Box Set - Knights of Passion (7 Novels)
Page 57
She looked back one last time as they left, and saw Kyla walking up from the loch. The girl saw her in the distance, and Effie turned around quickly, hoping Kyla wouldn’t call out for her.
“What are ye lookin’ at?” asked Tasgall, starting to turn around.
“Nothin’, now let’s move faster already.” She reached out and grabbed the reins and urged the horse forward. The cart jolted and Tasgall fell backwards, and Effie got the horse to move so fast, that they passed up the guards. She could only hope they hadn’t spotted Kyla, and that Tasgall wouldn’t say that he’d seen her.
The only thing that made her feel better was that she knew Kyla would be there for Aidan when he awoke. She tried to dismiss her thoughts of Aidan and Kyla, and focus on how she was going to save her sister. If she thought about Aidan any longer, she was going to want to turn the cart around and head right back to him, begging for his forgiveness.
AIDAN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Aidan awoke to knocking in his brain. He felt like he’d had too much mountain magic last night, and that his head was splitting open. His mouth was so dry he couldn’t swallow, and he was so stiff that he felt as if he couldn’t move his hands or feet.
The knocking continued and his eyes slowly opened, and he found himself face down on the ground next to the pallet. When he tried to move, he realized his hands and feet were tied and then he remembered that Effie had done this to him right before she hit him over the head with the end of his own sword.
“Aidan, are ye in there?” came Kyla’s voice at the door.
He tried to call out to her, but there was a gag in his mouth. What in heaven’s name was going on?
“Aidan. I need te talk te ye, wake up.” Kyla pounded on the door again and he cursed himself for telling his sister never to enter unless she knocked and was asked to come in. But after she’d walked in on him and a whore at one time, she also wasn’t in a hurry to enter if she thought he was naked.
“Kya,” he called out, his tongue getting stuck on the gag. “O’en th’ dur.”
When she didn’t hear him and the knocking stopped, he knew he was going to have to do it himself. He pushed himself up on his bound hands, his eyes meeting those of his squirrel as it stared him in the face and scolded him. Something pinched at his fingers, and he moved his hands to see Effie’s brooch in his grip. He threw it to the ground in disgust, his body shaking in anger at what Effie had done to him.
Then he pulled his knees up and pushed them under him and managed to get to his feet. With one grip of his bound hands, he ripped the gag from his mouth. Wobbling while trying to stand, he hopped his way to the door. He used his bound hands and took a hold of the latch and pulled the door open. At the same time Kyla opened it from the other side, and Aidan stumbled backwards landing on his doup. Kyla caught herself on the door, and when she saw him, her eyes opened wide as well as her mouth. She turned away quickly and spoke to him over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I didna ken ye were in the middle o’ couplin’, I swear. I thought ye were jest sleepin’, especially since I saw Effie ridin’ away.”
Aidan was furious by this time, and nothing his sister said was making any sense.
“Kyla, what are ye talkin’ aboot?” he asked, using his fingers to untie the ropes at his feet.
“I saw Effie leavin’, in a cart with a man. I think there may have been others, but I couldna see thet far.”
“God’s eyes, what is goin’ on?” He looked around the room at the shambles and then his eyes darted to his pallet as the fog in his brain cleared, and he realized what they were after. Sure enough, to his horror, the Stone of Destiny was gone.
“Bid the devil, she took the stone!”
“What?” Kyla turned around, then hid her eyes as she saw her brother was still naked. “Put on some clothes, Aidan. I dinna want te look at me brathair naked.”
He rushed over to the pallet and realized his clothes were gone as well. His eyes searched for his weapons, but by this time it was no surprise when he didn’t find them. “She took me clothes as well as me weapons. How could she do this te me?”
Reid was playing with something at the edge of the pallet and he realized it was his dirk hidden underneath. He grabbed it and maneuvered it until he cut the ropes that bound his wrists.
“What are ye talkin’ aboot?” asked Kyla, still looking the other way.
