And it didn’t matter if they gave him a gift or not. He needed to be inside a big castle.
Safe.
Someday, he’d be a big Ramsay warrior too.
Chapter Forty-One
Brynja
Brynja ran past the houses but then took a detour, moving over to one of her hiding places. She glanced over her shoulder, Sholto and his men still a distance away and moving slowly. There it was. Her mother’s armor. She’d hidden it here in case she ever needed it. She donned the heavy armor, tying the strings behind her back to hold it in place. Then she picked up her weapons.
One spear and three daggers.
She made her way to Sholto and stood in front of him, a distance away, making sure he could see her. She called out, “Remember me?”
Sholto’s eyes widened. “I’m going to kill you, bitch.” He motioned to the other men. “Get the bairns and I’ll meet you back here.”
Brynja took off on a run. She headed toward the heavily forested area, one she knew well, but he didn’t, especially in the dark. She went a ways in, then hid in some bushes, listening to the man call out his empty threats. “I’m going to stab you right between the legs too. And then I’ll cut your breasts off. See how that feels.”
He approached the area heavy with brush and slowed his walk. “Come on out. We can talk about this.” She heard him draw his weapon, his arm pushing the branches aside as he crept through the trees.
How she wished to run out and chase him, but she’d learned from Hagen. Patience. Her hand flexed on her weapon as she took a deep breath to help herself focus.
She waited until the right moment, stepped out, and said, “Here I am.” Then she lifted her spear with every bit of strengthshe had, driving it into the area just below his ribs. And the weapon sunk in deep.
Reflexively, he jerked his sword and tried to stab her in the chest, but he hit metal.
Her mother’s armor protected her.
The man’s eyes closed as he slumped to the ground, taking his last breath, never to hurt another bairn again.
She whispered in her mother’s tongue, “May all the devils that could fill your boat rise up from hell to drag you down, you evil piece of scum.”
And she let the tears flow but then told herself she had to go help Magni and the bairns. Walking out of the forest, she saw Hagen running toward her. “Are you hale?”
“Aye, see for yourself.” She pointed to Sholto’s dead body a distance behind her.
He looked at the body and said, “Brynja, well done. The spear. What a deadly weapon. How did…” He stopped and saw her tears and instead, returned to her, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re a hell of a warrior, and I’d be honored to have you by my side in any battle.”
“We make a fantastic team, Hagen. You killed the man who killed my mother and my aunt. I didn’t want to say anything when your sire was so sick, but when I saw Dugan on Tiree, I recognized him. He’s the one. A killer and a molester. Many, many thanks to you and your sire.”
He leaned into her, kissed her tears, and whispered, “We can finally both let go of our vengeance.”
“Aye.” She let the tears fall and asked, “Magni?”
“Magni is blubbering in Thane’s arms, asking if he can still live with him. He’s fine.” He struggled against her and drawled, “I have to admit, hugging you without the armor is much more enjoyable.”
She broke into giggles, and he took her by the hand as two more huge ships arrived at shore near them.
“Who is that?” she asked. “Those ships are huge.”
“My uncle’s idea when he heard my sire was injured. Hired the biggest galley ship he could find, especially because he heard it was a Comming. They’re ready for a huge battle. One of his ships landed on the other side and helped take care of the other six men who were there. Another of Dugan’s ships landed, and they were taken care of quickly. Come, meet my uncle.”
He took her hand, and they raced over to the ship. “Uncle Jamie. Welcome! I think we’ve managed for now, but we can check.”
“Hellfire, I was ready for battle. My brother, Hagen? How is he? As soon as we were close to Craignure, Drew was there waiting, sent us over here to save some bairns. He climbed into Alasdair’s ship to show the way. You have too many islands.”
“Da’s fine, though weakened. He ran into Dugan Commings and put an end to his threat earlier this eve. You just missed the battle.”
