Page 26 of Bond of a Bewitched Highlander

"Put them in the galleys and prepare to launch!" Talnaroch yelled. "Hurry!"

A few of the men leapt on board and reached down to lift the victims.

"Guard them!" Talnaroch ordered. "The selkie bastards are coming!"

What a savage animal Talnaroch was! She wished she could stab him now.

A few feet in front of her, a knave deposited a screaming woman on the floor between the thwarts, then reached down for another.

Wiping the tears from her own eyes, Elsea crouched. She eased back into her hiding place beneath the sail, just as a man turned in her direction. He crammed a bound female in beside her. The selkie twisted and writhed, emitting a haunting wail and sobbing. A moment later, the man tossed another selkie on them. Her sharp elbow jabbed into Elsea's ribs. "Ow," she grunted between clenched teeth, but no one noticed amid all the screams and cries.

Elsea couldn't see them well in the gloom, but their icy terror seeped into her. She had to calm herself if she intended to help free these women.

"Row!" Talnaroch ordered from some distance away.

The galley jolted as the men shoved it from the sand and into the water, then leapt on board. A brute with horrible body odor dropped to the thwart near her head. The leader yelled row over and over at a quick pace, and this man, breathing hard, struggled to match the tempo, the wooden oar thunking against the hull.

"Raise the sail!" the same man commanded.

The stinking swine beside her yanked the sail off her. She held her breath, expecting to be discovered at any moment. She peeped out from beneath her cloak's hood. The men were looking skyward, working on the sail. Besides that, 'twas so dark they couldn't see her, covered in the black cloak.

The wind caught the sail, propelling them eastward toward the mainland.

Moments later, the warriors whooped and howled in celebration as they passed around a bottle. Mayhap they would get so drunk they wouldn't notice when she followed through with her plans.

Though 'twas night, the moon provided a little light.

She inched forward and severed the bindings on the selkies' wrists and ankles. Her sharp blade easily cut through the thin ropes. Within a trice, she had two of the females released. They watched her with wide eyes.

"Will you help me swim to shore if I have to jump overboard?" she whispered in Gaelic, quiet as a breath.

One nodded.

She was glad the selkie understood her words. "Wait until I release everyone."

Using stealth, she freed another.

While most of the men were in the front half of the galley, drinking whisky, she slipped forward and sliced the bindings of the two captives in front of the next thwart. She then crawled forward to release two more. Almost done. She was cutting the last one's ropes when a man shouted and kicked Elsea backward. She fell. Pain reverberated through her head, and the world around her vanished.

Chapter 6

All in seal form, Brodie and the male selkies followed Talnaroch's galleys, careful to avoid the oars. Using their telepathic abilities and sounds inaudible to humans, he communicated with his tribesmen, telling them to band together and overturn the galleys.

After the raiders hoisted the sails, the force of the wind carried the galleys faster across the sea.

We must catch them! They swam harder, gaining on the rear galley.

Swim under the left side and push it over, Brodie urged. Combining all their strength, the male selkies shoved their bodies up underneath the left side of a galley. The wood bruised Brodie's shoulders and back, but he continued leading them as if they were his own clan.

Again!

This time, the birlinn toppled over. The occupants cried out as they plunged into the sea.

Find the females and transport them to shore! Bound, they couldn't swim.

All was chaos and darkness, although Brodie's night vision was enhanced in seal form and his whiskers detected movements. The females near him were already free and swimming, thank the saints. How had they gotten loose? The males located one who was still tied up, chewed the ropes, and headed toward the island.

Could they catch the other galley in this fierce wind?