Chapter 21

21

“ D o you think they’ll find us?” Davina asked as Accalia led her through the tunnels of her da’s castle. She sounded and smelled anxious.

Accalia hoped she would be all right. “Hopefully no’, but we will fight them if we must. Is Niamh all right?” Accalia had every intention of killing Freigard’s men who rode with her own to Whitehaven. She would make her men owe allegiance to her da again. Or she would kill them also. She wasn’t sure if her aunt would be resilient enough. To withstand the journey, aye. To fight the men? Maybe not. But she was also concerned about her friend.

“She’s with the others being held in the great hall. She’s fine.”

“Good.” Accalia couldn’t wait to hear that she was freed and be able to hug her for the ordeal she’d gone through. “Freigard is sending some of our men and a couple of his clansmen to Whitehaven to learn what we are up to.”

“I had overheard their plan. You dinna plan to return to camp, do you?” Davina always knew when Accalia was up to something.

“We must eliminate the threat.”

“I agree. Our people are being forced to do this. Five of Dunbar’s friends, some who hope for more power in the pack, are also involved in this mess.”

“As I suspected. But none of them are with the group Freigard is sending to Whitehaven, aye?”

“One. The one they call Horse because he was practically born on the saddle. He and two of Freigard’s men will be with four of ours. Our men are being forced to do it and are unarmed. Horse will keep them in line when Freigard’s men might no’ be able to.”

“No’ when we have anything to do about it.”

Her aunt smiled. “I’m ready to do whatever we must to take down the brigands.” She glanced at Accalia. “Are you happy with the white wolf?”

“Very. We are very much in love, and I adore his three sons.”

“Sons?” Davina sounded surprised.

“Aye. They are only five summers old. That is another reason I want to return to camp. We can help protect them should Freigard’s men come across the camp.”

“I’m happy for you. When Erik stole you away, I was afraid that Dunbar was right in saying your da shouldna marry you off to him. But when Freigard arrived at the castle, I realized Dunbar had a darker purpose in mind.” Davina let out her breath. “I approve of Erik. Even his actions of coming to our aid immediately proves he’s a good leader of a pack, and you and he will be perfect to lead it.”

“He is. If anyone can right the wrongs against our people, he and Alasdair and their men will win this battle.” Accalia prayed it would be true.

When they came to the tunnel exit, Accalia hated to have to leave her clothes and weapons behind, but as two women on foot, they couldn’t safely travel that far. She began to remove her weapons and then her clothes. Her aunt removed her clothes, and they both turned into their wolves. They exited the tunnel and tore off into the night, the woods dark and deep.

Here, Accalia thought they would be arriving at the castle, welcomed with open arms and enjoying a feast and merriment. She couldn’t believe what had befallen them instead.

She and her aunt loped for a while, then walked several miles. Only when her aunt seemed to slow down did Accalia nudge her to lie down and they would sleep for a while.

She hoped that Erik and the others would be successful, they would all be safe, and only the villains would die by the sword.

Before Erik and the others began to search for Freigard’s men, Baldur shifted and said, “Many of their men are in the barracks, taking turns sleeping and pulling guard duty. But I must warn you that five of Dunbar’s friends are allies in his treachery and plan to have higher positions in the pack once I am eliminated. One of them went with the men headed for Whitehaven with a couple of Freigard’s men as well.”

Erik suddenly wondered if his mate would go after those men. He suspected that she might. Now he wished he’d sent a couple of men with her. Then again, she was protecting her aunt and probably wouldn’t want to risk her safety so maybe she wouldn’t.

“Most of my pack is in the great hall at night, while guards watch them.”

“What about Freigard?” Erik asked Baldur.

“All I know is he watches everyone, his men serving guard duty, my people, just everyone. No one I could speak secretly with knows where he sleeps. He must at some time or another.”

“Is there a chamber below?”

“Maids’ quarters, but the maids are all herded into the great hall with everyone else, I was told.”

“So he could be sleeping in there.”

“Aye.”

“What about the men who side with your brother?” Erik asked.

“They stay with everyone else in the great hall. I dinna believe Freigard entirely trusts them. As far as he’s concerned, they’re Dunbar’s men and loyal to him. They helped him to allow Freigard and his men entry into the castle grounds, but he still doesna trust them, knowing they only want power.”

“If we could take out Freigard first, that would be the best way to manage this. But instead, we may have to take out his guards where we can, hopefully without alerting anyone,” Erik said.

“Aye. We go to the kitchen first. I’ve heard that some congregate in there, filling their faces with ale and whatever they can find to eat. Mayhap we can take care of a few that way and reduce their numbers,” Baldur said.

Erik smiled. “Lead the way.” He admired Baldur. He had a good head on his shoulders, was a tactician at heart, decisive, and ready to face any danger head-on.

Baldur shifted into his wolf and then headed down some backstairs until they reached a hallway and heard some men talking and laughing in a room not far away. Erik could smell mead, ale, bread, and poultry.

They crept down the stairs after Baldur, his nephew wanting to go with him, but Erik held him back so they could protect him.

