Kai raised an eyebrow. “Anything? Well, that’s quite the offer. Anyone would think ye have something to hide.”
He gestured towards Conall and the man finally removed his wide-brimmed hat, then jumped down from the horse and approached the wagon. He shoved aside the sacks of grain to reveal the floor beneath. Taking a knife from the holder at his hip, he stuck it in the gap between the floor and the side of the wagon, and prised up the boards to reveal small, neatly stacked barrels beneath the false floor.
Magnus turned from where he sat on the wagon seat and whistled at the sight. “Well, would ye look at that? Seems yer were right, Conall. As usual.”
Conall gave a lop-sided smile and a small shrug. “I do my best.”
Kai shook his head at Alfred. “My, my, ye really have been a naughty boy, havenae ye?” He walked over to the barrels and ran his hand over the surface. They were smaller than any ale barrels he’d ever seen and bore no markings. “What’s in them?”
“I dinna know!” Alfred cried. “Honest, I dinna! I was paid to transport them, that’s all!”
“Paid to transport them where? To whom?”
Alfred snapped his mouth shut.
“He picked them up from a ship docked at Wick,” Conall said. “I’d never seen the style of ship before. It looked eastern. Perhaps from beyond Carthage.”
Kai held out his hand to Conall who placed his dagger in Kai’s palm. Kai shoved the blade under the lid of one of the barrels and prised it off. Inside, the barrel was full of a fine black powder.
In the dim light under the trees, he couldn’t make out what it might be. Pepper? Some kind of dye? “Oskar,” he said. “Pass me a torch.”
Oskar grabbed a dry branch, wrapped an oil-soaked piece of cloth around the end, and lit it. He passed it to Kai who held it aloft as he peered at the stuff in the barrel.
“Stop!”
Out of nowhere, Caitlin suddenly slammed into him hard enough to take them both crashing to the ground. Kai grunted as he felt the impact of the lass’s body against his own, knocking the air out of his lungs.
“Are you out of your mind?” she yelled.
The torch went flying from his hand and landed in the grass where it guttered and went out.
Kai managed to flip them over so that he was on top, pinning her to the ground. He could feel her heart pounding like a trapped bird beneath him.
“What the hell do ye think ye are doing?” he hissed.
“What the hell do you thinkyou’redoing?” she replied, struggling against him. “Are you insane? You’ll blow us all to kingdom come!”
He could hear his men rustling behind him, weapons at the ready, but he held up a hand to stop them.
“Woman,” he said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up. “Ye had better explain yerself. What are ye talking about?”
“Exactly what I said!” she cried, pulling against his grip. “You take that flame anywhere near those barrels and you’ll kill us all! That’s gunpowder!”
Gunpowder? He’d heard of it. Rumors that the eastern lands had developed some kind of explosive powder that could level castles and destroy armies had circulated for years. But he’d never seen it before. And he’d certainly never heard of anyone transporting it through the Highlands.
He looked between the barrels and the lass. Finally, he released her.
“Gunpowder,” he said the word softly. It sounded strange on his tongue. “And how would ye know this, lass?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. “I’ve...come across it before. In my line of work.”
There was a story there, he was sure of it, but he didn’t have time to question her now. Instead, he looked at Alfred. “Is that true? Is that what ye are transporting?”
“I dinna know!” Alfred squealed. But from his pale, terrified expression, Kai knew he was lying.
Kai scrubbed his hand through his hair. Lord take him, that had been close. “I think I owe ye my thanks,” he said softly to Caitlin. “Ye may have just saved our lives.”
She rubbed her arm where he’d held her. She seemed surprised by his gratitude. “I...um...you’re welcome.”
