Highlander's Rescue A Cree & Dawn Short Story (Cree & Dawn Short Stories Book 4) (4 page)

She nodded and tapped his mouth.

“You want me to tell you about mine and Torr’s minor excursion, since you had to have realized that Torr had been gone as well.”

She nodded again.

Cree explained it all, finishing with, “I do not trust Cathan. There is reason she watches the keep and Torr speaks with her now, so we know what she is about before you go in there alone with her tomorrow. Regardless of what we learn, you will guard your back and take no chances. If there are few warriors in there and you feel Wintra is safe enough, do not hesitate to hurry out and let me know. We will wait just beyond the woods. We can enter and see the whole thing done quickly. Besides, I do not think I can hold Torr back for too long.”

Dawn yawned as she nodded.

“While I would love to spend the night here with you in my arms, I would not be so rude as to keep our hosts from their bed.” He gave her a quick kiss and was off the bed with haste before he changed his mind.

Dawn followed him, adjusting her garments when she stood, then went and scooped her cloak off the chair.

“Where do you think you go?” Cree snapped.

Dawn smiled and pointed to him with two fingers squeezed tight together.

“No, you are not going to sleep with me out in the cold. You will sleep here in the warmth.”

Dawn shook her head.

“I will not argue with you on this, Dawn. You will remain here.”

He stepped around her and opened the door, feeling her close behind him. He turned to warn her again.

She took his hand and held it tight. She rested her hand to her chest, then to his and shook head.

“You do not want to be separated from me?”

Never
, she mouthed, hoping it was clear enough for him to read.

He rested his brow to hers and mouthed,
never
ever
.

She smiled and touched her lips to his faintly.

“You stir my senses, my heart, and my soul, woman.”

Torr approached them as they stepped out, hand-in-hand, into the cold night.

“I cannot find Cathan. Ardit says she goes off and sometimes does not return until morning.”

“We know where she goes,” Cree said, “but she has already been there tonight, so where is she?”

Cathan did not return until morning when it was almost time to depart. Cree had left orders with the sentinels he posted to wake him when she returned. They never did. He had slept wrapped around his wife until morning broke. Cathan had returned a short time after that and Cree greeted her none too pleasantly.

“Where were you and why have you been watching the keep at night?”

“I returned to keep watch,” Cathan said and crouched down by the fire, where Dawn sat, to warm herself. “I wanted to make certain we faced no surprises today.”

Dawn knew her husband well and she could see by the slight narrowing of his eyes that he doubted her words.

“Why have you been watching the keep?” Cree asked, since she had yet to answer his query. “And do not waste foolish explanations on me. The truth will serve you best.”

“I worry about Netty. She is older, her hands riddled with pain more days than not, and I fear for her safety when it is discovered that she is no healer.”

Her explanation made sense, but for some reason Cree did not believe her.

Torr hurried over to them. “Everything is ready. It is time to go.”

“Let me get my things,” Cathan said, standing and hurrying off to the cottage. Ardit quickly followed her inside.

“You found out why she watched the keep?” Torr asked.

“Worry over the old woman, though I think she lies,” Cree said and turned to extend his hand to his wife. She took it and he helped her to her feet. “Do not trust Cathan.”

Torr turned pleading eyes on Dawn. “Aye, I agree with Cree. Do not trust the woman. Find Wintra with haste. I want my wife and bairn in my arms this day, and my sister safe.”

Dawn laid a comforting hand on Torr’s arm and nodded.

“I am going to hurry Cathan. We need to be on our way,” Torr said and took hasty steps to the cottage.

Cree walked with his wife to their horses. He laid his hands at her waist, but did not lift her. He did not care how many times he had said it to her, he repeated it again. “You will be careful and do not trust Cathan.”

She nodded, knowing nothing she said would soothe his concern for her.

“We leave!” Torr shouted.

Cree lifted his wife onto the horse. “You will stay safe, wife.”