“I’m talkin’ aboot thet no guid, gypsy. She lied te me, Kyla. She didna want me at all, though I wanted her. All she wanted was the stone.”
He ripped open a trunk and dug to the bottom, finding some of his extra clothes, and donned them quickly.
“She wanted the stone? What for?”
“Turn around sister, and talk te me already.”
“Are ye covered yet?”
“I am. God’s toes, ye act like ye ne’er saw a naked man before.” Then he looked at her as she turned around, and squinted his eyes. “Have ye?” He donned a pair of boots that covered his legs up to his knees. These were usually only worn in winter, but it was all he could find.
“Dinna fash yerself o’er thet, brathair. Like I said last night, becooz o’ ye bein’ so protective o’er me, I’m goin’ te die a spinster. Now tell me, how did ye get tied up?”
“She did it.”
“Effie?” His sister was smiling, but he didn’t think it was funny.
“She also hit me o’er the head with me own sword.”
“How did a wee lass like Effie manage te tie up a big, strong Highland warrior like ye and knock ye out as well?”
“I . . . thought she was playin’,” he said under his breath.
“Playin’? Playin’ what?” Then her eyes opened wide as she realized what he meant. “Ohhhhhh, thet. Well, thet’s what ye get fer being so adventurous when it comes te beddin’ a lassie.”
“Kyla, she was a traitor, and I ne’er saw it!” He stood up and pounded his fist into the door. “I was blinded by the deceitful bitch. I ne’er shoulda brought her right te the stone. I shoulda listened te Ian and Dagger when they said they didna trust her. But nay, I was a fool. I thought she was me dream angel. Hell, I even told her I loved her.”
“Calm down, Aidan. She musta had a guid reason fer what she did.”
“How could ye say such a thing?” He walked back and forth and ran his hand through his hair. “She stole the Stone o’ Destiny. She led the English right te us. I was supposed te be guardin’ the stone. I’ve let down the MacKeefes, and worse than thet, I’ve failed in me promise te Scotland.”
“I dinna think she wanted te betray ye.”
“The stone tried te warn me, with me dreams.” He kicked at things as he paced the room and Reid ran out of the cottage so as not to be hit.
“She would ne’er do anythin’ te hurt ye, Aidan. Believe me.”
“I told her I loved her, and what a fool I was. She had a tail jest like in me dream. She was me enemy, but I thought she was me angel.”
“Aidan, listen te me.”
“Damn her!” He picked up a chair and threw it across the room and it crashed against the wall. “I’m goin’ after them.” He slipped the dirk into his boot and ran out of the room.
“Wait!” called Kyla, running after him. “Ye canna go after them with only a dirk te protect ye.”
“Well, they seem te have stolen all the rest o’ our weapons. I’ll kill them with me bare hands if I have te. And then I’ll wrap me hands around Effie’s neck as well.” He headed to the stable and grabbed the horse Madoc left there, but when he pulled it out of the stall and it limped, he remembered it had gone lame. “I dinna even have a horse now te go after them. What else could go wrong?”
He took off back to the main firepit with Kyla running alongside him. And he kept on thinking aloud. “If only Dagger and Ian were here, we’d figure out somethin’. I canna believe I asked her te stay with the clan.”
“She said she was leavin’, but I had no idea why,” said Kyla, but he wasn’t li
stening.
“I was supposed te protect the stone and I led her right to it. Now thanks te me, Scotland has lost the coronation stone thet we’ve hid and protected from the English fer o’er five and sixty years.”
“Aidan, mayhap she had a guid reason fer doin’ what she did.”
“She was a traitor te her own country,” he said, looking at his sister. “And she was a MacDuff, can ye believe it? And after her own grandmathair risked her life and turned against her own husband te do the right thing.”
“It’s no’ what ye think, I’m sure. Effie isna thet kind o’ lassie, I jest ken it.”
“Och, I even gave her MacKeefe clothes to wear. What was I thinkin’?” He couldn’t stop himself from saying the same things over and over again. And each time he voiced his thoughts aloud, it only made him angrier.
