Lily (The Highland Clan Book 3) (18 page)

Once outside, Lily raced as fast as her wee legs would go, running between trees and bushes, hoping she could get far, far away before he missed her. Unfortunately, she had no idea which direction to go. She could only follow her gut, praying all the while Kyle would find her before Cormag awakened and followed her.

Chapter Seventeen

Kyle eventually caught up with the other guards, who were standing on one side of a small creek. Hellfire, he hoped they hadn’t found anything bad.

He took a deep breath and moved up beside them. “What’s wrong?”

The guard looked up at Kyle. “We lost their trail in the creek.”

“They must have crossed it.”

“We cannot pick the trail up on the other side. It appears he moved through the stream for a while to lose us. It worked.”

“There are only two directions to go, upstream or down. You take your guards and head upstream, and I’ll head that way.”

The guards nodded in agreement, but Kyle did not wait for them to say anything. He was already down the stream. He could not afford to wait and converse.

***

Lily ran and ran until she could run no more. She wished she’d grabbed a water skin, but she hadn’t thought of it. A fine warrior she would make. Leaning against a tree, she took stock of her surroundings. It was still the middle of the night, but a full moon helped light the way for her. Once her breathing slowed, she stopped to listen, certain she’d heard something unusual.

Oh, how she wished this was not happening to her. She did not want to be alone in the dark, in a strange land, fighting for survival. Molly or Sorcha would know what to do, but she had no skills out here in the wild. Worried it might be a snake or a threatening animal, she held her breath to see if the sound continued. It came again, a distant whining, a weak cry for help.

Her lack of accomplishments had come back to haunt her. She should have paid more attention to her mama’s teachings. All she could do was sing and twirl and make people smile. If someone or something was out here and in pain, she could do naught to help. She had no skills. She wished to walk away, but Lily could not ignore the pained cries.

She crept in the direction of the sound, then stared wide-eyed as she found the source of the cries. A wolf lay pinned beneath a downed tree, unable to move. Lily moved closer to assess the poor animal’s situation. The tree appeared to have been hit by lightning, which meant it had happened a while ago since there had not been any storms in the last day or so.

Moving closer to the wolf, she sat far enough away to be out of its reach.

“Oh, what a beauty you are, Mr. Wolf. You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” She reached out to pet him, but he growled at her, so she jerked her hand back.

“Hmmm. My guess is you’ve been there a while, so you must be quite hungry. I do not wish to be your next meal.” She walked around the tree to see if she thought she could move it, finding a long broken branch along the way. “I believe I can set you free, but how do I know you will not attack me once you’re free?”

She pondered this dilemma for a moment, then returned to her sack and pulled out the large hunk of cooked meat she’d grabbed off the table from Cormag. She stared at it a good while, then said, “Mr. Wolf, I do believe you need this more than I do.”

Carefully, she held it out to the wolf and he snapped it out of her hand, chewing on it as if he had not eaten in days. Lily believed in the innate goodness in animals, and she had to hope he wouldn’t go after her if he had a full belly, or at least partly full. If she saved him, he would not kill her. Or would he? Eyeing him carefully, she decided she would have to trust him, so she allowed him time to eat his small meal before she did what she needed to do. As soon as he finished, she said, “I think ‘tis time to try to free you, Mr. Wolf. Please promise me you will not attack me if I set you free.”

The wolf never took his gaze off Lily, which unsettled her a bit, but she was not the type of person who could leave and let one of God’s beautiful creatures die. She knew what she had to do. Humming to hide her fear, she moved over to the tree and tried to lift it enough for the wolf to pull himself out, but she couldn’t make it budge.

“Hmmm…it appears I need Kyle’s muscular arms, yet I have none.” Locating the large branch she’d grabbed, she moved closer to see if she could somehow use it to leverage the wolf out of his trap. Not realizing it, she’d moved close enough to the wolf for him to lean toward her.

She jerked back in fear, but then giggled.

The wolf licked her.

