I think I must hold the record for fabulous covers. All my covers have been fantastic, but a huge thanks to the art department at Simon & Schuster for putting a fresh twist on the last three, and for really capturing the tone and mood of the story—not to mention some rather exceptional, um, inspiration.

Finally, to the most important part of this endeavor, the readers who have made twelve books possible and enabled me to complete the series—thank you! Without your support, getting to The Ghost would not have been possible. If you have enjoyed reading these books half as much as I have enjoyed writing them, I’ll consider it a great success.

The acknowledgments wouldn’t be complete without a reference to my family. Dave, Reid, and Maxine, I could say something sappy, but you guys wouldn’t believe me—which is why I love you.

The Highland Guard

THE HIGHLAND GUARD

TOR “CHIEF” MACLEOD: Team Leader and Expert Swordsman

ERIK “HAWK” MACSORLEY: Seafarer and Swimmer

LACHLAN “VIPER” MACRUAIRI: Stealth, Infiltration, and Extraction

ARTHUR “RANGER” CAMPBELL: Scouting and Reconnaissance

GREGOR “ARROW” MACGREGOR: Marksman and Archer

MAGNUS “SAINT” MACKAY: Survivalist and Weapon Forging

KENNETH “ICE” SUTHERLAND: Explosives and Versatility

EOIN “STRIKER” MACLEAN: Strategist in “Pirate” Warfare

EWEN “HUNTER” LAMONT: Tracker and Hunter of Men

ROBERT “RAIDER” BOYD: Physical Strength and Hand-to-Hand Combat

THOM “ROCK” MACGOWAN: Climber

ALSO:

HELEN “ANGEL” MACKAY (NÉE SUTHERLAND): Healer

JOAN “GHOST” COMYN: Spy

Foreword

FOREWORD

THE YEAR OF our Lord thirteen hundred and fourteen . . . Robert the Bruce’s war with England for the Scottish throne has reached a crucial juncture with nothing less than the freedom of a nation hanging in the balance.

For eight years, since the disastrous defeat at Methven that had him fleeing his kingdom as an outlaw, Bruce has avoided meeting the English in a pitched battle, army to army. Instead, he and the elite warriors of the Highland Guard have waged a “secret war,” using pirate tactics of raids, ambuscade, and trickery to defeat his enemies—both English and Scot—and clear most of Scotland’s important castles of their English garrisons.

But it isn’t enough. Without a decisive victory in battle signaling God’s judgment, Bruce’s claim to the throne will not be recognized by England or the rest of Christendom. One day Bruce will have to take the field. But with the English army once again readying to march on Scotland, he must decide whether that day is now.

As the armies muster and prepare for what might be one of the greatest battles of all time, Bruce will once again rely on the secret warriors of his Highland Guard—both present and past.

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Hagerstown Castle, Northumberland, England, late September 1306

IT WAS A horrible, wicked lie! And had she not been eavesdropping on the two tiring women retained by her father to watch over her, Joan Comyn would have told them exactly that.