Wrath of the Picts (Warrior Druid of Britain Book 5) by Steven A. McKay

Author:Steven A. McKay [McKay, Steven A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Broadsword Publishing
Published: 2022-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

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“Are you travelling alone?”

Aife raised an eyebrow quizzically at the horse trader’s question. “What d’you mean?” she asked. He was leading them, rather too slowly for the princess’s liking, around from the front of his stables to a long section at the side where most of his animals were housed.

“Well,” the man, who was in his fifties, with a neatly combed beard and bowl-cut brown hair, eyed Lancelot and Catia with a dismissive expression. “It’s dangerous travelling without at least a guard. I mean,” he continued to walk but looked Aife up and down, and his gaze was now much more appreciative. “An attractive young woman will draw attention from the wrong sort of people, especially out there in the wilderness.” He gestured vaguely to the west. “There’s a lot of thieves and cut-throats hiding along the old Roman roads, just waiting for folk like you to come by.”

Aife rolled her eyes but didn’t bother to reply. His words spoke volumes about the state Lancelot was in though. Even a middle-aged horse trader didn’t think the swordsman looked much of a threat.

“Well,” Catia spoke up as they came to the stalls housing the trader’s best animals. Or so he’d claimed anyway. “You’d better make sure and sell us your fastest horses, eh? So we can outrun all those robbers you’re talking about.” She did not smile, in fact her eyes were hard and so was her tone, and the trader looked at her somewhat nervously, surprised to hear such a young girl speaking both freely and confidently. There was an undertone of threat in her words, as if she was warning him there would be repercussions should he try to cheat them in any way.

The man nodded, looking from Catia to Lancelot, who remained silent, and back to Aife. “Don’t worry. I have just the right mounts for you three. Fast and strong—”

“And expensive, no doubt,” Aife muttered, opening the stall door they were standing outside and hurrying in to examine the animal within. She checked it over quickly, knowing that every moment wasted meant their pursuers grew closer to catching them. The horse looked powerful and its coat was smooth and glossy. She nodded. “This one will do. Have your stablehands make her ready to leave immediately, we’re in a great hurry. Show me the next one.”

The trader grinned, knowing he had three sales virtually guaranteed now. Lancelot might be dressed like a beggar while smelling oddly like a woman, but the two girls wore fine clothing and surely had plenty of valuable goods to barter with. “Of course, my lady,” the man nodded, walking quickly along to the third stall where a black pony stood watching them placidly. “For the young one,” said the trader, smiling at Catia, who pushed past him and inspected the animal as the others moved on again to see the horse earmarked for Lancelot.

“Looks like a tired old thing,” growled the swordsman, not even opening the stall door to come to his conclusion.

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