The two men who’d ridden by themselves climbed down and moved over to the cart in front, lifting the lassies out one by one and pushing them toward the boat. One of the men roared as his head was jerked backward. “Who did that?” he shouted, his hand flying up to his forehead.
Steenie watched as Kenzie pulled out his own slinger, stuck a rock in it and sent it flying at the man who’d been in the first cart, hitting him in the back of the head. “I grabbed the stones when we got into the cart when the men weren’t looking,” he explained with a whisper.
Blackteeth turned on Scruffy and shouted, “You bastard. ‘Tis the second time you’ve hit me. Come over here and try it. I’ll kick your arse.”
Scruffy got hit in the back of his head next. “I didn’t do naught,” he said, “but somebody just hit me.”
The other cart had emptied, but Kenzie, Steenie, Edith, and Eva were still in their cart when the falcons dipped down from the sky again, soaring over the entire group of them.
“Kenzie, look. ‘Tis the falcons again just like you said,” Steenie whispered.
Their captors, nine in all—the four who’d brought them here and the five near the boat—started jabbering and shouting. Hilda must have sensed an opportunity, for she sent the girls running toward the huts at the end, but they were so confused, they ran in different directions.
All of a sudden, three horses carrying men with red plaids charged out of the woods. Kenzie grabbed Eva out of Edith’s arms and said, “Run!”
Steenie hopped out of the cart and ran for the trees as fast as his wee legs could carry him. He knew those plaids.
The Grants had come.
Chapter Eighteen
Maggie had led Braden and the others down a rarely used path to the loch. He (Braden) couldn’t help but smile when he noticed Loki ahead of him, his slinger in hand. The others were gathered behind him. His brother was sheer magic with his slinger, able to catapult small rocks long distances with dead aim. He’d been doing it since he was young and living alone behind an inn.
Cairstine started to speak, but he squeezed her hip and covered her mouth. He pointed down to the loch, where he could just barely see the boat through the trees. It looked like there were several bairns in the clearing.
He heard Cairstine gasp.
“We found him. ‘Tis what’s important,” he reminded her with a whisper. “And now we’ll get him to safety.” She spun around and nodded, her lips sealed.
They all took their places, not needing to converse with each other because they had planned their roles in advance. Gavin, Will, and Gregor would find perches where they could back the ground crew up with arrows, while Loki, Connor, and Roddy would use their swords, and Braden and Maggie would go scoop up the bairns, the archers protecting them. Usually Braden preferred sword-to-sword combat, but he was grateful Maggie had suggested this change. His body could only endure so much.
“What about Loki’s group?” Braden had asked before they set out.
Maggie had snorted, quite like a man, and said, “Loki planned to leave his guards at the top of the hill to search for any other men in the area before he joined us. He and Connor and Roddy are probably the best swordsmen in the Highlands. They don’t need any instructions. With our three swordsmen and three archers, we can easily take on nine men.”
Cairstine gave him a questioning look and said, “Nine to six?”
Braden grinned. “You’ve not seen all the Grants fight before, so I’ll ignore that question. Do not worry about it. I’ll bring the bairns to you, all of them. Can you handle it?”
She nodded. “Aye, absolutely.”
Loki had worked his magic on the men near the boats, who had begun to argue and grab the backs of their heads. Braden moved close to Maggie and helped Cairstine dismount. “I’m leaving you behind in this small group of trees,” he said to her, stroking her back. “You’ll be safe. Maggie and I will stay on our horses, the others will fight on foot. When we grab the bairns, we’ll bring them back to you. Just keep them hidden and safe until this is over.”
She nodded, wringing her hands as she watched the activity by the loch. He understood how difficult it was for her to stay put and not go chasing after Steenie.
His cousins let their famous Grant war whoop loose, and chaos descended as they dismounted and went after the four bastards who’d smuggled the children. All of them were now on foot. He glanced at Cairstine one more time, the trust and hope in her gaze humbling him, then flicked the reins of his horse and flew into the middle of the clearing. The first thing he noticed was a wee lassie running in circles, so he headed straight for her, but she was too low to the ground for him to reach her. Then he saw Kenzie running toward him with a lass in his arms. “Here,” he yelled. “Hand the lassie up to me.”
Kenzie helped both lassies get settled on the horse.
“This way,” Braden said to him. “Run on this side of my horse so the archers won’t catch you.” He turned his horse back toward the trees while Kenzie raced along next to him. Once he was out of range, he handed the two lassies to Cairstine and spoke to Kenzie. “Help her, lad. Maggie is bringing more.”Then he turned back and headed toward the loch again once he noticed an older woman running with more bairns around her.
He saw Steenie at the same time Cairstine’s scream carried to him. A man was running behind the lad, his sword arched over his head.
“Circle, Braden!” Gavin’s instructions gave him exactly the information he needed, telling him how to approach and leave a shot for the archer.
He headed toward Steenie, who’d finally noticed him, and yelled, “Arms up, Steenie.” Fortunately, the wee laddie understood him. He stuck both hands into the air and Braden leaned over and grabbed him by the waist. He feared he was going to lose him, but he said, “Grab my neck, Steenie.” Then he circled around the attacker while Steenie grappled for balance on the horse. A second later an arrow sluiced through the air and caught the fool now in front of them square in the neck.
Steenie clutched him so tightly he had to say, “Let go, lad. I need to breathe.” The look of relief on the lad’s face released a knot of tension in his chest. The wee laddie was away from the kidnappers, and he’d soon be safe with his mama. Aside from Steenie loosening his grip, Braden could breathe again knowing that he’d fulfilled his promises to Cairstine. He’d show her he was a man of his word time and time again, starting with his latest vow to get to know her better once this war was over.
