Anita Clenney - Heart Of A Highland Warrior

19TH CENTURY CHARACTERS

Faelan Connor Legendary warrior from 19th century who wakes up 150 years later in a time vault

Tavis Connor 19th century warrior who follows his brother Faelan to the 21st century

McGowan (Aiden Connor) Father of Faelan and Tavis

Ian Connor Brother of Faelan and Tavis

Bessie Ians wife

Alana Connor Sister of Faelan and Tavis

Liam Connor Brother of Faelan and Tavis who was killed young

Marna girl who likes Tavis

Isabel and Frederick Brees great-great grandparents who knew the Connors in the 19th century

Quinn Douglass Warrior and Keeper of the Book

21ST CENTURY CHARACTERS

Anna MacKinley Warrior

Bree Connor Faelans wife and Shays half-sister

Shay Logan Codys fiance and Brees half-sister

Cody MacBain Warrior and Shays fianc

Marcas MacBain Warrior and Codys brother

Lachlan MacBain Warrior and Codys brother

Ewan MacBain Retired warrior and father of Cody, Marcas, and Lachlan

Laura MacBain Mother of Cody, Marcas, and Lachlan

Jamie Warrior and Shays ex-fianc

Samantha Skye FBI agent who likes Jamie

Ronan Connor Warrior and Declans twin

Declan Connor Warrior and Ronans twin

Edward Bree and Shays father

Layla Brees mother who died at 25

Nina Shays aunt who raised her

Matilda Ninas cousin

Angus Deceased warrior and Annas friend

Niall Warrior

Shane Warrior

Duncan Warrior whos in love with Sorcha

Sorcha Warrior who flirts with Duncan

Tomas Warrior and clan medic

Brodie Warrior

Sean Connor Warrior and Keeper of the Book

Coira Seans wife and clan nurse

Old Elmer mysterious hermit

VILLAINS

Voltar Ancient demon

Tristol Ancient demon

Druan Deceased ancient demon

Malek Deceased ancient demon

Bart Dungeon guard

Lance Dungeon guard

The Dark One Creator of demons and vampires

HIS ARSE WAS numb from the stone pew. Hed been sitting here most of the night, staring out the window at his brothers grave, thinking about what had to be done. About who would make the sacrifice and who would be left to go home and tell their mother. He had won, but it hadnt been easy.

A shadow fell across the floor as his younger brother joined him on the pew. They sat side by side in silence, looking at the graveyard. There must be another way, his brother said.

Theres not, and you know it.

Think what youre doing. You dont know what youll wake to. By then, the world might be naught but ashes.

His gaze dropped to his hands spread across his kilt, and he remembered the blood, the torn flesh. I have to take that chance.

Then Ill go.

No. I gave my word. He nudged his brother with his elbow, trying for a smile though he felt dry as leather inside. You need to stay. You might be barmy at times, but youre a thinker, a puzzle solver, and this trouble wont be easy to sort out. Besides, I know what youre hiding under that pretty hair. A mate mark.

The teasing fell flat, and a surprised look crossed his brothers face. He touched his neck. How did you know?

Im not an idiot. Youve been letting your hair loose. Youve never liked it down. And hed peeked while his brother was sleeping to make sure he was right. For Bessie, Id guess.

I cant do anything about it for three years.

But shes your mate. Thats a rare thing to find before your duty is up. I dont have a mate and dont intend to find one. It has to be me. Do you have the book?

His brother nodded and patted a satchel hanging over his shoulder.

We should hurry, before they get back. The husband and wife knew some of the secrets, but not all.

The brothers rose and approached the front of the chapel. The youngest held the oil lantern as the elder one opened the secret catch in the wall. The door hadnt been used in some time. It groaned and grated as the opening was revealed. Musty air covered him like a shroud as he walked down the rough steps to the suffocating darkness of his tomb. The cellar was smaller than the chapel above it. Only a portion of the area here had been dug out and the floor laid with stones. The box waited for him in the corner. It looked beautiful in the dim light. But they were all beautiful, despite what they were made to contain. Hed never given them much thought until this moment. They simply served a purpose. He swallowed and walked toward it, heartbeat drumming in his ears.

His brother touched his shoulder. Lets find another way. There has to be another way.

There is no other.

He took the satchel from his brother and put it inside the box. Hands gripping the edge, he pulled in a shallow breath. It was hard to breathe now.

This isnt right.

He didnt turn to look at his brother. He didnt want him to see his fear. It will work, he whispered. It must. He steadied himself and climbed in as his brother held the lantern high. The wood was cold and hard under his head. He shifted and pulled a dirk from his boot. Just in case.

His brother was crying. Silent tears streamed down his face.

Do it, he said, fighting back his own tears.

I cant. His brothers voice broke on a sob.

He reached for his brothers hand and gripped it hard, feeling the calluses and scars from their childhood. Do it now. Do it for him. He pulled his fingers away.

The lid started to lower, and he heard a ragged cry from outside as darkness swallowed him. His throat tightened until he couldnt breathe, and finally, one tear slid

BREE STARED AT the rotting coffin, wondering who was inside. On the other side of the open grave, the big white cat stared at Bree, its hypnotic green eyes so similar to Brees as Ronan frequently reminded her.

It could be someone local, she said to the cat. But why dig up some old farmers grave? Maybe its a soldier from the Civil War. Sometimes the bodies had to be buried wherever they lay. But this wasnt the first grave near her house that had been disturbed. Her favorite grave, the unmarked one in the graveyard behind her house, had also been dug up. Shed thought Druan might have opened it in his search for the missing key to Faelans time vault. But Druan was dead now, and this hole was fresh.

Could have been a Civil War buff looking to add to his collection. Or her collection. Not all Civil War buffs were male. Bree was proof of that. The Civil War was her area of expertise. Shed spent untold hours taking part in reenactments and searching fields for buried treasure with her father. He wasnt her real father, but an uncle whod pretended to be her father. She still had a hard time with that. Theyd been so close, like two peas in a pod, her mother said. The mother who wasnt really her mother but her aunt.

Bree rubbed her belly and wondered how shed explain all the craziness to her little girl or little boy when the time came. How would they tell the child that heror hisfather was over a century old? That one set of grandparents were even older, one of them perhaps a vampire hunter, and the other set was really a great-uncle and great-aunt who had pretended to be Brees real parents in order to protect her? She still had so much to learn about her real parents, Edward and Layla.

The best part was that Bree had gotten a sister out of the craziness. Shay. They had different mothers, but Edward was also Shays father. Bree had always wanted a sister, so much so that sometimes shed pretended Emmy the panda was her sister.