The Condemned Highlander by Donna Fletcher
27
Aman approached Brogan on a horse.
“Stay behind me,” Brogan ordered over his shoulder to his wife.
Annis did not argue. After seeing the troop of mercenaries, most of their faces marred with more than one scar and with hardened and soulless looks in their eyes, she was glad her husband had insisted she would not face such men alone.
Brogan did not take his eyes off the man. His slow approach, his alert eyes, and the way he sat his horse with relaxed confidence spoke of victory. The man had subdued Brogan’s warriors without anyone being harmed.
His gray hair that faintly touched his shoulders and the identical gray in his close-cropped beard and moustache and the wrinkles that dug into his face along with a few scars betrayed his age but also identified him as a seasoned warrior. His lean body advised that age or not, the man had retained his strength.
“Both of you, and your men, will come with me,” the man ordered.
“What do you want from us? Brogan demanded.
“It is not what I want from you. It is what you want from me,” the man said. “We leave now.” He signaled with his hand and one of his men approached with a horse. “One horse for you both. One of your men will remain behind and you will order him to return to the village and let them all know that if they dare search for you that I will ride on the village and kill everyone there.”
From the empty look in the man’s eyes, Brogan knew he would do as he threatened, and fear spiked in him. How would he ever keep his wife safe from these men? If he had had time to devise a plan for them to be captured, he would have had a good chance of seeing her kept from harm—not so now.
After Brogan mounted the horse and got Annis settled safely in front of him, she whispered, “Something is amiss with this.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he directed the horse to his men.
“Why take you and your men if I am the only one who they were hired to abduct? And the leader said it was what we wanted from him not what he wants from us. And how does he even know we want something from him?”
His wife was right. He had been so concerned with her safety that he had not given thought to anything else. How did the mercenaries know they wanted something from them? Who had provided information to the group about where he would be? Who had betrayed him?
Brogan instructed one of his men as he had been directed to do and had added, “Do nothing and tell no one beyond the village.”
The warrior nodded and was warned to wait until they were out of sight before returning to the village or risk losing his life.
Brogan assessed the group as they rode away. Eight mercenaries in all had overpowered his ten skilled warriors.
His wife voiced his thoughts. “The mercenaries must be highly skillful to have defeated your warriors and with harm to none. And how did they know where to find us?”
“I have thought the same. My father takes pride in his exceptionally skilled warriors. My only guess at their defeat was that someone provided the mercenaries with information. Though, Rannick once warned me that mercenaries are an evil bunch, never to be trusted. Their first and only thought is how much coin they can get. Pay them and they would do anything.”
“How does Rannick know this?” Annis asked with a suspicious worry.
“Rannick spent time with the mercenaries and has first-hand knowledge of them.”
The thought did not set well with Annis. “Why did he do that?”
Brogan silently cursed himself for letting that bit of information slip. He should have known it would worry his wife. But she had the right to know, and he would be honest with her since he would expect the same from her.
“Rannick once thought that if he immersed himself with evil, he could find a way to defeat the evil curse.”
Annis shook her head. “A foolish thought. He should have examined the curse more wisely.”
“What do you mean? Rannick, Odran, and I spent endless time examining the curse,” he said. “The conclusion was obvious. The curse is evil, and evil is difficult to defeat.”
“I will not argue that to you the curse is evil. But it was not cast with hate or an evil heart. It was cast with a mother’s love for her bairn, to protect her. You, Odran, and Rannick should have looked to love to understand it.”
“That is pure nonsense,” Brogan argued.
Annis gasped and gave his arm a squeeze. “I am a fool I should have realized it sooner.”
His wife’s revelations had proven helpful and correct, so he was eager to hear what thought had struck her. “What is it?”
“With the curse cast with a loving heart then it will take a loving heart to break the curse.”
He shook his head. “I do not follow.”
“I am not sure myself,” she admitted. “I only know that it is a battle of evil versus love that will see this curse broken forevermore.”
“Evil seems to be winning,” Brogan said with disappointment.
Annis grinned. “Never underestimate love, husband. After all, I did fall in love with you and tamed your evil ways.”
Heads turned when he laughed.
“You are the only one who could make me laugh while held captive by a band of mercenaries.”
