We’re close behind them now.”
Ramos prodded at the crushed leaves and grass with the toe of his boot before turning to climb back up onto his mount.
“It appears they’re together.” Caden rose from the spot where he’d squatted, fingering a broken twig he’d picked up. “Looks like they ate here.”
“And since the rain stopped, too. The bread there’s damp but not wet.” Ramos pulled at his reins, urging his horse toward the crest of hill. He could feel her, as he had since they’d left the castle. But he was very near her now. If he closed his eyes, he could almost see her, almost smell the sweet fragrance of her skin.
“Aye. We’ll find them soon enough,” Caden agreed, swinging up onto his horse’s back. “And when we do, I’ve a good mind to make them all sorry for this.”
Ramos understood the feeling completely.
“Though I’m no surprised by Sallie running off, I expected better of Cousin Mairi.” Andrew looked up at the snorting sound from Ramos. “No?”
“Your cousin is a bit more spirited than you realize.”
“Mayhaps. I suppose I’ll take yer word for that. But it’s beyond me how either of them could get Alycie to go along. She hates Sallie.”
“She does no such thing!” Caden defended.
“She does too. And yer more the fool not to see it,” Andrew insisted, bringing his horse alongside his brother. “Alycie’s afraid of the Fae magic. She’ll never be happy at Dun Ard.”
“She’ll get used to it.”
“Yer blind where the Maxwells are concerned, Caden. You refuse to see what’s in front of you. You and Mother both.”
Ramos shut out the bickering of the two brothers to concentrate on that new little spot in his mind, the spot that was filled with Mairi.
He didn’t understand how this awareness had become a part of him, but he’d been raised by the Fae and knew better than to expect a logical reason for the things their magic brought about. And he had no doubt this came about because of Faerie magic. But whether it was the result of his being her Guardian or some other type of magical bond, he had no idea.
For now he wouldn’t question it. He’d only be grateful that, whatever it was, it allowed him to follow her. To find her.
She was close. So close, he felt drawn to urgency. He prompted his horse to pick up the pace, needing desperately to see her with his own two eyes to relieve the baffling dread building in the pit of his stomach.
Cresting the top of the hill, he spotted her, but the scene unfolding before him did nothing to alleviate his concern.
She and Sallie huddled on the ground near a stream at this end of the meadow while nine men on horseback approached them at a slow steady gait from the woods on the far side.
Not nine men. Seven men and two Fae.
He knew from here. He recognized his father and Wyn riding in the lead.
“Bloody hell,” he growled, kicking his horse to a gallop.
“Can we make it back to the slope?” Sallie squeezed Mairi’s fingers.
“Perhaps, but it would do us no good.” Mairi still held her free hand to her breast, the tingle continuing to burn there. “They may walk their animals now, but if we run, they’ll do the same.”
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
How could she have allowed herself to do something as remarkably brainless as getting caught away from the castle like this? And by the very man she’d suspected from the beginning to be the cause of Sallie’s death.
Not man, she corrected herself. Fae. As dangerous as he’d been at Dun Ard, he was far more so now. Now that he’d been publicly rejected. Now that she and Sallie were out here alone. Defenseless. She’d allowed herself the comfort of assuming she’d changed things. That Sallie was safe now. She’d been so very wrong.
“Verra well. I’m no going to make it easy for them.” Sallie stood, tugging at Mairi’s hand. “We’ll defend ourselves.”
“Right.” Mairi rose and wiped her hands down her skirt to brush the wet leaves away. “Right. Okay.” She could do this. After all, she’d trained with Jesse regularly. She could fight.
But not nine men.
The old familiar panic flooded her mind.
There’s nothing I can do. I’m helpless. All’s lost.
Mairi turned to her cousin and froze. The girl, a full head shorter than her, stood with her chin raised high, her weight shifting from one foot to the other, readying herself.
Exactly as I would have nine years ago. Exactly as she would now.
“We’ll no be fighting all of them. Only one at a time,” she murmured, bolstering her courage as the horsemen approaching them picked up speed.
“Perhaps we’ll no have to fight them at all.” Sallie nudged Mairi’s arm, tilting her head back toward the slope they’d come down.
Ramos!
Mairi was so thankful to see him galloping toward her, she hardly noticed Caden and Andrew following closely behind, or Caden’s leaning over to grab Alycie as his betrothed ran out into the meadow. Some other time she’d admire her cousin’s strength in hauling the kicking woman onto his horse without ever allowing the animal to break its stride.
