Then suddenly, a sharp steel edge pressed against his throat from behind, halting him mid-step.
“Not so fast,” a voice hissed close to his ear.
He swiveled his eyes and saw a woman standing behind him, holding the dagger that was pressing against his neck.
“I’ve got all three of ye now,” said Alice Brewer, her eyes flashing dangerously. “And I’m going to enjoy cutting ye all into pieces.”
Chapter 21
The sounds of fighting coming from inside the house were intensifying. Lily bit her lip, panic fluttering in her stomach like butterfly wings.
What was happening in there? Oskar had said they were going to be quick and silent but that plan had obviously gone right out of the window. What if Oskar was captured or injured? Or...or worse?
What if she lost him?
She squeezed her eyes closed as panic clawed its way through her chest. She felt frozen. Unable to move. What should she do? What should she do?
The words Irene MacAskill had spoken suddenly came back to her.Ye are stronger than ye think if only ye would take the time to learn that.
And then she heard Oskar’s voice in her mind.Ye shame me, Lily. Ye are stronger than I could ever hope to be.
Then she knew what she had to do. She wouldnotlose him. She tightened her grip on the dagger and ran into the house.
“DINNA EVEN THINK ABOUTit,” Alice Brewer snarled as Oskar’s fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword.
She pressed her blade harder against his neck until he felt it bite into his skin and a soft line of blood began dribbling down his neck.
“All right,” he said. “Ye win.” He tossed his sword to the ground.
“Of course I win,” she snapped. “I’m glad ye finally realize that.”
Oskar glanced over at Magnus and Emeric. They were still thrashing against their bonds and shouting through their gags. Both had clearly suffered rough treatment and he could see bruises and cuts all over the two of them. Punishment for their part in Lily’s escape?
“What do ye want?” he asked Alice.
There was a crazed, almost unhinged look in her eyes as she glared down at Oskar.
“What do I want?” she rasped. “What do I want? What do ye think I want? Ye and yer friends have chased my husband and I from one end of Scotland to the other. Ye have imprisoned or killed my comrades and almost killed me! So what do ye think I want? Vengeance. A drive that I’m sure ye can understand.”
“If that’s so then why havenae ye killed Magnus and Emeric already?”
“Because Eberwyn wouldnae let me! Leverage. Hostages. That’s all he kept going on about! What do I care about any of that? After what the Order of the Osprey has done to me, the only thing I want is blood!”
Oskar glanced at the door. He could hear Bryn and his crew sweeping through the house and the sounds of fighting.
