Sadie looked straight into his ferocious, brooding eyes. “I’m sharpening my weapon. What are you doing?”
“And what’s this?” He waved his hand at her trousers. “What did ye do tae yer clothes?”
“I stitched up my dress into pants during the night,” she replied. “If I’m going to fight, I better change my clothes. I asked around, and no one had a pair of pants I could wear, so I made these.”
Lachlan scowled. “Ye’ll no fight, lass. Ye’ll stop wi’ the women where ye belaing.”
She passed her sharpening stone down her blade again. “If I stop with the women, I’ll definitely wind up fighting. You saw what happened yesterday. If I don’t fight, we’ll never make it to Duart, so don’t try to stop me.”
Cold, clear calm settled over Callum’s heart watching them together. She would fight and she would conquer, exactly the way the other women of her kind did. They set their minds on what they had to do, and they did it. Woe betide any man who stood in their way.
Callum learned that lesson through long association with Carmen and Ell, but Lachlan McLean hadn’t learned it yet. Callum shook his head to himself. Lachlan didn’t understand.
Callum got to his feet and strolled over to the pair. “Leave her,” he told Lachlan. “If she wants tae fight, ye’d do better tae let her. These women dinnae operate the same as yer Highland maids. She’ll come a handy blade in a fight. We all saw that yesterday.
Lachlan rounded on him. “Ye ha’e a fair piece tae say aboot that, dinnae ye just? What’s yer angle? Ye’re trying tae get her killed or summat, I’d reckon.”
“What purpose would that serve?” Callum returned. “Did ye see her fight yesterday? What do ye think ye’re protectin’ her from? If she’s called upon tae defend the other women and children, she’ll need a blade. I see no bother aboot her….”
“Ye see no bother!” Lachlan thundered. “Ye see no bother aboot her dressing like a mon and throwin’ a blade aboot. Ye’re up yerself, so stuff yer kilt in it and hold yer peace.”
Callum stiffened. “She belaings tae another race. Dinnae ye realize that by now? She belaings tae a race where the women stand wi’ the men. I ha’e seen three others o’ her kind, and no a one o’ ’em could stop behind the lines in an open fight. They mun’ all take up weapons and fight tae the death. She’s no different. She’ll continue plaguin’ ye ’til ye stand aside and unleash her on the enemy, and that’s the best way ye’ll win the day. Ye mark me words.”
“I’ll no stand aside, and I’ll no watch a woman o’ me own party turn unnatural tae fight wi’ the men,” Lachlan shot back. “I’m still Chief until we reach Duart, and I’ll say what and how and when we fight.”
He marched away to his brothers. Callum sighed. “Weel, that was a waste o’ me precious life’s breath if I e’er saw’t.”
Sadie got to her feet. She stuck her saber into the ground at her feet. “I appreciate you sticking up for me. These men just don’t get it.”
“It’s no the men,” Callum replied. “It’s him. Ye’ll no see Arch nor Christie doin’ their level best tae squash ye intae the ground. I’d lay odds those two’ll be glad tae stand wi’ ye when the time comes.”
Sadie bit back a grin. “I’m sure they will. Thanks anyway. It’s nice to hear what you just said about my friends. It’s nice to know there are some men in this crazy would who understand about us.”
“Do ye ken me brothers and I ha’e no faced a single battle withoot one o’ yer kind at our side?” he replied. “Since the first night Carmen appeared in our path, they ha’e fought our battles. We’d none o’ us be alive tae tell the tale if it hadnae been fer them—all three o’ em. They’re fighters—the lot o’ ’em. I ha’e no doubt ye’ll be the same, e’en if I hadnae seen ye yesterday—which I did. That in itself proves it.”
She let her brilliant smile break out. “Thanks. That means a lot.”
Callum stole a glance at that smile, but he didn’t trust himself to look at it very long. He turned away frowning. “Weel, ye’re set tae go. Ye’ll call on me if ye need me, and there’s Arch and Christie and…. weel, I was goin’ tae say Jamie. He’ll no fight today, I’ll be bound, but he understands the same as I. He’s seen it all, has Jamie.”
