Page 24 of The Mad Highlander

24

“ C heck yer swords one more time,” Cayden whispered. “Are we all ready?”

“Aye,” the men whispered back.

Cayden let his eyes fall over them. “I didnae choose ye all for yer fightin’ prowess. Ye might nae be the strongest, but ye are certainly the quickest. There might be a scuffle, but we didnae come here to fight our way in and out. We sneak in under the cover of darkness and sneak back out again as soon as we have the lad. I trust each and every one of ye to get the job done.”

And why am I doin’ this? All of this danger just for a wife? Aye, but she’ll make a fine wife.

Cayden saw their heads bob up and down in the darkness as they nodded in agreement—their eyes shone under the sparse moonlight that infiltrated between the wisps of great cloud.

“I chose the six of ye because I trust each of ye with me life,” Cayden added. He placed his hand atop his short sword, triple-checking it was still there, and then he turned to face the castle.

This might be the quietest stormin’ of the castle I have ever been involved in.

Cayden led the men out of the trees. There was some flickering orange light from two of the windows on the west side of the castle they were headed toward, but they would be almost invisible in the darkness below.

The seven men half-sprinted through the longer grass, keeping low and running fast but not fast enough to cause any unwarranted noise until they reached the castle wall. They pinned their shoulders and backs to the cold stone, checking in all directions and listening.

An owl hooted from the woods they had come from but nothing else, and no one else made a sound outside the castle walls. All they had to do was enter the castle and then find a way down to the dungeons. The only problem after that would be freeing the lad from his cell and not getting caught in the process.

I’ll free yer brother, Iris. I cannae wait to see the smile on yer face when I bring him home to ye.

War was coming, but it was not a time for war yet. Murdoch was expecting a visit from Hunter and his men in a couple of days. There would be guards and patrols, but they would be the regular postings. That still posed a problem.

Cayden signaled to his men, and they followed him down the castle wall, keeping close to it and hiding in the shadows. When Cayden got to the end of the wall, he peeked around. They were at the rear of the castle—there was no entry, but there were shorter walls.

The Laird looked toward the top of the lowest wall, and it towered above, cutting an imposing dark shape in the night. He let out a long breath; the wall was taller than he had expected. His knowledge of Murdoch Castle was minimal at best, and there was no time to properly study the building before they entered it.

Me men are skillful. I only have to hope that luck is on me side.

Cayden pointed to two of his men and gestured for them to round the corner and take up positions at the wall. They did so efficiently, striding quickly by Cayden and running to the wall. Cayden gestured to a third man, and he ran to the initial two, and they lifted him up the wall. The third man, Fergus, stood on the two men’s shoulders, facing the wall.

It was Cayden’s turn next. He looked at the ground as he stepped, being careful not to make a sound. He stayed close to the castle wall, walking tall. When he got to the three men, he used them as a human ladder.

The first two men squatted a little, allowing Cayden to use their knees to step on. He held onto the third man as he pulled himself up to the first two men’s shoulders and then climbed up the third man until he found footing on his shoulders. The wall was just above head height when he stood up.

Cayden listened. Footsteps approached, dull padding on the stone floor just above. The Laird waited, listening as they got closer and pinning himself to the wall. He looked toward the corner of the castle, and the other three were not visible. He and the three men holding him aloft were. Cayden held his breath.

The footsteps stopped. Cayden didn’t dare look up. Then, the footsteps began to recede. Cayden slowly pulled himself up the wall until he could see over it. He saw movement at the far end of the rampart walkway. The two guards rounded the corner and were gone.

Cayden gave it a second before he pulled himself over the wall. He crouched down as low as possible, looking in both directions. Then, he jogged silently to the corner around which the guards had disappeared. He peeked around to see their backs receding from him. They both carried spears taller than themselves.

The Laird made his way quickly back to the wall, looked over, and signaled to his men. He helped them one by one as they climbed up the human ladder, and two of the men hung over the wall to lift the final soldier to join them, leaving the other two men outside the castle. If the Laird and the other four men didn’t make it out, the two soldiers were to ride back to O’Brien Castle and inform Hunter what had happened when he returned.

