by Terry Spear
"Fall into the water as if you have slipped," Edana told Pol. "Oppida will either let go of you or fall with you and you can get free. Your da will save you."
Without hesitation, Pol did as Edana told him, dropping into the water like a falling sapling. Only he doused the torch's flame and they could barely see him and Oppida in the black waters. Oppida nearly fell with him and lost her grip on his arm. She lunged forward to secure her hold on him to use him as a shield. But too late. MacRae struck with all his fury, sword slicing through the air, cutting her down. She screamed and sank into the water.
Edana quickly looked away as she tried to reach the boy. MacRae's men all gathered around, some dismounting and running into the water, others riding into it as Edana had done.
"Take my hand, Pol!" MacRae shouted.
The lad couldn't get to his feet and the water swept him down river. Edana and MacRae galloped after him, the other men soon joining them.
Her heart was beating so hard, she could hardly hear her shouts, "Pol! We are coming!"
MacRae reached him first and leapt off his horse. He landed in the water with a splash. He seized Pol by the arm and pulled him into his embrace. The boy coughed and spit out water. "How clever of you to think of falling and wrenching free of the woman in such a manner, Pol," his father said with pride.
"Edana told me to do it. She said you would save me."
MacRae turned slowly to see Edana sitting on her mount nearby. Relieved and glad for the lad's safety, she smiled at him, wishing to scowl at his father. "Thank you for aiding my brothers," she said to Pol with all the gratitude she felt in her heart. But she hadn't wished another clan to know of her gift.
"They were kind to me when Oppida wasna. She should have been in the dungeon and no' your brothers." Pol turned to look up at his da. "Will you marry Edana, Da? She is like me. She is bonny. Her brothers said she would be a good mother for me. And she would have bairns so I would have more brothers and sisters."
Her face feeling hot when the air proved so cold, Edana would kill her brothers.
MacRae lifted his son onto his horse, then joined him. "The lass is spoken for, son. Otherwise, I do believe I would have wed her." He cast a dark smile at her.
She frowned at MacRae. The lad was a charmer. The father was not. She would not have married the man. Anyone who would be so taken in with Oppida's charms was not the man for her.
"They said she has no husband," Pol insisted, as if he was ready to get this wedding between his father and her over and done with at once.
MacRae looked her over as if he finally saw her as a woman, and not an enemy of his clan.
"A man I knew in my youth came looking for me, Pol," Edana said, ignoring MacRae's sudden interest in her. "Before we discovered where my brothers were being held, I married him. So my brothers knew naught of the marriage." She didn't want the boy thinking her brothers had lied to him.
Wet and shivering, Pol leaned back against his father. His father wrapped his arm around Pol's waist as he cantered alongside Edana, the lad looking disheartened. She felt badly for him and wished he could find a mother who would be good for him.
"What about Oppida?" one of MacRae's men asked as they gathered about MacRae.
"Bury her somewhere out there," he said, motioning to the woods, not looking back at the woman he had killed. He maneuvered back through the woods to the keep.
She imagined MacRae had some soul searching to do of his own, concerning how his son could have died because MacRae had taken Oppida in.
Edana hoped when they arrived at the keep that all hell had not broken loose if her brothers and father learned Angus and Drummond were being held prisoner and she had been forcibly removed from the chamber.
A man carrying a torch rode into the woods to meet them, his brown eyes wide. "Fighting has broken out between our men and the Chattan and MacNeill."
"Damnation," MacRae said. "Ride ahead and tell the men my son is safe and the other men had naught to do with Oppida's taking him. Edana is unharmed and will be returned shortly."
"Aye."
Not about to wait, Edana urged her mount to gallop after the man.
"Edana!" MacRae shouted, but she ignored the chief.
If his men killed any of her kin or her husband, she would not be responsible for her own actions.
***
As soon as MacRae took off with Edana, Angus had fought as if he was on the battlefield, protecting his brothers and his men. She was everything to him, and he wasn't about to lose her now.
