Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
“Hell’s teeth!” Noah cried. Flames began to leap all around the lass as she struggled desperately against her bonds.
The fire was already spreading to her feet, the smoke rising all around her in a great cloud, and it was difficult to see where she was tied and with how many ropes.
“Stay calm, Keira,” he shouted as her wide eyes settled on his. “I’m comin’ for ye!”
He held up an arm before his eyes against the stinging smoke as he ran to the edge of the pyre, looking desperately for a way to cut her free.
He finally saw where her hands were bound with a wave of relief and swung his sword above his head, bringing it down violently against the plank at Keira’s back, and saw her hands released as the ropes were cut in two.
The flames were catching more slowly at the back of the pyre, where the oil had not been distributed as heavily. He ran to the back and reached up to grip her dress, her arms coming around him, clutching at him desperately, as he dragged her through some smaller flames and onto the floor.
She coughed and spluttered in his arms as he held her against him, panting in relief as he realized she was safe.
He looked down at her clothing to see that the hem of her skirt was on fire, and he hurriedly stamped out the flames with his foot, keeping a watchful eye for any villagers who might protest her rescue.
He looked up at her to find her startled expression fixed on his. His arms were still around her, and his body was half on top of her; the heat and shape of her felt so good beneath him that he almost entirely forgot himself.
“Th—thank ye,” she spluttered, her fingers tightening on his arm, her eyes banked with unshed tears.
Suddenly, a great shout came from behind them, and he forced himself away from her as Daisy and Scott came barreling towards them. Scott’s face was white with rage as he saw his sister.
He skidded to a halt on his knees beside her as she coughed violently.
“Are ye alright?” Scott asked, his eyes wild and frightened. “They had us locked in the pantry, we couldnae break out. I had to take to the door with me shoulder and smash the lock. It took so long I thought ye’d be dead for sure.”
Keira pulled her brother to her and gripped him tightly. Daisy hovered close by, looking lost and just as scared as her brother had been. Keira stretched out a hand to her sister. With a great sob of relief, Daisy fell against her, all of them falling into a pile on the floor as they embraced.
Noah pushed himself up and backed away, allowing the family their reunion.
He looked about him for the priest, but there was no sign of him. Clearly, the man Noah had killed was not a priority to most of the villagers; his body had been left to bleed to death on the ground some feet from him.
Noah did not relish killing those who were unequal to him and never went into a fight with such odds unless it could not be avoided. But the man had raised a sword against him and would have killed him in cold blood if he’d had any skill.
And he’d have set Keira on fire without a second’s hesitation, he thought furiously, rallying the villagers to light their torches as though his actions were in any way justified.
He looked back as the sobbing and hugging abated, and Scott stood up, coming forward to grip Noah’s wrist.
“Thank ye,” he said sincerely, with an expression beyond his years. “Ye saved me sister, and we are in yer debt.”
Noah’s eyes found Keira’s, then. Her face was streaked with smoke, her eyes watering from the proximity of the flames, but somehow, she still looked beyond beautiful to him.
He took a long breath, focusing on the fact that she was safe, not wishing to analyze the intense horror he had felt as he had seen her tied to that pyre.
“When I said I wanted to see ye gone, I dinnae mean from this Earth, lass,” he said, his voice quivering slightly. He could not bear the thought of what might have happened if he had not arrived in time.
“How do ye come to be here?” Keira asked, her voice hoarse and rasping from the smoke.
Noah hesitated.
He had tossed and turned all night because of his concern for her. At the time, he had not considered where she would go once she left him; he had just walked away, washing his hands of her for good.
He had lain awake convinced that she would not be foolish enough to return to the village where she had been threatened. But the more he thought it through, the greater he felt the chances might have been.
Noah had many friends in the neighboring clans. If he needed a place to run to, he had Carraig a’ Chuain , where his grandparents lived. He could also flee to Amelia, swallow his pride, and ask Jack for help.
The more he dwelled on it through the long night, the more he realized how limited Keira’s options could be. Her livelihood was in this village, and it was miles to the closest town. Where else would she go?
By midnight, he was convinced she was in danger.
Much to Callum’s dismay, he had saddled Mac and ridden around the forest to the highest point of the valley to see if there was any movement in the village. He had not wished to ride onto Donaldson land without good reason. As soon as he had reached the spot, he had seen the pyre being built in the village square as the dawn light rose over the hill.
He had spurred Mac onward and ridden at a gallop to get there in time.
“By chance,” he replied quietly. “I was passin’ through.”
Keira’s eyes widened at the lie, but she did not question him further. After another few moments to gather herself, she finally pushed to her feet, with the help of her brother.
Noah kept his sword drawn, looking about them. The villagers appeared to have fled in the aftermath of the aborted burning. He could see a few faces looking out of their windows at him, but one could never be too careful.
He turned to Scott, who had a protective arm around his sister.
“Do ye still have that donkey?” he asked, and Scott nodded in reply. “Get it and bring it to me horse; he is under the trees at the back of the village.” He turned to Keira, who eyed him curiously. “Ye’re all comin’ with me.”
The twins ambled away, Scott holding Daisy’s hand and leading her gently back to the cottage. Noah kept his eyes on them until they were out of sight. Keira had been right; her brother was a capable young man, but they were not among friends here.
He turned back to his charge, who was looking more exhausted than when he had rescued her the morning before. There were dark circles beneath her eyes. He could only imagine the horrors she had experienced, spending a night wherever they had stashed her, listening to the pyre being built outside.
She leaned heavily against a fence post, breathing deeply. He came over to assess what damage he could, lifting her wrists in his hands, frowning at the dark red bruises where they had been bound.
“Are ye hurt anywhere else?” he asked darkly, but she shook her head.
He rubbed his thumbs over the bruises on her wrists, and she gave a small moan of relief that sent an unwanted bolt of heat through his whole body. He hurriedly let her go.
“Why would ye return here?” he asked angrily.
She shivered in the cold morning light, staring back at the pyre behind them; it was like something out of a horrible nightmare.
She glanced at him, something unreadable in her gaze as she sighed, running a finger through her disordered hair.
“I thought they would be asleep. I thought we could slip out when dawn broke. But they were waitin’ for us in me cottage.” She glanced in the direction her brother and sister had gone. “I plan to leave Scotland for good,” she said decisively. “I have been lookin’ into it for a long time, and everythin’ is arranged, but the ship doesnae leave these shores for another month.”
He watched her fingers running through her hair, her elegant hands black with smoke and grazed all over from fighting for her life.
“Ye cannae stay here, lass,” he growled, “ye will come and stay at me castle for the month until the ship leaves.”
Keira stared at him like he had lost his mind.
Perhaps I have, he thought despairingly.
“Ye’ll have me protection whether ye like it or nae, lass. And trust me, I dinnae like it either.”