Page 81 of Wolf Alliance

Erik looked at two men who had traveled with her this time, and they inclined their heads to him. He pulled Accalia into his arms and kissed her, then placed his forehead against hers. “Be safe, my love.”

“Aye, and you too.” Accalia glanced at the others. “All of you.”

Then she and the two men headed off to her da’s chamber, and Erik and the others followed her cousin to the cells in the dungeon.

As Erik and the others moved down into the dungeon, he saw lanterns hanging on the walls damp with groundwater, the stone green with moss and glistening in the lamplight. The stone steps were narrow and uneven as they made their way down to the grate locking Baldur’s men in. No one was guarding the men. They did not need to since everyone was guarded above stairs—so Freigard thought.

“We need to arm the men if they can fight,” Erik said, not sure how long the men had been incarcerated or the ill-treatment they had received—the lack of food and drink—down here.

“I can take you to the armory after this, but it will no’ doubt be heavily guarded to ensure none of the pack members break in and arm themselves,” Cameron said.

“Where did you get your sword?” Erik asked.

Cameron smiled. “I had a secret place to hide mine under the bed. They never found it. Mysgian dubhalso.”

“We need to get rid of the bodies we dumped off the wall walk, but we must gather their weapons also. We couldna carry their weapons with us while we were unsure if we would be engaged in more fighting. We have Dunbar’s and the two guards’ weapons that we can use. Do you know where the key is to the cells?” Erik asked the boy.

“Aye.” Cameron pushed a stone on the wall, and it receded. Inside, the keys hung on an iron hook. “So many guards kept losing the keys that Uncle Baldur had this made to hide them from view.”

“Ingenious.”

Cameron knew which key to use on the outer door. Once he unlocked it, he went inside. The men incarcerated there were so quiet Erik was afraid they had all died.

As they walked into the dungeon, he could see them moving silently to the cell bars, holding onto them, peering out at them.

Relieved to see them alive, Erik said, “I’m Accalia’s mate, Erik Norwulf, and we’ve come to free you. We need every able-bodied man to help fight Freigard’s.”

“I’m Tormod, in charge of the fighting men. Dunbar is in on the takeover.”

“Baldur killed him.” Erik was glad to deliver some good tidings to the men.

“Baldur lives?” Tormod asked.

“Aye. We know about the five who worked with Dunbar. One of them is dead,” Erik said, as the boy opened each of the cells. “We are gathering weapons for anyone who can use them to help us with the scourge within your castle walls. But we still need to do this discreetly to ensure Freigard and his men dinna murder innocents.”

“He already has,” Tormod said.

Erik assumed that Freigard had. Anyone who had spoken out against him would have been felled by a sword, either by his hand or one of his ruthless men’s. “Then we need to ensure he canna do any more harm.”

“Where is Baldur?” Tormod asked.

“He is leading a group of men from Alasdair’s pack and mine to take out Freigard’s guards on the wall walk,” Erik said.

“How many men have ye?”

“Twenty-five originally, but another dozen have joined us.”

“There are forty of us, and all of us will fight,” Tormod said.

Erik slapped him on the back. “We will need all the manpower we can get. We threw a dozen guards from the wall walk outside the castle. We’ll need to hide the bodies in the woods for now, but whoever moves them can gather their weapons and use them. See Accalia in her da’s chamber and she’ll show you the way to leave the castle in secret to take care of the matter. Then return here and we’ll make our plans.”

He needed them armed before they could take on Freigard’s forces. He wished he knew where the devil himself was staying right now.

“Aye,” several men said, and in short order, Tormod led several of the incarcerated men out of the dungeon and up the stairs to where Accalia would be.

“I’ll go with them so she knows the men are on her da’s side and no’ on Dunbar’s,” her cousin said and left with them.

“We can get knives from the kitchen,” one of her da’s men said.

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