Chapter 21

The sounds of fighting coming from inside the house were intensifying. Lily bit her lip, panic fluttering in her stomach like butterfly wings.

What was happening in there? Oskar had said they were going to be quick and silent but that plan had obviously gone right out of the window. What if Oskar was captured or injured? Or...or worse?

What if she lost him?

She squeezed her eyes closed as panic clawed its way through her chest. She felt frozen. Unable to move. What should she do? What should she do?

The words Irene MacAskill had spoken suddenly came back to her. Ye are stronger than ye think if only ye would take the time to learn that.

And then she heard Oskar's voice in her mind. Ye shame me, Lily. Ye are stronger than I could ever hope to be.

Then she knew what she had to do. She would not lose him. She tightened her grip on the dagger and ran into the house.

"DINNA EVEN THINK ABOUTit," Alice Brewer snarled as Oskar's fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword.

She pressed her blade harder against his neck until he felt it bite into his skin and a soft line of blood began dribbling down his neck.

"All right," he said. "Ye win." He tossed his sword to the ground.

"Of course I win," she snapped. "I'm glad ye finally realize that."

Oskar glanced over at Magnus and Emeric. They were still thrashing against their bonds and shouting through their gags. Both had clearly suffered rough treatment and he could see bruises and cuts all over the two of them. Punishment for their part in Lily's escape?

"What do ye want?" he asked Alice.

There was a crazed, almost unhinged look in her eyes as she glared down at Oskar.

"What do I want?" she rasped. "What do I want? What do ye think I want? Ye and yer friends have chased my husband and I from one end of Scotland to the other. Ye have imprisoned or killed my comrades and almost killed me! So what do ye think I want? Vengeance. A drive that I'm sure ye can understand."

"If that's so then why havenae ye killed Magnus and Emeric already?"

"Because Eberwyn wouldnae let me! Leverage. Hostages. That's all he kept going on about! What do I care about any of that? After what the Order of the Osprey has done to me, the only thing I want is blood!"

Oskar glanced at the door. He could hear Bryn and his crew sweeping through the house and the sounds of fighting.

"Oh, no," Alice taunted, seeing the direction of his gaze. "Yer friends willnae be here in time. Even if they were to storm through that door right now, they wouldnae be fast enough. It takes only a heartbeat to slit a throat."

"Aye," Oskar said, not attempting to hide the loathing in his voice. "Ye are good at that. I've seen what ye do. I've seen yer handiwork up close. Ye are a butcher, not a warrior."

Laughter rippled from Alice's throat, harsh and grating. "And what are ye, then? A hero?" She spat the word as if it left a bitter taste on her tongue. "Ye are no better than I am. Ye've killed people too."

"But not like ye," Oskar shot back, although he wasn't entirely sure of the distinction.

Alice's face darkened. "It doesnae matter how they die," she hissed, her grip on the dagger tightening. "Dead is dead."

He had to keep Alice distracted, had to buy time until help arrived. Emeric and Magnus were bound and gagged, no use in a fight, and he couldn't risk any sudden moves, not with Alice's blade pressed against his throat.

"Ye are right," he said slowly, forcing the words out through clenched teeth. "Dead is dead. But the question is: how do ye want to die? Because if ye kill us, ye can be sure that the rest of the Order will hunt ye down like an animal."

Alice's sneer didn't waver. "Oh really? The Order of the Osprey is finished. Surely ye've heard? They've been discovered to be traitors. I suspect most of the members will either end up in gaol or swinging from a gibbet when the king is through with them. And then the Disinherited will take our rightful place in their stead."

"Enough!" Oskar snapped, fear and anger intertwining in his gut. "Ye want vengeance? Take it on me and let my friends go."

Alice's eyes shimmered with a cruel satisfaction, her lips curling into an ugly smirk. "Oh, I intend to. I intend—"

She never finished the sentence. There was a grunt, a thump, and Alice Brewer was suddenly crumpling to the floor, unconscious.

Lily was standing behind her, holding up the hilt of the dagger she'd just hit Alice with.

"What a bitch," she muttered.

Oskar scrambled to his feet and let out an explosive breath, his gaze darting to Alice, making sure she was really unconscious. "Are ye all right?"

Lily nodded. "What about you? Did she hurt you?"

Oskar shook his head. "Not this time. I canna believe ye did that."

Lily shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but not quite hiding the tremble in her hands. "I couldn't just stand by."

"Nay," Oskar agreed, with a wry smile. "Ye never do." He knelt by Alice's prone form and rifled through her clothes until he found a thick bunch of keys.

Turning to Magnus and Emeric, he removed their gags and began trying keys in their manacles until they finally sprang open.

"Thank ye, brother," Magnus rasped, massaging his wrists. His eyes briefly flicked to Alice's unconscious form before returning to Oskar. "I never thought I would be so glad to see yer ugly face."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Oskar heard the clatter of boots on the staircase and turned to see Bryn and his crew storm into the room, swords at the ready.

"We have Brewer," Oskar told him, nodding at Alice.

"That's funny," Bryn said, raising an eyebrow. "So have we."

He stepped aside and his men dragged Alfred Brewer into the room. The man glared defiance at those around him but his expression turned stricken as he spotted Alice lying prone on the floor.

"Alice!" he yelled. "If ye've hurt my wife, I'll—"

"She's fine," Oskar snapped. "Which is more than either of ye deserve."

Anger surged through his veins as he looked from husband to wife and back again. These two people were responsible for so much strife, so much hurt, that part of him ached to take his sword and mete out justice right now. But there was more at stake than mere vengeance.

"Any sign of Eberwyn?" Oskar asked Bryn.

"Nay. He isnae here. We caught this bag of shite in an upstairs room. He was trying to burn this. Ye better take a look. I canna read."

Bryn held out a bundle of documents, singed at the edges. Magnus took the bundle and began leafing through them. Oskar watched as Magnus's eyebrows furrowed, his lips moving silently as he read. Then he looked up at Oskar, his eyes wide.

"These are instructions to members of the Disinherited," he said. "Written in Eberwyn's own hand." He examined another parchment. "And this details a bribe paid to the bailiff and his sergeants, paying them to look the other way the night ye broke Alfred out of gaol."

"That's it!" Oskar replied. "Proof that he was behind everything all along. With this, we can clear the Order's name!" He looked at Lily. "When is Conall and Kai's trial starting?"

She shrugged, glancing out the window where the sun was rising. "At a guess? Around now."

"Then we dinna have much time. Let's go."