Page 17 of Kilted Abduction
“This way,” he whispered.
With his little brother leading the way, Magnus wound through a convoluted trail that twisted and wound around the wide trunks of the trees around them, under fallen logs, and even up a largepile of stones. Kai held to the trail and never wavered. And knowing his brother’s prowess, Magnus followed behind, never questioning. Every step they took only reinforced his belief they would find the spy they sought at the end of the path. Why else would she have run from them?
The trail led them to the mouth of a small cave deep in the forest. Looking nervous, Kai turned to Magnus and licked his lips, giving him a nod.
“She’s in there,” he whispered.
Drawing the sword from the sheath on his belt, Magnus stepped forward. “All right, lass. Come on out of there.”
For a long moment, the forest around them was silent but the air crackled with tension, raising the hair on Magnus’ arms. He held his breath and waited. But the seconds ticked by without anything happening, without so much as a sound. The mouth of the cave loomed in front of them, dark and foreboding, the tension in air growing thicker.
“I’m nae goin’ in there tae fetch her,” Kai whispered.
Magnus cast an irritated look at his brother. “Come on out, lass. Let’s nae play these games. Ye dinnae want me to come in there after ye.”
Magnus heard the soft scuff of a boot on stone drift from the darkness of the cave before him. A moment later, he heard softfootsteps approaching. He tightened his grip on his sword and took up a defensive posture as he waited. The woman was small. She looked no larger than a child, truth be told, but he’d seen her skill with a bow and thought it best to assume the stories about her abilities with a blade in her hand were just as true.
Like a spirit appearing from a bank of fog, the woman emerged from the darkness within the cave. Her green eyes were narrowed to slits and she had a scowl on her face. The edge of her sword glinted in the dull light that filtered through the boughs of the trees above them. The woman raised her blade and took a fighting posture. Magnus noted that her form was good, making him believe she’d had some training—as a spy and saboteur might.
“Ye tell me faither and Fairfax that I’m nae comin’ back,” she growled. “Unless ye leave now, ye’re goin’ tae have tae to carry me dead body back to them.”
Though she tried to sound forceful and intimidating, her voice was as light and feminine as she was, which didn’t quite align with the image she wanted to portray. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Magnus might have laughed. But he was not about to underestimate her. Not after what he’d seen her do with the bow. Instead, he glanced at Kai who shook his head and shrugged. His brother seemed to have no more idea what she was talking about than he did. He turned back to the woman and shook his head.
Magnus focused and reached out, trying to listen in to her thoughts. But all he heard was silence. It was just like it had beenwhen he’d tried to get into her head before and Magnus didn’t understand it. He had never encountered anything like it before, but it was almost as if there was a wall in her mind that was preventing him from using his gift. He didn’t have time to figure it out though. Not with the woman armed and ready to fight.
“Lass, we’ve got nae bleedin’ idea what ye’re bleatin’ about,” he said. “Why dinnae ye put that blade down and let’s talk about it.”
“Why dinnae ye put yer own blade down, turn around, and get the bleedin’ hell out of here?”
“I cannae dae that. Ye need tae come with us so we can talk.”
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere with ye.”
“I dinnae want tae fight ye,” Magnus said.
She flashed him a devilish grin. “Dinnae want tae fight a girl, eh?”
“I dinnae care if yer a lad or a lass,” Magnus replied. “I just dinnae want tae kill ye before I’ve had a chance tae talk tae ye.”
The words had barely cleared his lips when the woman waded in with a vicious slice that Magnus easily parried, but she was quicker than a cat and had the blade already in motion before he was ready. He jumped back as the tip of her blade whistled by his face. Magnus felt the wind of it passing and knew he’d just barelymissed having the top of his head sliced right off. The woman’s form with the blade wasn’t for show. She knew how to fight.
Kai pulled out his own blade, but Magnus held a hand up, telling him to stay back. He genuinely didn’t want to hurt the woman. And aside from that, he had an idea and was going to need Kai’s help if it all went according to plan. Their blades up and in the ready position, Magnus and the woman circled each other, sizing each other up and looking for an opening to strike.
“Last chance,” the woman said. “Turn around and leave now. Tell me faither and Fairfax I’ll never marry that monster.”
“Lass, I dinnae ken who yer faither or this Fairfax lad is,” Magnus said.
“Then who are ye? And why are ye tryin’ tae capture me?”
“’Tis our business, lass. Let’s just say though, we’ve been told a woman who matches yer description is threatenin’ our clan.”
She gaped at him. “I dinnae ken who ye are or what clan ye belong tae. How can I be a threat tae a clan I dinnae even ken?”
“Lass, there’s a lot happenin’ right now. Just put the blade down, come talk to us, and we can get this all sorted?—”
She lunged forward, the point of her blade slicing through the air aimed straight at his heart. Magnus knew his leathers wouldn’t do much to protect him from the thrust and spun to the side ashe swung his blade upward. The ring of steel echoed all around them and all at once, Magnus found himself in a fight for his life. The woman was aggressive. She hacked and slashed, lunged and thrusted with a ferocity that kept Magnus on his heels.
She was good with a blade. Excellent, really. And he had his hands full parrying every attack she launched. But he’d anticipated that and when she waded in with a thrust that would have impaled him straight through the throat, Magnus spun, the blade missing his flesh by a whisker, and drove his elbow into the woman’s face. She screeched as her head snapped back and blood began to flow from her nose. Magnus followed that up by grabbing her wrist and bending it awkwardly, drawing a pained squeal from the woman and her sword hit the forest floor with a hard thump.
