Page 1 of See A Highlander (A Highlander Across Time #10)
CHAPTER 1
T he hotel on the Scottish island of Skye was a historic one. Made of Greystone from the ancient lands. It loomed before Annie Mills as the taxi pulled up to the front door.
“Annie, please I can explain,” Bella said next to her.
“I already told you I don't want to hear it. This is us,” Annie said opening the door to the taxi and climbing out. She’d had have enough of listening to her crew member Bella Grantham. She was Annie’s cousin and her editor, but Bella’s drunken confession on their flight to Scotland had Annie steaming.
Annie was a twenty-five-year-old professional video blogger. She made a nice little living at it. Her audience had grown over time because the interest in the paranormal was a very exciting niche. She had a loyal following of an online audience.
Annie considered herself brave and curious and that combination allowed her to venture into some very haunted places and take the audience along with her. Though she was petite with blonde hair and brown eyes, she didn’t let her stature stop her from going to the most ghostly spots. She enjoyed it immensely.
She would be enjoying this current expedition to Scotland if she hadn’t brought Bella along. Annie cursed herself for bringing her cousin with her, but how was she supposed to know that things would end up in such a horrible state?
“Mitch grab the equipment. I'll see that the bellhop gets the luggage,” Annie said.
In a flurry, the three of them exited the taxi and put the luggage onto a bell cart that was then wheeled inside. Annie couldn't even look at Bella, she was so angry with her. The Betrayal was too deep.
“Reservation for Annie Mills,” she said at the front desk.
“Yes, Miss Mills, welcome, we’ve been expecting you. I have you down for two rooms…”
“No there has been a change. Instead of the one room with the two beds I would like to turn that into two separate rooms with single beds. Making it three rooms all together, if you’ve got it available,” Annie said.
“What? But we always share a room,” Bella said.
“Not anymore,” Annie bit out.
“Annie let's just talk this over. It was a mistake. You have to believe me. I don't want my own room.” Bella groaned.
“I don’t care,” she said to her cousin, then turned back to the receptionist. “I apologize. We do need three rooms if you have them.”
“Of course, no problem. We have plenty of space.”
A few moments later they were all checked in. Annie made her way to her room ready to hit the mini bar. It had been a long and tumultuous flight. She needed to be alone to process what Bella had confessed to her. She also needed a good cry.
She wheeled her luggage into her room and closed the door glad to not have to hear Bella's annoying voice until the next day when they went on location.
She set her items down and went straight to the minibar and opened a bottle of whisky. “When in Scotland,” she said, thinking about the land’s famous whisky. She chugged down a gulp of the fiery liquid. Then she coughed. It was stronger than she thought it was going to be.
Annie picked up the phone and dialed room service. “Hi, I’m in room 808 could I have a bottle of cola, a bucket of ice, and the biggest cheeseburger and fries you have available,” she ordered.
When her order was complete, she hung up the phone and went back to drinking the whisky knowing that she needed a proper mixer if she was going to continue to drown her sorrows. The cola should do nicely.
Annie opened her laptop and got to work to replace her backstabbing cousin Bella. She wrote a quick social media post. “I will be looking for a new editor soon. Please send your reels my way.”
She posted the message and felt very good about it. It was a small step toward her revenge and ridding herself of her cousin.
A text message arrived on her mobile phone. She looked at it. It was from Bella. It read, “Are you serious? You're replacing me?”
It was obvious that Bella had read the message and Annie wanted her too. She deserve to be punished. She wasn’t going to answer her text either. Let her mind wander and be distraught.
The knock on the door alerted her to the room service and she was glad for it. She was fast running through the small bottle of whisky and was ready to move on to the next, but she needed that cola mixer. She tipped the room service attendant and then closed the door making herself a stiff drink. She was going to need it for her next phone call.
She took a strong sip of whisky and then made a video call to her ex-boyfriend, Billy. She knew it was the middle of the night in the States, but she didn't care. Her anger was in a state of blind rage.
