“He had two blades,” Keenan said (25 page)

Without fully stopping his horse, Keenan swung down into a run before the last piece of metal thumped to the ground. His long sword sang for blood as he pulled it out before him ready to strike. Before Serena could move, he sandwiched her between him and Brodick, shielding her from any possible threat.

Two more horses thunder into the clearing. Before she could take two breaths Thomas and Gavin flanked her sides, blocking her view completely. Her face was smashed up against Keenan’s back, his shoulders so broad above her, his hair loose and falling down his back. She buried her face in the fresh pine smell that clung to him and tried to calm her heart.

“Keenan they may try to shoot you,” panic pitched her voice higher. He didn’t respond. “Keenan, I told them I wouldn’t marry Damin because you claimed me,” she paused, “intimately.” She knew the other men could hear her since they stood so close. But she had to warn him. “If they shoot, you will be the target.”

“My death doesn’t frighten me,” he said softly.

“Well it scares the bloody hell out of me,” she retorted and thumped his back.

“Ewan,” Keenan yelled. Ewan jogged over and replaced Keenan in front of Serena. She was still surrounded by human shields. She wiggled in the tight space until she turned toward where Damin and King Will had stood before. She peered out under Brodick’s armpit.

Mari was pleading with her father, but King Will didn’t seem to be listening to her. He only stared at Keenan. Turning her eyes slightly, Serena caught sight of Damin who gripped his bleeding arm where Chiriklò had pecked him with his beak. Her pet now sat poised in a branch over the man. Damin’s eyes watched him warily.

The clearing was once again silent. Keenan’s voice nearly shook the trees with its anger, yet the volume remained controlled. “I leave to clear a Faw’s name of murder, only to return to find members of the Faw Romany tribe ready to murder my men.”

“You have dishonored my daughter, Highlander.” King Will stood proud, defiant. “I have matched her with a respected man, but she is unclean and cannot wed him.”

The clergyman peeked out of the tent cautiously.

“Brodick, tell me what’s gone on here,” Keenan said. “Talk fast.”

“Serena’s father demands she marry Damin Yallow, now, this day. She refused.” He stopped and took a breath that he let out in a huff. “She says you claimed her, with your words. When her father said your words didn’t matter, Serena told everyone that ye’ve seen her naked, that,” he hesitated. Serena felt him shift his weight from foot to foot. “That ye’ve touched her. Her father was about to strike her when Ewan and I stepped in.”

Could she blush any more? At least she was hidden, if only the ground would fall away beneath her feet and suck her down. At least Brodick had omitted her declaration of love.

Damin’s voice rang out. “I will wed her anyway.”

Despite her shock, Serena threaded her power out towards the man. And there it was. He was desperate to hang on to her, desperate now that he had spent the night developing uses for her magic. But under that desperation was anger. He would punish her. Serena grasped the dagger tighter, determined to use it if necessary.

King Will looked over at the fortress of Macleans. “I would have my daughter before me.”

Keenan nodded slightly and Brodick stepped aside. Serena straightened to her full height and forced her face into calm seriousness. She continued to hold the dagger along her side.

King Will took a deep breath. As he released it, Serena felt some of the anger flow out of him and his eyes softened. He spoke in quiet Romany. “Àngelas, I took you into our tribe when you were a young girl. I’ve raised you to be Romany and have found an honorable man who will care for you despite your strangeness. You would throw that back in my face?”

Serena’s eyes turned glassy, but she refused to let the tears escape. How could she make him understand, when she had trouble understanding her feelings herself? She spoke in Romany. “Father, you honor me greatly with this proposal. And I am very thankful to you for the years of protection you gave me, the wisdom you taught me, the care you have shown me.” She shook her head sadly. “But I cannot wed someone I do not love. And I cannot love someone when I love another.”

King Will lowered his voice even more. “What if he cannot love you?”

And there was the question that kept Serena’s stomach knotted. What if Keenan Maclean couldn’t love her, wouldn’t allow himself to love her? Was she dooming herself to a loveless life? Courage, she thought. Warriors took risks, didn’t they?

Serena spoke in Romany. “Father, even if he cannot love me, I still love Keenan Maclean. I will wed no other.” Serena kept her focus on her father. Keenan stood unmoving next to her. Did he think her rude for not speaking English? She blushed. Could he have picked up enough Romany to understand her words?

Damin stepped forward, still not ready to give up. “What does he have to offer for her? I offer two milk cows and a bull as a bride price.”

Serena lowered her eyes. What if Keenan offered nothing?

