Quest of a Scottish Warrior

by Sky Purington

  A long trail of heavily armed men on horseback trudged through a shallow valley thick with golden pine needles and trees. Her eyes locked on the small boy with a sack over his head.

  Robert.

  Eager to get to him, she started to stand, but Machara pulled her down, fixed her with a deadly stare, and shook her head. Cassie nodded and eyed the group more closely. As far as she could tell, there were at least thirty men riding in pairs and possibly more ahead. She would swear that Robert was still on the man’s horse she had seen in her vision. What she wouldn’t do to be able to communicate with him now. To let him know that they were here and he would be all right.

  The enemy appeared unaware that they were likely surrounded but then it seemed Logan and his cousins were very good at stealth. As much as she peered at the surrounding forest, she saw no one. All was quiet save the chirping of birds. So softly she barely heard her, Machara pulled free a bow and cocked an arrow, eyes narrowed on the enemy.

  Heart hammering, Cassie barely drew a breath. What if Robert got hurt during the attack? Logan had told her to keep him in mind but had never mentioned who precisely would be focusing on the child when the shit hit the fan. Wouldn’t the men be battling it out with the enemy? Wouldn’t that leave Robert vulnerable?

  There was little time to further contemplate before arrows whistled through the air. Thump. Thump. Thump. Three men fell. Then everything happened so fast she could barely take it in. Though caught unaware, the enemy was clearly experienced as they quickly took up formation and met Logan and his warriors in a clash of blades.

  Meanwhile, Machara started to unleash arrows. Cassie realized she was hitting anyone who came too close to Logan without him being aware. Yet there seemed to be few of those. Like his cousins, he was ferocious as he swung his sword and cut down several. However, unlike his cousins, he had an almost calm, methodical way of killing. It was as if he thought about exactly how he intended to kill the next man while still fighting his current prey.

  As she had figured might be the case, there were a whole lot more of the enemy than could initially be seen. Rònan and Niall seemed to work as a pair, slicing and dicing too many warriors to count. Out of all of them, Darach appeared to have the most finesse. If that word could be applied to such brutal battling. His method almost seemed like a dance as he ducked and swiped his leg, knocking a man off his feet while running his dagger through another.

  She had never seen so much blood and death as cries rang out. Palms slick, she tried to follow everything that was happening, but there was too much activity. This was unlike anything she had seen on television. You didn’t hear the gurgles of men with slashed throats or smell the tang of blood and the pungent odor of loosened feces wafting on the wind. You didn’t hear the murmurs to God before men’s eyes glazed over or hear the crack of bones when someone was crushed beneath a horse.

  Heart in her throat, body shaking, Cassie’s eyes were not on the other men long. No, they were inevitably drawn back to Logan. Stark fear for him had her mouth dry and heart nearly beating out of her chest. Yet she had assured him she would remain calm and focused.

  And she would.

  Had to.

  So she set aside concern for Logan and kept her eyes locked on little Robert. The warrior he was riding with was well protected by his fellowmen as he spurred his horse and raced into the forest. At the same time, an onslaught of the enemy raced in from where Robert’s captor had vanished.

  Hundreds of them.

  “Bloody hell,” Machara muttered under her breath as she shot arrow after arrow. “‘Tis an ambush on an ambush.”

  The MacLomain warriors who had been following at a distance finally arrived, rushing down into the maelstrom of war. But God, were there enough? Machara was about to shoot off another arrow when there was a flurry of activity behind them.

  The Scotswoman spun fast, narrowed her eyes and shot. Arrow lodged in his gut, a man fell to his knees but not before he whipped a dagger at Cassie. She barely processed what was happening until Machara pushed her out of the way and took the blade in her shoulder.

  More of the enemy rushed forward. Believe it or not, the Scotswoman was by no means defeated by the dagger. Pulling it free with a grunt, she tossed it aside and started clashing swords with a man, all the while standing in front of Cassie.

  “He wants the one with the sight,” the enemy spat to his fellow warriors as he and Machara went at it.

