Demelza let out a groan and doubled over, her arm wrapping around her stomach.
“See, she will only slow you down,” Oria said and saw the hope in Trevor’s eyes that he would leave Demelza behind.
Firth nicked her neck, a small river of blood flowing down her smooth skin. “I see you follow us, hear your horses following, spot a tracker, and I’ll slice her piece by piece. I have a sizeable troop who have eyes on the village. Follow me and I’ll know it and she’ll suffer for it. Understood?”
Royden nodded, his face pinched tight and his eyes on his wife. “Understood.”
“You want her back, then let the Beast come for her.” Firth backed slowly out of the room.
“I love you, Royden,” Oria called out just before they slipped out of the keep.
Trevor was at his wife’s side in an instant, scooping her up in his arms.
Royden looked to his da and without a word spoken, his da nodded, and Royden hurried out of the Great Hall to leave the keep through the kitchen.
“Go get Wren,” Trevor ordered.
“No!” Demelza warned. “They see him leave the keep and they’ll think he’s following after Oria.
“I’ll find a way to get her here,” Parlan said and took the same path as his son, through the kitchen.
“Put me down, Trevor, and go get Wolf. You know you have to and I know he’s close,” Demelza said.
“I’ll see you safely to our bed first,” Trevor insisted, annoyed he had to leave her yet knowing she was right. Wolf had to be told as Firth had demanded.
“No. There is no time to waste. Wren will see to me. You must help rescue Oria. I cannot lose my sister when I’ve only just found her. And I can’t bear the thought of what Firth has planned for her, a fate I would have suffered, not to mention what would have happened to our child, if not for Oria not only shielding me from Firth’s dagger, but convincing him to leave me here.” She stopped him before he could protest. “I am not some fragile flower you need to always protect. Go do what must be done and I will do the same.”
Trevor thought his heart was being ripped out of him when after he kissed her and told her he loved her, he turned and walked away from his wife. He was never so relieved to see Wren and Parlan enter the room.
“Take care with my wife,” Trevor ordered Wren.
Wren took no offense to his sharp command and soothed the fear that she knew had caused it. “Don’t worry, all will be well.”
“And while I protect your wife, you take care to help my son,” Parlan said as he passed him.
Trevor nodded and hurried out of the room.
Royden squatted down on his haunches behind a bush, separating the branches just enough to see past them. He had watched Firth shove his wife to the center of the small clearing where they’d stopped. He had given her a hard push, ordering her to sit. She had stumbled and fallen, landing on her wounded arm. He had wanted to charge at the man, snap his neck, and be done with it. But Firth remained too close to Oria and his blade could do far too much damage to her before Royden reached her.
His wife remained brave and was busy tending her wound. She tore off part of her other sleeve to wrap around the wound that still oozed blood. She hadn’t paid her chest wound any attention and he assumed her garment had soaked enough blood to stop the bleeding. Her neck wound was minor, nothing more than a dribble of blood. It was important he get her to Wren, concerned any of the wounds could eventually prove deadly if not tended properly. But first, he was going to make Firth suffer for what he’d done to her. He wasn’t going to let him get away this time. He intended to make certain Firth never got to hurt his wife again.
“It’s a good thing Firth doesn’t have a sizeable troop, or any skilled warriors with him, or they would have captured you by now,” Royden whispered without turning around.
“I was soundless. You couldn’t have heard me,” Trevor said, keeping his voice to a whisper as he hunched down beside Royden.
“I could smell you.”
Trevor lifted an arm to sniff his sleeve. “My wife,” he said, her sweet scent lingering on him, then quickly peered past the bushes. “So you realized Firth had no troop with him?”
“He wouldn’t have warriors wait this close to your keep. Your men would have decimated them. But he’s not foolish enough to come alone. There’s a good chance he has a troop nearby, so time is not our friend here.”
“You should let the Beast handle this. Firth would suffer far more at his hands than yours.”
Keeping his eye on Oria, he asked, “And what would you do if it were Demelza?”
“That would depend on if I could reach my wife before the Beast did,” Trevor said, his eyes on Oria as well.
“How long before the Beast arrives?”
“Not long,” Trevor said. “Firth doesn’t stand a chance against Wolf and his men.”
“Either will my wife, if Firth reaches her first,” Royden said and stood.
“What are you doing?” Trevor asked.
“I’m going to get my wife before someone gets her killed,” Royden said and was about to step past the bushes when he stopped and dropped down to peer through the bushes again.
That got Trevor to turn his head and do the same. “It’s that damn leper.”
“You know Brother Noble?” Royden asked.
“Is that his name?” Trevor shook his head. “We call him leper. He begs for food sometimes. What is he doing approaching those men?”
“My guess would be that he’s trying to help my wife, since she has been good to him,” Royden said and watched.
Brother Noble entered the clearing, leaning on a sturdy branch that Royden assumed he used as a walking staff. His gait was slow, his body stooped, and the hood of his brown robe hung over his face.
“He’s a leper,” one of the two men with Firth said and though he wasn’t close, the man moved farther away.
