Chapter Twenty-Eight

Thane

The group left the next morning before Tamsin had awakened. Mora was sad to be leaving Clan Grantham, so Thane had promised to return within a moon for a visit. He'd be certain to bring a mare along the next time, hoping for a chance to mate her with one of their fine stallions.

The group was larger than he'd expected because Maitland had decided to come along with Eli and Alaric to patrol Ulva. Maitland had insisted. "It's not just about Ulva. You are traveling with three bairns, though Mora is hardly young, but she is a beauty. You need more protection." Thane hadn't argued with one of the chieftains of Clan Grantham.

Lia rode with Eli and Magni rode with Thane. Mora rode her own horse, her new bow and quiver attached to her saddle. Maitland had also brought two more guards along. With Brian and Artan and his guards, they now numbered over a dozen.

Thane led the way over the most common path but planned to bring them into the rear of his land instead of following the coastline. They could take their leave either way, but he wished to show his new allies how to reach his castle more quickly.

He had a feeling he didn't like, and it proved to be true.

As he came down the last path to his curtain wall, he had a wide view of the water, the advantage of living in a castle on a hill above the sea. It gave them a clear view of two boats headed toward shore, directly in front of his castle, and if he had to guess, he'd wager it to be Garvie and his men. He often saw fishing boats in the cove in front of his land, but rarely birlinns.

Alaric had also spotted the men from their higher vantage point, off to the side of Thane's castle. "Friend or enemy?" he asked Thane.

"Not friends. My guess is they are coming from Ulva, but I know not where they are headed."

"Get the bairns inside, then we'll go around front and determine their purpose," Maitland said. "Do you have a back door through your curtain wall?"

"Aye," he said, pointing.

"How many guards are here to protect the castle?"

"Nearly a score. I don't have a full line of soldiers yet. We're still building."

"It is Garvie," Magni announced, his arms flying over his head in frustration. "Those are his ships. His flag. Please don't let him take us back!"

Lia said, "Fear not, brother. I am confident our new friends will protect us."

Thane was often taken aback by the maturity of the lass's thoughts and vocabulary. He had grown men in his guard who didn't speak that clearly.

Magni looked from Thane to Maitland and asked, "Is she right, Chief? Will you protect us? Please?" The fear in the poor lad's voice had caught all of them.

Alaric said, "They'll not touch either of you, Magni."

"Nay, they will not," Thane echoed.

Magni's response was to turn around and hug Thane. "We will stay with you forever."

"Does he attack often, Magni?" Alaric asked.

"He has no friends, so he only leaves to attack someone who doesn't do what he orders or to meet someone to sell the bairns to. They usually come from Europe. I know not where that is." Magni looked from chieftain to chieftain.

Thane sighed. "I need to know what he's about. You all go inside, and I'll creep around to listen. See what they have planned."

Eli said, "We'll go with you."

"Brian, take the bairns into the keep."

Magni shouted, "I'll go with you! I can hear him from far away. But please take my sister where she'll be safe."

"Fine, but hush for now, Magni." Lia gave the boy a stern look, as if she were the parent.

The group separated, Brian and Maitland going inside with two guards, Lia, and Mora, while the other two guards remained with Thane. Once the departing group was within the curtain wall, Thane turned to lead his group to a different path, but he picked up another noise.

They all heard the same sound, and Eli fired two arrows in rapid succession, a big buck falling not far from them.

"Nice shot, Eli," Alaric said with a grin. "Good eating this eve."

Thane couldn't believe his eyes. He'd barely heard the buck, but Eli had arranged herself and fired before the buck knew they were there. Hell, but he had to learn how to use a bow. His mouth watered at the thought of smoking all that meat. They'd eat well for a moon or more.

Alaric and Artan moved to retrieve the deer, getting it almost to the curtain wall when another sound interrupted them.

Six men came out of the woods, four on horseback. One said, "Get the lass."

