Chapter Twenty-Four
Kirkburn Castle
“Ye wanted an animal, Dros. I found one.”
In Kirkburn’s great hall, Drostan found himself looking at a man who appeared as if he were more animal than human. Tall and bulky, and excessively hairy, he had the look of a barbarian, which pleased Drostan immensely.
“Beautiful,” he said as he walked a slow circle around the man, inspecting him. “Absolutely beautiful. His name?”
“The Beast.”
“Brilliant!”
Ternan watched Drostan delight over his new warrior as one would delight over a prized steed. But he was exhausted from his journey to the Ludus Caledonia and in no mood for Drostan’s joy. The last hour of their journey back to Kirkburn had been in a pounding rainstorm and he was soaked.
“When I arrived at The Cal, the warrior ye see before ye was with some other men, training,” he said with brittle patience.
“I saw him as soon as I arrived and I asked Sir Clegg about him. All I had tae do was see him dominate the other men in the arena and speak tae some of the trainers tae know he was the best warrior they had. I made an offer before the day was through and Sir Clegg accepted.”
Drostan stood in front of the massive man, his hands clasped with glee. “He’s perfect, Ternan,” he said. “Can ye imagine the Keith when this goes storming intae Auchnacree? They’ll run for the hills and never return.”
Ternan knew that. It was why he’d bought the man’s fealty. Sitting heavily at the damaged feasting table, he sent a servant running for food and wine.
“He eats like a horse and doesna speak much, but ye dunna need him tae speak,” he said. “Ye only need him tae obey orders. I brought him here but ye can tell him what his purpose is.”
Drostan was pleased to do so. He indicated for The Beast to sit at the feasting table and the man did, sitting so hard on the bench that he nearly flipped Ternan off of it. Drostan laughed as Ternan righted himself.
“I’m greatly pleased,” he said, addressing The Beast. “Tell me where ye come from.”
The Beast gazed up at him with eyes that were a bit wild. He had a bushy, unkempt beard that matched the bushy, unkempt hair on his head. “Harlech,” he said thickly.
Drostan’s eyes widened. “Ye’re Welsh?”
“Aye.”
Drostan seemed to think that was marvelous. He laughed triumphantly and clapped his hands together.
“Splendid,” he said. “We have a Welsh beast tae do our bidding. Do ye have a name, Beast?”
“Elis ap Aur.”
He spoke as if he had stones in his mouth, making him difficult to understand. Drostan waved him off.
“We’ll call ye The Beast,” he said, mostly because he didn’t want to sully his tongue with harsh Welsh names. “Ye know that ye’ve come tae serve me.”
“Aye.”
“Ye’ve come for a purpose. I have those on my land who do not belong. Ye are going tae chase them away so they will never return. That is yer only purpose, Beast, and I’ll reward ye well for it.”
The Beast nodded. “I’ll not fail, m’lord.”
Drostan’s smile faded. “I would not expect ye tae.” Then, he turned to Ternan. “We’ve sent out a few raiding parties since ye’ve been away, but ’tis only harassment.”
The food arrived and Ternan was more interested in that than Drostan. “What more will ye do?” he asked as he grabbed his knife.
Drostan’s gaze lingered on The Beast. “We need tae send a strong message,” he said. “We’ve been going after the men as well as the women, but I think we need tae focus on the womenfolk. That will get their attention.”
Ternan looked up from buttering his bread. “Ye intend tae kill womenfolk? Dros, ye know that’ll not go well with yer allies if ye do that.”
Drostan held up a hand to silence him. “Ye worry like an old brew wife,” he said. “I dunna intend tae kill any women. But we can harass a few.”
Ternan sighed heavily. “If ye mean attack them like ye’ve done before, allies like Angus Murray will look down upon ye. He told me as much when I was there asking for his help. ’Tis one of the reasons he denied ye.”
Drostan’s jaw twitched. He was unhappy that whatever he seemed to want was so looked down upon. He hated that his allies, or at least those he was supposed to be allied with, had some control over his actions.
He wasn’t going to let them.
“Send The Beast intae the Gathan Gadainn tomorrow,” he said. “There are always Keith women in the vale, foraging. Find as many as ye can and bring them back here.”
“For what purpose?”
“Hostages, of course. Then we’ll see how Niall Keith will honor our request tae leave our lands. That way, we’ll not be hurting their precious womenfolk and they’ll want tae keep it that way, especially when they see The Beast.”
Ternan couldn’t dispute that. One look at The Beast and Niall Keith was sure to reconsider his stance. But that’s what they’d intended all along.
He turned back to his food.
“Let us hope so,” he said. “Ye’ve paid a good deal for The Beast not tae have him disappoint ye.”
Drostan scrutinized his new warrior a few moments longer before pointing to the entry. “There’s a chamber just inside the door,” he told the man. “That belongs tae ye now. ’Tis a place of honor. Go there and wait for me.”
The Beast did as he was told. Rising, he marched out of the hall, back straight and gait proud. Drostan watched him go before returning his attention to Ternan.
“God’s Bones, Ternan,” he muttered. “I told ye tae bring me a barbarian and ye did.”
Ternan was well into his meal. “That I did, Dros. He took all the money I had.”
“If he performs as we hope he will, then it will have been worth it,” Drostan said. “Ye made it back from Edinburgh so quickly.”
“Ye told me tae make haste and I did.”
“Are ye sure he’s the best one?”
“He is.” Ternan wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. “One of the trainers told me that he’d been beaten only once by a warrior he called The Lion.”
“The Lion?”
“Aye—The Lion of Caledonia.”
“And that warrior was not for sale?”
Ternan shook his head. “Someone was smart enough tae make an offer for him already,” he said. “There was quite a crop of warriors and trainees, in fact. Novicius, they call them. I kept an eye out for Cam Netherton among them but I dinna see him. I wonder if he ever made it tae The Cal.”
“Did ye ask?”
“Nay.”
Drostan shrugged, unconcerned with the life of a smithy from Netherton. “It has been many months since Cam left us. ’Tis more than likely he was killed in the streets of Edinburgh. ’Twould be a blessing for us if he was.”
“True.”
Drostan didn’t waste any further time on the subject of Cam. His thoughts returned to the mountain of a man who now served him. When he took a seat at the old feasting table, his expression of satisfaction was evident.
“Tomorrow morning, The Beast will go intae the vale and we’ll solve our problem once and for all,” he muttered.
“Gather what women ye can find but leave some tae return tae Niall tae tell him what they saw. I want tae put the fear of God intae Niall with our new warrior. When he knows we have a barbarian, those lands are as good as ours.”
Typical scheming when it came to Drostan, but this time, Ternan though he might actually be on to something. Only a madman would resist a warrior known as The Beast.
“I’ll see tae it,” Ternan said. “But remember—ye promised no attacks. If ye do and the Keith go tae Angus Murray about it…”
Drostan understood. “I know,” he said, holding up an impatient hand. “We could have the man down around us. Make sure The Beast knows it, too.”
Ternan would. He seemed to be the only man in Drostan’s stable of men who had half a heart and half a brain, so he would ensure The Beast knew what his limits were and he could only hope that the barbarian understood.
Tomorrow would tell the tale.