Born to Bite Bundle

by Hannah Howell

  “He hasnae told ye so ye dinnae want to tell him.” Osgar nodded and then frowned in the direction Lachann had gone. “He should tell ye.”

  “That would be verra nice and make me a verra happy woman, but he must do it of his own free will. ’Tis best that way, Osgar.”

  “Well, when I am grown and sleep with a lass, I will tell her I love her right away.”

  “Only if ye truly mean it.”

  “Why would I lie?”

  That question nudged too close to the topic of sex and passion, Adeline decided. “I dinnae think ye would. ’Twas but a rule I thought ye should be told of.” When Osgar solemnly nodded and turned his attention to all the sticks and leaves on the ground, she inwardly sighed with relief.

  Adeline tried to be patient as she waited for Lachann but soon began to pace. She truly hated waiting when she knew how dangerous it was for a MacNachton outside of Cambrun. The last attack had made her certain that someone had started a hunt specifically to get Osgar, as well. She desperately wanted to get the child safely behind the walls of Cambrun.

  Her legs ached from all her pacing by the time Adeline became truly worried about Lachann. He should have been back, either to report that everything was well or to get them hurrying away from this place. Something was wrong. She was sure of it, but she did not know what to do about it. She did not even know where he had gone, what he had heard, or what he had been looking for.

  “I think something bad has happened,” Osgar said as he stepped up next to Adeline and clutched at her hand.

  “I begin to fear the same,” murmured Adeline. “I just wish I kenned where he is.”

  “I can find him.”

  She frowned down at the child. “Ye dinnae ken where he went, either.”

  “He went to where the men are talking.”

  “What men? I dinnae hear any men.”

  “I can. I closed my eyes and listened real hard like Lachann taught me and I can hear men talking.”

  “What are they saying?”

  “I cannae hear that. I can just hear the sound of men talking. Got to get closer to hear all the words, ye ken. I think that is what Lachann was doing. He wanted to see if it was bad men talking.”

  Adeline argued with herself over the best thing to do now, the wisest thing to do. The wisest thing would be to go on to the next shelter, as Lachann had told her to do if he was ever late returning to them, and then wait for him there. She could not bring herself to do that, not even for Osgar’s safety. She knew she would never forgive herself if she fled while Lachann was in trouble. On the other hand, she would not forgive herself if Osgar were hurt, or worse, while she tried to help Lachann. Osgar’s tug on her hand drew her out of her confused turmoil of uncertainty.

  “We must go find him,” Osgar said. “He needs our help.”

  “We are nay warriors, Osgar. We are but a small woman and a wee lad.” She sighed. “And Lachann would be angry if we put ourselves in danger for his sake.”

  “Why? He puts himself in danger for us all the time.” His bottom lip trembled. “And I love him. Ye said ye loved him, too. We cannae let him get killed.”

  “Hush.” Adeline put her arm around the child’s shoulders and held him close to her side. “We will go the way he did but verra quietly and cautiously. We shall try to get close enough to the men talking so that ye can hear exactly what they are saying, but nary a step closer. If they have done something to Lachann, we will soon ken it and we can decide what to do at that time.”

  It took only a few yards for Adeline to realize that little Osgar could move through the wood with a great deal more stealth than she could. She had never truly paid attention to how silently the child could move. Every time a leaf rustled as she walked, she felt as if she had just sent out a clarion call announcing her arrival. Osgar moved so silently she wondered if his feet were even touching the ground.

  She was finally able to hear the murmur of men’s voices when Osgar stopped, held himself very still, and closed his eyes. The dark scowl on his small face told her that what he was hearing was not good. When a soft growl escaped the boy, Adeline realized that, although Osgar had been born of an Outsider like her, he was also a MacNachton to the bone. He was far more like Lachann’s people than hers and that truth hurt a little. When they reached Cambrun, Osgar might well be accepted so completely, so wholeheartedly, that he would have no more use for her.

  “The men have Lachann,” Osgar whispered.

