* **
Present Day
Anderson Creek, NC
Emily gaped at the empty mound. “Where did Tevin go?”
“Don’t know.” Malcolm’s darting gaze made her stomach drop to her knees. She hurried around the edge of the knoll to where he stood, a smirk on his face. He knew more than he’d admit.
“Yes you do. Your mom is on the way. She’ll want to know where your brother went. Tell me where he is hiding before she gets here. Once we find him, we can go home.”
“No!” He slammed two palms against her chest and shoved hard.
She propelled backward through the barrier as if it was nothing more than a bubble of soap. The cell phone flew from her hand, and she landed on her butt, the moist grass of the mound seeping through her leggings. “You little brat!”
Wow. He’d always been a handful, but she’d never called Malcolm a brat before.Shit. He seemed hostile—dark. The look in his eyes almost maniacal.
She pushed her palms against the ground to rise, but hesitated. Little sparkling lights flitted about her. Like lighting bugs. No—
Larger. Dragonflies? Perhaps—
Tee teehee hee. Tee teehee hee. Tee teehee hee.Feminine voices surrounded her with tinkling giggles.
“Who’s there?” Emily’s voice cracked. She leapt to her feet and whirled about, but didn’t see anyone other than the gloating Malcolm.
Then everything went crazy. Spun. Or was she spinning?
She placed a hand on her stomach as if it was possible to hold nausea at bay. The ground fell out from beneath her. A scream caught in a suddenly parched throat. She plummeted downward into nothingness.
Down…down…down, she dropped. What the—
A sonic boom made her head throb. She slapped her hands over ringing ears.
Something pulled her horizontally toward a bright white light. What was there?Whowas there? She wished she could backpedal. The light burst like fireworks into bright colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet—the colors of the rainbow.
Emily’s vision dulled to gray then went black.
CHAPTER TWO
August 1521
Strathlachlan, Scotland
“Good luck to ye, lads.” The blacksmith waved a broad hand.
Gregor returned the gesture then rocked forward in the saddle, prompting his horse to follow Duncan’s lead. Two ghillies traveled with them, pack horses in tow for transporting the deer back to the castle.
They climbed the heather-covered incline behind the stables and forge as rays of sun peeked above the eastern ridge, painting the sky in shades of red and gold. The soft mossy scent of crushed purple blooms triggered fond memories of romping across the same slope when he fostered at Castle Lachlan as a green lad. Although he’d been advised against returning to Strathlachlan due to rumors of fae activity, accepting a position as part of Archibald’slèine-chneaswould prove the right decision. Serving under the ginger-headed Duncan, the captain of the MacLachlan chief’s elite bodyguard, was an honor.
Besides, brownies and faeries didn’t scare Gregor.
After riding along the ridge for a distance, they entered thewood and traveled a good path in single file with little chatter until the sun was high in the sky. Finally, Duncan raised a hand, halting them. Deer tracks crisscrossed the path.
Duncan grinned. “A small herd has crossed here.”
Gregor slid from his horse and squatted. He fingered a deep track in the mud. “Fresh. Appears they’ve recently used this game trail.”
Slim cuts bisected thickets on both sides of the path they’d been following, marking a much-used game trail.
