Page 10 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
“The chieftain?”
“The old chieftain. New co-lairds have started. So, trust me that my father will bring a powerful group too. I left my husbandand Eli back to talk with them when they arrive. I sent a message a sennight ago that we needed more guards. I hope they’re on their way soon.”
Lennox pulled out a map from a cabinet in the chamber, then called Dyna, Sloan, and Thane over. “Let’s divide this way.” The chieftains made their plans, but then Lennox turned back to the group. “Any identifying plaids, marks, any horses you recognized? Does anyone have a clue who is doing this?”
Sloan said, “Small stallions with no identifying plaids. They were dressed in black. The only other thing I noticed was one was bald.”
Lennox nodded, then pointed to Thane. “What did the men near you look like? Mayhap they sounded like the men near Dyna. We must learn how many we are fighting.”
Dyna shouted, “Aye! Same men. Brown haired, brown beard, but the one was bald with a dark beard, and both dressed in all black. They must be the same men. Anyone familiar with a similar group?”
Lennox waited, but when there was no response, he said, “My guess is they were hired to do the deed. Once they deliver the bairns, they’ll be gone. We have to approach this as a search for the bairns. If we look for certain men, we will surely fail.”
Dyna said, “At least Tora is not alone. If she’s with Magni and Lia, they’ll find a way out.”
“How can you be so certain?” Sloan asked. “My nephew, Rowan, was kidnapped, and he’s six winters. How old are yours?”
“Magni is ten, Lia five, and Tora is nearly four.”
“How can you possibly believe four bairns that age will escape their captors?”
Dyna said, “Because Tora is a seer.”
Thane said, “Allow me to share what Lia said to me moments before their capture. She said, ‘Please understand thatsome things must happen. In order for everything to work the way the heavens wish, things often go awry. Fear not—all will be well, eventually.’”
“What the hell does that mean coming from a child?” Sloan asked in nearly a shout. “Are you daft?”
Dyna said, “Lia is more than a child.”
Lennox gave her a quizzical look because he had no idea what that meant. “Explain, please.”
Dyna cleared her throat. “I think Lia is a faery in disguise. She’s the one they’re after. I think they believe she is the green maiden of the forest. The one who can grant wishes.”
Sloan threw his hands up in the air. “Now you are all sounding daft. A seer? A faery? A maiden of the forest who grants wishes? You’ve all lost your minds.”
“Why do you say that?” Eva asked, her hands going to her hips. “You never believe anything other than what’s in front of you, Sloan.”
“Because there are no faeries or seers. This discussion has come up among my clan members for years, but I’ve yet to see any evidence of it.”
Dyna paced in a circle, then sat again. “Tora once came and told me a ‘bad man’ was coming for me moments before he showed up. I’m a seer, and she’s my daughter. It makes sense that she has the same abilities.”
“Anyone can be a bad man,” Sloan declared.
Eva crossed her arms and said, “Stop being so divisive and ignorant. There are seers. Many of them.”
“Name one.”
Five people shouted and pointed at the same time. “Dyna!”
“What have you ever done because of that ability?”
“I saw where my sister was lying in the grass after being thrown from a horse. I saw it in my mind and pointed in thatdirection. We found her exactly where I said she would be, unable to speak.”
“Sounds like luck to me,” Sloan said, grumbling under his breath.
Eva gave his arm a shove. “Stop it and believe her. It wouldn’t hurt you to believe in someone for a change, someone other than yourself.”
Sloan glared, but Lennox stepped in. “Leave her be. She’s trying to help everyone. We have three paths. Which one do you want?”
