by Hazel Hunter
That he knew what had happened made lying about it ridiculous.
“I felt Kinley, and then I found the light trail. How did you know?”
“You couldnae see the castle from the glen. You didnae ken ’twas hidden in the ridges. No one told you of it. Yet you came directly, without once losing your way.” He drew a line with his finger from her side of the table to his. “You are a tracker, Lieutenant. ’Tis a powerful talent, and one the seneschal will need if he is to find the missing lass.”
Chapter Twelve
WHILE DIANA WAITED at the gaming table, Cailean went to speak with Raen. They returned to the hall with Neac in tow. Tormod came from the kitchen with the brew in his hand and joined them.
“I’ll meet with the earl about his missing daughter,” Raen said to them. But when Diana opened her mouth, he added. “Alone.”
“Alone?” she demanded. “If the undead snatched her, shouldn’t you take some of the guys with you as back-up? I mean, help if there’s a fight?”
“It couldnae be the legion’s work,” Raen said, shaking his head. “She vanished from a well-guarded stronghold at midday, when sunlight would have killed any undead.”
“’Tis well-known that Lamont dotes on his bairn,” Tormod said. “Since he has more coin than the king, ’tis likely his enemies arranged this to ransom her for a pretty price.”
Raen nodded his agreement. “I will go and question the servants. One or more may have been bribed to lure her out of the house.”
“If they gave her to the undead,” Neac said, “send a dove directly, and I’ll bring the warband.” The chieftain rubbed his big hands together. “’Tis been months since we’ve made dust out of those blood-suckling bastarts. I cannae wait.”
Tormod grunted. “You just want an excuse to use that new double-bladed axe.”
“I designed it myself,” the chieftain told Diana with obvious pride. “’Twill take a head with one swing, and another when drawn back for the next blow.”
“Efficient,” she said, concealing a shudder. “Remind me never to pick another fight with you.”
“You neednae question anyone, Seneschal, if you but take the lieutenant to Lamont’s stronghold,” Cailean said, and explained how she’d used her special druid power to find Dun Aran. “Since her talent is new she will need guidance. I am happy to go along with you.”
Raen regarded Diana. “You didnae tell me you were a tracker.”
“I just found out myself from the druid,” she said and pretended to glare at Cailean. “Why didn’t you tell me before I was a tracker?”
He cleared his throat. “You, ah, concealed it from me.”
Diana turned back to Raen. “So obviously we need to work on our communication skills. We’ll make that a priority after we find the missing kid.”
Raen didn’t look happy. “The laird told me to keep you at the stronghold, Diana.”
“The laird’s not here, and with my experience I’m your best shot at finding this girl.” She suspected he was more worried about her than ignoring the laird’s orders. “This is what I do for a living, Raen. At least give me a chance.” When he reluctantly nodded she grinned and turned to Tormod. “We’ll need a fast boat. Can we borrow one from the village fishermen?”
The Norseman coughed, and Neac gave her a pained smile.
“We dinnae use boats, lass.”
Diana tried to wrap her head around what the chieftain told her they did use, all the way until she stood with Raen at the edge of the loch.
“I don’t know about this.” She pushed back the hood of the dark cloak Neac had given her to wear. “Why can’t we go through the sacred grove with Cailean? I’ve done that already.”
“I am no’ a druid, and ’tis how the clan travels.” He turned her to face him. “You didnae fear my lightning spirit. I want you to see everything I am.”
That made her feel a little better. “Okay, but just walk me through this again. You get in the water, and bond with it, and then you…what from there?”
“I travel through it to any other loch, river or stream on the mainland. I have only to think on it, and there I go.” He folded his hand over hers. “As long as you hold onto me, so will you.”
This water-travel thing was far more intimidating than his over-sexed tattoo. But if she could make love with Raen and his ink, then she could handle this. Maybe.
“Before the clan could pay for stables on the other side,” he said, “we trained our mounts to travel with us.”