Her grin softened. “And you are the only one who I know will keep me safe when captured by a band of mercenaries.”
He was not as confident as she was, though he would do whatever was necessary to keep her from harm.
She grinned again. “But fear not. I do not think this group means us harm.”
“Enough talking and laughing,” the leader shouted. “Keep silent or I will cut your tongues out.”
“Not a wise move, since then we will not be able to negotiate with you,” Annis called out to her husband’s dismay.
“Order your wife to hold her tongue,” the leader shouted.
Brogan laughed. “You might do me a favor by cutting her tongue out.” He laughed harder when Annis jabbed him in the chest.
“Cut out my tongue and I will return the favor, but it will not be your tongue I slice off,” Annis threatened the leader.
Brogan tried to cover his wife’s mouth with his hand to stop any more threats she might fling at the man, but she swatted his hand away. Some of the men laughed, not so the leader. He had turned his horse and was headed their way.
He was about to warn his wife to hold her tongue, but he was not quick enough.
Her chin shot up. “You know what I want from you—Gunna. Take me to her. I wish to speak with her.”
Brogan was ready to leap off the horse to protect his wife as he watched the leader’s dark eyes narrow and roam slowly over Annis. If he were to attack, he could count on his men to join in, but he would do that only if he had no other choice, for it would leave his wife in harm’s way.
“Hold your tongue until we stop next, then I may give you what you want,” the leader ordered.
Brogan tightened his arm around his wife’s waist in warning when he felt her body tense, ready to lash out at the man.
Annis’s response was to clamp her lips tightly shut and glare at the leader.
“Women,” the man said and shook his head and rode away.
Not another word was spoken, Annis using the forced silence to focus on achieving her goal. She had built a firm foundation for her quest, and she would not see it crumble now.
It was not long at all before they made their way through a heavily forested area of the woods and came upon a camp that sat in a small clearing.
Two men waited there, adding more fighting power to the mercenaries, but Brogan was a superior swordsman so he could count himself as more than one man. He would bide his time and see what the leader intended, giving him time to form a plan and escape if necessary.
Annis barely dismounted when she rushed over to the leader. “Where is she? Where is Gunna hiding?”
“All in good time,” the leader said and pointed to the campfire. “Sit.”
Brogan had come up behind his wife and his hands were quick to lodge at her waist. “Come warm yourself against the chill that has settled in.”
“She is in our grasp,” Annis whispered as they walked away.
“Gunna may not be as forthcoming as you want,” Brogan warned, taking hold of her arm. He intended to keep his hands on her the whole time they were there, fearful of what might happen. “She has kept the MacWilliam lass, her niece, safe all these years. She will not falter now.
“I will find a way to convince her,” Annis said and sat on the ground to stretch her chilled hands out to the fire to warm. A coldness had settled in the air, reminding that winter was on the way. If she did not see this done before it arrived, snow could delay her quest, a thought she did not want to give possibility to.
Brogan sat beside her, his eyes constantly surveying the area, having recalled something else Rannick had warned him about. Mercenaries often hid some of their men in the woods around their camp in case something unexpected should happen. Were there more ruthless mercenaries watching them from the woods?
As soon as the leader sat opposite them, Brogan asked, “Who are you?”
“Troy, I am the leader of these brave men,” he boasted. “But let’s not waste time with pleasantries. I am not the mercenary hired to abduct your wife.”
“Then why are we here?” Brogan asked, not sure whether to believe the man or not, Rannick’s warning about not trusting mercenaries still clear in his head.
“You are here because of Gunna. We protect Gunna. She has been good to me and my men, tending us when needed through the years; from seeing to our wounds and ills, to preparing food, and mending our garments.”
“You describe a servant,” Annis said, her own words reminding her of how Gunna had taken on the role of a servant to help her sister, Lady Aila.
“I can assure you that Gunna is no servant.”
Annis had tempered her patience long enough, though wisely let her words sound like a plea. “I need her help.”
