Chapter 5 #2
A while later, waves crashed around them and slammed against the galley, spraying water. They had to be nearing a shore. The rowers dropped their wooden oars with thunks against the hull, leapt off, and splashed into the surf. They dragged the galley ashore amid muted, hushed orders.
The bastards were skulking on to the island, trying to catch the selkies unawares. Even if she disembarked now, she had no way to warn the unsuspecting women, for the miscreants were well ahead of her.
Slowly pushing the sail aside, in case anyone watched, she peered out, but darkness hid everything.
Had they left anyone to guard the birlinns?
Thankful now that the boat was still, she slowly inched from her hiding place and peered toward the shore.
All was dark except for a lone torch and a man guarding each boat, their backs to her.
Farther along the beach, a hoard of men carried torches and swords as they charged toward their destination.
When she thought of the poor selkie women being ripped from their homes and families, her nausea returned and tears filled her eyes.
***
WILONA MACRAE, IN BAT form, hung from the cave's ceiling in the gloom and observed the selkies below, including Brodie, eating their fish supper and speaking quietly.
'Twas almost time to disrupt their peace, and she looked forward to it.
Where the devil was Talnaroch? He needed to get his arse here, to the island, and start grabbing wenches.
Considering their beauty, they would fetch a pretty penny.
With profound eagerness, she looked forward to receiving a quarter of his profits in exchange for helping him.
She would relish this job, for she had made detailed plans and memorized the spells.
Flying deeper into the cave, she found a hidden, empty back cavern—one of many—and alighted on the ground.
She thought of the spell which transformed her back into human form, then in a low voice, she uttered the vanishing spell.
After glancing down to make certain her nude body was invisible, she crept from the back cavern and paused in the opening.
They were attractive, but primitive. All of them wore sporrans or pouches on their belts where they kept their sealskins while they were in human form.
A sealskin was a thin, lightweight garment that went on like a second skin.
Once they donned these garments, their bodies magically transformed into seals.
Obviously, Talnaroch wanted to kidnap the females in human form, and he wouldn't want them to transform again after capture. The only way to make sure they didn't shift was to steal their sealskins.
The last time Talnaroch and his men had abducted a few of them, she'd been watching.
They'd caught the selkies off guard while they were sleeping in the wee hours of the morn.
The selkies had been unable to fight off the humans.
Some of the males had been injured. But now, they were more prepared, thanks to Brodie's meddling.
She glared at him where he sat conversing with the males on the other side of the fire. He was too noble for his own good.
A guard burst in and shouted, "They're here!"
Brodie and the selkie warriors leapt up and armed themselves by grabbing swords, targes, and dirks.
"Put on your sealskins and go into the water," Brodie told the females before he sprinted after the warriors.
The women rushed from the cave, unbuckling their belts, throwing off their clothing, and opening the pouches on their belts.
Wilona murmured her special seizing spell, which took possession of the sealskins and yanked them from the selkies' hands. The delicate, dark sealskins floated upward out of their reach, and the wind blew them away, up into the craggy cliffs and gnarled, thorny bushes over the caves.
The lasses shrieked and cried out.
Wilona murmured the binding spell while throwing a pebble at each wench. The pebbles turned into thin, strong ropes that bound their wrists and ankles. Most fell to their knees and attempted to untie each other, but they were unsuccessful.
Wilona grinned, wishing Talnaroch and his warriors would hurry and nab them. But first, she must impede the male selkies.
Naked, shivering, and still invisible, she held a handful of pebbles and trotted along the beach after the selkie fighters.
They dashed toward the earl's approaching men.
Catching up to one, she threw a pebble at his leg.
The thin rope wrapped around both his ankles, and he toppled forward, face plowing into the sand.
She laughed, then murmured the seizing spell again, yanking the sword from his hand.
***
DEFEAT THEM! Brodie telepathically sought to embolden the three-dozen male selkies who surrounded him.
He refused to allow these bastards to seize any more of the females.
Armed with a sword, dirk, and targe, he charged through the night wind toward the invaders advancing along the beach.
He was ready to kill them all. Numbering around two score, the garrison carried torches and glinting blades.
Brodie hoped the selkies were ready for their first skirmish. He mentally issued the command, and the selkies hid behind the black rocky crags protruding from the sand, as he'd taught them.
As soon as the raiders raced past, Brodie and his fellow warriors leapt out, swinging their swords and shouting, attempting to incapacitate their enemies with the first blow. The intruders yelled and dodged aside. Some fell to the sand, bleeding, including Brodie's first opponent.
The men carrying torches jammed them into the sand and joined the melee. Blades clanged and thumped against targes. Shouts rang out. Brodie slashed and thrust his sword, hoping the selkie warriors could best these bastards.
Moments later, two of the selkies fell beneath human blades, spurring Brodie to more ferocious fighting. 'Slud! He was responsible, for he had not trained them well enough.
High-pitched screams echoed, carried on the wind from just outside the cave. After finishing off his current opponent, Brodie ran in that direction. Had the females not shifted and escaped into the ocean, as he'd told them?
Nay.
Either naked or wearing thin shifts, they lay writhing on the sand, their wrists and ankles bound.
"What the hell?" he growled.
A bellowing foe stormed toward him, sword swinging. Brodie caught the blade on his targe's central boss spike and dispatched the whoreson with a strike to the neck.
Two invaders emerged from the cave. What were they doing in there? And how had they tied up all the females so quickly? They must have darted past the fighting earlier.
Several enemies left the fighting and loped toward him. He couldn't see any of the selkie warriors in the distance. Were they all dead? Saints!
Brodie attacked the nearest foe, parrying and thrusting.
He disabled the bastard with a strike to his sword arm and went after another.
How could he defeat so many? Several marauders threw the screaming females over their shoulders and fled back along the sandy shore.
Following them, Brodie sliced his sword at the legs of two of the men, causing them to stumble, fall, and drop their captives.
He chased after the others, but enemies delayed him, engaging him in the skirmish again. Before he could take them out, a shouted command echoed from the distance. They turned and fled.