The Wildcat of Braeton

by Claire M Banschbach

  “Anything you need, Captain?” Lieutenant Llewellyn asked quickly.

  “Kara apparently missed one letter. Andras, this is for you from your father.” Corin held up a letter. “It was delivered to Darrin by mistake.”

  Andras rose a little shakily and went over. Apparently, the captain was a little more intimidating in person than he’d just professed.

  Corin held the paper out. “Just a warning this time, Andras. Just watch what you say around here. As Kara so aptly illustrated, you never know who might hear.”

  Andras flushed. “Sorry, sir,” he mumbled.

  “Like I said, just a warning this time,” Corin said. There was no hardness in his voice, but Andras did not look up. “And some advice—you might want to start trying to make a few friends around here. You might need these men someday.”

  * * *

  Corin left the barracks, half wishing Trey had followed through with his threat on Andras. He still had no idea how to deal with him. He pushed the thought away and headed to the great hall to meet the stranger. At first glance, Corin thought it was Aiden, but a closer look proved otherwise. The man stood taller, more broad-shouldered, but with the same wavy black hair as Aiden.

  “You’re the one they call the Hawk?” the man asked.

  “Aye, my name is Corin.”

  The stranger clasped Corin’s proffered hand. “I’m William.”

  “You are from Braeton?” Corin noted the man’s accent.

  “Aye, that I am. Clan Canich was my home.”

  “How can I help you, William?” Corin asked.

  “Och, you can just call me Will. Everyone does,” he said. “I came here because I thought you might be able tae help me. I’m looking for my brother. He’s been gone a few years now. I’ve been through Braeton and east across the mountains tae Cyndor. I’ve heard you’ve been across the sea and figured there was a chance you might have seen him there.”

  “What’s your brother’s name?” Corin asked, even though he already knew.

  “Aiden.”

  “Aye, I know him. In fact he was here a few weeks ago,” Corin told him. “He was on his way home.”

  “That’s good and bad news. Danny, I hope you’re not planning on doing anything rash!” Will said partly to himself.

  “What do you mean?” Corin asked in sudden concern. “Couldn’t you stop him?”

  Will shook his head. “It’s not as simple as that.”

  “Why not? Is Aiden in trouble?” Although, knowing Aiden, it wouldn’t be hard to believe.

  “I don’t know,” Will said. “Looks like you want an explanation.”

  Corin nodded and led Will over to a more secluded part of the hall where there was a table with benches. A servant brought two beakers of ale, and Will waited until the man had left before he began.

  “Aiden’s been gone ten years now. You might think it’s a little late tae be looking for him, but things changed in Clan Canich. A stranger came and divided and scattered us. My father banished me almost two years ago. That’s when I decided tae go looking for my little brother. I figured if anyone could help put things right it would be him. He never takes ‘no’ for an answer.”

  “Aiden should be back by now. And if I know him, he won’t stand for anything. But he’ll play it smart,” Corin said.

  “How do you know him?” Will asked curiously.

  “We fought together in the South for a few years. He told me a little about why he left.”

  Will nodded. “I’m afraid we’re both very alike. That’s why I’m worried about him going back. If he loses his temper, he’ll end up getting himself killed.”

  “He’s changed over the years, Will. You might be surprised at what he can handle.” Corin knew that better than anyone. He’d fought alongside Aiden in battle, and even though Aiden displayed the tendencies of a berserker, Corin had yet to see him lose control.

  “I hope you’re right, sir.”

  “What will you do now if you can’t return home?”

  Will shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”

  “You’re welcome to stay here. We can find a place for you in the warband,” Corin said.

  “Thanks, I might take you up on that,” Will responded.

  “Take as long as you need, Will. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for a brother of Aiden’s,” Corin said seriously.

  Chapter 9

  Aiden thundered down the forest path after Maon. He burst into the clearing that sheltered Jamey’s dwelling. Hearing his approach, two men ran from the house, leapt on their horses, and galloped away. Their clothes and weapons marked them as Durnians. He jumped from Narak with a command to stay and sprinted into the house.

