The Highlander

by Terry Spear

  After she had met Niall, a man who made her blood grow hot with his close proximity, she hadn't wanted anything less. With Matthew—she felt he was more like a good friend, brotherly even. But not someone she would have felt right in sharing a bed with. Still, he should know what Tesslyn had said if she was making it up, so he could be prepared to defend himself if the girl tried to spread the lie to others in the village. But if she had not lied? How could Matthew even think to marry Anora after having lain with the girl, who could very well be carrying his child?

  "We have to squeeze through here, Anora," Matthew said, stopping so Gunnolf could go around him. Then Matthew reached back for her hand. When he had hold of it, he pulled her through a tunnel where they all had to crouch and then walk that way for quite a distance.

  She kept tripping on her léine and finally said, "Wait, Matthew. I need to lift my léine a little so I quit catching my shoes on the hem."

  Gathering her skirt, she lifted it, then continued as before, except with her free hand, she touched the moist tunnel walls to keep her balance, hoping nothing moved underneath her fingers.

  Her back and legs felt cramped as they traversed the low-ceiling tunnel for what seemed like an endless period of time. When they reached the end and could finally stand, they paused.

  "How much further?" she whispered.

  As dark as the cave remained, the only light from Gunnolf and Matthew's torches, she worried they still had a long way to go. She was still sore from riding the horse and from the swim in the rough burn, not to mention sleeping on a rock hard floor. She would have given almost anything to be able to sleep on a straw bed again.

  Charlie stayed next to her, and she was glad for that, fearing he'd run off to explore and fall into a pot. But she still didn't see any sign of an outside source of light.

  "We traveled for a good while before we reached you," Gunnolf finally said, as if appeasing her without telling the absolute truth.

  And she feared from the way he didn't say anything more definitive than that, that they had a very long ways to go.

  They entered a larger cave where Matthew motioned to the walls. "Stay close. The floor drops off in the center. Not sure how far it goes down. On the other side, we must climb up and then crawl through a short tunnel and climb down a cliff again."

  Anora's skin chilled. She suspected she would have to tie her léine between her legs again to form a pair of makeshift breeches. It was bad enough that she'd had to climb that way in Niall's presence, though with having to remove their wet garments last night, she'd gone further than she'd ever thought she would with him or any other man who was not her husband, until they pledged themselves to each other.

  But to lift her skirts in front of Matthew and Gunnolf? Modesty aside, she knew she had to, but it didn't make it any easier.

  When they reached the other side and had to make the climb, she saw light above and hoped that meant they were nearly out of the cave. Gunnolf and Matthew waited, as if they weren't sure how to go about this.

  Niall quickly took charge. "Go. We will follow."

  Gunnolf said to Charlie, "Ready to take a ride again?"

  Anora wondered what in the world Gunnolf was going to do with her dog. Fascinated, she watched as he created a harness and secured Charlie in it. To her surprise, her dog looked like he loved his cocoon. Gunnolf slung the harness around his back, the puppy sleeping in the front of his tunic. Despite the seriousness of their situation, she had to smile.

  Matthew handed a torch to Anora. "If you need help, just ask."

  Gunnolf led the way and Matthew followed him.

  Once Niall tied Anora's skirts between her legs, she began the climb. Her arms were not used to this sort of thing, and she was afraid of slipping and falling and injuring Niall, who had put out the torch and was climbing close behind her.

  Gunnolf and Matthew had reached the top and were waiting for her, Gunnolf leaning down with a torch to light her way. "The last little bit," Matthew warned, "will be quite a stretch for you. I do not believe you can grasp the next handhold. I will reach down and you must grab my hand."

  Matthew rested on his belly, stretching out his hand to seize hers as soon as she was within range.

  "And mine," Gunnolf said, setting the torch on a rock, and then he moved lower, his arms longer.

  She hated to admit she felt safer with accepting Gunnolf and Niall's help because they were much more muscular and stronger looking.