Alaric nearly spewed, his fury visible on his face instantaneously. "Like hell. Try to get near her, you bastards."

Eli fired three arrows so fast that Thane could barely follow them in the air, but two found their targets, dropping two men off their mounts, the third arrow just missing.

Alaric hadn't unsheathed his sword but reached for his bow instead, firing along with Eli. Another arrow came from the curtain wall, and Thane looked up, surprised to see Mora up on top, firing. She hit a man's leg—he yelped, so Thane went after him to finish him off.

The attack only lasted minutes because several of the marauders ran in the opposite direction, not wanting to battle against the archers. Two were dead, and one wounded, but he'd been carried away by another of his peers.

Once they were gone, Alaric asked, "Who were they? And what lass were they after? I can't believe they wanted Eli. I thought we'd taken care of all those fools on Ramsay land."

"I heard one say the lass had disappeared. Mayhap they were after Lia or Mora." Thane scanned the area for any more attackers before leaving. "We can discuss this later. For now, I need to see what activity is taking shape up front. My first goal is to ascertain if Garvie is on the ship and if his intent is to come here. I'll leave my horse. Artan, you stay back."

"I'm coming," Magni said.

Thane put his fingers to his lips as he moved Magni behind him, creeping along toward the coastline. He kept close to the curtain wall while Alaric and Eli followed, armed with their bows. Once they were close enough to listen and see the two ships, Thane knelt down, motioning for the others to hide in a nearby copse of bushes.

Voices carried across the water as if they were two horse-lengths away. Garvie said, "I'm going to end this slime's life and take his castle. This location is a better place to meet boats instead of on Ulva. We can have a much larger operation. He can't have more than a score total, and we have ten more than that. The element of surprise will be in our favor."

"Aye, Chief," one man said. "What about the bairns?"

"I want the yellow-haired lass. The lad disappeared, but I had a good deal for a five-winters-old who was that fine. I don't know if she is here, but if you see her, bring her to me."

Another asked, "Shall we look for your wife?"

"Nay. Do not bother. If she's here, I don't want the bitch back. I hope she's dead by now."

Thane closed his eyes for a second, the words he'd just heard too painful. The man was sheer evil. Raghnall Garvie only cared about himself and whatever coin he could get.

Alaric whispered to him, "We can send them back into their ships. They have paltry weapons. A few arrows will have them scampering to their boats and rowing for their lives. Men like that are not used to dealing with archers."

Thane thought for a moment and said, "Do it. It sounds like they are after Lia and my castle. They'll get neither one."

Magni said, "I need a dagger. I can sneak down and stick it in his black heart, the snarly creep. He'll not get my sister." The lad held his fist up and waved it at the man.

"You'll stay here. You and I will watch Eli and Alaric and hope the ships set for Ulva quickly. If we have to, we'll assist by using our swords if any approach the castle. Until then, we will observe and listen only."

The husband-and-wife pair put on quite a show, firing six arrows in rapid succession. The men did just what Alaric had predicted. They ran and squealed like lasses as soon as the first man took an arrow to his shoulder.

But it wasn't Garvie they hit. He hid behind all his men the moment the first arrow landed. "Get your oars! Get in position! We must leave quickly." The fool's voice carried to them easily over the shouts of his men.

Magni began to giggle, and Thane put his hand over his mouth. But the more they watched, the more he giggled. Thane joined him.

After two more arrows, Alaric turned around and said to Thane, "That answers our question. When we decide to attack his men on the island, it will be over in no time. The men have no bollocks and no weapons."

Magni giggled again. "They have no bollocks at all. They are a bunch of girls." The last word came out in a long lilt.

Eli gave him a hard stare and whispered, "What's wrong with girls?"

"Naught! I'm sorry. Forgive me. You know I love girls. I love Lia and Mora and you, my lady."

"That's better." Eli aimed again, a small smile on her face.

