Page 73 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds
He cast a sideways glance at her and said, “There is. I’ll admit it. I’d believe it of Dyna more than a child.”
“And Lia?”
“I will not discuss Lia. Nay, will not discuss. And that thing she gave Maeve? What the hell was that? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“She said it was from the Norse, but it worked. Maeve clung to it and her head popped right up in the water, and she had a gown on. I don’t know how that didn’t drag her under, but it helped because I could pull her along easily.”
“And the oddest part? Once we got to shore, no one could find it.”
“I know. I looked for it. If she’d left it in the water, it should have floated.”
“But it wasn’t anywhere to be found.”
They found themselves pulling up to a long dock, the only boat there. A couple of fishermen nearby shouted over, “Welcome to the Isle of Coll. Who are you looking for?”
“A man named Odart. Know of him?”
“Sure do. Ugly bastard just went up the hill to their land. What business have you with him?”
Sloan looked to Thane, who said, “The kind that will put him out of business. How can we find him?”
“Glad to hear it. Straight up ahead, take the path to the right and down to the end. You’ll find two buildings, a house and a stable that are not kept up. Abandoned buildings they took for their own use.”
“What use is that?” Connor asked.
“Anything questionable and Odart will do it. I like to keep my neck attached so I don’t ask. Hoping someday he’ll cross the wrong person. Who are you?”
Sloan drawled, “The wrong persons.”
The man grinned, showing a missing tooth. “Then we’ll have an ale for you on your return.”
Once they exited the boat, Connor approached the men and said, “Connor Grant of Clan Grant. How many fools are there?”
The man looked Connor up and down before answering. “Only five got off. They tossed two overboard and two headed on to Kilchoan. There was a hell of a battle on Loch Tuath or so I heard. They sounded daft, talking of lightning and faeries and snakes in the water. Know you anything about that?”
Connor grinned and waggled his brow, then drew his sword out of its sheath in one smooth move. “I might. We’ll be back in a few moments for those ales. Then if you want a house or a stable, there will be two available.”
The men chortled for quite a while after the group moved on.
Connor, Sloan, and the rest headed in the direction the fisherman gave them, finding the manor home not far down the right-hand path. The group gathered to plan their attack and Connor said, “I’ll stay here. Thane and Alasdair, go in the front, Alaric and Eli into the stable, Sloan and Eva around back. Whoever finds them, let me know and I’ll get us all together, if we need to.”
Sloan took Eva’s hand, and the two headed around back, finding a small path in the thick forestry to the left side of the house. It would be dark soon, but there was enough light to see the way without much trouble. Just before turning the corner, Sloan said, “Stay here for a moment. Let me see how many there are first.”
Eva nodded, tiptoeing carefully behind him, then stopping as he took a few steps ahead. Just as she was able to admit to herself how much she loved Sloan, he disappeared from view. She vowed to tell him on their journey home, or mayhap later this eve once the evil bastard D was dead. How she prayed they would find him.
She was just about to worry when a sound caught her attention in the bushes. A split second before she was grabbed, the odor hit her. She knew that smell. The cruel man who’d attacked her before was here.
A moment later, D grabbed her from behind and put a hand over her mouth, muffling her scream.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Sloan
“There’s no one here, Eva,” Sloan said as he returned to her, except she wasn’t there. “Eva?”
He moved back down the path and ran into Connor. “Eva come back?”
Connor shook his head. “The other four are dealing with Odart. Thane is thrilled to have found him, and he’ll be dead soon, if he isn’t already. I’m here to help you find the others. Odart has three with him, so there is still one missing. Where could Eva have gone?”
