Page 29

Merryn

Merryn leaned against Broc, snuggling into his body heat that warmed her through his tunic. The ship they were on was sizable, a number of rowers beneath the deck because the waters were a bit rough.

They rocked along, the gray clouds casting an angry shadow over the sea, reflective of what their mission entailed.

Connor said, “It looks like there are indeed quite a few cottages together. Is there a town or a tavern where we can ask questions? Someone may have a suggestion of where the crude group might be.”

Thane stepped to the bow, pointing ahead toward the land.

“There are cottages on each part, so probably best if we separate. I would suggest Merryn and Broc go together, one archer, one swordsman, to the north side. Connor and I will take the south end because you young ones will travel faster than we will. Simmy and Artan, you take the eastern end. Meet back here in three hours, and if we’ve had no luck, we’ll all go through the western end, which is the most populated.

I do think Kelvan is likely to be on the eastern part.

He’ll stay away from the populated areas and stick to somewhere with a nearby escape route.

Close to the sea, I would wager. Be alert, Simmy. ”

Once on the southern shore, the three groups separated, and Merryn didn’t mind one bit that Broc took her hand as they headed out.

Thane had explained the best route to take as they moved toward the only path heading straight across to the northern shore.

He was certain there would be a line of cottages along the way.

“Are you unsettled, lass?”

“A wee bit. I’ll admit it. If I see Kelvan, I fear I won’t be wise about it, and I’ll react with emotion. Will you help me?”

He kissed her cheek. “I will gladly help you with that. I’m going to remain as calm as I can because I will constantly remind myself that my mother’s life is at stake, along with the lives of four innocent bairns. I pray they have not been hurt.”

“Everyone now believes that Lia is a faery, so will she not protect the others?”

“I believe she will. She’s promised to protect Magni forever, and now she has dedicated herself to protecting Shealee, so I believe she’ll save her from harm too.

The bairns have been taken twice, and none were hurt yet.

I believe Lia has protected them thus far, and I hope it continues.

Tora is mysterious in her own way. Magni says that she scares the others because she knows things she shouldn’t.

They think of her as a witch, not a seer. ”

They moved along, coming to a group of cottages.

“How do we do this, Broc?” She had no idea how to approach. One did not just walk into a stranger’s cottage, but she also did not wish to warn them by knocking on the doors.

“Let’s ask. Uncle Connor said that was how they learned of their location on Coll. The local villagers told them where the villains were.”

As they approached the hamlet, two men sat on a log near the local well, chatting and chuckling. “May we have a drink?” Broc asked.

“Aye. Where are you headed?” One man was clearly much older than the other, gray-haired with the thick, weathered skin of a fisherman. He let the younger man speak while his eyes assessed the situation.

“We’re looking for four bairns. Know you where a new group of visitors might be held?”

The two men glanced at each other, then peered over their shoulders, as if making sure they were not being watched. Merryn squeezed Broc’s hand with excitement. Perhaps they were about to find the group.

The younger man looked to the elder, who nodded.

“Farther ahead and closer to the coast, there’s a cottage where there have been some strange circumstances as of late.

My brother said he heard crying coming from it when he returned from fishing, as if there were bairns inside.

It was previously unoccupied. It stands alone, so no one would know who it belonged to. You could try there.”

“Which way?” There was a fork in the path ahead of them, so the younger man pointed.

“Take the path on the right straight to the shore. You’ll be there in half the hour.”

Broc said, “We have friends who might follow us in a while. Please point them in this direction if we don’t return.”

“Sure will.”

The older man, who’d mostly remained silent, cleared his throat before he spoke. “Godspeed with you. I don’t like men who bother bairns and lasses. They have no honor. Remember that, lad, when you stare the evil ones in the eye.”

A chill ran down Merryn’s spine at the look on the man’s face, his words worse than his expression. What were they going to find ahead? She’d known Kelvan for three years. He’d not been terribly kind to Nara, spending more time away from her than with her, but he’d appeared to love Shealee.

When he was around.

What kind of operation was he running? How had he become involved with the others? And what were his plans with the bairns? Selling them to anyone struck her as one of the cruelest choices possible.

But Kelvan had always put his needs ahead of others. Even at meals, he filled his plate first. Now that Merryn knew his true character, she recalled different moments that should have warned them all of what was coming.

How Nara kept her head bowed whenever he was around.

How she had to remove Shealee from the chamber if she cried around Kelvan.

How she had to change her raggies outside.

How Kelvan only spoke to other men. That was part of the reason that she’d never formed much of an opinion of him. He was rarely around, and if he was, he never spoke to Merryn or her mother.

Only their father.

“Broc, do you think a woman is as wise as a man?”

He arched a brow at her. “That would depend on which woman and which man. I’ve known many women who were wiser than most men. And some who are more intelligent than nearly all men.”

“Who do you consider the wisest?”

He shrugged. “I can think of a few, but the one you are most familiar with would be Dyna. She could outsmart all her cousins when she was three summers old. Our grandfather always came to her when the lads were in trouble. She could always outthink them.”

“Because she was a seer?”

“Nay. Being a seer helped in many cases, but she was smarter than all of them.”

“Which three?”

“Alasdair, Elshander, and Alick. Alasdair became much wiser as he grew, but Dyna was given the lairdship of Clan Grantham for a reason. She’s a verra wise woman.”

“Any others I know?”

“Logan would tell you that Gwyneth was the smartest of all. They were spies and she could always outthink the enemy. And my father always said Mama was the smartest in our small family.”

Merryn peered up at Broc, at his chiseled jawline, and he smiled at her, his blue eyes the finest shade she’d ever seen.

They sparkled when she was close, something she preferred to believe happened just for her.

His answer was perfect, and her father had thought the same about her mother.

It was a matter of effort, skill, and hard work.

Not like Kelvan who believed all men were superior to any woman.

As they came around a bend of trees, a cottage came into view. Broc stopped to listen, scanned the area, then whispered, “This is an isolated cottage. It could be the right one. It’s still a distance from the shore.”

They checked the area, not seeing anything but a path that continued toward the shoreline. Since they were on land that sat much higher than the coast, they could look clearly down the path to the sea. Multiple boats sat tied up, but Broc had no way of knowing who they belonged to.

Merryn glanced around, checking off a list in her mind: no other cottages, no men about, and no horses. There was a small forest behind the cottage that could hide a few men, but she wasn’t about to go search the wooded area.

Broc nodded to her, handing her a dagger while he unsheathed his sword.

He tried the door, but it was locked. Pointing over his head, a key rested on a nail right next to them.

He grabbed it and forced the key into the lock, wiggling it a bit to get it to fit, but then stood back, standing off to the side and throwing the door open in case anyone was ready to come at them.

Inside was the main part of the hut with a hearth at the far end and a door in the back, but no one was there. A sound carried to them from down a short passageway. “There, Broc,” she whispered. They headed that way, found another key, and unlocked the door.

Merryn peered inside, shocked to see the bairns huddled around Kyla on a bed in the farthest corner.

“Mama?”

“Broc? Is that you?”

Shealee came across the chamber, her wee legs struggling to stay steady. “Mama!”

Merryn nearly sobbed at the sight of the lass. She stepped inside and picked her up as Broc came along behind her.

“Hurry, get them out of there,” he whispered. “I hear men.” He headed back to the main chamber.

She rushed toward the door, the other four behind her while Broc drew his weapon. They made it to the middle of the main chamber when the worst happened.

The back door opened, and three men came in.

And they were fighting mad.