Thane had to stand up for the poor lad. "The only girls he has known are his sister and mean ones. The isle doesn't have many."

"Those men are like rats. Ugly rats. They run away as soon as they see someone." Magni began to laugh at his own jest. His giggle turned into a guffaw, and the boat stopped momentarily as if they'd heard the lad, but Eli fired two more arrows, then their rowing resumed.

Magni got up to head toward the castle, but Thane put a hand on him. "Not until they are nearly on Ulva. I do not trust them at all."

Magni said, "I'll watch for you, Chief. I can be the one who watches the shore every morning for ships and bodies both. I'll work hard. I promise." Magni stared across the water again. "Do you think they'll be back?"

Thane had been considering that possibility, but he didn't let on. "Nay, they're afraid of archers. You never saw any on Ulva, did you?"

Magni shook his head, still watching the departing ships.

Thane turned back to Alaric and said, "What the hell do they want with the lasses?"

Magni looked up at Thane. "I have to protect Lia. Please, promise me we can stay here with you, Chief? I don't want to be in the woods again. If we'd been in the woods together, they would have stolen her away."

Thane nodded, taking in all their surroundings before going in through the front gates, across the bridge. "I think they're gone for now. I will protect you and your sister, Magni. Do not worry."

Alaric asked, "No moat in the back?"

"Nay. Only in the front where it was easy to dig. The back needs too many trees removed. We didn't have the manpower, but it does deter those who come from the beach."

Thane said, "I hope you'll stay this eve. I could use your guidance on how to proceed from here. Should I go for Alana and bring her to Tamsin? Or should I wait for more men?"

"We'll see what Maitland thinks. He is the best strategist. He and Dyna have the experience we lack."

Alaric and Maitland helped Thane with the deer Eli had taken down, swearing it was enough to feed his men for a long time. They'd had a lovely pottage to start, taking a bit of the meat to simmer while they set the rest up for smoking. Thane had a great firepit behind his castle, and they'd enjoyed a night of camaraderie.

When they were around the fire, it was Maitland who asked, "Have you any idea who the first attackers were? Could they have been men sent by Garvie to attack from behind?"

Thane considered this for a moment before he answered. "I don't think so. We've been here for about four years, took the castle over after it was deserted. A fire had damaged it enough that the owners felt it wasn't worth salvaging, apparently. There were six of us to start, but once Artan joined us, we grew into a solid group. We dedicated our time to fishing, hunting, and repairing the damage done. It took a while, but we used stone mostly, and our efforts have paid off."

"How many times have you been attacked?" Alaric asked.

"Never. We are isolated and most think it's still damaged on the inside, is my guess. There are fishermen about, but we don't see many. Artan took us to Tobermory a few times for supplies, but we cut our own wood and use the stone we find in the forest. He's taught us about growing grain and some vegetables, but mostly we forage and fish."

"How many men?"

"If we had to battle, mayhap a dozen could fight. We bought swords, and I trained with a man in Tobermory and brought back what I could, but we could definitely use more sword skills. And we would benefit highly from archers. It makes hunting much easier than using spears. We eat more fish than meat, which is why we are grateful for any deer."

"Who else would have attacked you, then?" Alaric asked.

"I honestly don't have any idea. They had no identifiable plaids, so I don't think they were from Clan MacVey or Clan Rankin. Is there a new group on the isle? But I have another question for all of you because we heard it from Garvie and from the men. Why do they want the girl? And which one? Mora or Lia?"

"Or Eli?" Maitland asked.

Eli snorted and Alaric choked, finally saying with a grin, "See how they do with that. I don't know how they'll die quicker, by my hand or hers."

Eli drawled, "I can tell you which death will be more painful …"

Maitland chuckled, but then replied, "I don't think they want Eli. They want Mora or Lia, but I don't know why. There are many reasons they could want either one."

Eli said what they all feared. "Or both."

Were they looking for a specific lass or any they could find?