  The one with the sight? He couldn’t possibly be talking about her could he?

  Where they currently stood, Cassie was nearing the edge of a small cliff with about a fifteen-foot drop. She peered over and knew going that way would mean a few broken bones. Her eyes swept over the area before she spied a small path. It was steep, but definitely a means out of here. Not that she intended to take it. No way. Not if it meant leaving Machara alone to fight one, two, three, nope, here came a fourth. Too many men.

  Dagger at the ready, Cassie positioned herself next to Machara and prepared to fight.

  “Nay, ye bloody fool,” Machara said to her as she whipped a dagger at one of the men, catching him in the thigh while she kept fighting another. Though blood poured from her wound, her jaw was set and a severe glint shone in her eyes. She made a come-hither motion at the other men while shooting a few direct words at Cassie. “Ye know what ye need to do, lass. Take the path. Now.”

  Machara wanted her to go after Robert.

  Or she knew she would die if she stayed here.

  “Absolutely not,” Cassie said. “There are too many of them.”

  Machara swung her blade on Cassie, ducking as a warrior’s sword swooped over her head. Eyes narrowed to slits, she ground out, “I’ll run ye through now if ye dinnae go.” Then she sneered, as ferocious as her MacLomain male counterparts. “And dinnae think I willnae, lass.”

  Cassie stumbled back a few steps when Machara simultaneously drove the sword at her while side-kicking a man in the groin. Holy warrior woman!

  Well aware that there was nothing but destruction in the Scotswoman’s eyes, she listened. Half sliding, half scrambling, she ignored the scrape of pebbles on her hands and shins and made it down quickly. When she glanced up, she wasn’t able to see anything but she still heard the clash of blades and Machara’s endless cursing.

  Time to focus on what Machara had seemingly sacrificed herself for and it was not Cassie. It was Robert. She rubbed slick palms over her dress and grasped her blade tighter as she crouched and kept moving along a line of thick brush. Heavy fighting could be heard everywhere but by pure luck she managed to stay on an empty path.

  An odd haze of calm settled over her even though she should be scared to death. She was surprised she wasn’t frozen with fear. Instead, she managed to put one foot in front of the other until she was running in the general direction Robert had gone.

  Cassie kept repeating the same words in her mind, hoping that he might somehow hear them. “I’m coming, Robert. I’m right behind you.”

  “Cassie,” whispered through her mind. “Where are ye, my lass.”

  Was that Logan? Was he talking to her within the mind like Athdara did? No sooner did she think it her horse appeared. When her voice entered Cassie’s mind, she knew for certain Athdara had not spoken to her before.

  “Get on,” Athdara said.

  Cassie swung up. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Aye, where else would I be?” Athdara launched forward, swerving around random warriors as they entered the heart of the fighting. “Stay low and hold on tight.”

  Unlike the last time they had done this ‘mad race through the woods thing’ together, Cassie felt no fear. Her entire focus was on catching up with Robert. Nothing else mattered. She concentrated not on the death and destruction around her but kept her eyes locked on the path ahead. Thin, spindly branches rushed by her, but she ignored their sting as she relaxed into the flow of the horse.

  Within minutes, they broke from the forest and raced across a sprawling hi
ll. Part of a band of about fifteen men, Robert was nearly on the other side. Maybe it was her imagination but though the sound of battle was fading into the distance, Cassie thought she heard several horses in pursuit.

  Long grass blew in the wind but did not slow Athdara down as she flew after Robert. “They flee toward great magic, lass. Either they will continue or turn and confront ye soon. Either way, stay brave and know that I am here as is Logan. Ye are not alone.”

  Strange how Athdara’s words seemed to echo Logan’s, how they gave her the same sense of comfort and security. Because truly, how much could a horse really do when it came to fighting men? They had just topped the hill when the enemy did as Athdara suspected they might. They stopped and swung back. She could not help but notice that they were back-dropped by two towering oaks with a wide river running behind them.

  An oak tree ford.