  She clung to the wet and slippery jagged rock with her left hand and could see from her vantage point that Matthew spoke the truth. She could not manage this on her own as there were no hand or footholds that would accommodate her shorter stature. She stretched up to reach for Matthew's hand. He clasped her hand, but panic filled her. Hers were wet from the rocks, and his were just as clammy. Immediately, she felt herself slip and her heart with it.

  "Hold on!" Matthew yelled at her, panicked.

  If she fell, she could take Niall with her, and they could both injure themselves badly on the rocks below.

  She couldn't hold on. Her fingers were too slick. "I…" was all she managed to get out when somehow, Niall succeeded in climbing up beside her and grabbed her by the waist.

  "Hold on, Lass,'" Niall said, his words rushed and worried.

  Gunnolf grabbed her free arm and pulled her toward the top, while Niall continued climbing next to her, but then reached down and slipped his hand to her derrière and gave her a little boost.

  "Oh," she cried out, shocked at his touch, before Matthew and Gunnolf pulled her up the rest of the way, and she collapsed onto her knees.

  "Are you all right, lass?" Gunnolf asked, his hands on her shoulders, comforting her.

  "Aye, aye," she said, her voice sounding strained. "'Tis so much better being here than where we were. All we could look forward to was waiting for more of Cian's men to come for us. Or having to swim in that very cold water again and face running into them downriver, past the mouth of the canyon."

  Without some source of light, should more of Cian's men come for them in the cave, they couldn't follow Anora and her party.

  Niall quickly joined them and squeezed her hand, drawing her to her feet.

  "We have to go down again after a short walk," Matthew said, glancing at her bare legs.

  She wanted to slug him for staring. Gunnolf had the decency not to look—at least, not when she was aware of it, anyway.

  She was still trying to catch her breath after the fright of nearly falling off the cliff. Niall wrapped his arm around her waist and they moved forward again. Disappointed when she saw the torchlight was what had been giving off the light, she realized the men had left them at the two points where they had to climb.

  She dreaded having to climb down this time since the climb up had been so difficult. She thought herself in excellent shape, mayhap not all muscled like Gunnolf and Niall, but she was used to walking and climbing hills with her sheep. Nothing like climbing rocky cliffs though.

  "I will go first," Gunnolf said, as he moved to make the descent.

  The torch at the bottom of the cliff helped light their way. The cliff face was much steeper and longer than the other. She shuddered. Niall squeezed her hand.

  "Send the lass next," Gunnolf said, when he reached the bottom. Then he released Charlie from his carrier.

  Niall peered over the edge. "I can go down beside you for part of the way, it looks like," he said to Anora.

  She took a deep breath. "If I fall, do not let me take you with me," she said, and hoped he would listen to her.

  He grunted. "You saved my life and you think I would let you fall to your death, lass?" He shook his head. "Take your time. Be sure to check your foot and handholds to ensure they are secure. I will be right beside you on the way down."

  She prayed this was the roughest part of their journey, and they would soon be out in the fresh air, riding. For the first time since she'd fallen from her horse as a young girl, she was looking forward to ridin
g Niall's horse, just a little—and leaving the cave and her pursuers behind.

  She heard Gunnolf right beneath her. She was just as worried she might fall and make him tumble, wishing that he'd stayed below.

  She slipped, let out a small gasp, and tried to will her beating heart to slow down. She lost her grip again, and she slid several inches before she managed to stop, her breathing unsteady, her heart pounding hard.

  "Careful, lass," Niall said, when she slipped the second time.

  She couldn't look down. She was so tired. Her arms ached, her fingers burning from the cold and from scraping them on the rough rocks. She hoped she was getting closer to the bottom, hoping she'd hear Gunnolf jump onto the rock floor below them soon. But he continued to descend, and she thought they'd never reach the floor.

  Then she heard his boots slamming down on the rock, and felt his hand touch her leg soon after, as Gunnolf guided her down to the floor of the cave.

  "How are you doing?" Gunnolf asked, as Niall quickly climbed down the rest of the way and Matthew soon followed.

