Page 67 of Highland Slayer
Estevan scrutinized his father for a moment. “Ye still seemed frightened.”
“I am,” Lares said, looking at him. “There is nothing good about these people, lad. The only way tae defeat them is tae destroy all of them. Otherwise, they’ll keep coming back tae the last man.”
Estevan considered that very real possibility. “They followed their captive all the way here,” he said. “We thought they’d come tae the gate and ask if we knew anything about her, but theynever even asked. They simply attacked when yer escort reached the gatehouse.”
“They were trying tae get in,” Lares said. “They waited until the gatehouse was being opened and they struck. That is when a fortress is most vulnerable.”
“But we closed it before anyone could get in.”
“Aye, we did,” Lares said. “But it was opened tae admit us. Someone could have slipped in then in the crowd of men.”
Estevan frowned. “’Tis not possible,” he said. “Only dun Tarh men entered.”
“Are ye sure?”
He wasn’t. Estevan couldn’t guarantee it. He began to look around at all of the soldiers inside the bailey and a feeling of dread swept him.
“I’m not,” he said. “Ye must line up every man here and make sure he belongs in yer army. Ye know all of yer men, dunna ye?”
Lares nodded. “I know every one of them because I invited them tae join me,” he said. “I’ll have Kal and Caelus and Lucan line them all up now. We’ll identify everyone.”
“Good,” Estevan said. “But meanwhile, we’d better not say anything tae the women. I dunna want tae upset the mother abbess and have her order us all out.”
Lares understood. “Not a word.”
As he wandered off to find his other sons, Estevan found himself looking for Anaxandra. He couldn’t go two minutes without thinking about her, and given what they’d just gone through, his concern was justified. He couldn’t help but be impressed when he remembered her selflessness at pulling Zora out of danger. He found himself looking at her through new eyes because the woman wasn’t just talk. She didn’t just fire bolts from overhead and stay out of any real fighting. She had exposed herself greatly by doing what she did for Zora.
He hadn’t even thanked her for it.
Anaxandra was over in an old smithy stall with several other women, all of them going over the bolts they’d collected. She had her head down, cleaning dirt and grass out of some grooves in the head of one of the bolts and didn’t see him approach, but the women around her did. In fact, they began to scatter, startled that a man had entered their orbit. Anaxandra only looked up when she realized everyone was leaving. A glance over her shoulder showed her why.
“Do you always have that effect?” she asked.
He smiled as he came near. “What effect?”
“Chasing people away with your mere presence?”
He nodded seriously. “It happens every day,” he said, watching her grin. “Did ye not see the enemy run when they saw that I was in the battle?”
She chuckled. “Come to think on it, they did leave very quickly,” she said. “It must be a talent you have.”
“Something I’ve worked hard at,” he said, but soon enough, his face took on a warm expression. “And there’s a talent ye have also.”
“What’s that?”
“Bravery.”
She wasn’t quite sure what he meant. “We were all brave today.”
“True,” he said. “But ye were the only one I saw lowering yerself with a rope tae save my sister. Thank ye for doing that, Ana. Ye dinna have tae do it, but ye did. Ye saw a woman in trouble and ye risked yerself tae help.”
Anaxandra was back to flushing brightly for two reasons—he’d called her by a diminutive, something only Mother Michael or Sister Hildegarde did, and he’d also complimented her on her courage. No one had ever done that before.
“Is your sister well?” she asked.
He nodded. “She seems tae be quite well,” he said. “She’s strong. Any daughter of Mabel dun Tarh is strong, but Zora has the issue of my father being overly sympathetic tae everything that happens tae her. He still sees her as a small child in need of a father’s overwhelming protection.”
Anaxandra grinned. “And you do not believe she still needs her father’s protection?”
