“But you build on Marr, man?” That came from Silje Rowe, one of the net casters. The reedy, perpetually worried man touched the little wooden fish charm he wore around his neck. “No man goes near that island. ’Tis cursed.”
“Och, aye, ’tis haunted by the ghost wench,” Bjarke said and rolled his eyes. “She wears a torn blue gown and floats about the glen flashing her teats and arse. What does she now, steal men’s souls, or eat them? I cannae recall.”
“Dinnae jest about the Blue Lady of Marr,” Silje warned. He clutched his talisman tightly, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “’Tis said she seeks vengeance for her tribe. They were massacred by blood-drinkers.”
Gavin generally didn’t mind listening to the fishermen’s tall tales, but this one reminded him too much of the reason he had come to the islands to disappear. “I should see to the haul now.”
“Aye, do,” Bjarke said and took his place at the helm. “Silje, we’re nearly to dock. Stop your havering and go ready the vind-áss.”
Windlass, Gavin silently translated, the pulley and rope system that they used to lift their heavy haul. When he’d first arrived in Orkney the islander’s odd hodgepodge of Scottish and Norse had forced him to say little until he built a rough working vocabulary. He’d probably never learn all of the slang, so he focused on words related to fish, the sea, and his work on the boat.
The crew got busy as they docked by the fish monger’s pier. Hoisting the burgeoning nets meant hand-cranking the windlass before they swung the cod over to empty them into waiting carts. Once the catch was offloaded, the men worked together as a brigade to sluice the upper deck clean with buckets of salt water. Then they hung the thistle-hemp nets to dry. The day’s tasks finished, the crew lined up to be paid by Bjarke, who promised them more work at the end of the week.
As the newest deck hand Gavin was always the last to be paid, but this time Bjarke handed him a few extra coins. “What’s this?”
“Kron and Temmick and I want you to come on regular and captain the boat.” Before Gavin could say anything the big man lifted his hand. “You do the work of three men, the crew respects you, and you’ve a nose for grand catches. ’Tis strange, for you’re a highlander, but we think you’ve the spine for it. If our luck holds, we’ll be building another boat. We’ll want you ready for when the herring begin to run.”
Gavin wanted to refuse. As a member of the crew he remained relatively anonymous. But he liked working for the Mollers. He also needed to earn a living, and there were worse ways than spending every day out at sea.
“If you’ll give me the time to put a roof on my salr, then aye.” He took the big man’s hand and nodded as they shook on it. “My thanks, Bjarke.”
He had to trot to make the ferry that circled the bay to deliver people and supplies to the homes on the smaller islands. Gavin was the only one to disembark at Marr, and as he did he could feel the weight of the other passengers’ gazes on his shoulders.
Stepping off onto the island’s only dock, which was old but sturdy, he shouldered his pack and headed for the forest. Reaching the spot he’d chosen to build his house meant crossing the glen Silje claimed was haunted, although Gavin had never spotted anyone there. He liked to bathe in the fairy pool near the trees, and sometimes he jogged along the perimeter to stretch his legs. He’d been coming here for six months and hadn’t seen anything but deer, rabbits and the funny-looking broad-beaked puffins who nested on the rocks.
Whether the ghost stole souls or ate them, she didn’t seem very interested in his.
• • • • •
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Glossary
Here are some brief definitions to help you navigate the medieval world of the Immortal Highlanders.