I will make it out, nay matter what happens inside. I made a promise to Iris, and I cannae let her down. I want to taste her lips again, touch her body, look into her eyes.

Cayden nodded to the four men with him, and they all nodded back: they were ready to move into the next phase. The Laird led them in the direction the two guards had gone—it was unlikely they would double back. They moved single file, keeping close, and crouching behind the short wall on the interior side of the walkway to avoid being spotted by any other patrols in the ramparts.

Cayden’s heart beat quicker as they moved through the castle. If they were caught, he had no doubt that Laird Murdoch would not hesitate to kill them, and he would be fully justified—they had snuck into the castle under the cover of darkness.

I willnae do that to her. I cannae leave her brother in the dungeon and die meself. It would break her heart, and I daenae want to bring her that pain.

The Laird held up his fist to stop the men. He pointed to the archway on his left; the stairs led down. Cayden gestured for them to follow. He took the stairs slowly, listening for noises down below and watching for light. There was no light in the stairway itself, and one wrong step and he might fall.

When they got to the bottom of the stairway, the Laird peeked out to find the stone walkway empty. They had followed the guards’ direction after they had scaled the wall, but they didn't have that luxury now—they did not know where the guards had gone or from where more might appear. They might hear footsteps coming and have ample warning of approaching danger, but the silence had Cayden on edge.

He led the men in complete silence, looking up once to see a shadow cross between him and the stars—likely a bat. He led them down staircase after staircase, not seeing a soul. He stopped and took a moment when they were on ground level. He looked back to check on his men and received four nervous looks in return.

The five of them looked through an archway leading to the main courtyard. There was no one within, but to venture that way through the castle would be certain death. Someone would spot them, and once they were spotted, they would not get out alive. They skirted around the courtyard, remaining under the cover of the ceilings until they came to another set of stairs leading down.

When the air became cooler, Cayden was sure they were on the right track. Thick candles lit the way as they ventured down into the castle’s bowels, another detail that put Cayden’s mind at ease—the stone hallways were lit for a reason.

Cayden suddenly raised his fist again. The four men stopped behind him. He could sense someone close by, and there was a sound. Cayden stood in the cold stone hallway and listened. It was almost as if there was thunder coming from farther down the hallway.

Cayden smiled.

The guard is sleepin’. That makes it a little easier.

They moved as one unit again, infiltrating the lower corridors like the wind: light on their feet and without noise until Cayden raised his hand one more time. He could sense it: they had reached the dungeons.

Cayden moved as if in slow motion to peek around the corner just enough to get a look at the sleeping guard. He cursed their luck when he saw there was not only one guard but two. One of them was asleep in a chair, but the other was not. He held a spear and stood to the left of a large oak door.

Cayden pulled back around and pointed to Brodgar. He then pointed to himself and around the corner. Brodgar nodded. Cayden then pointed back up the corridor and gestured for Brodgar to follow him. They walked back the way they had come, leaving the three men at the corner of the hallway.

“We only need to get close enough to disable him,” Cayden whispered. “We act as if we are in the middle of a conversation and we belong down here. Do it confidently enough, and they’ll be too confused to think straight enough to stop us.”

Brodgar nodded again.

Cayden lifted three fingers and counted down to two and then one.

“I’m tellin’ ye,” Cayden said in hushed tones as he walked back toward the dungeon door. “Ye shouldnae pay more than a shillin’ for that much feed for yer cattle.”

“Aye, and how can I pay that now when I have already paid for it?” Brodger replied in an equally hushed tone.

They rounded the corner, and the guard was reaching out toward his sleeping companion when he shifted his stance and held his spear pointed toward the two oncoming men.

“Ye should talk to him about givin’ ye some of yer money back,” Cayden continued.

“Ho! Who goes there?” the guard asked, ready to stab both of them.

“Do ye really think he will give me money back?” Brodgar asked, ignoring the guard.

“Halt,” the guard ordered.

The Laird quickly took two steps forward and grabbed the spear just below the point. He jerked it backward, pulling the guard toward them, and Brodgar swung a large fist, connecting with a crunch and sending the guard crumpling to the ground.

