Knights-of-Stone-Bryce (8 page)

Of course he did. Bryce had only offered temporary shelter; he had enough to worry about on the island. Still, rejection slapped her. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she managed to say.

“Bryce described them as demons,” Duncan said. “That could be a wide range of malevolent beings. Could you be specific? How many, how they approached, what they looked like, and any other details you can remember?”

Mairi had tried to bury their image countless times since the attack, yet their glowing red eyes pierced through every recess in her mind. She took a deep breath and let the horrid memory resurface. “Around a dozen of them soared in to where my clan had lived for many years, along the cliffs on the northern coast of Durness. They flew like dark shadows across the night with fraying dark gray capes, so wispy, I thought they were spirits at first. Not of solid flesh.” A shudder ripped through her, causing her throat to tighten. When she continued, her voice was strangled as it came out.

Bryce squeezed her hand. “It’s all right. You’re safe, Mairi. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.” His tone conveyed concern. “Can you continue?”

His gesture and words fortified her. She tightened her grip on his hand. “Aye.” Their image still burned in her mind. “The demons were difficult to see, except for their eyes. They glowed with a red fire, a fierce intensity that burned through the darkness of night. Their skin was pale, almost translucent, revealing the bones within. And the shape of their bodies was distorted—some kind of grotesque mix of bird and man.” She snorted. “Many call gargoyles grotesque, and we aren’t considered pretty by any measure, but these were different.”

“How?” Duncan prodded.

“The sensation they provoked. Just being around them left no doubt they were evil. The sound their tattered capes made when whipping through the air. It invoked—pure terror. Not sure how to describe it, but I’ll try. Like wind battering through the Highlands during the fiercest of storms. An unnatural screech that makes your skin prickle with goose bumps.” She furrowed her brows and rubbed her fingers between them. “Or that could have been from the chill that emanated from their horrid forms. Blanketing everything with a biting frost.”

The gargoyles remained quiet, listening to her tale. She was surprised she’d made it that far, but there was more to tell.

“Another thing I’ll never forget was the stench. Like a rotting animal carcass. Nauseating.”

When she’d finished, she faced each of them awaiting their reaction.

Duncan’s expression had turned grave. “How did they attack?”

She’d forgotten he’d asked about that, so caught up in the horrid sensation of even being near one of the demons.

“They picked off gargoyles who were alone. Two on one. Always a stealthy, uneven, cowardly attack.” A vivid memory of the two that captured her flashed in her mind. Each had taken an arm and mocked her with cruel laughter. She suppressed another shudder.

“They slashed with sharp talons and ripped at gargoyles’ necks, slicing through the thick hide as easy as if it was liquid. But not to drink their blood; to tear out their throats.” She squeezed her eyes shut as the memory of her clan mate’s murder replayed before her. His screams as he attempted to fight off his attackers. Her captors had held her down and made her watch, taunting her they’d get to that point with her when they were ready. An urge to run out of the underground tunnel welled up. She couldn’t be surrounded by these dank walls. She needed open air; she had to escape.

She froze. These gargoyles were her only chance, lest she let the demons roam free to continue their rampage.

Bryce still held her hand. “It’s all right, Mairi. You’re safe.” His voice was low and rumbled like thunder. “You’re with me.”

She focused on his warm touch, on the comfort it provided. Once she stifled the urge to flee, she continued. “Then they tore the rest of the gargoyle into pieces, t-t-tossing body parts to the ground.”

She breathed with relief when she was done, every limb sagged with exhaustion. How she’d gotten through that, she didn’t know. That had better be the last time.

Duncan stared at her for a long moment. “Did your clan live near the Smoo Cave?”

“Aye,” she replied with hesitance, senses flaring with awareness.

“Bring me a map,” Duncan ordered no one in particular. One of the sentries brought him parchment that he unrolled to reveal a map of the U.K.

Duncan studied it before he said. “I heard stories in my youth of spirits that haunted the cave but thought it was only a myth.”

“What have you heard, Duncan?” Lachlan asked. Wariness edged his voice.