Abyssinia - ancient Ethiopia
acolyte - novice druid in training
addled - confused
advenae - Roman citizen born of freed slave parents
Ægishjálmr - the Helm of Awe, a magical sigil
afterlife - what happens after death
animus attentus - Latin for "listen closely"
apotheoses - highest points in the development of something
Aquilifer - standard bearer in a Roman legion
arse - ass
auld - old
Ave - Latin for "Hail"
aye - yes
bairn - child
Baltic – Scottish slang for very cold
banger - explosion
banshee in a bannock - making a mountain out of a molehill
barrow - wheelbarrow
bastart - bastard
bat - wooden paddle used to beat fabrics while laundering
battering ram - siege device used to force open barricaded entries and other fortifications
battle madness - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
bawbag - scrotum
Belgia - Belgium
birlinn - medieval wooden boat propelled by sails and oars
blaeberry - European fruit that resembles the American blueberry
blind - cover device
blood kin - genetic relatives
bonny - beautiful
boon - gift or favor
brambles - blackberry bushes
bran'y - brandy
Brank's bridle mask - iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head
Britannia - Latin for “Britain”
brownie - Scottish mythical benevolent spirit that aids in household tasks but does not wish to be seen
buckler - shield
Caledonia - ancient Scotland
caligae - type of hobnailed boots worn by the Roman legion
cannae - can't
cannel - cinnamon
canny - shrewd, sharp
catch-fire - secret and highly combustible Pritani compound that can only be extinguished by sand
Centurio - Latin for “Centurions”
century - Roman legion unit of 100 men
chatelaine - woman in charge of a large house
Chieftain - second highest-ranking position within the clan; the head of a specific Pritani tribe
choil - unsharpened section of a knife just in front of the guard
Choosing Day - Pritani manhood ritual during which adolescent boys are tattooed and offer themselves to empowering spirits
chow - food
cistern - underground reservoir for storing rain water
claymore - two-edged broadsword
cohort - Roman legion tactical military unit of approximately 500 men
cold pantry - underground cache or room for the storage of foods to be kept cool
comely - attractive
conclave - druid ruling body
conclavist - member of the druid ruling body
conkers – horse chestnuts
contubernium - squad of eight men; the smallest Roman legion formation
COP - Command Observation Post
cosh - to bash or strike
couldnae - couldn't
counter - in the game of draughts, a checker
&nbs
p; courses - menstrual cycle
cow - derogatory term for woman
Coz - cousin
croft - small rented farm
cudgel - wooden club
da - dad
daft - crazy
dappled - animal with darker spots on its coat
defendi altus - Latin for “defend high"
detail - military group assignment
dinnae - don’t
dirk – a long-bladed dagger
disincarnate - commit suicide
diviner - someone who uses magic or extra sensory perception to locate things
doesnae - doesn’t
dories - small boats used for ship to shore transport
draughts - board game known as checkers in America
drawers - underpants
drivel - nonsense
drover - a person who moves herd animals over long distances
dung - feces
EDC - Every Day Carry, a type of knife
excavators - tunnel-diggers
fack - fuck
facking - fucking
fankle – knot
faodail - lucky find
fash - feel upset or worried
fathom - understand
fere spectare - Latin for “about face"
ferret out - learn
festers - becomes infected
fetters - restraints
fibula - Roman brooch or pin for fastening clothes
filching - stealing
fisher - boat
fishmonger - person who sells fish for food
floor-duster - Pritani slang for druid
foam-mouth - rabies
fougou – a stone-walled vault built underground for storage and other purposes
Francia - France
Francian - French
free traders - smugglers
frenzy - mindless, savagely aggressive, mass-attack behavior caused by starving undead smelling fresh blood
fripperies - showy or unnecessary ornament
Germania - Germany
god-ridden - possessed
Great Design - secret druid master plan
greyling - species of freshwater fish in the salmon family
gut rot - cancer of the bowel
hasnae - hasn’t
heid doon arse up - battle command: head down, ass up
Hetlandensis - oldest version of the modern name Shetland
Hispania - Roman name for the Iberian peninsula (modern day Portugal and Spain)
hold - below decks, the interior of a ship
holk - type of medieval ship used on rivers and close to coastlines as a barge
hoor - whore
huddy - stupid, idiotic
impetus - Latin for “attack"
incarnation - one of the many lifetimes of a druid
isnae - isn’t
jeeked - extremely tired
Joe - GI Joe shortened, slang for American soldier
jotunn - Norse mythic giantess
justness - justice
kelpie - water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning of travelers
ken - know
kennings – compound expressions in Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meanings
kirtle - one piece garment worn over a smock
kona – Old Norse for woman
kuks - testicles
kyn-ligr – Old Norse for strange, wondrous
lad - boy
