Page 61 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Chapter Twenty-Four

Along the main road through the hills, the gradient rose and fell as irregularly as the weather up above. A short break in the thick clouds had given way to a few small bursts of light, but they were quickly eaten up again and the landscape was plunged into more darkness.

They weren’t far from the croft where the note had said to meet, and with each movement that they took forward, Iain could feel his anxiety building. He didn’t want to think about how scared May must be at that moment, but he was also worried that Athol wouldn’t keep his word. The dread that filled him at the thought of her not being alive was such a sickening feeling that he couldn’t even put it into words. The croft was up on the next hill, and the men could see it as they rode in from the west, following the winding road upwards. Iain thought of what he would find inside the building; all he could do was hope that May was alive and unhurt.

Iain turned to look at the men who had agreed to follow him on such a dangerous mission. It was something that he hadn’t given much thought to when assembling them, but he realized at that moment just how brave they all were. This wasn’t going to be a normal battle, this wasn’t the kind of fighting that won wars or put lairds in their place, this was going to be a grisly fight. He spotted Alistair, who already looked rather weary from the harsh ride, but he was still holding up and keeping up with the group. Iain couldn’t feel the disdain that he normally did for the man at that moment, he could only feel admiration that even a man as weak as Alistair was willing to put his own life on the line for his daughter. There would be plenty of time to be angry at Alistair for the way that he had separated Iain and May six years ago, but Iain knew that now was not the time.

“What’s the plan?” Alistair asked as he rode up next to Iain and Douglas.

“I will let his men capture me,” Iain began, causing both of the men to look at him in confusion, “We need to play into his hands just a little bit, Athol will let his guard down if he thinks he’s got me. Then I will give a signal of firing my gun up, and the rest of ye’ll attack, all right?”

“Are ye sure about this?” Douglas looked at him uneasily, “Ye ken that this is a very dangerous man, are ye sure that ye want to play into his plan even just the smallest bit? What if he kills ye?”

“It doesnae matter what happens to me, just get my wife out of there,” Iain shook his head.

He hadn’t been scared of death for a very long time, there was no time to be scared of death when his line of work was so closely involved with it. Iain had thought about it many times, and he had always accepted that it would happen, there was no point in running from it. If it was to be that day, then all he could hope was that May would be all right without him.

“Aye,” Douglas finally nodded grimly. “Ye heard him, we wait outside and attack when a gunshot is fired,” he spoke a bit louder to the men around them.

From that point on, the group traveled off of the main road. Iain knew that Athol would see them coming if they continued on that path. Instead, Iain traveled alone up the dusty road toward the abandoned-looking buildings at the top of the hill. The wind was starting to pick up, causing an eerie howling sound to float through the air around him. Iain was on high alert for any of Athol’s men that could jump out from a tree or somewhere close to him.

He swallowed thickly as the rotting wood of the croft became more visible the closer that he got to it. This wasn’t a farm that was in use by anyone, which Iain was incredibly thankful for as it meant that there would be nobody caught in the crossfire.

Iain stopped when the land started to flatten out and dismounted from his horse. He would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel slightly more vulnerable being at his normal height. However, he wouldn’t be able to carry out the plan if he remained on top of his horse.

After tying the animal up to a nearby tree, Iain turned back to the ruins of the main building and listened for any signs of life.

“Well, well,” a sudden voice came from the smaller building on his right. It looked to be an abandoned stable, and Iain tried to peer into the darkness of the structure, but it was hopeless.

However, Iain remembered the familiar, deep voice, and he could feel the anger it built up inside him.

“Athol,” Iain spoke while straightening up.

He hoped that his men were in position by that point, but Iain realized that he had no way to know if they were.

“The last time that I saw ye,” Athol continued, finally stepping out of the shadows, “Ye were on the floor and I left ye for dead.”

“Aye, and yet here I am,” Iain spoke as his lip curled in distaste.

“I should have finished ye off that day,” Athol chuckled darkly and shook his head.

“Where is my wife?” Iain growled.

“She’s safe, well, for now.”

Iain was already hating the way that Athol was toying with him. The man clearly felt as though he had the upper hand and was flaunting it to him as though this were just him showcasing his power.

“I want proof that she’s safe,” Iain continued.

“As ye wish,” Athol spoke with a twisted smile on his face. His expressions had always been dark, but Iain was feeling rather unnerved at how a man who had once been his friend was now so evil.

Athol made a small signal with his hand, and three of his men appeared from the main building. Iain’s first instinct was to fight them, but he realized that in doing so, he would be putting May’s life in danger. He didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize his goal, and so he let the men take him.

“I have to be honest,” Athol chuckled, “I thought that it would have been a little harder to capture ye.”

Iain didn’t bother responding, he simply walked willingly into the stables and was thrown down by the men onto some old hay. He grunted at the impact, with his hands bound behind his back, he had no way of bracing himself from the impact.

“I want ye to ken that I have suffered because of ye,” Athol said, “I want ye to suffer like I did when I was arrested.”