Chapter 43

CHAPTER 43

“ A re ye all right?”

Magnus looked over his shoulder to see Ciara moving up the trail behind him. She nodded.

“Aye. I’m fine,” she replied.

The night was dark as they moved through the forest, the clouds overhead blotting out the light of the moon. They had gotten word that Fairfax had an army on the march, but the details were confused. Some of their scouts said the army was camped down to the east while others swore they were in a valley to the west. Domhnall had split them up, sending Kai to chase down the rumors to the east while ordering Magnus to the valley to the west.

Domhnall had wanted to send him with a troop of soldiers, but Magnus had refused. He wanted to move swiftly and quietly—two things he could not do with armored soldiers in tow. He was set to go alone, but Ciara refused to let him. She had drawn a dagger and had threatened him with it if he dared think about leaving her behind. She was more than eager to go, telling him if there was a chance they could put a blade in Fairfax’s heart, she was more than happy to help.

Magnus was scared about possibly putting her in the middle of a fight where they would surely be outnumbered, but he reasoned that it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. He had somebody to watch his back. Ciara was light on her feet, an excellent archer, and was good in a fight. If things went sideways, she might well be able to fight her way through it. He had made sure to extract a promise from her that if things did go badly, she would get out. He’d told her that was the only way he would bring her on this scouting run. She’d reluctantly agreed.

He crouched down behind the wide trunk of a tree at the crest of a hill and waited for her. She caught up and knelt beside him. He put his fingers to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet.

“What are we doin’ then?” she whispered.

“If the scouts are right, Fairfax’s army is right over this hill,” he said. “And we dinnae ken where they may have sentries.”

She nodded and followed Magnus’ lead as he dropped onto his belly. They crawled to the top of the hill and using a thick bush as cover, peered down into the valley below them.

“Bleedin’ hell,” he whispered.

On the floor of the valley, hundreds of tents were in rigid lines and what looked like thousands of men milled about. The army Magnus was staring at was vast. If unleashed, Magnus feared they would overrun Dunvegan and wipe them all out.

“Me faither’s here,” Ciara said, her voice trembling with fear.

“What?” Magnus asked. “How dae ye ken?”

She pointed to a large tent at the far end of the line of tents. “That’s his standard flyin’ outside that big tent. And the one next tae it is Fairfax’s.”

Magnus followed her gaze to the two large tents she was pointing out and noticed the pair of standards flying outside the doors. Ciara’s eyes widened with fear and pressed to him as she was, he felt her trembling.

“Are ye all right, lass?”

She hesitated but nodded. “Aye. I’m fine.”

“If ye want tae go back?—”

“I said I’m fine,” she snapped then before he had a chance to say more, quickly added. “What’s the plan now?”

As Magnus stared at the valley floor and the lines of tents that seemed to stretch to the horizon, then turned back to the two tents that housed Fairfax and Ciara’s father, he frowned.

“They didnae bring this army here fer show,” he said. “We need tae find out what they’re plannin’ on doin’?”

“And how are we goin’ tae dae that?”

“We need tae get close tae yer faither and Fairfax’s tents,” he said. “See if we can either sneak a peek or hear what they’re plannin’.”

“Are ye mad?”

“’Tis the only way we’ll learn what they’re up to,” he said. “But like I said before, ye dinnae have tae go down there with me. Ye can cover me retreat?—”

“I’m goin’ with ye. I’m fine.”

“Are ye sure?”

“If ye ask me that one more time, I’ll stab ye.”

Magnus chuckled. “All right then. Let’s go. Stay low, step where I step, and move quickly. And above all, be quiet. Nay speaking.”

“Aye. All right.”

Magnus turned and headed off with Ciara following in his wake. They traversed the rocky landscape at the top of the valley wall, circling around until they were able to get behind the two tents that housed Fairfax and her father. They were still up on a ridge and had to get down the hill without being spotted though. And from where Magnus was, he could see half a dozen armed guards between them and the tents. It was the ones he couldn’t see he was most worried about though. However, there was nothing to be done for it.

“What dae ye think?” she asked.

“’Tis nae goin’ tae be easy. But it has tae be done,” he said. “Here’s the play. I need ye up here?—”

“Bollocks. I’m goin’ down there with ye.”

“Listen tae me. I need ye up here with yer bow tae watch me back. I dinnae ken how many guards are down there. If one of ‘em is behind me, I need ye tae take him down,” he said. “And then I need ye tae cover me retreat.”

She frowned but nodded. “Aye. I can dae that.”

“All right. Then be ready and keep yer eyes wide open. And stay hidden.”

“Aye.”

Magnus gave her a moment to get herself ready and into position. When she gave him a nod, he started off down the hill, using the bushes, trees, and darkness of the night around them to his advantage. He came across a lone guard making water against a tree and looked around. With nobody else to see, he slipped up behind him and covered his mouth with one hand and drew the edge of his dagger across the man’s throat with the other. He gurgled and twitched as Magnus lowered his body to the ground, silent and dead.

He glanced up the hill and could barely make out Ciara’s silhouette against the bushes she was sheltering behind. He turned and made his way down the rest of the slope without incident, crouching down behind Fairfax’s tent. His heart pounding in his ears, he knelt down and took a moment to calm down. Once he’d cleared his mind, he could hear the voices from inside the tent.

“Nobody kens we’re even here. We killed three of their scouts as we moved up the valley. We’re fine.”

“For your sake, Laird MacDougal, I hope you are right.”

“I am. Trust me.”

“As much as I would like to, you have given me very little reason to trust you. Or to have any confidence in you whatsoever.”

The man sighed heavily. “When we’ve recovered me daughter, we’ll drag her back in chains if we have tae.”

“You had better hope we can recover her, Laird MacDougal. Your previous attempt, as I recall, was an abject failure,” Fairfax said in a clipped, curt tone. “Everything we have been planning and working toward requires your daughter to be my bride. I should not have to remind you of this one simple fact.”

“It is not necessary tae remind me. I ken, and I assure ye, we’ll get her back,” MacDougal said. “The bleedin’ MacLeods will never see what hit them, I have a plan. And by the time they figure it out, it’ll be tae late.”

“I certainly hope you are correct this time,” Fairfax said. “I assure you that the price for failure will be severe. Very severe.”

Magnus paused and let their words sink into his mind. They were obviously going to overwhelm Dunvegan’s defenses and take Ciara by force. Their clan risked being wiped out and their lands would in all likelihood, be given to Fairfax. They already had a vast army in the valley though.

“Hey! You there!”

Magnus looked up and saw the guard rushing toward him, blade bared and a snarl on his lips. He got to his feet and started to draw his own blade when an arrow streaked out of the darkness and caught the man in the neck. The guard dropped his blade as he stumbled clutching the arrow that had gone in one side of his neck and come out the other. His eyes were wide and when he opened his mouth, a wet gurgle was accompanied by a rush of crimson. The man fell.

“Intruders!” the voice rang out.

“Bleedin’ hell,” Magnus muttered.

He turned and sprinted up the hill, a pair of arrows whistling by him as he made his way up to Ciara. The screams of agony behind him told Magnus her shots had hit their mark. The valley floor was suddenly a hive of activity with men shouting and giving chase. Arrows thumped into the trees and skittered across the ground around him as Magnus picked his way to the top of the ridge.

When he finally reached Ciara, he risked a look back and saw dozens of men moving up the hill behind them. His biggest fear was what was going to happen to Ciara if they were overtaken. Grabbing her by the hand, he turned to her.

“We need tae go,” he said. “Now.”

“Ye read me mind.”

Together, they plunged into the darkness of the woods, running for their lives.