  His words cut through her sudden fear of losing him to the MacNachtons. One for Lachann rapidly replaced that fear. The fact that the men had not immediately killed Lachann when they had a chance was not the cause for relief it should have been. Adeline recalled all too well Lachann’s tale about his cousin who had been captured and viciously tortured. He had made it very clear that no MacNachton wanted to be captured, that they would rather die, even by their own hand. It was not cowardice that prompted that dire feeling either, but the dread of being used to expose the tightly held secrets of the MacNachtons.

  “I had best get closer,” she murmured.

  “They want me,” Osgar said. “They are trying to make Lachann tell them where I am.”

  Adeline sat down and put her head in her hands. She did not want to hear what the men were doing to Lachann to try to get him to give up Osgar. The child’s pale face and clenched fists told her all she needed to know. Lachann was a captive and he was being tortured. He must be loudly railing at the fates right now as he faced his greatest fear.

  And who was there to help him? A healer and a small child. She was no warrior. About all she could do if she confronted several armed men was to give them a potion to incapacitate them. Adeline doubted the men would give her the opportunity to mix up such a potion or drink anything she might offer them. She might be able to gain Lachann a few extra minutes of life or a brief respite from the pain he suffered while the men who held him decided when they would kill her and how. She had brought Lachann nothing but trouble since he had first met her.

  “I will go see what is happening,” said Osgar.

  “Nay, I should do that,” she protested and hastily stood up.

  “Nay, Maman. Ye are good at sneaking about but I am muches better. I will be back.”

  Adeline reached out to grab him and stop him, but he was already gone. She bit back the urge to call him back and began to pace again. It felt as if hours crawled by but she knew it was her fear that caused that. Then, suddenly, Osgar was back, standing in front of her. She could tell by the feral look upon his usually sweet face that what he had seen had roused the predator Lachann claimed lived within every MacNachton.

  “They have hurt him,” Osgar said, a growl of fury in his childish voice. “There are three men, the ones who tried to steal me and hit you. They have Lachann tied to a tree near the wood and they have been whipping him. He is bleeding.”

  She knew all too well what that meant. Lachann had already lost so much blood he could no longer heal himself. He was truly weak and helpless now, or would be so very soon. She could not leave him. A glance at Osgar’s furious little face told her that the boy would never cooperate with her if she tried to flee, might never forgive her for it if she did. Then she looked back to where the ponies were, the ponies and a very large gelding she suspected had been well trained for battle.

  “I think I may have an idea about how to help Lachann, Osgar,” she said. “Ye have to hide yourself verra weel while I fetch Lachann’s horse. ’Tis my thought that the horse can help us save Lachann.”

  Once assured that Osgar was thoroughly hidden beneath the leaves, Adeline ran back to the horses. The gelding eyed her warily as she moved to his side. Adeline had never ridden such a large mount before but she could not see why she could not handle the mount, if only for the short time she needed him. Nudging the animal into a slow, quiet pace, Adeline returned to where she had left Osgar.

  Osgar leapt from his hiding place and the horse shifted nervously beneath her. “’Wa
re, Osgar,” Adeline said as she dismounted but kept a firm hold on the horse’s reins. “Ye must nay startle a horse.”

  “Pardon, Ulf.” Osgar stroked the animal’s neck.

  “Ulf?” asked Adeline.

  “Aye. Didnae ye e’er hear Lachann call the beastie by name?”

  “I thought he but grunted at the beast. Now, heed me most carefully, Osgar. Tell me true, do ye think ye can creep up behind Lachann without being seen and safely use a knife to cut his bonds?” When Osgar eagerly nodded, she pressed, “Do ye tell me true, lad? ’Tis nay a time to say aye when the truth is mayhap or nay.”

  “I can do it. I can. ’Tis like one of the games I played in the garden at home, aye? Sneaking up on an enemy, pretending I am a mighty warrior, saving poor Meg or Tom from bad men, and—”

  “With a knife?”

  “Aye.” Osgar blushed with guilt. “I did sneak a wee blade sometimes.”