He answered the phone. His brown hair was unkempt as always and his brown eyes were adoring, ready to manipulate anyone who looked at them. She used to find them endearing. Once she thought that he was pure of heart and charming because of his naive manner. But in reality, he was an idiot and a manipulator. She wished it hadn’t taken her so long to realize that.
He had found ways to put a cute spin on his idiocy when interacting with women. Childishly irresponsible and selfish, constantly borrowing money, and having her pay for dates.
She left him because he was a clingy loser who refused to go to school, get a job or even get any help for a career path. Now, she’d learned something about him that made him so much worse.
“Annie, look at you. I’m surprised to hear from you,” he grinned a delicious grin, “it’s been almost four months. I miss you.”
“Of course you would be surprised. I have no reason to talk to you until now. I’m with my cousin Bella,” she said.
The smile dropped from his face.
“Yes, that's right. She told me. I can't believe you were cheating on me with her. My own cousin. How could you? I didn't think you could get any lower?—”
However, before she could finish her angry lecture, the call dropped. He’d hung up on her.
“Ugghhh!” she screamed and threw her phone onto the bed.
She knew he wouldn’t listen, but she contacted him anyway. On the plane, Bella had gotten roaring drunk and started bragging about sleeping with Billy for most of their relationship. Annie was shocked by it. Not just that they both kept such a secret from her, but that Bella was bragging about it. Talking about how good she was at keeping a secret, and she could prove it. She proved it by confessing to the affair.
Annie was at a loss for words but also completely annoyed that she found this out on the plane toward their destination. She had made a nice living covering supernatural topics for her ever-growing online audience and this trip was the epitome of trips. She was in Scotland to record a much hyped live-stream about a ghost that haunted the ruins of a castle. Now, her Ghost of Dunscaith series had an editor who couldn’t be trusted. The livestream wasn’t the only project, there would be interviews and a short docuseries about the whole trip and she needed a good editor. She regretted giving Bella the job, but she was good at editing and her cousin.
“It’s okay just concentrate on the project. That’s what is important here,” she said.
She moved back to her laptop and began to read through her notes for the project. She was hunting one particular Scottish ghost. The reports were of the ghost of a tall black-haired woman in armor haunting Dunscaith Castle.
Dunscaith Castle was also known as the Castle of Shadows on the Isle of Skye. It had been a grand castle, but now it was a modern day ruin. But this wasn’t a pile of rocks and lonely walls, there was a plenty of the castle still standing. Some parts were absent a roof but otherwise in good condition. Many rooms and a labyrinth of corridors awaited any visitor that was curious enough to venture inside the dark castle.
This castle was once the home of the legendary witch warrior Scathach. She trained Cu Chulainn and many stories attributed to the castle bore her stamp.
Legends of magic and ghosts had carried on throughout the generations. The castle had changed hands multiple times throughout its history. At its prime it was home to the MacLeods who fought over it with their rivals the MacDonalds.
The most absurd tale that came from the castle legends, was that it had been built in one day by the witch Scathach. Even the stones themselves were supposed to be steeped in magic.
Although it was a strange notion, it would explain why so many odd and bizarre events happened within the walls. Carved deep into the cliffside rock in which it stood, were the catacombs directly beneath the castle.
Having drank more than she should have with her meal, Annie decided she needed a very long sleep to be refreshed for the next day. They would be arriving at the castle ruins, and she would be doing a livestream walking through. The problem with the livestream was that there was no room for mistakes. So she needed to be fresh and sharp. She took a long hot shower and then went to bed.
The next morning Annie woke up to a grey cloudy sky something that she wasn’t surprised to see at all in Scotland. She reached for her phone to see that there were several text messages from Bella, all of them begging her to forgive her. Annie quickly deleted them not giving it a second thought.
She ordered a very hearty breakfast and strong coffee. Today was going to be about the project and nothing else. No one was going to bring her down. There wouldn't be anything that would stop her from making a series that could possibly go viral and give her even more income to hire a bigger team. She couldn’t wait to get started.