Free Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) by Laura Harner, L.E. Harner

known them all my life. They raised me after my family died. There is much to this story, and some of which I am not proud of. Will you just let me finish, before you judge me guilty?”
    “Faolan, whatever it is, you can tell me. I won’t judge you.”
    “Och, lass, you will, and I wouldna be blamin’ you if you never wanted to see me again. But a promise is a promise, and I swore to care for you ‘til this mess was over, so ‘tis about time you know some of what this is about.
    “I know now the story of how you got involved with the Worthingtons, but I didna know at first. I told you the other night the Worthingtons have been trying to take certain things from my family and have gone so far to commit murder to get them. They are all pure evil. Your Marty’s ancestor killed my whole family: my parents, my two sisters, and younger brother.” 
    Elena gasped in horror and put her hand on Faolan’s arm. His gaze focused on some unseen distant horizon. He didn’t seem to know she was there.
    “I was in the steading, in a stall asleep on some hay. I heard men shouting. I saw my family shot down by crossbow in the paddock. I was but twelve, but I wanted to go kill the bastard with my bare hands.” His eyes were dark with the memory.
    “Oh my God, Faolan.” Elena could think of no words of comfort, she knew firsthand the pain of being an orphan. But to watch your family be murdered!
    “Red was near enough to me to see what happened. He grabbed me and held me, with his hand tight over my mouth until Worthington and his men left. Red saved my life that day. He and Lilly were the caretakers for my family, and they took me then and raised me.” He smiled toward Red and Lilly who had just joined them.
    “Some of this we heard the day he killed my family, the rest we discovered long after. The killer said he would let the family live if my father would break a sacred vow, sign over ownership of the farm, and forever leave the land of our ancestors. My father was desperate to save his family. He broke an eternal oath when he revealed the…” he paused, searching for the right word, “artifact.”
    Faolan’s voice was bitter as he continued. “I think my father knew they would all be killed, but he tried to save them, anyway. Instead of saving them, he sold my soul.” Faolan, took a deep breath, and said, “I need a drink.”
    Red went to the kitchen and brought back a bottle of Macallan, a fine, single malt whisky, and poured four glasses. Both Faolan and Red shot the first glass back and poured a second. Lilly sipped, so Elena followed suit. She had never tasted whisky before, but the taste was smooth and warmed her all the way down.
    “Faolan, did you think I would hate you for this? Because you didn’t tell me you knew Red and Lilly?” Elena asked.
    “Nay lass, ‘tis only the beginning of this story. You will have to trust me, lass, there are things in the world that you shouldna’ ken. Things not of this world. Worthington is a bastard for exposing you to this, because once you know, you can never completely go back.
    “Although my father hid the items the killer was seeking, he did admit they existed, thereby breaking the trust with the otherworld. He gave away sacred knowledge that was unearned to someone not worthy. The wards that protected my family were broken.”
    Elena felt her grip on reality slipping. Crossbows? Protective wards? Other worlds? Elena looked to Lilly and Red, expecting to see some subtle sign that she should go along with Faolan’s story, should humor him. Instead, she saw two people looking at Faolan with the love of parents shining in their eyes. Whatever this was, they believed it too.
    Faolan continued, “After the Worthington gained possession of the farm, they spent a small fortune searching for the things my father revealed. He also looked for other relatives, believing the secrets he sought were clan knowledge. He was right, in a sense because they would have been handed