“When do you plan to tell him?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I dinnae ken. I’ll ha’e tae find a way tae speak tae him alone. Be patient, lass.”
Her expression changed when he called her that. The open glow he saw in her last night shone out of her eyes. He turned away and hurried back to Jamie, where a two McLeans lifted him on a blanket litter to carry him away.
Chapter 15
The column snaked its way along the hilltops overlooking Loch Uisg. Sadie took advantage of the position to gaze back over the country they already covered. No vampires swarmed over the hills to attack. She could almost imagine a world without that scourge always appearing out of nowhere to turn her life into a nightmare.
Far ahead, a purple-blue haze showed the far seashore where Duart Castle awaited her. She kept an eye on Callum all day. He hovered near Jamie’s litter, but he never got a chance to talk to his brother alone. How long would she have to wait before Callum got her out of here?
She dreaded camping another night out here with Lachlan around. He took every opportunity to walk at her side. She answered his questions as civilly as she could. She had to keep up appearances until Callum gave her the signal to leave.
The party climbed higher onto pointy hilltops surveying the whole countryside. They left Loch Uisg behind and traversed a ridge when another large expanse of blue-black water stretched out before their eyes. It trailed its fingers into the mountains and led out to the open sea beyond. Far to the north along that coastline, a dainty tendril of land protruded into the distance, but she couldn’t see Duart Castle from here.
Sadie sighed. What awaited her there? She couldn’t go there, not with Lachlan lurking around. He would never leave her alone once he got her inside the walls of his Clan stronghold. Once he got her inside, her battle would end. She understood that.
“No much further, lass,” he told her. “Just down the other side and through the woods yonder.”
She cast a glance over her shoulder to see where he pointed behind them, into the mountains. “What? Over there? Wouldn’t it be easier to follow the coast? We could go down there….” She followed the curving line of bright water with her finger. “It would lead us straight to the castle.”
“We’re goin’ down this way,” he repeated. “It’s safer from the monsters.”
Sadie frowned, first at the dark forest behind the mountains, and then at Lachlan. What was he doing? The coast offered the quickest, easiest path to safety, so why did he choose a treacherous, exposed route that would take so much longer?
She didn’t have a chance to ask before he walked away. He gave orders to his brothers and cousins and relatives, and they didn’t question. Callum frowned when he heard the order, too, but by that time, the men already took Jamie down the hill, into the forest behind the mountain. He had no choice but to follow.
In a matter of minutes, the bright hope of the coast fell out of sight, and dense trees closed in. Lachlan led the way far down into the steep valleys where not much light penetrated. He crossed a stream and kept going. He didn’t follow the stream north toward the coast.
Sadie stopped on the bank and took stock of the situation. Now she knew Lachlan was up to something. If he really wanted to get to Duart Castle in a hurry, he would have followed that stream to the coast. Instead, he forged up the opposite hillside, straight into the densest forest.
Large tree ferns and mushroom-covered trunks stood all around. The air smelled of mold and damp and soil. Every step brushed moisture onto Sadie’s pants. Her hand instinctively migrated to her sword hilt. If the vampires attacked now, the party would have nowhere to flee. They would be trapped.
The longer she stood there thinking about it, the farther away the party
got. Callum didn’t notice. He was too preoccupied with Jamie. When he did turn around and saw her hesitating, the men carrying Jamie moved away so he had to hurry to catch up with them.
She took a firm grip on herself and started forward. Like Lachlan said, it was just a little further to Duart. Then they would be safe from the vampires, at least, and Callum and Jamie could put the plan into action to get her out of here and take her home with them.
She set off up the hill. Lachlan and Carson, along with Christie and their cousins got so far ahead she couldn’t see them anymore. She followed Jamie’s litter. She couldn’t go wrong there. Most of the women and children got too far forward for her to see, too.
She bent her head to the task of climbing the hill. Her lungs burned. She was too out of shape for this. She spent too much time indoors, sitting in an office and tending patients. She would have to change that, just as soon as she got somewhere stable and safe.
