Highlander’s Broken Love by Fiona Faris

Chapter Nineteen

Elisabeth could hear the bolts and the musket shots that rang out around them as Ian rode the horse away from the group. She could understand his reluctance to leave his clan. It meant leaving them without a leader and placing them both in a risky position. If they were caught, they only had each other to rely on to escape and stay alive.

He steered the horse toward the edge of the valley and headed up through the trees. He didn’t pick a particular path but headed through the dense thicket, urging the steed to travel as fast as it could.

Elisabeth strained to try and look around him. She couldn’t make out how many people were chasing them, but she could see a blur of red uniforms, showing it was the Englishmen who were in pursuit. Ian’s kin had clearly stayed behind to fight the battle with the rest of their own clan.

Elisabeth was desperate. She could hear the other horse’s hooves gaining ground on them, and it was only a matter of time before they were caught. She released the pommel, her instinct taking over as she went for the reins.

“Elisabeth, let go!” Ian demanded, his rage clearly coming from the frantic need to escape.

“I’ll ride,” she said, snatching the leather from his hands. “You shoot.”

He did not argue again. She was aware of the fumbled way he held onto her while he snapped up the crossbow and readied it with another bolt. She concentrated solely on riding the horse.

She knew that because their black steed was carrying two people he would tire quicker than the others. That meant they would struggle to outrun their chasers. No, if they were going to survive, she had to think of something else. She’d have to be the better rider and trick their chasers.

Elisabeth turned their path. Whereas Ian had had them riding up a hill, she turned them sharply to the right along a path that cut through trees and let them descend the hill. At this new position, the horse would not tire so quickly.

“How close are they?” she called to Ian, knowing she didn’t have time to look back herself.

“One is too close,” he answered her, struggling with the crossbow.

A plan formed quickly in her mind.

“Shoot the branch,” she called to him.

“What?”

“Shoot the branch,” she ordered. “You want to stop them from following us? Then shoot the branch.” She pointed one out up ahead. It was already in a precarious position; though large, it was partly hanging off the tree. It wouldn’t need much to force it off further.

She felt Ian lift the crossbow, bringing it level with her shoulder just as he released the bolt.

She had to ride the horse faster, but it obeyed her command easily, snuffling just once in complaint as they passed under the falling branch. She glanced back, straining to look round Ian, in time to see the branch fall and one of their pursuers attempt to stop. He was too late, and the branch landed on his head, knocking him out and sending him to the ground instantly along with his horse.

“One down,” Ian said as Elisabeth turned back to face the front.

“How many more?”

“Two,” he called back.

She wrapped the reins harder around one wrist and patted the horse’s neck, spurring him on. If they were going to lose the other two, then she needed to use her bond with the horse to encourage it to maintain speed.

They came to a steeper section of the hill, dangerously steep.

“Whoa…” Ian called. “We’ll fall!”

“Hold on, we won’t,” she called back to him. She had done such hills before. Granted, carrying two people, the challenge would be harder, but she knew it could be done. She pulled back on the reins, showing the horse that it needed to slow down a bit for this descent. He whinnied in understanding but still hurried over the edge of the dip and down the side.

Elisabeth felt Ian grab onto her and the pommel even harder to keep from sliding hard into Elisabeth as the horse’s back became a steep angle.

To Elisabeth’s relief, the horse didn’t fall. It was a tall, strong steed and bore the weight of them both as they hurried down the hill.

“One of them is takin’ the longer route down,” Ian said to her, clearly looking back at their pursuers.

“But the other is following?” she asked.

“Aye, and he’s gainin’ ground,” he said as he lifted the crossbow again. She heard the thud of the bolt landing somewhere, but the curse Ian muttered a second later told her that he’d missed his mark.

She continued forward, attempting to ignore the fear and anger that was pulsing inside her that such men would try to hurt Ian. From what she had seen, Grier was determined to get his clan back, regardless of the risk to his people. That was bad enough, but she was even more disgusted by the Englishmen in the crowd. They had attacked her. She was their kinswoman, yet that had not mattered to them in the least. They were determined to capture or kill Ian, and nothing else mattered. She was revolted by the whole war between the English and Scots. Yet worrying about it now wouldn’t save Ian’s or her life. She had to concentrate on getting away.

As they reached the bottom of the hill and the ground began to level out, she heard a river nearby. She made a quick decision and rode toward it.

“There’s a river over there,” Ian called to her. She didn’t take the time to reply, she just galloped toward it. As it began to appear, she heard Ian’s panic. “What are ye doin’?” he called to her.

“Hold on,” she ordered him. He looped the crossbow back into his belt and then held tightly onto her and the saddle again.