“I give the Faw tribe my sword,” he said and with one powerful toss, flipped the long sword high in the air to land, point down in the dirt beside King Will. Her father didn’t even flinch. His eyes moved over the intricate designs etched into the steel and the small jewels embedded at the ends of the well worn hilt.

“Keenan, that is yer grandda’s sword,” Thomas warned behind them.

“It is my sword now and freely given. King Will, I believe that the jewels alone will buy your tribe several milk cows.”

Damin’s hands fisted at his sides. “I give the Faw tribe the bridal wagon I brought for Serena.”

King Will turned from Damin back to Keenan to see if he would raise the stakes.

“My sword also carries the allegiance of Clan Maclean. Your tribe would always be welcome on our lands and you would have our protection.”

“The Yallow tribe is just as powerful. An alliance with us far surpasses protection from a tribe leagues away,” Damin threw out.

King Will looked back to Keenan. Keenan’s voice stayed deadly calm, his eyes cold, calculating. “I could continue to match you object for object, but I’d rather jump to the end. King Will, in return for Serena, I gift you back yer son, William.”

King Will looked confused. “William is no prisoner.”

Keenan’s words held all the threat of a man determined to win. “With one word from me, yer son is dead. And if I must hold him as ransom for Serena, I will.”

It was a bluff, Serena thought. A good one, but Keenan couldn’t order William’s death. Actually he could, but he wouldn’t. She knew that without reading his mind.

Mari gasped, her hand touched King Will’s arm. King Will studied Keenan for several long moments. Damin opened his mouth to speak, but King Will held up his hand to stop him.

“Keenan Maclean, I accept your terms. I will take your sword and the promise of William’s safe return for my daughter.”

Keenan nodded, and King Will looked over his shoulder. “Father Banning.”

“Ah, yes, yes, I am here.” The nervous priest stepped forward and wiped his hands along the sides of his long vestments.

“There will be a wedding today.” King Will said evenly. “For although I accept Keenan Maclean’s terms, I will not let my daughter leave with him without his vow before God.”

“Father!”

King Will continued to stare at Keenan. Serena felt her father’s stubbornness like a massive boulder. Blood would spill before he budged on this point. Her father’s pride had already taken such a hit. She could feel him mentally digging in his heels.

But she had to try. “Father, you can’t expect him to marry me today.”

“I expect a lot from the man who takes my daughter,” he replied evenly without moving his eyes from Keenan. Serena didn’t even think that her father blinked. It was a staring contest, like two wolves. “Would you demand any less if she was your daughter, Maclean?”

Keenan’s expression didn’t change. Serena tried to thread her way into his mind, but it was as if she threaded it through a dark room. She released the thread and just opened her heart up and cleared her mind. Faint shades of emotion pricked her consciousness. Stubbornness, subdued anger for being trapped, then something calmer, perhaps acquiescence. Serena blinked. Was she really picking up on his feelings or had she grown very adept at reading expressions and body language?

Keenan turned to her. His face still looked like a beautifully carved rendition of an ancient warrior as his hair fell haphazardly around his broad shoulders. But something was different, the ice in his eyes melted as he looked into her own. Was there admiration in the gaze, perhaps encouragement? She wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it was not rejection nor pity.

Keenan turned back to King Will. “I would kill any man who tried to steal my daughter without vows between them. I accept yer terms.”

Mari gave a little shriek and wiped at her eyes.

“I but ask for an hour to bathe and talk with my men.”

King Will nodded majestically. “Agreed.”

Damin Yallow threw up his hands in disgust, turned and stalked off toward the bridal wagon, his father following.

Mari engulfed Serena in her warm arms. Her duy’s lips brushed against her ear. “Oh Àngelas, you wed today.” Her duy pulled back to gather the hair from Serena’s face and smiled brightly. “My daughter, a wife, married to the man she loves.” Mari pulled her back into a hug. Serena leaned into her mother and watched numbly as Keenan walked off toward the stream where her tribe washed. The other Macleans looked between one another, shock marked their faces. Only Brodick turned to her and winked. Then they all followed after their leader.

Mari ushered Serena through a quick bath in a tub of cool water. Serena was too numb to respond much to her duy’s chattering. After Serena was dried and dressed once more in the bridal gown, Mari stopped talking. She looked into Serena’s blank face and mentally asked, “what is it, child?”

Serena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she held. “What if Keenan can’t love me?”

Mari looked at her. “But you love him.”

“But what if my love is not enough? What if I spend the rest of my life loving someone who doesn’t love me in return?”

Mari squeezed her fingers and smiled grimly as Serena shook her head slowly. “Love, Àngelas, is a leap of faith.” Serena looked blankly at her. “You have to trust in it for real love to grow. If you think about it, if you loved anyone else, someone you could read, well then it would be cheating, wouldn’t it? You’d know for sure if they loved you and there would be no risk, no trust, you would just know.”

