Page 4 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
When he turned back to the priest, the man’s eyes were already trained on him. The priest stared at Noah as though he were an altar boy about to jump to do his bidding—how wrong he was.
MacPhee took a step forward, and Noah moved to stop him on instinct.
“Who is she to ye?” he asked.
“Nae concern of yers, Me Laird, I assure ye.”
“And that isnae what I asked ye,” he stated. “I cannae let ye take her, or let ye go, until ye explain what exactly led to this.”
The man shook his head, a thin smile on his face.
“We need to bring this woman back with us, me laird, that is all. She has fled the village and must be returned for her punishment.”
Noah felt ice flood through his veins. “And what has she been accused of?”
“She’s a witch!” someone shouted from the back of the crowd. Noah’s fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. It took all of his strength not to roll his eyes at the idiocy of some people.
“I see,” he said, his voice low. “Which clan do ye hail from?”
“Donaldson, me laird,” the priest said, taking another step forward.
“Donaldson,” Noah repeated. “I shall be sure to remember that.”
“There is nae need for that, Me Laird, we will be gone as soon as we get what we need.”
“Ye will be gone now,” Noah said, folding his arms across his chest and leveling a stare at the other man.
“Nae without the woman,” MacPhee stated.
“Yes, without the woman. I willnae be a part of whatever this has become. What is her punishment to be, priest? Will she be repentin' her sins, is that it?” he asked, watching the man's eyes run over the lass’s body again. “Perhaps in the privacy of the church, just ye and she?”
Those ice-blue eyes flashed fire at that, and the priest’s neck turned a dark shade of red. His gaze flicked back to the crowd and then returned to Noah. Oh yes, this man was accustomed to getting what he wanted.
“Step aside, Me Laird.”
“Nay. I daenae think I will,” Noah said, looking over at the crowd and taking a menacing step forward. “Did yer laird never tell ye nae to wander in the woods? Terrible things could happen to ye,” he said solemnly.
He moved a hand to his back and drew forth the sword slung over his shoulders.
MacPhee clearly hadn’t thought he was armed. Noah watched his throat convulse on a desperate swallow as he finally stepped back toward his band of followers. Noah held the sword straight at his throat.
“If ye daenae get out of me lands this instant, I shall run ye all through and show ye what a real laird does to those who daenae leave when they are told.”
The crowd was now exchanging uneasy glances. MacPhee seemed to realize he had lost their support as he looked back at them.
The majority were older men and women. The torches they held aloft were crude and no more a threat to Noah than their presence. They carried no weapons, they brought no army, just misguided beliefs.
He swept the sword in front of him for good measure, watching as the crowd retreated one after the other in the face of its sharp blade.
Satisfied he would have no more trouble from that quarter, he sheathed it quickly. He knew he would only have so long before the priest rallied them again, and although they were not soldiers, he was outnumbered by a distance.
He walked back to the beautiful woman, who still lay motionless on the ground. He rubbed at the tightness across his torso absently, as he looked at her. Given her hair was as black as pitch, he would have expected her to have pale, almost alabaster skin, but it was bronzed by the sun and spotted with freckles.
He glanced at her fingers, seeing the telltale green smudges under her nails that every healer possessed. She had once cared for these people then, and something she had done had led to them turning against her. her nails that every healer possessed. She had once cared for these people then, and something she had done had led to them turning against her.
More fool them,he thought angrily and bent down, pushing his hands beneath her curvaceous body and lifting her easily into his arms.
As he turned, he found that several of the villagers had come to their senses and had advanced on him, making as though to wrestle the girl from his grip.
