Page 106 of Into The Light

“You should not be here,” she said. Although she spoke English, her native accent made it sound like another language entirely.

“You speak English. Good,” Thorne said, stepping forward.

She lifted her spear and stopped him with the point in his chest.

“Understood.” He flashed his playful smile and stepped back. “We need your help.”

“Why would we help you?” she snapped.

“Because he’s dying,” Lothaire’s voice rumbled. “You need to fix him.”

She glanced to Aiden and then back to Lothaire’s expectant gaze. “We do not need to do anything. You abominations. You should not be here. It is good he dies.”

Lothaire snarled, and I heard his fangs pop.

“Calm down.” Thorne pressed a staying hand against his shoulder then turned his attention back to the Pict woman. “Let’s start over. I’m Thorne. This is Lothaire and Annella from Clan Mackay. That is Mark and Grizella. And this is Aiden and Emilia. We are here for your help. Aiden didn’t want to be what you made him anymore. He chose a human life to be with the woman he loved and now he’s dying. And he doesn’t deserve it. He’s a good man. Please. Just hear us out.”

I watched her face twist while she contemplated his words. She looked over to the other group who stood motionless beside their boat. Even Mark held his sassy tongue understanding the seriousness of the situation.

“Not you.” She waved a hand to Mark and Grizella. “You not Pict. You go.”

“What?” Grizella stepped forward.

Lothaire nodded his head. “It’s okay, love. Clan Mackay is descendants of Picts. You both are not. We’ll be okay. Just take Mark back to shore with you,” he said, giving her a comforting look.

“Are you sure?” Grizella asked.

“I’ll find you when we’re done. We’ll be fine. All that matters is saving Aiden.”

With a nod she stepped over to us and leaned up, pressing a long kiss against his lips. They pushed their foreheads together for a moment before she turned and walked back to her boat.

“Be careful, Emilia,” Mark said, coming over and giving me a hug. “And take good care of our boy.”

“I will.” I closed my arms around him. “I’ll see you soon.”

“She go too,” the Pict woman said.

My head snapped around to see her finger pointing at me. “What? No! I’m not leaving him.”

“You not Pict. You go.”

“Emilia,” Lothaire started.

“No!” I shouted back. “I’m not leaving him. I won’t! He goes... I go.”

I clenched my teeth and stepped closer to Aiden. No one, not even this little Pict warrior woman was taking me from his side.

She raked me with curious eyes and then looked to Aiden. Her eyes moved back and forth between us and then I saw a flash of recognition in her face, though I wasn’t sure why. She looked back to me and then nodded. “Fine. She comes.”

Blowing out a breath of relief I looked to Lothaire. He gave me a nod of approval.

“Follow me,” she snapped and turned, pushing her spear into the ground as she stepped off.

“I’ll see you soon,” I said to Mark and pecked him on the cheek.

“You’d better.” He winked before turning away.

As we followed the woman up the beach I turned before we went into the woods. Mark and Grizella floated away from the sand. He held up a hand and waved before blowing me a kiss and disappearing into the mist. I turned back and jumped when I saw other warriors stepping out of the woods. The woman had not come alone, and I didn’t think even the vampires had sensed them hidden amongst the branches.