“Her descriptions sound like the
sluagh
.”

“The
sluagh
?” Bryce repeated, echoing her question. She’d never heard of them.

“Aye. The unholy hosts of the darkest of souls. I’ve heard tales of them haunting the Highlands, before my time. Stalking to hunt victims during the darkness of night.”

“Why would they return now after all these years?” Bryce asked.

“Good question. They may have slipped back through this realm.” Duncan tapped his fingers on his chin. “Some say they guard a portal to another world.” His tone turned grave. “Someplace I’d never want to see.”

Mairi pictured a scene worse than hell. It had to be if creatures like those demons existed there. From the grimace on the faces of many gargoyles, she imagined they envisioned their own version of such a place.

“If that’s what is spreading terror through the Highlands,” Lachlan began, “what can we do to stop them?”

For a long pause, Duncan said nothing. Had he even heard Lachlan’s question?

“Fight.” Duncan responded. “And pray it’s enough.”

Although shivery tentacles wrapped around her spine, she wouldn’t be intimidated by the demons, again. “I will destroy them.” Lust for vengeance welled up in a flash, overtaking any sense. “They took everything from me. Everyone.”

Duncan leaned forward. “Child, you have no chance on your own. And if they are terrorizing the Highlands, we must all try to stop them.”

“How?” she asked, one part of her hopeful with their help, the other worried about dragging others into such danger.

“We will send scouts, first. See what we’re up against.” In a grim voice, he added, “If they are what I fear, they won’t stop—unless someone stops them.”

In the quiet that followed, the unsaid echoed in her mind. That someone would be them.

The gargoyle named Malcolm paced. “How can we defeat them, Duncan? Are they immortal?”

“That, I don’t know for sure. I never found any written references of them, just heard stories. If they’re immortal, we’d have to find another way. Force them back to whatever realm they slipped from.”

Her gut clenched. How in bloody hell would they manage that?

“Unless they have a weakness,” Duncan added.

“Like what?” She leaned forward.

“Good question,” he replied. “Vampires are immortal, but they can be destroyed by various means—decapitation, sunlight.”

“How will we discover a weakness?” Bryce asked.

“The only way we can,” Duncan replied. “Trial and error.”

Several gargoyles groaned before all went silent in the chamber. It wasn’t the most foolproof of plans.

For the next hour, Duncan and his enforcers debated the best tactics on how to hunt the demons, drawing on their experiences from other battles.

“With your experience, our clan will follow your lead,” Lachlan said with a nod.

“Unfortunately, my experiences have shown such battles lead to bloodshed and tragedy,” Duncan replied. “No one truly wins with so many losses on both sides.”

Mairi’s stomach hollowed. Duncan was right. But what other choice did they have?

Duncan had organized a group of four of his enforcers to survey the Smoo Cave and the location where Mairi’s clan was slaughtered for more clues as to how they’d organize the attack. While they surveyed, Bryce and the remaining gargoyles stockpiled weapons—anything that could inflict damage. In addition to swords and daggers, they incorporated other elements to aid in the challenge of facing the unknown. Silver coatings. Poison on sharpened tips. Even small sachets that contained flammable components.

Duncan raised his eyebrows at Bryce and his brothers. “You remember how this works, I’m sure.”

The brothers exchanged sheepish glances at the memory.

“Aye,” Bryce replied. The others echoed the sentiment.

One side of Duncan’s mouth curled into a half-smile. “Almost burned the damn forest down,” he muttered.

Bryce hadn’t seen these types of sachets since he was a young gargoyle. He and his brothers would “borrow” some from the stash of weapons on the Isle of Stone and take turns blowing things up on the rocky beaches. They experimented with different types of tree bark, noting how the flames and the scent of each differed. They’d learned how to make the magical fires grow higher by projecting a small burst of energy. Only they were reckless and took it too far, soon having bonfires raging out of control. Duncan and some others had to put out the fire. The sachets had been locked away so the five of them would no longer have access.

