Chapter 10
“I believe that I spooked ye at the riverbank,” Adrina said.
She wanted to ignore the incident all together, but something inside of her insisted that she explained her behavior.
She felt a flush of heat rushing to her cheeks as her thoughts journeyed back to the intimate moment. What must he think of her?
Duncan had placed another branch into the pit. Crouching next to the fire, he blew at the embers in an attempt to reignite the flames. She had left the campfire so abruptly that they were lucky that the fire still smoldered.
He glanced up from his task and gave her a long look. The expression in his mesmerizing green eyes was unreadable.
“I’m nae certain what came over me,” she continued, fixing her regard on the flames that licked eagerly at the burning logs.
It was impossible to talk about her visions without making herself appear as if she had lost her mind.
Usually when an impression appeared, it came instantly and faded just as fast. But in this case the image of Duncan was as clear as day.
And that black shroud that covered his likeness wasn’t derived from her imagination.
A shiver went through her as she recalled the darkness falling down, and spreading over the scene like a disease.
She was so certain that danger had befallen him.
Who would believe that she saw all this in a screen of smoke?
The fire started to cut out, and Duncan adjusted the dried branches until the flames lit once more. When he glanced up, his was gaze serious.
“Ye lied about your father sending ye tae Tancraig Castle, didnae ye?” he asked, ignoring her discomfort.
Adrina bit her lip, wanting to lie to him, but she thought better of it.
“I made that up,” she admitted. “But ‘twas for a good reason. My people are suffering, and I needed tae do something tae assist them.” There. That was valid enough. He didn’t need to know about her extrasensory abilities, or how she was guided to his castle.
His eyes gleamed as if he tried to decipher whether or not she spoke the truth. Under his unwavering gaze, she shifted in her seat while an uneasy feeling churned in her stomach.
She took a deep breath, deciding that she needed to change the topic. Men were always willing to talk about warfare and strife, and perhaps talking about combat strategies would take his attention off of her.
He began to thread the carcass on a stick, and placed it on a makeshift spit that he had built. The game began to sizzle over the heat, releasing the fragrant smell of cooking meat.
“Tell me, Duncan, why do ye feel that converging at Bracken Ridge is an effective strategy? Perhaps ‘tis a fool’s errand if we battle with King Harold at all. Didnae ye say that he has numerous knights at his disposal? Many highlanders will be sure tae lose their lives.” She clasped her hands together, expecting him to offer her long and passionate justification for why they needed to fight the English.
But he surprised her by falling silent. For what seemed a long time, he stared at the steam rising from the roasting hare. All the while, a shadow played across his handsome visage, and he appeared as if he was lost in a dark and distant memory.
“They must be stopped,” he said at last, his voice low and fierce. “Even if it wasn’t at the Ridge, and we’re up against thousands of knights, we would continue tae fight. We cannae allow them tae wreak more havoc on our kin. Nor can we allow them tae enslave us.”
“Aye, ye have already stated this,” she said carefully. Stretching out her hand, she placed it on his arm. “But think of the widows —”
“The English must be squashed,” he interrupted. His gaze dropped to her hand, but he didn’t withdraw his arm. When he looked up at her, she saw pain and grief reflected in his stormy depths. “Every last one of them needs tae pay for what they did.”
A chill went through her. “There’s more tae this than protecting our bonny land, isnae there?” But he didn’t have to answer her question. She already knew that for him, this coming war was about vengeance.
“Ye would understand if ye witnessed how Brenda Cunningtoun and her family perished.”
“Brenda Cunningtoun,” she said softly. “Was she someone ye loved?”
He shifted his eyes back to the fire, and didn’t answer her.
“If ‘tis so, then a woman ye cared deeply for was harmed,” she concluded.
His head jerked up and for a split second, she saw unshed tears in his eyes. The shimmer reflected off of the fire light, and then it was gone, as if she had imagined the entire thing.
