Crown of Thorns, page 1
Crown of Thorns
Terri E. Laine
Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Terri E. Laine
First Edition
Copyright 2022 Terri E. Laine
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchased only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated. For information address to SDTEL Books.
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Author’s Note
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One
Duncan - Scotland
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The weight of the crown in my hands was far less than the price it would cost me to wear it. It should have been forged from thorns for the burden it would become in my life if I wore it. Yet it might be the bargain I must make for the events that would come to pass.
Crashing waves far below the castle walls in my Scottish sanctuary didn’t calm my staying thoughts as the niggling feeling that had bothered me all morning gained traction. She neared despite the obstacles I’d created in the hours waiting for her to turn back around. Thick fog that covered my lands hadn’t stopped her. And it wasn’t by road she’d come. The wicked lass had found the path carved in the cliffside that led to the beach, unencumbered by fog.
Her approach tormented me with all I must endure to be in her presence and the danger it would pose. Soon she’d realize her mistake. She’d come looking for a grace I no longer possessed. I’d lost that many years ago as darkness consumed me.
She sought absolution and answers to questions I couldn’t give. If she assumed I would keep her safe, she’d be wrong. I was the monster she should run from.
Still, I set the crown back in its cage. The glass case that didn’t keep hidden my burden and forced me to never forget the choice I had to make every time I laid eyes on it. Like the one I made now.
Instead of staying put, I left out the back of the castle toward the beach. I traversed through gardens no longer maintained like the showpiece they had been and through the hedge maze so I could steal one close look at her. Just one untarnished glance before I forced myself to send her away again.
There, off in the distance I found her. She wasn’t hard to spot given she was the sole person on the beach. As a product of her time, she strolled along in a T-shirt and jeans that hugged her curves, leaving me too much to imagine.
Her leisurely pace belied there was a predator nearby. With her shoes in her hand, her ankles were left bare. I remembered a time that would have been considered scandalous as I drank in the sight of her.
When she was close enough for me to see her eyes, I found in them an innocence I wanted to corrupt. It would be as easy as having her naked and writhing beneath me. I hardened at the thought.
For a second, any ideas of letting her go were forgotten. I’d waited too many years to count for her arrival. Though I should turn her away, damn any soul I still possessed, there was no way I could.
I stepped out, certain of my choice, when suddenly we weren’t alone. It wasn’t me her eyes had fallen on, but another.
Two
Elin- North Carolina, USA
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The sun set like a rolling wave of darkness that blanketed the sky. I watched the change of colors with utter fascination from my perch atop the seawall railing. I was only steps away from my family home in downtown Charleston. Yet I felt the weight of the rule I was breaking by being out here.
I’d grown up sheltered, rarely leaving my ancestral home. There were strict rules about never, ever leaving the house at night and in the day never without being accompanied by my mother. It was a risk I’d decided to take to mark my birthday with a bit of rebellion. Besides, I could reach my front door in a matter of seconds. If tourists could walk our streets, why couldn’t I?
Before the sky changed from midnight blue to solid black, I finally moved. I hopped from the top of the wall back to street level and waited for a break in the cars going by before I darted across East Battery Street to my home.
When I opened the door, I startled Mom, who was walking my way. For a second, neither of us moved until she ran in my direction. I opened my mouth to explain, but she reached me first. She yanked me inside, slammed the door behind me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, alarmed by her reaction. The look in her eye was so daunting, I knew I’d frightened her.
“I told you never, never go out. But it’s too late for that. They will know where to find you now.”
“Who is ‘they?’”
“Elin, we talked about this.”
I threw my hands up. “About demons? Seriously, Mom, there aren’t demons. That’s just on TV.”
She caught them and stared ominously into my eyes. “It isn’t. There isn’t time to explain. They will be here for you. And you don’t want to be caught by a demon. They will use your gifts until there is nothing left to win the war that began with the dawn of man.”
“Dawn of Man? War? Gifts? What gifts, my sparkling personality?” Each of my words dripped with sarcasm.
“Elin, you can no longer live in this fantasy world you created. Night is their time. The veil between the realms is the thinnest then. They would have sensed you in the waning light as I explained a hundred times. Now you must go before they find you.”
