by Willa Blair
“Why would healers from the south have special talents that we havena seen here, and why would they have to remain untouched?” Toran wondered aloud. “How do new ones get born if that’s the case?”
“It defies logic, it does,” Angus replied. “Perhaps that was only her way to protect herself.”
Aileana entered the Hall then. Toran stood, and after a surprised moment of delay, the rest of the men in the Hall did, too. Aileana stopped, dismay on her face at the sudden display in her honor, and then started forward again as Toran held out his hand to her.
“Laird Lathan,” she said quietly as she touched her fingers to his palm. That contact shot a frisson of want through Toran. She had never before offered her touch without being involved in healing an injury. Was she becoming comfortable enough with him to forget her safeguards?
“Healer Aileana,” he replied, matching her formality for the moment. “I believe ye met Angus MacAnalen while he guested with Colbridge in the camp? Nay?” Toran hid the sense of loss that nearly overwhelmed him when Aileana retrieved her fingers from his. Angus offered his hand across the table, but Aileana merely nodded.
Angus inclined his head and smiled warmly at her, accepting her slight with good grace.
“Healer,” Angus said, “we did not meet. But ye took care of some of my clansmen. And soon, ye may save our laird. For all of that, I am in yer debt.”
“You owe me nothing, sir,” Aileana responded primly. “I simply did what I was called to do.”
“Aileana, please join us,” Toran invited, and pulled out the chair to his right, keeping the table between her and Angus.
She sat quickly, clearly uncomfortable, but doing her best to be polite.
“Supper is on the way,” he told her. “Would ye like some wine while we wait?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a small frown. “I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted any.”
Toran noted Angus’s raised eyebrows, but chose not to explain Aileana’s simple background. “Indeed,” he said. He poured her a cup and placed it before her.
Aileana picked it up and sniffed the dark red liquid. “How can something smell warm?” She looked at Toran, but he simply smiled at her and nodded.
“Taste it. It’s good.”
Aileana took a sip, then raised her eyebrows in surprise. “It’s very good,” she said after she swallowed.
Angus chuckled, but Toran laughed outright. “Aye, that it is.”
When the food arrived, Toran was pleased to see Angus dig in with a will, and even more pleased that Aileana nearly matched him, bite for bite, between sips of wine.
“Healer,” Angus began after a glance at Toran, who nodded permission, “how do ye like living in the Aerie?”
“It’s very different,” she replied after a moment’s thought. “Different from anything I’ve ever known.”
“What do ye mean?”
“Look around you, Angus. It’s a grand fortress. I come from a village, and spent the last two years with a traveling army. I’ve never lived anywhere like this.”
Toran was amused to see her run her finger around the rim of her wine cup as she spoke.
“Would ye like some more, Aileana?”
“Yes, please.”
Toran poured just as Senga walked into the Great Hall and beckoned to him.
“If ye’ll excuse me,” he said to Aileana and Angus as he rose, “Senga wants me for something. I’ll be back shortly.”
Toran met the old healer halfway across the hall. “Is there something amiss?”
“Come with me, Laird. There’s something ye should see before ye leave.”
With no further explanation, she turned and led him from the Hall. He glanced around as they exited and saw Angus and Aileana deep in conversation across the table. He was tempted to turn back to see what subject had them both so engaged, but one did not ignore a summons from the clan’s healer. So he followed her up the stairs toward the solar. There, in the hallway, Toran nearly shouted with joy at the sight that greeted him. Jamie walked toward them and smiled, bringing a healthy pink to his cheeks.
“Jamie, ye’re on yer feet!”
“Ye have a wonderful grasp of the obvious, Lathan. And glad I am to be up and about, especially after coming so close to singing with the angels.
“They wouldna have ye, ye fool. Ye canna sing a note.” Toran clasped his old friend in a careful embrace. He remembered just in time not to pound him on the back. He wasn’t sure Jamie would appreciate that particular display of affection yet. “Ye’re the best thing I’ve seen for days.”
