Chapter Twenty-Four #3
“That pan is mine, no’ yours. It belonged to somebody special.” The lad continued to grab for the pan, but Loki held him at bay. Logan continued to stand there at the end of the alley, watching and listening.
“Aye, it did, lad.” He turned the pan over and smiled. There they were, his initials—LL for Lucky Loki.
“How would you know? It belonged to a lad named Lucky Loki, and those are his initials he carved in it himself. He was so good with a sling, he became a hero in the battle with the Norse at Largs.”
Loki smiled and peered down at the lad. “Is that so? How did you hear about Lucky Loki?”
“Everyone knows about Lucky Loki. He’s a hero. He fought so hard that Laird Alexander Grant, the Highlander with the horse in chain mail that scart the Norse away, took him to the Highlands to be his son.”
“Truly?” Loki could not help but grin. He had a reputation he’d known nothing about. A hero? Had the lad truly called him a hero?
“You canno’ have it, ‘tis mine. If you try to steal it, I’ll hunt you down.” The cheeky lad bounced up and down, trying to reach his invaluable pan.
Loki didn’t know what to say. Not that long ago, he had stood in this lad’s place, hoping every day for some meat and enough rainwater to drink. “I’ll not steal it from you, lad.” He handed it back to the boy.
“Nay, ‘tis valuable and ‘tis mine. I’ll sell it someday. Mayhap he’ll come back.”
“Who?”
“Lucky Loki, o’ course. Mayhap he’ll come back and adopt me.”
Loki stared at him in shock. Aye, he should. He should do for this lad just what his uncle had done for him—adopt him and take him back to Grant land. He stared into the hopeful eyes, but it would not do. Not now. He was not in the same place his sire had been.
“We need to move on, lad,” Logan yelled.
“Aye,” he answered. He then turned his gaze back to the urchin. “I hope you meet Lucky Loki someday.”
His eyes lit up. “Or mayhap Laird Alexander Grant will adopt me, too.”
“What’s your name?” Loki asked.
“Kenzie. Sometimes I call myself Lucky Kenzie, but no one else will. Will ye?”
“Aye, Lucky Kenzie it is. Where are your parents?”
“They both died of the fever, so I came to the burgh.”
Loki turned away and headed back to the street, but halfway there, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “You’re wrong, lad.”
“About what?” Kenzie gave him a puzzled look, clearly believing he knew all.
“Alex Grant did not adopt him. His brother Brodie did.” He tossed the lad a silver coin, enough to buy him food for a couple of days.
The lad caught it and yelled, “My thanks,” his eyes lighting up.
Chapter Six
Loki finally gets a name on his search for his real sire.
Later, once the music got underway, they moved toward the outside of the hall. Just as Loki had predicted, they had only taken two steps into the passageway when high-pitched giggles sounded behind them. Sure enough, Tessa came toward him, her arm intertwined with her friend’s.
Loki whirled around and flashed a grin at the ladies, stopping them both in their tracks. “Evening, Lady Tessa. Have you met my friend, Torrian?”
Tessa gave Torrian a lingering look and then sidled up to him and rubbed her body against his. In a husky voice, just loud enough for Loki to hear, she whispered, “Nay, we have not met, but I’d sure like to get to know him better. This is my friend, Dona.”
Loki bowed to Dona. “Good eve to you, lass.” Giggling and lowering her dark lashes, she slipped her hand around Loki’s elbow.
Tessa grabbed Torrian’s arm and said, “Follow me.” She led them through the torch-lit maze to a small chamber.
Just as Loki was about to step into the chamber, he recognized the man he’d seen earlier.
He was headed directly toward them, so Loki motioned to Torrian.
“Go on in, I’ll be right there.” Loki and Torrian had discussed how to go about ferreting information from the lasses, but he did not trust the man with the eye patch.
Addressing Dona, he said, “I’ll return in a moment.
” He hurried down the corridor, but suddenly the man with the patch increased his pace.
Loki caught up with him, but the two collided, and the man fell to the floor.
He cursed fluently, and when Loki offered him a helping hand, he shrugged it off and headed back toward the great hall.
Loki shouted, “My apologies.” Patch man ignored him.
Loki’s gaze searched his clothing for any indication of who he was or what he was about.
Giving up, he hurried back to Dona’s side and held the door for her to enter the chamber.
Inside, there were two small pallets and a small table surrounded by four chairs in front of the hearth.
Goblets of wine sat atop the table. Torrian and Tessa had already started to drink wine.
Tessa said, “This is much better than the ale. You should try it.” She glanced at Loki and fluttered her eyelashes, implying that her flirtation with his friend had changed nothing between them.
