“Stay alive this time,” she said, breaking the silence. “And by the way, that was not me throwing myself at you.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. He shook his head. “Thanks for the clarification, and I’ll do my best.”
“See that you do.”
He nodded, and a moment later he disappeared into the blackness of the night. She didn’t know how long she stood staring after him.
Best if we go our separate ways...
How was she going to let him go again?
Robert the Bruce didn’t have trebuchets with intimidating names like Warwolf—he had something better. The warriors of the Highland Guard were every bit as destructive as England’s powerful siege engines, but they were far more nimble, and they didn’t require dozens of carts to move them or months of digging in and waiting.
After seven and a half years of fighting side by side in the worst trenches of this cesspit of a war, the Guard operated like a finely tuned instrument of war. They communicated silently and anticipated each other’s movements. But they were always prepared for the unexpected. Unlike the legends that proclaimed them supermen or phantoms, they were not indestructible (the death of William “Templar” Gordon had reminded them of that), nor were they infallible (the failure to take Berwick Castle last year still grated).
But this night everything was proceeding according to Eoin’s plan.
The stone keep of Dumfries Castle sat upon a high motte. The steep sides of the hill itself were a form of defense, preventing attackers from being able to approach quickly. The wooden palisade that surrounded the keep and bailey had been replaced and fortified by the English with a stone wall, after the Highland Guard rescued MacLeod’s wife seven years ago, starting the chain of events that would lead to Bruce’s bid for the throne. Additional defense was provided by the deep wet ditch that abutted the wall.
The castle had two gates: an inner gate over the wet ditch surrounding the motte that guarded the stairs leading up to the castle, and a much stronger gate with bridge and portcullis that protected the main entrance into the bailey. To take the keep, attackers would need to go through both the outer gate and the inner gate.
The Highland Guard bypassed both. Under the cover of night, Eoin and his brethren approached the keep from the back side of the motte. With the wet ditch, the steep hill, and the imposing wall that surrounded the keep, this side of the castle was the most impenetrable and unlikely point of access—which is exactly why they were there. Impenetrable meant lightly guarded.
An army would never be able to launch a surprise attack on the castle from here. But a small force of men could. As they’d done when rescuing Christina MacLeod, the Guardsmen swam across the filth-laden wet ditch and slithered up the hill on their bellies. The high stone wall, however, required something more than ropes. Fortunately, Douglas had recently developed an ingenious contraption that enabled them to scale walls even higher than the twenty-foot barricade around Dumfries. The rope ladders fitted with footboards and grappling hooks had been put to good use at both Berwick and Perth castles. A barking dog had foiled the attack at Berwick, but the ladders had been used successfully a few weeks ago at Perth.
Once all the men were safely over the wall, they broke off into groups. Eoin and MacRuairi would go in search of the boy, Lamont, MacSorley, MacGregor’s brother John, Boyd, MacLeod, and Douglas would keep watch and provide defense if needed, and the others would open the inner and outer gates to let in the rest of Bruce’s army, which was hiding in the forest to take the castle.
Eoin’s mission was to get his son out of harm’s way before the cry was raised and the chaos of battle ensued. Stealth and surprise were paramount—which is why MacRuairi was with him. The coldhearted bastard hadn’t just earned his war name of Viper from his disposition: like a snake he could get in an out of anywhere without a trace.
Having neutralized the soldiers guarding the keep with relative ease, Eoin persuaded one—at the end of his dirk—to show them where the boy was being held. Having experience with MacDowells, Eoin wasn’t surprised when the man tried to lead them into a room full of sleeping warriors. After a few encouraging pokes, however, the man headed up the stairs.
Eoin could feel his chest pounding with anticipation. His son was near, and soon he would be safe.
Exiting the stairwell on the third floor, they passed through a small antechamber before their reluctant guide stopped before a door and nodded, indicating this was it. Eoin knocked him out with a swift blow to the back of the head. With a look to MacRuairi to be ready in case this was another surprise, he took a deep breath and opened the door.
The room was pitch-black, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. A flicker of torchlight from the corridor spilled into the room, enabling him to make out a small form huddled on a bed beneath a thick fur coverlet. The shape shifted, and a small head popped up.
Eoin reacted like lightning, lurching forward and putting his hand over the boy’s mouth to muffle the scream that had been about to tear from his lungs.
Their eyes met in the semidarkness, and he saw the recognition in the boy’s gaze that was no doubt mirrored in his own.
Christ, he looks just like me.
There could be no doubt that this was his son.
Eoin felt stunned—rocked—as if someone had just hit him with a taber across the chest. Being told that he had a son was a hell of a lot different from being confronted with the living proof. Thefive-year-oldliving proof.
Regret and about a hundred other complicated emotions squeezed his throat.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked in a low voice.
The boy nodded, but then opened his eyes wider and tried to scream again.
Eoin looked over his shoulder angrily. “Christ, Viper, you scared him,” he said in a harsh whisper.
MacRuairi looked like the bogeyman with his eerie green eyes glowing beneath the darkened metal of the nasal helm. His face seemed to disappear in the blackness.
“Your reunion will have to wait,” MacRuairi said. “We need to get out of here. Make sure he stays quiet.”