"He willna hurt her," one of MacRae's guards said, but Angus didn't trust MacRae. Not as angry as he was over his son and not when he thought Edana had something to do with Oppida taking the lad hostage.
Angus hit one of the men in the head with his fist so hard, the guard stumbled and fell to his knees, turning his head back and forth, trying to shake off the blow.
Drummond was sitting on the bed, but as soon as he tried to stand, he collapsed on the floor among the rushes and swore out loud.
Angus didn't need his help, and the guards were leaving him alone. "Stay where you are, Drummond."
Angus had just slammed his fist into the other guard's jaw when a commotion outside the chamber told him Tibold and the rest of his sons had returned to find the guards fighting with Angus, and others not allowing them entrance into the chamber.
Fists flew as the Chattan family fought with the MacRae men until Kayne was able to knock out the man fighting Angus. Angus hurried to help Drummond back to bed.
"Where is Edana?" Kayne asked, winded and furious.
"MacRae took her, thinking we were in on the kidnapping of his son," Angus said.
"How the hell did he come to that conclusion?" Kayne asked, looking confused.
"She learned where the boy was—you know the way in which she does," Angus said.
Kayne swore under his breath. "Can you stay and watch over my brother?"
"God's knees, nay," Angus said, divesting one of the knocked-out guards of his sword. "The chief has taken my wife."
Kayne looked back at Drummond. "Can you do without us?"
"Aye, find Edana. Make sure she is safe," Drummond said, his eyelids drooping, his face red with fever.
"Aye, we will return soon." Angus prayed they would be victorious in short order.
Kayne took the other guard's sword, and with his brothers and their da relieving the men in the corridor of their weapons and now duly armed, they headed for the stairs that led to the great hall.
Keary, who was with some of MacRae's men, had not received word of what had happened concerning the boy either, as many continued to look for him inside the castle. He quickly joined Angus and the Chattan men.
Unlike them, he was still unarmed. "What has happened?"
Seeing the Chattan men and Angus with swords in hand, MacRae's men drew their own weapons, but none of them attacked.
"MacRae believes Edana had something to do with Oppida taking his son," Angus told Keary, as he and the others with him stalked toward the door that led into the bailey. "He took her with him and they have gone to the river."
"That is absurd!" Keary said, keeping pace with him.
"Aye, it is. The chief has gone mad," Angus agreed, though he knew differently. He could see now just how much trouble his wife could get into if she revealed what she knew to the wrong person. He would protect her always if he could save her before it was too late. He would run MacRae through with his guard's sword himself if the man had done any harm to the bonny lass.
Outside, he headed for the stables, intent on retrieving his horse and riding to the river. MacRae's men stood back, none of them engaging the fierce warriors who looked ready to kill anyone who stood in their way, since Angus and the others with him did not make a move to attack.
"So, Oppida has taken the lad beyond the castle walls," Keary said, sounding as if he was thinking aloud.
"Aye."
Angus wondered then if Edana could hear how furi
ous he was, how worried for her. Would she know he was coming to her rescue?
***
The matter could only get worse, Edana thought, if she couldn't reach Angus before he, her brothers, and her da began killing MacRae's men. Or MacRae's men slaughtered her family. I am all right, she silently entreated. All is well. But she knew neither Angus nor any of the members of her family could know what had happened to her.
She had heard MacRae galloping after her and then his horse's hooves clomping on the ground in the dense forest faded away. The man with the torch, who was returning to the keep to tell everyone that all was well, who she had been following, disappeared into the woods far ahead of her, leaving her in the pitch blackness. It would be hours before the sun rose and she could not see far enough ahead of her to make her way through the woods. Which direction did she need to go?
She stopped and shouted, "MacRae!" When he did not return her call to tell her where he was, she tried to reach the boy. As much as she hated to speak of her folly, she had to let the lad know she must have gone the wrong way, thinking she was headed straight back to the castle. But the woods were unfamiliar to her and in the dark, she must have gotten turned around if MacRae no longer followed her.