“He has recovered very well,” Senga announced. “I willna say he’s ready to resume his duties to the clan, but some time spent walking about the keep and a few good meals should see him completely restored.”
“That’s great news,” Toran responded with genuine feeling. “Thank ye for yer care of my old friend.” Toran slung an arm over Jamie’s shoulders as his friend stood between him and Senga looking sheepish. “He wouldha’ been a real loss to the clan.”
“Now, Toran,” Jamie interjected.
“And if ye tell anyone else I said it, I’ll deny it.”
“Then it will be our secret,” Senga said with an uncharacteristic wink that surprised a laugh from Jamie.
Toran didn’t realize how much he’d missed the sound of his old friend’s laughter until he heard it now. It nearly brought tears to his eyes. To cover the emotion, he spoke. “So, Jamie, Senga, dinner awaits in the Hall. Will ye come?”
“Go along with ye, lads,” she told them. “I’ve work yet to do.”
“Thank ye, Senga,” Jamie said, solemnly before Toran turned him toward the stairs.
“Don’t thank me, laddie. Thank Aileana. She saved yer life when I couldna.”
“Did she, now? Then I will do that,” Jamie answered by way of a leave taking.
Toran went first down the stairs, knowing that Jamie would not hesitate to grasp his shoulder should he falter or stumble on the treads. He was surprised to see Aileana still deep in conversation with Angus. They both looked so serious. What could they be discussing with such intensity?
As he and Jamie entered the Hall, cheers and shouts of greeting rang out. Jamie was forced to acknowledge every person as they made their way to the table where Aileana and Angus now watched their progress. Angus looked puzzled over the uproar, which didn’t surprise Toran since he hadn’t been told about Jamie’s injury and miraculous recovery. Aileana looked around her. Her face was impassive…no, he glimpsed a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Was she pleased to see Jamie up and about? Or pleased to see the reaction to his return to health, one that did not include labeling her a witch?
Finally, he and Jamie reached Aileana.
“Jamie, ye may not remember Aileana, but she saved yer life when ye were as close to dead as I’ve ever seen a man who’s standing now on his own two feet, and tended ye with Senga through yer fever.”
“Aye,” Jamie responded, suddenly solemn as he sketched a bow to the Healer. “I ken the lady. I’ve said my thanks before, but the more I hear the tale, the more I ken that no thanks will ever be enough to balance what ye did for me. And the toll it took on ye.”
“’Twas only what I’m meant to do,” Aileana replied softly. Her gaze met Jamie’s briefly, then dropped to the floor. “I took no lasting harm.”
Aileana’s simple words brought a flood of memories back to Toran and a frown to his face. She’d looked to be near death herself before she’d finished with Jamie. She’d nearly scared the life from Toran that day.
At Angus’s raised eyebrow, Toran quickly shook his head. He’d tell him later…if they got the chance. Toran could see Kyle heading toward them. The time had come for the night’s patrol to go.
“Laird, I’ve come to collect ye. If ye’re ready?”
Angus nodded and glanced around the group, catching first Jamie’s, then Toran’s, and lastly Aileana’s gaze with a nod and murmured th
anks for hospitality and for the risks they were about to undertake on his clan’s behalf. Again, he held a hand out to Aileana. This time, she briefly touched her fingers to his palm. Was it the wine? Toran wondered if Angus felt the same thing when they touched that he did and a spurt of jealousy shot through him at the thought.
“I’ll just be a minute,” Aileana told Toran. “I need my cloak and supplies.”
Toran nodded and watched her as she hurried to the stairs.
“Walk out with me, Toran, if ye would,” Angus said as he turned to follow Kyle. Jamie was pulled away by some of the men.
“That seemed to be quite a conversation with the Healer,” Toran said as soon as he and Angus moved out of earshot of anyone in the Hall.
“And one ye’ll wish to hear about. What’s the saying? Latin, I think? In vino veritas. In wine there is truth. Yer healer put away three cups fairly quickly. And despite the meal, the wine loosened her tongue.”
