Demon Laird (Legacy of the Mist Clans)
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Authors: Kathryn Loch
Demon Laird
By Kathryn Loch
Text Copyright 2013
Karrie Balwochus
Aka Kathryn Loch
All Rights Reserved
This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold, copied, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Books By Kathryn Loch
Historical Romance
Heart’s Ransom (Heart and Soul)
Mist Warrior (Legacy of the Mist Clans)
Medieval Fantasy
Primal Entities: Chaos (print only)
Spirit of Dragons (The Dragon Wars)
Contemporary Thriller/Suspense Romance
Sworn to Protect (Vows of the Heart)
Sworn to Love (Vows of the Heart)
June 1286
Glen
Gyle, Clan MacGrigor
Scottish Highlands
R
onan MacGrigor leapt from one crenellation to another as fast as his legs could carry him, hearing his younger brother right behind.
“Take it back, ye sorry cur!”
Aidan shouted.
Ronan laughed and kept running, uncaring that he teetered precariously on the ramparts of the highest tower.
“Codswallop!” he shouted and leapt forward.
“Buggering swine
!” Aidan shouted back, trying to close the distance.
At
eleven, Ronan was tall for his age, but his brother, only a year younger, almost matched him. They tussled and fought constantly, much to their mother's vexation.
Ronan made another leap
to a crenellation, his foot sliding slightly, and he fought to recover his balance. Contorting sideways, he dove for the ramparts and rolled. Instantly on his feet again, he sprinted to the trapdoor and vaulted down the ladder.
Aidan bellowed something but Ronan couldn'
t understand his words. He fought to steady his breathing while he looked for a place to hide. Boxes lined the walls and he spied a dark shadow behind the ladder. Ronan had discovered a talent for losing himself in shadow. He settled against the wall and again fought to slow his breathing, his body growing unnaturally still.
Aidan flew down the ladder and looked aroun
d. “Ronan, ye bloody codsucker, I'll find ye!”
Ronan nearly laughed aloud. Aidan's gaze swept over him
—he looked directly at him in fact—but never paused. Growling another curse, Aidan sprinted for the tower door, flung it open, and plowed into a clansman, who had unfortunately decided to walk in at that moment.
Aidan nearly knocked the man down, but somehow the man maintained
his feet.
“Hold, young MacGrigor,”
the clansman said, gripping Aidan's shoulder. “Ye ken what yer da says about ye and yer brother’s horseplay atop the walls.”
With a laugh, Ronan sprinted from the shadow, startling both of them, and hit the wall walk at
a dead run. “Bloody codswallop!” he shouted.
Aidan screeched in fury,
breaking away from the clansman and lunging after Ronan.
Ronan scrambled from the wall walk, vaulting an insane path of stone buttresses, using carved decorations for handholds and cracks in the mortar that only few would see
to aid his rapid descent down the walls. Actions that would stricken his mother if she saw him, he knew from experience.
Aidan slowed his pursuit, falling two paces behind Ronan. Ronan knew he was faster than his brother on the
walls, but he dare not grow complacent. Aidan would be on him in an instant if he checked his pace. He reached the stairs descending into the bailey and ran.
Just as
his foot touched the dirt of the bailey, a young maid, her basket filled with eggs, inadvertently stepped into his path. Ronan lunged to the side at the same moment his brother shrieked. Ronan braced himself, dreading what was coming. Sure enough, his brother made a wild leap from the stairs and plowed into him. Ronan, in turn, plowed into the young maid. She cried out in fear and the basket flew from her hands.
In
a heartbeat, Ronan regained his feet, but instead of dodging his brother, he grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him away. The basket of eggs lay smashed and oozing on the ground.
“
Sorry!” Ronan shouted to the maid as she struggled to pick herself up.
“Ye bloody daft lads!”
she cried. “When will ye learn?”
