Highland Passage by J.L. Jarvis

Author:J.L. Jarvis [Jarvis, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Bookbinder Press
Published: 2015-09-27T16:00:00+00:00

11

A Promise Fulfilled

When she awoke in the morning, Ciarán was gone. Hamish and Fergus were eating.

Fergus handed her a cup. “Hurry and break your fast. We’ll leaving soon.”

As she sat down on her tartan to eat, Mac eyed the watery porridge with suspicion. “On the bright side, there’s no way I won’t lose a pound or two while I’m here.”

Hamish and Fergus started saddling their horses. Ciarán’s horse was there, but there was still no sign of Ciarán. Fergus glanced over, which she took as a sign that they were waiting for her, but with limited patience. She gulped the last bit of porridge and stood up. A strong hand gripped her arm and pulled her up the rest of the way to the horse.

“Make haste,” Ciarán said. “A small party from Clan Ross is headed our way.”

“Where are we going?” Mac asked as Ciarán pulled her up to ride behind him.

“Away,” Ciarán answered. “Hold tight, Mac.” And with that, they were off.

The terrain was rocky and rough. Climbing as fast as they did spoke well of Ciarán’s skill as a horseman and of his horse’s speed. Even so, they could not keep up with Hamish and Fergus, whose horses had only one rider to carry. Hamish doubled back to ride beside them. “We cannae outride them at this pace.”

“No.” Ciarán shared a knowing look with Hamish, who nodded.

“The caves, then?” asked Hamish.

Ciarán stared into the distance. “Aye.”

With a nod, Hamish urged his horse on as they headed into a pass between two hills.

The cave was well hidden behind jutting rocks. Although the entrance was narrow and deep, after a few minutes they turned into a larger chamber that had a fissure which allowed sunlight in from high above. There was room for them here, horses and all.

Mac asked Ciarán, “How long will we wait here?”

“Until we’re safe to go home,” Ciarán said as though that were enough of an answer.

Mac tried to keep her voice patient. “And when will that be?”

Ciarán turned to her. “I dinnae ken. It depends upon them. If they ride past us, we’ll need to wait for them to turn back and go home. If they follow our trail, we’ll fight them.”

“Here?”

“Aye.”

For Ciarán, this was a simple decision that he took in stride, but for Mac, the reality of it was harsh. Violence was a part of life here. People grew up with it, prepared for it, and accepted its consequences. But Mac knew nothing about how to survive in this world.

After being lost in thought for several moments, Mac glanced up to find Ciarán studying her. It would have been a good moment for him to tell her that everything would be fine and that he would keep her safe. But try though he would, even great warriors fell. If he did, she would be helpless, and she knew it.

Without a word, he took her hand and led her around the bend in the cave. There, he handed a sgian dubh to her. “’Tis a small weapon, but effective up close.

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