A Highlander for Christmas Read Free Page A

simply stared. “Have I ever implied such a thing?”
    “No.” That was exactly the problem, of course. “You don’t have to say a word, Nicholas. One touch, one brush of the hand, and I know.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “That I can feel things. Mostly by touch or the random brush of fingers. It began that night after I passed out. After I died,” Jared said grimly. “When I came around, I was in a makeshift clinic with a chipped IV line in my arm, and I could sense emotions, feelings and unspoken thoughts. They were simply— there .”
    Nicholas sank into a chair before the fire. “Sweet heaven above, I had no idea. You seemed distant, aloof. Now I know why. Did you mention this new … ability in your debriefing in London?”
    “Why should I? So they could use me as a new lab rat?”
    “Perfectly understandable. I just wish you’d told me sooner, Jared. Not that it changes anything.”
    “It changes everything . I’m barely fit to keep myself company, much less anyone else. Touching another person triggers a storm of chaotic images and emotions that get twisted up with my own until I doubt my own sanity. I’m no good to you, Nicholas. Not for this project or anything else.”
    “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” Nicholas hesitated, then held out his hand. There was a light of pure, devilish determination in his eyes.
    Jared studied the outstretched fingers, aware of his friends’ silent challenge. Then, with a sigh, he gripped those fingers with his own.
    In that moment, Jared felt Draycott’s steely determination and unquestioning trust in his abilities. He also saw that Nicholas would never give up.
    Jared frowned. “It won’t work, you know. I’ll make a mistake or I’ll offend someone. Maybe even you. How many of us can stand to have our minds picked clean by a stranger?”
    “I’ll take that chance.” Nicholas pushed to his feet. “Now I think you’d better go up and rest, because Kacey and Genevieve have something special planned tonight.”
    “More card games?” Jared gave a laugh that was slightly grim. “It’s getting hard to pretend that I don’t know exactly what they have. Every time they touch me I can see, Nicholas.”
    “I had no idea.” Nicholas gave a smile. “A useful ability, however. It could save a person a great deal of money.”
    “I’m serious, Nicholas. This is not something to laugh at.”
    “Sometimes it’s better to laugh. Kacey taught me that.” Nicholas stared at the framed photo of a woman with sunlight in her face and flowers braided into her long hair. “Maybe if you’re lucky, someone will teach you that, too. Now go and rest, because I’m not making your excuses tonight. Remember to study that file I gave you, too.”
    “I believe I know how Captain Bligh’s seamen felt two weeks out of Tahiti.”
    “Trust me, my friend, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
    ~ ~ ~
    The moon hung like an icy sickle, stark above the black woods. Out beyond the Witch’s Pool the wind rose in a shrill lament.
    The distant peal of bells rode the same current, sharp and sad over the rolling downs. Ten, eleven, twelve .
    And then once more, low and dim, more like a memory than any true stroke.
    In its wake the woods of Draycott Abbey lay still. Asleep. Almost as if in hushed expectation.
    Silence—and then something more. Something furtive that skirted the darkest of the night’s shadows.
    So it begins , thought the figure motionless on the high parapet. In silence his tall form slid from behind a chimney of twisted tiles. His shoulders took shape, elegant in black velvet. Even the lace cuffs at his wrist were muted gray in the dappled shadows.
    “Once more it begins,” he whispered, eyes to the moat and the home wood beyond. But where?
    The guardian ghost of Draycott Abbey frowned. His skills were far superior to those of any common mortal, but even he was not without his limits. He had met danger and faced violence many times in protection of