Highlands at Dawn Read online

  Table of Contents

  Legal Page

  Title Page

  Book Description

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The Prophecy

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  New Excerpt

  About the Author

  Publisher Page

  A Totally Bound Publication

  Highlands at Dawn

  ISBN # 978-1-78430-231-3

  ©Copyright Aliyah Burke 2014

  Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright September 2014

  Edited by Rebecca Douglas

  Totally Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2014 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

  Warning:

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Sizzling and a Sexometer of 2.

  Astral Guardians

  HIGHLANDS AT DAWN

  Aliyah Burke

  Book two in the Astral Guardians series

  Things aren’t always what they seem…

  Billy Kwan has been sent to Scotland to look into some unusual activity caused by one of Them. What he discovers is not only another artifact, but his mate, and his entire reason for being there has changed. Now, protecting her takes top priority.

  Malmuirie ‘Mal’ Gordon is a surgeon, and used to stressful situations, however, when she meets Billy it’s unlike anything she’s experienced before. Together, they might just be able to remain alive long enough to make it back to Oregon and start their life together.

  Dedication

  To everyone who has never let me give up, I thank you. To Totally Bound for taking on another series, I thank you. To my husband, I love you. And, as always, but never last, to the men and women who sacrifice so much to defend their country. God Bless and Thank You!

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut: King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

  Jack Daniel’s: Brown-Forman Corporation

  The Goonies: Warner Bros.

  Tommy Hilfiger: Tommy Hilfiger Corporation

  Sodium Pentothal: Abbot Laboratories

  Girls Gone Wild: Girls Gone Wild

  The Princess Bride: William Goldman/20th Century Fox

  Rambo: Orion Pictures

  Coke: The Coca-Cola Company

  Irn-Bru: A.G. Barr plc

  Google Earth: Google, Inc.

  Princess Merida: The Walt Disney Company/Pixar Animation Studios

  Transformers: Takara Tomy/Hasbro

  Bumblebee: Takara Tomy/Hasbro

  Ben 10: Man of Action

  The parts to waken the world’s hope have been scattered far and wide to the winds and throughout the stars.

  It is from there the chosen ones are marked, becoming Astral Guardians.

  Alone their individual defeat has a greater chance than when paired with the amaranthine and genuine love of their mate.

  Those Guardians must find, defend and bind the pieces to call forth the hope of the world.

  It will take courage, strength, love and sacrifice.

  If the Guardians fail, swift death will arrive to the one who calms the beasts.

  With this outcome, the world shall descend into darkness, chaos and anarchy.

  Chapter One

  Glasgow, Scotland

  William ‘Billy’ Kwan hung back as he trailed the disciple of The New Order down St Vincent Street. He’d been here a few days now and had seen some of the destruction up in the Highlands. People were referring to it as an act of nature. He knew better.

  On his way back to the city, he had discovered himself on a bus with this guy who seemed to have a set destination in mind. Billy knew he was a member of The New Order because of the mark on his neck, their symbol. So he’d opted to follow him and see what was going on. Find out what it was he could ruin for The New Order. He’d not found whatever it was They had been after in the Highlands, but he wasn’t going anywhere yet and would head back up to take another look around.

  He spied it the same time The New Order fanatic did. A faint trail of gold dust that to someone who didn’t know what they were looking for would have come across as naught but dust particles gleaming beneath the streetlights.

  It wasn’t fair to the one who emitted that signal, for they typically didn’t know what danger it brought them. He picked up his pace, needing to do his duty and help protect whomever the particles were from. To lose a mate for one of his brethren wasn’t an option. The artifact could wait a bit more.

  The man he was trailing increased his speed until he was moving through the patrons on the street at a near jog. Billy increased his speed as well but did it so he didn’t appear as if he were following. Not that it would have mattered—from the looks of things, this man was solely focused on the gold dust trail.

  The New Order man stopped and looked around. Billy knew he’d lost the dust trail and walked by him, since he personally hadn’t lost it. It had, however, gotten much fainter. He continued up the well-lit street until it guided him into an establishment. King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut.

  Interesting.

  The name gave him pause until his eyes picked up the faint trace once more, reminding him of his objective. If the dust went in, so would he.

  He moved by the open door—basically ignoring the people to his right that hung out on the steps leading up from the place—which had the name of tonight’s gig written in chalk on a board, encompassing the full inside of the door. The music, which had poured out onto the street, grew much louder as he walked in and after paying the cover charge just inside the door looked around the place. People swarmed—talking, laughing and eating. His stomach growled as he realized he’d not eaten for several hours.