Loki sat on the corner of the table. “Nay, mayhap in a few minutes. Tell me about Ayr. We have not been here in a while. We’re from the Highlands.”
“What do you wish to know?” Tessa asked.
“Who’s the most powerful man in the area, besides the king?”
“I do not know. Why do you ask?” Tessa answered, a subtle movement in her lower jaw.
Loki was quite sure Tessa did not like the direction of the conversation, but he didn’t allow her body language to stop him. If anything, it made him more intrigued. “Is there a certain earl or viscount that is the primary vassal to the king?”
“Alexander of Dundonald is still his favorite, but there are others.” Tessa took a sip of her wine, a suspicious look in her eyes.
Loki tired of her game, for he knew it was a game. He decided to move things along. “Just wondering who would be powerful enough to steal the king’s jewels.”
“What do you know about the jewels?” Dona asked, her back straightening.
“I know naught. I heard the missing jewels mentioned in the great hall. As I explained, we just got here from the Highlands. Do you know what happened to them?” Loki caught the glance exchanged by Dona and Tessa, and a sour feeling crept into his gut.
“Nay,” Dona replied. “But I’d sure be appreciative of anyone who gave me gemstones like the royal jewels.”
Loki tipped his head toward Torrian. “I’ll return in a moment. Need the garderobe.”
“Again?” Tessa asked.
Loki winked at her, “Aye, I drank quite a bit of ale with my meal. I promise to return post haste.” He crept out of the chamber, looking both ways before he stepped into the passageway.
His intuition was not telling him anything good.
As he made his way to the garderobe, he listened for any strange sounds, checking every nook of the mazelike corridors before making his way back.
When he entered the chamber, the first thing he heard was a gurgling noise.
A bald muscular man was holding a dagger to Torrian’s throat.
Loki’s gaze searched the room. The two girls stood in opposite corners, as far from the mischief as possible.
The man was of rather large proportions, and it was clear he was waiting for Loki to act.
There was noticeable sweat across Torrian’s brown, but Loki was pleased to see there was also fury there.
Humph. This would be easy.
Loki took a few steps toward his cousin.
“Halt. Do not take another step or your friend dies.”
Loki did as he was told and froze in place. “No reason to hurt anyone. What is the problem? Why are you here? We’ve done naught wrong, we’re just two traveling Highlanders looking for some entertainment.” He smiled, hoping to give the impression that they were two foolish young lads.
The brute’s dark gaze skewered into Loki. “Why are you asking about the jewels?”
Loki shrugged his shoulders. “Because we heard about them and hoped to uncover them and become heroes. No other reason. Why do you not release my friend?”
“I ask the questions, not you.” He tightened his hold on Torrian, who turned a darker shade of red. “My assistant will be here soon to tie you up.”
“Why must you tie us up? We’ve done naught wrong. Tessa and Dona promised us a sweet eve of pleasure. ‘Tis all we were seeking. Let us go and we’ll be on our way.” Loki managed to move himself to the exact spot he needed for good aim.
The door opened and the man with the eye patch stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
“Where have you been, Egan?” Clyde asked. “Get control of him. Find your dagger. ‘Tis the only way he’ll talk.”
Egan reached into his hidden belt, but he came out with naught besides a puzzled expression. “Clyde? Where’s my…”
“That could be a problem,” Loki announced, both hands on his hips.
Clyde smirked, “And why is that?”
Loki winked at him as Egan reached into his boot for another weapon. “Seems I have Egan’s weapons.” Loki flung one dagger straight into Clyde’s thigh, then pulled out a second dagger and twisted Egan around until he had the dagger pressed to the man’s throat.
As soon as the dagger was embedded in Clyde’s thigh, Torrian swung the man around and pointed his dagger at his throat, though the stronger warrior was a little harder to restrain than Egan had been.
Loki said, “Not bad, cousin. Nice job, especially with one his size. I didn’t know you had those kinds of moves.” Clyde only growled in response.
Torrian said, “He is my uncle, you’ll remember, and he has taught me a few things. How’d you get his weapons?”
Loki laughed. “Didn’t trust the fellow, so I knocked him down in the passageway and stole his weapons.”
Torrian grinned. “Nice strategy. I have much to learn.”
Squeezing the dagger against Egan’s throat, Loki said, “Now, would you mind telling us what you know about the missing jewels and why you’re after us?”
Neither Egan nor Clyde responded. Loki squeezed again.
“All right, I’ll tell,” Egan spewed. “And this has naught to do with the missing jewels.”
“You wee fool! Blackett will whip you.”