“Aye.” Mari took the water skin from Epona’s back as she watched Valkyrie tear strips of meat from the fox’s haunch. She looked away long enough to rinse Seamus’s hands and knife of blood. “She won’t take much from that kill.”
In moments, the bird launched skyward and they remounted.
Seamus picked up his reins. “Which way?’
“Toward the burn, I think,” Mariota said. “We can wash up, refill this, and water the horses there, even if Valkyrie doesn’t spot any prey.”
At the burn, Seamus checked his horse’s hooves. “Damn, I thought so. He’s thrown a shoe.”
“He’s lamed?” Mariota’s heart plummeted. So much for a long day away from the keep.
“Nay, but I canna ride him back to the keep without risking him. I’ll have to walk him back.”
At that moment, Valkyrie called. “She’s spotted something. I’ll go check,” Mariota said.
“Dinna go far,” Seamus warned. “Ye need to come with me. I canna leave ye here or yer da will have my cods, and I canna get to ye with any speed if trouble finds ye.”
“I’ll come back as quickly as I can.” Mariota rode away, leaving Seamus to deal with his mount. Relishing her freedom to be alone, she forgot her promise to stay close by. She kept going, following Valkyrie’s cries until she realized they were near the border with Sutherland, and called the bird down before they went too far.
Mariota knew she would be in trouble for coming this close to Sutherland. Seamus was well behind her, stuck waiting for her with a not-yet-lame, less one shoe horse. If he got worried and didn’t wait, he’d risk his mount, or be hours walking trying to find her. Though she relished the time to herself, away from everyone, out of the keep, and away from her father’s odious commands, it wasn't worth the punishment her father would mete out to Seamus if he found out—or if anything happened to her. This solitude, and feeling almost as free as Valkyrie on the wing, was an illusion.
She dismounted and walked across the clearing to where Valkyrie had landed with her kill, another bird. Mariota would let her feast on it before they headed home. She had earned the treat. But they needed to head back soon, or Seamus would indeed start searching for her, and he’d never go with her out of the keep again.
An arrow came out of nowhere and buried itself in the ground next to Valkyrie. The hawk dropped her kill and launched herself into the air.
Mariota spun, searching for cover and for where the shot had come from. Before she could move, Alber showed himself.
“Ye are a long way from home, lass,” he taunted her. “And alone. Yer lap dog, Seamus, is far from here. He can do naught to help ye, now can he? And I can do with ye what I will.” He stepped closer, lips pulled back in a malicious grin. “Go on, then, scream if ye wish. Ye willna be heard. Seamus is too far away.”
“I dinna need to scream,” she ventured, fighting the urge to run. Alber would be on her before she could take three steps. All she could do was hold her ground and keep his attention on her. Fear made her knees weak and her heart pound, but she had a secret weapon.
She whistled, calling Valkyrie down to attack, and tilted her head toward Alber.
He laughed and continued to advance on her.
Valkyrie’s attack was as swift as it was unexpected—at least for him. Before Mariota could decide to run after all, the hawk’s steep dive ended with her wings flared out around his head and her claws in his neck. Instinctively, he tried to protect his throat by grabbing at her claws. She pecked his face, tearing a chunk out of his cheek. Mariota whistled her away before he could harm her.
Valkyrie launched herself skyward.
At least her bird was safe. Mariota wasn’t. The look on Alber’s torn face promised a painful death if he managed to get his hands on her. She was about to call Valkyrie back down when she realized how much blood flowed from his face and neck. Instead of rushing Mariota, he stumbled to his horse and clung to its saddle, no longer able to taunt or threaten her.
Valkyrie had given her time to get to her horse, and she took advantage of Alber’s condition, mounted and rode for home, her hawk pacing her in the sky above her.
Before long, she found Seamus and told him what had happened. “He may be coming behind us,” she warned
Frowning, Seamus said, “I’ll ride double with ye. Without a rider on his back, my mount can run. We need to get back to the keep. Ye are nay safe out here.”
“Da will never let me out of MacKay's walls again.”
“If Alber catches ye, yer da will be the least of yer worries.” He mounted up behind her. “Now let’s go.”
They reached the keep safely,but Mariota knew that wasn’t the end of her peril. She still had to tell her father what happened.
“I told ye to stay inside the gates,” he raged, pacing his solar after he sent men to look for the injured Alber. “Ye disobeyed me yet again. Must I lock ye in yer chamber?”
“I did as ye asked, Da. I wasna alone until Seamus’s horse threw a shoe. And Valkyrie spotted prey, so I went after her. But Alber found me and threatened me. I had to call Valkyrie down to stop him from…hurting me. Maybe even killing me.” Probably. If he’d violated her, he couldn’t have let her live to tellthe tale. But Mariota didn’t think her da was prepared to hear that from her.
His frown and the way his jaw clenched gave her hope he understood what she hadn’t said. Alber would not get out of this unpunished, either.