“Aye,” he said, his voice low. She felt the corded muscles in his arm lurch slightly as he clenched his hand. “I cared for her.”
She pulled her hand back and dropped it to her lap. At his tone, she felt her heart begin to ache even though she had never experienced a loss such as his.
“What happened?” she asked.
He stared down at his fist, the whites of his knuckles visible.
“It seemed ‘twas only yesterday that a chieftain put out a call for our help,” he said, his tone cheerless. He leaned over and picked up a stick near his foot. “We surprised the English bastards with our quick arrival, and managed to annihilate a guid number of them. But it wasnae nearly enough.” He pushed the stick into the fire pit, stabbing it into a burning log. “They came searching for us afterward, raiding and torching every town in their path. And then they came into MacGregon territory.” His voice cracked, and he stopped talking as if he couldn’t bring himself to continue.
“And they murdered her,” she said, finishing for him.
“Aye,” he nodded. “The lass along with her parents were burned alive.” The stick in his hand broke in half.
“And there was nothing that I or anyone else could have done tae help them. Her older brother Blane was with us at the time, sae at least his life was spared, but Brenda…” he cleared his throat as if he was overcome by emotion, “…Brenda was such a charming and innocent lass; she didnae deserve tae have her life end sae soon.”
Love and sorrow intertwined into his voice, and a curious feeling rose to Adrina’s chest. She pushed it aside, not wanting to examine it any further.
But she caught his gaze, and was startled to see the intense anger and hate that burned there.
Duncan tossed the broken stick into the fire with an unconscious force, causing the sparks to fly every which way.
Blue smoke smoldered off of the stick before it burst into flames.
“Many people have died in the hands of the English, sae my story is nae unique,” he continued.
“Now ‘tis up tae the living tae avenge our loved ones, and tae hold onto what is rightfully ours.”
Duncan stabbed the carcass with his knife, and found that the juices ran clear. Grabbing ahold of the stick, he took the steaming meat off the fire. It was small fare, but it was enough to tide them over until the next meal.
He didn’t know what possessed him to tell Adrina about Brenda.
He had tried his best to forget about the lass, but her senseless death had burned a hole in his soul.
They had been so close to the horrific scene.
Both he and Blane had wanted to tear out from their hiding spot, and rescue the Cunningtouns from the burning house.
But Rory held them back. “’Tis unsafe,” he had said.
In the end, Duncan knew that his brother was right. Had he and Blane bolted out of their hiding place, they would have put everyone at risk. Instead of three lives lost, their entire troop might have been maimed or slaughtered.
Cutting off a piece of the rabbit, he offered it to Adrina. She gingerly took the meat from the blade and ate it. He sliced off a portion of the carcass for himself, and started to eat it even though his hunger had disappeared.
Off in the distance, he heard a faint rumble.
The wind had started to pick up, and began to tear at the flames in the fire pit.
Tilting his head, his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the darkening clouds.
Yet it puzzled him that the last of the sun still shone over the treetops.
He also found it odd that until now, there were no indications of the coming storm.
“The horses are restless,” Adrina said, glancing nervously at the beasts.
He looked over at their mounts and discovered that she was right. “They are likely skittish over the approaching storm.” He was about to get up and tend to them when he noticed a raven perched in a nearby tree. “Or perhaps ‘tis the raven that disturbs the beasts,” he added casually.
A startled look appeared on her countenance, and she straightened her spine. “A raven?” she repeated, her tone anxious. “Where is it?”
“On the tree next tae where our rides are tethered.” He picked up another log from the ground, and dropped it into the fire pit. “It appears tae be following us.”
She turned her head toward the spot that he indicated, and stared at the raven in the tree. The blood slowly drained from her face, and when she spoke again, her voice was hoarse, “Has it been following us for long?”
“Since we left town,” he said.
She let out a small sound of distress. “This cannae be guid.”
