Page 23 of The Iron Highlander
“Get down!”
Kate stared at Reuben, trying to understand why the Laird had shoved her away. For a moment, she felt a fit of rage go through her, as she thought the man had just been toying with her, and had only said what he had so he would get her in a vulnerable position. But when she saw the look of absolute fear on his face, she realized that the man was scared about something, and she looked in the direction which his eyes had come from.
On a tree was a bolt from a bow. The blue tint of feathers on the end of the arrow was different from the red on the one she carried. Kate realized what had happened; someone had tried to kill them, and the sound of a second arrow leaving the bow reached her ears from behind her.
Chapter 12
“Get down!”Reuben yelled at Kate, watching in horror as she stared at him. He pushed himself off the ground, running right at her as she spotted the arrow which had barely missed them. Her eyes had been closed when the bolt went past them, and by the time she would realize what had happened, it would be too late.
Reuben slammed into her from the side, dragging her body down to the ground. Another arrow whizzed past her head, missing her by just inches. Reuben spotted a fallen tree ahead and began crawling to it, knowing that if he could hide behind it, they would be out of range of whoever it was that was shooting at them. He quickly reached the log and called to Kate behind him.
“Follow me!”
He took a look back at her, making sure she was staying low before he peered over the log. Just as he did, an arrow hit the log, dousing his face with splinters. The laird quickly ducked,realizing that they were in the presence of a gifted archer. Knowing that they would move to get an advantage on them, Reuben decided that they had to move. The next arrow landed next to his foot, telling him that the archer had already begun moving.
“Reuben!” Kate called out.
The laird turned to see that Kate had not left the spot she had started at, and she was trying to get her dress out of some roots which had gotten stuck on her, keeping her in place.
“Stay low!” Reuben yelled. With a single look, he bounded out of his own cover and began running in a zigzag pattern until he got to Kate. He grabbed her dress and pulled at the part which was stuck, ripping it clean in one swift motion. Just as he did, an arrow whizzed past them again, and this time Reuben dropped to the ground, clutching his hand.
“Reuben!” Kate yelled, ducking low as another arrow barely missed her. She got flat on the floor and snaked over to Reuben who was lying flat on his back.
“I’m hit,” Reuben began, “But it’s nothin’ I can’t deal with. We need to get out of here.”
“The archer is moving. I can see movement in the trees. If we run, we’ll get hit before we can make it far away.” Kate replied.
Reuben stared at her, wondering what she had in mind. He had been in a fight several times, and especially in situations like these where he felt like the advantage belonged to the enemy. He made a fist as he pondered on who it could be that was trying to kill them.
“We have to get out of the clearing first, the archer can see us clearly,” Reuben said with finality in his voice. Kate nodded instantly and looked to a point where the trees was thickest to the side of them. “On my mark.”
Kate set off running for the trees even before Reuben had asked them to move. She made it to the trees first, with Reuben reaching her a few seconds later. They did not stop to see where the arrows had come from, but from the sounds of the bolts hitting the trees around them, they knew the attacker was right behind them.
Reuben watched as Kate got behind a boulder and stayed low. He got to a tree next to her and crouched by the branches. He stared out to the other side of the forest, trying to find the archer through the trees, but the foliage was just too much for him to see far, and he hoped it would be the same thing for the individual trying to kill them as well.
“I think we lost him,” said Kate, breathing heavily.
“Aye, but the horses are back the way we came.”
“So if we are going to get out of here, we have to face on the person behind this?” Kate asked, looking at Reuben.
Reuben shook his head. There was no way they would be facing off against anyone. He was already injured, and as he looked at it, he could see that the cut was deep and he was losing blood. He considered who could have attacked them, and realized that he had quite a number of enemies. But none that had the heart to attack his home upfront.
He would not be able to attack, not with Kate there. If anything were to happen to her, Reuben would not forgive himself. Watching her, he could see that she had scraped her knee, but that was the most pain she was in. His mind went to Sweeney. He did not know of the McGowan’s had any archers among their ranks, save for Kate’s late mother, there was no other he was aware of. But either way, Max could easily get someone hired to try to kill Kate and anyone who was out there with her.
“We wait them out. They can’t stay for long,” said Reuben.
“Why?”
“Because they are in enemy territory. It might not be true, but they would be expecting some of my men in the area at any moment, and that would be enough to get them running. We just have to wait for a little bit, and once they get away, we will double back for the horses and ride back to the estate.”
“What if they know that no one is coming?” Kate asked. “Then we would just be sittin’ ducks, waitin’ for this killer to come here and finish us off.”
“Then what would ye have us do?” Reuben replied, a little upset and reducing his voice so he would not draw attention.
“Where’s yer sword?”
“I didnae think we would need it.”