"Pol, tell your da I think I am lost."
Chapter 17
The portcullis was down, so Angus turned his horse toward the postern gate. The Chattan men and Keary thundered after him and they all raced outside. Keary shouted, "I will gather my men to hunt them down."
"I will get mine," Tibold said.
"We will stay with you," Kayne told Angus, chasing after him as he had not waited to see what would happen next.
He had barely reached the woods when he saw one of MacRae's guards, torch in hand, as he rode out of them. "MacNeill," he said, surprised. "They are all right. MacRae told me to come and let you know. The boy is safe. Oppida is dead at MacRae's hand."
"Edana!" That's who Angus cared about. Aye, the boy, but with him safe, his wife was more important than anything.
"She…she is with MacRae. She is safe."
"Where?"
"I rode ahead when we got word that you were fighting our men. I…I was to tell you that all is well."
"Take me to MacRae."
"I need to tell everyone that Pol is safe," the man insisted.
Tibold, his men, and Keary's rode around the castle and headed for them like a stampede of cattle.
The guard's eyes widened.
"You may tell them. But then, I want you to take me to MacRae and my wife," Angus said, impatient, not believing anything that MacRae said until he saw she was safe with his own eyes.
"Aye." The guard kicked his horse to a gallop and went to head off Tibold and Keary. "The lad is safe! Oppida is dead!"
Angus shook his head. Tibold and his men wanted to know about Edana's safety! Fool.
"Where is Edana?" Tibold roared.
Angus witnessed more torchlights moving through the woods. Each time a man emerged from the trees, Angus spied no sign of his wife.
"Where is Edana?" Angus growled at each man.
"She is behind us with MacRae. The lad fell asleep in his da's arms. MacRae wanted us to hurry to ensure all was well with you and the rest of your men," a guard said.
Tibold waited with his men nearby, Edana's brothers sticking close to Angus.
Keary held his men back on the other side of Tibold and his clansmen.
When MacRae materialized from the woods, Angus thought Edana must have followed him, but there was no sign of her. "Where is Edana!" Angus shouted.
MacRae looked puzzled. "She was ahead of me. She should have arrived at the same time the first man was sent to give you word everything was well."
"She is not here! Wake the lad," Angus ordered.
MacRae scowled at Angus.
"She may have tried to reach him. If the lad has been sleeping all this time, she couldna. Wake your son!" Angus commanded again.
MacRae's face was red with anger. Angus was certain the man was not used to the brother of a laird giving him orders.
MacRae said, "Pol, wake up."
Pol stirred and rubbed his eyes.
"Pol," Angus said, "Edana is lost. Can you reach her?"
Pol stared at him as if he wasn't quite sure what the matter was.
"Edana. She is lost in the woods. Can you speak to her?"
"Aye, I will try." Pol scrunched up his small face as if concertedly attempting to contact Edana. But then he shook his head.
Tibold motioned to his men, "Spread out. We search for my daughter."
"My wife," Angus said to himself, furious with MacRae and more than anxious for Edana's safety. "The boy comes with us."
"I am returning him to the keep where he belongs," MacRae said.
"Nay, you dinna. You forced her to go with you against her will. Now you have lost her. The boy may be the only one who can help us now."
"She saved my life, Da," Pol said, looking up at his father's stern face. "I want to help."
Looking as though he'd eaten something particularly sour, MacRae finally nodded. "Come," he said to his men, "we search for the woman." He cast over his shoulder to Angus, "If she had stayed with me when I commanded it, she wouldna be lost."
"And why would she have run off?" Angus asked, his voice hard. Had she been afraid of MacRae?
"She was worried about you and her kin. We had word that fighting had broken out. I suspect she wished to stop it. To show she was unharmed."
