HauntedLaird Read Online Free PDF Page B

a way to communicate beyond the veil with those who had passed into
the other realm.
    He appeared hesitant to speak. He leaned against the wall
opposite from where she sat. “For o’er two hundred years I have called this
cave mi home. I swore an oath ta protect a friend.”
    Jasper floated to stand at the mouth of the cave and
appeared to be watching the rain. Lynn moved to his side. The side nearest to
him was kept cool by his essence. She sensed a deep sadness within him. When
she tried to touch him and console him, her hand passed right through his arm
and it made her shiver for a second. She shook off the instant chill and
followed her train of thought.
    “This friend,” she paused trying not to pry but needing to
know, “did you love this person?”
    He didn’t answer her question. Instead he stood straight and
stiff. Without looking at her, he turned. “I have felt it on the wind. Nature
whispers ta mi about a change that needs ta come.”
    When his gaze met hers, she read his loss and sensed his
desperation. Whatever was happening was not of his choosing.
    “Come,” he said solemnly as he floated toward the rear of
the cave. “’Tis time ye met mi friend.”
    Lynn followed without saying a word. A mismatched assortment
of lanterns flickered to life as he passed and she got the feeling he did that
for her. She doubted he needed the light to see where he was going. The rear of
the cave became three different sections. One went off to the left. There was a
huge middle opening. The third was to the right. Jasper hovered for a second
then turned to her.
    His eyes closed and the most wonderful verse in an ancient
tongue left his lips. She listened but did not understand. Knowing she stood in
Scotland and he was from a time well past, he had to have been speaking Gaelic.
When his eyes opened, she swore she saw a single tear that disappeared
instantly.
    “Jasper, that was beautiful,” she said breathlessly. “What
does it mean? I don’t understand the language in which you spoke.”
    He smiled then cupped her face in his hands. There was no
actual contact. She only sensed his touch. Extreme cold penetrated all the way
to her core. When he spoke the words again, she understood.
    “Thy quiet son awaits
    Within a chamber deep
    Safe an’ sound he shall sleep
    ’Tis a place he loved
    High above thy game ravine
    Never ta be seen
    Sheltered from thy nature’s fury ’n a burrow o’ her
makin’
    Lest ye nay be ’n a hurry
    Three choices tease thee
    Two be wrong
    One be right
    Choose well an’ set him free
    Choose wrong an’ face thy wrath o’ mi.”
    The cold left her body the moment he let go. The passage was
beautiful except for that wrath part at the end. That part made her take an
extra second before speaking again. He tried to hide it but she knew he held
deep feelings for the person he protected. Carefully she dissected each
sentence.
    “Why did you hide the quiet son and who is he?”
    She held his timid stare. When he spoke, she paid close
attention.
    “Mi best friend, Padon MacKinnon, fell ta a curse. He and
his six brathairs were turned ta stone by an evil man carrying a black
book o’ dark magic. MacGillivray made a pact with the devil, he did. He placed
this curse then disappeared. When Akira, their piuthar —sister—discovered
a partial anti-curse, she feared for their safety. Rumors MacGillivray would
return and destroy the statues flourished. Akira took no risk with her brathairs .
She gathered everyone she knew her brathairs trusted and swore us ta a
task.”
    He paused and she watched his face closely. This was a man
crippled with grief and guilt. Jasper sank onto a rock. He looked frail and
worn as if the weight of his world still rode on his shoulders.
    “What kind of task?” Lynn asked quietly, hoping to help ease
his pain by talking.
    “She gave each o’ us a brathair ta hide and protect.
We were ta write a riddle that gave clues ta their sanctuary and give it ta