16
Gavin did not sleep. He sat at the back of the cave, waiting for silence. Each time he had been on the verge of moving someone had stirred. He didn’t want anyone to notice him go.
If they noticed they might ask him where he was headed. Other people might wake up and before he knew it, he’d have half the clan wanting to come with him.
This kind of journey was better carried out alone. The more people who came, the more risk. This was his responsibility, he would do it, and he would do it alone.
His eyes were keen in the darkness. He could see Heather perfectly. She was wrapped up in the blanket, her eyes tightly closed, her mouth slightly open. Laid on her side facing him, she had not long been asleep.
Guilt washed over him like a wave that could not be fought. It entered his lungs and made it hard to breathe. It was his fault that she was laid in the back of a freezing cold cave rather than in a warm bed. His fault.
The sallyport was the weakest point of the castle defenses. He had thought the poisoned thorns were enough to protect the clan. What a fool he’d been. He should have stationed a dozen men to guard it, taken them from the battlements if needed.
It was all well and good having enough archers to fend off frontal assaults. But they had been outflanked and outmaneuvred and despite all his training he’d not seen it coming.
He was able to see exactly how they’d done it. While his men were distracted by a feint at the front of the castle, Keir led a group to hack down the brambles and break down the door that blocked the sallyport.
The noise had been drowned by the fight at the front. By the time he knew what was happening it was too late. Outlaws had swarmed into the courtyard, a contingent heading straight for the gates to get them open and allow the Frazers inside.
He cursed the Frazer name, finding it hard to think that she was one of them. How could a creature so innocent and so beautiful bear any links to Mungo?
Everyone was asleep at last. He leaned down, planting a single kiss on Heather’s forehead. She stirred slightly, a smile forming on her lips. Then she settled again. Gavin said a silent goodbye before making his way out of the cave, moving as silently as he could. He hardly breathed until he was out in the open. The rain had stopped but the ground was still soaked. The mud pulled at his boots as he walked back the way they’d come.
An exodus from his own castle. It wasn’t something he’d ever expected to do. Still, so far there had been few complaints. They all trusted him to fix this. He would not let them down. His hands wrapped around his knife, squeezing the handle tightly. He would not let any of them down.
He felt a presence behind him. A hand touched his shoulder. He whipped around, grabbing the hand and bending it backward, drawing his sword as he did so, ready to strike.
“Wait,” a voice hissed. “It’s me.”
“Bruce? What are you doing. I might have killed you.”
“Where are you going?”
“To put an end to this.”
“Alone?”
“It must be this way. If I do not return make sure Heather gets home safely.”
“Aye.” Bruce nodded. “Are you sure about this?”
“It must be this way.”
He left Bruce behind, walking away swiftly in case his nerve failed.
He knew the route like the back of his hand. Putting one foot in front of the other, he let his mind wander. No matter where it went it kept coming back to Heather.
She was special. There was something about her unlike any woman he’d ever known before. It wasn’t just because she’d come from a different time. It was her personality, the way she was around other people.
He smiled as he thought of her keeping the children calm during the attack. She would make a good wife. If she would have him of course.
She was supposed to steal the knife he was carrying, stop him killing Mungo during peace negotiations. If what she’d said was true, and he had no reason to doubt it, he would solve that problem himself. He was going to kill Mungo before negotiations could even begin.
You could not have a treaty with a man who’d stormed your castle, killing your people, sending the rest into exile in fear for their lives. Mungo would die.
If the old crone was there, she would die too. The rumors about her did not scare him. She would die and then it would all be over. He would ask Heather to marry him and they would run the clan together, maybe even take over Frazer Castle too. Unite the clans. That was what mattered most. Bring peace to the land at last.
It took most of the night to reach the castle. The sunrise was no more than an hour away. Already the first hints of it were appearing behind the mountains, a slight glow he knew well. He would have to move quick if he wanted to be in and out before they knew what had happened.