The other man went to the edge of the woods, looking as if he would dash away any minute, and Firth stepped away from Oria as Brother Noble approached her.
“Stay where you are, leper,” Firth ordered.
Brother Noble paid him no mind. His feet continued to shuffle along the ground as if it was too much of an effort to lift them as he moved toward Oria. “Mistress Oria is my friend and I see that she’s hurt. I stopped to pray for her.”
“We don’t need your prayers, be gone,” Firth demanded, waving his hand trying to shoo the man away.
“I don’t mean to of—” A hacking cough robbed the leper of words and it was a minute or so before he could talk once again. “I don’t mean to offend. A prayer or two, then I’ll be gone.”
Royden almost yelled out for the leper to stop, he was getting far too close to Oria, but he held his tongue, realizing what the leper was doing. He was shielding Oria from Firth and the other two men. They wouldn’t dare approach her with the leper standing between them.
Royden owed Brother Noble for his bravery and for giving him the chance he’d been waiting for—Firth far enough away from his wife that he couldn’t harm her. He stood and entered the clearing.
Firth rushed toward Oria when he spotted Royden, but stopped abruptly the leper blocking his way.
“I warned you,” Firth shouted at Royden, then looked to the leper, his shout even stronger. “Move!”
“I’m not finished praying,” the leper said.
Royden thought to order Oria to come to him, but being closer, seeing her more clearly, he saw that her wounds and the days’ events had begun to take a toll on her. She was pale and the cloth around her arm was soaked with blood, and he didn’t know the extent of her chest wound. She needed Wren. But at the moment, she was safer where she was, behind the leper.
She sent him a smile and he caught the cringe she tried to hide. She was in pain and he cringed along with her, though it resembled more of a scowl, he was so angry that she suffered. Her forced walk through the woods certainly hadn’t helped her. Or that he hadn’t gotten to he
r faster.
He could almost hear what her smile was saying. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
She never doubted he would come for her just like she had never doubted he’d return home to her.
“Leave, leper, now!” Firth screamed at him and raised his dagger, taking the tip in his hand, ready to fling it at the man.
“That is not a wise thing to do, my son—” A cough interrupted him for a moment, a reminder of the danger of his illness. “You will have to retrieve it from my body and you don’t want to be that close to me. Even from that distance you must smell the stench of my rotting flesh. Then you’d have to retrieve the dagger awash with my blood. And during the time it would take you to do that, you would be left weaponless, thus vulnerable.”
“You didn’t plan this well, Firth,” Trevor said, stepping out of the woods, his sword drawn. “You may have escaped my warriors, a lucky moment, but there isn’t a chance you’ll escape the Beast.”
The two men with Firth looked around, then at each other. Their decision didn’t take long, without a word, they took off into the woods.
“You’re done,” Royden said, Firth’s unexpected laughter sending a chill through him.
“You think I learned nothing while fighting for the Beast,” Firth flipped the knife and caught it by the handle.
A rumbling noise in the woods caught Royden’s attention and he worried whose arrival it portended. Suddenly warriors emerged on horses, one by one, from the woods behind Firth. They were a ragtag group and from the many scars on most of their faces and along their necks, they looked to be a vicious lot and fought for one thing and one thing only—coin. This was never about revenge for Firth. It was about coin.
“Who was it that didn’t plan well now, Trevor?” Firth asked with a smug laugh.
Fear choked Royden and twisted his gut. He couldn’t let Firth take Oria. She was exhausted and in pain. He had to get to her. He couldn’t wait. He ran to his wife. His only thought was to get her safely in his arms.
Her scream tore through him and when he saw two arrows had landed on either side of her, he stopped dead.
“Back away, Royden, and you too, leper, or I’ll order the next arrow through her wounded arm,” Firth warned.
For a brief second Royden thought to lunge himself at the man, but he’d do his wife no good if he died. He reluctantly did as Firth ordered as did the leper, backing slowly away from Oria.
“I would put you out of your misery, leper, but I prefer you suffer for interfering with my plans,” Firth said and with a sharp snap of his hand, a horse was brought to him. He mounted and the warrior that brought the horse, yanked Oria to her feet.
Royden cringed but again it was more a deep scowl when he saw his wife’s face tighten in pain.
The warrior lifted Oria none to gently and dropped her carelessly in front of Firth on the horse.
Royden made sure to mark the man’s face in his memory so he could make certain he suffered for causing his wife even more pain.
“Tell the Beast it will cost him to get his sister back,” Firth said and laughed, his dagger appearing suddenly in his hand. “I can’t promise in what condition. Though, I do think she needs a scar like the one her husband gave me. Tell the Beast he’ll hear from me when I’m ready to make the exchange.”
Royden wanted to roar with rage as his wife sent him the same smile she had sent him before. She would wait again for him to come for her. He failed her again and he had to fight with himself not to take off after her. But he’d never be able to keep up with the fast pace they were sure to set. He needed a horse to go after them and he could use the help of a good tracker just in case, and he didn’t have a minute to spare.
“He set a fine trap,” Trevor said, shaking his head. “I underestimated him.”
