Page 79 of Highlander the Conqueror

Glynis spotted them and came running, tears flowing down her cheeks as well.

Sky handed the lass over to her. “The gate is closing, hurry.”

Glynis took off and Sky went to follow when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged backward.

Glynis turned, and her eyes went wide with fright.

“Run!” Sky urged. “Run!” When she saw Glynis hesitate, she cried out, “He’ll come for me!”

As Sky was dragged into the woods, she watched Glynis and Oona make it through the gate doors just before they closed shut.

It was not until they were further into the woods that the man let go of her and two other men joined them.

“We don’t have much time,” the man who abducted her said. “That troop that attacked will be defeated soon enough and once he discovers her gone, he will search for her.”

The man was right about that. Her husband would come for her, and she needed to survive until he did.

“Did Olin escape?” another man asked.

“I’m here,” a voice was heard before a man emerged from the woods.

“Good job, Rory,” one of the men said with a laugh.

Sky recalled the name only her husband referred to him as Rory, the liar. It seemed he was a good liar since he was not the man he had claimed to be.

“There is no time for laughter. This mission must get done,” Olin said, “Iver is right. We don’t have much time. We need to get out of here.”

Fearful beyond belief, Sky forced herself to ask, “Who are you? What do you want with me?”

Olin ignored her and turned to Iver. “Where are the horses?”

“Not far from here and out of sight of the sentinels.”

Horses.Once they got on horses, they could easily distance themselves from Slayer, taking longer for her husband to find her. There was also the chance of more men waiting to wherever they took her. Her fear grew and her stomach roiled. She had to escape them before they reached the horses to give her husband a better chance of finding her.

At least she was somewhere that she was familiar with… a forest. And she knew the secrets of the forest well.

“We need to get to those horses and keep moving,” Olin said. “It will take us no more than a day’s ride to reach the meeting spot, get our coins, and be done with this.”

Iver was the man who had dragged Sky into the woods, and he gave her a shove. “Get moving.”

“She stays unharmed, or we could get less coins for her,” Olin warned and turned to one of the men as they walked. “Go a distance ahead and make sure no surprises await us.”

She could not take the word of a liar that she would be left unharmed and that encouraged her even more to escape, and soon, since there would be one less man to hunt her. She was not familiar with this area of terrain which could prove dangerous, but the trees would help guide her and rock formations would provide her with places to hide. It also helped that they had not bound her wrists. It would make escape that much easier.

“Keep pace,” Iver ordered with a slight shove when she slowed after only a few steps.

“Throw her over your shoulder, Iver, if she slows again,” Olin called out, several steps ahead.

She could not let that happen, so she kept pace and feared their hasty steps would get them to the horses before she had a chance to make her escape. That meant she could not wait. She had to make her escape soon. But how?

It came to her when she spotted a sizeable stone ahead and when she reached it, she purposely stumbled, falling just enough to grab the stone.

Iver grabbed her by the arm. “Stay on your feet.”

Sky didn’t wait. She slammed Iver in the head with the stone and his hand fell off her as he collapsed to the ground. She took off, knowing she had little time, Olin and the other man having kept their quick pace. That had put enough distance between them for her to dash into the forest and hide.

It was only a few moments later that she heard Olin yell, “You idiot!”

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