Highlander Enchanted(64)

“If Richard had her, he wouldna be here,” Brian voiced, aware of the tempest swirling around them.

“Unless he wished for vengeance,” Niall added.

“We doona ken where she is,” Cade growled. “Laird Duncan is a shrewd man. He may ‘ave her prisoner and wish to ransom her again.”

“Yea. This is what I believe,” Brian said. “Ye ken he willna return her t’Richard without gold. Perchance they made an agreement. Richard destroys his enemies, and he returns her.”

“Clever,” Cade said. “Doesna explain why they left me alive and stole her.”

“Ye looked dead, cousin,” Niall said with some mirth. “Perchance she fought them.”

Cade did not like to imagine any situation where sweet, delicate Isabel was forced to fight someone. She was too small to dissuade someone from hurting her. Her will was strong but her frame too fragile.

Focused on Isabel, he missed a step and dropped to his knees with a grunt of pain. The wound in his stomach tore open once more, and he stayed where he was.

Brian knelt beside him and felt his forehead. He exchanged a worried glance with Niall. Cade did not need them to tell him what was wrong; he was burning up and bleeding.

“I willna make it,” he said hoarsely. “I will slow ye down.”

“Nay, cousin.” Brian slid an arm under his and helped him stand.

Dizziness washed over Cade, and he staggered, leaning against his cousin.

Niall took his other arm.

“Ye need t’reach the MacCosse lands,” Cade said as he caught his footing once more.

“We will.”

“Nay.” Cade ceased walking and pulled his arms free. “Ye will travel faster without me.”

“Cade –” Brian started.

“The MacCosse lands are a two day journey. With me, it will be five or six,” Cade said. “Duncan canna arrive before we are ready t’fight ‘im.”

Brian started to object once more. Niall pushed him.

“And if Duncan has Isabel, ye can find her when he captures ye,” he said.

“Yea,” Cade replied.

“Isabel is a sweet lass, Cade, but yer people need ye!” Brian snapped.

“Isabel is my wife,” Cade said stiffly. “My magic chose her. If she is a prisoner, I canna let her face Richard or Duncan alone, and ye both can manage a war until I arrive.”

Niall appeared resigned while Brian seemed to argue with himself.

“Do this fer me,” Cade said and rested a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “We canna leave our people vulnerable. I canna travel fast enough to reach them ‘fore Duncan.”

Brian studied him. “Duncan will kill you, cousin.”

“He willna, not until he has defeated the clan. What laird doesna want Black Cade chained in his hall?” he asked dryly.

“I doona like this,” Brian said.

“I doona ask ye t’like it. I ask ye t’do as I say,” Cade replied. “Protect our people. Father Henry has the writ granting the lands t’Isabel and our messenger will reach Court soon.”

Brian and Niall were quiet, gazing at him as if they were looking at him for the last time. Weaker than he let on, Cade began to think they were right, that this may be their final moment together. Whenever he considered Isabel in the clutches of Laird Duncan – or worse, Lord Richard – his resolve solidified.

He offered his hand to Brian, who reluctantly clasped arms with him.

“We will see ye there,” Brian said firmly.

“Yea, cousin,” Cade said with a smile. He clasped arms with Niall next. “Fare thee well.”

“And ye,” the two echoed.

With one long, last look at him, his cousins took off at a quick lope through the forest.

Cade waited until the trees and brush had closed their path and hidden them from view before he leaned heavily against a tree. His head was pulsing, his wounds fiery, his skin clammy.

The thunderstorm had dissipated with the last of his strength, and it rained softly in the forest around him. Willing his natural shield against the elements away, he closed his eyes to the raindrops that washed down his face. They were cold and soothed his fevered skin. He shivered, loving the sensations of nature, and drew a deep breath.

This was not how he hoped this battle to go, for him to be too weak to fight properly. But, as he had learned in the Crusades, there was more than one way to fight a battle, and he had sent the men he trusted most to defend their kin. Brian and Niall would never fail him.

As long as his strength held out until he could find Isabel, he was willing to confront Duncan and Richard. With fortune and storms on his side, he would find a way to stall Laird Duncan for the third time, long enough for Brian and Niall to reach the MacCosse lands and ready their people.

With another shuddering breath, Cade pushed away from the tree and began walking through the forest, back towards the blazing keep. He reached the edge of the woods and observed the armies gathered to attack his people. Tossing his sword and daggers into a bush and willing the forest to conceal them, he strode into the field between the forest and keep and waited for Duncan’s men to see him.





Chapter Twenty One


Isabel looked out over the valley in dismay. The MacCosse lands had no proper shelter for the two clans seeking refuge there, aside from forests. As she watched from the hilltop where she rode beside her brother, more clan members arrived. They were greeted with cheers and welcomed to woodsy homes. Seillie magic had turned the canopies of trees into roofing supported by strong boughs. Smaller trees and branches lower to the ground appeared to hold hands to prevent the rain from reaching the ground beneath them while shrubbery had cleared away and piled itself, along with loose leaves and twigs, into walls surrounding the sheltered space. Smoke rose from several points, and large spits with rotating meats stood a short distance from the forest.