Okay, Mom had said some crazy things when I was growing up about a supernatural world. As a kid, I’d thought it magical. As a teen, I’d thought Mom a little more than eccentric and learned to tune out her ranting about things that couldn’t possibly exist. It was easier to nod and agree than to tell her she was losing her marbles.
A sharp rap on the door sounded behind me. Mom’s eyes nearly doubled in size, raising my hackles. “They’re here,” she said.
The knock on the door was louder. In a bid to prove her wrong, I turned and opened it, despite her growing protest behind me.
Full darkness had fallen and whoever it was hid behind an enormous bouquet. “Happy birthday,” the man said as he shifted the flowers to the side. He was an attractive man with a sinister smile that caused a shiver to roll through me. He pushed back his blond hair. “It’s so nice to—”
Before he could finish, the door left my hand and slammed shut. I hadn’t been the one to do it. Mom said, “They’re here!” She turned her head as if she saw someone behind her I couldn’t see. “Fabian,” she called.
The space behind Mom rippled, like water does when you toss a pebble into it. Then a leg appeared out of thin air. I sucked in a breath. This couldn’t possibly be happening. Yet the rest of the man stepped through what could only be described as a doorway of some kind.
He was about my height with an average build and rich-chocolate skin. He wore a pleasant smile completely opposite of the man at the door and, despite his odd clothing in candy-apple green, he didn’t appear to be a figment of my imagination.
“You rang,” he said with a huge grin.
Before I could totally freak out, Mom shoved a bag at me. “Everything you need is in there,” she said to me and nodded at the man who hadn’t been a figment of my imagination. “Fabian will get you to a safe place.”
“Why can’t I stay here?” We’d closed the door on the blond guy, and he hadn’t tried to break down the door.
“They can’t get in, but then you can never leave. More of them will come to break down our wards.”
“Wards?”
She gripped my arms. “You must trust Fabian. He will help you get to where you need to go. And most importantly, you must remember everything I’ve told you.”
I opened my mouth to ask her to clarify. She’d told me so much growing up, I did not know what in particular she wanted me to remember.
Mom let go as Fabian took my arm just as another knock sounded at the door. He shifted to stand in front of me as he opened it. But the flower guy who knew it was my birthday even when I had no clue who he was, wasn’t there. In fact, the street in front of my house wasn’t there.
Instead, a wide-open airport terminal lay in front of me with large windows le
“Mom,” I cried.
But one more step and we were through. Worst of all, she was gone along with any hint of my home.
“Final call for Flight 2-1-6 to…” rang in my ears from overhead.
The hole that had let us through closed just as quickly and I missed what else the person said through the overhead speakers.
Fabian stood in front of me. “Leave the airport and go to the castle. It’s warded.”
I reached for him like he was my lifeline even though we’d only just met. “Wait. You’re leaving me?”
His smile wasn’t as big as his welcoming one. “I’m sorry, dear heart. But my part in this puzzle is complete. I’ve done my task and will face many consequences.”
Like something out of a nightmare, many arms snaked out of the thin air with ghostly hands and grabbed him.
He looked as alarmed as I felt. “You must go. Get to the castle before nightfall. Follow the signs,” he said, before he was pulled through what I decided was some kind of portal. I just hadn’t reconciled with my mind if I was dreaming or not. People continued to walk with their suitcases like I hadn’t just appeared in an airport.
“Excuse me, miss,” a man who’d bumped into me said before continuing on his path.
What made it more confounding was the accent he’d spoken with. I’d never traveled outside of Charleston and did not know where I was. The person who had spoken through the intercom also hadn’t sounded American. I took a chance and stopped an older woman passing me. As stupid as it might have sounded to her, I asked, “Where are we?”
“Are you okay?” the woman asked in that strange accent that sounded somewhat familiar, though too many things were happening at once for me to place it.
“Yes. I’m sorry. But I think my flight got mixed up. I don’t think I’m in the right place,” I said, somehow coming up with a plausible excuse.
“You’re in Edinburgh, my dear.”
I took another chance. “And that’s where?”
Though she eyed me strangely, she said, “Scotland.”
That was it. I nodded. “Thanks,” I said, and rushed off in no particular direction as I wrapped my head around the idea that I’d taken a step out of South Carolina in the United States and into Scotland with little or no effort at all.