  “Your naughtiness will serve us weel this time, but later we will discuss it. Now”—she removed the sheathed knife belted at her waist and secured the blade to Osgar’s belt—“ye are to creep up on Lachann like the mist and cut his bonds. Stay hidden behind him as ye do so. Once ye have freed him, and he may tell ye when ye have done enough so that he can free himself, ye are to run back to the ponies.”

  “But—”

  “Dinnae question me on this. ’Tis verra dangerous work we are about and there can be no arguments or disobedience. Ye get back to the ponies and be ready to ride when Lachann and I join ye.”

  He nodded. “But what will ye and Ulf do to help?”

  “I will give ye a wee bit of time to get to Lachann and start cutting away his bonds.” She mounted Ulf and tested the ease with which she could draw the sword attached to the saddle from its sheath.

  “And?”

  “Ah, aye, and then I intend to ride to Lachann’s rescue, of course.”

  Chapter Eight

  “He isnae going to give us the lad. Best we just kill the bastard and start looking for the lad again.”

  Lachann looked at the too thin, dirty man who spoke and was pleased when the fool paled slightly and stepped farther away. He also cursed his own folly, that arrogance that had him stumbling into a trap like some beardless boy on his first hunt. One solid hit to his head had quickly brought him to his knees, too dazed to fend off his attackers. A second blow had sent him tumbling into blackness. It was humiliating. Worse, he had bled enough that he no longer had the strength to break free of the ropes tying him to the tree.

  “Give us the lad and we will let ye live,” said the burly man the other two men called Ian.

  “What sort of coward would buy his life with that of a child?” Lachann asked, making no attempt to hide his scorn over even being offered such a deal.

  He prayed that Adeline had the sense to take Osgar to the next shelter and wait for him there. It did not look as if he would be able to join them, but at least she and the boy would be safe. After a while, she would have to know that he was not coming to her and continue on to Cambrun. Lachann tried to find comfort in the sure knowledge that his clan would shelter them but it was hard to do so. Adeline and Osgar were his family now and he wanted to be with them. He wanted to see Osgar grow into a man and Adeline grow round with his child.

  “We dinnae plan to kill the wee lad,” Ian said.

  The man was obviously trying to be conciliatory, reassuring even, and Lachann almost told him that he was failing badly. These men might not have any plans to harm Osgar themselves, but Lachann was certain they intended to take the child to someone who did. It chilled him to the bone to think of Osgar in the hands of such men. After the torture his cousin Heming had suffered while held captive, no MacNachton wanted to become the prisoner of the Hunters. The whole clan could see how easily the secrets they held fast to could become known under such duress, if only through the close observation of their enemies. Lachann would rather cut his own throat or stand naked beneath the noonday sun than be taken captive.

  A moment later, he inwardly sighed. He realized he would do anything he could to stay alive and get back to Adeline and Osgar. Lachann admitted to himself that he would fight for life until the last breath left his body, the hope that he could see them just one more time keeping him struggling to get home.

  “Ye may nay kill him with your own hands, but the bastard ye take him to will, and weel ye ken it,” Lachann said and bit back the urge to scream when the man lashed him with the whip again.

  “I told ye. He willnae give up the lad. This is useless,” said the thin, dirty man.

  “Shut your mouth, Keith,” snapped Ian. “Mayhap he willnae give up the lad but dinnae forget the witch who rides with him and the boy. That lad isnae her child, so she may be willing to deal with us. She may nay wish to lose her lover, aye? Fine braw laddie like this. He be the type the lasses all sigh o’er, too witless to ken that he is naught but a beast from hell. We will wait awhile to see if the witch comes after him.”

  A surge of fear cut through Lachann’s pain and he nearly cried out from the strength of it. He knew Adeline would never offer these men Osgar in trade for him, even if she could be so foolish as to think they would actually let the both of them leave that exchange alive. What he could not be sure of was that she would leave him to his fate and get the child to safety. He told himself she would think of the child’s safety first but, in his heart, he knew there was a good chance she would try to save him. All he could do was pray that she did not. Stay away, he silently told her. Run. Grab Osgar and run as far and fast as ye can, love.

  “And what if she doesnae come after him?” asked Keith.