“Indeed? What did she have to say that took wine to get past her lips?”
“I asked her about her life before Colbridge took her from her village. I don’t think she meant to say it, but she mentioned that her mother worked as the village healer until her death…long after she’d married and had a child. When I pressed, she said that her mother’s methods were like hers.”
“She told me she must remain untouched to retain her Talent.”
“Then she did it to protect herself. She’s probably told that tale so often in the time she’s been with that army that she nearly believes it herself.”
“I can understand her lying to Colbridge and to the men in that camp. But she lied to me.”
“Give her a chance, Toran. Now that the wine has let the secret slip to me, perhaps it’ll be easier for her to tell ye, too.”
“Aye, perhaps.” Angus’s news rocked him. If Aileana had finally told the truth, then she was no different than any other woman, despite her Talent.
Kyle handed the reins to Angus’s large, dark horse to him.
“Ye’ve got blankets and sacks of food,” Toran told him. “Not so much as to slow ye down, but enough to last a few days.”
“Thanks for that,” Angus responded as he swung into the saddle.
A stable boy led Banner, similarly laden, up to Toran. As he mounted, Jamie approached with Aileana. He leaned down to pull her up to sit in front of him.
“Have a care, Toran,” Jamie told him as he stowed Aileana’s pack behind Banner’s saddle. “Colbridge may not have many horses left, but he uses them well. Remember how his patrol came upon us suddenly. Dinna let them do the same to ye this night.”
“We’ll be careful.”
“Look for Brodric tomorrow night, late,” Angus added.
“There’ll be extra men on the gate,” Jamie promised. “We’ll be glad to have him and the rest of yer men, when ye can get them here.”
“If Aileana needs more time with the MacAnalen, we’ll send word with Brodric,” Toran promised.
With that, Kyle led them through the open gates and out into the night. Toran wrapped an arm securely around the woman in front of him, but despair weighed on him, growing heavier the more he thought about Angus’s revelation. Aileana had lied to him. She should have known she had no need to. He’d promised to keep her safe, to give her a home. Hadn’t she understood him? What had he done to make her feel threatened enough to perpetuate a lie like that? A lie that had laid waste to his hopes for her and one that had kept him sleepless and anxious since he’d brought her home. Aroused. Frustrated. Irritated.
Then something else bothered him. The memory floated just out of reach, but he finally retrieved it. She’d told him days ago that she was the daughter and granddaughter of Healers. He’d been too distracted to realize what that might mean.
He’d been torn between his duty and his heart’s desire. And for what? It had all been so unnecessary. He’d been prepared to sacrifice his need for Aileana for the good of the clan. For the laird, the clan came before everything else. It always would.
As they rode silently down the trail from the Aerie, he took a deep breath, then turned his face to the sky. Stars glinted overhead. His breath formed a dense fog as it left him. But the cold was nothing compared to the icy dread lodged deep within him. The only way to get the truth was to risk getting an answer he did not want. He must confront her. If she held to this lie, he would know that she did not want him. He would know that she was capable of other lies. And if she was capable of other lies, what else might she conceal? Was Donal right to suspect her? Did she have Talents she had yet to display? Could she do things that were dangerous to the people of the clan? How could he know for sure?
****
Aileana leaned against Toran and thought about the last time they had ridden like this, his arm wrapped securely under her breasts, holding her firmly against his broad chest. Perhaps it was the wine she’d drunk with dinner, but despite the risk they were taking in leaving the Aerie, she rested comfortably in Toran’s arms.
But her mind was troubled. She’d told Angus something she should have told no one. Because of the wine? Where had her caution fled while her mouth ran amok? He’d asked about her home and once she started talking, she had not been able to stop. Not even before telling her deepest secret. It was if everything she’d kept locked inside her for the past two years had boiled over and spilled out. And worse, if he related their conversation to Toran, then she was lost.
Of course he’d told Toran. Or he would. Unless she could ask it as a boon for saving his laird?