Edana. Always thinking of others. Wanting to rescue them.
Danger in the form of wolves, wild boar, but worse—man, made Angus clench his reins in his hand. She had nothing but a sgian dubh to keep her safe. At least she was on horseback.
"A rider-less horse!" someone shouted.
Angus cursed aloud.
***
Edana cursed under her breath as she felt a cold wet substance on her forehead. Her spine and arse ached as she reclined on her back on the ground beneath the oaks. Ponderous trees still surrounded her on all sides. Her head pounded with pain, and she was so very cold! Where was she? What had happened?
Then she vaguely remembered.
Something had spooked the mare she'd been riding. She had reared up and Edana lost her hold and tumbled from her mount. She'd hit her head hard on a branch, then again on a nasty rock as she fell the rest of the way to the ground. And then…she guessed she had lost consciousness because she couldn't remember what happened next.
Where was the mare now?
Then she heard snorting nearby. Not a horse's snort. Something else.
She listened carefully. Her skin chilled. What was the sound she heard?
She tried to sit up and grew so dizzy, she lay her head back down, wanting to be swallowed up by a big bed and her husband's warm embrace.
Angus! Her father. Her brothers. She groaned. Surely MacRae's men had arrived back at the castle to give word the boy was…
She started to shake her head in annoyance, but the pain shredded the very thought.
They might have received the news the boy was all right, but then discovered she was missing.
She'd only wanted to ensure that her family and her husband had believed MacRae's men spoke the truth. That they had to cease fighting. She hadn't wanted her husband or family injured or killed. And now…
She gave a bitter half laugh. Now, she was not all right.
The snuffling and snorting grew closer. And then she knew very well the sound she heard. Little piglets and a sow. Not good. She had to climb up off the ground. If the mother boar thought Edana wished to harm her little ones, the sow could gore Edana with her monstrous sharp tusks.
Being anywhere near the great wild beast while it protected its young could enrage it.
She'd heard of a man attempting to hide in the heather, no trees around for him to climb into, and he was gored terribly.
But every time she tried to lift her head, she felt it splinter with pain. She stifled the gro
an she nearly released, not wanting the boar to hear her. She must be downwind of it, thank the heavens.
With every slight movement a major painful effort, her whole body aching from the fall, but her head the worst, she sat up as slowly as she could. And nearly passed out again.
She gritted her teeth, attempting to keep her wits about her. Then turned her head slightly to consider the lowest branches of an old oak. It would have to do, if she could only get to her feet.
She tried to stand, but the sharp pain shrieking across the back of her skull made her stomach roil with upset.
She saw a little piglet, and then another, and her heart that was pounding as hard as if she were being chased by wolves, gave a stutter and nearly died. Four more of the little boars scurried after their brethren. Mother would be nearby and maybe even watching them now.
And then? She'd see Edana. Despite what some said about wild boar, they could see well, they proved smarter than her da's hunting dogs, and were extremely dangerous.
Attempting not to startle the wee ones that would cause them to let out a blood-curdling squeal that could bring the mother and any other boar in the area running to protect them, Edana again tried to stand.
Managing, she clutched her waist, wanting to bend over and release the meal she'd eaten earlier, and saw white stars across inky blackness form in front of her eyes. She realized she was falling, until her shoulder struck a branch, bringing her again to ragged consciousness.
She quickly—or at least she tried—to pull herself up into the lower limbs of the tree. Every effort made her head and stomach swim. She groaned, the wee pigs squealed, and the great beast of a sow charged out of the brush and headed for the tree. The one Edana was scrambling to climb higher in.
The boar struck the tree right below Edana's foot, the sow's razor sharp tusks gleaming in the early morning filtered light. The weight and the phenomenal strength of the beast shook the tree and with as much as Edana's head hurt, she feared being unsettled from her shuddering perch.
Worse, the wild boar and her piglets hung around at the base of the tree. She would not leave soon, Edana worried.