“The horses?” she said, blinking at the mental image.
“’Tis only a matter of gentling them in the water.”
She knew what he was doing—and it worked. If horses could do it, so could she.
“I know I told you that I was on the swim team, and I can still hold my breath for a long time.” She gripped his hand tightly. “Just not forever. Please don’t forget that.”
Raen led her into the water until it reached their shoulders, and wove his fingers through hers.
“’Twill be fast. I promise.”
Diana nodded, and then went still as Raen ducked under the surface. She did the same, and saw his body shimmer and fade until he looked as if he were made of water. A rush of bubbles engulfed them, and then they were being pulled through the currents.
She could feel and see the loch’s dark waters rushing by them, and remembered to hold her breath as she clung to Raen’s transparent hand. The weight of the water didn’t pull at her or her clothes, and when she tucked her chin in she saw her body had been enveloped by the same light as he radiated. A heartbeat later he was lifting her from the rushing water of a wide, rocky stream and setting her onto the moss-covered bank.
“Wow,” Diana gasped and staggered a little. She turned around to see the druid standing just behind her, which made her jump. “Jesus. Will you wear a bell or something?”
“No.” Cailean lifted his hands up toward the tree canopy.
A cool wind came out of nowhere and blasted Diana, nearly knocking her on her ass. It stopped an instant later, leaving her standing in a puddle of water. She ran a hand over her tousled hair, which like her clothes and cloak felt only slightly damp now.
“What was that? Your blow dryer talent?” she asked the druid, who shook his head and walked up the embankment. She turned to Raen, who had turned back into his substantial self. “I can’t be one of his people. They have no sense of humor.”
“You should speak gently to druids,” Raen told her, and put an arm around her waist. “Cailean can teach you much, and ’tis no’ kind to mock your elder.”
“I’ll try to be nicer, and thanks for thinking I’m only sixteen, but I’ve got at least ten years on that boy.” She leaned into him, just to be sure he wouldn’t disintegrate into a bigger puddle. “How old are you, anyway?”
His jaw tightened for a moment. “Older than you, lass.”
“I should have guessed from the gray in your hair. Don’t worry. I’ve always liked older men.” She reached up to nuzzle his cheek, and found herself on the receiving end of a brief, passionate kiss. “Do that again and we’ll be teaching Junior Druid stuff he’s never even imagined.”
“You make me forget everything,” Raen said. He cupped her cheek, his hand tense, and then sighed. “Come. By now the earl will be frantic.”
They caught up with Cailean at the edge of the woods, which bordered a wide, grassy expanse around the base of three high walls made of red stone. Big circular towers stood like oversize rooks at the corners of the castle, while two more slender versions flanked an arched wooden gate. Dozens of dour-faced men wearing the Lamont tartan and carrying drawn long swords stood guard or walked the perimeter in small groups.
“Whoever took the daughter would have had to sneak her out past the guards,” Diana said as she noted the drawbridges over not one but two moats. “Maybe some of them were bribed to turn a blind eye to strangers.” That reminded her. “How are you going to explain me?”
“I will
tell Lamont that you are a druidess to the clan,” Raen said. When she would have walked toward the gate tower he tugged her back. ’Twould be better if you dinnae speak, Diana.”
“So I dinnae fash Lamont with my strange words and mannish tongue?” Diana said in her best imitation of Meg Talley’s brogue, making him grin. “I know, and I’ll keep quiet.”
The moment they stepped out of the woods, the stronghold’s guards rushed over and surrounded them. Each man dropped to one knee and bowed his head, before flanking them and escorting them into the castle.
Diana tried not to gawk, but the earl’s fortress was almost as big as Dun Aran, and had been outfitted with the medieval version of luxury décor. Intricately worked tapestries depicting gorgeous landscapes, fantastic creatures and battling highlanders hung on the stone walls above tiled floors. The castle’s tall, narrow arched windows had been covered with panels of translucent, oily-looking material that was probably the precursor to glass panes. She could smell something exotic in the wood smoke from the blazing hearths, as if someone had tossed spices into the flames to perfume the air.