The bag Mom had thrust at me weighed heavy on my shoulder, more than its physical weight. I didn’t know what to do. I glanced around, wondering what direction I should go while trying not to consider what a mistake I’d made by wanting to see an unobstructed view of the sunset just once in my life. It was my birthday.
My gaze bounced up and down and around while I racked my brain for clues Mom had drilled in my head over the years. That was when I saw it. Of all the signs everywhere in the airport, I’d zeroed in on one.
It was a large sign above me showing lush green grass and fertile gardens leading up to a breathtaking castle perched atop a hill. It was all white with upside-down cone-shaped turrets as if plucked out of a fairy tale.
Visit Alasdair Castle Today, it read.
From a place of knowing, deep inside me, I knew that was where I needed to go. And it wasn’t just because an arrow I hadn’t noticed before at the bottom right corner pointed to the words Tourist Rides This Way.
Plus, Fabian had mentioned a castle and Mom had said to trust him. If only I had trusted her, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Part of me was convinced I was trapped in an elaborate dream as I blindly followed the way the arrow pointed. I stopped dead in my tracks with a family of five shifting around me to continue on their way. I muttered apologies. On instinct, I turned back. The sign I’d seen, castle, words and all, was gone. In its place was a sign about airport car service and I frowned.
What had Fabian said? Follow the signs. I moved forward, hoping I’d wake soon.
Before I got to the exit door, a man holding a sign with my name on it caught my attention. He noticed my interest and stepped forward. “Are you Elin Michaels?”
Unable to speak, I nodded.
“You must come with me, miss. There isn’t a lot of time.”
Stranger danger was a big thing in our household. It was one of the many things Mom drilled in my head. So why, when the man with the sign with my name on it said, “Come along,” did I take a step to follow? I paused long enough to once again recall Fabian’s words about following the signs.
What did I have to lose? I had no money, no phone, and no idea what to do next. Besides, it all had to be a dream, and in my gut, I felt no fear.
The man gingerly navigated the foot traffic as I zigzagged around people to keep up. Outside, the air was crisp as if it was late fall. Definitely not the summer heat of Charleston I’d just left.
The man stopped in front of the strangest car I’d ever seen. It was black and looked old and new at the same time. I giggled some, as it resembled a crude child’s drawing of a cloud on wheels with all its rounded edges.
“It’s a black cab,” he said, as if that should mean something to me. “Shall we be off?”
No immediate alarm bells sounded in my head. So I shrugged, having few options. He opened the door and I slid into the back seat. I crushed my bag to my chest as if it could ward off anything bad that might happen.
When he got in the driver’s side, which was on the right and not the left, it reminded me I was no longer in Charleston. Somewhere I recalled reading that not all countries drive on the right side of the road. He jutted the nose of the car away from the curb with a confidence I didn’t feel. I looked down at the bag I clutched and decided to inspect its contents.
Slowly, I unzipped and revealed a note just on top. It read:
Though I knew this day would come, I always hoped for more time.
But destiny can’t be stopped.
You must find Duncan. He can protect you from the storm.
Fabian assured me that the castle is warded, and you’ll be hidden there.
Because of the wards, you and only you will be able to find Duncan at Alasdair Castle in Scotland.
Hopefully Fabian got you there and Ivor will get you as close to the castle as he can.
“Excuse me,” I said to my driver. “What is your name?”
“It’s Ivor, miss.”
Although I should have been, I wasn’t surprised. I nodded and read on.
Remember everything I taught you. You must follow the rules, or all is for naught.
I’m sorry I can’t be with you.
Love, Mom
Everything that was happening was because of me. I hadn’t followed the rules. I’d gone outside to watch a sunset and my life had turned upside down.
As I tried to remember all the “rules,” as she’d called them, one thing had stuck in my head. Trust your gut, Mom always said. It will never steer you wrong. As for the rest of the rules, as she defined them, they seemed to apply to home. Keep your room clean; do your studies; eat your food and don’t waste it. The only cautionary item I could think of was never to leave the house, especially at night. Did the same apply here in Scotland or the castle?
Underneath the note was a small blue book. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a passport, something I hadn’t known I had. The rest appeared to be clothes. I’d have to look once I was settled, as I didn’t want to take things out and place them on the seat. Instead, I focused on the drive. Not that I knew where I was going, but I could remember landmarks if ever I needed to orient myself.