“First, you need to be aware of the danger you face. Skelly is the leader of the mercenaries who has been hired to abduct and kill you.” Troy scowled. “He is an evil bastard. If he gets his hands on you, he will not kill you. He will have his fun with you, then sell you on the foreign market. Though, with your tongue as quick and sharp as it is, he will not hesitate to cut it out and suffer no loss since there are men who prefer such a woman. And if your husband is caught with you?” He looked to Brogan. “They will enjoy trying to kill you repeatedly since it is believed you cannot die, though it does not mean you cannot suffer.”
Annis leaned her arm against her husband’s and took hold of his hand, locking her fingers with his. The images of what might have happened if they both had been abducted by Skelly’s crew sent a bolt of fear through her that roiled her stomach. Bliss had warned her many times of her impatience and of being rash in making decisions that needed more time and careful thought. This incident made her realize the truth of her sister’s words.
“You expect me to believe that you have no desire for this coin offered for my wife’s life when you admit you go where the work takes you?” Brogan asked.
“A request from Gunna I could not refuse,” Troy explained.
“To not harm us?” Annis asked, her heart thumping hard in her chest. If it was so, then there was a good chance the woman would help her.
“Aye, that is what she asked of me,” Troy confirmed.
“She will speak with me then?”
Troy nodded. “In her own time.”
“You took Gunna in even knowing men of power were in pursuit of her?” Annis asked, eager to gain what information she could in case she should need it.
“Gunna came upon us by accident, or so she says,” Troy said with a smile. “She made no mention of the MacWilliam bairn. I figured out myself who she was and when I confronted her, she refused to speak of it. At first, I wasn’t going to let her stay with us. The men and I did not want her problem to become ours.” He turned quiet for a moment. “After some thought, we changed our minds. She has been with us ever since and not one of us regret our decision.”
Annis dug for more information. “Have you remained in this area the whole time or have you recently returned here?”
“You ask too many questions,” Troy said.
“I will ask thousands of questions if it helps save my sister.”
“Then save your questions for Gunna since she is the one with the answers,” Troy advised.
“When may I speak with her?” Annis asked more at ease now that she knew she would be able to speak with the woman.
“Soon.”
The one word shot relief and joy through Annis. Finally, it was all coming together. She would see it done. She would keep Bliss safe and also save her husband.
“I assume then we have your word you will not harm us?” Brogan asked.
“You ask a mercenary for his word?” Troy snickered.
Brogan grinned. “I ask the man who kept a woman from harm all these years when he would have been paid handsomely to do otherwise.”
Troy’s eyes narrowed. “You protect family. I protect mine and Gunna is family.”
Annis had watched the man as he spoke and had noticed how when he mentioned Gunna his eyes narrowed, and his voice took on a defensive tone as he did now.
It might have been wiser for her to hold her tongue instead of blurting out her sudden thought. “You love Gunna.”
Troy looked to Brogan. “She really does not know when to hold her tongue, does she?”
“It explains everything,” Annis said, ignoring the two men as she verbally worked through her thoughts. “You said it yourself that you were not going to let Gunna stay at first. What could have changed your mind? Love. Love changes everything and there is no fighting it. Love conquers all.” Annis turned a smug smile on her husband. “I told you… love will conquer this evil curse.”
“Love is strong,” Troy agreed, “but I have seen evil that no love can defeat. Evil eats at the soul until there is nothing left and at that point, it is the devil who owns you and nothing can change that.” He turned a brief nod on Annis. “You need to understand that when it comes to your sister, you may well succeed in breaking this curse, but know that in Rannick’s efforts to free himself from evil only plunged him deeper into its dark depths and now his soul belongs to the devil and always will.”
Brogan expected his wife to shed tears after hearing that her success could also mean failure, leaving her sister to suffer. Her actual response set a fright in him.
“I intend to save my sister one way or the other and if Rannick remains evil, then there is only one thing left for me to do to see my sister safe. I will kill Rannick and not shed a tear for him.”
Troy smiled. “You and Gunna will get along well.”
Brogan shook his head. If Gunna was anything like his wife, he would have his hands twice as full. He had had enough of the mercenary being in charge. He stood and took his wife along with him.
“I have had enough. I will see my wife kept safe and that means we return home. Bring Gunna there so she may talk with Annis,” Brogan commanded with a strength that dared to be challenged.
Troy got to his feet about to respond when a scream echoed through the woods.
“ATTACK!”
