Chapter 32
CHAPTER 32
Noah’s hands closed around her shoulders, trying to drag her back inside. “What are ye doin’?” he demanded, his voice hoarse with anger.
She refused to move.
I will not allow him to risk his life like this.
From her vantage point at the window, she had watched as the crowd moved inexorably forward. The rage they emitted had been like a feverish pulse, throbbing up toward her through the air—a terrible pounding rhythm.
She kept her eyes on Noah until he started speaking with Lucas, and she knew that things were about to fall apart. The crowd was too wild, too angry to be subdued.
She had run from the room, convinced she would be able to reason some of them. She knew that she would not be able to win over the entire crowd. But if she could convince some of the people who knew her, the truth had to win out. She had to believe that they could not all have turned against her.
But as she stood before them, her eyes flitting wildly from face to face, she realized that she did not recognize anyone.
Who are these people? Where are the villagers from me clan?
“Keira, get back inside!” Noah’s voice was commanding. She felt the same stirring to obey that she always did in his presence, but she would not abandon him to fight alone.
“I cannae leave ye to deal with this alone. This is me burden too.”
“They will kill ye!” Noah growled, trying to drag her back inside, but in the same instant, she finally recognized someone in the crowd and broke from his hold, running forward as those closest to her fell quiet.
She stepped to the edge of the castle walls, looking about her at the flames leaping up on all sides. A few feet to her right, she saw Callum watching her, his sword in his hand, ready to protect her.
“Agnes!” she called above the hollering and shouting all about her.
A young woman with long brown hair falling down her back turned to her, her eyes wide with surprise that Keira would address her directly.
“How is yer bairn?” Keira asked, keeping her voice steady, even though she had never been so frightened in her life.
Agnes did not answer, looking about in concern as the others turned to glance at her.
Perpahs she believes she is tainted, even for speaking to me.
“I was there when she was born,” Keira said taking a small step forward. “I nursed ye for two weeks after the birth. I visited ye every day after yer husband passed.” Keira glared at the woman, willing her to deny it. “What is yer daughter’s middle name, Agnes?”
There was an ominous silence, as those who were closest to her turned to Agnes and waited for her reply.
Agnes glanced about her, but Keira saw her face soften as she finally spoke the truth.
“Her middle name is Keira,” Agnes said quietly.
“And why did ye name her that?” Keira asked.
“Because… because ye saved me life and hers,” Agnes stated reluctantly, the torch in her hand lowering as she looked about her for an ally in the throng.
Everyone was glancing between her and Keira now, looking more uncertain by the minute.
“I used nay witchcraft. I did nothin’ but heal! Just as Neive would have healed ye. I am nae wicked. I love all of ye, and I cared for ye. I will care for ye for as long as I live.”
A few more torches were lowering now, and some of the men who had been throwing rocks at the windows of the castle had stopped to watch them.
Keira understood the mentality of a mob. They would act as long as they were not alone. As soon as one stood out from the crowd, their resolve started to fracture.
“Please,” Keira begged them, looking about her as a few more faces she recognized came into view. “I did nae harm. I only ever wished to help.”
But just as she said the words, there was a thundering crash from behind her. She turned, a cry falling from her throat as she saw a burning cart rolling toward her at an alarming pace.
Callum yelled a curse, leaping forward as Keira fell back. The cart barreled into her, knocking her sideways. There was a horrible scream from Agnes, who had only been feet from where Keira stood and whose dress was suddenly aflame.
Callum yelled at the guards to come with water as the crowd scattered, and Keira was knocked to the floor as feet trampled past and over her in their panic.
After several seconds of confusion, she managed to stagger to her feet. Her side ached from the collision, but otherwise, she felt unharmed.
She could see Callum subduing the flames, and there was an almighty splintering sound as the cart collided with the castle walls. Agnes was sobbing. Keira looked down to find her new dress singed, just as the old one had been.
Will I forever be dogged by fire?
She looked around her frantically, desperate for any sign of Noah, but as she looked something else came into view that made breath stutter in her lungs and her heart beat madly in her chest.
In the darkness behind her, where there seemed to be no light at all, stood Lucas. His face was a picture of calm as he watched her. For an endless minute, they stared at one another as the turmoil of the crowds continued all about them.
Then, in an instant, he ran at her like a wolf.