A rush of wind shook the treetops overhead. She paused to look up, but she saw no movement in the branches. When she faced forward, the column disappeared into the forest ahead of her. Only Callum, Jamie and his bearers, and Arch remained in view.
She shook her worries out of her mind. She couldn’t let the shades of possibilities bother her when she had so many other more important matters to worry about. She braced her legs for the long climb up the hill when she heard the same sound of rushing wind.
This time when she checked above her, she didn’t stop walking. She pushed herself to catch up with her companions, but she never let go of her saber hilt. Trees crowded all around her. They cut off her line of sight so she couldn’t see what was coming. This was no good.
The throaty voice of the wind shook the canopy. She whipped around just in time to meet a vampire flying at her with its grasping fingers extended toward her throat. She didn’t have time to draw her weapon. She barely got her hands around the thing’s neck before it hit her full force.
She slammed back on the ground. The demon took all her strength just to hold it away from her neck. She screamed for Callum—anybody. She couldn’t hold it off. It snarled and spat in her face. Sheer terror gave her superhuman strength. She kicked her knees up and flipped it over.
It hit the dirt and bounced up just as the rest of the bloodsucking hoard streamed out of the trees to attack the party—but it wasn’t the whole party. None of the others remained but Callum, Arch, Jamie, and the two McLeans who carried him. They were Bryce and Colin, and they dumped Jamie the instant the vampires appeared.
The brief hiatus when Sadie got rid of her attacker gave her time to draw her saber. The others seized their weapons, too. Sadie cried out through the trees to warn Lachlan and the others, but no sound or sign came from the dim forest. Where was everybody? Were they under attack, too?
Callum planted his legs over his brother and rounded on the vampires with his teeth bared. He roared his challenge, but the vampires didn’t care. They rushed him in crowds until they weighed both his arms down. He couldn’t lift his saber.
Sadie slashed anything in sight. She had no more idea how to fight with a sword than with anything else. She didn’t care. She knew only the drive to kill, to spill their blood as fast as she could.
She slashed heads, necks, and limbs. She stabbed every face and body that came near her. Down on the ground, Jamie got his own weapon free. He protected Callum’s back while Callum dislodged himself from masses of vampires.
In the fog of battle, Sadie’s mind churned. Where was Lachlan? He couldn’t intend to leave his own brother and his cousins to die out here, could he? Why didn’t he answer her call? Something must have happened to him. The vampires must have got to him and the rest of the party, too.
She looked back down the hill. “We have to get out of here,” she called to Arch.
He didn’t hear her. He gave all his attention to holding those things off. She fought her way to his side. “Come on. We have go head down the stream.”
“What?” he called back. “We cinnae….”
“We can’t stay here,” she told him. “Our only chance is to get to Duart fast.”
“How?” he asked. “We’re too far away o’ that.”
She battled her way to Callum. She had to convince him. He would understand. “Fall back,” she called. “Get down the stream. We have to get to Duart.”
He glanced around. “I cinnae leave Jamie.”
“Get him on his feet. I’ll cover you. We have to get out of these woods. It’s a death trap.”
He shook his head. “I ha’e a better idea.”
He knocked a few vampires out of the way and dropped to one knee next to Jamie’s pallet. He hooked one meaty arm around Jamie’s chest. “Launch, Jamie. Launch and take off fer home.”
Jamie’s eyes flew open. Sadie didn’t understand what Callum meant, but Jamie sure did. He grabbed hold of Callum, and Callum pulled him up off the pallet.
At that moment, a streak of black whizzed across Sadie’s line of sight. It hit Callum from behind and knocked him down face first on top of Jamie. Both brothers collapsed back on Jamie’s pallet.
Sadie spun around to face the new threat when she saw it. A huge coal-grey wolf galloped through the trees to intercept the fugitives. Another five wolves streaked into view. They attacked the vampires in a coordinated flank of power and precision. They cornered the monsters one at a time and ripped them to pieces.
Sadie got a couple more strokes of her saber before the big wolf standing on Callum’s back hopped off and turned to face her. Its burning eyes gleamed out of its dark face. She couldn’t miss it if she tried. It was Lachlan.
