Highland Thirst Read Online Free Page A

cast spells or the like, that would get him out of that cage
and at your throat. Aye, and he would be trying to get ye or one of your men to
give him his soul in trade for the information ye seek.”
    “He
drank Peter’s blood and his wounds immediately began to heal.”
    “That
just makes him some strange creature, doesnae it. Mayhap more animal than mon,
for many a predator drinks the blood of its kill. It still doesnae prove he is
a demon.”
    “Ye
dinnae think he stole Peter’s soul?”
    “Nay.
Peter shows signs of recovering and I see little difference in him from what he
was ere ye cut his throat and handed him to the prisoner. And, dinnae forget
that ye had to nearly force the mon to do what ye wanted him to, shoving a
bleeding Peter right under his nose several times e’en though MacNachton was
crazed and near blind with pain from the torture ye had inflicted upon him. Do
ye truly think a demon would show such restraint? Nay, a demon would have drunk
Peter dry and laughed as the poor fool died.”
    “If
MacNachton isnae a demon then what is he?”
    “I
am nay sure. As I said, just a different breed of mon, mayhap. Who kens. But,
nay, I dinnae think he is some spawn of the devil. We couldnae hold him if he
was, nay e’en with silver and iron. There havenae been any signs of a witch’s
or demon’s tricks about Rosscurrach, either. No curdled milk, no sickening
animals, naught but the usual. The mon does have strengths and skills we dinnae
have, but ‘tis said the whole clan has such things. I cannae believe the devil
would make a whole clan his minions and then allow them to stay hidden away
within their own lands. No one creates such an army without intending to put
them into battle.”
    “He
has fangs, Angus.”
    “But
nay any horns, aye? And, though he is a strong, weel-set lad, he doesnae really
have much more than ye and I have. I have often heard it said that the devil’s
minions have massive rods and bollocks as big as apples.”
    Brona
grimaced in disgust as both men laughed. She was beginning to think she was
wasting her time. They were not telling her any more than what she already knew
and it was hardly worth standing so close to the heat of the fireplace. She was
drenched in sweat and beginning to feel a little un-well. The heat was stealing
all the strength from her body.
    “Actually,
I begin to think ‘tis something to do with the blood,” Hervey said just as
Brona decided to leave and she quickly halted, pressing herself against the
wall again.
    “Ye
may just have the right of it,” agreed Angus. “The mon did heal and grow
visibly stronger after drinking of Peter’s blood. Mayhap we err in allowing so
much of it to drip into the floor. We may have been wasting something as
precious as gold.”
    “Aye,
mayhap we should collect it and drink it. A disgusting thought, but it could
hold the answer to the secret.”
    “Weel,
he will have to recover a wee bit first. He lost too much blood this time. Nay
sure we ought to let him just feast on another prisoner either, so we shall
have to leave him be for a wee while. Once he gets his strength back, we will
take some of his blood and see if the secret of what he is lies within it.”
    “A
good plan. After all, if it is the blood that makes him what he is, it
just might work for us and then we shall have to keep the MacNachtons alive, or
at least some of them. I but wonder how we can ken that it works.”
    “If
it is his blood that makes him what he is then ye will feel some change, I am
certain.”
    “Any
wounds we had would heal faster. Mayhap giving ourselves just a wee cut and
watching how fast it heals itself will be enough to tell us. It might be that
we need to drink of his blood several times before we can be sure whether that
holds the secret or not.”
    “Agreed.
We will take a potion made of his blood each day for a fortnight. If we see
naught changing in ourselves by then, then we must decide if he is worth
keeping