Keira turned, sprinting away from him, blind in her panic, just wishing to get as far from the man as possible. In her haste she bolted away from the safety of the castle walls. Now she stood on open ground in the midst of many enemies.
She knew Lucas would be too fast for her. Sure enough, his arms locked around her waist in seconds, and she was pinned against his body as he clutched her to him. They were in the midst of a crowd of villagers running in every direction, but they might as well have been entirely alone.
Kiera fought for all she was worth, but he was impossibly strong. He gripped her arms so tightly that she could not move them an inch.
“Hush, now,” he whispered, his rancid breath fanning over her ear. “I have ye, I have ye. Ye are safe now, Keira. Ye are in the arms of God, and he will absolve ye.”
As he spoke, three men materialized from the crowd as though waiting for his command.
“Bind her hands,” Lucas barked, and the men grabbed her roughly by her upper arms. They tied rough cords around her wrists, so tight it cut into her flesh painfully.
“Gather the others; I shall prepare her for her absolution,” Lucas said with finality. The men nodded, walking further into the crowd and calling for everyone to gather together, but their cries went unanswered. Fights had started amongst the villagers and guards now, and any control Lucas had held over the crowd was disintegrating.
Lucas cursed under his breath, grabbing hold of Keira’s body again and dragging her back away from the crowds. The chaos hid them from view as more flaming carts and barrels hurtled between the villagers. Some people were throwing lighted torches at the castle, and the grass around them was being set alight.
Keira felt a horrible sense of familiarity when she saw the flames leaping up beneath her feet. It was as though she were standing on that pyre all over again.
She struggled as best she could, but Lucas had hold of her in an iron grip.
She felt a wave of dread rush through her as she saw where he was taking her. Into the shadows, into the dark, which could only mean he intended to do one thing. He would take her, as he had always told her he would, and absolve her sins in the eyes of God.
She screamed, but his sweaty palm covered her mouth.
“Quiet, if ye daenae wish me to kill ye,” he snarled, and she stopped struggling as she felt the sharp blade of a knife at her belly. “Ye will do as I say, Keira, and ye will thank me for the privilege of the gift I’ll give ye.”
They were only meters from the dark, where her screams would go unheard, where no one would see what he would do to her.
She tried with one last great wrench of strength to free herself, but it was no use; her feet kicked out violently, and he simply kept walking, ignoring her protests, the unswerving path of a determined man.
“Unhand her this instant, priest!”
Noah was frantic. He watched Keira reasoning with the crowd, convinced that they would turn on her at any moment, yet her soft voice and calm demeanor appeared to win them over in a matter of minutes.
He had not considered the fact that these people knew her well. It was easy to make a person into a demon in your mind until they were right in front of you. He saw their resolve falter almost as soon as she started to speak.
She cared for them, and they could see quite well that she was no witch when she stood before them begging for her life.
He ’d been intrigued by her ability to reason with them until that cart had almost flattened her, and his heart had just about stopped in his chest.
At that moment, he knew that he would have given his own life for hers. As he watched her body fall back, it was as though someone had struck him in the gut. All he wanted to do was get to her, but everything had been confused as the bright flames of the cart blinded him. For a few precious seconds, he lost sight of her.
Once his eyes recovered all he saw was a woman screaming on the floor, in a dark dress like Keira’s, engulfed in flames. He ran to her, smothering them as best he could until they had been extinguished. But as she finally pulled her hands from her face, he saw it was not Keira.
Terrified—he leaped to his feet but could not see her anywhere.
“Callum!” he bellowed, “where is Keira?”
“I cannae see her. Did she return to the castle?”
Noah turned in the vain hope that she might have had the sense to do so, but the gates were lined by guards, he could not see her anywhere.
Then, as he watched, a figure appeared, running at full pelt toward him. It was Scott and he looked wild with fear, a sword in his hand, ready to fight.
“I was watchin’ from the window. He’s taken her, he’s taken her!”
Scott’s voice was hoarse and panicked and Noah frantically searched the milling crowds for Keira’s dark hair but there were people running in all directions.
“Scott go back inside!” Noah said swiftly, pulling the boy behind him. “It isnae safe.”
“I ken that, but he has me sister.”
“Where?” Noah barked, following Scott’s finger as he pointed to the edge of the crowds.
