The Scot's Pursuit - Keira Montclair Page 0,64

me to say so, I agree with your grandsire. We are too involved to make wise decisions. Besides, the lasses are less likely to get caught. Men are unlikely to consider them a threat until they’ve moved on.”

Dyna tipped her head and smirked. “’Tis true. Let’s go, Branwen.”

“Godspeed,” Finlay said. “Remember, there are six of us here who can help you. All you must do is scream.”

They set off, Branwen leading the way. They both wore leggings and a tunic in dark colors, Dyna in all black and Branwen in dark green, and they blended into the forest around them. It was late summer and the sounds of the night would be most welcome if not for the task that lay ahead.

They found a group of trees to hide in next to the stables. Neither of them spoke as they slipped into the trees and stood stalk still, listening. There was no one around, but there was a large group of warriors on the far side of the keep.

“Go,” Dyna whispered. “We’ll see if we can find Jep while ’tis quiet. I don’t know why they’re gathering, but I don’t like it. We need to get ahead of them while they’re busy.”

Branwen couldn’t fault her logic, so they crept over to the stable and listened. She only heard the sound of one person’s footsteps, then she heard Jep talking to one of his horses, something he often did. He had a practice of soothing them before they went out for a skirmish.

She pointed to the stables. “’Tis Jep,” she said in a soft voice. “I’ll call him over.” Tiptoeing over to the stables, she peeked in through the door at the end and waved to get Jep’s attention. He startled a little upon seeing her, but he quickly recovered and held his hand up, indicating for her to wait.

Dyna was directly behind her. When she closed the door, Dyna turned her around. A man stood a distance behind them, approaching slowly. “Just a minute. I think ’tis Alick. Have Jep come out, and I’ll be right back.”

Dyna turned around and made haste toward the man she thought was Alick, so Branwen opened the door and peeked in to check on Jep.

A hand darted toward her from the side, the owner out of sight, and tugged her into the stables.

“Gotcha.”

Her father’s beady eyes stared into hers, the look he was giving her nothing short of evil.

A quick glance at the end of the passageway revealed Jep was now being restrained by three guards.

They were doomed.

Chapter Twenty

“What shall we do with them?” one of the guards asked.

“Lock them up. We have a major operation taking place soon, and I can’t be bothered with her tedious issues any longer.”

How she prayed Alick and Dyna wouldn’t be caught. She knew they would come for her. Her sire took her out the entrance and handed her over to three guards who stood nearby. Three more held Jep while another ten came out behind the first group.

“Do you need more guards, Denton?” one asked.

“Nay. But you can take these two into the dungeons with the other prisoner,” her father said. “We’ll be moving them all soon. The rest of us will ready the horses.” He let out a whistle and another group of guards joined them.

Two men grabbed Branwen, pulling her along while Jep’s captors did the same with him.

“Save your strength, lassie,” Jep said to her.

“Close your mouth,” one guard said. “No talking.”

They pushed and shoved them along, taking them inside the back door of the curtain wall and then a back door of the castle. Branwen glanced over at Jep, who winked at her.

The guards brought them to the cellars and dragged them down the passageway that was all too familiar from her recent confinement. Branwen did her best to look inside any open doors to see if she could see anyone with long dark hair who might be Alick’s mother.

But she didn’t need to.

The men brought them to the last cell at the end of the passageway and threw them inside, the darkness overwhelming her senses so much that she fell against a cold stone wall on the side and just stayed there.

The guards left, laughing their way back down the passageway and up the stairs, acting as if they were at a festival instead of committing acts of cruelty.

She waited, allowing her eyes to adjust to the small amount of light from the torches a distance away from them. Her body had