Dair’s fist clenched again as fury burned white-hot through his veins. Moire stepped between him and Logan.
“Nay, you’ll not do murder, Alasdair Og. The clan must decide what to do with him.”
Logan pulled out of Angus’s grip and straightened his plaid. “You’ll do nothing. I am chief of the Sinclairs of Carraig Brigh, chosen by this clan.”
“Actually, we never got around to holding a vote,” Will said. “What with the witch burning and all, there wasn’t time.”
“Then we’ll vote now,” Angus said as he grabbed Dair’s arm and raised it in the air. “Who’s for Alasdair Og as chief of Clan Sinclair?”
A roar of approval went up.
“And who’s for Logan?” Angus asked.
Angry glares were fixed on Logan, but the room was silent.
“Then it’s settled. Dair’s our chief,” Angus said. “Just as Padraig wished.”
“What’ll we do with Logan, Chief?” Will asked.
Dair looked at his cousin. Logan looked beaten and very young. There was blood dripping from his broken nose. Dair hesitated, remembered the same look in Jeannie’s eyes, the blood on her face.
But Logan raised his head, sent Dair a look of absolute hatred, his eyes wild. “Damn you to hell, Dair!” Logan said. He ran for the door.
“Go after him,” Angus ordered the men, but Dair stopped him.
“No, I’ll go,” he said.
“We’ll come. We’re yer tail,” Will insisted.
The postern gate was open, and Dair went through, saw Logan by the cairn.
“Logan!”
His cousin spun. He was sobbing loudly. “I loved her. I loved you both, but you never had time for me, I was never good enough, or brave enough or smart enough. You laughed at me, left me standing on the shore while you sailed away together. And you let her die!” He grabbed a stone from the cairn and heaved it over the cliff. “I had to prove I loved her, that I was better than you. I had to avenge her death, make you pay.” He took another stone, threw it away with a scream of rage. “I knew she’d notice me if I was chief. She’d love me then, and look at me the way she looked at you.” He dragged another rock from the pile, strained to carry it to the edge. This time, he tripped. He screamed as he lost his balance, tumbled forward, and slid over the cliff.
“No!” Dair ran to the edge, looked down. Logan hung on to a clump of roots, his feet dangling over the jagged rocks and hungry waves below. “Take my hand,” Dair said, reaching for him, but Logan pulled away. Madness and hatred clouded his eyes. “No,” Logan whispered. “No.”
Dair leaned further out, struggling to reach his cousin’s hand. He almost had him, but Logan jerked away. “Don’t touch me—not with hands stained with her holy blood,” he screamed. The earth began to crumble under his hands, and his eyes widened for a moment. Dair grabbed for him again, but it was too late.
Angus caught Dair’s belt and held him back. “Nay, Chief. It’s over.” Dair watched as Logan’s body hit the rocks, and he was killed instantly. He landed in the pool Jeannie had loved. Angus crossed himself and shook his head sadly. “He’d have taken you with him. There was naught you could have done.”
Dair couldn’t speak. He turned away. “Find the priest. Bury him.”
He made his way back to the castle. Moire was waiting for him in the bailey. “Well? What will ye do now, Chief? Fia lives, and so do ye, as the goddess decreed. Will ye go to her?”
Dair nodded. “I’ll be leaving for Glen Iolair at once,” he assured her. “Is that soon enough?”
But Will caught his sleeve. “Ye can’t, Dair—not yet. Ye have duties as chief. The Act of Union Commission is meeting in Edinburgh. Ye have to be there, and ye’re late already. If the lass is safe, she’ll just have to wait for ye.”
Dair felt frustration well.
“Padraig said it would be a quick decision. The English have already passed their approval. It won’t take more than a few days.”
Dair sighed. “Then we’ll sail for Edinburgh on the next tide.”
Moire followed him. “She loves ye,” she said. “Do ye love her?”
Dair looked at the old woman. “Don’t you think Fia should be the first to know?”