Serena nodded slowly, trying to take in Mari’s wise words. She looked down at her hands. “What if he chooses the prophecy over me?” Serena jumped when someone rapped on the wagon door. Mari swung the little door outward. Thomas and Brodick waited to escort Serena to the priest. Thomas wore his normal frown while Brodick smiled encouragingly at her.

“Ye look beautiful, Serena,” Brodick said as she stepped down and Mari fussed at the ribbons she’d woven in her hair.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Thomas said nothing. Did she really want to know what he thought? Yes. Leap of faith or not, she needed to know what she was walking into. Serena walked between the two men, listening to their thoughts as they reviewed Keenan’s words when he spoke to them at the stream. Keenan didn’t want bloodshed, that this was the best strategy. Then Keenan’s words came to Serena. “I can marry her here and still die while she fulfills the prophecy by marrying Lachlan after my death. The prophecy never states that the witch must be pure, never married before.”

Hurt coursed through her causing her to stifle a sob. Instant tears stabbed behind her eyes. Brodick turned his head to look at her.

“What’s wrong, lass?”

Serena shook her head unable to speak. What was there to say? She was about to marry a man who planned to die.

As she approached the small tent erected for the ceremony, her legs grew numb. Keenan stood there proud and brooding, watching her as she stepped up alongside him. She turned toward Father Banning and concentrated on his droning voice. Behind her the busy minds of her tribe whirled about as they watched in stunned silence. Serena could hear Damin Yallow’s horse dragging away the bridal wagon. Keenan’s deep timbre pulled her attention back as he recited his wedding vows. Then she repeated her vows. “Through happiness and sorrow, until death do we part.” The words caught in her throat. Until death do we part. And just when would that be?

Chapter 13

Keenan watched Serena impatiently as she hugged her mother. His new bride seemed melancholy to be leaving despite her fight earlier to claim him. Brodick came over and thumped him on the back.

“Meala-naidheachd ort, Keenan! No bonnier lass lives that I have seen.”

Brodick always had a way of lightening the tensest atmosphere with his good humor. Keenan grinned slightly. “I have to agree with ye there, but I will take offense if ye continue to notice her so intensely.” Brodick laughed.

“Aye, good tidings are in order, Keenan,” Gavin said as he walked up. Keenan nodded to him. “Any thoughts of how ye’ll explain this to Lachlan?”

Brodick punched Gavin’s arm.

“I was just asking,” he said rubbing the bruised limb.

Keenan looked at Thomas and Ewan who walked up in time to hear the question. “Nay, na’ yet.”

He turned toward Serena where she stood near Mari. She didn’t smile.

“What did ye say to Serena?” Keenan looked to Thomas. “When ye walked her to the ceremony.”

Thomas frowned even more. “Nothing.

“I told her she looked bonny,” Brodick said.

Keenan nodded but continued to watch Thomas. “Did she touch ye?”

Thomas shook his head.

“Aye she did, Thomas. Remember, she stumbled a bit on one of those roots and caught herself on yer arm. Ye let her hold yer arm the whole way over.”

Keenan scrubbed his hands over his face, closed his eyes briefly and glanced back at Serena. He lowered his arms and crossed them over his chest. “Rather then, Thomas, what were ye thinking when ye walked her over to the ceremony?”

“What?” Thomas stammered. “Ye doona think she kent my thoughts, do ye?”

“Of course she kent yer thoughts, ye idiot,” Brodick said glowering at Thomas. “She said she could hear strong thoughts sometimes without trying.” He nodded, his bushy eyebrows raised, to emphasize his words.

“I, I doona ken what I was thinking at the time, probably about traveling home.” Thomas turned red through his hasty explanation.

Keenan watched Serena where she sat just inside the wedding tent while her parents moved about collecting her few things in a roll of fabric. She was beautiful as usual, her hair woven with ribbons cascading like red gold over her shoulders and breasts. Her delicate features held the mask of serenity, but Keenan knew better. Somehow he knew. It was more than the subdued spirit lurking behind those telling violet eyes that warned him. It was as if he felt the weight of her sadness pressing in on him.

“I want ye all to think happy thoughts, right now,” he commanded.

“What?” Ewan and Gavin asked in humorous synchronicity.

“Now.”

“What do we think about?” Brodick asked.

“Think about how happy ye are that Serena is my bride.” Keenan watched Serena’s face and Brodick followed his gaze. “Think about how beautiful the moors around Kylkern are. Think about the wonderful Macleans ye will see again soon, whatever. Just think of happy thoughts.”