  As it turned out, it had not been her imagination when she thought she heard hooves behind her. Logan, his cousins, Brae and Grant stopped beside her as Athdara came to a sudden halt. Though she thought at first it was because the enemy was heading back in their direction she could not have been more wrong.

  No, a woman had just staggered onto the field between them and the enemy.

  Baffled, terrified, her disbelieving eyes met Nicole’s.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Eyes narrowed, Logan tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He knew based on her clothing and Cassie’s reaction that the woman staggering onto the field had to be her friend from the future.

  “Something is wrong here,” Grant said softly. “And I dinnae refer to the lass.”

  Short, dark red hair blowing in her face, the woman cried out, “Cassie?”

  “Nicole?” When Cassie swung down, Logan did the same, grabbing her arm before she got too far.

  His cousins remained on their horses, but he knew they were as torn between curiosity and distrust as he was. For all intents and purposes, the battle they’d just fought had been well orchestrated by the enemy. Planned. It had been a war that intended to slow down the MacLomain’s or anyone who dared to get in their way. Just like the siege of the MacLauchlin castle. Everything was a detour meant to get them to this moment.

  Brae and Grant swung off their horses and joined them.

  “Tread carefully with yer friend, lass,” Brae murmured. “There is something unnatural at work here.”

  Logan kept a firm hand on Cassie’s wrist and focused on the approaching enemy then further on to the oak tree ford.

  “My friend is out there.” Cassie’s worried eyes shot to his. “You need to go get her before the other guys do!”

  Grant looked at him and shook his head.

  The air felt different. Not gusty and warm as it had been moments before but with a bite of chill and thickness. Great magic was at work here. A darkness he did not recognize.

  True evil.

  Regrettably, Nicole never looked around but strode a little off center in their general direction. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was intoxicated.

  Bloody hell. Bradon and his whisky.

  “Does the lass have no sense about her then?” Rònan grumbled, his horse restless as he shifted, clearly undecided whether or not he should head her way.

  “It doesnae seem it,” Niall responded, a touch of incredulousness in his tone.

  Cassie shook her head. It seemed she finally understood the gravity of the situation because she yelled, “Stop, Nics.”

  Strangely enough, this made the lass stop short, a disgruntled expression on her face as she mouthed, “Nics?”

  Cassie pointed at the enemy. Though she wobbled and hiccupped, Nicole’s slightly glazed eyes turned and she froze as much as one could when in their cups.

  “You can’t just leave her out there like that,” Cassie whispered. “Especially not in her current state.”

  No, he could not. But what the hell was he supposed to do when he sensed the enemy had a trick up their sleeve? Though the man with Robert on his horse held back, the others fanned out in front of them. Weapons drawn, they drew closer and closer. Logan knew without a doubt that these men were the best the enemy had to offer. They had to be to have survived the hellfire he and his cousins brought down on them. That made the mission even more dangerous if their Laird was willing to sacrifice some of his best men to get what he wanted. Trained, hardened warriors, their eyes were filled with death and emptiness. They had nothing to lose.

  “They’ve the power of the gods behind them,” Brae warned, voice low. “A darkness in the divine ye never could have imagined existed.”

  “And yer just telling us this now?” Logan ground out, pulling Cassie closer.

  “I wasnae sure until just now,” Brae whispered. Her eyes were trained not on the warriors but on the oak tree ford Robert’s captor was slowly backing toward.

  “Something needs to happen,” Cassie said. “You can’t let Nicole get hurt or the guy with Robert get away.”

  “Nay,” Athdara’s words whispered through his mind. “Ye cannae, lad.”

  Logan had half a second to understand what the horse intended before she reared up, released a mighty neigh and took off toward the enemy. After that, everything happened fast. When Athdara went plowing ahead, the enemy assumed they were on the move.

  Eyes wide with terror, Nicole started running toward Cassie.

  “After Robert,” Logan roared.

  Grant grabbed his arm and shook his head sharply. “Let yer cousins go. Ye stay here with yer lass where I can best protect ye.”

