Page 12 of Kilted Abduction
“Aye. I can shoot.”
“Then maybe ye should join the archery contest,” Isobel said. “They say ye can win some coin if ye can win the contest.”
A contest of skill? That was something she could do—and win.
“Where is this archery contest, lass?”
The girl pointed. “On the other side of the pond.”
“Excellent,” Ciara said. “Thank ye, Isobel.”
“Thank ye for the food.”
Ciara tipped her a wink. “If I manage tae win the contest, I’ll buy ye some supper.”
Isobel’s face lit up and a wide smile stretched her lips. Ciara got to her feet and picked up her things, slinging her bow over her shoulders and settling the sword and dagger sheaths on her hips. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and with a final smileto Isobel, she started off, merging into the crowd milling around the grounds, laughing with each other as they enjoyed a day that, despite being frigid, was clear and beautiful. The mood was celebratory and infectious and somehow made Ciara feel lighter, despite her current dire circumstances.
CHAPTER SIX
After finally managing to pry Kai out of the common room, Magnus dragged his little brother out into crowded area in the heart of the small town. The air was thick with laughter and music, the atmosphere festive. With so much celebratory energy all around them, Magnus knew it was going to be difficult to keep Kai on task. He turned to his little brother, fixing him with a stern look.
“I’ll make ye a deal,” Magnus said.
“A deal, eh?” Kai replied. “All right then, let’s hear it.”
“Ye stay focused and on task with me until sundown and I’ll give ye the night tae dae with what ye please. Ye can go drinkin’ and chasin’ skirts tae yer heart’s content,” Magnus said. “On the condition that ye’re up and ready tae get back tae work in the mornin’.”
His brother pulled a face and seemed to think it over for a moment before his lips curled back in a wide smile.
“Deal,” he announced.
“All right then.”
Magnus surveyed the grounds around them, searching the faces of the people in the crowd. With hundreds of people milling about, he knew this would be no simple task.
“’Tis like tryin’ tae find a needle in a bleedin’ haystack,” he grumbled.
“Worse than that,” Kai said. “We dinnae ken if this bleedin’ needle even exists.”
Magnus didn’t want to encourage his brother by telling him he was right, but the simple fact was that he was. They were there in Seabridge chasing a rumor. It was a story told by somebody who told somebody else who then told Domhnall. It was, to that point, unfounded, but his older brother had taken it seriously enough that he had sent Magnus and Kai up to Seabridge to investigate.
Magnus was happy to go. Any threat to the clan, as far as he was concerned, was to be taken seriously. And if there was somebody out there collaborating with the English, perhaps mounting an attack on their family’s lands, then he would find them. Although Kai looked like a man who didn’t seem to take muchof anything seriously, just as Magnus, he had a deeply ingrained sense of duty. One that had only deepened after the death of their father. They didn’t consider anything, not even chasing rumors, to be a waste of time if it meant securing their lands and keeping their clan safe. And as much a Kai tried to look careless most of the time, Magnus knew very well he was as bothered by the rumor as him.
“So? What dae ye hear, big braither?” Kai asked.
Magnus closed his eyes and focused, shutting out the chorus of voices that flooded into his mind the way Mor had taught him. He slowly opened his eyes again and scanned the crowd, listening into the thoughts of every person his gaze fell upon. Just like it had been in the common room though, it was nothing more than an array of inane, nonsensical words—the musings of people intent on having a good time at the games.
Magnus didn’t hear anything sinister, nor anything that led him to conclude he’d found their spy. Worse, there were so many people clustered together in such a small area, the voices of everybody around them ran together in one confused jumble, making it difficult for him to distinguish one train of thought from the next.
With a grunt of frustration, Magnus closed that door in his mind again, closing out all the voices in his head. “We’re goin’ tae have tae dae this the hard way.”
“What are ye goin’ on about?”
“There are too many people here for me tae hear a single thought. One just overlaps with another like a bleedin’ knot I cannae untangle.”
“So, what are we goin’ tae have tae dae then?”
“We’re goin’ tae have to walk around the grounds and use our eyes tae look fer our spy.”
