The Seer - Hildie McQueen Page 0,6
night before blew out a breath. “If ye’re here, please join us.”
Alasdair set his jaw. He didn’t sense any aggression from the pair. Other than ill-concealed impatience, both were not a threat. He scanned the surroundings once more before walking out to meet them. Both turned, not expecting that he’d been so close by the lifting of their eyebrows.
The younger man slid a look to the other, obviously allowing the warrior to start the conversation.
“I am Niven, my companion is Guiles. That is all ye need to know about us.”
“Seems ye ask a lot of trust from me without returning it.” Alasdair walked in a circle, his arms behind his back. “May I remind ye gentlemen that my life is as much at stake as yers? If we are to enter into an agreement, which I have not decided upon, then I will need more than just yer names.”
The younger man nodded. “Men are rising against Laird Macpherson. To not only rid this area of him, but also his sons,” Guiles said, not revealing anything that Alasdair hadn’t already gathered from spending the night at the tavern up in the rafters. He’d overheard several whispers, sensed fears which meant he was pretty sure which men were part of a resistance.
Alasdair met each man’s gaze for a moment. “Ye are the leaders. The tavern owner, Fergus McVey, as well as Conner, a trusted clansman, and the Tavish brothers are all part of it. There are several women involved as well, they are mostly assisting in the capacity of planning and providing information.”
There was a long beat of silence. Niven took a step backward, taking a defensive stance. “How do ye know all of this?”
“Ye hired me to find out what I could about it, I assume.”
Guiles frowned. “Ye expect me to believe all this information came from eavesdropping?”
Taking a step forward, Alasdair brushed his hand over Guiles’ lower arm. “Not all from listening in, no. I have other...talents. Oh, and by the way, yer plan to marry a Macpherson is not going to work. The Gordon’s daughter is who ye will marry.”
The younger man’s eyes widened. “How do ye...”
Niven studied Guiles before turning to him. “I see the reports about ye are true. Ye have powerful sight. Can ye tell us what will happen? Will the resistance win?”
Alasdair shrugged. “There will be no resistance. Ye waste yer time. The answer is coming shortly.”
“There will be a meeting tonight. Here in the caves. Only the ten we trust the most will be present. Ye will be there. I will introduce ye as a cousin of mine,” Niven explained, his demeanor hard. “I suggest ye be clear as to whether they are indeed the one sharing information freely.”
Alasdair nodded. “Very well. I will return at sunset.”
He took a step forward and was stopped by Guiles’ hand on his shoulder. “What do ye see right now? Are our people safe?”
“I am not so strong that I can see the future of an entire clan. I mostly get senses of things from one person at a time. In all honesty, I wish I could tell ye how it will turn out.”
As he walked away, Alasdair trusted the men not to follow. The younger man’s intentions were noble. He genuinely cared for the people his family was responsible for. A part of him wanted to ensure the young warrior, but one thing he’d learned over the years was that giving hope was not his calling.
Just as he reached his horse a sensation of a person’s presence made him freeze and scan the area. Someone watched him. Whoever it was did not pose a threat.
The person wore red and did a poor job of hiding behind a tree. Every few moments, their head would move from the hiding place and peer around the tree to spy on him.
He walked in their direction while lifting his tunic and pushing down the front of his breeches. Undeterred by the soft gasp, he proceeded to relieve himself at the tree’s base.
It was a woman on the other side of the tree. She did her best not to move but was unsuccessful when he purposely piddled past the tree.
Having to bite his bottom lip, he managed not to laugh, readjusted his tunic and turned to walk away.
“Ye know I’m here.”
He didn’t bother to turn. “I suggest ye return to where ye came. I do not require yer services today, wench.”
“I did not plan to provide ye with anything other than perhaps