"Didnae ken what?" Fergus asked with an unexpected gentleness that made Maeve smile slightly.
Her smile soon faded, though, as Sadie answered. "Kyle… the Chieftain, I mean… he kept it quiet. He didnae want the whole country kennin' he'd imprisoned his own son, I suppose."
A shocked silence fell across the small group, and finally Maeve let out a strangled, "What?"
Sadie looked at her with wide, apologetic eyes, and Maeve could see even in the darkness that they were filled with tears. "He was caught. They found out he was part of yer escape, Maeve, and he didnae make it better for himself by publicly dissentin' from his father whenever he got the chance. He kept helpin' people, protestin' his father's wishes, and eventually, it all got too much — Kyle locked him up."
"His own son…" Cailean stated, not a question but an exclamation of disgust and regret.
Sadie blinked away her tears, her voice shaking with even more anxiety as he continued. "He's… he's a monster, sir. A true monster. I ken ye all think Malcolm Darach was bad, but at least he had some limits. Kyle is a tyrant. He kills without thinkin' twice. He takes and takes and takes. He's raised taxes to the point that no one in the clan will be able tae afford tae eat. He's taken over people's homes for his own and turned them out intae the night with nothin'. He beats the servants, and he…" she faltered. "Hetakesthem when he wants them. More than one servin' girl or kitchen lad has disappeared intae his chambers and never returned."
Maeve remembered how it had felt when Kyle had approached her, the way he'd made her feel trapped, small, terrified. Her hands trembled to think what he was putting the people of this clan through, and she knew that, no matter what, he had to be stopped.
"There's talk of fightin'," Sadie continued. "He's talkin' about invadin' other clan lands and claimin' them in the name of the False King — but really in the name of himself. He wants tae make Clan Darach the rulers of the Highlands in all but name."
"There will be fightin'," Cailean told her grimly, "But perhaps nae the kind he thinks." He turned to the group and said, "The situation is dire."
Maeve saw that Darren was uncharacteristically pale, anger and pain on his face. "These aremepeople, Cailean," Darren whispered. "Bruce people, trapped under the banner of this animal. We need tae kill him."
"I can help ye," Sadie told them. "There are passages snakin' through this whole complex — the same passages Maeve used tae escape. Some of them lead directly tae the chieftain's chambers. If ye let me guide ye…"
"We'll do it," Fergus said instantly, then paused. "If that's all right with ye, sir."
Maeve saw Cailean flinch in surprise at his friend referring to him with the term of respect, but he didn't protest. Instead, he nodded and said, "Aye." He turned back to the group. "We'll take eight of us. The rest of ye, head back tae the rebels. Let the forces ken what's happenin'. They should come, but hopefully hold back. We want tae avoid a full-scale assault if possible."
"What's the plan?" Maeve asked him.
Cailean looked at the castle, a pensive expression on his face. "We get in. We find Kyle Darach. And we kill him. Cut off the head of the snake before it can strike. Once the chain of command is disrupted, they'll be in chaos. We'll end Darach's tyranny head-on and give ourselves a strategic advantage for gettin' this castle and these lands back where they belong."
Once it was settled, three of the warriors headed off into the night and the other eight — Maeve, Cailean, Darren, Fergus, three other men, and one woman — followed Sadie quietly through the forest and to the entrance of the labyrinth below the castle. It was a different entrance than the exit through which Ann and Eoin had led Maeve; this one was half-hidden behind some rocks at a small waterfall. Silently, in single file, they left the night air behind and entered into the cold stone passageways.
Maeve felt a building sense of panic as they moved inside the bowels of the castle. It felt wrong and alien to be going back here when she'd only so recently managed to escape. Panic clawed at her chest, but she looked ahead of her and saw Cailean walking strong. If he could do this — if he could face up to everything — then so could she. Breathing a little more easily, she kept going.
There were many twists and turns in the passageways, but nobody spoke. It was dark, lit only by a small torch that Sadie carried at the front of their procession, and the rebels had to stay close together in order not to get lost. There were so many twists and turns that Maeve wondered how anyone could possibly know where they were going, but she occasionally heard a scraping sound behind her and eventually looked over her shoulder.
Darren held up a small rock in answer to her silent question. She squinted at the wall in the darkness and realized he'd been marking the stone every few feet, giving himself a sign of the way out in case they ever needed it. Impressed, she nodded at him, then turned back to continue following.
The passageways grew brighter as they got deeper into the castle, with the occasional lit torch on a bracket on the walls. Something about that seemed wrong to Maeve, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what. The light didn't decrease their tension, though; rather, it had the opposite effect. The air seemed to grow tighter the further along they went, and Maeve could feel the tension of all of the rebels building and mounting as they continued to twist through the passageways.
It occurred to Maeve suddenly that she now knew where they were. Foreboding filled her and a cold shiver ran down her spine as she realized that, if she turned left, she would be headed straight back toward the prisons. Thankfully, Sadie led them to the right instead, then silently up some stairs that led to another stone passage that must have been in the castle walls.
"We're almost there," Sadie whispered. They reached a large metal door, and Sadie paused and turned around. Her large eyes were still mournful as she whispered, "And… I'm sorry."
Maeve's blood turned to ice. "Sorry for what?" she asked, though somehow part of her knew.
"They've got me father," Sadie replied. "I cannae lose him. He's all I have left."
Before any of the rebels could react, the door swung open and a wave of Darach soldiers ran through, swords raised and murder in their eyes.
* * *
Cailean knew the ambush was coming only a few seconds before it arrived, but those few seconds were all he needed to formulate a plan. When the twenty Darach men rushed through the doors, he knew it was going to be a battle that might end in tragedy, but he also knew that there were several advantages available to them. The passageway was narrow, meaning that the Darachs wouldn't be able to swarm them; the rebels could push back. He knew Darren had been marking the way; they'd be able to warn the rest of the force before they got here. And, more importantly, he knew his warriors' skill. They might be hopelessly outnumbered, but Cailean had faith that all their training would help them survive.
All this ran through his mind at lightning speed, and when a sword came clashing down toward his head, he already had his own raised to meet it. He parried, knocking his attacker down with force, and shouted, "Darren, Maeve — run!"
"I'm nae leavin'."
"What do ye mean?"