They were surrounded by Toran’s men. Kyle led the way with Angus at his side just ahead of them, communicating with the riders behind him when necessary with hand gestures and nods. Everyone was silent. Even the horses seemed to know not to make any noise. The night sky was moonless and no darker than it had been when viewed from within the Aerie, but it seemed blacker, muffled and still. The stars still glinted above, but their light seemed not to reach the ground.
Aileana held her breath as they made their way silently and uneventfully off the tor and into the forest.
Rather than relaxing as they gained the thicker trees, the men seemed to become even more watchful and alert. Aileana sensed Toran’s tension through the hardness of his muscles at her back. She thought to turn and ask him what was wrong, but realized quickly that she dared not speak. And with that thought, any comfort she’d enjoyed in his arms disappeared. She also put her worries aside. They had more immediate problems.
Any sound she might make, for any reason, would not be welcome. She fervently hoped that no one got the urge to sneeze. They had waited for dark to make this trip because it was safer. But safer clearly did not mean safe. Despite their precautions, Toran and his men expected trouble and were on the alert for it. She wondered at the relationship between the Lathans and the MacAnalens that they were willing to risk so many lives, including hers, on the hope that she could save the MacAnalen laird.
Aileana jumped as an owl hooted above them, but managed to hold back the startled squeak that almost escaped her lips. The hand that Toran had wrapped around her ribs stroked up and down as he quickly tried to soothe her. She exhaled and nodded, not daring to speak. Toran hugged her a bit more tightly to him, then relaxed his grip. Her forbearance was noted and appreciated, it seemed. They rode on.
No more startled owls alerted to their presence, much to Aileana’s relief. Under the trees, the night was even blacker than she’d thought it was as they left the Aerie. How Toran’s men thought to see any adversary they might have to fight was beyond her comprehension. They now rode in a line, led by Angus, who knew where they were headed. She could barely make out the dark rump of Kyle’s horse just in front of Banner’s nose. Then she saw Kyle’s pale hand flash upward, fingers spread, then close into a fist. The message was clear. Halt. Toran had pulled on Banner’s reins almost before Aileana noticed Kyle’s signal, and had let go of her to signal to the rider behind them. Now they stood still, waited and li
stened. Aileana tensed as Banner shifted under them. Toran reached forward and patted him on the neck, stilling him, then placed his hand at her waist, ready to grab her and go, or signal again, whichever was needed. The silence stretched on. Aileana strained to hear any sound, but detected nothing. What were they waiting for?
Suddenly she heard what Angus must have: horses, several, moving across their path well ahead of them. A shiver ran up her spine. She held her breath, waiting to see if they would be discovered, fearing the battle that would result if they were. All it would take was one nicker, one whinny, from one of their mounts, and they would be discovered. But clearly, the Lathan horses were better trained than that. The patrol passed well ahead and off to their right. They waited long minutes more in tense stillness, giving the patrol time to get out of earshot, before Aileana saw Kyle’s hand come up and slash forward. Toran repeated the signal for the rider behind him, then replaced his arm around Aileana’s waist as Kyle’s mount moved silently forward, tail swishing. Banner dropped his head and stepped forward without Toran’s urging.
They continued on in the same careful silence for what seemed to Aileana like hours more, but it was still full dark when the incline they’d been climbing under the cover of trees opened out to reveal a rocky hillside and the mouths of several caves, visible only as an impenetrable deeper black in the pale glow of starlight.
Two soft hoots, not unlike those of the owl that had started Aileana earlier, sounded, announcing their presence. Toran urged Banner forward to stand beside Angus’s mount. Angus was on the ground already and walking forward to meet the man who had emerged from the mouth of the largest cave. Toran handed Aileana down to Kyle, who was suddenly there to steady her, then dismounted and went to join Angus and the other MacAnalen at the mouth of the cave. Kyle stayed by Aileana after she pulled her supplies from Banner’s pack, but took her arm at Toran’s signal. After some low voiced conversation with the two MacAnalens, Toran waved, and Kyle escorted her forward to meet them.
