Page 80 of Highlander the Conqueror

Sky ran as if the devil was on her heels, keeping watch for places to hide and places to avoid.

“Spread out,” Olin yelled.

His strong voice sounded close. She needed to find a place to hide and fast or they would find her.

The forest thickened, making it difficult to keep a good pace. She spotted towering pines grouped close as if they hugged each other. If she could squeeze through the thick branches, she just might be able to hide among them. She might suffer some scratches but that would be the least of her worries. She heard the cries and screeches of some of the forest animals. They were cries of distress. They were warning her. The men must be close.

Once she reached the bushy pines, she closed her eyes, leaving barely a slit to see from, so no pine needle could poke her eyes and make things more difficult for her.

“I see her!” one of the men shouted.

Sky hurried her way through, knowing she would have to run fast once she passed the trees. The pine needles poked and prodded as she maneuvered her way through and as soon as she broke free of them, she ran. Too late she realized she was at the edge of a cliff and, try as she might to save herself, momentum had taken hold, and she went tumbling off the side of a steep cliff.

Olin was the first to breach the pine trees and caught his steps, stopping himself from tumbling off the edge. He called out, “Go slow! There’s a cliff.”

The other two men stepped carefully past the trees and looked down to where Olin glanced.

“She’s not moving,” Iver said.

“We’ll never get her out of there,” the other man said.

“We wouldn’t have enough time even if we wanted to. Slayer will be on our trail soon enough.” Olin looked at Iver. “I should force you to go down there to make sure she is dead.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the other man said, pointing. “Wolves.”

The three stood staring as two large wolves inched close to Sky.

The one man gasped. “She’s moving.”

“Not for long she won’t be,” Olin said. “We need to get out of here fast before Slayer finds out what happened to her and feeds us to the wolves.”

* * *

“Go to the keep,Fane, and find Angel. You have earned a rest,” Slayer ordered the hound and turned to Reed as Fane hurried off. “How many of our prisoners escaped during the attack?” Slayer glanced around at the few that were there.

“Three. We found two but the liar is still missing,” Reed said. “I’ve never met anyone who could spin a tale the way he does or how fast the tales grow with each telling.”

“Did you pick up his trail?” Slayer asked.

“We did,” Reed confirmed.

“Ready a small troop to follow,” Slayer said.

“It is already done, sir,” Reed said then shook his head “It was barely a battle. The fools did not stand a chance against us, so why attack?”

“I doubt they were meant to,” Slayer said, seeing his men start to collect the dead to dispose of them. “They were an expendable troop which makes me think they were meant to distract.”

“But from what?” Ross asked.

Slayer wondered the same, his wife’s safety immediately coming to mind, but she was headed to the gate when he last saw her. But he never saw her go through the gate.

“Lord Slayer! Lord Slayer!”

Slayer turned to see Glyniss running toward him and terror gripped him.

“A man took Sky and dragged her into the woods.”

Slayer hurried toward the woman, his heart beating wildly. “What happened?”

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