Page 19 of Kilted Abduction
The ropes fell and landed on the tops of her boots, and she glanced at her sword, which stood propped up against a nearby tree. But there was no way she could get to it and escape without alerting the two men of her escape. Leaving it behind was regretful but Ciara had no choice. It wasn’t worth reaching for it if it ended with her in bonds once more. She would have to find another sword when she was far away from the two strangers.
Ciara kept her eye on the two men as she slowly got to her feet and edged toward the trees at the edge of the clearing. She slipped behind the trunk of the nearest tree, then turned and ran for all she was worth. In the distance behind her, she heard the men shouting. They had finally noticed that she’d escaped, but she had a good head start on them. Ciara weaved through the trees, her fear imbuing her with an almost supernatural speed and endurance as she ran.
Gritting her teeth and lowering her head, Ciara plunged deeper into the forest. She had no idea where she was or how she would ever find her way back to Seabridge, but that was a worry for another time. She was ahead of the two men and had to keep growing that distance. And as their voices grew fainter behind her, Ciara smiled to herself.
She had escaped.
CHAPTER TEN
“What are we goin’ tae dae?” Kai asked.
“I dinnae ken,” Magnus admitted.
“How can she be immune tae our bleedin’ gifts?”
Magnus shook his head. “I dinnae ken that either.”
“Well, what dae ye ken? Ye’re supposed tae be the strategist.”
Magnus gave his brother an impatient glare then turned and felt his stomach drop into his boots when he spotted the ropes, they’d used to bind Ciara in a heap on the ground—and no Ciara.
“Bleedin’ hell,” Magnus growled.
“That’s nae good,” Kai said.
Magnus turned to his brother. “Ye go east. I’ll go west. Circle around and we’ll meet in the middle. She couldnae have gone far,” he said. “Find her trail, Kai. Find her or Domhnall will have our bleedin’ hides.”
“Aye. I’m on it. We’ll find her, braither.”
Magnus turned and bolted off, keeping his eyes on the ground, searching for any obvious sign of Ciara’s passing. He wasn’t nearly the tracker Kai was, but he’d done his fair share of hunting and knew how to find a trail. This woman was more trouble than he’d anticipated. Perhaps that had been an oversight on his part, and he should have expected it, given that she was a spy and all. He had simply not believed she would be half as feisty, troublesome, and resourceful as she was turning out to be. Magnus grunted to himself. He would not make that same mistake of underestimating her again.
He was loath to admit it, and he would certainly never do so out loud, but there was something about the woman he admired. She was tenacious. Fearless. He had seen larger men quiver and fold when they’d faced Magnus with a sword in his hand. Not Ciara though. She was bold, defiant, and made it clear that she did not fear him. It was actually impressive. It was also clear to Magnus that the woman was smart. She seemed to have a keen mind and didn’t simply rely on her bonny looks to accomplish her goals. She thought things through. That too, had left an impression on him.
As Magnus stalked through the forest, looking for her trail, he pondered the idea of Ciara being a spy. Mostly, he wondered whyshe had turned on her own countrymen. Certainly, history was replete with traitors and those who sought out personal gain by any means necessary. He had heard the stories of some Scottish nobles who’d attained title and wealth by selling out their clans. It wasn’t unheard of. What wasn’t as common, though, at least to his knowledge, were women who had turned into traitors of their country.
Magnus liked to believe he was educated and knowledgeable about his country and its history and he could not, off the top of his head, recall a single story about a woman who’d sold Scotland out. Perhaps there were some, but if so, their stories had never made history for some reason. That would make Ciara almost unique in that regard. So, why had she given aid and comfort to their English enemies? What had driven her into the arms of those murderous bastards? It was a question he was determined to ask once he’d found her. And he would find her.
Magnus paused and knelt down, gently touching the leaves on the forest floor in front of him. There, in the soft earth, he found a small boot print. And then another. Magnus searched the ground around him and found the trail Ciara had left as she’d fled from them. As he studied the trail closer, it appeared as if she had been dragging a branch behind her to stir the undergrowth, cover her tracks, and obscure her passing.
“Clever lass,” he murmured.
As he knelt there scrutinizing her tracks, the hair on the back of Magnus’ neck stood on end as his skin broke out in gooseflesh. He felt a sudden lurch in his belly and knew he was in danger.Moving on instinct, Magnus rolled to his right a split second before Ciara landed where he’d been kneeling, a long dagger in her hand.
“Where’d ye get that then?” he asked as he leaped to his feet.
“’Twas in me boot,” she said. “’Tis nae me fault ye didnae check.”
“Fair,” he replied and pulled the dagger from the sheath on his belt.
They circled around one another, blades gripped tightly in their fists, searching for an opening in the other’s defense that would allow them to strike.
“I dinnae want tae hurt ye,” Magnus said.
“That’s funny because I’m fixin’ tae hurt ye,” she replied.
“Why would ye want tae dae that?”
“Other than ye tryin’ to drag me back to me faither’s keep and forcin’ me intae bondage fer the rest of me bleedin’ life?”
