Ciaran hadn’t expected to sleep, but he awoke to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs into the dank smelly basement. Every muscle in his body ached from standing for so long, and he feared for Nadia. Was she safe? Much as he wished it weren't, the halberd disguised as walking stick was firmly in place in his belt.

It was the two men who had brought him down here the night before, and they cheerfully unlocked his cell door and came in, bustling about unlocking his shackles. "Ye hae been chosen tae gae with Tahra tae help her. 'Tis a great honor. Ye should be proud."

That was a lie, of course. Anyone ‘helping’ her would be on either end of the sacrifice needed to regain her dark magic. Now he was glad he still had the halberd. We would see who was going to be the sacrifice.

The men took him up the stairs, waited while he ate some bread and cheese, and even took him into the laundry room, saying, "Wash yerself. Ye hae tae ride with us, and ye smell like the devil."

It was tempting to leave himself smelling that way, but in truth he couldn't stand the smell of himself either. So he dropped his kilt, took off his boots, gripped the book and his ‘walking stick’ firmly in one hand, and climbed naked into one of the washtubs. The water was passable tepid, not as cold as he feared, and he ducked under and got his hair wet, even grabbed some soap and washed the smelliest parts of him before getting out and drying off with some linen someone had conveniently left there.

Feeling refreshed, he dressed, stuffed the book back into his belt, and used the ‘walking stick’ to limp back out into the hallway. He was all smiles until they took him through the yard toward the stable and he saw the wagonful of milkmaids and a few male servants. Nadia was among them. Furthermore, she was seated as far in front of the wagon as she could get, right behind the driver. Even if he ran to her right now, she was too high up. There was no way to get close enough to speak into her mind, let alone have the halberd take her away to safety.

Nadia smiled at him and waved, happy to see him.

With his eyes and his facial expression, he tried to show her what he was thinking —that as soon as they were away from the Cameron fortress, she should jump out of the wagon and run to him.

She clearly had been expecting him to greet her, because doubt now filled her eyes.

Her doubt made his heart ache, so he pushed down the desperation he felt at knowing it would be difficult to get her out of this situation. All he let show on his face was his love for her.

She smiled, lighting up her face like the sun when it comes out of the cloudy sky over a meadow full of flowers.

Tahra and a dozen warriors rode out of the stable. Ruadh was one of them, and he reached down and pulled ‘Bixby’ up behind him, nodding at the two Cameron men who had gotten him from the dungeon, who went into the stable and also came out on horseback. The horses took the lead, and the wagon followed behind as they rode out the gate, down the narrow space between the two lochs, and into the forest.

"Some call the place we gae tae Fae Wood," Ruadh told ‘Bixby’ as they rode. "Many will na enter it, afeared o’ being tricked by the faeries."

This barely registered on Ciaran's thinking. Ruadh nattered on, and Ciaran was grateful for his friendliness, but he was desperate to get Nadia away from the druid child.

When they had been riding along a seldom-used road through the forest for several hours, the horses slowed to a stop amid the trees and allowed the wagon to catch up. Provisions were taken from the wagon and passed around. Everyone ate smoked deer and bread. The horses were watered from a nearby stream and given free rein to eat the delicate grass that grew just off the road.

These stops were not frequent, but they happened often enough to get Ciaran’s hopes up. Every time those on horseback drew close to the wagon, Ciaran prayed that Ruadh would choose to go over on the side where Nadia was, close enough so that he could use the halberd to take her away.

It was on the tip of his tongue, one of those times, to ask Ruadh to go on her side of the wagon. But the instant he opened his mouth to say something, Ruadh clasped forearms with one of the other Camerons, smiling and jesting while people waited in the wagon. These warriors had to know why the milkmaids were along.

Ciaran would wait for his chance. Finally, he saw it coming.

Everyone had stopped once more. Tahra and her first man were discussing where they should stop for the night. Ruadh was pulling up beside the wagon on Nadia’s side to take some water the wagon driver was offering him.

Ciaran knew he would only have the amount of time it took for Ruadh to drink. He met eyes with Nadia and let his determination show on his face and pleading with her to stay put, to be ready.

Understanding showed on her face, and she edged a little closer to the side of the wagon, also closer to him.

Up at the front of the party, Tahra whirled her horse around, demanding, “Everyone, follow me!”

Everyone did, of course. Ruadh responded immediately, turning their horse and speeding away from Nadia.

Ciaran cursed himself. Why hadn’t he listened to his instincts before? He should have wished the halberd would take them away to safety when Eoin and Baltair refused to take the two of them back to Murray camp. Failing that, he could have grabbed Nadia and whisked her away before he got shackled.

Why had he consented to the plan of her taking this accursed book? The halberd had claimed his life now, changing his fate, so what did it matter what the book said would happen to him? It wouldn’t now be true, anyway.

Ruadh stopped with all the other warriors. This time, instead of waiting for the wagon, he dismounted and nodded to ‘Bixby’ to do the same. "There is na room for all the servants tae sleep in the wagon, ye ken, sae some o’ ye wull be sleeping under it."

Ciaran gave Ruadh an inquisitive look. "I—"

Hints of sympathy came into Ruadh's eyes.

Before the man could say anything, the same two Cameron men who had brought Bixby up from the dungeon appeared, taking Bixby by either hand and leading him gruffly away.

One of them said over his shoulder, "Ye are tae soft, man."

The other spat, then looked at Ruadh and away.

But Ciaran's heart was eased. These two ruffians were not going toward the wagon, where they might do harm to Nadia. No, instead they were going up the nearby hill.

They bound ‘Bixby’s hands together behind him, pushed him over on his side to the ground, bound his ankles together, and shoved him under the bushes, apparently to spend the night. Then they walked away laughing with their kilts bouncing at every scornful step.

Ciaran waited there in the darkness and discomfort for food to be brought, but it never was. He heard them all laughing and joking, then finally singing around the fire, so he knew they were getting food.

How was Nadia faring? Did they feed her? He didn't hear any screaming or crying, so at least they weren't mistreating her or the other lasses.

He was uncomfortable and worried. There was no way he could sleep lying here on the cold earth with his hands bound so tightly behind him.

The Cameron men would get what they had coming. He had only to bide his time until they were all asleep, full of ale and comfortable around their fire.

Once all the sounds had died away and even the fire crackling had stopped, he thought about the sacrifice that was sure to come and how he was no doubt part of it. Otherwise, why had they tied him up?

As soon as he thought of his life being threatened, he thought of the most logical thing that could be done to help save him.

The leather thongs that tied his arms and his ankles dissolved.

He was free. Only a small amount of strength had drained from him, so he was confident he would be able to get Nadia away from here. All he had to do was get close enough to touch her, and they would be safely away.