The Starry Child (The Starry Child Series Book 1) by Lynn Hanna

Author:Lynn Hanna [Hanna, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2011-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Behold the Three Sisters, ladies," Matt announced from the driver's seat of their snug little rental car.

The sun couldn't shoulder its way through the heavy rolling mists of dawn, and as gray light rose over the barren, snow-dusted peaks of the Three Sisters of Glen Coe, it might have been a hundred years ago, or a thousand. For that matter, the massive buttresses of black stone could have been war-hardened sentries from another world, stoic soldiers sworn fast to their watch. Only the narrow curves of the West Highland Highway gave a clue to the century and this thin evidence was easily overshadowed by the heart-stopping impact of the glen.

Rainey couldn't take her eyes off the forbidding slopes. They seemed to bear down on the car despite their haunting beauty.

"This is where the massacre took place," she said reverently.

"Aye, it is," Matt confirmed.

He and Emma had given her a history lesson as they traveled from Glasgow, and now this very real reminder of how forty members of the Jacobite Clan Macdonald had been murdered in 1692 by their "guests", the pro-English Campbells, sent a hard shiver down Rainey's back. Somewhere inside, she could hear the three-hundred-year-old cries of battle and betrayal from that monstrous day.

This time, the seating arrangements had landed Rainey next to Matt and she watched for signs of fatigue from him as he drove. So far, his stamina was boundless. She was pleased with herself, too, because the journey north had done nothing but fortify her with fresh energy. History had never been her best subject in school, but even as the miles flew by in the dark, she could feel the tales of each glen and loch take up permanent residence in her heart. She vowed to see them all in the daylight on the way back. The way back...

What would have happened to them all by then, she wondered? Sasha hadn't so much as whispered a word since the incident on the balcony. It was possible that there would be no more middle ground of communication with her from now on.

"Didn't you once say that there were five sisters rather than three, Matt?" she asked to get her mind on other things.

"You've a sterling memory, Harvard. The five lie to the north."

"Kintail, Glen Shiel," Emma provided. "We're a goodly portion of the way there." She rolled down her window to breathe in the heady, crisp scent of Highland mist and heather, then leaned toward the front seat. "Is there any hope of such a thing as a scone or a cup of tea on this grand safari, Macinnes? No so much for myself, ye ken."

"I understand your sentiments well, dear lady," Matt replied. "We're not far out from Fort William, and I know of a little spot there where we can catch our breath."

The "little spot" he had in mind turned out to be the imposing Castle Inverlochy, which looked out over its own private loch. The waters were a restless, gunmetal gray, like

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