Wicked Highlander Read Free Page A

shadows. Who was there? Or rather… what ? She could feel them watching her. And waiting.
    The hairs on the back of her neck lifted as she heard the first growl. Her stomach flipped then fell to her feet as fear took hold of her with a cold hand. She knew then what surrounded her. Warriors.
    Her entire body hurt, and she feared her ribs might be cracked. There wasn’t time to think about that, though, not when certain death faced her.
    The first Warrior stepped out of the shadows at her feet. His skin was bright green, like the color of the first buds of spring. He crouched before her, his lips pulled back to bare his large fangs. His hair was matted and of indistinguishable color with all the filth in it as it hung in his face hiding everything but the blazing green eyes.
    He was going to pounce on her and rip her flesh with his long, green claws. She had used all her courage with Deirdre. Now, all that was left was the terror that settled around her like a heavy cloak, preventing her from moving or even breathing.
    Get up. You’re a Druid. Act like it.
    But she had no weapons, nothing to defend herself with other than some magic that would do no good against these Warriors. She wanted to curl in a ball and let the tears come.
    What would Grandmother think?
    Another Warrior joined the first. This one had skin the color of her favorite gray mare. The Warrior tilted his head to the side and licked his lips.
    Please, God.
    A Warrior of white stepped out of the shadows and regarded her with his pool of milky white eyes. He seemed almost uninterested in her, as if he cared more about what the other Warriors were doing.
    A deep, feral growl filled with menace and death sounded to her left that made all the other Warriors look in that direction. A cold sweat broke out over Marcail’s skin as dread overtook her.
    It happened so fast. One moment the Warriors were looking in the darkness, the next the growling began in earnest. It grew and grew until her ears rang with it.
    And then something large and black leapt out of the shadows to land on top of her.
    Marcail swallowed a scream and braced herself for the pain she knew was coming. Only there was nothing.
    Something grabbed her about the waist and tossed her into the shadows as if she weighed nothing more than a leaf. Marcail’s already injured body shook with renewed pain as she landed against the stone walls. Her head banged against something hard.
    She tried to focus her eyes, but all she saw was a mass of colored bodies flaying each other alive.
    And then darkness took her.
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    Quinn waited until the other Warriors realized he would battle them forever if he had to. One by one, they drifted back to their caves. It wasn’t until he was the only one left standing that he moved back into the shadows. Ithad taken him days to fight each one of the Warriors in the Pit to stamp his dominance on them after he’d first arrived.
    They continued to test him, though. After all, they were Highlanders.
    However, there were a few who sided with him and watched his back. Not that he fully trusted anyone in this Hell.
    Quinn sighed and turned to where he had tossed the female. He had smelled her before Deirdre had thrown her into the Pit. Her scent was of sunshine and rain. He had known what Deirdre wanted of the Warriors as soon as the Druid had been brought to the trapdoor, and he’d given them a warning to stay away from the Druid.
    He wasn’t surprised when the other Warriors had gone toward her. Not that he blamed them. The woman was just what any man would want after being in the dark for so long, especially with the cravings, both physically and mentally, the Warriors dealt with constantly.
    But Quinn knew he couldn’t give in to the urges of Apodatoo, the god of revenge, who was inside him. Not now, not before his brothers came for him.
    The gods had risen from the ravages of Hell all those centuries ago to take over the bodies of the strongest