Getting up quickly from her seat, she searched the ground for a rock. When she found one that was the size of her palm, she picked it up and threw it at the bird. “Be gone!” she hissed.
Her aim was surprisingly good, and the stone struck at the bark, just below the bird’s feet. It opened its stout bill, and let out an irritated kraah before flying to a branch that was higher up. And there it perched as still as a statue, continuing to watch them.
“’Tis still there,” she said, glaring at it. She scanned the ground for something else to throw at it.
“Relax,” he said. “’Tis only a beastie. It cannae harm us.”
“That’s where ye are wrong,” she said, sitting back down on her rock.
She hugged her arms to her chest. “Since ancient times, ravens were known tae feed on human corpses. And tae this day, they’re present whenever death and destruction is nigh.
Fingal MacNauld disnae care about the ill omens that the raven brings, and keeps one as a pet.
He speaks tae the black bird as if it could understand him.
And as long as I remember, ‘tis never far from its master.” She squinted at the animal.
“It has a tiny crack at the base of its beak —”
“Who’s Fingal MacNauld?” he asked casually. “Is he a relation of yours?”
“Nay, he’s an evil man!” she said without hesitating.
Adrina appeared that she wanted to say more, but she laced her fingers together, and laid them on her lap.
She became silent for a few moments, as if she realized that her outburst made no sense to him.
“He was a cleric, although he took on the duty of principal advisor tae my father. Despite what everyone thinks, I believe that he’s repugnant, and I regret the day that he found employment at Dunnvie Castle. ”
“Sae this MacNauld is responsible for your troubles.”
“Aye,” she shuddered. “He’s the one who jinxed us all. Unfortunately the people are unaware of the role he plays in their imprisonment. They often repeated his words as if they were their own, and completed deeds that they wouldnae normally do.”
“And ye are taking it upon yourself tae free these people from his influence,” he said, coming to his own conclusions.
He was seeing her with new eyes. Adrina had traveled all the way to Tancraig Castle with no regard for her own safety.
It was a miracle to him, and everyone else that she had arrived safely at her destination even though all manner of danger existed in the highlands.
A loud clap of thunder ripped through the sky, the noise reverberating through to the ground and making it tremble. At the same time, the wind picked up suddenly. The gale lifted the branches high and then snapped them down, violently shaking the leaves.
Over the howling wind, Duncan could hear the shrill whinny of the horses.
“We need tae get our mounts,” he shouted.
He moved forward as the wind lashed at him, whipping his kilt around his legs. Meanwhile Adrina bent her head against the strong wind, pushing her way toward the frightened animals.
The air currents abruptly turned cooler just as fat droplets of rain fell. And then it was as if the sky opened up, and began to dump buckets of water over them. In a matter of minutes, the entire campsite would be flooded.
“We need tae seek higher ground,” he shouted over the screaming gale. He looked over at the overhanging cliffs behind them, certain that they could find some sort of shelter there.
Adrina had almost made it to the horses when a flash of lightning lit across the sky, and struck a tree in front of her. The electric bolt ripped into the tree limb. A loud crack echoed in the chaos just as the branch started to fall.
“Move!” Duncan yelled. But even as Adrina screamed, terror had frozen her to the spot. Without a moment to spare, he dove at her. In his attempt to shove her out of harm’s way, he sent her small body flying, the large branch missing her by a fraction before it crashed to the ground.
Through the roar of the lashing rain and forceful wind, he crawled over to her, her lifeless body sprawled on the ground. His heart started to quicken. Was she injured after all? But when he reached her, he saw that she was unharmed and staring at the broken branch in shock.
“Are ye all right?” he shouted, but the wind ripped the words from his lips, and she couldn’t hear him. He gestured to the rock face that was a short distance away. “We need tae get over there!”
Whether or not she understood him over the thundering storm, she allowed him to drag her to their mounts. He quickly untied the frightened beasts. With the reins in one hand, and the other hand around Adrina’s waist, he maneuvered everyone toward safety.