  “Then we will truss this bastard up and take him to the laird instead,” replied Ian. “We willnae get as heavy a purse as was promised for the boy but I suspicion he willnae toss this one back. He is always looking for one of his ilk. Any MacNachton is a prize he will pay for.”

  Lachann was about to ridicule that plan when he felt a slight tug on the ropes that bound him to the tree. His heart leapt into his throat, fear and anticipation warring in his heart for dominance. He slowly took a deep breath and then silently repeated every curse he knew. He recognized that scent. It was not Adeline slowly cutting his bonds; it was Osgar. The prize these men wanted so badly was now within their reach and it terrified Lachann.

  In a voice so low he knew only Osgar would be able to hear him, he asked, “What are ye doing here?”

  “Saving ye from the bad men,” Osgar replied in the same low tone.

  “Get away from here and make certain that fool lass goes with ye.”

  “Nay. We have a plan.”

  Lachann was about to deride that plan, whatever it might be, in terms that would vastly improve the child’s knowledge of unacceptable words when the ropes around his ankles loosened. The three men continued to bicker amongst themselves over the best way to gain their prize or, in failing that, use him to gain some reward. They had no interest in his bleeding carcass for the moment. Hope swelled in him, but Lachann fought to keep his wits sharp, to carefully consider what his next step would be once he was free.

  A faltering one, he thought with fury and despair. He had lost too much blood, his strength waning with each drop that soaked into the ground. And he feared the ground was where he would soon be once his bonds were cut, for they were undoubtedly all that kept him standing. Lachann also feared he would be of no help if Adeline and Osgar’s plan failed and they were in danger. His mind all too readily presented the many fates that could befall a beautiful woman in the hands of these men and the fate that Osgar was facing if caught, but he forced them away. Letting himself fall prey to such imaginings would be of no help at all.

  “Where is Adeline?” he asked, trying to move his lips as little as possible as he kept his eyes on the men. If they thought he was talking they might draw closer to find out why, or to whom.

  “She will be riding to the rescue soon.”

  Riding to the rescue? In his mind’s
eye, Lachann saw Adeline charging into camp on one of her small ponies and cursed under his breath. She would not be so foolish, would she? The ponies were sturdy but little threat to anyone. One of the men could simply snatch her out of the saddle as she trotted by.

  The last of his bonds fell away but Lachann held himself in place. He hoped that he would soon overcome the urge to fall to his knees. Then Osgar pressed something into his hand. Dazed, Lachann realized it was the hilt of the sword he had been wearing when he had been captured. Although he was proud of the boy’s stealth in retrieving it for him, dismay swept over him. He should have heard or seen the boy slipping amongst the enemy’s horses and belongings to steal the sword. The excuse that his attention had been fixed upon his captors was judged by his mind and declared a thin one. Taking a deep, slow breath, Lachann fought to steady himself. To prepare himself to be at least some help to Adeline when she appeared.

  And just where is the foolish woman? he wondered.

  An ululation suddenly filled the air. His keen ears told him that it came from the south of the camp but he could not wholly blame his captors for looking in every direction. The clear, strange battle cry echoed and swirled around them. A heartbeat later the sound of pounding horse hooves came out of the dark. Curse her beautiful eyes, Lachann thought as he braced himself for whatever pitiful defense he might be able to offer, she is on my horse! No pony could make that much noise no matter how hard and fast it was ridden.

  He was just moving, raising his sword in preparation for battle and heartily cursing the weakness that made his arm shake, when she burst into the camp. Adeline was leaning over Ulf’s strong neck, holding the reins in one hand and his spare sword in the other. Her thick hair was untethered, flying around her like a blaze fanned by the wind. Lachann suspected he was staring at her in as gapemouthed a way as the other men were. She looked glorious, like some ancient warrior queen.

  Ulf reared when she pulled on his reins, his lethal hooves coming down on one of the men now running for his life. Lachann watched as Adeline struggled to control Ulf, her determined expression turning to one of horror as the man screamed. The other men ran for their horses, leaving their friend behind.