“Haud yer wheesht and let me talk already,” Kyla said, finally getting his attention. “Effie had a sister thet was taken prisoner by the English, so mayhap thet had somethin’ te do with this.”
“Her sister is deid,” he said.
“Nay, she isna deid. She jest told ye thet becooz she didna want ye goin’ after her and losin’ yer life fer her.”
“I kennawhat ye say, wee sister. Ye make no sense.”
“Her sister, Coira, was taken captive by the English. She told me all aboot it.”
He suddenly remembered Effie saying something about her sister right before she hit him over the head.
“I’m sure it was jest another lie,” he grunted, rubbing the bump on his head and feeling some sort of cloth around his wound. He pulled it off and saw part of a skirt encrusted with his blood. He knew instantly it was from Effie’s skirt and that no English guard would have put it on him. And he did find her brooch in his hand. Mayhap this all meant something after all. He was glad to be alive right now, and was surprised the English didn’t just kill him in the process. “Do ye ken where they’re supposedly keepin’ her sister? If she really is a captive and no’ deid, thet is.”
“Nay, she didna say. Do ye think they promised te free her sister if she helped them get the stone?”
“I dinna ken what te think anymore,” he said, touching a hand to his head. It hurt too much to try to think right now, let alone blink. “Even if it was the truth, she’s a fool fer what she did. I assure ye, Kyla, thet the English will ne’er hold up a promise like thet. Once they get what they want, they will no’ bat an eye at killin’ them both.”
“Then ye need te go after them,” said Kyla.
Aidan thought about it for a second, and knew that was his only choice in the matter. He had to do something, not just sit there and let them steal the stone.
“Thet’s exactly what I plan on doin’. Now give me yer dagger, and any other weapons ye can find. Then go and hide yerself where the English canna find ye if they return. And be certain te take Reid with ye.”
“How will ye get te them without a horse?”
“I’ll walk all the way te England if I have to,” he said.
“If ye’d do thet te save Effie and her sister, then mayhap ye really do love her, brathair.”
“Who said anything aboot me savin’ them?” he asked. “I am goin’ after them but it’s only te save the Stone o’ Destiny and te do me duty te Scotland. No’ te do anythin’ te help thet traitor, do ye understand me, Kyla? I want nothin’ te do with Effie MacDuff, e’er again.”
AIDAN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Effie bounced up and down atop the wagon as they travelled. The road they’d taken was not the main one, and it was very rough. Her body ached, and she wasn’t sure if it felt that way from travelling all day, or from making love several times to Aidan in the last day. Either way, neither mattered. She still felt disgusted that she’d just started having feelings for Aidan, and then she found out from his sister that he told every girl he bedded that he loved her. Why had she fallen for it? And why did he have to be so nice to her and bring her flowers and food and even give her MacKeefe clothes to wear? Above all, why did he have to be so alluring in bed and so good at his love making skills?
She longed for him, yet she hated him at the same time. She knew she’d never see him again, and she really shouldn’t care, but a part of her felt so lonely and empty without him.
“Why arena we takin’ the main road?” she asked Tasgall, having hoped they’d see the MacKeefes coming back from the fair. If so, they may have recognized her wearing their clothes, and she would hopefully be able to convince them to help her somehow. But now, with the side trails they were taking, they’d be lucky to come across anyone at all.
“We canna take the main road, ye fool,” said Tasgall. “We need te stay hidden from the Highlanders or we’ll ne’er make it back te the border with the stone.”
“We’re in the Highlands,” she told him. “It isna a guid idea te veer off the main path. Besides, the wagon will no’ be able te handle this rough road fer long with the weight of the stone in the back.”
“It’s getting dark,” said one of the guards, riding back to talk to them. “We’re going to camp up ahead at that lake for the night and continue on at first light.”
“Guid idea,” she said, wanting nothing more than to stop and try to think what she was going to do to not only save her sister, but to save the stone as well. A part of her wanted to just hand over the stone and not care that it stood for the kings of Scotland and their freedom from England. Another part of her kept saying that if she did this deed, all the pain and anguish her grandmother endured for crowning Robert the Bruce against her husband’s wishes would be for naught.