“Ye doona think she’s trying to read our minds right now, do ye?” Gavin asked in a whisper.

Keenan almost laughed. “Ye doona need to whisper, man. She can hear ye loud and clear when she concentrates.”

Gavin’s anxious look spread to each of his men.

“Think of happy things,” Keenan said again. Keenan saw Serena frown and knew his men were failing.

“But she said she tries to block the thoughts of others,” Thomas said.

His men had no idea who Serena was. Keenan shook his head at them. His words came slowly as if educating a group of young lads. “Serena was raised among people who mistrust her. The only comfort she had, came from her mother whom she is now leaving, again. She knows ye all think she should marry Lachlan, not me. And therefore, once again she is encircled with mistrust.”

Keenan looked back at the lovely woman seeming to catch her breath amidst the chaos of packing. “Her only protection lies in her gift.” Keenan’s eyes warmed with admiration for the beautiful, strong lass he’d just wed. “She may na’ wield a sword or shoot a bow, but doona doubt that Serena Maclean is a warrior. She risked her life to save her brother. She saved Lachlan, the boy and his mother from the Campbell. She masqueraded in court to cleanse her brother’s name. She defended herself here this morning. Serena has courage that could match any of ye.” Keenan stared his men in their eyes, challenging them to refute his words.

None did.

“So she will use the only weapon she has when she is threatened. Just as ye would. Just as any warrior would.” Keenan nodded to emphasize his point. “Serena Faw is worthy of the Maclean name.”

As the point he was making sunk into his men, Keenan watched Serena’s face. A slight frown still haunted her lips, but when she opened her gorgeous eyes, there was a light in them, a hint of the spirit that made her so incredibly desirable. She shifted in the seat so that she sat taller. Aye, she had heard his words of her courage through the minds of his men. His wife still couldn’t read his thoughts, but she could read the interpretations, and unfortunately misinterpretations, of his thoughts through them. Keenan’s jaw tightened. For the first time he wished that she could spy into his mind instead of depending on those around him to supply her with information.

Thomas turned to him, his face tinged pink again, but he looked straight into his leader’s eyes. “I may have thought about her marrying Lachlan once ye die, like ye said to us at the creek.”

Keenan had already guessed as much. He clapped his hand on Thomas’s shoulder and walked past him toward the tent. “Next time try na’ to dwell on my death. It seems to upset the lass.” Thomas nodded as he hastened past him. “Ready the horses,” Keenan said.

Keenan strode across to Serena. She stood as soon as he began to approach.

“Wife, we must leave for Kylkern.” Serena’s cheeks reddened at the new title. “Make yer farewells,” he said as he hefted her rolled bundle over his shoulder. Keenan turned to King Will and Mari and gave them a nod. “The Faw tribe will always be welcome on Maclean land.”

King Will bowed his head in reply. “We will travel up into your Highlands this summer. That should give William enough time to recover and continue on with us.”
King Will’s eyes moved to Serena. “And I will want to see that my daughter is happy with her choice.” The hint of threat tinged the old man’s voice as his eyes glanced to Keenan and then back to his daughter. King Will walked over to Serena. She stood tall before him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. The old man cupped her face in his wrinkled hands and they touched foreheads. “You are very brave, my Àngelas. I am proud of you.” When he released Serena, she smiled fully despite the tears in her eyes.

Mari came over and wrapped her arms around Keenan’s torso in a hug. “Care well for my daughter, Highlander,” she said smiling. Tears brightened her knowing eyes. She lowered her voice. “Be true to your heart, and don’t give into death too easily.” She poked him in the chest. “I want grandbabies.”

Keenan’s eyes mirrored his amazement at the Romany woman’s nature. He smiled at her. “I will try na’ to die.”

“Good, good,” Mari said then lowered her voice to the wisp of a whisper as she turned from him. “Because she will never marry your brother.” But Keenan still heard her. The woman walked back toward Serena.

Nodding once more to King Will, Keenan went to Serena’s mare to tie her bundle across its rump.

His men led their mounts toward him. Keenan pulled out two of the four scrolls clearing William’s name of murder. One he had left with King Will, another he kept to give to William. He handed the third one to Brodick and fourth one to Thomas.

“Brodick, ye will ride with Gavin to the north and west. Thomas, ye will ride with Ewan to the north and east.” His men looked confused.

“We doona travel to Kylkern?” Ewan asked.

“Serena and I travel to Kylkern,” Keenan answered. “Ye,” he indicated the men as he’d paired them, “ye will travel to every town on yer way to Kylkern to show the local magistrate that William is innocent.” He saw the question in their faces. “The Romany travel, and it would be best for them to have us spread the word before they encounter accusations. That is why King George sent me with four original parchments with his signature.”