“I hope I do not taste verra good to you, but you are one of God’s sweet creatures, so I will do what I can to free you.” Setting to her task, she moved the branch under the tree to act as a lever, then pushed down on it as hard as she could.

Nothing happened at first, but just before she was to give up, the tree moved a bit, just enough for the wolf to pull himself free.

Lily let go of the branch and the tree fell back in place. She jumped in the air, clapping her hands as she watched the wolf pace the small area around the tree, stumbling, falling, and righting himself several times. Once his movements improved, he headed off, probably to find his pack, but then he stopped and turned to look at her, his gaze quite intent. Lily sat down on the felled tree, waiting to see what the animal would do. If he wished to attack her, she knew she’d be helpless.

He was a huge beast, muscular and taller than any of the wolves she’d seen from a distance. He crept toward her and stopped about a foot’s length away, close enough for her to see his haunting blue eyes.

“I think you need a name, Mr. Wolf. Hmmm. Allow me to consider this for a moment.” Her finger tapped her lip as she stared into the starlit sky. “Moonbeam. ‘Tis what I’ll call you. Moonbeam, are you all right? I’m sure your pack is not far away.” She giggled. “Do tell them not to attack me, if you please.”

Moonbeam didn’t move; he just stared at her and took in her scent. “For certes, you can smell that I am no threat to you, Moonbeam. Have you come to thank me for setting you free?” Not knowing what else to do, she held her arms out to him and said, “You wish to express your appreciation, do you not? Aye, then come and I’ll give you a hug in return. A hug will make your day much better.”

The wolf hesitated, but then walked into her arms and licked her cheek. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him, but then she remembered her purpose.

“I admit ‘twas lovely meeting you, Moonbeam, but it’s time for me to move on. I must find the man of my dreams, Kyle Maule. If you wish to walk with me, you’re welcome to.”

To her surprise and delight, Moonbeam followed right behind her—limping along—when she set off. At one point near dawn, her throat was so dry due to lack of water that she was forced to stop to hack and cough. Moonbeam moved ahead of her, so Lily waved goodbye to him since she was unable to speak. Surprisingly, he stopped a distance away and turned around to stare at her, as if he were beseeching her to follow.

Lily moved behind him, and Moonbeam led her over to a stream with a small waterfall, enough for Lily to place her hands underneath the cool fluid and pour it over her face before she drank from it. Moonbeam drank his fill beside her before they continued.

But not before Lily gave him another hug for leading her to the water. “There, Moonbeam. I helped you and you have helped me. Many thanks to you. If you wish to find your pack, I’ll understand.”

She swore Moonbeam snorted.

***

Kyle moved downstream and found what he’d hoped to find—the tracks of three horses. He followed them for a short distance only to become totally confused. The tracks split, one horse had moved in a completely different direction than the other two. The tracks were different, and he stared at them for a moment.

“Nay,” Kyle whispered to himself, the importance of the difference finally dawning on him. The single set of tracks was deeper than the other two. “This set is deeper because there were two on the horse—Cormag and Lily. ‘Tis where I’m headed.”

Kyle flicked the reins and shot off after the direction of the one horse. Cormag was alone with his beloved. His mind filled with horrible thoughts. The lad undoubtedly had a sword, but would he truly be able to fight off boar or wolves, should it come to that? And even if they reached their destination safely, Lily would be at the lad’s mercy…

Kyle rode until darkness descended and more. He’d thought of every possible scenario and none of them were good. He adored his Lily, but she was not a fighter, and that worried him more than he would like. He thought of how Heather had stabbed her attacker in the back, slowing him down enough for Torrian to finish him off, of how Heather, Molly, and Sorcha were all adept enough with a bow and arrow to kill. Lily was too sweet to do such a thing. He doubted she could kill anyone outright.

Then a comforting thought occurred to him. Lily was a fighter, just not with a sword or a bow and arrow. Hadn’t she lost her mother as a wee bairn and fought a horrid disease?

Aye, the woman he loved would fight, but in her own way. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, and a voice in his head told him to go back. A cottage sat hidden in a copse of trees. He dismounted his horse and threw the reins over a tree branch. After pausing for a moment to consider the situation, he drew his sword and advanced on the cottage. There was one thing that punched a fist into his gut.

