Chapter 16 #2
As they neared the castle, the scent of wood smoke grew strong. Most of the guards were likely inside at this late hour. Movement on the battlements caught his attention. At least one man lurked up there. Where were the others?
They had to find the dungeon. He motioned to the males following him, and they rushed through the demolished gap in the curtain wall.
Use stones as weapons, then take their swords, Brodie said telepathically. He chose a fist-sized stone from among the rubble of the shattered wall.
The horses in the open-sided stables snorted and laid back their ears. Brodie sent them an innate communication that he and the selkies meant them no harm. The animals calmed.
Brodie and the warriors proceeded along the side of the castle, then hid behind prickly whins bushes.
Can you communicate with the females and see if they are here? Brodie asked Ronin.
Selkies had to be close, within a few hundred yards, before the telepathy worked. Brodie's was not as well developed as those with him. Besides, he figured the females would rather hear from a tribesman or relative.
Aye, they are here! Ronin responded. We're coming. How many guards are with you?
Two.
Brodie caught the thread of their communication. They could easily overcome two guards. But there might be more before they reached the dungeon.
He wasn't surprised when one of the earl's men strolled by, whistling.
I'll get him. Brodie leapt out and bashed him on the head with the rock.
The guard went down without a sound and crumpled into a heap.
Brodie relieved him of his sword, dirk, and multiple sgian dubh knives.
He handed them out to the selkies, then he dragged the man, who was still breathing, behind a bushy evergreen yew.
They proceeded farther along, staying behind the whins but trying not to touch the thorns. Light gleamed from a corner, and Brodie crouched to peer around it.
A torch burned near a door where two guards waited. They wouldn't be posted there unless something valuable was locked inside. The two appeared bored. One paced back and forth, muttering about being hungry and craving ale, while the other sat on a stone or stool.
Brodie relayed what he saw to the selkies behind him. Of course, his party outnumbered those two by a massive amount, but he didn't want any of the selkies to be injured. They had only fought one battle, while he'd fought dozens.
I'm going to lure one of them over.
The selkies nodded.
Brodie picked up a pebble and tossed it into a bush opposite.
"Was that a bird?" one of the guards muttered.
"I saw naught," the other grumbled.
"I heard it in the bush. Fluttering. Did you not?"
"Nay."
"Your hearing is going, old man."
The two debated whether birds were active at night.
"'Haps 'tis owls hunting other birds," the older man said.
Brodie tossed another pebble into a distant bush.
"I heard it again!"
"Go look, then, daft lad."
"Vesey said the place is haunted. He sensed a presence in the kitchen but saw no one."
The older man scoffed. "So, you think a ghost is in the bush?"
"You never know, do you?"
"You eejit."
The younger guard crept closer to the bushes opposite them and slashed his sword at the branches, sheering off the stem tips. "Out of there, you blasted owls!"
He paused to listen, then turned his head toward Brodie. Either one of them had made a slight noise, or he sensed them staring at him.
He plunged his sword behind the bush where Brodie hid. Dodging, he grabbed the guard's arm and yanked him down. He squawked as Brodie disarmed him, and one of the selkies hit him on the head with a rock.
"Ross!" the older guard yelled and raced toward the bush, sword in hand.
Brodie leapt out and blocked the man's first strike with his own blade.
Swordplay ensued, and Brodie got the last slash in, dispatching the man.
One of the selkies took possession of his sword.
The young guard was still knocked out cold.
They hastened to the doorway. Brodie took the torch down and proceeded inside. Narrow steps led downward.
Men's voices from below reached him. How many? Two. 'Twas what the females had said. The scent of whisky blended with mildew in this dank place.
"If I had a key to this cell door, I would have some fun with the bonnie lasses." The slurred voice echoed upward.
Brodie's chest tightened, and his breath felt like fire in his lungs.
"His lairdship will have your head, Milton," the other man warned.
"Only if he catches me." He gave a drunken chuckle. "'Twould be worth it. Look at them."
"'Tis why they're so valuable, and he does nay want the merchandise sullied."
Merchandise? A fresh wave of vengeance surged through Brodie.
Milton laughed. "I'll sully them all right."
"'Tis why Alred has the key and nay you."
"I can easily take it from him."
"Nay, daft goat."
"Shut your gob, Randall! You're nay in charge."
Randall? Brodie remembered Elsea mentioning that name.
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"Ha." Footsteps clumped up the turnpike stairs. Upon seeing the torch Brodie held above him at the top of the stairs, the man paused. "Alred? That you?"