Erik made out the voices of four different men. Erik motioned to eight men to follow him while the others stayed in reserve.

They moved silently toward the kitchen and heard a couple of men talking down in the cellar where the ovens for baking bread were located, Erik assumed. He sent three of the men down the stairs.

He and the others rushed into the kitchen where the four men were stuffing their faces with chunks of boar and cheese and slurping up ale. All of them were armed and Baldur suddenly joined Erik and nodded, telling him they were Freigard’s men. The brigands didn’t even know what hit them.

Erik took on one of the men, cutting him down before he could react. The other men with Erik acted as quickly to eliminate the threats, stabbing them in the hearts, and the men slid to the floor where they took their last breaths.

Then the three men who had gone into the cellar came running back up, indicating they had killed the two men below the stairs. Erik directed the men to haul Freigard’s men from the kitchen into the cellar.

Baldur shifted. “There’s a secret tunnel in the cellar.” He shifted and ran down the stairs with the ones moving the bodies to show them the hidden entrance.

Hiding all the bodies was a good plan so no one would be the wiser. The castle was eighty feet tall and encompassed nearly ten acres. It would take a while for Freigard or his men to determine people were missing—until they learned Dunbar, Baldur, the guard, Accalia’s aunt, and her younger cousin were gone. Hopefully, no one would discover it until Erik and the other men with him took care of the majority of Freigard’s men.

Once Baldur and their other men joined them, they waited a few minutes, listening to learn where they might go next to take out a few more of Freigard’s men without alerting anyone else. They knew they only had a short time left before a guard came to relieve the other at Baldur’s chamber and discovered the guard and the clan chief were missing.

More than anything, Erik hoped that Accalia and her aunt would be safe at the camp soon.

Baldur shifted. “Freigard’s men will be manning the wall walk. If we can slip up through the eastern and northern towers, we could take out the three on the east and north wall walks. Then we can move across the wall walk along the west side, remove the three there, and then on the south side and terminate the other three.

“Some are guarding the great hall. Some guard the stables to guarantee no one steals a horse and leaves. I suspect my fighting men are locked in the dungeon.”

“We’ll take out the men on the wall walks first,” Erik agreed. If they did, they couldn’t shout a warning if a friend showed up. But they still had the problem with the guard’s relief at Baldur’s chamber.

Baldur shifted and led them to the north tower first. Alasdair and some of his men went up that way. Then Baldur escorted Erik and his men to the east tower, ready to do battle—silently, quickly, and without alerting the enemy. At least that was the plan.

Accalia wanted to get her aunt to the camp where she would be safer and inform the men guarding them that they had trouble. That Freigard had sent some men to Whitehaven. Before Freigard’s men got too far away and could cause problems for Erik’s pack, she wanted to eliminate them. She didn’t know if her aunt could manage a battle with the brigands.

They had traveled for a long time, smelling the scents of the men—men that Accalia recognized—four of them having been loyal to her da, and the one, Horse, Dunbar’s friend. The other two men were unknown to her and had to be Freigard’s men. They only had to get rid of three of the men, and hopefully, once they began to fight them, her people would help them eliminate the brigands.

She and her aunt were getting closer to the men heading for Whitehaven, their scents growing stronger. She and Davina continued running until they heard the men close by. Peering out from the woods, she saw the men stop to give their horses a break. This was the time to act. She glanced at her aunt. She inclined her head to her.

Who should they go after first? And would the men who had been loyal to her da help them? She noticed none of them were armed. She assumed that was because Freigard feared they would turn on their guard. Only Horse and Freigard’s men were wearing swords and sgian dubhs .

Horse crouched down on the creek bed, filling his flask.

Freigard’s men were drinking ale while keeping an eye on their four hostages, the horses all tied to trees nearby.

If she could take down one of the guards or Horse, her da’s men might be able to grab their weapons and help her. She didn’t expect much assistance from her aunt—though she was a good-sized wolf, but she was Accalia’s da’s age. Yet, her aunt surprised her when she tore after Horse, who was alone, leaning over the creek and now splashing water on his face. Her aunt bit into his neck and pushed his head into the water.

He thrashed around and Accalia rushed to help her aunt. By the time Accalia pounced on him, he was no longer moving.

Accalia whipped around and raced toward one of Freigard’s men before he saw her and could react. They only had the two men to eliminate, but they still could lose the battle.

Before she attacked him, two of her da’s people saw her, their eyes widening in recognition. They would know her as a wolf anywhere and she had to have shocked them to the core when they saw her coming to fight their guards.

The guard she was going after was sitting on a stone, drinking from a flask of ale when she leaped and tore into his neck. She wanted to be quiet about it, as quiet as her aunt had been when she took down Horse—no growling, no barking, no noise at all. But Accalia had never playfought with a wolf where she did it silently.

Growling was a natural part of wolf behavior. She didn’t growl as vigorously or loudly as she would when playfighting, but she was not as quiet as her aunt. She so admired Davina.

Cursing at her, the other guard ran in her direction, his sword drawn. She shook the dead man, making sure he was truly deceased. Before the other guard reached her, she knew she had to run off or be killed. But then, as if the men loyal to her da had woken up from the nightmare they were living, they raced to grab the sword and the sgian dubh off the dead guard and ran after the remaining guard.

