Page 8 of Highland Slayer
More thunder shook the very ground and the rain was coming in sheets. The white-haired woman turned to the group behind her, snapping commands, and the woman with the crossbow, the one who had fired on them from the gatehouse, motioned for them to follow her. As they stepped out into the hammering rain, heads down as they headed for the sanctuary, the armed gang of women closed ranks behind them and followed them not only to the sanctuary, but inside as well.
Once they were in the dark, cool interior, the world was strangely silent.
The thick walls of the sanctuary drowned out the sound of the rain for the most part. The thunder could still be heard, though distantly. Estevan and the others found themselves looking at what had evidently once been a great hall, with a soaring ceiling, hard-packed earthen floors, and ventilation windows cut high on the walls. On the northern end, an altar had been built, but a massive firepit, original to the hall, remained in the middle of vast chamber. The supports that held up the roof had been painted with bright colors, once, but those colors had long since faded.
The sanctuary seemed old, dark, and dull.
Someone went over to the firepit and began to put fuel in it as the five men, with the limp woman, stood back by the entry. Frankly, they were afraid to move, afraid that one of those grim-looking women would put a sword through them if they so much as breathed in the wrong direction.
As they stood there in an uncertain bunch, other women began bringing in blankets and pieces of wood and canvas that ended up being a bed once they put it together. They moved the bed to the wall across from the firepit, which was just starting to flame. They put the blankets upon it, and the pillow. The woman with the crossbow, who had been standing a few feet away from them, motioned to the bed.
“You may put her down,” she said.
Mateo carried the woman over to the bed, carefully laying her down. Estevan was beside him, assisting him by swinging her legs up onto the bed, but the moment they laid her down, she suddenly twitched. An arm flailed upward, striking Mateo in the face. As he stumbled back, surprised by the blow, the woman suddenly came alive.
“Låt mig vara!” she said in a raspy voice. “Lämna mig!”
No one had any idea what language she was speaking. Having no knowledge of where she was, or whom she was with, the woman pitched herself off the bed and ended up landing heavily on her backside. All flailing arms and scrambling legs, she ended up pressed against the stone wall, gazing at those around her with utter terror in her expression.
“Vem är du?” she cried. “Var är jag?”
Estevan was the closest to her. Seeing how frightened she was, he crouched down several feet away, tossing back his cloak and holding out his hands to show he had no weapons.
“Be at ease, lady,” he said steadily. “No one will hurt ye, I promise.”
The woman didn’t understand him. She was sick and injured, and her eyes had a wild look about them. He remained still, unmoving, but behind him, Kaladin took a step out from behind Titan to gain a better look and the woman started shrieking again.
“Låt mig vara!”
Estevan glanced over his shoulder, enough to see Kaladin looking guilty and Titan grabbing him by the arm, pulling him back.
“Stop,” Estevan commanded softly. “Any movement has the woman in a panic, so stop moving.”
That was true, and everyone seemed to still themselves, frozen. At least, the men were. Titan had a viselike grip on Kaladin to keep the young warrior from doing what he did best—disobeying commands. Therefore, they were all rooted to the spot.
But the women were moving.
The woman with the white hair slowly approached the frightened woman, extending the cross that was draped around her neck. It was wooden, and simple, but there was no mistaking what it represented.
“Be at ease, lady,” she said soothingly. “We will help you. Come—get back to your bed. Come, now.”
She kept holding her cross in front of her, making sure the woman could see it. The woman did, and perhaps that eased her a bit, enough to allow the woman with the white hair to gently grasp her by the arm. Another woman rushed forward, taking hold of the other arm, and together they managed to get the injured woman back onto her bed.
Estevan remained crouched where he was, afraid to move because it might set the injured woman off again, but the woman with the white hair caught his eye.
“You and your men will back away,” she said quietly. “Back to the entry. And stay there.”
Estevan obeyed. He moved away carefully, not making any sudden moves, with Titan and Mateo and Rodion and Kaladin following. The five of them headed to the other side of the sanctuary, taking their bags and weapons with them.
They made for an uneasy group. They’d only intended to leave the woman at the abbey and continue on to Dumfries, but the storm outside was rough. No one wanted to be out in it. Therefore, they were at the mercy of the sisters, who seemed to want to follow them around with weapons pointed right at their bellies. They were still lingering on the fringes of the sanctuary, undoubtedly waiting for one of them to make a wrong move.
But there were no wrong moves to make.
If they wanted to stay dry, and alive, then they would have to be compliant.
“Kal,” Estevan finally said, “see tae the horses. Make sure they have shelter and food for the night.”
Kaladin looked at him with surprise. “We’re staying here?”