He advanced on her with steady tread. She backed off, but he continued to close in. In a matter of minutes, the other wolves surrounded her and steered her into the trees.
Several wolves piled on top of Callum and Jamie until Sadie lost sight of them. Calling out for help wouldn’t do any good. Lachlan pushed her back into the forest, away from everybody else until she backed into a tree trunk and stopped. Her saber hung at her side. She never thought to use it against him.
Once she got out of sight of the battle scene, Lachlan transformed in front of her. He stood up on his hind legs, and his dark fur changed to smooth skin and strong features. He smiled at her. “Well done, lassie. Ye fought them weel.”
“What do you think you’re doing, Lachlan?” she asked.
“We’re goin’ tae Duart, the same as we planned,” he replied. “Come alaing.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What did you do to Callum?”
“I? I did naught tae him. He’s right o’er there wi’ his brother. Ye ha’e naught tae worry aboot him—aboot either one o’ ’em.”
She glanced over his shoulder toward the battle, but she couldn’t catch a glimpse of the Cameron brothers. Lachlan waited. He had all the time in the world for Sadie to get it through her head she was stuck. He had her right where he wanted her, and he wouldn’t let her go. She saw that in his smug expression.
He held all the cards. She had no choice. She had to go with him.
Chapter 16
Callum opened his eyes and found himself face down in a pile of leaf meal in the middle of the forest. He spat out dirt and rolled over to take a look around. The forest breathed and murmured all around him, but he couldn’t see another person anywhere.
He cocked his head to listen. Not one sign of Jamie, Sadie, all the McLeans or their party remained to be seen anywhere. Even the blankets Bryce and Colin used to carry Jamie vanished without a trace.
Callum hopped to his feet. He faced one way and then the other. He took a moment to remember where he was and what he was doing there. He was somewhere in the wilderness heart of the Isle of Mull, right smack dab in the center of McLean country.
To the north lay Duart Castle. Lachlan could only have taken Sadie and Jamie there. He certainly wouldn’t take them back to Moy, not with those vampires running around all over the place.
Callum weighed his opt
ions. He wouldn’t leave Jamie, and he couldn’t leave Sadie, either. Lachlan must be banking on that. Callum had no choice but to head north. He went back downhill to the stream. He entertained strong misgivings when Lachlan bypassed such an obvious pathway to their destination. Callum wouldn’t pass it by now.
He faced a long hike to Duart. Sure, he could fly there and blast the place to kingdom come, so why didn’t he? Even now, he hesitated to use his dragon powers against the McLeans, even after they attacked him, kidnapped his brother, and left him to fend for himself.
He had to keep his head. He had to think this through instead of blowing his lid at the McLeans. The walk would do him good, and he could come up with the best strategy to get both Jamie and Sadie back.
As he suspected, the stream led him down to the lake shore. He saw from the heights this lake opened through a thin neck to the sea. He sat down on the bare shore and gazed out over the water. He could fly to Duart in a matter of seconds, so he better figure out now exactly what he would do when he got there.
Lachlan would have Sadie under lock and key, so how did he get Jamie to go with him and leave Callum behind? Lachlan could have made up any number of lies to convince Jamie to change sides and turn his back on his own brother.
Callum hesitated to attack the castle outright. He didn’t want Jamie or Sadie caught in the crossfire. If Lachlan spun Jamie a yarn about Callum, he might convince Jamie to defend Duart for him against Callum’s assault. Callum couldn’t think of an outcome he’d like to avoid more than fighting his own brother in an all-out dragon battle.
How did he get himself into this? Why didn’t he take Jamie’s advice to fly straight to Cameron land instead of crossing Mull on foot?
He couldn’t have avoided it. He had no idea he was on Mull, and neither did Jamie, until they came in sight of the Tower House. By then, it was too late.
He couldn’t bring himself to regret anything that happened, even now. If he hadn’t come to the Tower House, if he’d flown straight over it and never touched the ground, he never would have found Sadie.
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