Please, please let her be safe. Please daenae let him touch her before I can kill him.
“They were by the wall, but I lost sight of them when I came downstairs.”
“Alright, I’ll find her. Go back inside! She’ll never forgive me if anything happens to ye, lad. Callum, keep Scott with ye.”
“Aye, me laird!”
And then he was running.
As he ran through the teaming crowds his heart leaped in his chest as he saw two figures struggling ahead of him. As they came upright again the cap on the man’s head was knocked to the floor and he recognized the bright blonde hair of the priest.
He could see Keira fighting like the very devil and Noah was at a sprint before he reached them.
He was in time to hear the priest threaten her and saw the glint of the blade at her waist before he unsheathed his sword and came to a halt.
“Unhand her this instant, priest!” he shouted, and it took all of his strength not to kill the man where he stood.
MacPhee spun on the spot, turning in a graceful arc, trapping Keira against his chest with one arm and bringing the knife to her throat with the other.
“If ye touch me, I’ll spill her devil’s blood!” he said, his voice ominous and threatening.
Noah stayed still, his eyes finding Keira’s as she panted wildly, the knife at her throat.
“Let her go,” Noah said firmly. “Ye cannae escape.”
“Escape? Hah! I daenae need to escape. This is what I wanted. This is all I ever wanted. I will purge her sins and she will return to God.”
“And where were ye taking her, priest?” he spat in disgust. “How exactly are you plannin’ to purge her sins?”
“Ye daenae understand the hold she has on ye, me laird. When she is dead, ye will feel the bitter release of her evil, and ye will thank me.”
“Ye are the devil,” Noah growled, taking a step forward and stopping instantly as Lucas lifted the knife higher up Keira’s neck, forcing her head back painfully.
The priest turned his face into Keira’s hair and breathed in the scent as greedily as a drunkard downing whisky. Noah felt his own stomach convulse at the sight.
“Ye willnae kill her, and ye ken she is nay witch!” he roared.
“Ye dinnae think I’ll do it?” Macphee asked, and Noah saw a drop of blood on the edge of the blade where it had cut Kiera’s flesh.
“Ye hurt her and I’ll run this blade through yer heart,” he said, his voice so low he barely recognized it.
“Noah…” Keira’s voice was pleading, but at the use of his Christian name, Lucas’s eyes widened in fury and he bared his teeth, grinding them together like a madman.
His arm tensed, and it seemed it would be seconds before he slit Keira’s throat, but then Lucas’s eye moved to his left and Noah saw the outline of Scott lurking in the shadows.
In a moment the boy charged—his blade raised above his head.
“Ye are nay man of God!” he yelled as he ran forward.
With the priest distracted, Noah pulled, a short blade from his belt, slashing through the man’s arm where it was locked about Kiera’s neck.
The dual attacks disorientated Lucas, who shrieked as his injured arm flailed back, the handle of the blade connecting violently into Noah’s temple—disorienting him.
Keira fell to the ground and frantically crawled away as Noah recovered himself, turning back to the fight.
Keira cried out in fear as she looked back and Lucas rallied, striking wildly at Scott, slashing the boy across his torso with his blade as he advanced on him.
Noah leaped forward, his sword in hand, slicing upward with his own blade and connecting violently with Lucas’s, as the man fell back, turning to face him, his eyes growing wide with fear as Noah advanced on him.
Noah lunged toward him. He thrashed forward with his sword, overpowering the weaker man in moments. Lucas stepped clumsily backward, his blade held defensively. He glanced from Noah to his sword and back, aware of the danger he was in but lacking the skill to win.
With a wicked smile, however, he reached into the sleeve of his habit and pulled out a deadly little knife that he held between his knuckles. He slashed the air and stalked forward, the dagger hissing as he whipped it back and forth.
Noah side-stepped the assault, whipping his own sword upward and knocking the knife from Lucas’s hand as he did so.
It was in that moment that madness overtook the priest. He screamed in fury as he raised his knife above his head, his teeth gnashing together, his eyes wild as he charged forward.
Noah felt no regret as he plunged his sword deep into Lucas’s heart. The priest’s mouth gaped open as he looked down at the blade lodged in his chest, the knife falling from his fingers as it tumbled to the earth.
“Ye have yer wish,” Noah whispered, “be with God.”