Page 22 of Highland Slayer
Titan swallowed the bite in his mouth. “Then we must dispose of it,” he said. “Leave me Kal. I’ll take him down to the beach and we will remove the remains of that boat so the Serpent People do not find it. It never occurred to me to destroy it when we found it.”
Estevan grunted. “Nor me,” he said. “I dinna mention the boat tae Mother Michael because I dinna wish tae frighten her, but I think I should. It will not take a miracle for those beastly fools tae find their captive. It will take a boat.”
“Like a damn beacon.”
Estevan put the spoon aside and drank the last of his stew, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “Then there is no time tae waste,” he said. “I’ll go intae Dumfries and collect whatever medicines the abbess wants, but ye must take Kal and destroy that boat. I’ll tell the abbess, but ye must go now.”
Titan agreed with him. He, too, tossed back what remained in his bowl and turned for the corner where Mateo, Kaladin, andRodion were. As he went to explain the situation to those three, Estevan went to Mother Michael.
“May I have word with ye, mother?” he asked.
She had been speaking to the other nuns who were tending Leonore, but she nodded to his request. They moved a few feet away from the nuns, and the ill woman, before he spoke.
“When we found Leonore, we also found her boat,” he said in a low voice. “It was smashed upon the sandy shore, indicative of the journey that has brought her tae this point in time.”
Mother Michael was listening closely. “I see,” she said. “And why do you speak of this now?”
“Because we dinna remove it,” Estevan said with regret. “We had no reason tae do it, and with the storm swiftly approaching, we were only thinking of finding shelter for the injured woman. Mother, that means that if the Serpent People are following her, and I have no reason tae believe they’re not, then they’ll find that broken boat. They’ll come inland and they’ll come tae the abbey, looking for her.”
Now she was beginning to understand. “Ah,” she said softly. “Then we do not need a miracle for them to find her. She has left a trail.”
“She has,” Estevan said. “But I am sending Titan and my brother back tae the boat tae destroy it. Hopefully we’ll be in time, but if not, ye must be prepared tae tell the Serpent People that their captive is not here and hope they dunna demand entrance tae see for themselves.”
Mother Michael nodded. “Of course,” she said. “That would be the simplest thing to do, to tell them we have not seen her. If they push, I have several women with crossbows who are quite skilled with them. They know how to discourage men on our doorstep.”
Her eyes were twinkling at she looked at him, and he smiled weakly. “They do, indeed,” he said. “But even so, we’ll try taeprevent them from coming. We’ll do our best. I fear we’ve brought trouble tae yer door, mother. That wasna our intention.”
Mother Michael’s smile was genuine. “Of course it was not,” she said. “You brought an injured woman to us and we are glad to tend her. But she needs the medicines I indicated, if you would be so good as to fetch them. I will send you with an escort.”
She was pointing to the entry, where Anaxandra was standing. He almost declined the escort but thought better of it when he saw whom she was pointing at. Since Anaxandra was the only one standing just inside the door, it could be no one else.
Maybe hewouldlike an escort.
“Very well,” he said. “But we should go immediately.”
“Agreed. I shall inform your escort.”
While Mother Michael did just that, Estevan went over to the wall where his things were stacked. He was wearing his long tunic and breeches, but he reached into his saddlebags and began to pull out a padded tunic, meant for warfare, and other pieces of protection. All the while, Rodion and Kaladin and Titan were watching him.
“Did you tell her about the boat?” Titan asked.
Estevan nodded as he stood up and donned his heavy, padded tunic. “Aye,” he said. “She knows. I told her that ye and Kal were going tae destroy it.”
Titan nodded firmly and motioned to Kaladin, who began to grab his possessions. “We’ll go now,” he said. “Are you going alone to Dumfries?”
Estevan shook his head. “Nay,” he said, strapping on a belt with an assortment of daggers. “I am tae have an escort. The woman who tried tae kill me with bolts yesterday.”
Titan grinned. “I wish you luck with that one.”
Estevan cocked an eyebrow. “Trust me when I tell ye that I’m going tae need it.”
With that comment, they all turned to look at the entry where Mother Michael was just finishing her conversation with Anaxandra, who promptly bolted from the door, out into the rain. That tall, long-legged creature who was able to fire a crossbow so easily. There was something strong and formidable about her.
They only hoped Estevan could survive it.
And her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
