Chapter 6 #2
“Listen to me,” Una snarled. “I am an Alcorn warrior. Kai is my brother. Lady Kenneth herself is my sister-in-law and my friend. Ye don’t want to risk ignoring me, lad, I can tell ye that. It’ll go badly for ye.”
He wavered for a moment, then his shoulders slumped.
“Lady Kenneth told us to furnish the room but never said what the furnishings should be,” he snapped, jerking his arms free. “A monster like that deserves to sit in the dark.”
Una pressed her lips together, lifting her chin. “Well, the Abbess of St. Deborah’s gave orders for him to be treated with humanity. She put me in charge. As I said, he’s my responsibility, and if he dies of thirst or catches a disease from that filthy straw, I’ll pay the price.”
The man snorted dismissively. “At the very least, we can’t give him a candle. He’ll set the place alight.”
“Perhaps,” she conceded. “Then let’s take some boards off from the windows.
There’s bars on them, aye? He’s going nowhere.
He must have water. It’s been a long trek, and I, for one, am dying for a drink.
As I said, he’s my problem, and I can’t have him dying on me too soon.
No matter how much I’d like him to,” she added balefully.
The man sighed, rolling his eyes. “We’ll do nothing without the say-so from Lady Kenneth.”
“Fair enough. I’ll ask her myself.”
Una turned to leave, catching Struan’s eye as she went. He was sitting up on the pile of hay, watching her curiously. She couldn’t quite read the expression in his eyes, but he gave her a slow, thoughtful nod. Was it thanks, maybe?
Una wasn’t willing to stay and think about it.
She didn’t want his thanks. She didn’t want him to be comfortable.
The man should be thrown off the Keep walls, or kept in a slimy stone dungeon.
That was what he deserved, plain and simple.
Turning on her heel, she hurried out of the miserable little room.
She hoped she could find her way back to the others.
She could get permission from Astrid, and then…
She was only a few steps away from the door when she heard a thud and a muffled groan. This was followed by a hissed voice, and then the door was pushed to.
Prickles broke out over Una’s body, and she turned slowly, ears sharpening.
She heard the distinctive sound of a blow landing on a body, followed by a smothered yelp of pain and another thud. She heard a curse, followed by an exclamation.
“Hold his legs down, Ted!”
She stood there, rooted to the spot. They were beating him. Of course they wanted him dead, or at least hurt. She thought back to all the other Grahame and Kenneth soldiers who were so keen to see Struan dead. She wanted to see Struan dead.
I could walk away, she thought, heart thudding.
I could walk away and act surprised when he’s found later in whatever state he’s in.
Maybe they’ll kill him, and I can have a clean conscience.
I’ll tell the Abbess that I didn’t shirk my responsibilities.
I’ll tell Kyla that I couldn’t save him. I’ll…
She broke off the thoughts, squeezing her eyes closed. It was a pathetic excuse. She could pretend she hadn’t known what the soldiers were doing all she liked, but the plain fact was that she did know, and now that she knew, she couldn’t unknow.
He’s my responsibility. I promised Kyla.
Una was moving before she knew what she was doing. She raced back to the door, barely slowing down. She kicked at it, and the door flew open with a bang.
In hindsight, kicking the door could have ended badly. She might have broken her foot if it had been locked from the inside.
But it hadn’t, and she didn’t, and the door flew open.
Inside, the four soldiers leaned over Struan, who was pinned on the floor.
Two men were pinning down his arms, while a third knelt on his legs.
The fourth, the man Una had spoken to, stood over him, balanced on one leg, which was drawn back to deliver another kick to his stomach.
Already, a bruise was blossoming across Struan’s cheek.
He lifted his head to look at her and grinned. There was blood on his teeth.
“Excellent timing,” he slurred.
“Walk away, lass,” the man said, his voice low and angry. “There is no need for ye to witness this.”
“Ye are beating a prisoner,” Una hissed. “I want him dead as much as ye, but he’s unarmed and exhausted from a long trip. Nobody touches him while I am in charge.”
“Like hell ye are, lass,” the man snapped. “Walk away. I’ll not tell ye again.”
She clenched her jaw. “Listen to me, man. I want him hurt too. Truly, I do. Nobody has more reason to want a Dickson man dead than I. But this is wrong. It’s wrong, man. Step away.”
“He’s a monster!” the man shouted, lowering his foot with a bang. “We are not going to beat him. We are going to kill him.”
“The world will be a better place without him,” the man at Struan’s feet chimed in. “He is a true monster.”
“Then he should face justice,” Una responded. “Ye think this is justice?”
The balding man breathed in sharply through his nose. “Our captain, Arthur, is dead because of this man. He must pay. Step aside, woman.”
At that moment, Struan bucked, clearly trying to free himself, and the balding man delivered a kick to his face. It made an awful cracking noise, and Struan’s head shot back, banging on the ground. His eyes unfocused, and Una guessed that he was as good as unconscious.
No man could survive too many blows to the head like that. The balding man drew back his foot for another kick, and Una acted.
She didn’t remember planning to act or even thinking about what she would do next. She was simply standing in the doorway in one instant and hurling herself across the room in the next.
Crack. Her fist connected with the balding man’s jaw, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He slumped bonelessly to the ground. The other three cried out, dropping Struan’s limp limbs and diving forward to attack her.
Una fought back. She punched the second man in the face and followed it up with a hooked ankle around his leg, hauling his leg out from under him. He lurched forward and fell.
Unfortunately, the next man dodged her blow and punched her square in the stomach instead, driving the breath out of her body.
The fourth man grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her upright. The other two stood in front of her, gasping for breath, teeth bared. One of them glanced over at their captain, the balding man who still lay unconscious on the floor beside Struan.
“Ye should have walked away, lass,” the man snarled.
Una was not sure what would have happened next if Kai hadn’t appeared.
“What are ye doing?” Kai thundered, and the men jerked in panic, eyes widening. They released Una at once and backed away.
“We never… I didn’t…” the man stammered, but Kai silenced him with a look.
“Away with ye. I’ll think up a fitting punishment later. No Kenneth man will lay violent hands on any woman while I’m around. Go!”
The men scurried away, heads down. That left Kai and Una alone.
On the floor, Struan groaned, turning over onto his side. He didn’t stir.
“Ye hurt my men,” Kai said, after a moment of silence. “Ye hurt my men to save him.”
Una clenched her jaw, lifting her chin. “Aye, I did. And I don’t regret it. I want justice as much as anybody else, but we are fighting for peace right now, aren’t we? And this man here is an asset.”
“He’s a monster.”
“The Abbess says that he’s to be treated well,” Una shot back. “The Abbess. If ye disagree, take it up with her.”
Kai sniffed, pursing his lips. “I’d not care to argue with her, sure enough. Come away from that man, Una.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond and simply grabbed her by the wrist and towed her out of the room. She wanted to struggle but forced herself to stay calm. It wasn’t as if he’d meant anything by it.
“He needs water and a proper chamber pot,” Una said quietly. “And some light, for heaven’s sake.”
Kai wavered as if he wanted to argue, then glanced into the miserable little cell. He sighed.
“Fine. Very well. But ye ought to stay clear of him.”
Una shrugged. “I’ll do my duty.”
Kai grunted and reached over to close the door. The last thing Una saw before the door closed entirely was Struan’s face, turned towards her, blue eyes open and watching her.