Maeve didn't look convinced, but the anger in Julia's tone was clearly enough to stop her from saying so. They finished their scones quietly, Julia feeling a little embarrassed about her outburst… but grateful to have Maeve's quiet presence to vent to. She felt almost human when she headed out of the hall, deciding to take advantage of the late afternoon sunlight. At this time of day, the stone walls had been baking in the sun all day and were pleasantly warm… she traced her way along the wall toward the stable, smiling with the sun on her face.
But she could sense something was wrong when she slipped into one of the stables – sense it from the body language of the stable hands who spotted her, three of them standing bolt upright as though they'd been shocked. A groom hastened up to her – a young man she'd gotten to know reasonably well over the last few days. She'd even helped him reorganize the tack room one afternoon… but his expression now was grim.
"Sorry, Julia," he said, biting his lip. "But a man from the Watch has told us not to let you hang around the stables unsupervised."
Julia had a suspicion she knew exactly who the apologetic groom was talking about.
Chapter 21
"He has, has he?" she asked levelly, doing everything in her power to keep her anger under control. It wasn't the groom's fault, she knew that. He was just doing his job, doing as he was told, listening to an instruction from the Watch – who, she'd come to realize over the last few days, definitely considered themselves to be above regular people as a result of the dangerous work they did. Sure, their work protected people like these men, the servants in the castle, all the scholars and academics… but she was beginning to suspect, based on one example in particular, that all that power and influence was going to some of their heads. This was how tyranny got started.
"Sorry," the groom said again, spreading his hands. "But if you want to stay, you'll have to stay with me… and I'll have to report back to Gal – to the guard."
"I see," she said, narrowing her eyes just a little. "I didn't realize that he'd adopted me."
"What was that?"
"It seems strange. I mean, I'm twenty-eight years old, I thought I was well past the age that a man could take me in as his baby daughter, but color me surprised!"
The groom looked agonized, and she relented after a minute, shaking her head and resisting the urge to pat him on the head like a dog.
"It's not your fault, okay? I'm not angry with you. Just angry with being treated like a pet," she added, narrowing her eyes. "Do the Watch always boss you around like this?"
The groom shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, they do a lot to protect us," he said softly. "The least we can do is help them when they ask… but I'll admit, I don't see why he's so determined to keep such a close eye on you." He hesitated. "Is there something between the two of you…?"
"No!" she almost exploded – then took a deep steadying breath at the look of naked panic on the groom's face. "No, absolutely not. Please don't let that rumor start whatever you do. He's just obsessive, and controlling, and tyrannical, and rude, that's all. Look after yourself, hmm? You do as much for the Watch as they do for you."
She turned and strode away from the stables, knowing she was going to make a scene if she stayed there any longer. She'd never felt so much rage bubbling in her chest in all her life. Not only was he consistently rude and condescending to her in public – now he was recruiting her friends and colleagues to keep an eye on her, too? What was next – were her time-stranded friends going to start keeping a log of everywhere she went, everyone she talked to, everything she did, just in case she might put herself in danger or whatever it was he was worried about? It was as though he owned her, as though she was some precious item he'd bought and was now keeping close tabs on…
And she wasn't goddamn having it any longer.
Julia took the steps to the roof two at a time, wanting to burn some of her anger in the form of exercise, but it was even less effective than it had been before. She made the climb three more times until her whole body was sweating, tingling with the exertion, her breath coming hard and fast to her throat… but still the anger raged. There was nothing she could do – Galen was out on patrol so she couldn't even confront him, not that she'd want to. He'd made it abundantly clear that he'd be of no help whatsoever.
Another idea occurred to her, bright as crystal in her mind… and she covered her mouth when she thought of it, standing stock still on the stairs. It was bold, yes, and she was very likely to get in trouble… but right now, full of anger and frustration and feeling like a caged beast, it was just about the best idea she could think of. And now that it had occurred to her, it was impossible to put it away.
So, before she could overthink it or stop herself, she headed downstairs. Her explorations of the castle had shown her more than a few passageways out of the castle that didn't go under any of the main guard points – notably a path that lead down to the docks. She'd stopped at the wall when she'd found that particular path, but she'd been able to see all the way down to where the door opened up on the docks… and down past the docks, there would be nothing stopping her from walking along the lakeshore.
Yes, she was leaving the castle. Yes, she was expressly forbidden from leaving the castle. But there was just no other way of cooling her head… and the idea of spiting Galen's condescending little instructions was just too good to pass up. She kept her head low as she walked, trying to seem normal, like she was just on a pleasant late afternoon stroll before dinner… then she slipped through the door in the wall that she knew led to the little pathway down to the docks. To her relief, there were precious few people around – the afternoon wasn't so late that the fishermen were rolling in for the day, and she was able to make her way down past the docks with no trouble.
