The Condemned Highlander (Highland Intrigue Trilogy 2)

Several women wished her well as she left the village and she had barely entered the woods when Nolan stepped out from behind a tree, causing her to jump.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he apologized, a nervous tremor to his words. “There is something I must tell you. Something meant for your ears only.”

Curious at the secrecy that he implied, she asked, “What is it, Nolan?”

He kept his voice low. “The witch gave me a message. Warned me not to fail to deliver it. Warned me it was meant for one person’s ears alone. That person is you.”

Annis’s eyes shot wide, startled by the news. “The witch knew my name?”

Nolan shook his head. “Nay.”

“Then how do you know the message is meant for me?”

“The message was clear. The witch ordered me to tell the fiery, red-haired woman that she is waiting for her.”

2

Worry plagued Annis as she walked, Nolan’s words remaining strong in her head as did the tears that had gathered in his aging eyes.

“I thought it a dream. I prayed it was a dream,” he had said. “Then I saw you, your hair blazing red, and I knew—it had all been real.”

A chill had run through her, realizing what it meant for him and for herself. He had come face to face with the witch and had actually survived. Would she be that lucky?

It didn’t matter as long as she saved her sister. Bliss had been barely twelve years when their mum had died and with their da having already passed that left Bliss to care for her sisters. She had been a mother to Elysia and Annis at a young age and had done everything to keep them safe, well-fed, and most of all loved. Bliss had a generous heart and gave just as generously of it to people. It was what made her such a talented healer.

Bliss had sacrificed much and now it was Annis’s turn to do the same for her.

Annis made her way through the forest. Nolan had been right. Life teemed with sounds. The birds’ chatter echoed through the trees. A good breeze rustled the leaves, causing some to fall which in turn caused the crunch beneath her feet from the leaves that already carpeted the ground. And squirrels ran up and down the trees foraging for food to store for the coming winter.

She stopped a moment to listen more closely and enjoyed the melody of the forest, pleased no footfalls disturbed it. She thought once again about Nolan. How strange it must have been for him when complete silence struck, not a sound being heard. Had the forest gone silent in awe of the witch or in fear of her? Was that what heralded the witch’s appearance—silence? She shivered in anticipation of meeting the silence.

Chasing the disturbing thoughts, she continued on her way. If she kept her pace, she could reach the village after nightfall, but that was not to her liking. The darkness concealed whether it meant to or not, and she preferred to enter the village in the light of day when, if not all, most was revealed.

She slowed her pace with difficulty since she was used to a brisk gait and found shelter for the night under a grouping of large pines when dusk began to settle over the land. She didn’t bother with a fire, unfolding the blanket strapped on her back which also held what food she had and a few other necessities, and tucked it tight around her. A few munches of bread and cheese served for a quick supper and not long after she fell asleep.

Dawn’s light woke her and after finishing the cheese and bread Garda had provided, she set off for the village. Nolan had told her to look for the towering pines that appeared to kiss and the village would be there. The pines were as he described them, but she saw no village.

If she hadn’t plopped down on the ground annoyed while berating Nolan silently, she would have never seen the narrow path that led through the pines. Their low, sweeping branches almost concealed it entirely.

She made her way along the path, bending her head and nudging branches aside. It led to a clearing where the village sat, though she would not call the five sturdy dwellings and a few shelters, that a good wind would collapse, a village.

Annis approached cautiously, keeping her hand beneath her cloak near her dagger. She was prepared to use it, if necessary, the people she spied a motley bunch.

“What do you want here?”

Annis jumped and turned at the sharp demand to face a woman of sizeable girth. She had a pretty face, at least it would be if she wasn’t scowling, and soft blue eyes. Her worn garments appeared beyond repair even for Elysia’s talented hand. Her dark hair was piled on her head in a misshapen manor and her plump hands rested on her wide hips as if in warning.