually grow weary of life and make an end to it. The
laird’s father courted death at every turning after his Outsider mate died and
it finally embraced him. We can be killed, as ye have seen, for I was verra
close to that fate. I had lost too much blood and ‘tis near impossible for a
MacNachton to recover from that. Unlike Outsiders, though, we can count the ways
we can be killed. The grave loss of blood, as weel as beheading, fire, and the
sun.”
    “Ye
cannae go out into the day?” Fergus asked.
    Heming
could see that Fergus was thinking of demons again. “A Pureblood cannae. We
Halflings are nay so troubled as they are, or most of us arenae. I cannae go
out in the full of the day when the sun is at its strongest, shining brightly. ‘Tis
as if it sucks all the life right out of me. Long enough beneath its light and
a MacNachton will die, the more pure of blood they are, the faster it
happens. We dinnae ken why God made us so, but it isnae such a bad thing. What
we are not are creatures who take souls or devour bairns or any of that.
Aye, in the olden times we werenae so verra weel behaved but it was a brutal
time for all, aye? All I can do is swear that we dinnae take souls and we
dinnae treat all who live about Cambrun as cattle for the slaughter.” He
shrugged. “We are different. That is all.”
    “As
Mistress Brona is different,” said Fergus.
    Brona
tensed and stared at Fergus. “What do ye mean?”
    “That
gift that ye have with animals. ‘Tis as if ye speak to them and them to ye. As
Old Annie is different, aye? She can see things the rest of us cannae, such as
what will happen.”
    Deciding
the safest thing to do was to simply not argue with that and change the
subject, Brona turned to Colin and asked, “So ye think we can get out of
Rosscurrach tonight?”
    “Aye,”
replied Colin. “The laird has left the keep verra lightly guarded, the fool.
And, I promise ye, now that the laird’s gone, the guard upon the walls willnae
be so vigilant.”
    “Then
we go tonight. Do ye take your family away from here?”
    “Nay.
We have seen our mother and she says they are all safe enough. Fergus and I
will go with ye, mistress. Ye shouldnae travel alone.”
    “I
shall go with ye as weel,” said Peter. “Exactly where do ye mean to go?”
    “Weel,
I had thought to go to my aunt’s,” Brona said quietly, a little alarmed that
she had not yet made a clear plan for what to do once she left Rosscurrach.
    It
was foolish not to have a clear plan for her own escape, but Brona knew that
was not completely her fault. She had lived a very secluded life. Her parents
had kept her close out of fear of losing their only surviving child and Hervey
simply had no interest in taking her anywhere. Brona now wondered if that was
because her cousin had always planned to have her marry Angus. The result of
all that seclusion meant she had very few people she could turn to for help and
she also had very little idea of how to travel to them.
    “Weel,
ye cannae do that now as they have gone searching for ye there. So, where else
can ye go?”
    Brona
frantically searched her mind for an answer but she could not find one. She
could not even think of a clever lie that would soothe their obvious concern
for her. All four men stared at her, waiting for an answer that would not come.
It did not surprise her when they all slowly began to scowl at her.
    “Ye
dinnae have another plan, do ye, Brona,” said Heming.
    She
sighed, seeing no hope in making him believe some lie even if she could think
of one. “Nay, I fear not. If naught else, I simply dinnae ken verra many people
outside of Rosscurrach. I am sure I can find some place to hide, however.”
    “Ye
will come to Cambrun with me.”
    “Och,
nay, I couldnae do that.”
    “Afraid
ye will become a meal, are