by Terry Spear
"Was he injured? Has a healer seen to him?" she asked the man who had escorted them to the room.
"Nay, he wasna wounded. No' by a weapon. A healer has seen to him."
"Then the fever is due to the conditions of the dungeon."
"Aye," the guard said.
Glad that her youngest brother hadn't suffered an infection from a wound, she ran her hand over Drummond's hot brow. He stared at her, appearing not to comprehend who she was, and she felt sick at heart. She placed his hot hand against her cheek. "Drummond, I have come all this way to rescue you. You must come home with me now."
"Did you hear us, lass? Calling for you?" Kayne asked, as if trying to ease the tension in the chamber.
She nodded. "Aye, I heard you. And you said for me to stay away." She couldn't help sounding annoyed with him.
"For your own safety," Gildas said.
She humpfed. "I have brought men from three clans with me, willing to fight for your release. Did you think I would come alone?"
Her brothers looked at their da for confirmation. Angus quirked a brow as if telling on her in a silent way.
"Well, I didna. I lost my escort in a storm. How could I know that would happen?" she said.
Gildas groaned. Kayne shook his head and folded his arms.
"Dinna fret, Gildas, Kayne. I ended up with a husband. Isna that good news?"
Her brothers, all but Drummond, looked at Angus.
"Angus MacNeill, youngest brother to Laird James MacNeill of Craigly Castle," Angus said, bowing his head slightly.
Most likely wondering how in the world that had happened, her brothers all stared at him, except for Drummond. He just gazed upon her. She couldn't tell if he really saw her or was in a world of his own.
She took a deep breath and held his hand, caressing it with her free hand. "Drummond, you must get well. We have a long way to travel before we are able to return home."
"He canna travel like this until he is well," her father said. "Taking him into the cold chilly weather could kill him."
Drummond could die even if he stayed here. But she couldn't think of that. He would get well. She would see to it.
"How do the rest of you feel?" she asked, hoping that none of them would become ill also.
"We are fine," Kayne said, "though we could use more food and mead to improve our strength before we leave. They did feed us some before you arrived."
Halwn shook his head. "I am ready to quit this place. What if this MacRae changes his mind and decides to toss us back in the cell again?"
"I believe he may understand the situation better. Laird Lockton is here, and he has explained something of Oppida's nature. I trust MacRae may see that you were all innocent of any wrongdoing where Oppida is concerned," Edana said.
"Edana," Drummond croaked out.
Relieved beyond measure that her youngest brother finally recognized her, she looked down at him. "Oh, aye, 'tis me. You must get better and we will take you home. Da is here. And our brothers are all well. Hungry, but they shall live. And my husband, Angus MacNeill." She motioned to Angus, who nodded to Drummond in greeting.
Drummond stared at him, then a small smile appeared. "The lad who was interested in our sister."
The others looked back at him as if they hadn't realized just who Angus was. They all rose from the bed and clapped him on the shoulders as if he was their long lost brother or friend.
"I will be damned," Kayne said. "You were the one my sister spoke of in a cryptic way, though we all knew who she meant."
She felt her face flush. She hadn't remembered speaking to her brothers about Angus in any manner, cryptic or otherwise.
Halwn grinned. "Took you long enough, mon."
"Aye, I canna agree more," Angus said, running his hand over her hair, his eyes on hers, looking concerned.
"But we are free to go?" Drummond asked, glancing around at the chamber as if realizing he was no longer manacled in a dungeon.
"Aye, but you canna. You are too ill," Edana said.
The movement of people outside the door caused them to glance in that direction.
"What is happening?" Kayne asked, his voice anxious.
"Keary told MacRae that Oppida poisoned his da's wives and his da. He warned she might wish to do the same to—" their da explained.
"The boy," Kayne exclaimed. "God's wounds. Pol told us she tried to force him to drink something he didna wish."
"He is missing. Both the boy and Oppida," their da said.