Ronan couldn't help the laugh that escaped him
, although he knew he needed to move even faster. It would be only moments before their da arrived to put a stop to the mayhem.
Ronan dragged his brother along the bailey wall where it butted up against the stone keep. Water runoff had caused a hole
to form in the corner, and those charged with maintaining the keep had not yet filled it in. Ronan had spotted it earlier and had been curious. It seemed the hole opened to something much larger and deeper.
“
Da's comin’,” Aidan wheezed.
“
Aye,” Ronan said and shoved him toward the hole. “Look.”
“I'll be buggered,”
Aidan said.
Ronan slid
to a stop and flopped on his belly, pushing the loose dirt away. The hole widened easily and he stuck his head inside. He gaped at it a moment—it was huge, much larger than he originally suspected. He pulled his head back and shifted around then kicked and widened the opening with his feet.
“Ronan!”
his da bellowed. “Aidan!”
“
Hurry!” Aidan said. “He'll thrash us both.”
Ronan gave one last kick then slid into the
void, his brother following so quickly he landed on top of Ronan.
“
Get off, ye lout,” Ronan growled.
“
Shhhh!” Aidan leaned against the dirt wall and looked up at the opening.
“
Where are they?” their da asked.
Ronan
heard the maid’s voice but could not make out her reply. Aidan grimaced. Ronan shook his head—his brother’s hearing was amazing. He could listen to voices behind closed doors then relate the entire conversation exactly.
“
He's coming this way,” Aidan whispered harshly.
As good as Aidan was at overhearing conversations, so was Ronan at finding hidden escape routes and secret holes such as the one they were in.
He looked around, still surprised this one was so large. On his left, he saw the foundation of the stone wall in the bedrock. On his right, he saw the foundation of the keep. The cavity continued between the two, descending deeper, and the blackness was complete.
“
Light,” Ronan murmured.
“Here,”
Aidan said, handing him a stubby candle and a fire-striker. Ronan grinned at him and lit the candle. With their antics and constant discoveries, Ronan wouldn't be surprised if Aidan had a rope wrapped around his waist and hidden under his tunic.
Ronan lifted the candle and stared into the crevice.
Their da bellowed again.
“Damnation, Ronan,” Aidan growled. “
Move. If he finds us now, it willna be pleasant.”
“
Worse than a thrashing?”
“
Much worse.”
Ronan shivered and stepped forward. His jaw went slack at
what the weak light of the candle revealed. The dark gray stone stopped at the bedrock, but the line was intermixed with reddish clay. It only took Ronan a moment to realize it too was man-made. The red clay formed bricks that were far different than anything the Scots used in building.
A memory from his Latin tutor stirred. He remembered the old
priest saying many of the keeps today were built on old Roman or Saxon fortifications. Ronan wondered if this was what he was staring at.
“
What is it?” Aidan asked.
“
A piece of history,” Ronan murmured reverently.
Aidan pushed on his should
er. “Which is what we'll be if Da finds us. We've got tae get out.”
Ronan nodded and quickly descended deeper into the hole.
The tiny candle did little to push back the darkness, but Ronan continued angling toward the keep. They were below the foundation now, moving deeper. He looked up and saw gray flagstones above his head.
“
Aidan, look,” he said and pointed.
Aidan's eyes narrowed.
“Methinks that is the floor tae the kitchen.”
“Aye.”
“Give me a boost. If I can push one of the flagstones away, we can escape, and Da willna find us.”
Ronan placed the candle on a ledge in the dirt
and bent, lacing his fingers together. Aidan stepped into his hand and Ronan heaved him upward. Aidan's fingers grabbed dirt and Ronan quickly moved so that Aidan stood on his shoulders. He gritted his teeth.
“
Holy hell, Aidan, what have ye been eatin’?”
His brother grinned down at him.
“The same as ye, which is why I didna volunteer tae give ye the boost up.”
