“The truth?”
“That Eamon McRae was never the benevolent savior that Magnus thought he was. Eamon McRae was always a ruthless bastard and when he saw Magnus at the monastery,he saw a lost lad with unusual strength and skill who needed guidance. Someone who could be molded to his use. Eamon McRae didnae take Magnus in from the goodness of his heart but because he wanted to use him. He wanted to turn him into a killer, a thug who would do his bidding without question.”
“But...but that’s not what Magnus says,” Izzy replied. “He says McRae was a good man right up until the accident.”
Emeric snorted. “Like I said, Magnus’s view is distorted somewhat. He was so grateful to McRae that he was unable to see the truth. McRae’s plans didnae work out the way he wanted. Aye, Magnus became the formidable warrior that McRae wanted him to, but obedient thug he was not. He wanted to go another way. He wanted to join the Order of the Osprey.”
Izzy frowned, thinking this through. “Magnus said he and McRae argued. Is that what they argued about? Him joining the Order?”
Emeric nodded. “Magnus left Dun Crogan and came to Dun Saith where he met myself and others who were new to training. We bonded immediately and when we were informed by our commanders that we’d passed all the tests and would be admitted into the Order, it was the proudest day of all our lives. Magnus wished to ride home to Dun Crogan to tell Eamon McRae, certain he would be pleased. Myself and Kai Stewart, our sword-brother and commander, went with him.”
“As we approached the castle, Magnus was all excitement and joy. He expected McRae to be proud, perhaps even share a toast in celebration of his achievement. But when he toldMcRae that he was joining the Order...” Emeric’s voice trailed off, and for an instant, he seemed lost in memory.
“McRae couldnae believe that Magnus had chosen the Order over him,” Emeric continued. “He had planned to use Magnus as his personal weapon and suddenly here he was, slipping out of his grasp. To McRae that was the ultimate betrayal. In a rage, McRae attacked Magnus. It was a brutal fight. McRae was an experienced warrior, skilled and cunning. He had taught Magnus much of what he knew but not everything. Magnus was younger, faster, stronger. And he fought with the desperation of a man who had just found something to live for. I remember his face during that fight—fierce, determined, yet filled with sorrow for having to raise his sword against his mentor.
“Then it happened. In the midst of their duel, McRae lunged towards Magnus but he parried the attack and it threw McRae off balance,” Emeric’s voice dropped low as if the memory was still painful to recount.
“McRae stumbled backwards...right into one of the old wooden beams that supported the ramshackle barn that once filled the northern quarter of Dun Crogan’s bailey. I still remember the noise as McRae hit that beam—it isnae a noise ye are likely to forget. It snapped and brought the roof down—right on top of McRae.”
Izzy gasped, her hands going to her mouth. She had seen no barn in Dun Crogan’s bailey and now knew why—it had been destroyed in the accident that crippled Eamon McRae.
“We all helped in digging him out,” Emeric continued. “And for a wonder, he was pulled out alive. It might have been better for everyone if he hadnae.”
“So that’s when Magnus left? He went back to Dun Saith with you to join the Order?”
Emeric shook his head. “Nay. Magnus was riddled with guilt and insisted on staying at Dun Crogan and nursing McRae back to health. And he did. The man was unconscious for weeks but Magnus didnae leave his side. We all thought it futile. We all thought McRae would die. But it seems Magnus knew the old bastard better than any of us and he finally woke up and began to heal. But he was different. The head wound changed him. He had been a bastard before, but now he was twisted and cruel as well. When he was well enough, he threw Magnus out of Dun Crogan and swore vengeance against him for his betrayal. It’s only then that Magnus came to Dun Saith and joined the Order.”
Emeric fell silent and Izzy blinked, trying to process everything she’d just learned. Her heart ached for Magnus, for the boy he’d once been. He’d desperately been looking for a home since he’d lost his parents, first at the monastery and then at Dun Crogan. What must it have been like for him to feel he was responsible for losing that too? How must it have been for him all these years seeing the man he regarded as his foster-father become someone he didn’t recognize, someone who hated him? She couldn’t imagine. Her own family were distant and disinterested, but they were not cruel.
“He still blames himself,” Izzy said, remembering him taking a beating from that villager. “He thinks he’s responsible for what McRae is doing now.”
Emeric nodded. “I know. Nothing else could drive him to abandon the Order the way he did.” He looked away asone of his men came riding up. “Well?” Emeric demanded as the man pulled up his horse. “Any sign?”
“I doubled back as ye commanded,” the man said. “They aren’t following or heading back to Dun Crogan. I followed their tracks until I was sure where they were going.”
“Wait,” Izzy said. “You’ve sent out scouts to track Magnus? You were planning on rescuing him all along?”
“Of course,” Emeric replied. “Do ye think I would leave my sword-brother in McRae’s hands?”
“Then I’m coming with you!”
“Ye are not. I have another squad riding to meet us as we speak. When they arrive, some of them will take ye to Dun Saith. The rest of us will go after Magnus.”
Izzy ground her teeth in fury.
“Where are they headed?” Emeric asked his scout.
The man shifted uncomfortably. “They’ve taken Magnus into the Dragon’s Back.”
Emeric cursed under his breath. “That’s the last thing we need. We canna track them there—the terrain is too difficult.”
The rider shrugged, a grimace of resignation on his face. “Aye,” he agreed. “But it’s clear that’s where they’re headed. I saw signs of a struggle at the foot of the pass—it seems Magnus didnae go willingly.”
Izzy felt a sick knot of fear in her stomach as Emeric stared into the distance, towards where the ground began to rise into the formidable peaks and ridges of the Dragon’s Back.
“Then we have to go in after him.”
“McRae isnae stupid,” Emeric replied. “There’s a reason he’s taken Magnus there. It’s because he knows we canna track him. That place is a maze to those who dinna know it. We’d never find them. The Order has only a handful of trackers who know the Dragon’s Back well enough to travel there safely—and none of them are here.” He shook his head. “We’ll have to send word to Dun Saith to send one of those trackers to us.”
