Free Highland Protector (MacCoinnich Time Travels Book Five) by Catherine Bybee Page A

Simon stared with thinly
veiled hatred sparking from his eyes. “Nothing. I…what’s the point, Kincaid?
Amber is dying. We don’t have time for games.”
    Kincaid lowered his shield and
stepped closer to the man. He expanded his shield and surrounded the other
warrior. “Now, what am I thinking?”
    His right eye twitched as Simon
peered close and tickled the edges of Kincaid’s brain. “You can shield her.”
    “I can try. The fix will be temporary
and I have to be close to her. But maybe it will give Giles time to find a
cure.”
    The twitch in his brain expanded as
Simon searched for more answers. Not liking the sensation, Kincaid narrowed his
shield and shut the man out.
    “What are the risks?”
    “For Amber? Nothing worse than her
immediate death if it doesn’t work.”
    Funny how Simon didn’t bother asking
what the risk to him was. There wasn’t any guarantee the noise inside Amber’s
head wouldn’t transfer to him, destroying them both.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    Simon consoled his wife while Kincaid
moved around to the far side of the bed. He removed the sword strapped to his
back and set it beside the table.
    “What’s he doing?” Helen asked.
    “Trying to help.”
    A fish swimming in a round bowl would
have had nothing on all the eyes in the room watching him.
    He eased his frame to the edge of the
bed and felt his weight dip into the mattress. The closer he moved to Amber,
the higher his heart rate soared. In times of flight, he’d expand his shield
and suck travelers with him into a vortex of time. This was different.
    The tight grip on his shield loosened
in small degrees. Not because he feared what would happen to him, but his fear of
what it might do to her.
    Okay Amber MacCoinnich…I’m going to
invade your space for a little while. He sighed and expanded the shield again. If he looked hard
enough, he could see a shimmering blue light expand from his body and pulsate
out as he moved the barrier between him and the world. As the tip of Amber’s
finger breached his circle, he felt a tug and noticed the blue rim grip hold of
her hand and pull. A small tremor of fear surged over him when he tried to pull
back his shield just to see if he could, only to find it unyielding.
    Kincaid concentrated on her hand,
thought he saw one of her fingers twitch. He placed a hand next to hers and she
moved again.
    Energy rushed over him and the light
of his shield sparked.
    Everyone in the room gasped.
    When Kincaid let go, the shield he
liked to call his own, poured over Amber and molded itself to her frame. It
hugged her like a robe, nothing like Kincaid had ever seen before.
    Amber’s chest rose and fell in a
heavy sigh. When her finger lifted, Kincaid reached out and touched her. The
molded shield expanded with his touch and bubbled them both inside.
    His heart gave a massive kick in his
chest as the unconscious emotions of the woman at his side slid into him. He
released an unmanly moan as his head filled with pain. Her pain. Bracing a hand
to her side to keep from crushing her, he closed his eyes and attempted to
absorb the impact, deflect it…survive it.
    His eyeballs were on fire and the
flesh on his bones felt as if someone was dripping acid and eating away all
rational thought.
    How did she survive this?
    “Kincaid?” Dread filled Giles’s
voice.
    He shook his head. “I’m—” he
swallowed down bile, felt a wave pass only to return.
    “What’s happening?”
    Inside Amber’s head, he heard her
respond to the distress of Helen’s voice.
    “Shh!”
    “Is she okay?” Helen franticly asked.
    His gut rolled as if he’d been hit
with a spiked medieval hammer.
    “For God’s sake, woman, shut up,”
Kincaid ordered.
    As those in the room held their
collective breath. The pain slowly eased. He tightened the shield around them
and attempted to thicken the barrier. The slow process left him breathless with
sweat pooling on his brow.
    He opened his eyes and noticed
Amber’s hand