A Templar's Gifts Read Online Free PDF Page A

Torquil answered. I heard the tremor in his voice and my eyes darted to the soldier. The man’s narrow and suspicious gaze caught my own, and my backbone quivered. His look shifted then to Torquil, whose countenance gave nothing away.
    â€œWe were told this boat belongs to the MacLeod family. Do you deny this?” he demanded.
    And the heat began to rise. I felt sweat gathering on my brow and running down the small of my back. The air wavered and I began to panic.
No. Not now,
I silently begged.
    Soldiers riding hard along the road. A body, bundled in linen, draped over the back of one of the horses. The wind whipping. The covering torn back. The white, slack face of the Abbot bouncing with the jarring stride.
    I came back to the sound of Torquil protesting the soldier now boarding our boat. My legs were weak and my body trembling.
Lord, please …
I begged, with myheart lodged somewhere behind my teeth as I reached for the strength of the sea.
These lads are no’ the ones ye seek. Another boat on the horizon comes. Hurry.
    The whisper was difficult. The power was strong, and my efforts to hold it in check barely up to the task. Still, I focused the way the Templar had taught me.
    â€œNo. This boat belongs to my brother-in-law. We hail from Inverness,” said Torquil. I could feel the fear making his heart pound and his hand tighten on the wheel.
    The soldier’s confusion wafted over me and I took hope from it. His eyes were slightly glazed, I noticed, and the tense alertness he had come aboard with had ebbed. I pushed again slightly, so that the wash of my suggestion would encompass the men behind him.
Another boat on the horizon.
    The man before me cocked his head, as if listening to something no one else heard. I forced the push a little harder, directly into his mind. A film of sweat broke out on his brow. I watched as he swayed then rushed to the rail.
    Stock-still and terrified, I shifted my eyes to meet Torquil’s. The man’s retching was loud and worrisome. Moments stretched as my mind flit with panic. Our chances would be better if I continued the push, but with my power as unpredictable as it was, this man might die.
    We had to get away. The longer he remained aboard, the less I would be able to do with the power. Already my body shook with fatigue. I softened the push and continued the whisper.
    The soldier slowly straightened. His face was white and his clothing disheveled. Though I stared, he did not meet my eyes.
    â€œLieutenant! Come! There is another boat. These are not the ones we seek.” The call from the ship was insistent. The man who had been vomiting turned away and, without a backward glance, hurried aboard his ship. The planks were quickly withdrawn and in moments they were cutting across the water.
    I continued the faint whisper until they were a speck on the horizon, until the throbbing pressure of the power felt as if it would crush my head. Then, without warning, my knees buckled and the world began to tilt.
    â€œWhoa! Hey!” Torquil scrambled to my side and helped me down to the deck. I was breathing shallowly and bright spots floated before my eyes. The wind blew cold, rippling across my face. The waves lifted the boat in a rolling gait that brought bile rushing to my throat. The Abbot had been taken. They knew of the Holy Vessel.
    â€œHow long to Arbroath?” I asked, gulping air, hoping to settle my stomach.
    â€œTomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Are ye all right?” he asked. I nodded and regretted the movement.
    â€œHow did ye turn them away?” he asked, adjusting the sail and moving back to the wheel. There was uneasiness in him and I knew it was his acknowledgment of the power use.
    A heavy cloud moved directly above, making the sky just that much darker. I stared up at it, wondering how to answer. “Misdirection is the only way I can describe it. I suggested the possibility that a ship approached, that we were not their