"We will help them search for the boy." Kayne glanced at his brothers, seeking their agreement. They all nodded their affirmation.
"Nay." Their da shook his head. "You have already found yourself in the dungeon—"
"The boy may have saved our lives," Kayne insisted. "He brought us bread and cheese and mead. He brought a drink laced with herbs for Drummond to help bring down his fever. He secured a blanket from another cell to keep Drummond warm. We owe the boy our lives."
"You are too weak." Their da frowned at them.
"Nay, we must do this, Da," Halwn agreed. "We will stay together. The boy liked us. He trusted us."
The brothers all looked at Edana, brows furrowed. "What?" she asked.
Kayne cleared his throat. "We said you were innocence and light. That you liked children."
"Aye, so?" She might not be all innocence or light, but if they thought so, she would not disagree with them.
Kayne blushed furiously.
Suddenly getting the gist of his concern, she scowled at him. "You dinna tell him I would be his mother, did you, Kayne?"
"No' in so many words, nay," Kayne said.
Halwn quickly jumped in to defend him. "We were worried you would come here seeking us out and MacRae would take you in. We wanted Pol to warn you about the woman."
"What?" Edana asked.
"You should come with us," Halwn said.
"You want me to go with you to look for the boy? I must stay with Drummond." Edana soaked a cloth in a bowl of water and wrung it out.
"I will go with you," her da said to her brothers. "To keep you out of further trouble."
"'Twas Drummond who got us into trouble," Kayne said, and she thought he sounded like a lad of ten, instead of a grown man. Kayne glanced at Angus. "You will watch over Edana and Drummond?"
"Aye. The guard is still at the door also," Angus said.
Not that they needed a guard, she didn't believe.
The brothers left with their father, a little unsteady on their feet. The man who had shown Edana, Angus, and her father to the chamber met up with them just outside the door. "Can I help you?"
"We wish to help search for the boy," Kayne said.
"He spoke with you when you were down below?" the man asked the brothers.
"Aye, he is a kind-hearted lad," Kayne said. "We wish to help find him."
"Come with me then."
Edana continued to cool Drummond's brow. He seemed tired, but more alert now. "Do you remember the time I was running a fever and you helped to cool me with a wet cloth when the healer was too tired to do it any longer? You sat beside me and even when our brothers tried to relieve you, you wouldna go?" she asked.
"Aye," Drummond said.
"You didna call for me this time."
"You…would search for us…alone. I worried." Drummond looked at Angus. "Should I have…worried?"
Angus frowned. "Aye. We found the lass alone in an abandoned shieling. She was sharing it with her horse."
Drummond smiled at her. "Only you would take a horse…into a shieling."
She smiled back at him, guardedly relieved he felt somewhat better.
"Edana," a lad's voice called to her, in her usual strange way.
She looked at the doorway. No one but the guard stood there.
"Edana," Angus said, rubbing her arm. "What is the matter? You look as though you have seen a ghost."
"I…I heard a lad's voice speaking to me."
"Pol's?" Drummond said, tryin
g to sit up.
"Nay, lie still," she said, and didn't like that she could push him back on the bed as he had no reserve strength.
She concentrated. And she tried to contact the boy through her thoughts, knowing it wouldn't work. It never had before. "Are you with Oppida?" she urgently asked the lad.
"Aye," the small voice in her head said, and she was so shocked, she nearly collapsed on the floor.
Angus grabbed her arm and made her sit on the bed beside Drummond. "Edana, your face lost every bit of color. What is wrong?"
"He heard my thoughts and answered my question," she whispered to Angus and Drummond, not wanting the guard standing in the corridor outside the open door to overhear.
"How? That has never happened before, has it?" Drummond asked.
"Nay."
"Where is he? Can you ask him?" Angus asked.
"He said he is with Oppida." Edana concentrated again and asked the lad this time, "Where has she taken you?"
"The woods past the postern gate where the servants enter."