The guard brought them into a large receiving room, where a harassed-looking bearded man dressed in furs stood looking up at a portrait of a young girl.
“I told you to leave me be,” he said. “Get out.”
“My Lord Lamont,” Raen said. “We are come from Dun Aran to help find your daughter.”
“At last the gods hear me.” The earl spun around, his ferocious scowl dissolving as he strode forward to clasp forearms with Raen. “I knew your laird wouldnae deny me help.” He took in Diana and Cailean before he frowned. “Where is the warband?”
“I will send for them, once we discover where your lass has been taken.” Raen shifted in front of Diana. “These druids will use their magic to track her.”
“I dinnae need magic. I need McDonnels.” Lamont peered at the big man. “And why would Lachlan send you? You are naught but his bodyguard.”
“If you dinnae wish our help, we will go,” Cailean said before Raen could reply. “And I shall advise the conclave that you have no need of druid kind.”
“No, no, wait,” the earl said and threw up his big hands, which were shaking. “I mean no disrespect, revered one. Since Nathara was taken I cannae sleep nor eat nor think. Fearing what those craven, cowardly beasts could be doing to my poor, sweet little bairn…” He turned away and uttered a wail of despair.
“’Tis better to leave him to his grief,” Cailean told Raen. “We’ll have the guards show us where Nathara was last seen. From there the lieutenant should be able to pick up her trail.”
“Hang on,” Diana said and went over to the earl, who stood rocking himself in front of the painting of a well-dressed adolescent girl with ginger red hair, placid blue eyes and a pouty little mouth. “Is this a portrait of your daughter, my lord?”
“Aye,” he said and hardly seemed to notice her as he stared up at the girl’s smiling face. “She’s the image of her mother, rest her soul.”
“She’s a beauty,” Diana agreed. Though she would have preferred a photograph, she’d work with what medieval times offered. “What was your daughter wearing when she disappeared?”
He dragged a hand over his tear-streaked face. “Her green gown, with her mother’s pearls, and a lace veil. Do you ken, those thieving bastarts took all her fine gowns when they stole her from me?”
Taking the victim’s nicest clothes was generally not at the top of any kidnapper’s to-do list, Diana thought.
“Did anything about Nathara seem different lately? How was she feeling the last time you saw her?”
“She was sad. She told me she loved me.” Lamont’s whole face screwed up as if he were about to bawl. “’Twas as if she knew we would be parted.”
Nathara couldn’t have marched past all those guards, but she might have found a way to slip past them, Diana thought.
“Has anything of value other than your daughter’s gowns gone missing or been stolen recently?”
“Nathara’s maid stole some of her baubles and ran off last week,” the earl said and squinted at her. “You’re no’ Scottish.”
“Her people are,” Raen said, appearing beside her. “She is visiting them.” He took her arm. “The guards are waiting, Mistress Burke.”
As he marched her back over to Cailean, Diana glanced back at the portrait.
“I’m sorry I broke the no-talking promise, but I need to see this girl’s room, right now.”
Two guards escorted them up to Nathara’s bed chamber, which was in mild disarray. Diana methodically searched every cabinet and trunk, and checked under the feather mattress.
“What do you look for, Lieutenant?” Cailean asked.
“What no one else has noticed.”
She climbed onto the bed and stood up to inspect the canopy, and then dropped down and stretched out, rolling her head from side to side.
“Diana, if you are weary, we can rest,” Raen said.
“I’m not tired.”
She pushed herself off the bed and went over to a large trunk. The floor in front of it showed fresh scrape marks, and a faintly sparkling patch of amber light. With some effort Diana pulled it out from the wall. The flattened green bundle stuffed behind it had been tightly folded and tied with a swath of white lace. The honey-colored sparkles suffused the fabric.
Raen crouched down beside Diana as she untied the bundle.
