Page 2 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds
“I’ll pass on your warnings.” The man stared at him, a twisted grin on his face.
“What the hell is your name?”
“You don’t need my name. We don’t use them at all. Our chief refuses to use names.”
Logan stared at the man, taking in everything he saw. Dressed in black from head to toe, he wore no clan identification and spoke more like an Englishman than a Highlander. Perhaps he was from the Lowlands. “A Borderlands man up this far. That does not happen often.”
The man appeared flustered by his guess.
“Och, I guessed right.” Then it was Logan’s turn to grin. He had to leave the man unsettled and a bit afraid of him. “What powers have you heard the lad possesses?”
“Don’t know. Said they think he’ll be another Alex Grant, but he had no special powers that I was ever aware of.”
“It’ll be a long time before the lad can fight like the Grant. Time and many raggies. Who’s planning on changing them?”
“Not my concern. I just get the information, grab my coin, and run.”
“Names. Give me a name.”
“Don’t have any for you. I already told you that we are not allowed to use names.”
He could see this line of questioning was not productive, so he switched to the other issue at hand. “How soon for the attack on Clan Rankin?”
“Soon.” The man took a step back and said, “Later, old man.” He moved a short distance away, then turned around and chuckled. “I can’t believe you are fool enough to think I’d believe you were a spy.”
An arrow landed in the tree less than a hand away.
He ran like a wee bairn.
“Did you shite your raggie on that one, fool?” Logan called out after him. Then he chuckled. “Nice one, Gwynie.”
CHAPTER ONE
Eva
Early autumn, 1316, the Isle of Mull
Eva MacVey’s horse bolted, nearly tossing her out of the saddle, but she managed to hang on. “Snow Queen, stop!”
The horse ignored her, tearing across the path and into the forest, exactly as Eva feared the frightened beast would do. “Snow Queen!”
Eva glanced over her shoulder in time to see a horse and rider she didn’t recognize following her. Was the strange horse the reason her sweet mare had gone off the path?
She pulled the reins, urging the horse to slow, but she sped on, branches scratching her arms as she flew through the trees. “Stop, Queenie. Please!”
They were only a short distance from her home with two guards not far away—her brother insisted since she was sister to the chieftain of Clan MacVey—but she’d never been accosted on her horse before.
“Easy, Snow Queen. Whoa, girl.” Eva spoke in a low tone, attempting to calm her mount, yet she also feared the horse behind her might catch up. When she turned around, the strange rider had disappeared, but three other horses followed. Two were her guards, but the closest one was nearly upon her.
In one smooth move, the closest rider leaned over and lifted her off her horse, then settled her on his lap at first before adjusting her to sit in front of him. The loss of her rider slowed Snow Queen, the terror leaving the animal.
Sloan Rankin, chieftain of their neighboring clan, asked, “Are you hurt, Eva?”
Nearly falling off, she grabbed the saddle at the same time that Sloan wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her. “I’ve got you.”
Something flipped inside her belly at his touch. She whirled and shoved at his chest, nearly knocking both of them off the horse. He tugged the reins and stayed on, helping her to keep upright on the beast, too, and his mount slowed.
As soon as she could, she took another swing at him. “Leave me be!”
