Once a Warrior by Karyn Monk

Author:Karyn Monk
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780553903287
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2006-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Laughter floated through the still evening air, merrily blending with the strains of harp and bagpipes.

“Sounds like they’re havin’ a fine time,” drawled Tavis, scratching at his filthy scalp. “They seem to have recovered, all right.”

Gregor sniffed the air. “I smell roastin’ meat.” He spat heavily onto the ground. “I say we attack now, while there’s still plenty of food.”

“Aye,” agreed Murdoch. “No point waitin’ till it’s all gone.”

“Patience, gentlemen.”

Their leader stood with his feet braced apart and his hands lightly clasped behind his back, calmly surveying the MacKendrick castle. “Many an attack has been lost by overzealous men who followed their appetites, instead of waiting for the right moment.”

“With these MacKendricks, there’s no need to wait,” sneered Gregor. “We just go in and take what we want, same as last time.”

“They have no defenses, and they sure as hell don’t know how to fight,” added Murdoch. “We might as well get in there, eat a decent meal, and find a lass to keep us warm tonight.” He started to move toward his horse.

“Wait.”

The command was given softly, but Murdoch obeyed.

“I agree they will be easy to overcome,” said Roderic, turning away from the castle. “But they have been training and fortifying their castle, which might make the task a little more troublesome.”

“You said they’ve been training under a drunken cripple,” sneered Tavis. “What could he have possibly shown that group of jugglers?”

“Probably nothing,” agreed Roderic. “Still, a new gate was being forged, and they are building the parapet higher.”

“But it isn’t finished,” pointed out Murdoch dismissively. “We can easily get over the curtain wall.”

“Once we’re in, they’ll be too scared to put up a fight,” snorted Gregor. “We’ll grab MacKendrick’s daughter, make her give us the sword, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“And the beginning,” murmured Roderic, turning to look at the brightly lit castle once more.

Fury burned deep in the pit of his stomach as he studied the ghostly silhouette of the unfinished tower. The deceiving little bitch thought she had tricked him. First she had carved open his cheek, forever marring his once perfect face. And then, just as he had found a way to force her to give him the sword, she had foiled him by setting the tower afire. He remembered his shock when he had seen flames leaping out the windows and licking at the dry wood of her prison. In that moment he had believed the powerful MacKendrick sword would never be his.

But she hadn’t died.

To make this unexpected revelation even more interesting, Malcolm was here. Roderic could not imagine what had induced his former commander and laird to think he could be of any help to these people. The great Black Wolf was nothing more than a pitiful, mangled animal, who survived the emptiness of his days by drinking himself into a stupor. The MacKendricks were deluding themselves if they thought Malcolm had anything to offer them. He briefly considered the possibility that Ariella had given MacFane the sword, then quickly dismissed it.

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