Page 46 of A Laird and a Gentleman

Leaving his horse behind, Cameron raced forward, to the inner bailey, once again shouting Mariam’s name. Just then, a red-haired woman appeared at the castle doors. Not Mariam, but Vivian Douglas.

“She’s not here.” Lines of worry tugged at the corners of Vivian’s mouth. “I went to check on her, after she’d been gone a while.” At Cameron’s unspoken question she added, “She’d gone outside to try and clear the air.” Vivian’s gaze dropped to her feet. “The village men took her.”

A cold sickness clenched Cameron’s stomach. “Did my men go after her?”

“They are all too sick.” Vivian’s face fell. “As soon as you left, influenza hit us hard.”

Cameron’s thoughts flashed back to the two dead men they had seen in the village, and all the women and children who suffered now. “There are more who are sick. We brought them with us. Are there any who can help you get them settled somewhere safe?”

“There is nowhere safe,” Vivian replied sadly. “Everyone has been affected except me, Alexander, my husband Quinn, and our twins. They have kept to themselves upstairs.”

“Praise heaven for that small mercy.” Cameron turned around as the villagers, escorted by his men, joined them in the courtyard. “Conall, Michael, and Jamie,” Cameron addressed his three youngest, and most likely his healthiest, warriors. “Stay here and help Vivian care for these villagers. See they are settled and that she has the supplies she needs.” He turned back to Vivian. “Which way did they take Mariam? The rest of us are going after her.”

“Not without me you aren’t.” Alexander appeared behind Vivian. “I’ve had enough of playing it safe.”

“Thank you, Alexander, for not only bringing the Douglases here to help, but for your expertise now.” Alexander was one of the best trackers among the Magnificent Seven. His skills would be essential to them finding Mariam. “They will kill her even though she had nothing to do with this ash.” Cameron balled his fists, fighting back the fury that coiled inside, vibrating with intensity. “Their superstitions are replacing logic, and they want someone to blame.”

Cameron looked at the weary faces of his men gathered around him. “If any of you would rather stay behind, I would understand.”

“Not a one of us will abandon you, my laird. We’ve faced worse than this before,” Keith said from beside Cameron. “Though we’ll need fresh horses.”

At Cameron’s nod, several men hurried off in the direction of the stables. Keith was right. In battle they had faced much worse. But the villagers had a lead on them, and they still had no idea what direction they had taken Mariam. His gaze shifted to Alexander, who studied the ground intently. “There’s no trail here. They must have taken her from outside the castle. I’ll go ahead of you and take a look.”

Cameron waited for his men to return with fresh horses. When they were all mounted, he signaled for them to ride out as he guided Alexander’s horse behind his.

Over the drawbridge, they met a smiling Alexander. “They left us a trail in the ash.”

In the next moment, the wind kicked up and Cameron saw the trail Alexander had identified slowly vanish. “We have to hurry before all traces of her are gone.” An overwhelming sense of urgency spurred Cameron to put his horse into a gallop with his men at his horse’s heels.

He had to find Mariam before all traces of her whereabouts disappeared. Before it was too late.

Chapter Fifteen

Sitting atop a horse with Angus’s muscular arms trapping her against his big body, Mariam was more frightened than she’d ever been. The men were heading to the forest where they would burn her. Her mind raced and her heart beat wildly in her chest. Was there any way out of this situation? Tied at the hands and feet, she was not only unable to use her powers, she could not run even if she found a way to free herself. Still, she had to try.

Mariam twisted and writhed against the grip that held her, to no avail. Those who had seized her were moving quickly. The shiver of apprehension that coursed through her did not go unnoticed by her captor. He laughed, the sound grating.

“Scared, are ye?” Angus said as he brought his horse to a stop. A moment later she was pulled to the ground. Mariam drew a shallow breath, expecting ash, but found little grittiness in the air. Had her efforts succeeded? Had she managed to force the ash-filled air toward the sea before she had lost all her strength? She cast her gaze to the ground on which she sat. Piles of ash still swirled about, but there was less of it than before.

“Some of ye start choppin’ down the trees. The rest of ye gather kindlin’ and moss,” Angus shouted to the other four men.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and the taste of fear was sharp and bitter on her tongue. “Angus, you don’t want to burn me. I am not responsible for the darkness or the sickness. I can help you if you’ll only release me.”

“Help us?” His grin was a dark slash across his face. “Yer a witch. We all saw what ye did with the wind. Ye were bringin’ more ash tae bury us.”

She wriggled against her restraints. “I was trying to help. I can help you still. But you have to release me.”

“Yer a witch, and ye need tae be destroyed if any of us are tae be safe.”

Mariam cast a furtive glance at the bonds around her hands and feet. The bonds were tight, too tight to release on her own. Could she gather enough magic with her hands this way to help herself? Not one of the village men would help her. The fear of witches grew greater every day, thanks in part to her own father. When one was caught and tortured, he or she would name all the others who made up their coven, real or imagined, just to make the torture stop.

Nobody cared what happened to a witch.

Mariam still couldn’t understand how any of this was happening to her. It was hard enough to accept that magic actually existed in this world, let alone that she possessed such power. These men knew some of what she was capable of, and they would burn her, destroy her, before anyone even knew she was missing.

Mariam turned toward the men in the woods. They had felled several trees and were now arranging them into a pyre. She struggled against her restraints, trying desperately to loosen them. If she could at least turn her palms up she might be able to use her magic. She tried to work her hands free, but to no avail.

“Hurry, men. We need tae do this quickly,” Angus said to the others before turning to her. His gaze met hers and she saw not just fear but also hatred in his eyes.