Fire in the Hole by Alex Westmore

Author:Alex Westmore [Westmore, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B01CURJWJA
Publisher: Broad Winged Books
Published: 2016-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Come, Callaghan, you must rest. Watching over the Scot, while admirable, is not doing you any good.” Sayyida put her arms around Quinn and held her from behind in almost a motherly fashion.

“I’ve been telling him that for the last two hours,” Maggie said as she continued mixing the poultice she’d applied to Tavish’s back.

“I won’t leave him alone.”

“He won’t be alone, dear-heart. Maggie will stay with him, won’t you Mags?”

Maggie glanced up quickly at the nickname. “My husband used to call me that.”

“My apologies. I meant no disrespect.”

“I rather like it.” Maggie returned her attention to the mixture.

“Come, sweet one, and rest with me,” Sayyida said, turning her attention fully to Quinn. “We are well out of danger now and will soon arrive at my country.”

Quinn turned in her arms. “Are we goin’ to Rabat?”

Sayyida shook her head. “Later, of course, but further north to Tétouan, my home, where you will be welcome to stay until your Scot is well enough to travel.”

“My men. I’ll need to speak with them ab–”

“Shh. Your men know of the beautiful women of Tangier and of the delectable dishes of my people. They will agree. You’ll see. But for now I insist you come with me and lay your head for a few hours. Do not make me act as captain.”

Slowly nodding, Quinn rose. “Maggie–”

“I’ll do everything I can, Callaghan. If he gets worse, I shall send for you straight away.”

“Thank ya.”

When they entered Sayyida’s captain’s quarters, Quinn stopped dead. Unlike Grace’s spartan room with its rickety chairs and dim lighting, Sayyida’s quarters were lavish, light, and colorful. The bed was three times the size of Grace’s and had colorful silk linens draped across it. There was a beautiful table made of dark wood Quinn had never seen, and incense made the room smell of old spices and something citrusy.

“Oh.”

Sayyida chuckled. “Your Queen of Connacht does not choose to live like one, but I, Callaghan, I am the Queen of Tétouan. Please enter and let me care for you as if you were one of my own.” Sayyida gently nudged Quinn further into the room, where she sat Quinn on the bed and took off her boots.

“I can do–”

“I am aware of what you can do, sweet one, but this is my ship, and at the moment you are under my command. So just allow me the pleasure of making you comfortable. You have suffered great losses, and your spirit needs to heal. The spirit cannot heal if the body is too weak.”

Quinn felt more tears come to her eyes. “Thank ya, Sayyida. I–”

Placing one finger on Quinn’s lips, Sayyida looked into her eyes. “Shh. Close your eyes.”

Quinn did, but all she could see was Tavish’s torn skin.

Opening her eyes quickly, she watched Sayyida pour wine into a goblet much fancier than any Grace had.

“Here. Drink a little. It will help you relax.”

Quinn took the wine and sipped it. It was the tastiest wine she’d ever had, and she said as much.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.