Faelan: A Highland Warrior Brief Read Online Free Page B

from here, toward the village. We went there earlier. We were racing back when Ian saw the demon. It spooked his horse and it threw him.”
    Tavis sprang up with a yell and punched the warrior who had been trying to help him to his feet. He looked around, his eyes wild. “Faelan?”
    Da grabbed hold of him. “He’s here, lad. He’s fine.”
    “Where’s the demon?”
    All eyes turned to Faelan. “Your brother destroyed it,” Da said. “It’s gone.”
    “He destroyed it? Bloody hell.”
    Da scowled at him. He didn’t approve of them cursing.
    A moan sounded behind them. Every warr ior whirled and drew his sword.
    “It’s just Agnes,” Faelan said.
    “Agnes?” Da frowned. “She’s here?”
    “She’s over there,” Faelan said, pointing to where Tavis had put her on the ground. “She’s unconscious, but I don’t think she’s hurt.”
    “How did she get here?”
    “She must have followed us. It looks like she fell.” He hoped it wasn’t because she was running from the demon.
    “I told you not to leave the castle grounds.”
    Kieran approached and placed a hand on their father’s shoulder. “Aiden, your lad has just destroyed a demon. A powerful one from what we saw. He isn’t even a warrior yet.” He glanced at Faelan. “He’s what? Seventeen?”
    “Sixteen,” his father mumbled, rubbing his chin. “How did you do it?”
    “I don’t know,” Faelan said. “I just killed it. It was going to kill Tavis.”
    Kieran continued to watch Faelan. “The Council will need to hear about this.”
    “Aye, but I’m not sure what to tell them.” Da sighed. “Well, I think we’d best be getting Agnes back to her father and hope she didn’t see the demon. I don ’t know how we’d explain that.”
    Kieran and another warrior offered to take her home while the others checked the area to see if they could figure where the demon had come from and to make sure he had been alone. Kieran stooped an d picked up Faelan’s and Tavis’ dirks from the ground, where they had fallen when the demon vanished. He handed Faelan’s to him and clasped his shoulder. “I would like to start training you, if your father agrees.”
    “It’s too early,” his father said. “He won’t be eighteen for another two years.”
    “I think he should start now.”
    Da frowned. “Why?”
    “Can you tell me the last time you saw a sixteen-year-old destroy a full demon?”
    “Never, I reckon.”
    Kieran grinned. “Neither can I. I believe we’ve got a mighty warrior on our hands.”

 
    Chapter Three
     
    Seven years later
    Scotland, Connor Castle, the Warrior Games
     
    “If you’re not him, then where is he?” the boldest of the lasses asked after Tavis had assured them for the second time tha t he was not the Mighty Faelan.
    “He had to go to battle.”
    Her red-headed friend narrowed her eyes . “But you look just like him.”
    “Aye, he does,” the bold one agreed, looking him up and down, starting from his boots and slowly moving over his kilt—at which point her cheeks grew pink—then up to his face. “Is he co ming, then, the Mighty Faelan?”
    Tavis rolled his eyes, regretting ever giving Faelan that name. It had been in jest but the name had stuck. “I’m sure the Mighty Faelan will be here as soon as he s lays another legion of demons.”
    The la sses’ smiles faltered at Tavis’ sarcasm. He was getting tired of their nonsense so he put a hand on either side of his sporran and gave them a leer. “He’s not the only mighty one in the family.”
    They collapsed into giggles and ran away. He stared after them, shaking his head. If he lived three lifetimes, he’d never figure lasses out. These were two of the most annoying he’d seen, and he’d seen plenty. The world was full of bonny faces. They were the ones that got you in trouble. Human or not. A shiver ran down his spine thinking about that last demon he’d suspended. The female demons were extraordinarily beautiful. He had almost fallen