And just like that, she was out on the lakeshore, perfectly alone. The cool wind toyed with her hair as she strode along the beach, smiling at the feeling of sand and rocks under her boots. She hastened away from the castle quickly, aware that she may well be spotted from here if a guard looked out at the wrong time – all she wanted was to walk, though, and she knew the forest was full of trails. She'd take a quick stroll through the forest, then head back for dinner. Nobody needed to be any of the wiser… especially Galen, that absolute ass.
So, Julia slipped into the trees, quickly finding herself on a well-worn forest path. It was beautiful here, with the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches and the distant sound of birdsong, and she happily strode along the path, barely even noticing that it branched a couple of times. Her breath was coming quick but easy in her throat and her body felt warm and pleasant with the exertion of the brisk walking pace she was maintaining. This was exactly what she needed, she thought with a smile. Just some time to herself and a bit of nature – it had always made her feel better, ever since she was a child. Maybe that was why she'd pursued a career as a nature photographer, in the end – not because of a love for animals, but because of a need to be out in the wild like this.
And the forest certainly was wild. For the first time, a slight prickle of apprehension crept into her mind as she looked around, realizing she was a great deal deeper in the woods than she'd expected. The trees around here were looking a little less friendly and a lot more spooky, their branches seeming to reach and twist, obscuring the path a lot more than they had in the beginning… and to her shock, when she looked up at the sky she realized that the sun must have almost set, with the orange light of sunset already fading to leave a few winking stars shining down through the thick branches of the trees above. Time to turn back, she decided, turning on her heel and heading back.
But to her growing alarm, it wasn't quite that simple. The path that had seemed so straight and true, she began to realize as she retraced her steps, was actually quite winding and confusing, and she kept reaching forks in the path that she didn't remember passing… or if she had passed, didn't remember which way she'd turned. None of it looked familiar, none of it looked safe… and it j
ust kept getting darker and darker. Julia thought of the torches that the Watch always took with them on their patrols – far more of them than they seemed to need, she had always thought, watching them pack their horses' saddles with supplies. But now, she was beginning to see why they felt the need to bring so much light just to explore the forest. Right now, she'd kill for a torch or three.
Keep the faith, she told herself firmly. Just keep walking – she was heading in the right direction, surely she'd eventually hit the edge of the trees and find herself close to the castle again.
But the more light emptied from the sky, the more afraid she began to feel.
Chapter 22
An hour later, Julia was forced to confront the fact – not just the fear – that she was hopelessly lost. It felt like she'd been walking for hours, taking stretch after stretch of winding path with no idea where she was going. And now, it was fully dark, and the cold wind was howling through the trees and making her shiver – she hadn't brought a cloak or anything warm with her. Stupid, really… but after all, hadn't her plan just been to take a quick walk? Anxiety and dread were prickling at her stomach. Nobody knew where she was, that was the problem… she'd deliberately kept her journey secret from everyone but herself, and until they missed her at dinner, nobody would even realize she was gone.
Dinner… she could feel her stomach growling. What she wouldn't give to be back at the Keep right now, in the warm, crowded dining hall, setting about demolishing a plate of roast meat… her stomach growled again, and she took a deep breath, trying to suppress her steadily mounting anxiety. Surely, if she just kept walking she'd find her way out. Surely.
But as the time wore on and the night grew darker and colder, she began to lose hope that simply walking in a straight line was going to get her out of here. The path just kept on forking, and she was hopelessly turned about – with no sun to tell her which way was east or west, she'd long since lost track of which direction the castle lay in… and the stars above her were unfamiliar and cold, even when she could catch more than a glimpse of them through the thick canopy of branches. Her hopes shifted from finding her way out of the forest to at least stumbling across some fellow travelers on the paths, hopefully people who could point her toward the castle. Hadn't she met plenty of people on the road just after dawn, the morning she'd first arrived? Certainly, she thought sourly… but that had been the road, not these strange little forest paths, and it had been daylight, not the dark of night. Who would be foolish enough to walk these paths in the darkness?
Once or twice, she could have sworn she could see light, bobbing in the distance as though belonging to a torch. On these occasions she always hastened toward it, calling out excitedly for help… but before long it would vanish, and she'd be left just as lost as she had been before, and completely out of hope. What were those phantom lights? Was it truly just wishful thinking? She was beginning to worry that the lights were leading her deeper and deeper into the forest, getting her even more lost… and she bit her lip as a thrill of fear ran through her, remembering the tales she'd heard about will-o-the-wisps, lights that led lost travelers to their doom…
The Watch, she consoled herself. If all else failed, the Watch would find her. Weren't they always out patrolling the forest, torches held high? Sure, if it was Galen who found her she was in for a very uncomfortable conversation… but he wasn't the only guard in the Watch. Maybe it would be someone else… someone she could bribe, somehow, to never breathe a word of any of this to Galen…
But as the night wore on and the air got colder, she began to rethink that. At this point, she'd be happy for just about anyone to happen across her… even a condescending lecture from Galen would be better than continuing to wander aimlessly. She kept her pace up, at least, but that was mostly because of the temperature – she knew that if she slowed down too much she'd start shivering, the heat of her movement abandoning her to the freezing night air, and she wasn't ready to die of exposure in the medieval Scottish countryside. Not today.