  "I am fine," she said, hurrying to untie her léine and drop the hem to below her ankles as was proper. She was weary, but so grateful to be with Niall, Gunnolf, and Matthew. Charlie, too, of course. And the puppy.

  Charlie greeted her and Niall with his usual exuberance as if they hadn't seen each other in eons. She crouched down and hugged him soundly to her chest. She had feared she'd never see him again, or if he'd managed to pursue her, she had been afraid her captors would have killed him. She wanted to hug the puppy also, but Zara was still sleeping, tucked inside Gunnolf's tunic. Anora couldn't wait to hold her in her arms again, just like she had with Charlie when he was a puppy, or some of her young lambs.

  As they began to move again, she wanted to ask how much further, but then she wondered if Gunnolf and Matthew had spent the remainder of the day and the night traversing the caves to reach them while she and Niall had slept. They couldn't have. At least, she hoped they had not.

  Then they walked along a narrow path following an underground river. "We will not have to swim again, will we?" She didn't want to get wet again.

  "Nay," Gunnolf said, smiling at her.

  Then she realized Gunnolf and Matthew, and even Charlie, had been dry when they met them. Not only that, but he couldn't have carried the puppy in the river like that and so she felt much relieved. Gunnolf led the way this time, Matthew next, with Charlie running behind him. She stopped when Gunnolf had to crawl close to the rock face. Niall rubbed her back and she took a settling breath. She loved how he was always so reassuring.

  Then she saw the light at the end of the tunnel, faint, and she breathed in the subtle fragrance of piney woods and earth and horse droppings. Her heart leapt with joy to know they were nearly out of the cave.

  That elation was quickly tamped down when they heard men's voices nearby in the woods. Was the cave entrance hidden well enough?

  His voice low, Niall said, "Anora, you must stay here in the tunnel. The rest of us will go into the cave."

  Her heart beating wildly, she didn't want to be left behind, even though she knew they meant to protect her. But what of Matthew? He didn't know how to fight, did he?

  "Anora," Niall said, kissing her cheek, "stay with Charlie. Keep him quiet. We will leave here as soon as 'tis safe to do so."

  Gunnolf handed her the sleeping puppy.

  She nodded, taking hold of Zara and holding her close, and prayed those outside the cave would not find their hiding place. She sat down on the hard rock floor, patting her lap so Charlie would stay with her and not follow the men into the cave. Charlie quickly sat next to her, watching the men leave, his head finally resting in her lap. He was not a terribly small dog, so she had not often encouraged him to sit on her lap once he was full grown, but as cold as she was, she'd make an exception. The puppy in her arms helped to warm her as well.

  Charlie quickly obliged, climbing onto her lap. Half of his body rested on her legs, the rest of him hanging off her, warming and comforting her. She took a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves as the men snuffed the torchlight out and disappeared into the cave, leaving her in total blackness.

  Chapter 18

  Niall directed Matthew to speak softly to the horses to calm them as they stood near the tunnel entrance. Niall and Gunnolf unsheathed their swords and moved toward the mouth of the cave. He didn't want Matthew fighting anyone if he didn't have to; afraid the butcher's son wouldn't be able to defend himself well enough and would get himself killed.

  Outside of the cave, one of the men spoke again, "The mon is a fool."

  Highlanders. Cian's men. Niall bit back a curse.

  "Aye, do you think he lied?"

  "If he did, and we dinna find Tagan's body, he knows what will happen to him. So nay, I dinna think he lied. But he should have fought the mon and finished him off." He paused, then added, "Keep looking for a cave entrance, tunnel or something. He swore that was the way the mon, who attacked Tagan, must have reached that cave."

  "And the lass?"

  "For now, 'tis the mon who cut Tagan down that concerns me. Yaden said he didna think the girl was there or she would have cried out when the other mon killed Tagan. But Cian has plans for her after she lied concerning the direction our men went, as soon as we get hold of her."

  Niall tightened his hold on his sword. Cian would never get his hands on Anora.

  One set of footfalls drew closer to the cave entrance. "What is this?"

