“Gather the rest of your men and I will repeat the oath in front of them. They will be our witnesses.” Kenna swallowed hard and did her best to block out Colum’s enraged moans. She had to do this. It was the only way. He had to live. That was all that mattered.
A strange cold peacefulness settled over her. Good. She wanted to be numb. She hoped the eerie lack of feeling would last her the rest of her life—especially since she had just promised that life away.
“Yer repeated oath will not be necessary.” Ronan’s gaze shifted to Colum. His mouth tightened as Colum cut loose with a stream of curses and made a weak attempt to throw anything he could reach at Ronan.
Ronan’s gaze returned to lock with Kenna’s. “I shall take yer word as yer bond, Lady Kenna. I see the truth of it in yer eyes.” He bent, scooped up her hand, and pulled her to her feet. “Stand aside now, lass. We shall see if we can get the man free.”
She backed a few steps away, her fists clenched against her stomach. This had to work. Surely, Ronan and his men would be able to yank Colum out of the earth’s clutches.
Ronan walked back and forth beside Colum. He squatted down, slowly rose, then circled and squinted at the rocks and mud from every possible angle.
“Come closer, ye bastard. Put yer throat in my hand.” Colum shifted, doing his level best to lunge for Ronan. His clenching hand grabbed at the air as Ronan circled him. He gnashed his teeth like a cornered beast.
“Ian!” Ronan bellowed, ignoring Colum as he circled back and walked to where Colum’s left foot was buried.
Ian thumped down the hillside along the line of trees undisturbed by the recent landslide. “Aye?”
“A spade.” Ronan bent down and scowled at Colum, turning his head first one way, then the other. “And the axe,” he added as his brow creased with displeasure.
“An axe?” Kenna repeated. She didn’t like the sound of that.
Ronan jabbed a finger toward the pile of debris just above Colum’s buried right shoulder. “Look at the line of gray along that mud. Look at the shape of the earth that has settled on him.” Ronan walked to just behind Colum’s head, squatted, and stared down the length of Colum’s body. “I fear either his arm or his leg is caught beneath a larger boulder. If that be so, by the look of his color, he will nay last the time it will take to move the rock and dig him free.”
“Bring me the axe. I have a good use for it.” Colum kicked at the ground and stretched to reach Ronan with his free hand.
Ronan ignored Colum, just stood and rubbed his chin as he continued studying the lay of the land. “But if it is only his arm or leg trapped beneath the stone . . . ” Ronan’s voice trailed away as he lifted his gaze to Kenna. “ We will save the precious time the man needs by cutting him free.”
“Cut him free?” Kenna stumbled to support herself against a tree as the ground took a nauseating spin. “What the hell do you mean bycutting him free?” Surely, Ronan didn’t mean what she thought he meant.
“Save the body or save the man. Do ye wish him to live or not?”
Kenna swallowed hard against the rising bile churning at the back of her throat. No. She couldn’t order Colum dismembered. She prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
“Dinna allow them to do it, Kenna. Ye must stop this madness.” Colum’s voice held no fear, just pure unadulterated rage.
Balancing the head of the axe against the side of his boot, Ronan directed Ian to begin digging at Colum’s feet. He nodded his approval as Ian dug down and managed to clear away most of the debris piled on Colum’s chest and torso, all the while dodging Colum’s grappling hand.
After Liam clamped down Colum’s free arm, Ian straddled Colum’s waist and snaked one hand up Colum’s left side until the lad had shoved his arm shoulder-deep into the sticky hillside.
Colum bellowed out another stream of curses as Ian worked his way through the mud. The lad shook his head with a grim scowl as he pulled himself free of the cloying muck. “’Tis not good, master. I canna say for sure, but both the man’s arm and his leg are caught . . . by something.” Ian’s face darkened with a dour expression as he shook his shaggy head. “‘The arm appears to be whole. No breaks, but doesna feel quite right. The thickest part of the leg is broken, and just past his knee feels to be broken as well.”
Kenna couldn’t hold back any longer. She bent double, hung on to a cold wet tree, and vomited on the far side of it. An aching shudder shook through to her very core. She couldn’t bear to think of what they were about to do. She couldn’t think about the pain—or how it would change Colum’s life. Colum took great pride in his skill as a warrior and protector of Clan MacKenna. Would he be able to adapt if they had to maim him?
“He will be alive.” Ronan’s quiet voice rumbled through the dizziness clouding her vision as he took her by the arm and led her to Ian. “Go with Ian.”
Kenna shook her head and started to pull away. Ian lifted her by the elbows and started pushing her up the hillside. “Ye canna be of help down here. Master and the lads will get the man to the wagon. Ye will only be in the way.”
“No. I want to stay with him. I can’t leave him.”
Ronan closed the distance between them. He gripped her chin in the palm of his hand and forced her to meet his gaze. “Go with Ian. Now, wife. Agreed?” The truth of what Ronan had really asked flickered like lightning in his eyes.
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Agreed,” she finally said and nodded. “Thank you. For everything.” She wet her lips and lifted her chin. “Thank you, my husband.”
Both of Ian’s scraggly eyebrows disappeared beneath the unkempt shock of hair that tumbled across his forehead. He respectfully bowed his head as again, he held out a hand. “Allow me to help ye, m’lady. I shall build ye a fine fire and fetch a skin of whisky to chase the chill from yer bones.”
It didn’t really matter if Ian built a fire or not. Kenna welcomed the cold numbness seeping across her. She felt sure she would never be warm again. She covered her ears with both hands to block out Colum’s enraged screams.
CHAPTER28
