Reivers.
Annaleigh ran to the keep as War, Monty, and Clement headed for the gatehouse.
The smell of battle was in the air.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There was abattle going on.
Argyle and Brendan could see it in the distance. It was a clear day and, for some reason, the village of Coldstream was in an uproar. They could see the reflection of shields against the sun and people were fleeing the village. The men paused on a rise to the west, overlooking the village in the distance, and they could see all of it.
“Kerr again,” Argyle muttered. “In the daylight, they’re raiding Coldstream? They’re madmen.”
Brendan’s gaze was riveted to the distant village. They were far enough away, with a clear field of vision, that they weren’t in any immediate danger, but frightened villagers were passing them on the road. Brendan finally reached out and grasped an old man by the arm.
“What’s amiss?” he demanded.
The old man was carrying a satchel, helping an old woman and younger girl along. “Reivers,” he said, pulling from Brendan’s grip. “The Bones.The Bones!”
He hurried away, pulling the women with him. But his information had told Brendan and Argyle exactly what they needed to know.
The Bones.
A group of particularly vicious reivers called themselves The Bones, a gang of outlaws that roamed these northern lands and tended to raid larger villages, like Coldstream. They were bold and brazen, so the raid in the daylight made sense because they’d done it before. They called themselves The Bones because once they were finished raiding, that was all they left behind– the bones. The bones of a village, the bones of people, the bones of a once-idyllic life.
It was one of the most feared names on the borders.
“The Bones,” Argyle muttered, his gaze on the village in the distance. “I’m not going near that place. We must go around.”
Brendan agreed. The men of The Bones fought like mercenaries, so no one wanted to engage them. They left the clans alone for the most part, so the clans left them alone as well, but what they didn’t leave alone were villages of any size. If there was a settlement, chances are they’d raided it.
There was no protection, anywhere.
“I’ve heard they’ve gone as far north as Edinburgh,” Brendan said.
“And Yorkshire tae the south,” Argyle said, reining his sturdy pony west, down into the thick growth around the river. “I’ve heard they’ve even raided intae Lancaster.”
“That would be a long journey,” Brendan said, following his brother as they quickly moved into the greenery for cover. “But the lads are bold, I’ll give them that. And tae raid Coldstream is madness. Wark Castle is right across the river and Castle Questing not far beyond that. Would they truly take on de Wolfe?”
Argyle reined his horse to a halt and Brendan behind him. They were beneath the trees now, well hidden from anyone on the road, but they could still see a bit of the village in the distance. If they listened hard enough, they could hear the screams.
“So de Wolfe is distracted,” Argyle said thoughtfully. “’Tis better for us. Annie will see how determined we were tae deliver the message of Robbie’s illness because we risked trouble with the reivers take make it tae Castle Questing. It will lend truth tae our appearance.”
“True,” Brendan said. “But one thing we’ve not discussed is de Wolfe himself.”
“What about him?”
Brendan pointed to the village in the distance. “It doesna matter if he’s distracted with the reivers,” he said. “This willna last forever. He’ll be back tae Castle Questing by tonight, when we arrive. If we tell him that Robbie is ill, he’ll not let Annie go home without an escort. I’d wager tae say he’ll insist, especially if the reivers are in the area.”
Argyle frowned as he thought on that statement. It was clear he’d not considered de Wolfe sending an escort with them to return to Langton, so the wheels of thought began to churn. But not for long. After a moment, he nodded his head.
“Then we tell Annie that Robbie doesna want anyone tae know he’s ill,” he said. “We’ll tell her that neither Uncle Ian nor Robbie want de Wolfe tae know, so she’ll have tae come with us in secret. She’ll leave a message behind for de Wolfe telling him that she decided tae return home but not why. She’ll tell him not tae follow. Simple enough, isn’t it?”
Brendan simply didn’t think so, but Argyle always had an answer for everything. He shrugged and gathered his reins, kicking his shaggy pony onward, towards the east where there was a stone crossing over the river about a mile downstream,near a tiny village called Carham. It was a narrow crossing, but it was their only option at that point.
They had to make it to Castle Questing.
The sense of urgency grew.