The hut was too silent.

He crept around the outside of the cottage, noticing there was no fire in the hearth at present. A sigh released from him as he peered into the window.

The cottage appeared to be empty. He sheathed his sword and stepped inside to see if he could detect any clues. He was surprised at what he discovered in the main chamber. The hut was clean and orderly. Plenty of wood sat in a pile by the hearth, and there was fresh bread and fruit on the counter. He headed into the second chamber, which was equally empty, although it was once again clear someone had been here. On his way out, he noticed something amidst the rushes on the floor. He bent over to retrieve it, and the first thing he did was bring it up to his nose.

It was a ribbon, and it smelled just like his Lily did.

She’d been here for certain.

***

Lily and Moonbeam traveled for quite a while. She’d expected to hear sounds of Cormag following her, but thus far, she’d evaded him. But one glance at the sky was all she needed to tell her that their troubles were far from over.

“Moonbeam, look at those dark clouds rolling in. We’re about to be drenched. Can we not find a spot to hide until the storm blows over?” Dawn was almost upon them, but the storm clouds would block out the sun. She knew what was coming, and as much as she loved nature, she had no desire to run through the forest during a thunderstorm. Where would they go? Frantically searching for a cave or an old deserted cottage, she picked up her pace until she was tearing through the trees.

A sudden streak of lightning lit the sky, causing Lily to scream and jump. How she wished for her sire to protect her. She raced blindly until a short howl stopped her in her tracks. Moonbeam had sat down in front of her, and was waiting to lead her to safety—or so she hoped. She followed Moonbeam, who led her through a maze that became darker and more overgrown with each step. Flashes of light followed by crashes of thunder rent the air, causing Lily to run with her arms wrapped around herself tight, almost running blindly. How she hoped Moonbeam would help her. Would she ever find her way out?

Her mantle and hood were so wet that she began to shiver helplessly as Moonbeam led her up a small hill. It was slippery because of the wet moss and stones, but Lily clung to rocks along the side of the small ravine until she reached the top. Moonbeam was waiting for her there, and he nuzzled her hand when she joined him. She peered straight ahead and found herself staring at the mouth of a cave, hidden from the forest by a large rock.

Once inside, a flurry of lightning streaks lit up the sky as if warning her of what was to come. Moonbeam shook his fur three times to rid himself of the drenching raindrops. Lily tossed the sack aside, removing her mantle only to find her gown partially wet as well. She stripped that off, leaving her in the night rail Cormag had given her. While she wished to tear it to shreds, she knew it was her only protection against the elements at the moment. Glad to be inside the cave, it was still cold and hard stone, naught to give her any heat.

Hanging her wet mantle on a high stone in the wall, she then moved to take care of her gown. She folded it so the driest part was on the top, then she lay on the stone, resting her head on the damp gown. Much as she tried, she could not quell the quiet sobs and shivers racking her body. Moonbeam lay down opposite her, his nose resting on her hand. When her crying slowed, Moonbeam gave her a small whine and nuzzled her hand before moving to the back of the cave, stopping to see if she would follow him. When she didn’t move, he nudged her a bit harder, so she finally got up to see what he wished her to do.

He led her toward the back of the cave, down through a dark maze that she would never have followed on her own, but Moonbeam’s quiet breathing soothed her enough for her to take the chance. The cave turned brighter and she found herself in a larger cavern with a bit of light streaming in from a small opening at the top. The wolf moved to the center of the cave and sat down, waiting for Lily to come abreast of him.

“Moonbeam, I do not understand what you are trying to tell me. Aye, ‘tis a bit warmer back here, but I’m still shivering.” Moonbeam held fast in his position, his tongue lolling as if waiting for her. He gave a short howl, but she couldn’t guess what he was trying to tell her. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the wee bit of light in the cavern, and her eyes widened. Water? Was she looking at a small pool? Moving up, she knelt down next to her friend, leaning over to feel the coolness of the water.