The noise woke the second guard, but Cayden was too quick and unsheathed his sword, striking the sleepy guard on the top of the head with the hilt. The second guard collapsed to the ground.

“Oy! What’s going on out there?” someone shouted from behind the door.

“Open up,” Cayden said quickly. “We have one to toss in.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Open the door,” Cayden said in as commanding a voice as he could.

“That door doesn’t open without Captain Finn’s say so,” the guard behind the door stated.

“Aye, and I suppose ye want me to go and wake him? I’m nae doin’ that with his temper. Do ye remember how angry he was earlier?”

Brodgar smiled at Cayden, but his eyes showed his nervousness.

“Aye, I remember. Who do ye have out there so late at night.”

“Caught him wanderin’ the castle, but he willnae talk. I dinnae ken what to make of him, but a night locked up before the Captain talks to him in the mornin’ might be just the thing.”

There was silence from behind the door.

“Och, I’ll wake him, but ye are the one who deals with him, all right?” Cayden asked. He looked to Fergus, the man who would have been tasked with picking any locks, before the play took a sidestep.

There was a clicking sound from the other side of the door. The door swung outward to reveal a solitary guard.

“I dinnae want?—”

The guard realized his mistake far too late as four men rushed through the door and took him down. A third body thudded to the ground.

“Search him and check for any other guards,” Cayden said quietly.

Cayden and Brodgar picked up the two guards who had been manning the door and pulled them inside the door, which was closed but not locked. It took thirty seconds for two of the men to search the dungeon and the third to search the guard’s body. There were no other guards, and the guard who had initially been behind the door only had the set of keys that were in his hands.

“Let me out. I’m beggin’ ye, sir. Let me out of here, and I’ll help ye with whatever ye need.”

Cayden looked to the first of the locked doors. The plan was to only rescue one lad from the dungeons. He couldn’t let the rest of them out—it was too risky.

The enemy of me enemy is me friend. Aye, that may be true, but it will only make it more difficult to get out of here.

Cayden felt a burning sensation in his chest at the thought of leaving the other prisoners at the mercy of Murdoch. He could placate himself with the thought they were criminals or evil men, but that wouldn’t be true of all of them. The best he could do was ignore the man.

A shadowy face appeared in the small, barred space in the oak door. “Please, sir. Please let me out of here.”

Cayden looked the man in the eye, silently communicating his regret.

“Please,” the prisoner hissed.

Cayden turned away from the man, hating himself for doing so. Smuggling one man out was no mean feat. Extracting an entire dungeon-full was stupidity. Getting in had come with some problems, but it had been easier than expected. Getting out would present its own problems.

“Find him,” Cayden ordered to his men. He joined them going door to door and looking into the cells.

“Over here,” Fergus called through his teeth.

Cayden quickly joined him and looked into the cell to see an emaciated man lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He looked the right age, and there was a faint resemblance to Iris and Tristan, but it was hard to tell in the darkness and with how gaunt the man looked.

“Open it,” Cayden ordered.

One of the men brought the keys, and it took a while to find the right one. The door swung open with a creak, but the young man on the bed did not wake.

Cayden entered alone and went to the bed. He laid a hand on the lad’s shoulder, shaking him gently.

“Ashton? Ashton Whyte?”

The lad moaned in his sleep—he looked like a ghost, pale in the darkness.

“Ashton?” Cayden tried again, shaking him with more vigor.

“Mmm,” the lad moaned.

“Get up,” Cayden ordered. “Your name is Ashton, isnae it?”

“Please dinnae hurt me anymore,” the lad pleaded.

“Tell me your name! Is your name Ashton?”

“Aye,” the boy agreed, his entire body trembling.

“What’s your sister’s name?” Cayden asked.

“Me sister? Me sister is Iris.”

Cayden smiled and let out a breath. “Guid lad.” He looked back toward the door. “We’ve found him.” He patted Ashton on the shoulder. “We’re gettin’ ye out of here.”

Even if we have to carry ye out.