As soon as they were out of sight, she started to run back in the direction from which she'd come. When she drew near a small stream, she answered her brother's calls. She would have some explaining to do, but considering the subject matter she didn't think her brother would be inclined to question her too heavily.
Now, all she could do was pray for a miracle. For that's what it would take to rescue Arthur from the virtually impenetrable Dunstaffnage Castle before it was too late.
Arthur let them come. Honing his senses on each scamper and squeak, he let the rats get close enough to catch, then was able to snap their necks with one hand against his leg. Which, as he had only one working hand, was fortunate. Unfortunately that hand was attached to a dislocated arm, so every movement was excruciating. He'd tried to pop the arm back into his shoulder by himself, but he didn't have the strength or the leverage.
Being eaten alive by starving rats wasn't the way Arthur had hoped to die, but he didn't know how much longer he could fend them off. Each time he passed out, their gnawing bites would wake him. But he'd lost a lot of blood, and with each hour that passed he was getting weaker and his senses were dulling. Soon he wouldn't wake at all.
He thought he must have killed fifty of the disgusting creatures already, but there were hundreds of them down here. He shuddered. When they'd held the torch to the hole to drop him in, the entire floor had been swarming in them.
With the hole closed up it was pitch-black in the pit. He was dependent on his senses, which were slowly fading.
His eyes started to close. He was so tired, he just wanted to relax for a ...
"Ah!" He let out a sharp cry of pain, snapping back to attention as razor-sharp teeth sunk into his ankle. He kicked, sending the rat flying.
He supposed he had Dugald to thank for his lasting this long. Those hours spent in the dark storage outbuilding had taught him well. He knew what to listen for and how to anticipate the rats' movements.
But his reactions were slowing. More were escaping his grasp, and more of their teeth were finding his hand. He knew he couldn't last much longer.
They wouldn't come for him until the battle was over. As he'd lost track of time hours ago, he didn't know when that might be.
Damn. It wasn't just the horror of the swarming rats that was driving him mad, but the knowledge that his friends were out there marching into a trap and he couldn't help them.
He'd failed.Failed. He closed his eyes, wanting to blot out the bitter truth. The heaviness bore down on him. It was getting harder to resist the pull, the drag toward the blissful darkness of unconsciousness. He was so tired.
This time his eyes stayed closed.
Nothing could wake him. Not the rats, and not the blast of thunder that sent the guards running to the gate a few minutes later.
Someone was shaking him.
"Ranger! Ranger! God damn it, wake up! We don't have much time."
Who was Ranger?
His eyes snapped open, only to close again as the beam of light from the torch pierced his skull like a dagger.
Hewas Ranger.
But how ...?
He opened his eyes again. Slowly this time, letting them grow adjusted to the light.
MacRuairi.
He could see the relief on the other man's face. "I wasn't sure you were alive."
Arthur's mind felt dull and sluggish. "I wasn't sure either."
MacRuairi shuddered, and even in the torchlight Arthur could see that he didn't look well. His face was gray and his eyes flickered around anxiously. He almost looked panicked. "Let's get the hell out of here. Can you walk?"
Arthur nodded, trying to scoot himself up to a sitting position. He was careful not to look down. The torch was keeping the rats away for now. "I think so."
"Good, I wasn't looking forward to trying to carry you out of here."
He held out his hand, but Arthur shook him off and managed to struggle to his feet. "You're alone?" he asked.
MacRuairi's gaze flickered over him, quickly assessing the damage. His mouth hardened as he realized the reason for Arthur's refusal of aid. "Nay. Saint and Templar are with me. Hawk wanted to come, but someone needed to stay with the fleet. You didn't hear the blast?"