He turned to fight the man holding the sword, another holding the guard’s sgian dubh. When he did, Accalia leaped forward and bit Freigard’s man in the back of his calf.

He screamed out in pain and felt to his knees. She wanted to ensure he couldn’t injure any of her people. Between the man wielding the sword from the dead guard, and the other man with the dead guard’s sgian dubh , they quickly dispatched him with a stab to his shoulder and heart.

“Lady Accalia,” the man with the sword said, bending down on his knee in reverence.

The other men joined him, showing their reverence to her and her aunt. She shifted. One of the men took his cloak and wrapped it around her.

“My mate, Erik, has taken men to the castle and freed my da and cousin. Baldur killed my uncle, the traitor. Davina and I learned you were headed to Whitehaven with a guard force and came to your aid.”

“We need to return to the castle then,” one of the men said, removing the belt from one of the guards, fastening it around his waist, and then sheathing the sword.

Two of the other men went to retrieve Horse’s weapons and the other guard’s.

“What has become of you must remain a secret. Off to the west is a camp where you can reinforce the guard. Then I’ll take some of the men who came with Erik and Alasdair to help Erik with his mission.”

Accalia’s aunt shook her head.

“I must. If I dinna and those men die, all will be lost,” Accalia said.

“Aye, we will do as you bid,” the man said.

“Good. If anyone comes looking for your party, I suggest we dump these brigands in a bog no’ far from here.” Accalia shifted and the man took his cloak back. She was the only one who knew where the camp was and had to lead them to it.

Then the men put the three dead men on their horses and followed her to where the peat bog was. They left the villains in the bog and took their horses.

She led them to the campsite after that. As soon as they arrived, everyone looked shocked to see her, another she-wolf, and four men on horseback arrive in camp. The men told them what their mission had been before Accalia and Davina had come to their aid, while the boys hugged Accalia’s neck, and tears of joy filled her eyes.

She licked their faces and then she and her aunt went into their tent. She gave her aunt some clothes to wear, and once her aunt had shifted and they were both dressed, they left the tent.

Accalia explained what had happened, though the men they had freed had been talking about the situation while the ladies dressed. They didn’t know what Erik and the others had done. She described how they had been forced to go with the other men as a ruse to infiltrate Whitehaven and learn what was going on with her and Erik and when she would be returning home.

“We wanted to go with Accalia back to Hillshire Castle and help Erik, Alasdair, and Baldur battle against Freigard’s and Dunbar’s men,” one of the men said, “but she has the right of it. If we return, they’ll believe we killed the guards and Horse. And we would be put to death. Our families would be an example to anyone who might rise against Freigard.”

“’Twas our own Accalia and her aunt who had taken out two of the men, and helped us with the third,” another of the men said, sounding like he deeply admired them for it. Probably because they hadn’t done anything to deal with the matter before that.

But she understood that because they hadn’t been armed and were being watched.

The boys looked on at her in awe. Bessetta smiled at her. Isobel inclined her head, telling her she had done well.

Accalia hugged her aunt, proud of how she had handled the situation herself.

“I want to return with you,” her aunt said.

“These boys are now my sons. You are their great aunt. I need you to be here for them. You’ve proven what an excellent warrior you can be,” Accalia said. “I need to take more men back with me to the keep though. Who will come with me?”

They still had to have a force here to protect the boys and the other women if any brigands showed up, but if Erik, Alasdair, and her da died because they didn’t have enough men to overwhelm Freigard’s forces, all would be lost.

“We will help to guard the women and lads,” one of her people said.

“We’ll send a dozen men, a mix of Erik’s and Alasdair’s,” Finlay said, Hans agreeing.

She knew they would want to help their brothers, not sit back at the camp, waiting for word. She also knew Alasdair and Erik would be furious with them if something had happened to the boys and Isobel and Bessetta because their brothers hadn’t remained there to ensure their safety.

“Then let’s go. We will do as before. We’ll ride, then a couple of men will return with the horses, while the rest of us will make it to the tunnel system,” she said.

“Be safe, Accalia,” her aunt said, hugging her.

The boys hugged Accalia soundly, tears filling their eyes. Then Bessetta and Isobel embraced her and wished her well.

Davina said, “You keep them all safe, and we will do the same here.”

“Aye.” Determined to do everything to make that happen, Accalia mounted her horse, armed again, and headed out with the dozen men.

“Do you trust the men you freed?” one of the men with her asked.

“Aye. But if they cause trouble, Finlay and Hans will take care of them. They will have them watched, not leaving anything to chance.”

Then they rode in silence. All she could do was pray that their people were victorious, maybe even that Freigard was already dead, and her people had helped Erik and Alasdair to take the castle back.

After riding for an hour, she repeated what she’d done before. Two men returned to the camp with their horses, the others moving through the woods as humans, all but two who ran with her as wolves to further protect her.

She hoped they could return in time to help and that they wouldn’t discover her mate, and the others had fallen at the hands of Freigard and his men.