Beyond A Highland Whisper by Maeve Greyson Read Free Book Online Page B

the orb. “The legend says the one woman ye could ever love must whisper for ye to join her and be her lover. Is that true? Is that the secret to breaking the curse and setting ye free?”
    Latharn caused the witch’s ball to shimmer with his response. It flared brighter then the light from the farthest window. “From everything my mother could find that appears to be the way of it. Ye see, my fine cousin, the dark sorceress, Deardha, thought me quite incapable of ever losing my heart to another. And to tell ye the absolute truth of it, I had often doubted it myself.”
    Latharn pulsed the glowing aura with each word he spoke. He ensured the energy kept perfect tempo with his words. “When she first cast me inside this crystal hell, I meditated upon the mysteries for the first hundred years. With my mind, I searched through many planes of existence to find the melody that resonated with my own. It was during my meditations that I found her spirit’s existence. Her essence called out to me from far across time and space. Her song came to me from deep within the mystical winds. It echoed into the depths of these crystal walls. When her soul decided it was time to choose a physical form, she was born. Ye canna imagine my relief when I found she existed on this plane. The summer of her eighteenth year, an act of cruelty revealed the pathway to her dreams. Her heartache called out to me. It weakened the void. It enabled me to connect with her…to contact her subconscious mind. Through her dreams, I’ve been able to form a bond with her even though I’ve never been able to speak. Ye have no idea how difficult it is to attempt to guide someone to ye without ever saying a word.”
    Scratching his jaw, Brodie paced back and forth in front of the counter. “Why can ye not speak to her? Why can ye not talk with her while ye walk among her dreams? As your guardians, they warned us never to speak of the curse. Your glass tomb would be shattered and your soul splintered into the depths of the eternal abyss. Are ye telling me the same thing could happen if ye tried speaking to the lass whilst ye walked in her dreams? “
    Brodie’s innocence amazed him. It must be the century. Latharn’s rumbling chuckle boiled up through his belly, rippled through the glass and spilled out across the room. “If I was able to speak to the lass, then I’d be able to tell her how to break the spell. Your heart is too pure, Brodie, m’lad. Ye would make a terrible wielder of dark magic.”
    Fiona shoved her face closer to the globe as she pushed Brodie aside. “Are ye trying to tell us ye’ve turned evil, Latharn MacKay? If that be the case, we’ll not be helping ye break free of your prison in any way! We’ll have no evil walking among us. We’ll leave ye to your crystal hell!”
    Fiona had no idea. What a dear sweet lass. Latharn struggled to remember his descendents couldn’t fully understand. How could they? They had never walked his path. He inhaled a deep, cleansing breath, and forced himself to rein in his temper. With a jerk of his hand, the room swelled with a pulsating flash of energy. The shockwave blasted out of the ball and shoved them both away from the counter.
    “I am not evil, Fiona, my lass. However, I will warn ye of this. After six hundred years of imprisonment inside this globe, my patience is no what it used to be.”

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    He lit the candles. This time, the ritual would be right. She had spoken to him and shown him the error of his ways. He had the book now. She had given him strength, and taught him the meaning of the words. The moon was waxing and he had a bit of the woman’s hair. With this spell, he would have his revenge. Thick, sputtering candles lit the darkened room. It reeked of the incense he’d used to cleanse the space. He’d copied the diagram on the floor with the stone he’d dug from the graveyard.
    He’d cleansed his body then ritually fasted and bathed to honor