Royden was aware that he had done the same thing. He’d been so intent on getting to his wife that he hadn’t considered all the probabilities of the situation. All he had thought about was that he had to get to Oria, just as he did now, her life being in even more peril.
He turned to Trevor and as he did he was glad to see the leper was gone. He didn’t want to see Brother Noble hurt when he had bravely protected Oria.
“I need to get my horse and a tracker,” Royden told Trevor.
“You need to wait here. Both will be here soon, the tracker exceptional, the horse well trained, warriors to help you fight, and the Beast who will not rest until he finds his sister.”
Royden didn’t argue. All that mattered was that he got his wife back safely and if he had to rely on the man who had caused all the heartache and damage to his family and clan, then so be it. He would do whatever it took to get his wife back without her suffering any more harm.
He didn’t bother to look to the sky when he thought it was a roll of thunder he heard. He knew what it was—horses, lots of them.
The Beast was about to arrive.
Chapter 30
Royden stood, his feet planted firmly on the ground, his sword in his hand, ready to meet the man who had brought endless heartache to his family, but now was the one person who could help save his wife.
Warriors fanned out along the edge of the woods, circling the clearing, some wore helmets, some didn’t. A section parted and into the clearing rode the Beast.
He sat his horse tall and straight, not a slump to his body. A fur cloak was draped over broad shoulders and some type of leather hide covered his chest. He wore a helmet, a narrow piece running down the center to cover his nose, leaving a portion of his cheeks and beard-covered jaw exposed. Long black hair fell from under his helmet to rest past his shoulders. But it was his eyes that drew the most attention. They appeared as black as the darkest night, not a spark or twinkle of light to them, empty eyes, soulless eyes, and Royden understood why men feared him.
Royden, however, was not one of them. He had suffered enough because of him. He would suffer no more.
“I need a horse and your tracker, now!” Royden ordered.
Every single one of the Beast’s warriors drew their weapons.
Royden cared little for their display of strength. He knew the Beast would not hurt him, for if he did, he’d be hurting his sister as well.
“A horse, now!” Royden demanded again.
Trevor stepped forward. “They left only moments ago. If we pursue now, there’s a good chance we’ll catch them.”
“Firth demands coins in exchange for my wife’s life, though he doesn’t know what condition he’ll return her in,” Royden said. “We don’t have time to waste. Oria has suffered three wounds. She needs a healer.”
The Beast snapped his hand and one of his warriors disappeared and reappeared quickly with two horses in tow.
“Firth is mine,” the Beast commanded, his deep voice full of strength and the confidence he’d be obeyed without question.
“We’ll see about that,” Royden said and took the reins of the horse handed to him and mounted quickly. He didn’t wait for orders or instructions. He took off after his wife.
Oria’s arm pounded with pain with every hoof beat of the horse. The wound needed serious attention. Her shift and tunic had served as a good covering to stop the bleeding of her chest wound. She didn’t believe it as serious as her arm wound and for that she was grateful. She had been shocked and beyond thrilled when she had laid eyes on Royden when he had returned home, but it couldn’t compare with the relief she felt when her husband had walked out of the woods. Seeing him, she knew all would be well. Even though Firth had spirited her away, she had no doubt her husband would follow and find her. Her only hope was that it didn’t take him long. She feared what Firth would do to her.
Firth brought his horse to a sudden stop and the jolt sent a pain shooting through her arm. It didn’t help when she was yanked off the horse and placed on another to ride alone. Her first thought was that it gave her a chance to escape.
Firth brought his horse next to hers. “I can almost hear your mind thinking on how you
can escape. Try it and I promise you that you will be caught and when I get done with you, your husband will never want to look upon you again.”
The thought sent a shudder through her, remembering the pain of healing from the slash to her jaw that he had given her. But what fate awaited her if she didn’t try to escape?
“Any attempt not to keep pace and you’ll suffer for it,” Firth ordered.
She watched as he rode over to a group of warriors. A slim warrior hurried to a horse that a warrior already sat and mounted behind him. They talked with Firth briefly then took off with several other warriors following.
Firth returned, two warriors keeping pace with him and drawing up on either side of her while the one warrior who had remained near her directed his horse to a position behind her.
“I’m going to have some fun with you this evening while your beloved husband follows in the wrong direction. Firth laughed as he positioned his horse in front of her and with a wave of his hand took off. She had no choice but to follow and keep pace, but there was something she could do that would help Royden find her. She would suffer for it, but if he didn’t find her, she would suffer anyway. She had no choice but to take the chance.
Royden joined the tracker on the ground when they came upon an area where Firth and his men had separated. Royden could clearly see for himself what had taken place.
He stood before the tracker did. “He tries to deceive us.”
The tracker nodded to the Beast. “It could be either trail.”
Royden took the reins of his horse and walked down the one trail, looking for any sign his wife might have dared to leave him. When he spotted something on the ground, he dropped down and touched the spot.
“Blood,” he said, smearing it between his fingers and walked farther down to find more. His wife’s blood. She was letting her arm drip blood so he could easily follow her. He mounted his horse and took off. He had to get to her. She was risking her life so that he could find her.
Pledged to a Highlander Page 29