This excuse was authentic enough that Keenan did not have to supplement it with the real reason he wanted his men away from Serena. His new bride needed to learn what was in his mind through him, not through the skewed perceptions of their traveling companions.

He turned briskly toward his horse. “We will greet ye at Kylkern. Doona tarry. King George is making plans.”

Thomas and Ewan took off at once. Brodick and Gavin walked over to Serena. Keenan tensed as he watched Brodick engulf her in a large hug, his massive body eclipsing her frame. The sight of another man wrapped around Serena brought every muscle in Keenan’s body alert. With great restraint, Keenan stood his ground. Lucky for Brodick, he released her quickly. But then Gavin put his arms around her. Keenan strode over before he realized where he was headed. Gavin saw him and dropped his arms. “Only a farewell gesture,” Gavin said a bit too quickly.

Keenan stopped, relaxing his hands that were fisted at his sides.

Brodick pulled a sword from his scabbard, flipped it and handed it to Keenan. “Since yers is gone, use mine to guard yer bride.” Brodick looked to Serena. “She may be a warrior too, but her sword is puny.”

Serena laughed. “I will miss you, Brodick,” she looked to Gavin, “and you too. I look forward to greeting you at Kylkern.”

Gavin and Brodick departed to the northwest.

Keenan led them along hills and narrow paths. Serena rode behind him when the path remained too narrow. They traveled in silence, broken only by her bird’s chirping and an occasional sigh that escaped her.

Keenan looked toward the deepening sky. A granite boulder sat at the base of each tree.

“The gloaming is upon us. I ken a place to shelter for the night.” Serena’s large violet eyes shone with fear, but she nodded. A maiden’s fear, perhaps? He would find out soon enough, as soon as he could find the clearing he knew hid among these trees. Where exactly was it?

Keenan led them off the narrow path into a woods budding with the warmth of the spring evening. “Aye, blackberry bushes, in full flower as usual,” Keenan said to himself.

“What do you say up there?”

“Follow me, Serena. Let yer horse find her way through.”

Keenan disappeared through a curtain of shrubs and trees. The blackberry blossoms flitted up into the air as a funnel of wind whipped them into a dance. They hovered before scattering around the perimeter of the ring of bramble, ash trees and ancient oaks. The trees reached upward into the deepening blue sky, swaying, their branches filled with newborn leaves, so green and eager.

“Isn’t it too early for blackberry blossoms?” Serena called from behind.

“Just follow me,” he said, as he pushed through the dense shrubs and grasses.

“Oh,” she called and Keenan heard her pull on her skirts. “These thorns are catching me. They will harm the dress.”

“Elenor will repair it. Just come through.”

Keenan broke through the thick foliage into the clearing he knew was there, hidden in the small unpopulated forest. The first time he’d come across the odd clearing, he had wondered if it held magic. It certainly looked like a fairy ring the bards liked to sing about when visiting Kylkern. Tall oaks bent gnarled limbs up into the sky. They formed a nearly perfect circle around the clearing. Low ash trees spread their screening leaves at the height of a man riding a horse. Blackberry bushes billowed up out of the earth blocking entrance to all but the rabbits that grew fat on the berries, berries that grew year round. Moss pillowed the soft ground so one could lie back comfortably and stare at the stars as they moved across the open circle of sky overhead.

Keenan inhaled a full breath of clear air. Aye, the ring had to be enchanted. He’d stayed many nights in its sanctuary, nights when enemies hunted him, nights when he had no one to guard his sleep, but he had to succumb to slumber else lose his mind. He had never brought another person to this place. It had always been his alone, a sanctuary where he could sit and ask the stars about his fate. But tonight he brought Serena into its quiet refuge.

Serena dismounted in the cumbersome costume and smoothed her skirts before turning toward him. A gentle wind blew through the clearing encircling her with blossoms.

“Oh,” she said in a hushed tone and raised her arms to allow the fragrant flowers to drift about her as if investigating a new arrival. Serena blinked several times and let her eyes wander around the darkening area. “By the Earth Mother,” she whispered.

“Ye feel it.”

Serena nodded. “What is it?”

“I thought ye might know.” For he certainly didn’t.

“It’s like a hum, a hum of energy.”

“Are there spirits here then? Anyone speaking to ye, lass?”

Serena shook her head and walked around the mossy ground as the wind gentled. “No real voices, no real consciousness. It feels like it’s warded.” Serena turned back to him. “I think magic was practiced here at one time, long ago perhaps. Protective magic. Only the residue remains.”