to grow weary — she hadn’t had much sleep, and the day’s exhaustions were really taking it out of her. They hadn’t had much to eat — Blair and a handful of servants had brought provisions out for the searchers, always thinking, that woman, but it had been difficult to summon the appetite to eat more than a few bites, with how worried she still was about Eamon. Was he eating lunch? Had Perry bothered to feed him? But she followed Niall, aware that she couldn’t stop, couldn’t let herself collapse in a heap — not until they’d recovered the little boy.
They rode into the village together, and she realized belatedly what they were doing — she’d almost forgotten about the special project Niall had given the blacksmith. Sure enough, as they rode up to the blacksmith, he came trotting out with an iron bridle in his hands, holding it triumphantly aloft.
“Good timing, Harbormaster! Fresh from the forge and ready for action. Will you be putting it on your horse?”
“Not this one, no,” Niall said, taking the iron bridle from the blacksmith and giving it a quick look. “This is fine work.”
“Did my best. It’ll certainly hold any horse I can think of. Do you plan to use it on those Kelpies?”
“Aye, I hope so,” Niall said, a glint in his eye.
The blacksmith grinned. “I imagine it’ll melt those pointed teeth right out of their heads.” He tilted his head curiously. “But aren’t there are whole herd of the beasties? Will you need more bridles? I’ve got the supplies, I can get to work straight away.”
But Niall shook his head. “One ought to be enough, if what I’ve got planned goes ahead as I want it to. But thanks again.”
“Let me know how you go,” the blacksmith shrugged. “Happy to be of service.”
As they rode back toward the Loch, Helen glanced sideways at Niall, curious about what he was planning. The bridle was for a Kelpie, sure — but only one, for the whole herd? Picking up her glance, he gave her a smile, tight and worried. “You’re interested in my theory.”
“I am.”
“The Kelpies have a lead stallion, right? If he’s killed, they’ll scatter. That’s all very well and good, but what if they stay in the area? This is an iron bridle. If I can get it over his head… well, it might kill him,” he said thoughtfully. “But I’ve read tales of men who’ve managed to tame Kelpie stallions. The whole herd falls in line if you can get control of the leader. So —”
“So you’re thinking with their weakness to iron, wearing a bridle like this will make them subservient,” Helen filled in the blanks, impressed with the plan. “That’s brilliant, Niall.”
“Hope it works,” he said, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Honestly, I’m mostly focused on getting my hands on Perry MacCullen.”
“Yes, but if we can deal with the Kelpies at the same time…” Her heart was pounding with excitement at the prospect. “Niall, this might be… this might be the way we finally beat them.”
“I’m not getting my hopes up,” he said softly. They rode past the search party — it seemed the group were getting ready to turn back for the night. As worried as everyone was about Eamon, Donal wasn’t willing to risk the safety of the castle folk by keeping them out after dark. Still, she could see that the guards were staying behind, lighting torches, clearly intending to keep searching through the night.
They kept riding along the shore, past the village, riding ahead of the party of guards who were searching for any sign of Eamon. Niall had picked up a torch from the group, though it wasn’t quite dark enough to light it yet. This was further than she’d ever been from the castle, and the territory was unfamiliar — it was rockier here than the sandy shores closer to the Keep, and she scanned the area carefully, looking for any sign of Perry. This was getting to be a good distance from the Keep — she could imagine Perry using this area to stash Eamon for the day, waiting for nightfall so he could lay his trap… she said as much to Niall, who sighed.
“That’s if we’re right about that being his plan, of course,” he said in a voice that betrayed his worry. Helen glanced over at him, saw him fighting to control himself. “There’s just so much we don’t know — so many things that could already have gone