Page 58 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Icame as quickly as I could,” Bruce spoke while bursting into the great hall. Iain sat at the table on his own, his anger was bubbling over and he was finding it difficult to think straight. He had dismissed the other councilors and advisors because he didn’t want to have to talk to them about this. He only wanted to confide in his guardian.

“This arrived earlier,” Iain gestured to the note on the table. He couldn’t even bear to touch it without worrying that he would damage the material in his hands.

Iain watched as Bruce read through the note that had arrived. It was from Athol and very brief, but Iain didn’t care for formalities, he knew that he had to do something about the man once and for all.

“Are ye going to go?” Bruce asked carefully, but he couldn’t quite keep the worry out of his voice.

“Aye, of course, I am!” Iain raised his voice more than he had intended to do. The note stated the location of an old croft, it was a meeting point for the two of them.

“Ye ken that if ye go to him, only one of ye’ll be walking away from this place?” Bruce warned.

“Aye, I ken that, and it will be me who walks away.”

Iain was sure and confident with his words. He didn’t feel as though he should have to justify his ability to his guardian after the times that he had seen him fight.

“I hope that ye’re right, I dinnae want to lose the both of ye.”

“I will gather up the best men to fight with me, dinnae worry, I will nae go alone,” Iain reassured him. He was anxious to get going as quickly as possible and didn't want to waste any more time.

“Have ye told the old Laird of this recent news?”

“Nae, Alistair doesnae ken about it yet. I will tell him as we set off, I think it will be better that way.”

Iain knew that the laird wouldn’t trust him to bring back his daughter safely. He could still remember the times when Alistair would deliberately belittle him in front of the men of the castle and other knights, and he certainly hadn’t forgotten being imprisoned. Iain clenched his jaw at the thought of it and shook his head. He didn’t want Alistair stopping him from going after Athol. This was old business, something that happened due to the exile that the laird himself had caused. Iain didn’t want to have to explain himself to Alistair, and as with Bruce, he didn’t want to have to justify his ability.

“Are ye sure that this is a wise decision?”

“What would ye suggest instead?” Iain asked with a heavy sigh. He was already growing tired of discussing this when he felt that he could better spend the time preparing for the journey to the croft.

“Call for aid,” Bruce said as Iain scoffed and shook his head, “The other clans are our allies for situations exactly like this one. Ye’ll benefit from more men and even better fighters.”

“I cannae wait for more men to answer the call! We will work with what we have and leave as soon as we can to get there!” Iain shouted.

“We could wait just one more day and all would still be fine—”

“Nay, I said nay,” Iain spoke up, raising his voice even more, “Ye doubt my ability to defeat this man?”

“That’s nae what I’m saying, I just think that it would be better to go into this fight with as much support behind ye as ye can gather. It could be a trap, for all you know.”

“I will defeat this man with my bare hands if I have to,” Iain spoke in a serious tone, “I dinnae care for the consequences to myself, I just want May returned and safe.”

“That is mighty noble of ye, lad, but I must object to this!”

Bruce’s protests were silenced by the sound of the doors opening to the great hall. Iain was flooded with frustration as he had specifically told the guards not to permit anyone other than Bruce to enter.

“I hear that there is news about my daughter?” Alistair walked into the room. He was looking much healthier than he had done in recent weeks.

“Aye, a note from her captor,” Bruce nodded and pointed to the note on the table.

Iain internally groaned and had to try hard to suppress his anger at the way his father had given up that information so willingly.

“Let me see,” Alistair mumbled as he shuffled towards the table and took the note into his slightly shaking hands.

Iain waited in a frustrated silence for Alistair to read the note and understand what was going on.

“This Athol, is he a real threat?” Alistair asked in a gruff voice.