For now only one thing mattered: Ramos was here and he was coming for her.
With his body hunkered low over his horse’s neck and his long hair whipping out behind him, he looked like her own dark warrior.
Within what felt like a heartbeat, his huge animal was there, bits of mud and leaves kicked up as Ramos jerked his mount to a stop.
Looking up into the unfathomable depths of his eyes, Mairi reached up for the hand he held out to her and felt herself lifted to the saddle behind him. She swung one leg across the horse, letting her skirt ride high up her legs.
“Hold tight, my sweet.”
She’d already fastened herself to his back before the words were out of his mouth. Only then did she turn to see Sallie scrambling up behind her brother Andrew in much the same manner as she had.
The thundering rumble of hooves hitting the ground garnered her attention even before Ramos’s shouted order.
“Let go!”
Mairi leaned away as Ramos drew his sword from the sheath he’d taken to wearing on his back as her cousins did. She had only seconds to resecure her hold before his horse lurched forward.
The clang of his sword against the weapon held by one of Servan’s men reverberated through him and into her chest.
Mairi tightened her hold around Ramos, pressing her face into his back, wishing she could close her ears as well as her eyes. The sounds of men yelling and a woman’s scream mingled indistinctly with the noise of swords and horses, creating a cacophony of battle.
Her eyes flew open at a hissing sound near her ear. Her plaid flapped in the breeze where it had been sliced open. Worse, the strike that had damaged her woolen had obviously passed along the side of Ramos’s arm on its path to her. Blood oozed from a slit in his sleeve.
The big man she remembered from her first night at Sithean Fardach—Graham, was it?—grinned evilly as he maneuvered his horse closer and swung his sword again.
“Yer too slow, yer lordship,” he taunted as Ramos jerked the reins of his horse to maintain their distance, lifting his sword, bracing to take the impact of the hit.
Graham was right. With her attached to him like some kind of a parasite, Ramos wouldn’t have a chance. He was already wounded.
My fault. Just like his being stuck in this century. All my fault.
She scanned the area, trying to decide her best course of action. Caden fought off two attackers, hampered by Alycie across his horse. Andrew already lay crumpled on the ground with Sallie hunkered over him. How long before Ramos would meet the same fate?
There was really only one thing for her to do.
Mairi let go the hold she had around Ramos and gripped the back of his saddle, waiting for her opportunity. When he brought the horse to a stop, lifting his sword to block another strike of Graham’s weapon, she swung her leg over the back end of the animal and slid to the ground. She bent her knees on landing, wobbling only a little before regaining her balance. Without a backward glance, she lifted her skirts and ran for all she was worth straight toward her injured cousin.
What the bloody hell? Ramos jerked his head to look behind him.
“Mairi!”
Did she fall? Was she hurt?
He’d been slow on that last return, the blade stinging against his arm as he thrust out to deflect it from Mairi.
Surely she hadn’t been wounded. I’d know, wouldn’t I?
Ramos attempted to turn his horse, fearing she’d be trampled—or worse.
But his opponent had other ideas. The man swung at him again, the weapon grazing Ramos’s cheek in spite of his last-minute dodge.
Ramos twirled his horse, bringing him face-to-face with Graham.
The big man’s grin spread as he lifted his sword again. “Perhaps I’ll have the lass for myself when I’ve done with you.”
Rather than striking out with his blade and pulling away as he’d done before, as Graham anticipated he’d do now, Ramos darted in closer and smashed the hilt of his weapon against the side of Graham’s head.
Graham’s eyes went blank as his arm dropped and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
“And perhaps not, you bloody bastard,” Ramos muttered, turning his horse, searching for Mairi. Whether the man on the ground was stone dead or merely knocked cold mattered not to Ramos. He had only one concern at the moment, and he would fight his way through all the demons of hell, if necessary, to get to her.
“Mairi!”
Up meadow, to the north of him, Caden fought off two attackers, Alycie draped unceremoniously across the saddle in front of him, her legs kicking wildly.
Caden could take care of himself. Ramos had more pressing concerns.
“Mairi!”
There she is.
A good hundred and twenty meters south of him, on the other side of the stream.
No time for relief at finding her. Instinctively he assessed the situation, not liking at all what he saw.
Andrew lay crumpled on the ground. Sallie kneeling over him. Mairi, her woolen gone, the tail of her wet skirt pulled up and tucked in her belt, facing off against two men who approached her on foot. With most of her hair loosened from its braid, falling around her shoulders, she reminded him of a fabled Amazon warrior protecting her young.