  Jamey lay half-conscious on the floor. Aiden knelt by him and tried to staunch the blood flowing from a gash on Jamey’s chest.

  “Jamey, don’t move.” Aiden pressed a hand to his chest as Jamey feebly tried to sit up.

  Artair stepped in and looked around. Furniture had been overturned, and Jamey still clutched a bloody claymore.

  “What happened here?” Artair asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” Aiden replied sharply. “Right now Jamey needs help.”

  Artair stepped outside. “Any of you know about healing?” he asked his men.

  “I do,” Skive replied.

  “Get in here then,” Artair said.

  Skive entered and crouched next to Aiden. Aiden moved his hands away, and Skive opened Jamey’s shirt to expose the wound.

  “I need some water to wash it,” Skive said.

  Aiden rose and took a pitcher and drew water from a barrel by the door.

  “It’s not a deep cut,” Skive reassured Aiden when he came back.

  Skive washed the cut and then took some powder from his pouch, poured it into the water, and mixed it until it formed a paste which he then spread over the wound. Aiden helped him put a bandage over it all.

  “I’ve sent two scouts down tae Scodra and assigned a few more tae patrol here tae make sure we’re alone,” Artair said as Aiden washed his hands.

  “Good,” Aiden said. “I’m about tae talk tae Jamey.”

  Jamey had come fully awake, and Skive helped him sit up against the wall. Aiden crouched in front of Jamey.

  “What happened?” Aiden asked.

  “I guess Adalwulf got suspicious. Two of his men managed tae track you here a few days ago. I saw them coming and made sure I wasn’t here. They didn’t stick around long. But then they surprised me today. Since there was no sign of you here, they didn’t give me much of a chance tae make anything up. Thankfully you got here when you did.”

  “I’m sorry, Jamey. I should have been more careful,” Aiden said.

  “It looks like your crazy plan worked though.” Jamey tipped a glance up at Artair.

  “For now,” Aiden said. “We might have just gotten intae worse trouble.”

  “You’re probably right, sir,” a warrior said as he entered the house. “Scodra is in an uproar. Those two Durnians saw all of us before they scampered away. But we managed tae catch one of them.”

  “Bring him in,” Artair ordered.

  Two Clansmen brought in a struggling Durnian.

  Aiden grabbed the man’s tunic and shook him. “What is Adalwulf planning?”

  The man’s mouth tightened as he refused to speak.

  “Bad idea, laddie,” Aiden said softly. “I know how tae make you talk.”

  The Durnian took one look into Aiden’s eyes and decided he meant it.

  “Don’t hurt me, please!”

  “That depends on what you tell us,” Aiden said.

  “Something changed a few days ago. Lord Gòrdan wanted to see you and when Lord Adalwulf said you weren’t here, the lord flew into a rage. Obviously he was right about you bringing men back. Adalwulf believed him for once and sent to Durna. Our army will be here by tonight,” the man told Aiden.

  “Has he done anything tae my brothers?”

  “I don’t know.”

&
nbsp; “Has he?” Aiden shouted.

  “No, not yet!” the Durnian replied frantically. Aiden let go of the man, and he fell to the ground.

  “Artair, we need tae leave now. We have tae get down tae Scodra,” Aiden said.

  Artair nodded in agreement. “What do we do about him?” He gestured to the Durnian.

  Aiden shoved the man out the door. The Durnian whimpered in fear as Aiden laid a shaft on his bow.

  “I’ll only use this if you’re still in my sight in five seconds,” Aiden said to the man. “One…”

  The man leaped up and dashed from the clearing as fast as he was able. Aiden waited until he was out of sight to return the arrow to his quiver, and went back inside the house.

  “Can Jamey ride?” he asked Skive.

  “Yes,” Jamey replied instead. “Braith is in the pen.”

  Aiden strode out into the rain again and through the trees. A pen was constructed between four trees behind the house, and a bay mare stood inside. Aiden slipped the halter on and led her back to the house. Artair threw the saddle and bridle on the mare. Jamey sheathed his sword and slowly mounted.

