“I canna deny that fact. But what I said, lassie, is ye will not be leaving these lands—maybe to travel but not to live anywhere else.”
Kali’s heart dropped into her stomach, and she wanted to scream at the old seer in frustration. “Ye told me verra clearly me lifelines on my hand run in every direction, that me fate is yet undecided. Now ye say the opposite. What has changed?”
Raini didn’t answer her but took her hand and gently led her up the narrow foot trail.
Nesting birds lived among the cracks in the rocks and crags, and the sea thundered against the sandy shore below. A steady breeze lifted her hair and cooled her heated cheeks as they navigated around loose rocks and thick bushes on the ground. The top of the mountain couldn’t be higher than a couple thousand feet—but steep enough to make Kali’s stomach churn with worry, for she’d never climbed so high before.
She turned and looked down to see where the children were. Safe and playing where they’d left them.
“Ye see.” Raini broke the silence between them. “Ye already act as if ye’re their mam.”
“Wouldn’t anyone do the same?”
“Nay.”
“Then they are unworthy of the Lord’s blessings.”
“Hmm.”Raini suddenly pulled her from the main trail and off to the left, onto a path hardly wide enough for walking.
“Raini…” Kali’s heart beat erratically, but she followed the elder woman, wondering where they were going.
Then Raini stopped without warning and pointed her cane at a break in the rock face. If the old woman hadn’t shown her the opening, Kali surely wouldn’t have noticed it—no one would.
“Lead the way inside, lass.”
Kali ducked through the low-hanging outcrop and found herself able to stand up in an open cave where sunlight spilled in from high above. Raini followed her inside.
“Do ye see why I wanted to bring ye here?”
Wherever she looked, Raini discovered supplies neatly piled along the walls of the cave. Blankets, pillows, shoes, clothes, and even food. On the back wall, cut logs were stacked high, enough to keep the cave warm for a full winter. “How?”
Raini chuckled. “Over time,” she said. “Gifts from our benefactors, and the children are foragers of the best quality.”
“Ye mean skilled thieves?”
The seer frowned for a brief moment. “Depends on one’s perception of the circumstances.”
“Perhaps…” Kali feared for the children’s safety even more now. She examined every inch of the cave closer, appreciating the thought and organization that went into stockpiling the safe place. “Some of these items are very valuable, Raini.”
“Aye.”
“And the laird has never noticed things missing?”
“These items doona come only from the MacKays. There are other clans within riding distance, and we choose carefully what we take and when we take it.”
Without asking, Kali opened a wood chest and gazed inside. More linens and a sewing box. She lifted one of the piles and felt around the bottom, where she discovered a leather purse. It made her turn and look at Raini questioningly. “Do I dare ask?”
“Ye doona need to ask. See with yer own eyes. Nine wee ones dependent on an unfair laird for their survival… What would ye have me do? Leave them to suffer and die?”
Kali gasped at the severity of the question. “Of course not!”
The seer smiled at her. “Ye are a fair-minded woman, Kali Bane.”
“But I also know the law. If anyone finds this place…” She pulled the leather purse out and opened it, finding a mixture of copper and silver coins. “A fair amount of money,” she said.
“Earned through my services and the selling of tinctures.”
Kali put the purse back and the linens, then closed the chest, moving on to baskets filled with candles and other necessities. “Does Adam know of this place?”
