Page 33 of Highland Slayer
“Ye said they spoke a language ye dinna understand?” he asked the farmer.
“Aye,” the man said. “I’ve not heard it before.”
“And they came from the sea?”
The farmer shook his head. “I dunna know.”
“Did they speak something like this—Mitt namn är Estevan. En kvinna?”
The man nearly panicked. “Aye!” he cried. “It sounds like that!”
He started weeping again, terrified, and Estevan let him go. As the man began to wander away, into the crowd that had gathered, Estevan turned to Anaxandra.
“We must return tae St. Margaret’s,” he muttered grimly. “Now.”
She could sense the apprehension. It was bleeding from him like a geyser. “Why?” she said. “What has happened?”
He looked at her, knowing she hadn’t been privy to the conversations he’d had with Titan and his brother about the Ormsfolk coming after Leonore. He didn’t want to frighten her, but something told him she wasn’t easily frightened when it came to danger. She was a trained warrior, after all.
For her own safety, she had to know.
“The woman we found on the riverbank,” he said. “Did ye hear us speaking of her?”
Anaxandra shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “I was not close enough last night or this morning to hear what you were saying. I just know that Mother Michael needed help translating the woman’s language.”
That was probably true. She hadn’t really involved herself in his interactions with Mother Michael, but rather stayed by the door as a guard. “Then I’ll make this brief,” he said. “The woman we brought tae St. Margaret’s escaped from a clan known as Ormsfolk. They’re also called the Serpent People. They’re not like normal men, Anaxandra. Ye heard the farmer describe his attackers as killing his chickens by biting their heads off and eating them.”
Her brow was furrowed with concern. “Ormsfolk,” she repeated. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Because ye dunna want tae meet them in battle. We suspected they might be following the woman we brought tae St. Margaret’s, but I fear that farmer may have confirmed our suspicions. We must return tae the abbey before the Ormsfolk figure out that their captive is within the walls.”
He was already mounting up. Anaxandra followed after him, still holding the basket of medicines, which she handed to him once he was in the saddle. “But why should we worry so much?” she asked. “Mother Michael will not admit them. We can defend ourselves.”
Estevan took the basket from her. “That is what Mother Michael said,” he muttered. “I dunna have time tae tell ye the terrible tales of these men, so ye simply must trust me. Ye think ye can defend yerselves because ye’ve never faced them in battle.”
He seemed edgy and brusque. That wasn’t something Anaxandra had ever seen from him since they’d met, so she simply mounted her horse and began to follow him down the road. He’d moved on without her, so she had to pick up the pace to catch up with him. Mud splattered on her feet from the horse, but she wasn’t paying attention to that. She was watching Estevan as he surveyed the countryside like a cat surveying a mouse. When he finally headed off the road and into the treesbecause he didn’t want to run into the Serpent People if they were taking the road north, she followed. By the time they reached St. Margaret’s some time later, he was in already in battle mode.
A storm was coming.
She could feel it.
CHAPTER TEN
Dumfries
They’d come offa smaller road from the south because traveling the more popular road would bring their numbers to the attention of people who could possibly run home and summon men to stand against them. Therefore, it was better that they not be seen if they were to achieve their objective.
They had already started with one farm.
The farm had been close to where they’d located the queen’s boat, so it stood to reason that she would have gone to the farm for assistance. Even though they had turned the place inside out and killed the occupants, they hadn’t come across the queen or any signs of her. Even so, the farm didn’t escape unscathed. They stole what they could, killed what they could, and burned the place behind them.
Now, they had arrived at a large village.
Since there were so many of them, it was better if just a few entered the village at first. Too many strangers would attract attention. Therefore, only four of them ventured into the village, leaving the rest of them back in a copse of trees on the village perimeter. One man in particular was the leader of the Serpent People.
His name was Bastijn.
“She could be anywhere.”