They stopped to make camp, and Effie knew that she’d never sleep, as all she could think about was her poor sister in that cage, as well as Aidan, and the look in his eyes when he realized what was happening. It was something that was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.
* * *
Aidan traveled on foot the entire day, running most the way, making his way toward Glasgow. He had hoped he’d come across travelers returning from the fair, and at least obtain a horse for his travels. However, it was already late in the day, and he knew he’d not come across anyone traveling in the dark.
He was tired and hungry, and had only a sheep’s bladder of mountain magic tied to his waist to get him through the night. He’d left in such a hurry, and was so angry, that he hadn’t cared about taking food. He’d have to travel all night long to have any hope of catching up with Effie and the entourage at all.
He stopped to catch his breath, leaning his body against a rock. The sun had just set and the sky was painted in beautiful colors of red and orange amongst the dark clouds moving in. He knew by the looks of the sky and the smell of the air that it would be raining soon.
“Damn,” he spat, leaning back on the rock and taking the bladder of whisky from his waist. If it rained and he still didn’t have a horse, he’d basically have no chance of ever catching them before they made it back to England.
He took a swig of mountain magic and swallowed it down, closing his eyes and reveling at the taste of fire as it made a path to his stomach, warming his insides and warding away his fatigue. Then, he heard a snap of a twig behind him, and his hand flew to his dagger, but not before he was met by the cold edge of a blade to his throat.
“Give me the ale,” a man said in a hoarse whisper from behind him.
He turned his head slightly, and noticed dried blood caking the man’s tunic. He could also see that this was an Englishman and not a Scot, and that he was wounded. It seemed as if the man was alone, and Aidan figured he must have a horse to have made it this far into the Highlands without being killed.
“It’s no’ ale,” he said, slowly, “it’s mountain magic.”
“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s potent. Now hand it over.”
“Och, I wouldna use potent te describe it, but ye are welcome te have it if ye want.”
“Give it to me!” The man grabbed the bladder from him, and Ai
dan just smiled, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
He heard the Englishman take a big swig, and then gasp for breath. Aidan reached up and grabbed his arm, twisting it and disarming him, taking his sword. He pushed the man to the ground, and held the blade to his throat now. He could see it was the same English guard who had tried to accost Effie in the woods.
“As I was sayin’,” said Aidan, reaching down with one hand and taking back the whiskey before it spilled, “I’d call auld Callum’s mountain magic the fires o’ hell, no’ jest a simple potent brew.”
“I’m wounded,” said the man, “don’t hurt me.” The sound of a horse whinnying in the thicket brought a sense of relief to Aidan. He’d have a way to catch up with Effie after all.
He noticed the man’s bloody shoulder and could see that an arrow had pierced him and part of it was still embedded. He would never make it back to England alive, so Aidan didn’t feel bad that he was about to steal his horse. He also knew that no English guard would ever be traveling in the Highlands alone. That told him that this bastard had most likely just come from MacKeefe territory, and was involved in stealing the Stone of Destiny. Now he wondered if he should have saved Effie from him in the first place, or if the whole thing had been staged for his benefit. Effie had most likely been working with him all along. This made him feel even more miserable than he already did.
“Ye didna think twice aboot tryin’ te kill me, yet ye want me te spare yer life?”
“I wasn’t going to kill you. I only wanted your whisky.”
“Really? And how did ye get thet wound?”
“I was travelling alone when I was accidentally shot by a poacher.”
“I’d be willin’ te bet thet ye were involved in stealin’ the stone, and they left ye becooz ye were wounded. Now why dinna ye tell me where they’re takin’ it?”
“What stone? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mayhap this will help ye remember.” He reached out and punched the man in the face. “Now dinna lie te me again, or next time ye’ll no’ meet with me fist, but with the blade itself. Now tell me, where are they takin’ the stone and what path are they travelin’ by?”