Her father had always said that she was one of the finest horse jumpers he’d ever seen, even beating his soldiers in skill by far. She supposed that now was the time to put that statement to the test, to see if she could outjump these soldiers, too.

She turned the horse to the narrowest section of the river, which was far from being narrow at all, and urged the steed to travel faster. Around them, the trees opened up slightly, revealing firm, level ground on either side on the river. The current of the river was moving fast below the surface, showing that one wrong step would send them flying into the depths, and quite possibly into a current from which they couldn’t escape.

“He’s gettin’ nearer,” Ian called to her. She glanced back briefly, just long enough to see he was right. An English soldier wearing the red and white uniform now had a musket in his hand. He was lifting it and pointing it in their direction.

She turned back, knowing Ian could be shot any minute and veered toward the river again, hoping the decision took their pursuer by surprise. As they reached the riverbank, she urged the horse to jump.

It was not as clean as she would have liked, for the steed was carrying two, but it did the job. The strong animal obeyed her instruction, and it was done almost perfectly. They landed on the other side, with the steed’s back hoof just skimming the water before continuing on.

They rode a little more slowly now, and they both looked back across the river to their pursuer. The soldier had apparently thought that if they could make the jump, he could make it, too. However, he must have changed his mind as he got closer to the width of the river. He fumbled with the musket in one hand while trying to pull his horse to a stop with the other. It was an order given too late. The horse tried to skid to a halt, but even with its hooves digging into the ground, it couldn’t stop in time.

Its front hooves ended up in the water and with its nose suddenly bent down, the soldier was thrown from the saddle and tossed over the horse’s head. He landed in deep water with a big splash.

As his tricorn hat disappeared beneath the surface, a glimpse of his uniform could be seen as the soldier was carried away by the current.

Elisabeth pulled their steed to a stop to watch him disappear. She could glimpse the red and white uniform for two more bends in the river, before it slipped away completely.

“Is he…?” Elisabeth broke off, horrified by the thought.

“He may nae come back from that,” Ian said softly, panting as much as she in trying to catch his breath. “It isnae yer fault, Elisabeth.” She was not so sure. She felt the guilt wrack her body, but she’d had no choice other than to try to lose the man. He was going to shoot Ian, and she couldn’t let that happen. “I’ve never seen a rider quite like ye.”

“Thank you,” Elisabeth said, turning the horse to the main path and trying to find a way out of the forest. “Can you see the other soldier?”

“Nay, but it willnae be long before he catches up,” he said quickly. “Best get goin’.” She urged the horse forward again, aware that her gaze kept slipping back to the river, praying the man would survive his fall.

* * *

Ian could tell Elisabeth was upset by what had happened to the English soldier, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Had she not taken the chance with the jump across the river, they could both be dead. It had been worth the risk.

He passed a hand up and down her arm, trying to bring some warmth and comfort to her as they rode forward along the pathway through the trees, with no real direction other than escape in mind.

At all times, Ian kept looking back and forth through the trees. When they had cantered down the hill, one of the English soldiers had broken off from the others and appeared to take a longer route down. He was certain that, sooner or later, this soldier would make an appearance.

“What do we do now?” Elisabeth asked, turning in the saddle to look up at him. “Where do we go?”

“I have an idea of somewhere we can go,” he whispered to her, his gaze still fixed on the trees. He was looking for any sign of movement at all. “Somewhere that Alex could find us later.”

“Will we be safe there?”

“I hope so, if…” he paused as his eyes landed on a particular clump of bushes nearby. Made up of holly and yew, the small leaves danced a little, as though something had moved behind them.

“If what?”

“Shh,” he whispered gently as he slowly took the crossbow out of his belt and tried to find an arrow to add to the weapon. She followed his gaze and turned her head to look at the holly bush too. He lifted the weapon, realizing with horror that he was out of bolts when the holly bush leaves danced again. A deer stepped out. “Thank God,” he sighed and lowered the weapon.

“I thought we were trapped then,” Elisabeth said, her hands shaking as she lifted the reins a little higher.

“So did I,” Ian said. Then he heard the whistle of an arrow in the air. “Get down!” he ordered Elisabeth, twisting their bodies so much that they nearly fell out of the saddle. Both bent double over the horse’s neck; it was an uncomfortable position to maintain.

Ian tried to look up to see who had fired the weapon while they were distracted, but another arrow came, whizzing through the air so close to his head that he practically felt the hair on his forehead stir in the little breeze it created.

He slid off the saddle to the ground and pulled Elisabeth down too, shielding their bodies behind the horse just as the deer bounded off through the nearby trees, spooked by the sudden sounds.