  The rest of the company mounted, and Artair turned to Aiden.

  “What would you have done if he hadn’t talked?” he asked curiously.

  “You don’t want tae know,” Aiden replied grimly and spurred Narak into a canter.

  They rode into Scodra valley a few minutes later. The gates of the fortress were wide open, and they reined to a halt in the courtyard. There was no sign of the Durnians. Ranulf appeared at the doors and ran down the steps.

  “Aiden!” he cried. “Adalwulf is gone.”

  “Not for long,” Aiden replied. “He’ll be back with an army by tonight.”

  “What’s your plan, Aiden? Between us and the few warriors here, we can’nae defend these walls,” Artair said.

  “You’re right. We need more men, and you are going tae get them,” Aiden told him.

  “What?” the captain exclaimed.

  “Our only chance tae defeat Adalwulf is if we have our own army. Most of our clan is with Clan Mavor. You and Ranulf will go get them. Take a few men with you.”

  “What do you think you’re going tae be doing here?” Ranulf asked.

  Aiden shielded his eyes from the rain and looked up at the structure rising before him. “We don’t have tae defend the walls. We just need tae hold the keep. Two score determined men could hold out in there for a few days. Or until you get back and save our lives.”

  “Are you sure, Aiden?” Artair asked.

  “We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

  “I’ll need a horse. The Durnians turned ours loose,” Ranulf said.

  “Take Narak. I won’t be going anywhere,” Aiden said.

  Tam ran out of the keep. “Ranulf! Father’s hurt!” he cried. “I just found him. Adalwulf tried tae kill him!”

  “Skive!” Aiden called, but Skive had already joined Tam. Aiden stopped Ranulf from following.

  “Davy, you have tae leave now. We don’t have time.”

  “Let me get my sword,” Ranulf said and ran inside.

  Skive sent Tam back outside where Aiden briefly told him what was happening.

  “You can go with Ranulf,” Aiden said.

  “No, I’ll stay here,” Tam said decidedly.

  Ranulf reemerged with his weapon and mounted Narak. He nodded a short farewell, and he and Artair clattered out of the gates on horseback with three other men. The people who remained at Scodra gathered in the hall as Aiden told them what was to happen. The women gathered their children close and the warriors stepped forward.

  “You can leave for the other settlements, but I don’t know how far you will get. And we need anyone who can fight tae stay,” Aiden said.

  An old man stepped forward to speak for the Clan. “It’s safer here. And together we might just see this through.” His voice rose in determination.

  Murmurs of agreement ran through the hall.

  Aiden gave a grim smile. “Bring everything you can inside: weapons, food, and water. And hurry, we don’t have long.”

  * * *

  “I see them! They’re coming!” a warrior yelled, running through the gates. His cries halted all activity.

  “Dillon, keep them working on those windows!” Aiden called. “Gareth, where do we stand on the provisions?”

  “Almost all in, sir. We only need a few more minutes!” Gareth replied.

  Aiden grabbed the reins of a horse still standing in the courtyard.

  “I’ll be back. Be ready tae close the gates!” he ordered as he rode out.

  The rain had slowed, and he could see the first ranks of the Durnians breaking through the trees at the far end of the lake. Aiden spurred toward them and reined to a halt on the lake shore. Adalwulf saw him in the dim twilight. He raised his hand, and his army stamped to a halt.

  “I’m impressed! It didn’t take too long for you tae figure out that I was double-crossing you,” Aiden called, leaning on the pommel of the saddle.

  “Your father had some choice words to say about you, Aiden. I regret not having my men deal with you when you arrived,” Adalwulf replied.

  Aiden chose to ignore the first comment. “You shouldn’t blame Torsten. He was obviously less than up tae the task!” He laughed.

  Torsten’s face darkened in rage. “I will enjoy watching you scream as I kill you!” he shouted.

  “I’m sure I will too. Just make sure our places are not reversed,” Aiden warned.