Now that they were grown and part of their own clan, Duncan and his enforcers trusted them with the same weapons. A monumental step—they could be destructive in the hands of someone who didn’t know what they were doing. Or who had malevolent intentions.

While they waited for Duncan’s enforcers to return, Bryce and his brothers shared a meal with his parents.

“What you’ve gone through, luv,” his mum said, voice edged with concern. “I’m so sorry. For all of it.”

His younger brothers must have filled his parents in while he and Lachlan had spoken to Duncan. “Aye. Me, too,” Da said. His usual bark softened a shade to a gruff tone.

Mairi managed a smile in return that tugged at his heart. So young and beautiful. She’d experienced so much heartache. More than anyone ever should bear. And yet, she persevered.

“I owe much to all of you for your hospitality,” she said. “Especially Bryce.”

The grateful glance she gave him almost leveled him. He almost choked on a fig.

Over the next couple of days with the Calder clan, they brainstormed the best options for battle if they found the demons. When he had downtime, he often spent it with Mairi. They often shared stories as they walked the moors. At night, they flew with his brothers.

When the sentries returned two nights later, Malcolm summarized the findings. “No signs of anything near the cave, but we saw the damage inflicted where her clan lived. We heard reports of bizarre murders in nearby villages, which corroborate Mairi’s description of how they killed—tearing the victims limb from limb.”

“You conducted a thorough search in those locations?” Duncan inquired.

“Aye,” Malcolm replied. “We found no signs of where they’re hiding.”

Duncan stroked his chin. “We need to lure them out, somehow.”

“How?”

“Give them something they would want,” Duncan replied.

After several moments, Mairi spoke. “Me.”

Bryce blinked with horror. Mairi couldn’t have said that, volunteering for such a suicidal task. “What are you doing?”

“They know I escaped. If they’re not already hunting for me to finish what they’d planned, they would pursue if they saw me.”

All he managed to say was, “Mairi, no!”

She tilted her head and studied him after he barked out those words.

“You’re setting yourself as bait,” he added in a less demanding tone.

She raised her chin. “I can’t think of a better option.”

“No!” His volume increased with the mounting fear. “I won’t let you do it.”

The withering look she gave him told him he’d gone too far. His muscles tightened as he waited for the tirade to come.

You don’t own me. You can’t tell me what to do.
And all sorts of statements of the like women shouted when a man attempted to control them.

The fury melted from her eyes. What she actually said surprised him. In a calm, steady voice, she asked, “Bryce, can we have a moment alone?”

“Aye.” At least, she wasn’t planning to eviscerate him in front of his clan mates.

Once they’d traversed far enough over the heather-strewn moors to be out of earshot, she said, “I know you’re concerned, but this is something I have to do.”

“It’s too dangerous. You can’t. Not like this.”

“You knew I planned to go after them. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

True. But hearing her volunteer for a suicide mission was something else. “But—”

“They murdered every member of my clan. Every. Single. One.” She raised her hand, swinging it wildly as she reinforced her point. “If I can do something—anything—to stop them, prevent them from doing something like this—to your clan, for instance, I’m going to do it.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. She was right. And so brave. And damn it, he understood what she was saying and he’d do the same thing, but—she might die. She likely
would
die.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

What was he saying—he didn’t “have” her. He never did. He only just met her! Why did the idea of losing someone he never had affect him so? His chest hammered with a pounding beat while his throat constricted.

A brightness shimmered in her eyes. “It feels good knowing someone cares about me.”

Cared about her? He considered it. Aye, he did. Even if he’d only known her for a short time. Something about her called to him on so many levels—so much that the idea of what she planned to do filled him with anguish.

She offered him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to go blazing up there ready to offer myself up as sacrifice to a demon.”

“What are you planning on doing?” His voice came out at a higher pitch, unlike his own.

“I think I should fly through the space where my clan lived. At night.”

“Mairi, that’s too much. Far too dangerous.”

“I went back there before, remember? When I had to take care of the dead. They weren’t there then, so the chances that they’re hanging about are low. But it’s a good place to start. Then spread out to the nearby villages where there have been other attacks.”