laird - lord
lapstrake - method of boat building where the hull planks overlap
larder - pantry
lass - girl
league - distance measure of approximately three miles
Legio nota Hispania - Latin name for The Ninth Legion
loggia - open-side room or house extension that is partially exposed to the outdoors
Losh – Scottish expletive meaning “Lord”
magic folk - druids
mam - mom
mannish - having characteristics of a man
mantle - loose, cape-like cloak worn over garments
mayhap - maybe
milady - my lady
milord - my lord
missive - message
mormaer - regional or provincial ruler, second only to the Scottish king
motte - steep-sided man-made mound of soil on which a castle was built
mustnae - must not
naught - nothing
no’ - not
Norrvegr - ancient Norway
Noto - Latin for "Attention"
Optia - rank created for female Roman Legion recruit Fenella Ivar
Optio - second in command of a Roman legion century
orachs - slang term for chanterelle mushrooms
orcharders - slang for orchard farmers
ovate - Celtic priest or natural philosopher
palfrey - docile horse
paludamentum - cloak or cape worn fastened at one shoulder by Romans military commanders
parati - Latin for “ready"
parched - thirsty, dry
parlay - bargain
penchants - strong habits or preferences
perry - fermented pear juice
Pict - member of an ancient people inhabiting northern
pure done in – exhausted
Scotland in Roman times
pillion - seated behind a rider
pipes - bagpipes
pisspot - chamber pot, toilet
plumbed - explored the depth of
poppet - doll
poppy juice - opium
pottage - a thick, stew-like soup of meat and vegetables
pox-ridden - infected with syphilis
praefectus - Latin for “prefect”
Prefect - senior magistrate or governor in the ancient Roman world
Pritani - Britons (one of the people of southern Britain before or during Roman times)
privy - toilet
quim - woman's genitals
quinie – young woman
quoits - medieval game like modern ring toss
repulsus - Latin for “drive back"
rescue bird - search and rescue helicopter
roan - animal with mixed white and pigmented hairs
roo - to pluck loose wool from a sheep
rumble - fight
salr - Old Norse for a house consisting of one room
Sassenachs - Scottish term for English people
scunner - source of irritation or strong dislike
sea stack - column of eroded cliff or shore rock standing in the sea
Seid - Norse magic ritual
selkie - mythical creature that resembles a seal in the water but assumes human form on land
semat - undershirt
seneschal - steward or major-domo of a medieval great house
shield-maiden – a Norsewoman who choses to fight as a warrior
shouldnae - shouldn't
shroud - cloth used to wrap a corpse before burial
skald – storyteller
skelp - strike, slap, or smack
skin work - tattoos
skuddie – naked
smalls - men's underwear
SoCal - slang for southern California
solar - rooms in a medieval castle that served as the family's private living and sleeping quarters
spellfire - magically-created flame
spellmark - visible trace left behind by the use of magic
spew - vomit
spindle - wooden rod used in spinning
squared - made right
stad - Scots Gaelic for “halt"
staunch weed - yarrow
stupit - stupid
Svitiod - ancient Sweden
swain - young lover or suitor
swived - have sexual intercourse with
taobh - Scots Gaelic for "Flank"
tempest - storm
tester - canopy over a bed
the pox - smallpox
thickhead - dense person
thimblerig - shell game
thrawn - stubborn
’tis - it is
’tisnt - it isn’t
toadies - lackeys
tonsure - shaved crown of the head
torque – a metal neck ring
TP - toilet paper
traills - slaves
trencher - wooden platter for food
trews - trousers
trials - troubles
Tribune - Roman legionary officer
tuffet - low seat or footstool
’twas - it was
’twere - it was
’twill - it will
’twould - it would
tyre – tire
Underground – Scottish subway system
Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth
wand-waver - Pritani slang for druid
warband - group of warriors sent together on a specific mission
wasnae - wasn’t
water elf sickness – a medieval-era disease now believed to be chicken pox, endocarditis, or measles
wee - small
wench - girl or young woman
wenching - womanizing or chasing women for the purposes of seduction
white plague - tuberculosis
whoreson - insult; the son of a prostitute
widdershins - in a direction contrary to the sun's course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.
willnae - will not
woad - plant with leaves that produce blue dye
wouldnae - would not
ye - you
yer – your
Pronunciation Guide
A selection of the more challenging words in the Immortal Highlander series.
Bhaltair Flen - BAHL-ter Flen
Bjarke Moller - YAR-kay MOH-lah
Black Cuillin - COO-lin
Cailean Lusk - KAH-len Luhsk
Dun Aran - doon AIR-uhn
Evander Talorc - ee-VAN-der TAY-lork
faodail - FOOT-ill
Fiona Marphee - fee-O-nah MAR-fee
Kron Moller - KRAHN MOH-lah
Lachlan McDonnel - LOCK-lin mik-DAH-nuhl
Neacal Uthar - NIK-ul OO-thar
Seoc Talorc - SHOK TAY-lork
Silje Rowe - seel-JAY ROH
Temmick Moller - TEM-mick MOH-lah
Tharaen Aber - theh-RAIN AY-burr
Thora Liefson - THOR-ah LEEF-sun
Tormod Liefson - TORE-mod LEEF-sun