It didn’t matter anymore. She was here.Veronica was, she prayed, safe at last.
Chapter Two
Castle Cumhacht, ScottishHighlands
1155 A.D.
Laird Lachlan Gunn sent his men to fetchVictor from the dungeon. Victor hadn’t lied. Hedidheraldfrom this perverse future where the dead stalk and make meals ofthe living. Whilst the prisoner had mesmerized the laird withfanciful tales and moving paintings that depicted a dying,frightening future, ‘twas a story that had been difficult to acceptas truth. Lachlan kenned ‘twas time to accept the nigh untounbelievable tale.
Leastways, everything Victor had predictedcame to be. Even his sister Veronica had proven herself to exist,having shown up on this AI scanner contraption a fortnight ago,mayhap more. Lachlan had vowed to the mon that when and if hissister died or arrived at the future Apple Creekstronghold—whichever came first if it came at all—the laird wouldrelease Victor from bondage. That day had come.
He liked Victor’s person, he did, and soimprisoning him was not a task he’d taken any pleasure in, butneither was Lachlan a fool. At thirty and five, he knew better thanto accept ordinary proclamations—much less outrageous tales—withoutabsolute proof. Mayhap the AI scanner itself should have beentestimony enough with its moving paintings and dark promises.Leastways, ‘twas a decision he could live with for the wellbeing ofhis clan came above all else. He hadn’t reached his station in lifewithout many a battle won and the protection of his peopleproclaimed and freely given. Clan Gunn depended on him. Makingfoolish mistakes was not in his nature.
His thoughts strayed back to the woman namedVeronica. He felt much admiration for her cunning ways and battleprowess. In truth, never had he heard tell of a wench who couldmake short work of men, yet she did so nearly everra day, sometimesmore than once in a day. She fascinated him as no wench ever hadafore. Both comely and deadly, Veronica was full of spellbindingcontradictions.
As laird, he knew the fortitude it took tobattle the living, but he couldna ken what it took to make war onthe resurrected dead. They were stronger, faster, and more viciousthan any mon he’d ever clanged swords with on the battlefield, yetshe cut them down like felled branches from a tree. Aye, sheintrigued him. Hell, she consumed his everra thought.
Lachlan paced back and forth in hisbedchamber, awaiting Victor’s arrival. His musculature corded andtensed, his jawline grim. He wanted to understand how the womancould come back through time. He dinna ken how Victor had managedsuch a feat once, much less how he might bring someone back for asecond time. All the laird knew for a certainty was he wanted thewoman here under his protection.
He wanted her to come to him.
Chapter Three
The retina scanner was the final deviceVeronica had to contend with—she hoped. Knowing her brother to bethe overly cautious type, for good reason as it turned out, made itdifficult to say with absolute certainty that her pre-mapped eyesignature would still be enough to enter Victor’s compound with.She placed her right eye up against the scanner anyway.
The machine slid left and right, a whirringsound accompanying the movement.“Access granted,”adisembodied female voice announced. Veronica sighed in relief.“So long as you can answer the following three questionscorrectly.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Victor,” she muttered,her voice hoarse. Had she possessed the energy to do so, she wouldhave rolled her eyes. “Go for it,” she instead croaked out to themachine.
“What is your full, legal name?”
“Veronica Marie Banks.” Her goddamned throatwas dry and scratchy.
“Very good. Where on his body does Victorhave the tattoo you forced him to get?”
She found a small smile. She doubted herstraightlaced brother would have ever let anyone but her know aboutthe thing. “On the small of his back, just above his buttocks.” Thebrother and sister duo didn’t have matching tattoos, but they bothhad ones located on the same area of their bodies. Laser-basedtattoo parlors weren’t supposed to cater to an inebriatedclientele, but there it was.
“Excellent! Final question…”
“Yes?”
“On what part of your brother’s anatomydid you kick him the last time you saw him?”
Veronica couldn’t stop her quiet chuckle,though the small action was physically painful. Victor was a geniusindeed. Most people would have guessed she’d kicked him in hisballs, but that wasn’t the case. The poor guy had accidentallysnuck up on her from behind. She had innately thrown out aroundhouse kick that landed square on his—
“Chin.”
“He still bears a scar there,”thedisembodied female voice chided as if understanding Veronica’ssnicker signified humor at Victor’s expense,“But you may enter,Veronica Marie Banks.”
The door whooshed open. The cool airconditioning against her hot skin felt glorious. She practicallymoaned as she stepped inside the soundproof compound and the doorswished shut, locking behind her. “Victor!” she called out,stumbling down the hall and ignoring her burning throat, for oncenot having to worry about keeping her voice a soft hush. She madeit to the first room—the kitchen—and immediately went for the waterbottles. “Victor, where are you?” she rasped out. “I’m here in thekitchen!”
She ignored the silence for a protractedmoment and concentrated on opening two water bottles. Her handswere a bit shaky, but she managed it. The replenishing feel of thecold liquid wetting her parched throat was ambrosia to the body.She quickly gulped down two bottles worth, her throat semi-ablazefrom prolonged dehydration. She opened a third bottle and kept itin her left hand while she threw open the refrigerator door withher right. Quickly ascertaining that most of the food inside it hadexpired, she grabbed a protein drink and chugged it down.
Thank you, Jesus. And thank you, Victor.
“Victor!” Where was he at? Likely working onsome new device or another. It’s all he did. “I’m here, bro!”
The prolonged silence at last bredsuspicion. Once she was properly hydrated, she began searching theunderground compound. She looked high and low, scoured the entirefortress, but her brother was nowhere to be found. The longer sheexplored, the bigger her sense of foreboding grew.