Ronan bit back his curses. His brother dug at the flagstone
, sending dirt into Ronan's face. Ronan coughed, averting his gaze and trying to blink the dirt from his eyes. Aidan muttered to himself while he tried to free the flagstone. Ronan's shoulders screamed at him.
“
Hurry up, ye—”
“Got it,” Aidan whispered harshly. “Be silent.”
Ronan again clamped his jaw shut. Without warning, Aidan heaved himself up and through the opening. Ronan extinguished the candle and shoved it in his belt pouch. Aidan stuck his head back in and reached a hand down. Ronan took a step back then lunged forward. His foot hit the dirt ledge and he pushed off and up. The other foot hit the opposite dirt ledge and he levered upward again, catching his brother’s hand. Aidan hauled with all his might, and Ronan forced himself through the hole, gritting his teeth as he scraped his shoulders and then his ribs.
He looked around
and discovered they were in a dark corner of the kitchen. A scullery maid worked on the other side of the room with her back to them. Ronan quickly crawled out of the way, and his brother replaced the flagstone.
Ronan eyed the path
to the door. That was the only place where they would have to step into the light and be in full view, but it would only be for an instant. Ronan tapped Aidan’s shoulder and pointed. Aidan nodded.
Ronan sucked in a deep breath and skittered through the shadows along the wall. He grabbed the door and hauled it open, just as another maid bearing
an armload of dirty roundels and trenchers walked in.
The door’s abrupt opening along with the appearance of Ronan and his brother, dirty and disheveled
, caused her to scream and drop the roundels and trenchers with a resounding clatter and crack of shattered wood. The second maid in the kitchen also screamed.
Ronan bit back
a curse. He grabbed his brother and towed him through the door. They disappeared into the shadows at the back of the great hall.
Aidan’s breath rattled in Ronan’s ear. “The entire keep heard the noise. We need
tae move now.”
Ronan eyed the path they needed
to take to the stairs. It crossed in front of the door to the keep. They had to sprint across before their father entered. He drew another deep breath and prepared to move. But just as he gave his body the command, his ears buzzed and a strange euphoria settled over him. Bloody hell, nay! Not now! It had been so long since the last one he had begun to hope he was free of these accursed attacks. He fought it with all his might, trying to force his limbs to move, but they grew leaden, locking him in place. He barely felt his brother gripping his arm. Aidan’s voice calling his name only merged with the din roaring in his ears. His vision blurred even more, and the last thing Ronan recalled was his own soundless scream.
****
“Ronan,” Aidan whispered harshly.
Ronan battled
to pull his wits back together. Where was he? He still couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. Damnation, how long had the blackout lasted this time?
“Da is in the great hall,” Aidan said. “We need
tae move.”
Finally, Ronan’s vision started
to pull itself together and his muscles gradually unlocked. He drew in a ragged breath, blinking rapidly, and looked at his brother.
“Another one?” Aidan asked softly.
Ronan nodded miserably and hung his head. Holy hell, why couldn’t he control this? It had happened a few times when he was younger, but he still had not been able to master it.
His muscles had completely
frozen, and at least he remained standing. The blackout had not toppled him, but his body was slow to function again. He took a slight step forward, but his legs felt thick and heavy.
“Ronan, we have
tae move before Da sees ye.”
“Too late,” his da said and stepped into the shadow.
Ronan swallowed hard as his giant father loomed over him, the normally handsome planes of his face now harsh with anger. His blue eyes glittered dangerously in the weak light. His black hair, streaked with touches of gray, tumbled loose around his face.
Surprisingly, his father’s anger faded as he gazed at his eldest son. “
Yer mum saw ye two on the walls again,” he growled. “Why must ye give her such a fright?”
Ronan lowered his head, staring at the floor. He had thought her too busy
to notice their foolery.
“Ronan, look at me.”
He swallowed hard and looked up. His father studied him a long moment. “Ye had another blackout again, didn’t ye? That’s why ye werena able tae run away.”
