Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

T he floor was cold and hard, but it was the jarring sensation in Edan’s ribs as he roused that woke him. Blinking his eyes open, he groaned with pain. His face lay against the stone floor, and for a second, he panicked. He couldn’t move his hands.

Glancing down his body, he noted the thick rope that bound his wrists together. That rope was attached to more rope that was tied around his middle, pinning his hands to his body. His captors were diligent, he would give them that. Making a fist, and then stretching his fingers wide, he tried to bring some life back into them. The blood began to flow again, followed by an excruciating feeling. Gritting his teeth, he continued the process until the gnawing ache passed and he could finally feel some sensation.

Pressing down on his elbow, he fought through the piercing pain in his ribs, and with great difficulty, finally managed to push himself to a sitting position. While he needed to figure a way out of the mess they had managed to get themselves into, his first concern was Caitlyn.

She was lying a few feet away, still unconscious. Dried blood sat above her eyebrow, smeared from a gash she must have sustained in the fight. A bluish bruise bloomed on her cheek, and her lip was split. Edan tried to control the rage building up in him at the sight of her.

I’m going tae kill the bastards.

At least her clothes looked intact. It was the only consolation under the circumstances. They had not tried to take advantage of her while she couldn’t fight back, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try once she woke.

The room was small and empty. To the left of him, there sat a fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been used for some time. To his right, a window was set into the wall. It was covered with boards of wood, leaving tiny cracks where streams of light broke in, highlighting floating dust.

So, it’s daylight. But where the hell are we?

Directly in front of him was a wooden door. The only escape from their prison. The room they were being held in looked too small to be a dungeon, and outside was too quiet for them to be in a castle. He could hear birdsong and little else. If he had to guess, Edan imagined they’d been brought to a safe house of some kind. What he didn’t need to guess, was who it was who had captured them. It could only be one person. The same person who had relentlessly attacked the MacMillan Clan for the last half a year.

Knowing, at least in part, where they were and who had taken them, Edan turned his attention back to Caitlyn. He shuffled himself closer to her, wincing with every movement. Leaning forward, he tried to reach her, but his wrists were tied fast.

Damn it!

He could reach her with his feet, but he certainly wasn’t going to kick the lass awake. Instead, he dragged himself closer, inch by inch, until he was eventually by her side.

“Caitlyn,” he murmured, nudging her gently with his elbow. “Caitlyn, ye have tae wake up now.”

A low moan left her lips. A second later, her eyes fluttered open, but upon seeing Edan looming down at her, her eyes widened.

“What… where… what?” she flustered.

Like Edan, she tried to move her hands, but they had bound her as tightly as they had bound him. Her head jerked in sharp movements, her gaze darting around the parts of the room she could see, panic seemingly growing at every passing second.

“Where are we?” she cried. “Where have they taken us?”

Edan shook his head. “I dinnae ken. Come on. Try and right yersel’.”

Using a similar technique to Edan, but without the wincing, Caitlyn struggled to find her balance. It took her a little longer, but eventually, she was upright. After catching her breath with the effort, she turned to Edan.

“Those men,” she said. “Those men took us.”

“Aye. They did.”

“But why?” Caitlyn cried. “I dinnae ken who they are. Why did they take us?” Her head spun to look around the room. “Where did they take us?”

Edan looked around the room again and gave the only conclusion he had managed to come up. “I think we’re in a safe house. I cannae hear much noise outside, so we’re nae in a village or a castle. Me guess is, we’re out o’ the way somewhere. A place where naeone will be able tae find us.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

Their circumstances were precarious to say the least, and while Edan didn’t feel particularly calm about being tied up and imprisoned, he had to try and remain so for Caitlyn’s sake. It was clear she was already terrified. Right now, she needed him to be her support.

“It’ll be all right, Caitlyn. I’m here with ye. I’ll take care o’ ye. Try nae tae worry.”

“Aye. And I’m the last person ye want tae be stuck here with,” she quipped.

Edan smiled widely at her. “Actually, ye’d be surprised. It’s quite the opposite.”

Caitlyn frowned in confusion and opened her mouth to speak, but at that second, they both heard the sound of approaching voices, and turned to look at the door.

“Open it,” a gruff voice demanded.

“Aye, me laird,” another voice answered hurriedly.

The door flew open, and just as Edan suspected, Laird Brendan MacTavish burst into the room. As tall as he was wide, MacTavish filled the space with his aggressive presence. A man who always wore a scowl, he was a fierce warrior with much blood on his hands. From what Edan could remember, the laird was nearing his fortieth year, and his muscular frame betrayed how most of them had been spent in battle.

“Well, well,” he growled, looking from Edan to Caitlyn. “What dae we have here?” He gave Edan an intent stare. “Laird MacLachlan. Leader of Clan MacLachlan. A fierce warrior, or so I hear. I wonder what yer men would think o’ ye if they discovered ye were caught so easily.”

He turned his attention to Caitlyn. “And the youngest daughter o’ Laird MacMillan. Och, how yer faither is going tae anguish over yer capture, me pretty lass.”