  “Do you wish to surrender, Aiden?” Adalwulf asked.

  “It hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was just seeing how long I could stall you.”

  “Kill him!” Adalwulf screamed.

  Aiden wheeled his horse as archers stepped forward. Arrows flew all around nearly hitting him. Aiden kicked his right foot out of the stirrup and held himself onto the left side of the horse as it galloped back to the fortress. Archers lowered their crossbows in confusion as suddenly they had almost no target.

  Aiden’s warriors slammed the gates shut as he tore through into the courtyard. The locks slid into place with a dull thud.

  “Blair, get up intae one of the towers and keep an eye on them,” Aiden ordered as a soldier took the horse to the stable. “We ready?” he asked Dillon.

  “As ready as we’ll ever be,” Dillon replied. “We’ve got everything inside. All the windows and doors are boarded and barricaded, except for the front and very top.”

  “Good work.” Aiden clapped Dillon on the shoulder. “Let’s get inside.”

  The heavy wooden doors were closed and bolted, and the warriors took up their assigned positions at the windows in the great hall and the second level of the keep. The women and children who were not fighting were huddled in an adjacent chamber where there was no danger of them being hit.

  Besides the thirty-seven men left in his command, Aiden had found another fifteen old men and boys, as well as a few women, who could fight.

  Tam came to stand by Aiden at the doors.

  “How is…Father?” Aiden forced the words out.

  “Skive thinks he’ll be all right,” Tam replied. “He’s still unconscious but we brought him down here. Ailsa’s looking after him.”

  Aiden nodded, barely allowing himself to admit how frightened he’d been at Tam’s news. “Good.”

  “Danny,” Tam said softly.

  “Not now, Tam,” Aiden said shortly.

  * * *

  Aiden stared out the open window at the rain still pattering down in the empty courtyard. Blair had reported that Adalwulf’s army was sitting at the gates. The wooden walls surrounding the town rose up twice the height of a man, and each log sharpened to a point at the top making them near impossible to scale, and so Adalwulf had sent for a battering ram.

  The wooden gates were over a foot thick, fire hardened, and reinforced with iron bars. It would give a valiant resistance to the ram they could hear pounding away. The night was passing quickl
y, but Adalwulf would not stop. The Durnians would break through by the morning.

  He left the window and went around checking on the sentries. He stopped at the window at the far end of the hall where a young woman stood guard.

  “It’s Rona, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Fine, except for that infernal banging on the gates,” Rona replied.

  Aiden had to agree. The dull thumping had begun to grate even on his nerves. “Your relief should be here shortly. You should rest while you still can.”

  Rona spared him a brief nod, and Aiden turned upstairs.

  Jamey sat in a chair by a window in the long hallway of the second floor defenses. Maon sat faithfully at his feet.

  “You sure you’re up for sentry duty?” Aiden asked him.

  “Aye, I don’t know what Skive did, but I can barely feel that cut,” Jamey replied. “We’ve got a good view of the Durnians here. Why don’t we take advantage?”

  “I’ve thought about it.” Aiden stroked Maon’s ears as he looked out of the window. “But they can move out of range, and the ram carriers can just as easily shield themselves. We’d best save our arrows. We don’t have enough tae spare.”

  “What’s your plan once they break in?” A warrior named Cai asked.

  “We’ll let Adalwulf make the first move. I want tae see how he plans tae fight,” Aiden said.

  An hour later the sentries were changed. Aiden made his rounds again and found Skive on duty.

  “I think I got you intae more than you were expecting,” Aiden said apologetically.

  Skive tested the edge of his battle axe. “Nothing is ever as we expect, is it? I do not regret following you here.”

  “I need tae thank you also for looking after my father,” Aiden said.

  Skive simply inclined his head. “He is a strong man. The Durnian used his axe handle to strike his head. It might be some time before he regains consciousness. Will you visit him?”

  Aiden shook his head vehemently. “Not now…not yet.” Previous concern aside, the last few visits with his father had only ended in confrontation. He wasn’t ready for that again.