He kicked his horse, urging him in that direction, his entire being focused on the golden goddess that was his destination.
Mairi extended her arms palms up and wiggled her fingers, motioning her opponents to come on as she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet. The first man sheathed his sword and rushed her.
Ramos snapped his head around as he heard a fast-approaching horseman, raising his sword just in time to deflect the strike aimed at his head. He slashed down with his own weapon, landing a solid blow to his opponent’s shoulder. Another swing with the flat of his sword and his attacker hit the ground, rolling to avoid the hooves of their horses.
Ramos jerked the reins, forcing his mount to cut back south.
By this time Mairi squatted on the ground, one long leg sweeping out in front of her in a fluid move that knocked the legs from under her attacker before he reached her. She sprang to her feet and delivered a punishing kick to his ribs that curled him into a fetal position, followed by a stomp to his leg that brought a primal scream of pain from the man.
Where did she learn to fight like that?
Mairi turned toward the second man and repeated the beckoning motion. He backed up and drew his sword.
“No!” The bellow was pulled from somewhere deep inside Ramos.
Time seemed to slow as Ramos kicked his horse to a full gallop. Down the meadow and across the water they ran until he was there, solidly between her and the man who threatened her.
He leaped from his mount, tossing the reins toward Mairi.
“Take him. Get out of here.”
His sword in hand, he struck out at the man in front of him to drive him back. Back, away from Mairi.
It worked and Ramos continued to maneuver his way forward, his only goal for the moment to move the danger away from her.
Once they were far enough away, he lunged forward with deadly intent. His enemy met his thrust with a jab of his own, the sound of metal ringing out across the meadow.
This one was well trained in the art.
A small corner of his mind registered the rider approaching, passing along the other bank, the sound of water splashing as he crossed the stream.
“Ran, thank the Fae you’re here to help us.”
He heard Sallie call out, but the adversary he fought demanded his full attention. Besides, Ran was no threat. He was all but part of the family.
Ramos feinted to his left, pulling his opponent off balance. One final swing and it was over. A quick glance across the meadow showed him Caden had defeated one of his attackers while the other rode north.
North to where two mounted figures waited.
Waited and watched.
Ramos’s field of vision narrowed, a red haze of hate and fury closing in on him as he stared at the two watchers.
Reynard and Wyn, one leaning low over his mount while the other remained arrogantly regal in his bearing. Both of them patient, observant and detached, heedless of the destruction they caused.
As always, his father instigating a battle but staying back. Far enough away to avoid the action, but close enough to gather the life essence of any Mortals who were killed. Gather their essence and incorporate it into his own, prolonging his own filth-ridden existence.
A woman’s screech tore Ramos from his thoughts, pulled his attention from the figures waiting at the far end of the meadow. The red haze evaporated as the pounding of hooves approached, sending him diving to his left, just in time to avoid being trampled.
“Ramos!” Mairi screamed, her voice thick with emotion.
She needed him.
He scrambled to his feet, racing to where she knelt over Andrew.
When she turned her face to him, her expression tore at some deep corner of his being.
“Ran’s taken Sallie. Drew’s been…” Her words trailed off as she looked down at her cousin. Her fingers brushed the rusty patch of hair from the young man’s pale forehead and came away coated in blood. When she looked back up at Ramos, bright tears pooled in her eyes. “Drew’s badly hurt, Ramos. And I don’t have any idea what to do. You have to help me. Please.”
I am a worthless fool.
He should have realized his father would use Ran’s friendship with the family. It took no effort on his father’s part to place a human under a compulsion, and betrayal was part and parcel of Reynard’s make up. Ramos had only to think of all the years his father had lied to him, of how his father had betrayed him and led him into harming others.
How could he have been so stupid? Again.
How? It was easy. He’d allowed himself to be distracted. All his life he’d known the importance of keeping his feelings closed off. And now, here in this time when it mattered most, he repeatedly lost the battle to control his emotions.
Guilt ate at him as, with one last glance at the riders retreating to the north, he dropped to his knees to examine the boy on the ground.
He would deal with his father soon. He would see to it that the evil Nuadian Fae never betrayed anyone again. But for the moment, Mairi needed him.
Everywhere. There was blood everywhere.
Mairi looked at her hands, the hands she’d stroked over Andrew. They were both covered in blood. His blood.
Only Ramos, warm and solid, kneeling next to her, kept her from falling apart entirely.
Ramos would know what to do. He was always calm and in control. Not like her.
