The Scot's Angel - Keira Montclair Page 0,38
passing Brin at the door.
Brin said, “I’ve been out to the stables. We should be able to look for Claray by high sun. The wind is slowing and so is the snow, but ’tis still mighty deep. ’Twill make for slow movement over to the abbey. When we leave after a storm, we always stop there to check on them. We’ll search for Claray from there.”
“She could be perfectly safe inside the abbey.” Aedan got out of his chair and brought over another loaf of bread from the side table, slicing it for the group.
“Grandsire said she’s in a cave.” Dyna didn’t even look at anyone as she said it. “He said ’tis my favorite one, so it must be the one closest to the abbey.”
“Aye, I believe you’re correct, Dyna,” Uncle Logan said. “We’ll go check it.”
“Poor Claray. It must be mighty cold in that cave.” She couldn’t help but feel an ache in her heart, for her sister and her grandparents.
“Nay,” Riley said. “She has angels protecting her.”
How she prayed Riley was right.
The door flew open, shocking them all to attention. Derric entered, then stepped aside for everyone to see the newly arrived guest. “Look who I found outside.”
“Come in, Thorn,” Dyna called out, waving him over. “You won’t like what you’re about to learn, but you can surely help us. Fill your belly, we have traveling to do if the storm is done.”
***
The storm wasn’t done yet. He’d slept heartily and then breakfasted with his sire, who’d informed him the two blackguards they’d met last night had been taken care of by the guards. One wasn’t too happy to be locked up alone, and his partner was, of course, dead.
Thorn found his weapons, cleaning and polishing the sword Connor had made for him in the snow, wiping Ewan’s touch from it. The prized weapon was now back in its sheath where it belonged.
Thorn sat down and greeted everyone, then looked at Dyna. “Claray? Did she not come with you?”
Dyna usually never hesitated to speak, but she looked to Derric, who explained, “Claray convinced us to go after you when you disappeared. We waited for Loki’s group to return home in case they found you. When they sent a messenger back saying they’d found no sign of you, we agreed to search for you.”
“Good, so you left her home.”
Derric glanced at Dyna but said nothing. She finally admitted, “Claray was with us, but we lost her in the storm.”
Thorn jumped out of his seat, panic swamping him. “You lost her? She’s dead?”
“Nay, nay, she’s in a cave. One we all know well,” Derric said, pushing down on Thorn’s shoulders to get him back into the chair.
“How do you know that?”
Dyna coughed and said, “Riley had a dream. Then last eve several of us had dreams.”
Thorn stood up again, this time bellowing. “What the hell does a dream have to do with any of this? I have to go after her. She could be anywhere! She could be out there on her last breath.”
Dyna shook her head and grasped his hand. “Nay, you don’t understand. We all dreamed about Grandmama and Grandsire. All of us. They found Claray in the snow and got her inside the cave, warmed her, and left her with food. They made her promise to stay until we came for her.”
“Ghosts? You’re telling me you stopped looking for her because you shared a dream? All of you are daft. I’m going after her.”
Even if they were right, and Claray was safe in a cave, he hated the thought of her all alone, frightened. There could be spiders in the cave, and she hated being in the dark…
“Nay, please don’t go yet, Thorn,” Dyna said. “I’ll go with you. Allow me to dress.”
But Thorn was already half the distance to the door. “Never mind. I’ll find her myself.”
“Take two guards with you,” Dyna yelled after him. “She’s in that cave near the abbey.”
“How the hell would you know that?” Thorn yelled back over his shoulder.
Logan Ramsay bellowed, “Because Alex and Maddie told us all and you don’t doubt spirits.”
He wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he didn’t have time for a discussion, so he just nodded. He had to find her.
He loved her.
Chapter Fifteen
Claray woke up, surprised at how warm she’d been all night. She peered out through the mouth of the cave, shocked at the amount of snow she saw. The drifts had blown inside the cave, so she bent over and ate several