Heart Of A Highland Warrior Read Online Free PDF Page B

put her head through the invisible veil and saw a huge stone fortress. The Albany castle and the Connor castle could both fit inside this place. It had several levels, with wings and towers. A paved drive led up to the fortress, with two gargoyles on either side. Stone, wolf-like creatures lined the inside of the fence. She ’d slammed into one of them, which explained why her shoulder ached.
    Anna scrambled behind the nearest creature and waited to see if anyone had spotted her. Other than a soft amber glow at several windows, the fortress was dark. Who lived here? Demons? Vampires? Definitely someone who dabbled in spells. Was it the same person who ’d cloaked the Albany castle? The clan hadn’t figured out who was responsible for that bit of ingenuity. She focused her senses, listening, smelling, and watching for movement. Demons stank to high heaven if they were in their natural form. If not, they could be anyone. She touched her talisman, reassured by its warmth. But deep in her bones she knew something was wrong.
    A soft rumble sounded beside her. Like breathing. She whirled, one hand on her talisman, the other gripping the dagger. The stone wolf was the only thing there, its teeth bared in a snarl. Anna’s adrenaline surged even though the creature wasn’t real. She stepped away, anxious to get away from those stone teeth. A movement along the side of the fortress caught her eye. The skinny man was creeping around the corner, as if he didn’t want to be seen any more than she did. Leaving the wolf behind her, she ran after the skinny man, keeping close to the shadows of the fortress as she moved past the long windows toward the back.
    A pale blond head appeared at one window, and Anna ducked behind a tree. The person was gone when she looked back, but an icy prickle crawled over her skin. The vampire Ronan was hunting had pale blond hair, but he said they ’d captured the creature. There must be others. If this fortress belonged to vampires, she was up the creek. Her talisman was useless against the creatures. The only sure way to kill them was to pierce their hearts or take their heads. She had her dagger, but vampires moved like the wind, making them a hard target.
    Too late to turn back now. As soon as she had the thought, something flashed across the yard toward her, and she started running. The shape slammed in to her, sending her headlong into a tree. She lay there, dazed, but a hiss jump-started her adrenaline. A glint caught her eye. Her dagger. She ’d dropped it when she was hit. She grabbed it and leapt to her feet, slicing at what she hoped was a vampire neck. It wasn’t. The thing, whatever it was—she still couldn’t see it clearly—picked her up and threw her against the side of the fortress. Something cracked. She hoped it was the stone wall and not one of her bones. Rolling to her side, she gritted her teeth against the pain and jumped up. She heard a howling sound, and her attacker stopped. She could see now that it was a man, short, dark, with spiky hair. He was looking toward the front of the fortress, toward the sound.
    Gripping her dagger, she launched herself at him. He turned at the last second, but he was too late. Anna drove her dagger through his heart. A little more to the left than she would have liked, but it did the trick. With a startled gasp, he turned to dust before her eyes.
    A vampire. A bloody vampire. The howling continued, closer now. They must have guard dogs, and nasty ones from the sound of it. She hurried toward the back of the fortress, in the direction the skinny man had gone. Away from the dogs. There was a small offset entrance around the corner. The door was ajar, as if someone had forgotten to close it all the way. There was no time to make sure she wasn’t leaping from the frying pan to the fire. She had only one second to sniff for danger. She smelled sweat. Fear. The skinny man, she hoped. Better him than a pack of guard dogs.
    Quietly but quickly, she