She quickly repeated what the lad had told her to Drummond and Angus. "This is bad. How can we tell his da where he is and how we know of it?"
"He wouldna believe you," Drummond said.
"We must tell him," Edana said. "If no one has gone beyond the castle walls to search for the lad, he is in imminent danger."
In a hushed tone, men spoke in the corridor. Edana swung around just in time to see MacRae and two of his guards stalk into the chamber.
"How do you know any of this?" MacRae asked.
Her heart beat rapidly, her skin chilling. He had to have overheard her speaking to Angus and Drummond.
"You were in on this. In with Oppida," MacRae charged.
"What?" She could not grasp what he was accusing of her exactly. She was so used to people not believing in her abilities, but to think she was…in on a plot to harm his son? How could he think such a thing?
"'Tis the only way you would know where the two of them are. I canna fathom how or why you would be working with the woman against me, but know this, if the woman kills my son, you and your kin will be dead," MacRae said. "Keep them here." He advanced on Edana and Angus moved to stop him, but the two guards seized his arms and slammed him up against a stone wall.
He fought to free himself, cursing at them in Gaelic.
Another couple of guards had gathered outside the chamber door. Drummond attempted to get out of bed, but Edana clasped his shoulder. "Stay, Drummond. You must get well."
And then MacRae, seized her arm and her heart stuttered. She gave out a shocked squeak.
Angus shouted, "God's wounds, release Edana at once!"
Ignoring Angus, MacRae yanked her out of the chamber.
Chapter 16
Edana's heart pumped wildly as she feared what MacRae would do to her. He jerked her into a large chamber that she suspected was his, a dark bed sitting in the center of it, men's tunics hanging from pegs on the wall, and a chest sitting next to another wall. He released her, then slammed the solid oak door.
"Tell me where my son is and what part you have in this," MacRae growled, his face filled with fury.
"Pol, does your da know you have the gift?" she quickly asked him.
"He doesna believe me."
She straightened her back and gave MacRae her fiercest look. "Your son is in grave danger and it has naught to do with me. If you wish to save him, he told me where the woman has taken him."
"Told you?" he said skeptically.
"Aye, aye, just as he has told you that he can hear others speaking to him in his thoughts."
The man's eyes rounded and he looked like he wanted to strangle her. "You know him. You have spoken with him."
"I have never seen your son. I have the same abilities as he has. 'Tis why I knew you had locked my brothers in your dungeon. And that my brother, Drummond, was ill."
MacRae's mouth gaped for a minute. "You canna do such a thing."
"I will try to learn more from your son. Ask what you will of me and I will ask him. But every moment we wait, Oppida is taking your son farther away from the castle."
"I sent men that way as soon as I heard your conspiratorial words. Ask Pol what name he gave his pony."
"Pol, what did you name your pony?"
"She is taking me to the river, threatening to drown me."
"The river. The woman is taking him to it and threatens to drown him," Edana hastened to tell his father.
"The name of his pony," MacRae grit out.
The man was a tyrant! "The name of your pony, Pol. Your da doesna believe I can hear you speaking to me."
"Argent. He is gray. I call him Argent for silver."
"Argent," she quickly told MacRae, "for silver. His pony is gray."
MacRae stared at her in disbelief.
"Let me return to my sick brother," Edana urged. "Free Angus. We are no' responsible for Oppida's evil doings."
"Are you Edana? Is that why you knew where your brothers were? They wouldna tell me," Pol asked.
"Aye."
"Help me."
"I have told your father. He has sent men to find you."
"Your son asks for you to rescue him," Edana said to MacRae.
"Come with me." MacRae gave her no choice as he grabbed her arm and hauled her from the chamber. Two of his men waiting for him in the corridor hurried after them. "The river," MacRae said to his men.
She yanked her arm, trying to free herself from his steel grip, to no avail. She dug at his fingers, unable to loosen them from their stranglehold on her.
