Page 59 of Highlander the Conqueror

“Is he patient?” Sky asked.

He nodded. “Aye, he is since tracking requires much patience.”

“Your fierce tracker will need plenty of patience to deal with my all too-stubborn sister. And I warn you, Elsie might accept hearing that I am well, but Leora will not rest until she is able to see and speak to me herself.”

“In time, I will permit it,” he assured her.

She understood the reason for the delay. It could prove dangerous for the three of them. She only hoped it would not be too long before she was reunited with her sisters.

“Noble is a good man?” she asked.

“The finest and most honorable.”

She quieted and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Something troubles you now. Tell me,” he said and squeezed the curve of her waist gently.

“I wonder if my sisters question who they are like I do. I don’t know where I truly came from nor do I know anything about my true parents, or why my mother felt the need to give me away. Who truly am I?”

“You are my wife. You belong to me now and always, nothing else matters,” he said, but knew it did to her and one day, when all was settled, he would help her find the truth.

CHAPTER17

Sky was worried. The hound who had refused the bone yesterday did so again today and though she tried to coax him to the fence so she could get a better look at him, he wouldn’t budge from where he rested. She had told him repeatedly that she would never harm him, only help him, but he continued to keep his distance.

Worried over the hound, she went in search of Slayer after leaving the kitten in the kitchen. Euniss and her workers had taken a fancy to Angel, to Sky’s great relief, so she felt comfortable leaving the kitten there at times.

No one paid her any mind as she walked through the village except Glynis. She smiled and nodded at her now and so did Oona, though the woman prevented her daughter from approaching her. But at least it was a start. She spotted Slayer talking with two warriors when a woman’s screams brought her to an abrupt halt.

Seeing her husband rushing off, she followed in his direction and again came to an abrupt halt not far behind him.

Some people stood frozen, too frightened to move, women clutched their children, and men shielded their wives with their bodies, and all stared at the wolfhound who stood on one of the paths that wound through the village.

“Fane, back in the pen, now!” Slayer ordered with a fierceness that would have anyone obeying him.

Sky approached slowly to peer around her husband and saw that it was the wolfhound who refused the bone. He stood there growling softly. She was able to get a better look at him. He was ill, drooling profusely and unsteady on his feet. He was looking for someone to help him. She didn’t hesitate, she ran around her husband, keeping a wide birth so he could not reach out and stop her.

“Sky!” Slayer yelled, thinking his strong command would be enough to stop her. It wasn’t.

Gasps rushed through the crowd when Sky reached the hound and crouched down next to him.

“You’re ill. Let me help you,” she said, softly and eased her hand out gently to cup his face. He collapsed against her, forcing her to plop on her bottom, and his head dropped to rest in her lap.

Slayer had not waited, he followed her and was at her side. He crouched down next to her.

“He is ill and looking for help,” Sky said, then called out, “Are any of the other hounds ill?”

“Nay,” someone shouted. “They are fine, though they pace the pen and whine.”

“They are worried for their friend,” she said and ran her hand gently over him. “He trembles slightly and drools excessively.” She had seen such symptoms in a few animals in the forest and had watched them eat something that forced them to empty their stomach. She knew what must be done and turned her head to look at Slayer. “I must force him to empty his stomach. Something inside him is making him ill.”

“How can you make him do that?” Slayer asked, seeing how the hound kept himself close to Sky as if he instinctively knew she would help him.

“There are plants that can force one to empty his stomach, but that takes time and I fear if we wait, he might perish.”

Anger sparked in Slayer’s eyes. “Are you saying the hound was poisoned?”

“Twice now I have offered him bones and he has refused them, and he appears worse than when I only saw him a brief time ago. He ingested something and he needs to purge it.”

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