It was awful, being alone in the woods like this. Her mind started to drift to strange places – what if she just stayed out all night? Once the sun came up she'd be able to figure out where she was and head back toward the Loch… right? She kept peering up at the sky to check the stars, as though they'd help her, but for the life of her she couldn't keep track of what was going on up there. It was like a different sky every time she looked at it. And she was getting tired, too – her body was beginning to ache, complaining about the lack of dinner, and her feet were sore from trekking constantly down these strange, uneven paths.
And then the most worrying detail so far came to her attention.
The woods weren't exactly silent, she'd noticed that. The wind through the trees, the rustling of birds and other animals in the branches, it was all familiar. So, when she heard the sound of twigs breaking underfoot, she didn't pay it much mind… until she heard it again, and again, and again. The unmistakable sound of stealthy footprints, somewhere quite close to her – just off the path, in the darkest part of the woods. She could barely see anything as it was, with the starlight just enough to light her way down the unfamiliar path ahead of her and stop her blundering off the path altogether… but she couldn't see anything in the darkness to either side of the path that was for sure. Which was why a shiver ran down her spine when she heard it for sure, this time – the sound of a footstep.
But not a human footstep. No, she wasn't quite that lucky, was she?
Julia picked up her pace, feeling panic beginning to surge through her and knowing it was important to keep control of it. Without slowing, she scooped up a branch that was lying across the path, taking some solace in how thick and heavy it was. A weapon, even an improvised one, was better than nothing… especially if what she suspected was happening was really what was going on. Because given the part of the world she was in, and the countryside, and those quiet, stealthy noises that were coming from both sides of the path, now…
Well, Julia was fairly certain that a pack of wolves was carefully tracking her.
No matter which way she looked at it, it was bad. Wolves were patient hunters, but powerful ones… and though they tended to avoid humans in groups or on horseback, a lone human wandering by herself… well, that would send off dinner bells in any hungry pack's mind. Clever as she was, she knew she couldn't fight them off – not if there were more than a couple of them, at least. Even her stout branch would do no good. So, what could she do? Climbing a tree seemed like the best idea – but the more she scanned the woods around her, the more she worried. There were no good climbing trees – all of their branches seemed to start too high or be too fragile to support her weight… and if she was going to jump for a tree, she needed to make sure it was one she could actually climb. Wolves couldn't climb the way bears could, but they sure could jump and snap, and all it would take was a pair of jaws to fasten around her ankle and she'd be lost…
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Maybe she was imagining it. Maybe there weren't really wolves in the trees, following her through the woods. But just as she was beginning to believe that maybe the sounds she'd heard weren't wolves, she heard something that removed all doubt. A long, mournful howl, high and clear, carrying through the air… she'd heard similar sounds in the distance from the castle before, tucked up safely in her bed, and shivered with delight at being safe and sound.
A wolf howl hit different, this close.
Before she could stop herself, she was running, the adrenaline of fear surging through her veins and driving her onwards. There was no way she could stop herself from panicking, not with the unmistakable sound of wolves behind her. Long-term plans vanished into the ether, and her focus narrowed to the here and now – to keeping ahead of the wolves, to keeping herself safe second to second, minute to minute…
And then there was the sound of steps behind her – not footsteps, but pawprints, the low thud echoing in her ears. Still running, she twisted over her
shoulder, risking a glance back – and felt icy dread grip her. Sure enough, there they were – terrifyingly large, much larger than domestic dogs, even huskies – three or four of them on the path behind her, keeping close to each other, running easily with the kind of body language that suggested they could keep it up all day.
Julia couldn't help herself. She screamed, and the sound ricocheted through the trees – only emphasizing just how alone she was out here.
Chapter 23
She had no choice. The wolves were seconds away – they'd surge forwards soon, bring her down and tear her apart for their dinner. An odd calm settled over her as she realized her only option was to try to find a tree. Her eyes scanned the trees to the right and left, faster than she'd thought she was capable of – there, she saw a reasonably stout branch, low enough to grab. And without warning, she leapt from the path and accelerated toward the tree, leaping with all the desperate adrenaline in her body to seize the branch in her hands. Triumph, exultation – she hauled herself up, cursing her weak upper body, but desperation drove her successfully up onto the branch and she sat there for a moment, breathing hard.
The wolf pack caught up, circling the tree. She counted six of them, shaggy gray things with curious faces, almost like dogs but not quite… something about the feral look in their eyes set them apart from their domesticated cousins. She shifted on her tree branch, already worried it wouldn't hold her — but for now, it seemed stout enough, and she was high enough that the wolves couldn't reach her. One tried, leaning its great paws up against the trunk of the tree she was perched in, sniffing at the air as it stretched its great body up to try to reach her… but to no avail.
"Shoo," she called, emboldened by her relative safety. "Get away!"
Woken By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 7 Page 10