Caitlin lurched awake with a cry. Her heart was pounding, her body trembling. She scrambled to her feet and looked around wildly. Everything was blurry, hazy, as if she was looking through a fog. She tried to take deep breaths but they sounded ragged and unsteady even to herself. Her therapist’s voice echoed in her head telling her to try grounding techniques or relaxation exercises but none of them worked.
The memories of Kai’s words echoed through her mind: ‘Ye aren’t alone’. But this did not bring any relief—Caitlin knew she would always be alone in moments like these.
The room was closing in. She was trapped. Trapped again like a rat in a cage. She had to get out. She had to get home. She had to...
She had to get outnow. This instant.
She ran to her door, unlocked it, hurried down the corridor and then the stairs. The common room was dark, with only the faintest light filtering through the windows. Caitlin sped to the door, lifted the bar, and pushed it open.
The night air was cold and crisp, and the stars shone brightly overhead. Caitlin paused only long enough to get her bearings from the stars before she began to run. She’d been mapping their route in her head all day and knew which direction she needed to head in.
She ran down the road, her eyes flicking back and forth as she tried to remember the landmarks she had noted earlier that day. The road was deserted, the only sound the crunching of the gravel under her feet.
She had enough presence of mind to keep out an eye for danger as she slowed her pace to a brisk walk. She glanced over her shoulder at Rosa’s inn. In the darkness it was just a lump of shadow. Where was Kai right now? Asleep in one of those rooms? Was that woman with him? She felt an unexpected twinge deep in her gut.
She continued on, the night growing darker and colder as she left the light of the village behind. Despite the cold, sweat prickled on her forehead. She was on edge, barely able to keep the panic at bay, and kept expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. But nothing happened. The road remained deserted.
The sound of rushing water caught her attention. She followed the sound to a nearby river, which was rushing along at a fast clip. It was wider than she had expected, and she hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the rocky bank.
She made her way carefully along the edge of the river, her eyes scanning the water. She was so focused on the river that she almost didn’t notice the sound of hoofbeats approaching from behind.
She turned just in time to see a group of horsemen thundering towards her, their faces obscured by the darkness. Caitlin froze, her heart racing as the riders approached—and went thundering past without noticing her in the gloom.
She counted at least twelve of them and in the moonlight she caught the glint of weapons at their sides. She scrambled up the river bank and onto the road in time to see them disappear around a bend. Caitlin pressed her hand to her chest to try and still the thundering of her heart. Some instinct deep within warned her that those men were dangerous.
Who were they? And where were they going in such a hurry in the middle of the night? There was nothing out here except—
Except Aberfeldy where Kai and Conall and Rosa and the others were holed up, blissfully unaware of the danger riding towards them.
Caitlin never made the conscious decision. She suddenly just found herself sprinting back the way she’d come, a new urgency like panic filling her veins.
Kai,she thought. She ran faster, her lungs burning with the effort, her feet pounding the dirt road beneath her as she raced back towards Aberfeldy.
She rounded the bend in the road and skidded to a sudden halt. Firelight flickered through the trees ahead. Cautiously, Caitlin crept closer, her heart beating faster with every step. She could hear the murmur of voices now, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She dropped to the ground and crawled, her heart in her throat, until she could see the people gathered around the fire.
The horses were tethered to the trees and the men were hunched around the flames, eating. One of them, the leader perhaps, was standing by the fire, addressing the rest.
“Everyone clear on the plan? This is to be a quick strike. In and out, no loitering. Angus and Devlin, ye will head to the animal pens and open them. Drive the animals out but dinna even think about trying to steal any. We dinna have time for any cattle-rustling tonight. Seamus, David, John, Patrick, ye will torch the inn. The rest of ye, torch the houses nearest the perimeter. Dinna go too far into Aberfeldy. We dinna want to risk getting trapped or any of the villagers seeing us. Understood?”
“This is a stupid plan,” one of the men grumbled. “What’s in it for us? What kind of a plan has us torching a place before we have a chance to loot it?”
Quick as a snake, the leader slammed his fist into the speaker’s face. The man went flying over backwards, roaring with pain.
“Because, ye ignorant piece of slime,” the leader growled. “This isnae about plunder. It’s about fear. The master wants those people scared, not dead. And if ye’re not willing to follow orders, then ye can leave now and find yerself a new gang to run with. But before ye do that, just remember how the master treats disloyalty.”
The man clambered up, wiping blood from his nose. “No need to go telling the master,” he said. “I didnae mean aught. I’m loyal. I’ve always been loyal.”
“Glad to hear it,” the leader said. “Get some food down yer gullets while ye can. We’ll rest the horses for half an hour then set out.”
Caitlin’s mind raced. They were going to set fire to Aberfeldy! To Rosa’s inn, where Kai was staying!
She crawled back the way she’d come, careful to make no sound, then climbed to her feet and began to run. She had half an hour before the riders set out again, half an hour to make it back to Aberfeldy and warn them. Would it be enough? What if the riders caught her on the road? What if they caught Kai and the others unaware? What if—?
She clenched her fists to beat back the panic rising up her throat. It was going to happen again. She wouldn’t be able to save them. It would be just like last time.
Terror. Smoke. Crushing weight. Can’t get out. Trapped. Trapped. Trapped!
Then suddenly she slammed into something so hard that it sent her staggering back. She almost lost her footing but before she could fall, strong hands caught her, pulled her back to her feet.