  He found an empty seat, thankfully with the wall at his back so he could keep an eye on the entire room. The particles had almost faded completely away with the numerous bodies in the place. He didn’t know if they had gone to a male or a female either, so his hunt wouldn’t be that easy.

  “What can I get you?” a woman asked him. She was a redhead with a stunning smile.

  He looked at the menu and said, “I’ll have the Tennessee burger, please and I’ll have that as a rump-steak patty.” The cheddar and bacon combined with Jack Daniel’s Tenn
essee Honey mustard mayo sounded good.

  “You got it.” She winked and sashayed off, talking and waving to other patrons.

  He continued to peruse the crowd, hoping he’d get a chance to see and potentially save the one who now had a beacon over their head—a beacon, which would only attract more from The New Order. The crowd in the place was an eclectic mix of people.

  He perked up a bit when the man he’d been following entered and scanned the room. When their gazes met, Billy gave him a brief nod before smiling at the woman who returned with his drink.

  “Thank you.”

  Another wink and she was gone again, slipping through the throng. He thought he caught a flash of gold by a group of dancing women but he couldn’t pick just one out of the bunch.

  When his food arrived, he dug in happily. He’d just finished when he saw it again. Stronger this time—and leaving. Whomever it was with had a hoodie pulled up over their head as they slipped from the place. This time he also thought he noticed wisps of indigo intermixed with the gold. That’s new. Wiping his mouth, Billy dug for money to cover the meal and shot off after the person in the dark blue.

  It was definitely them—he could see the gold much easier now that they strode along the sidewalk. His power flared as he walked around a corner and he slowed, searching for the danger. It came from behind. The New Order fool jostled him out of the way as he hurried by.

  Billy grabbed him and slammed him into the brick wall of a building. “I don’t think so,” he ground out.

  “What the…? Who the fuck are you?”

  He shoved him into the darkness of the nearby alley. “Guardian,” he said arrogantly.

  “Fuck you. I won’t tell you anything.”

  “Don’t want you to.” He hit him in the jaw and waited.

  The man’s blue eyes grew wide as he realized what had just happened. Sure enough, not much later white foam appeared at the corner of his mouth. Billy had popped his cyanide pill. Billy laid him on the ground and slipped back out. Guess I didn’t want to find out what he wanted after all.

  Damn it! He hastened up the street, searching for the particle trail. There! Across to the other side and around the corner. Billy jogged between the slow-moving cars and made his way to it. The sign was fading fast. Whoever I’m chasing is moving at a good speed and is going faster.

  Lengthening his stride, he followed it until he reached another building. Really? A hospital? Billy double-checked he hadn’t made a mistake in where it went. Nope, he hadn’t.

  He strode into the emergency room and glanced around. No sign of the person who he’d chased here. There were people sitting in chairs throughout, awaiting their turn. Men and women in scrubs ran back and forth. He didn’t understand the words with the thick brogue but he got the gist. An emergency approached.

  Sirens preceded the actual arrival and he stepped aside as staff members came running forward. They wheeled the gurney toward the doors and he narrowed his gaze when he saw two men step out of the shadows with weapons drawn.

  Security stepped forward as did he, unwilling to sit by and let innocents get hurt. A woman in a white lab coat and with a stethoscope lifted her head and speared the leader with a glare.

  “What are you going to do with that? Shoot me? This man has two bullets in his chest cavity and you come in here waving that gun around like it’s your own damn playground. You want to shoot me? Go ahead—and he dies. If you want me to save him, get the fuck out of my way and let me do my job.”

  The man backed down.

  “Thought so. Let’s move him!” She leaned over and began talking to the man there.

  Billy stared at her, mesmerized by it all. By her. For him, it was as if he had been thrust into a movie and it was in slow motion.

  The gold wound around her neck and shimmered along with her skin and woven through that was proof of the deep indigo hue he’d witnessed earlier. A doubled silver chain hung around her neck and dangling from one of the links was a wishbone charm. There was a lens-shaped object in the center of the two prongs that were connected to the link. From where he stood, it looked to be just a dark stone.

  He wasn’t positive that was the artifact he sought—or They sought—but he knew the girl was on The New Order’s radar now. There was no mistaking the gold hovering around her. If she noticed it, there was no reaction. All her attention was on the man who’d been shot.

