Chapter 16 #2
It was a common enough thing, freezing in a time of fear. Ryder had seen it happen to other men and women a hundred times. No, a thousand. But it had never happened to him. With an effort, Ryder forced his feet to move and broke into a run.
The cold night air scalded his lungs, and fury surged through him. So far, the man hadn’t laid a hand on Alaina, but it was only a matter of time before he made his move. He’d lunge for her, snatching her up, and then he’d carry her into the trees. Then she’d be gone.
I willnae let that happen.
He plunged past Megan, who screamed in alarm.
“Ryder, nay!” she called after him, and he heard anxiety in her voice. Now wasn’t the time to concern himself with that.
Alaina spun around as she heard him coming, her eyes widening in fear. Part of Ryder noticed, almost subconsciously, that she was clutching a small posy of flowers.
“Step aside, Alaina!” he shouted, swinging his sword in a powerful arc.
The man ducked, and the blade thudded into the tree where his head had been.
The power of the swing had embedded the sword inches deep into the bark, and Ryder knew instinctively that tugging it free would waste precious seconds.
He let go of the hilt, whisked out one of his daggers, and turned on the man.
The man was sprawled out on the ground, still staring up at him in horror, and Ryder pounced upon him, pinning him down, his hand clamping around the man’s throat.
“Lay a hand on me sister, would ye?” Ryder shouted. “Fine, then, ye will lose yer hand!”
Alaina was screaming incoherently. He felt her hands tugging weakly on his shoulder, but he shrugged her roughly away. He lifted the dagger. This would send a message to any would-be kidnappers of his sisters. It would send a powerful message.
Then Megan’s voice, loud and firm, came cracking through the chaos, sharp as a whip.
“Ryder! It’s nae what ye think! He’s a boy, Ryder, a boy!”
Ryder blinked, and the red haze seemed to fade a little. Suddenly, the monstrous man of his imagination faded away, and he found that he was grabbing the neck of a boy. A familiar one, no less. He was tall and strong-looking, which was why he’d looked so much like a man from far away.
“Hamish,” Ryder managed, lowering the dagger. “I ken ye. Ye are Hamish.”
Hamish swallowed thickly and nodded. A glint of something like a tear shone on his cheek.
Abruptly, Ryder stood up quickly, sheathing his knife. Alaina hurried to Hamish’s side, dropping to her knees beside him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She was still holding a drooping handful of flowers. Ryder frowned.
“Come away from him, Alaina.”
“How dare ye give me orders!” Alaina shouted tearfully. “I thought ye were goin’ to kill him! Ye would have done, had it nae been for Megan!”
Hamish drew in a ragged breath and dragged his gaze up to Ryder.
“I never did lay a hand on her, me Laird,” he whispered. “I swear it. We did nay harm. It was just… it was just that we wanted to go to the festival. Alaina said that she’d never been, and I wanted her to see it. That was all,” he added, with just a hint of defiance.
Ryder sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “Get up, son. Alaina, let go of him.”
“I willnae!” Alaina snarled, fury jumping in her eyes. “Megan, ye saw it. He would have killed Hamish!”
Megan heaved a sigh. She suddenly looked very tired.
“Alaina, ye ken that I daenae agree with the restrictions yer braither has put on ye. Ye ken that. But ye also ken that he has yer best interests at heart. Sneakin’ out without proper guards at midnight is dangerous. And nae just dangerous for ye, but for the others as well.”
“Others?” Ryder echoed.
“Me friends,” Alaina answered defiantly. “Oh, aye, braither, I have friends, can ye believe it? Daenae dare ask me who they are, because it’s nae yer business.”
“I have nay doubt that I can find out who they are,” Ryder shot back briskly. “I never said ye couldnae have friends, Alaina.”
“Oh aye, ye did,” she responded bitterly, resting her cheek against Hamish’s shoulder. “Ye told me that I couldnae have friends in a million different ways.”
“I am tired of yer dramatics, young lady.”
“Aye, and I’m tired of yer tyranny. I hate ye, Ryder, I hate ye!”
He flinched despite himself. “Ye daenae mean that. Daenae say things ye daenae mean, Alaina.”
In a flash, she was right in front of him, her tear stained face inches away from his.
“Oh, but I do mean it,” she hissed. “I love Hamish, and he loves me. Ye cannae do anythin’ to stop it. We’re goin’ to run away and live at a quiet wee village somewhere, somewhere ye cannae touch him.”
Ryder pressed his lips together. “Oh, is that so? And what village is this?”
“I daenae care what village it is, so long as it’s far enough away that I daenae have to see ye!”
Her words echoed around the quiet hillside. Ryder stared down at his sister.
She means it, he thought, disbelievingly.
“Well, ye are runnin’ off nowhere for now,” he said at last. “Because ye are nae of age, and so there’ll be nay runnin’ off. Nae without me following ye, certainly.”
Alaina’s eyes filled with tears again, and somehow this was worse than her anger and screaming. She turned away, and for the first time since he’d arrived, Ryder felt utterly at a loss.
In the silence that followed, Megan cleared her throat delicately.
“We should go back to the Keep,” she said carefully. “All of us. We should discuss this in private.”
“Aye,” Ryder heard himself say. “That might be a good idea.”