  "What?" the other man said, moving in his direction.

  "Naught. It appeared the hole in the rock led somewhere, but it doesna. Just a short distance and then stops. Just keep searching along this rock face. Peer beneath the plants."

  Niall barely breathed as he was certain the men would locate the cave as carefully as they searched for it.

  "Here, mon," the one said eagerly, his voice and footsteps growing nearer.

  Niall and Gunnolf waited, their bodies tense with battle readiness. Niall wanted to slash out at the men as soon as they stepped into the cave and before they could arm themselves, or their eyes could adjust to the dim light. The problem was Niall had no idea how many were searching now, and if they struck at these men prematurely, anyone outside of the cave could hear the fight and go for help.

  Thankfully, the horses remained quiet with Matthew at the back of the cave near where Anora waited in the tunnel.

  Both of Cian's men unsheathed their swords and stepped into the darkness. Cian's men didn't see Niall and Gunnolf as they rushed forward to attack.

  Neither man stood a chance as Niall and Gunnolf thrust their swords and cut them down. Afterward, Niall peered out beyond the vines and other flora hiding the cave's entrance. He heard two more men talking, mayhap a hundred feet away. He couldn't see them, only heard their voices.

  "Two more," Niall said to Gunnolf, his voice hushed. "But I canna see them and they are headed away from the cave."

  "They will come back this way looking for their companions before long," Gunnolf whispered, "dinna you think?"

  "Aye. When they find no caves in that direction, and they realize their friends have disappeared. We either wait for them to come back this way and find the cave, or we leave, hoping that the plants will hide us well enough until we are on our way."

  Gunnolf pondered that, then let out his breath and spoke low for Niall's hearing only. "I dinna want to leave here with the men roaming about out there. Surely, they could hear our horses once we begin to travel away from the cave. One whinny would be our undoing. We have the advantage of staying here and fighting more of them. If we have to, we can travel back through the tunnels. Matthew knows the way through several."

  "But we would have to leave our horses behind," Niall said, his voice quiet. "We canna be without our mounts."

  "Aye, true."

  "Where are the others?" one of Cian's men said, headed in the cave's direction now.

  Niall motioned for Gunnolf to help him move the bod
ies away from the cave entrance. Once they had hid both of the dead men in the darkest recesses of the cave, Niall and Gunnolf again waited for the appearance of the new men as if Niall and his friend were guardians of the cave.

  "Mungen! Ghille!" one of the two men shouted.

  "I dinna like this," the other man said.

  "Mayhap they found the cave."

  "Mayhap they found trouble in the cave. I… I think we should tell Cian."

  A long pause ensued as if the other man was weighing the consequences of leaving and telling Cian, or staying and searching for the missing men.

  "Aye," he finally agreed, and he and the other man moved away from the cave.

  Niall didn't trust the men. He suspected they thought that if they pretended to leave, they would draw out whoever they feared was hiding in the cave.

  The problem was that if Niall and Gunnolf were wrong and the men had truly left, they could very well bring the rest of Cian's men and Cian himself here. What Niall didn't expect was for Anora to quietly join him and whisper, "Let me go out there."

  He shook his head. Under no circumstances was he going to allow her to leave the cave unprotected.

  She frowned up at him. "If I leave and they are out there waiting, watching for anyone, they will come to grab me and take me hostage. You can… you can take care of them then. But if I do not and they are not there and have gone for more help, all of us will be at more of a risk."

  Niall hated to agree, but if Gunnolf agreed and thought her plan would work, he would reluctantly go along with it. Gunnolf nodded.

  "Charlie, you must stay." Then she turned to Niall. "Matthew is taking care of Zara, the puppy. But I… must have a dagger," she said, "in case they rush me. I will be able to keep them away long enough for you to rescue me."

  He didn't like that idea at all.

  "Aye, lass," Gunnolf said, pulling a sgian dubh from his boot.

  "Stay near the cave entrance," Niall said. "Dinna go into the woods or all will be for naught."

  "What if they tell me to come closer?"