  Logan was about to argue but stopped when the Hamilton’s eyes glowed blue and his expression grew fierce. Even if he wanted to, he could not get around the arch-wizard’s magic right now. Meanwhile, Darach, Rònan, and Brae were already rushing ahead and slamming their blades against the enemy’s.

  Niall, muttering the whole way about foolish, drunken lasses, raced in Nicole’s direction. Eyes round as saucers, she stumbled back as his horse thundered toward her. He had nearly reached her when a man cut him off and they started crossing blades. The enemy was skilled, but regrettably he was meeting Niall not when his cousin felt battle lust but was plain old grumpy. And when Niall grew especially moody—a trait he had inherited from his Da, Malcolm—men went down very quickly beneath his sword.

  As Logan knew would be the case, Niall’s blade made a clean stab through the center of the man’s neck in under thirty seconds. Nicole wasn’t just stumbling back anymore but had plunked down on her arse as Niall swung down and strode in her direction.

  “Shoot, I hope she realizes he’s the good guy,” Cassie muttered, upset.

  “I dinnae think there’s much good about him right now,” Logan said.

  True to form, Niall growled as he caught Nicole by her ankle before she could squirm away. Grabbing her around the waist, he swung her up into his arms. Cassie winced when he then proceeded to fling her squealing friend over his shoulder and strode for his horse.

  “Who the fuuuuckkkk do you think you are? Put me down you jackass," Nicole slurred, trying to pound on his back and hold on at the same time.

  Logan shook his head, eyes torn between their fiasco and the battle his remaining cousins were warring. Meantime, Nicole must have done something to Niall because he grunted with pain and stumbled. At the same moment, an enemy warrior came swinging at him. In his attempt to hold onto a flailing Nicole and swing back at the man, Niall dropped to his knee and Nicole went flying. Cassie and Logan flinched as she thumped down on her back in front of him.

  Under different circumstances, the scene would have been almost comical.

  “Bloody hell, I’m not the enemy, lass. On my honor, I will protect ye,” Niall roared, fighting the man from the ground as he partially covered Nicole.

  “I’ll bet you anything she can’t hear a word he’s saying,” Cassie murmured.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because on occasion she runs hard of hearing.”

  Crash. Crash. Niall’s b
lade was criss-crossing back and forth as he simultaneously tried to keep Nicole from squirming away while fighting the enemy. The twenty-first century woman seemed to have sobered up fast as she half screamed, half sputtered.

  “This is insane,” Cassie cried at Grant. “Let us go help them!”

  Grant shook his head. The wizard wasn’t going to budge an inch.

  “But we need to save Robert,” she argued. “Isn’t his life more important than ours?”

  “‘Tis far too dangerous right now.” Caught within his magic, Grant’s response sounded far away. “I dinnae ken the magic being used. Ye, Logan and the ring willnae be put at risk.”

  Nicole appeared both furious and horrified as she clawed the ground then leapt to her feet. It was then that Logan saw it. “She wears a ring as well.”

  “Oh my God,” Cassie whispered.

  Grant’s eyes narrowed on Nicole’s finger. “Bloody hell.”

  Niall had just downed his man, cursing about foolish lasses that don’t know when they’re being protected, when Nicole was scooped up by another warrior. Rònan flung out his hand and a wide swath of fire lit a long line of grass, blocking the man from retreating.

  Or so they had hoped.

  The enemy chanted something and jumped the flames. When Niall started chanting, clouds formed quickly and rain gushed down, dousing the flames so that they could pursue. Darach was summoning wind in hopes to slow the enemy, but it didn’t seem to be working.

  The man with Nicole had nearly caught up with the man who had Robert. They were only a few feet away from the oak tree ford.

  Grant narrowed his eyes on Logan and Cassie. “If either of ye move it’ll be the death of ye by my hand. Do ye ken?”

  Though frustrated, Logan nodded his consent. He had never seen this particular look in Grant’s eyes and was not about to test it. Arm wrapped tightly around Cassie, he pulled her back a few steps as the Hamilton strode across the field, flung his arms in the air and started chanting.