Page 94 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance

Ryland quickly shoved Esme behind him, but she didn’t stay there when she saw it was the Old Woman.

“Hurry, you must leave,” she said anxiously. “Mercenaries are headed this way, and they mean you both harm.”

CHAPTER 26

Snow lashed at their faces like a thousand tiny blades. The world beyond Ryland’s cloak was a white blur, shifting and howling, as if the storm itself were hunting them. Esme clung tightly to him, her arm looped around his waist, her cheek pressed to his chest. Her body shivered violently, and he tightened his hold on her, one arm wrapped around her, leaving the other free in case he needed to draw his sword.

He leaned his head down for her to hear him. “We need to find shelter.”

“Or get to the village,” Esme said. “We have walked for a while, maybe we’re close.”

Snow battered them from all sides, the wind howling like a wounded beast.

Ryland gripped Esme tightly, fearful he would lose her to the blinding snow. “It’s impossible to know direction.”

“Then it would be the same for the mercenaries,” Esme said with a shred of hope.

“Unless they knew the area, knew where to go,” Ryland said, halting in his tracks and spotting a large stone formation. He headed for it.

It was a cluster of huge boulders, forming a small cave and he hurried Esme into it, following behind her. It was only big enough for them to sit huddled together, but at least they were out of the raging snowstorm.

Ryland tucked a shivering Esme close to him, wrapping his cloak around them both.

“What you said about the mercenaries knowing where to look for us would suggest they were told where we went,” Esme said, grateful for what heat their entwined bodies provided.

“Aye, my thought as well,” Ryland agreed.

“The only ones who knew were Breann and Patrick.”

“And the woman who Breann had deliver the message to Patrick,” he reminded.

“Then whoever wants us dead has hired mercenaries to help besides those who believe Clan Glencairn would be better off without Torrance.”

“Which means he has coins to see it done or…”

“Or what?” Esme asked when he didn’t finish.

“Or somehow Torrance made enemies of them and what they want is revenge.”

Esme shook her head. “It seems revenge looms large in this matter, and I wonder if it is harbored in the secret as well.”

Silence fell between them, and they sat huddled, Ryland stroking Esme’s back in hopes that it would keep warmth running through her. It must have worked since her head slowly came to rest on his chest in sleep.

He kept alert, knowing they could not stay here. They would have to keep moving or chance freezing. He wanted to get to the village. It wasn’t that far. He remembered seeing the rock formation on his way here. And while time can blur when walking in a snowstorm, Esme had been right. They had been walking for quite a while. If only the snowfall would ease, giving them a chance to find their way to the village.

The cold was creeping into his bones which meant they would have to leave soon, get movement back into their limbs. For a moment, just a moment, he rested his head atop hers, exhaustion finally taking its toll and unexpectedly fell asleep.

Ryland woke with a start silently cursing himself for dozing off and giving Esme a slight shake to make sure she stirred, and she did. He sighed with relief, and hearing his quiet sigh, realized the snowstorm wasn’t howling.

He shook Esme a bit harder. “Wake up, Esme. The storm has eased.”

He didn’t know how long they had slept, though it was still night, but the snow was now a mere trickle.

Esme rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “I cannot believe I slept.”

Ryland smiled and gave her a squeeze. “The coupling we did just before rushing into a snowstorm might have had something to do with it.”

She returned his smile. “It has been a memorable night thus far, and I cannot believe I am saying this, but I look forward to my confinement in the cottage at Purdom. Though,” she said, her voice firm. “I will need food.” Her grumbling stomach confirmed that.

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