“Aye. And if we go at him, he’ll duck back into those trees in MacKay territory.”
A hawk circled over the stag and emitted a piercing cry.
The stag’s head came up and he froze.
“He’s too big for the likes of ye,” Tormund muttered, clearly addressing the raptor.
Before Stellan could answer, the stag bolted— straight for them.
“What the hell?” Tormund raised his bow, but Stellan put a hand on his arm.
“Wait till he’s well on our side. Wait.” Stellan’s gaze swept the area between their hilltop and the stag, looking for the stone marker he knew was in the glen. He spotted it as the stag crossed into Sutherland and began to run uphill. “Now!”
Tormund loosed his arrow and struck the stag in the throat.
It went down, stumbling, onto its foreleg knees, and rested there, wheezing, as blood began to soak its shoulder.
Stellan nocked an arrow and loosed it, finishing the beast. “I didna want to see him suffer,” he said, waving at the others to bring the horses up.
Tormund nodded and they started down the hill. An arrow whizzed by and buried itself in the ground behind them. They ducked and scrambled for the cover of a tree trunk.
“Sodding Sutherland thieves!” The angry call came from MacKay land. Another arrow followed it.
“Stay back,” Stellan warned his men, turned and faced toward the buck. “We’ve stolen nothing.”
“The buck was on MacKay land. ’Tis ours!”
“We’ve chased that buck over half of Sutherland. It crossed into MacKay and back out again before we killed it. Ye have nay claim.”
The rumble of deep male voices came to them, none clear, until one rose above the others to object, “That blasted bird spooked it and it ran. We’d have it but for the hawk.”
“Ye did no’ ken the buck was even there until the hawk screamed a warning,” another said.
The voices dropped, but continued wrangling. Stellan sat back against the tree trunk and looked across to where Tormund was doing the same. They traded a look and shrugged.
“Think we can retrieve it?” Tormund’s grin gave away the sarcasm in his question.
“Go right ahead,” Stellan told him. “It ye want yer arse shot full of arrows trying to pull it up here.”
“Guess we’ll have to wait until they give up and leave.”
“Aye. If they do. MacKays are no’ kenned for being reasonable.”
The arguing continued in the MacKay camp with occasional forays to yell insults at the Sutherlands. With dark encroaching, the MacKays lit a campfire that glowed through the trees on their side.
Tormund groaned when the glow of the fire became visible. “Damn MacKays. That’s our buck.”
“They’ll be watching it from under the cover of those trees. Let’s make a show of withdrawing.”
Tormund grinned and nodded. “Anders is going to be sorry he missed this.”
Stellan stayed down but ordered his men back over the hilltop. He didn’t bother to lower his voice, wanting the MacKays to hear him.
On the other side of the hilltop, out of earshot of the rival clansmen, he told his men, “Let them drink themselves pished.Once they do, we’ll haul the buck over the hill and be gone before the sun comes up. Tormund and Gregor, ye’ve got first watch. Wake me when they get quiet.”
Two hours later, Stellan took four men to pick up the buck and bring it back over the hill. It was a Sutherland victory his da would appreciate. The only life lost was the buck’s.
CHAPTER 3
