Page 42 of Bond of a Bewitched Highlander

"What? Who are you?" Elsea asked, surprised she could speak in this dream.

"That matters not. You are to stay away from Chief Brodie MacCain."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions," the woman growled in a hateful voice.

"Naught makes sense."

"I'm glad to know your memory is completely gone." The woman smirked.

Elsea frowned. What a horrible thing to say.

"Ask Brodie to have some of his guards escort you to Kincreag Castle. If you do not, your life will be forfeit."

Ice prickled along Elsea's nerves. "You're threatening to kill me?"

The hag lifted a thin ginger brow.

Elsea dared not move, her thoughts muddled.

She wanted to go home, but she also wished to know how she'd come to be here. And she wanted to remember more about Brodie and their prior association. "I cannot speak outside of dreams, so I cannot ask him," Elsea said, thinking that was a good excuse.

"Aye, you can."

***

WHEN ELSEA WAS ALMOST ready to wake up from the nightmare, Wilona opened the bedchamber window and transformed into storm petrel form.

She flew into the whipping wind and misting rain, trying to make her way back to the island. But the challenge was too much for her to bear. She hadn't rested long enough between shifts, and was already growing tired. 'Twould be impossible to fight the brutal wind and return to the cave.

Struggling, she flapped her wings, but the gale kept carrying her northward along the coast. The shift would happen soon!

She scanned the land below her, and Dunrhyne Castle came into view. Was Talnaroch in residence? Smoke wafted from two of the chimneys, and a half dozen horses lingered outside. Mayhap the earl had left a few men to guard the place. He wouldn't mind her staying a short while. They were business partners, after all.

Even if he objected, she would do what she wished. If the men discovered her, she would vanish and pretend to be a ghost. She snorted, imagining scaring the wits out of them.

The evening before, Wilona had left her pilfered clothing in one of the upper floor's rooms before shifting and flying out to the selkie's island. She flew into the same chamber through the broken window. As her strength gave way, she landed gently on the floor before turning human. Whew. No pain.

On her hands and knees, she crawled to her clothing, still in a heap on the floor where she'd left it. Shivering against the cold, she stood, and dressed. The wind gusted through the broken windows, and she was glad to have the woolen garments on.

Hearing no one about, she hurried down the spiral stone stairs. Soon, she entered the bedchamber with intact windows, along with a fireplace and a small stack of dried driftwood. She barred the door so the men wouldn't enter. She had already seen smoke rising from the chimneys, so they wouldn't notice smoke from this fireplace.

She tore some straw from the old mattress and found a few small twigs near the driftwood to use as kindling. A tinderbox sat on the mantle. After placing the wood and kindling just so, she used the flint and steel to create sparks that landed on the dried moss from the tinderbox.

With the heavy cloud cover, gloaming would arrive earlier. She pulled the shabby draperies over the window to block out the cold air and hide the light from the fireplace. Once the men were asleep, she would slip down to the kitchen and eat some of their food.

Most importantly, she had to drive Elsea away from Brodie. She didn't need to be in the lass's chamber to give her commands in nightmares. She could do that from here.

What Wilona needed now was her keek stane to keep an eye on Brodie, his former whore, and Talnaroch. With the scrying stone, she could arrange things to her benefit. She had to devise a way to snatch it from Finnian.

***

ELSEA AWOKE AND BOLTED upright in bed, her heart galloping at breakneck speed. What? A dream? Nay, a nightmare. That woman had radiated an evil aura.

Elsea's damp nightgown clung to her. She shivered and glanced at the window. 'Twas open halfway, and misty rain blew in on the chill wind. It had been closed before she'd taken the nap.

She shoved herself to the edge of the bed, pain shooting through her head from the effort.