Page 17 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
He held it aloft, meeting Keira’s eyes with a sorrowful gaze.
“I hope this purges ye of yer sins, Keira,” he said gravely and dropped the burning torch onto the wood at her feet, as flames erupted all around her.
CHAPTER8
“Hell’s teeth!”Noah cried. Flames began to leap all around the lass as she struggled desperately against her bonds.
The fire was already spreading to her feet, the smoke rising all around her in a great cloud, and it was difficult to see where she was tied and with how many ropes.
“Stay calm, Keira,” he shouted as her wide eyes settled on his. “I’m comin’ for ye!”
He held up an arm before his eyes against the stinging smoke as he ran to the edge of the pyre, looking desperately for a way to cut her free.
He finally saw where her hands were bound with a wave of relief and swung his sword above his head, bringing it down violently against the plank at Keira’s back, and saw her hands released as the ropes were cut in two.
The flames were catching more slowly at the back of the pyre, where the oil had not been distributed as heavily. He ran to the back and reached up to grip her dress, her arms coming around him, clutching at him desperately, as he dragged her through some smaller flames and onto the floor.
She coughed and spluttered in his arms as he held her against him, panting in relief as he realized she was safe.
He looked down at her clothing to see that the hem of her skirt was on fire, and he hurriedly stamped out the flames with his foot, keeping a watchful eye for any villagers who might protest her rescue.
He looked up at her to find her startled expression fixed on his. His arms were still around her, and his body was half on top of her; the heat and shape of her felt so good beneath him that he almost entirely forgot himself.
“Th—thank ye,” she spluttered, her fingers tightening on his arm, her eyes banked with unshed tears.
Suddenly, a great shout came from behind them, and he forced himself away from her as Daisy and Scott came barreling towards them. Scott’s face was white with rage as he saw his sister.
He skidded to a halt on his knees beside her as she coughed violently.
“Are ye alright?” Scott asked, his eyes wild and frightened. “They had us locked in the pantry, we couldnae break out. I had to take to the door with me shoulder and smash the lock. It took so long I thought ye’d be dead for sure.”
Keira pulled her brother to her and gripped him tightly. Daisy hovered close by, looking lost and just as scared as her brother had been. Keira stretched out a hand to her sister. With a great sob of relief, Daisy fell against her, all of them falling into a pile on the floor as they embraced.
Noah pushed himself up and backed away, allowing the family their reunion.
He looked about him for the priest, but there was no sign of him. Clearly, the man Noah had killed was not a priority to most of the villagers; his body had been left to bleed to death on the ground some feet from him.
Noah did not relish killing those who were unequal to him and never went into a fight with such odds unless it could not be avoided. But the man had raised a sword against him and would have killed him in cold blood if he’d had any skill.
And he’d have set Keira on fire without a second’s hesitation,he thought furiously,rallying the villagers to light their torches as though his actions were in any way justified.
He looked back as the sobbing and hugging abated, and Scott stood up, coming forward to grip Noah’s wrist.
“Thank ye,” he said sincerely, with an expression beyond his years. “Ye saved me sister, and we are in yer debt.”
Noah’s eyes found Keira’s, then. Her face was streaked with smoke, her eyes watering from the proximity of the flames, but somehow, she still looked beyond beautiful to him.
He took a long breath, focusing on the fact that she was safe, not wishing to analyze the intense horror he had felt as he had seen her tied to that pyre.
“When I said I wanted to see ye gone, I dinnae mean from this Earth, lass,” he said, his voice quivering slightly. He could not bear the thought of what might have happened if he had not arrived in time.
“How do ye come to be here?” Keira asked, her voice hoarse and rasping from the smoke.
Noah hesitated.
He had tossed and turned all night because of his concern for her. At the time, he had not considered where she would go once she left him; he had just walked away, washing his hands of her for good.
He had lain awake convinced that she would not be foolish enough to return to the village where she had been threatened. But the more he thought it through, the greater he felt the chances might have been.