“’Tis the gown Lamont said his daughter was wearing.”
“You get a gold star for paying attention. No pearls, though. Hmmm.” Diana stood and tossed the green gown onto the bed. “All right. There’s nothing of value in here, and all of the clothes in the armoire look on the shabby side. This doesn’t jive with a kid who has a rich daddy that adores her.” She drew back the coverlet from the bed, and looked around the room. “No basket for the laundress.” She looked at one of the guards. “How tall is Lamont’s daughter?”
The tall man held his hand level with his midsection.
“Less than five foot even. So she’s tiny.” Diana turned to the druid. “I’m not seeing any signs of a struggle at all. No one could take this kid out of here against her will. There are just too many guards. Do you know what that means?”
He looked puzzled. “Mayhap she wasnae taken from this room.”
“Or she wasnae taken,” Raen said as he looked down at the green gown, and then at the armoire.
When Cailean started to speak she shushed him. “Wait for it.”
“But the basket was taken,” the big man said and went to the window to look out, and immediately turned around. “The washing house is at the back of the stronghold. That ’twas how it was done.”
In that moment he sounded like a cop, and Diana fell a little more in love with him.
“Let’s go have a look,” she said.
Most of the area behind the castle was used by the servants for laundry, deliveries and outdoor work. It was also not as heavily guarded as the front. The back walls looked too high to climb, and an arch closed off by a heavy iron grate provided the only exit.
Right beside the gate stood the washing house.
As they walked out toward the gate, a cart hauling sacks of flour and grain drew up outside it, where the driver clanged a hanging bell. A man servant came to open the gate, and the wagon drove past the washing house before the driver stopped it by the kitchens to unload.
Raen stopped the man who opened the gate. “Did you work back here on the day the earl’s daughter was taken?”
The servant nodded. “Aye, all morning and most of the afternoon.”
“What was delivered by cart that day?” Diana asked.
“Ale from the brewery, and firewood from Alick, the forester.” He frowned at her. “I ken the drivers both. They’ve naught to do with this.”
Diana peered up at the castle. “Her room is right there. She could see everything from the window.” To the servant she said, “Did you see any big baskets in eith
er cart?”
“Alick took one with some mending from the washing house,” the man said. “His mother does all of the fine sewing for our lord.”
“Why do you care about the basket?” Cailean asked. “’Twas but filled with the lass’s gowns and…” The druid’s eyes lit up. “Gods, ’twas that how she was taken?”
“Took you long enough,” Diana chided. “So now we need to go and talk to Alick the forester.”
“I ken his family,” Cailean said. “They have a cottage in the brambles beside the silver birch woods, a half-league from here.”
Diana went through the gate, and looked around carefully until she spotted the same faint, amber trail she’d seen in the room. It led off down the road and disappeared around the bend. She pointed in that direction.
“Is the cottage that way?” she asked Cailean. When he nodded she smiled at Raen. “Feel like stretching your legs?”
The three of them started down the road, and as Diana watched the trail of light stretching out ahead of them she didn’t feel the same tugging sensation that she had on the night she’d come to Dun Aran.
“Does anyone else you know have my tracking power?” she asked Cailean.
“We have a diviner at the settlement who finds water whenever a well is needed.” He sounded grumpy now, like the old druid. “Alick is a good boy who cares for his widowed mother. His family has served this clan for five generations. He wouldnae abduct Lamont’s daughter.”
“I never said he did,” Diana said. They came to the edge of a blackberry thicket, and in the middle of it she saw a small, dingy-looking cottage. The amber trail took an abrupt turn and followed the narrow dirt path straight to the forester’s front door. “Yep. He’s got her.”
Cailean glowered at her. “You cannae see that from here, Lieutenant.”
“Call it a very solid, sparkly hunch.” She walked the path through the brambles to the cottage, and heard a commotion inside. “Raen, keep your blades in their holsters, and let me do the talking.” When he nodded she knocked on the door.