A horse approaching drew her eyes from her hands. Caden slid off his mount, his forearm soaked in blood, cradled against his chest. With his good arm he pulled Alycie from across his saddle, none too gently.
When her feet hit the ground, she threw herself at Caden, pummeling him with her fists.
Again using only his uninjured arm, he pushed her away and she stumbled, losing her balance and landing in the soft, wet carpet of grass.
“I hate you, Caden MacAlister. Hate you!” she screamed, her face blotched with spots of bright red.
“What’s the matter with you? You nearly got us both killed back there.” Caden stood over her, confusion evident in his every move. “It’s as though you dinna want me to save you, woman.”
“I dinna! I was to go with them. They promised me, and now you’ve stolen my only chance.” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“I dinna understand any of this,” Caden whispered.
The sight of her strong, laughing cousin, his face creased in helpless concern, brought Mairi to her feet and across the distance between them.
Dropping to Alycie’s side, she jerked the girl’s hands from her face.
“What have you done?”
“He promised,” the girl sobbed. “If I would but lead you and Sallie to them, he promised they could root out the evil from yer family.”
“Root out the…” Mairi dropped the girl’s hands and stood, looking down at Alycie in disgust.
Tears still rolled down the girl’s cheeks, leaving trails in the dirt on her face.
“You betrayed the trust of people who accepted you without question. Why? What were you to get out of this bargain?”
“My freedom!” Alycie screamed. “The Duke’s brother promised they’d see me to the nunnery on Iona. He said they’d see to it I was accepted there. He promised to save me from marriage to Caden.”
Next to Mairi, Caden stiffened. “Marriage to me is so distasteful you’d sacrifice my cousin? My own sister?” His face had lost all expression, frozen into a mask of unconcern.
“Aye, it is. I’d sooner die than be wed to one of the devil’s own,” she whispered, returning to great, heaving sobs.
Caden leaned down and, grasping Alycie’s upper arms, he yanked her to her feet, pulling her face close to his. “Where have they taken Sallie?”
“I dinna ken the whole of their plan. Only what part I was to play,” she whimpered. “And I’ll thank you to remove yer hands from my person. I’ve no desire to be touched by the likes of you.”
Caden jerked his hands from her arms, backing away, shaking his head. “Dinna fret yerself, lass. I’ll no be touching you ever again. I release you from yer betrothal vows, Alycie Maxwell, and I’ll see yer taken to Iona.”
“You’ll do that for me?” She reached out toward his arm but he drew away sharply.
“No. I do it out of friendship with yer brothers, out of respect for yer family. I do it because if those men harm my sister, being in a nunnery is the only thing that will save you from my wrath.”
“I warned you, did I no?” Andrew’s weak words brought both Caden and Mairi quickly to his side.
“Lie still, Drew.” Ramos’s face was without expression as he checked the crude bandages he had fashioned around the young man’s forehead and his upper leg using pieces of his own shirt. He stood and walked to his horse, taking up the reins and bringing the animal back to where Mairi waited. “I’m going after Sallie.”
“I canna ask you to do that.” Caden looked up from where he knelt at Andrew’s side. “It’s my responsibility.”
“No. It’s mine. You need to get Drew and the women back to Dun Ard. To safety. You need to have that arm looked after.”
“Then I’m going with you.” Mairi ran to his side. It was only right. He shouldn’t go alone. Anything could happen to him and she’d never even know. Besides, all this was her fault. She should have known better, should have kept Sallie from coming out here.
“No. Caden needs your help in getting Drew back to Dun Ard. You must do this for them, Mairi.” He pulled her close, turning his back to the others and lowering his voice until only she could hear. “When you get there, go to Caden’s chambers and get my bag. Inside you’ll find a small leather roll tied up. It holds the syringes I brought along, injections of the antibiotic I gave you. If you use it on your cousins, they’ll have every chance of recovery. Don’t worry about Sallie. I’ll find her. I promise.”
“But…” Mairi didn’t want to go to Dun Ard. She wanted to go with Ramos. To help him.
“No buts. Just this once, do as I tell you.”
Mairi could only nod her agreement, the risk of tears too high to chance speaking.
A quick kiss to her forehead and he mounted up, galloping off across the meadow in the direction the Duke and his men had taken Sallie.
Mairi watched until he disappeared into the trees.
“Okay, Ramos,” she whispered. “I’ll do as you say for now.”
But once Caden and Drew are safe at Dun Ard, I’m coming after you.