MacRae rushed her through the keep and outside as if unaware of her struggles. Men quickly joined them with lighted torches. And he passed the word as to where his son and Oppida were.
Barely able to keep up with MacRae's long stride, she still attempted to pull free from his titan hold. His hand on her arm was bruising her skin. "What have you done to my brothers? My da?" she asked, her voice low with scorn.
"They still search within the keep. 'Twas my luck that I happened to pass by the chamber when I heard your words concerning where my son had been taken."
"We had naught to do with this." Edana understood how people would mistrust her words, but she had to make him understand.
"How did you learn your brothers were here?" MacRae asked, taking her to a horse, not her own. He helped her into the saddle.
He hadn't believed her.
"In the same manner I heard your son speaking to me. My brothers called to me."
MacRae mounted his horse and a dozen men soon followed them. "Someone must have talked in the village."
"Nay. I began searching for them days ago when one of my brothers called out to me."
"They were blindfolded. They didna know which castle they were being held in. Someone in the village had to have talked."
"My brothers didna know where they were being held at first. Aye. But…then they did. I dinna know how. I didna ask my brothers when I was reunited with them, but finally one of them said—in my thoughts—it was your castle."
MacRae snorted as he led her away from the castle at a gallop and into the woods, following a man with a torch. Several others carried them as well.
The sky had cleared, only a hint of cloud, but a full moon clung to the dark sky while stars twinkled like candles against the inkiness.
"Pol, where are you?" she asked.
"She is taking me along the river to where it narrows."
She told MacRae what his son had revealed.
"I dinna believe he is telling you these things. You must have known her plan," he growled at her.
"How would I know what the woman planned? I have never met her!" Stubborn, goat-headed, impossible man. "Ask me something that I canna know. Something that mayhap only you and your son know," Edana said, as she ducked beneath a low hanging oak branch.
MacRae didn't say anything for a while as they hurried as quickly as they could through the woods to reach the river. Then he finally
said, "Ask him which girl he kissed yestereve."
"How old is he?" Edana asked, thinking he sounded young and the notion he wasna shocked her.
"He will be ten soon, but he is as precocious as I was at that age. Ask him."
The lad reminded her of her brothers at that age. Had Angus been the same way? She took a deep breath and asked the question of Pol. He didn't answer her for the longest time, and she worried Oppida had injured him and he could not speak.
"Well?" MacRae asked.
"He isna saying anything."
"I knew you couldna do as you said you could," MacRae snapped at her.
"Ingrid was the girl's name," Pol said. "Hurry! Oppida is dragging me across the river."
Edana quickly relayed the information to MacRae.
For a heartbeat, he stared at her as if he couldn't believe she could know such things. Then he cursed up a storm, spurred his horse on, and they finally bolted out of the woods. Only a few feet away, a frothing river plunged down the hill. The woman attempted to drag the boy across the river south of them, but because of her long skirts and the swift flow of the water, she wasn't making much headway. The boy struggled to return to shore, a torch clutched in his hand as he lighted their way. He tugged and threw her off balance.
Redheaded like his father, he looked in their direction and saw them. His face was pale, but his eyes widened.
"Da!"
One of MacRae's men nocked an arrow. "Should I shoot her?"
"Nay, mon. She could take the lad down with her and drown him as far out as she is," MacRae warned and kicked his horse to a gallop to reach the two of them.
With his men, Edana rode after MacRae, not sure what she could do, wishing she could help in some way as she watched the frightened lad attempt to pull loose of the woman's tight grip.
The woman's black hair streamed down her back, the strong breeze whipping some of it around her face. She turned and saw the men coming for her. She screamed. That's when Edana saw the sgian dubh in Oppida's free hand. That was why she wasn't carrying the torch. Her skin prickling, Edana feared she would use it on the boy, either to attempt to bargain with MacRae or to kill the lad if she thought she had no chance to live.
