Page 27 of A Highlander for the English Widow

He cried out and clawed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. Bram used the opportunity to come in and strike him. Logan blinked frantically and tried his best to defend himself. Bram’s strokes were wild and stabbing, showing no finesse at all, only brutality. The steel sang as they clashed and Logan’s feet twisted into the ground. Pain bloomed on his shoulder as Bram slashed at him. Warm blood trickled out. Then Bram jabbed an elbow in his face and Logan staggered back. His feet were then swept under him before Bram straddled his chest, pushing his long, taloned fingernails into the open wound on Logan’s shoulder.

Logan’s eyes opened wide in pain, and the tears helped to clear his vision. He screamed loudly and saw Bram’s wild, manic visage towering over him. Bram relished the mania and the frenzy, and Logan knew his death would not be a swift one.

But that meant he still had time to fight back.

Logan summoned his strength and thought of Amanda. He thought of the life that was waiting for him if he could just make it through this night.

Bram’s fingers opened the wound even wider, and blood gushed out like a frothing stream. Logan reached across and grabbed Bram’s arm, gasping and grunting as he tried to pull it away. Bram laughed and used his free hand to punch Logan in the face. Logan felt blood swim along his tongue and through his teeth. He pushed himself up using all his strength and then spat blood in Bram’s eyes. It formed a crimson mask, and Bram reeled back.

Logan finally had the chance to pull Bram’s hand away. He gasped with relief and then stood up, wasting no time in grabbing ahold of Bram and hurling him away. Bram staggered and fell, carried by the momentum of Logan’s throw, and he crashed right into the fiery wagon. The horses had by now freed themselves as Bram hadn’t been able to fully tie them to the wagon. Bram’s body crashed into the flames and was embraced by them. The fire took hold of his flesh, and he cried out, his yelping whimpers mixing with his maniacal laugh. Logan gasped for breath as he fell to his hands and knees, watching as the fire took hold of Bram, melting his flesh and pulling him down into the abyss of hell.

There was no escape for him now. Logan sat back as the pain flooded through him. He winced as he watched the blood pour out of him, and he grew light-headed. He made sure that Bram didn’t escape, and then he stayed there as the world closed in on him and everything went black.

19

Amanda was beside herself. She had not been able to sleep through the night. There was no sign of the children or of Logan. Ann kept telling her to get some rest because staying up wasn’t going to make a difference. Amanda knew that this was true, but it still didn’t stop her from worrying. She paced the halls and gnawed on her lips, and the knot of tension in the pit of her stomach would not cease to gripe.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she could not live without Logan, even if she had to tell him the truth. She wanted him back so they could at least share one last kiss, and she could tell him the words that had been in her heart but had not left her lips yet.

The stars twinkled overhead, and the moon was bright. It was almost a perfect, beautiful night, but she knew that violence reigned. She prayed and wished and hoped that Logan would come back. Sometimes, when the breeze was right, she could almost hear the storm of hoofbeats, but she was afraid that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

But then, in the small hours of the morning, when the night was at its darkest and the sun was still preparing to rise, she saw a horse approach with a silhouetted figure upon it, slumped forward. Amanda raced to the door and flung it open, crying out with joy when she saw that it was Logan. That joy quickly turned to despair and concern, though, when she saw him more clearly. His clothes were stained with blood and his shoulder was hanging down. He was slumped to one side and looked groggy. When he smiled, his teeth were stained crimson, and there was an ashy smell about him.

“I told ye I would return,” he said slowly, wincing after he spoke.

Amanda rushed to his side and helped him off the horse. He placed an arm across her shoulder so that she was forced to support his weight as they walked into the estate.

“Let’s get you to Deirdre. I’m sure she’ll be able to patch you up,” Amanda said, although she twisted her face with disgust when she looked at the open wound.

Logan shook his head. “I dinnae need Deirdre. Just ye. Take me somewhere and patch me up,” he said.

Amanda knew there was no point arguing with him. They walked slowly; she had to focus her strength to ensure that she did not crumple under his weight. She did not even try to get him up the stairs, instead venturing into a sitting room where she often read. Logan sank into a chair and breathed with relief. Amanda lit a couple of candles and then left for a moment, fetching some water and something to clean and bandage his wound. She also collected a knife.

“I take it you were successful?” she asked.

Logan nodded. “I told the men tae take the children back tae the keep. They’re safe. Bram is dead,” he said.

His words were coarse. Amanda did not ask him how Bram died. It had clearly been a hard-fought battle and one that Logan might well have lost. It was difficult to see the wound while he was wearing his clothes, so Amanda cut them away. The blood had flowed along his chest, casting his skin in a scarlet shade. There was a deep hole; the skin had been mutilated around it as though an animal had torn it into shreds. She quickly cleaned it. Logan winced and gasped as she touched it. Relief swam through her body, though. Even though he was wounded, at least he was alive, and she was glad that she could take care of him.

“I just needed tae get back tae ye,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Amanda made sure that he had something to drink, then patched up the wound as well as cleaned around it. She ran a cloth along his broad chest, feeling his powerful muscles underneath her hands. In other circumstances it would have been arousing, but it was still enough to bring them closer. His eyes were dazed and he was groggy. Whatever had happened with Bram had taken a lot out of him. It was all she could do to prevent herself from flinging her arms around him and sobbing with relief that he had come back in one piece. But he needed her to be strong. He needed her to be composed, and, in this moment, she could be everything he needed her to be.

She noticed that he was breathing heavily and had actually fallen asleep. Amanda smiled and took away all the implements she had used to tend to his wound and then curled up in a chair near him, watching over him as he slept.

Logan had been asleep for a couple of hours when he stirred. He awoke with a start, as though from a bad dream, but as soon as he saw Amanda there, he quietened and looked calm. He offered her a smile.

“You seem in a better state than when you arrived,” she said.

“I feel better, although still a wee bit sore,” he said, making an anguished expression as he rolled his wounded shoulder.

“What happened?”

“I saw Bram. He attacked me. For a moment he got the better of me, but I fought back. He’s nae gaeing tae trouble anyone again.”

“You’re sure about that?”

He looked at her with a level gaze. “I’m sure,” he said.