Page 25 of Highlander’s Curse (The Daughters of the Glen #8)

Nineteen

F ind her, find her, find her . . .

The words echoed inside Flynn’s head, pounding at his mind even as the pain seared through his thigh in a hideous, utterly foreign sensation.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his old self, he recognized that it was the Bloodlust that had taken him.

The Bloodlust that tinged his vision as though he viewed the world through a red prism.

Even knowing, he was powerless against it. He had become the Bloodlust.

He scrambled higher up the rocky hillside, his feet slipping on the loose gravel and twigs. A flash of white brushed his peripheral vision and he lifted his weapon, firing a shot blindly in that general direction.

No! Too dangerous. Can’t risk killing her.

All would be lost if that happened.

Must find her. Reason with her. Convince her to come with him.

“I know you’re close.” He called out in his desperation, hoping against hope they’d give their position away. “I’ll find you. It’s only a matter of time, you know. Make it easy on yourselves and give up now.”

Not far now. He could all but feel her. Could almost feel her heart beating in time with his own.

Must be systematic. Slow down.

He retraced his steps, stopping where the path curved into the trees.

Find her, find her, find her. . .

No longer able to ignore the throbbing in his thigh, he dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe through the pain.

It was then he saw it, dancing in the corner of his vision. A green light that seemed to glow from the misshapen branches to his right. Branches oddly growing from the rock face.

He stuffed the gun into the pocket of his jacket before he reached out to clasp his hand around the rough bark, intending to pull himself to it for a closer inspection. But the wood gave way, revealing an opening in the rock.

What had appeared as a mere glow through the branches burst from the opening in a shaft of brilliant emerald light, knocking him flat even as it bathed him in a flood of frenzied sparkles.

From this vantage, he could see beyond the opening, into the interior of the shallow cave. There, in the very heart of the light, the woman he sought, cradled in the interloper’s arms!

He would have called out, would have dragged himself forward to claim what was rightfully his, but the world turned upside down and sucked him soundlessly into a vast, black void.