"Da, speak to me! Where are you hurt?" She knelt beside him and searched for his wound to try to stop the bleeding. When she found a jagged hole through his chest, she realized there was naught she could do for him.
He was dead.
Tears coursed down her face as she gently laid him back down. Sorrow threatened to overwhelm her, but fear for her sister forced her on. Da would want her to find Jenny.
The smoke was getting thicker, billowing around her and filling the wagon. Ailis could barely breathe. Coughing, she held her skirt over her nose and mouth to filter out some of the smoke as she drew a ragged breath.
Where was her sister?
Ailis stumbled past her father's body, and groped through the dense smoke until she found her.
"Jenny!"
Her sister lay naked, her head twisted unnaturally to one side.
Dear God, no! Not her, too!
Ailis dropped down beside her sister's still form. Her neck was broken. A glint of something clutched in Jenny's fingers caught Ailis' eye. She reached down and pulled a strange talisman on a thin strip of leather from her sister's hand.
Jenny must have pulled it from her murderer's neck. Ailis gripped it tightly. This would prove who killed her father and sister. She would find its owner and avenge her family!
A jug of ale suddenly burst from the heat of the flames that engulfed it. Fiery sparks and bits of burning wood began to rain down inside the front of the wagon. Tears of desolation made worse by the smoke-filled air coursed down Ailis' face. Coughing and gasping for breath, she beat out sparks that fell on her as she made her way to the back of the burning wagon. As she jumped out her skirt caught on a flaming timber, setting it ablaze.
Oh God, she was on fire!
Tossing the talisman from her, she tore at her clothing, freeing herself of the flames. Naked and dazed, she backed away from the burning wagon then stood helpless and watched as the blazing inferno engulfed it, robbing her of all she loved. As it burned out of control, her grief and rage overwhelmed her and she began to scream.
**
Sometime later, she came to her senses. The wagon and everything in it was nothing more than a large pile of charred, glowing cinders.
Her family was dead!
Murdered.
What was she to do now? She looked down at her nakedness and saw the strange talisman at her feet. Grabbing up the incriminating amulet, she tied its leather thong around her neck and stumbled into the woods.
The blanket she'd dropped would cover her while she sought shelter. Da had said their next stop was a village two day's journey from there, but surely there was somewhere closer. She would find shelter and clothes and then she would find the murderer. Damn his soul to hell. Aye, no one would stop her from avenging her family.
The glow of the cinders faded as Ailis staggered deeper into the forest. She found the old blanket and tore an opening in the center large enough to slip over her head. Pulling the blanket down around her, she stumbled further into the woods. Within minutes, it began to rain. She could barely see in front of her.
Suddenly, her foot slipped on wet rock and she pitched forward down a hill. The last thing she knew was her head hitting the ground.
Copyright © 2012 by Deborah Gafford
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Gafford graduated from Memphis State University with a bachelor's degree in education. After moving to Texas with her military husband, she taught school during the day and went to night school to obtain her master's degree.
Her work has been published in popular romance magazines, as well as military life and travel magazines. She draws on her experiences as a frequent traveler, military wife, mother and former teacher to add human interest and humor to her novels.
She writes romantic comedy as well as historical romance and, although they are quite different, her books are known for "love conquers all" and happily ever after endings.
Her romantic comedy, You're in Good Hands with Al Tate, received the CROWNED HEART AWARD as well as finalist in the prestigious RONÉ AWARD contest for Best Contemporary Romance.
Deborah lives in Texas with her husband and two full grown boxers who think they should be lap puppies.
Visit Deborah online at her website
and her
Facebook author page.
Highlander's Bride (Heart of the Highlander Series Book 1) Page 32