“Go, that way,” Ian pushed Elisabeth toward the same clump of trees, seeing a good chance for her to hide there. She didn’t go straight away.

“I’m not leaving you,” she said, clinging to his arm.

“Ye must,” he begged of her and pushed her back again, just as an arrow flew over their heads.

They both crouched down to the ground, hiding from the weapons.

“Go, now,” he pushed her ahead. She went, though clearly reluctantly, looking back to him every few seconds.

Ian reached for his crossbow, then remembered he was out of bolts. There was no possible way for him to injure their attacker at this distance. He took the sword out of his scabbard and peered over the saddle, trying to find where the soldier was in the trees.

When the next arrow came, it revealed the soldier’s location. He was hiding behind a large oak a little distance away.

Ian lifted his sword and mapped out the perfect route. He didn’t wait to think about his options for too long. He stepped out from the horse, jumping behind a large pine tree as another arrow was released, that landed in the ground near the horse’s hooves.

With the arrow spent, he moved again, quickly moving from each tree to the next as he closed the distance between them. Within seconds, he was but a few strides away from the soldier. He stopped when he was one tree away, listening for the sound of an arrow that never came. In its place, he heard a sword being removed from a belt, the metal sliding against leather.

Ian raised his weapon in preparation and stepped out from behind the tree. His sword met his opponent’s blade in midair. The two swords were pushed against one another as the struggle became a contest of strength between Ian and an English soldier.

“Why are ye here?” Ian demanded to know. The soldier’s haggard face turned heavier, the frown taking over.

“You took her. Did you think you’d get away with that?”

“What?” Ian asked, his mind working quickly to understand.

As the soldier pushed Ian’s sword away, he brought it up again, lunging forward deeply. He struck across the man’s waist. The wound was instant, though not deep, sending the soldier stumbling back into the oak tree behind him.

“I took nay one,” Ian said darkly as he knocked the sword out of his opponent’s hand, then kicked it away. He lifted the tip of his sword back to the man’s throat, threatening to strike if he moved an inch. “Ye go back and tell yer superior that whatever Grier told them is wrong. I took nay one from them. The woman taken from ye will be returned. I promise ye that.”

“And you expect me to believe the word of a Scot?” the soldier spat in his direction.

“Ye clearly believed Grier’s word,” Ian said strongly. “Ye want to live? Go, now, back to yer people before ye bleed out. Tell them what I said.”

The man didn’t need telling twice. He rounded the oak tree apparently as quickly as he could, placing a hand tightly against his bleeding waist before he ran away, back in the direction from which they had all come.

Ian waited for a few minutes, needing to be certain the man was gone for good. Once he could see the man trying to cross the fast-moving river, he was confident of the soldier’s retreat. It was time to go back for Elisabeth.

He hurried through the trees, determined to reach her quickly. He found the horse first and grabbed the steed’s reins before dragging him toward the clump of trees. Ian hadn’t even reached the trees when Elisabeth burst out from her cover, rushing beyond holly bushes and pine leaves in her effort to reach them.

“Are you all right?” she asked, reaching for him. Seeing the panic in her face, he released the steed and went to grab her hands.

“I’m fine,” he assured her. “Completely unhurt.”

“Thank the Lord,” she said and cast her eyes to the heavens, just as he lifted her hands and kissed the back of each of them, thrilled she was alive.

“We cannae say the same for ye it seems,” he said with fear as he lifted a hand to her neck and found the thin trickle of blood that had run down her throat. Seeing that wound made his stomach coil in fury. He couldn’t believe any man would raise a dagger to Elisabeth. The memory of watching the soldier holding her with the blade at her throat sickened him.

“It’s not bad, is it?” she asked, reaching for her throat. As she pulled her hand away, her eyes widened at the sight of the blood there, so far that he could see the whites around her irises. She wobbled on her feet.

“Oh nay, nay time to feel faint now, Elisabeth,” he said quickly and took hold of her around her waist. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” he urged and steered her back toward the saddle of the steed. He helped her up, watching as she kept one hand firmly around her throat, clearly horrified by the wound.

He pulled himself up behind her and took the reins before looping an arm around her waist and tugging her to lean back against him.

“Nay harm will come to ye now. I promise ye,” he vowed and dropped a kiss to the top of her shoulder, unable to stop himself. She leaned even more against him, the only reply she gave, though it encouraged him still.

He pulled on the horse’s reins and angled them to a path at the far end of the forest. It was some time since had explored this part of the landscape, but he could remember the route well, for he intended to hide himself and Elisabeth in a place where few people dared to go because of local superstitions. He knew it to be a safe place, though, and that was exactly what he needed for Elisabeth now. Somewhere safe.