  She and the others with her raced by him and he watched her disappear around a corner. Billy made his way to a chair and sat. The woman was beautiful. Her smooth, dark skin might have stood out in a place like this, but it didn’t seem to bother her or anyone else around. What had the indigo meant?

  “I think I found what They were looking for, Lian.”

  “Was it an artifact?”

  “I saw the trail I followed as it wound around a necklace this woman was wearing.”

  “Have you spoken with her?”

  “I only saw her briefly, she’s in the hospital.”

  “Was she attacked?”

  He shook his head like his friend and mentor were there with him, as opposed to thousands of miles away and across an ocean. “She’s the doctor. Surgeon. I have to wait until she comes out of surgery. There’s something else. I saw flashes of an indigo and purple hue around her as well.”

  Some somber silence before Lian continued talking. “She’s a mate.”

  Billy’s eyebrows rose. “What? She’s someone’s mate? How do you know? Couldn’t it just be from the artifact? That it’s either the necklace she’s wearing or something she’d touched?”

  “You must protect her and retrieve the artifact, Billy. Bring them both here.”

  “As soon as I can convince her.”

  So much for his plans of stealing the artifact and getting on his way. How am I supposed to protect her if she’s back there and I’m out here? Not to be confused with the issue of how I’m going to convince her to come with me.

  “Lian? Any ideas on how this should be done?”

  “Cale and Taylor share rainbow sparks. The signs appear when intense emotion is there.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “Which makes sense—she was facing an armed gunman at the time. However when I first saw it, she was merely going down the street. Doesn’t tell me how you suggest I get her back to Oregon.”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  “Of course I will,” he muttered. He rose and went to the front desk.

  “Can I help you?” a woman asked.

  “How long before the doc’s done?”

  “Dr Mal?” She frowned. “She’s in surgery. I can’t give you a time that she’ll be finished.”

  Mal? He thought quickly. “I saw her before she was called in to work and was in the process of asking her something when she had to bolt.”

  Blue eyes became assessing. “Can’t help you.”

  “Thanks anyway.” He patted the counter and retreated outside with a smile affixed to his face. Locating a position to wait, he settled down to watch for Dr Mal to leave the hospital and ensure no other New Order idiots entered.

  * * * *

  Malmuirie ‘Mal’ Gordon rubbed the nape of her neck as she left the recovery room, content her patient was resting comfortably. She had one goal in mind—bed. Hers. Not even food was going to delay this much needed and desired gratification. Waving to those who spoke, she kept on until she reached her locker. God, my neck hurts. She must have tweaked it at some point.

  She reached up to undo her combination lock. When she opened it, a sheet of paper floated to the ground. Confused, she picked it up, wincing again at her neck, and read it.

  Mal, some man was at the counter looking for you right after you went into surgery for the double tap. He didn’t know your name but said he’d been talking to you before we called you in. Asian. Wiry muscles. Handsome—in case you were wondering.☺ He did leave but I wanted you to have a heads up. ~Shelly

  That’s why there was a note here. Shelly prefer
red adding her own touches to notes, so when she had something that shouldn’t necessarily get said over the hospital phone, she went this route. She and Shelly had met when she was still in university. They’d worked together at the library and had struck up a great friendship—one that still continued now when they worked at a hospital together.

  She didn’t recall seeing an Asian man but it could have been a brief sighting. Exchanging the lab coat for her hoodie, she fought a yawn. I am ready to sleep for a week. Today—or was that yesterday—had been her day off—her well-earned and long-time-coming day off.

  Her drink had just been delivered to her at King Tut’s when the call to come in had arrived. So, not only had she not got any alcohol, she also hadn’t got any food. And she was hungry.

  She ran a hand through her hair before flipping up the hood, pocketing her items and going for the door. The sun had risen and she squinted against the glare. Fighting off another yawn, she began walking toward the bus stop.

  “Excuse me,” a man said after he bumped into her.

  “My fault,” she replied, keeping her head down and trying her best not to get a headache.

  She continued on her way and waited for her bus. Back at her flat, she took a long, hot shower then drew the shades. Once her place was swathed in darkness, she crawled between the sheets and eagerly anticipated her sleep to arrive.

  * * * *

  She woke to a heavy pounding on her door. Are you fucking kidding me? “Oh, for—” Sleepily, she rolled from bed, grabbed her robe and slid it on as she walked.

  More knocking.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She took a deep breath and opened it. “What?”

  The man standing there lifted his eyebrow. “Sorry, I’m looking for Ms Malmuirie Gordon.”