Loki by Keira Montclair Read Free Book Online

lovely cottage deep in the forest, the children stayed in a chamber in the castle when the two of them were gone.
    “Papa!” cried out two of Logan’s daughters as they raced to greet him—Maggie, almost Loki’s age, and Sorcha, now six and ten. Molly trailed along behind, holding the hand of the youngest—Brigid, now five summers—and gave her da a kiss on his cheek. Then she let go of the wee one’s hand so she could launch herself into her father’s arms. Logan and Gwyneth had adopted Molly and Maggie, and Sorcha, Gavin, and Brigid were their natural children.
    Gavin and Gregor came tearing inside, running to the dais to greet the newcomers. Now five and ten summers, they were as inseparable as they had been as wee laddies.
    “Too much, too much!” Logan yelled as he moved away from the table so he could swing into the air each of the youngsters who had come to greet them.
    Quade headed out of the hall, and Torrian and Loki followed behind him to give the family some time alone for their reunion. “Meet me in my solar after the midday meal, Logan. You have a few hours to come up with a good reason to take the laird’s heir off of my land and decide how many guards you’ll take along.”
    ***
    Logan, Loki, and Torrian set out the next day with several guards. Gwyneth had chosen to stay home with the bairns since she had been journeying across the Highlands for a time. They arrived at the outskirts of the village toward the end of the day. As they paid the toll to enter into the royal burgh of Ayr, chills ran down Loki’s spine. This was where his sire had found him. He had not been in Ayr proper since the Battle of Largs in the 1260s, when the Scots had gained the Western Isles back from Norway. Exhausted, he glanced at Torrian, who seemed awed by the place. He was surprised his Uncle Quade had allowed Torrian on this excursion, but Logan had pressured his brother into agreeing, arguing that it would not only be an opportunity for Torrian to meet King Alexander, but for him to learn some basic survival skills.
    Loki was so exhausted that he was starting to have strange flashes in his brain. Visions of past experiences that he could not quite identify popped into his mind. People without faces in unfamiliar settings called to him, but naught and no one was recognizable. As soon as they rode past a certain spot at the edge of the burgh, he stopped his horse and called out to his uncle and cousin, asking them to give him a minute.
    He dismounted in front of a dingy inn, one for the travelers with few coins. He stood in front of it and stared. The inn his father had found him behind was a place much like this one. Bits and pieces came back to him, memories he had chosen to forget. Logan asked him a question, but he ignored it. Driven by an unknown force, he stepped to the back of the building and found what he’d been seeking.
    A crate.
    He nudged the crate with his foot, and it moved just a touch, enough for him to see there were items inside the crate.
    It was exactly like the crate he’d lived under in Ayr. Something told him that as impossible as it seemed, this was his create. He’d lived in it for many moons before he was invited to come to Grant land in the Highlands. He glanced over his shoulder, taking in all the familiar surroundings, smells, and sounds, which reminded him of what it had been like to live on the roads of Ayr, hungry and alone and cold.
    He’d begged for most of what he ate at the time, though he’d found a nearby inn that used to save scraps for him once the travelers moved on.
    The sound of running feet came from behind him.
    “Leave off, you surly brute. Those are my belongings you’re wantin’ to steal.”
    Loki spun around to see a laddie running toward him, a furious expression on his face. Dark disheveled locks that hadn’t seen a comb in days hung to his collar. A dirty face stared up at him with sharp eyes and a fierce scowl, a jutted chin daring Loki to challenge him.