Caitlyn dropped her gaze and shuddered, but Edan did not move his eyes. He continued to glare at Laird MacTavish, who stood tall, looking down at them, seemingly considering the situation. The scowl fell from his face, and an evil grin danced on his lips.

“I can hardly believe me luck. I’ve won twice as much. Kenning how important ye are, I can hold ye both tae ransom.” He looked at Caitlyn and began to chuckle. “Though whether ye return tae yer faither in the same condition ye left him is still tae be determined.”

A tiny growl escaped from Caitlyn’s lips, and she lowered her head even further.

“Ye’ll nae lay a finger on her,” Edan barked.

“Och, now, lad,” MacTavish smirked, “calm yersel’. Anyone would think this is yer sweetheart. But wait,” he said sarcastically. “Are ye nae betrothed tae her older sister? Have I got them mixed up? Or are ye taking them both tae ye bed?” The laird burst into laughter.

Edan clenched his jaw and bawled his fists. “Set me free from these bindings and this lad will put ye on yer back.”

“Och, ye mean the way ye did with me men?” MacTavish chuckled. “Dinnae make promises ye cannae keep, lad. Besides, I have other plans fer ye. Nae only have I captured MacMillan’s youngest daughter. I have his future son-in-law too. A man who will be fit tae tell me all the MacMillan Clan’s weaknesses.”

“I’ll tell ye naething,” Edan spat, still jerking against his bindings.

“We’ll see about that,” MacTavish snarled. He looked from Edan to Caitlyn and back again. “This battle will be fought on me terms. While MacMillan scurries tae pay fer yer release, I’ll make certain he never lays his eyes on either one o’ ye again. He’ll rue the day he refused an alliance with me.”

Edan, who had been glaring at MacTavish, now looked at Caitlyn with great concern, for she was shaking in fear.

“It’s all right, Caitlyn,” Edan consoled. “Dinnae worry. I’m right here.”

Taking a step toward Caitlyn, MacTavish dropped to his haunches and hooked his finger under her chin.

“Get away from her,” Edan bellowed.

The laird flicked a glance to the guards at the door. A second later, one of them rushed toward Edan and punched him hard at the side of the head, sending a searing pain through his temple.

“Argh.”

“Nae!” Caitlyn cried.

MacTavish grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “Ye see what happens if ye dinnae behave yersel’?” His thumb caressed her cheek and a low growl left his throat. “Now, if ye make it worth me while, perhaps I dinnae have tae be in any hurry tae get rid o’ ye so quickly.”

Even with the immense throbbing in his head, Edan felt sick to his stomach watching the evil laird. He pulled against his bindings again and again, but it was no use. Anger raged in his stomach, but all the anger in the world was not going to change the situation.

The laird looked over at Edan and smirked. “Ye ken, if I didnae ken any better, I’d say ye had a wanting fer this lass.”

“Just leave her alone,” Edan hissed.

MacTavish dropped his hand and stood to his full height. “I will. Fer now.” He turned and walked toward the door, but then he looked back. His lips curled once more as he snarled at them.

“I’ll get me just rewards from what I’m going tae dae tae the both o’ ye. And when I’m done, I’ll get even greater satisfaction out o’ smiting ye. Yer demise will destroy MacMillan, which is what he deserves. As well as losing his youngest daughter, he’ll lose the man whose clan was supposed tae fortify his own. Then,” he continued, now looking directly at Caitlyn, “when yer faither is distraught and weakened with grief, I will strike and take what he should have given me in the first place.”

He was about to walk out when one of the guards said, “What about food, me laird? Will we untie them? They have nae escape from here.”

MacTavish looked back over his shoulder and glared at Edan. “Leave him tied. I dinnae trust him. Leave one o’ the lass’s hands loose. She can feed them both.” The laird then fixed his gaze upon Caitlyn. “Dinnae make me regret me decision. If ye try anything, I’ll kill him right in front o’ ye.”

When Laird MacTavish left, the two guards grabbed Caitlyn and dragged her to her feet.

“What are ye doing?” Edan bellowed.

“Dinnae worry about yer little wench,” one of them spat. “We’re nae allowed tae touch her. She’s going tae the privy. When she’s finished, ye’ll be next.”

When Caitlyn and Edan were returned to the room, one of the guards untied Caitlyn’s right hand, while the other dropped a bowl of porridge on the floor between them.

“Dinnae try anything,” he growled at Caitlyn. He turned his attention to Edan. “I dinnae want tae have tae slice yer throat in front o’ her.” The guard turned on his heels and left, slamming the door closed behind him.

Neither Edan nor Caitlyn spoke for a long moment. It was like neither of them could think of any words to say. Edan was both surprised and impressed that Caitlyn hadn’t broken down in tears, for after what MacTavish had done and threatened to do to her, it would have been a completely natural reaction. Instead, she sat there with her face blank. Perhaps she was simply in too much shock.

Edan, on the other hand, was angry. Angry and desperate to get them both out of there before MacTavish had a chance to do any lasting damage. How he was going to do that, he did not yet know.

“We should eat,” he said, nodding to the bowl. “We need tae keep our strength up fer our escape.”

“What escape?” Caitlyn replied.

“I dinnae ken yet, Caitlyn. I just ken, we’ve got tae get out o’ here.”