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back with them, and it made them a bit angry.”
    Fraser stood to pour more coffee and milk in his mug, and Hunter put his empty plate and silverware in the sink. As Hunter washed his dishes, Fraser continued his story. “Deidre had told Thomas they were a cowardly bunch and that they’d probably try to catch him unawares. That night he watched from a stool in his liquor closet while the two men sneaked into the back room where Thomas slept. When they walked to the bed to stab him, Thomas crept from his hiding place and stabbed the brother-in-law instead. He turned to stab the brother, but what he faced was not a man. It was an animal, a cat larger than anything he’d ever seen.”
    “Wait a minute, Grandda,” Hunter interrupted, as he set his cup in the drain. “Are you saying—?”
    “Just let me finish my story, boy,” Fraser said. “The cat growled and pounced. Responding without thinking, Thomas threw his bloody sword in front of him, hoping to deflect the cat’s body. Because the cat was almost upright before it jumped, the sword impaled it. Thomas pulled up as the cat slumped and twisted the sword with all his might. The cat fell to the floor in the throes of death.”
    Fraser emptied his cup again and rose to wash it.
    “What happened then, Grandda?”
    Turning his cup upside down in the drainer, Fraser grabbed a paper towel and dried his hands, leaning against the edge of the sink.
    “The cat fell to the floor and began changing, its body slowly turning back into the body of Deidre’s brother. As Thomas stood over it, wondering if he could believe what his eyes were seeing, Deidre came in the door. She went to her knees beside her brother and cradled his head in her lap.
    “As she rocked him there, she looked up at Thomas and said, ‘I knew my brother’s greed would finally be the end of him. He was so sweet, but he was always looking to get rich without working. I’m sure he brought that odious bastard here because he was promised gold. My husband’s family had plenty of it.’”
    Fraser sat back down and leaned his forearms on the table. “Thomas’ greatest fear was that his beloved Deidre could not forgive him for killing her brother. He knelt in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘I’m sorry,’ was all he could say, but he said it over and over.
    “Finally, she put her brother’s head on the floor and went into Thomas’ arms. ‘It doesna matter, my love,’ she told Thomas. ‘It doesna matter. He would have me live with that monster.’”
    “But what about the big cat, Grandda, didn’t Thomas ask her about the big cat?”
    “Of course. Her family lived in the Highlands in a remote village. They were raided one night, and most of the men were killed. The women were captured and raped repeatedly. Eventually the warriors left the town and the women and children worked hard to rebuild it without their men. The only men who were left were so badly injured it was months before they could work. The women did all the work to repair their homes.
    “Soon it was discovered that many of the women were pregnant. Most of the babies were boys. Everything continued normally until two months after the boys turned sixteen. They all fell into a raging fever and writhed in pain. The local woman who provided what medical care they had was at a loss. Boys were ill throughout the village and no one could help them. Their mothers suffered unbearable agony because they couldn’t stop the sickness of their sons and feared they were all going to die.
    “On the third night, the boys became restless and fought with their mothers and caregivers, finally escaping to the woods. The women followed, but were stopped when the woods came alive with growls and screeches.” Fraser spoke calmly, never taking his gaze from Hunter.
    “Soon Scottish wild cats began creeping out of the forest, and the women hurried to their homes to lock themselves and their other children inside. They were terrified