Dawn smiled, her husband’s strong command sounding like an edict meant to be obeyed.

~~~

Dawn walked alongside Cathan toward the keep. Cree and the others waited in the nearby woods and Dawn knew her husband and Torr’s eyes were on her every step.

Cathan did not say a word to her until they were at the door. She looked to Dawn. “Are you ready?”

Dawn nodded, eager to enter and find Wintra.

Cathan pounded on the door.

The door creaked open slowly and a voice called out, “Be gone, there is illness here.”

“Netty?” Cathan asked.

The door flew open and a man shoved an old woman aside, causing her to stumble and almost fall.

“Leave!” a man of a sizeable girth ordered. “You were told the old woman would be returned to you when she is no longer needed.”

“We are not here for Netty,” Cathan said. “We are here to help those within. An illness has struck the area and we have brought the potion to you to keep others from falling ill.”

“You lie,” the man spat.

While Dawn did not trust Cathan, she had to admire the woman. She spoke with confidence and strength.

“Believe what you will, but this fine healer beside me suffered the ravages of the illness and was left without a voice because she administered the potion to her village before she took it herself. If you believe it a lie, it matters little to me but at least let me give it to Netty so she will stay well.”

The man looked from Cathan to Dawn, then turned away as if he intended to shut the door in their faces, when he suddenly reached out and grabbed Dawn’s arm tightly.

Dawn’s mouth dropped open in a soundless wince.

The bulky man’s eyes widened in surprise and he released Dawn’s arm quickly, rubbing his hand on his soiled garment. “She does not spread this blight, does she?”

“No, she is safe from it now, but you and all inside are not,” Cathan said. “We waste time. Let me give the potion to Netty and we will take the rest of it to the surrounding farmers and give it to them.”

“You will not,” the man ordered, stepping back. “You will enter and give the potion to all within.”

Dawn was impressed on how fast Cathan had not only convinced the man that all inside were in dire need of the potion, but she also made it easier for Dawn, for now none would find it strange that she could not speak. Though Cathan was petite, her strength and courage was far from small.

They stepped into what appeared to serve as the Great Hall, though it was far from great. A fire in the hearth and a few candles provided the only light, leaving more shadows than light to occupy the room. The unpleasant odor in the air brought a wrinkle to Dawn’s nose and made her even more eager to free Wintra from this filthy place.

“Give it to me first,” the man ordered, “then I will bring the others here.”

“The potion needs to be brewed before drinking,” Cathan explained. “Have you a cauldron for the hearth?”

The man nodded and gave a shout and a young woman scurried out of the shadows and hurried off after given orders to fetch a cauldron.

Dawn wondered why Netty was not relieved to see Cathan and why she kept her distance from the woman. She, herself, would be overjoyed to see her friend.

Friend.

Was Cathan not Netty’s friend?

I do not trust Cathan
. Cree’s reminder rang in Dawn’s head as she helped Cathan prepare the herbs to add to the water in the cauldron. His words also reminded her of last night when Cree first spoke them while they lay in the narrow bed.

Bed.

The word shouted in her head. The bed in the cottage was only large enough for one, possibly two people, though seeing how plump Netty was the bed would fit only her. Could the cottage be Netty’s alone, but if so, who were Cathan and Ardit?

“While the potion brews, we will see to the woman who is to give birth. Her brew must be mixed differently,” Cathan said. “Then we will distribute the brew to all here so that we make certain they each drink the amount needed to stay well.”

Dawn was glad to see the man eagerly agree, his head nodding repeatedly. He no longer doubted Cathan’s claim and that made things easier for them.

“Follow me,” he said and he led them up a narrow, winding staircase, the stones broken and crumbling in spots. They stopped about midway up, on a floor that occupied two rooms. He went to one and lifted the wooden plank that fell across the door, keeping whoever was in the room prisoner.

Cathan hurried in before Dawn.

The room barely had any light to it, the fire in the hearth having dwindled so low it left a heavy chill to fill the room. The cold had the woman on the bed curled up and shivering under one worn blanket. Dawn hurried to the hearth and found one log and some kindling and quickly added it to the weak flames. They greedily licked at the dry wood and soon burst brightly, sending some light and heat into the room.

She then hurried to join Cathan by the side of the bed as she eased Wintra over on her back.

Dawn stared in shock. The woman in the bed was not Wintra.

~~~

Torr kept a firm hand on Cree’s arm. “We have come too far for your anger to upset our plans. Take your revenge later on the senseless warrior, if he can even be called that.”

“He hurt my wife and I will see him suffer for it,” Cree said, fighting to keep his temper contained. When he had seen the way the man had purposely squeezed Dawn’s arm, he had wanted to charge out of the woods and pound the fool into the ground. Torr had grabbed his arm, not that his strong hold would have stopped him, but it reminded him of their plan to free Wintra and he had no choice but to remain where he was. He would beat the man later, once Dawn and Wintra were safe.

“They have been in there too long,” Torr protested.

“They need time to find Wintra,” Cree argued.

“If they are not out soon, we go in,” Torr commanded.

“I agree,” Cree said as eager to get to Dawn as Torr was to get to Wintra.

The two men stared at the keep, their wives on their minds and their patience fading.

~~~

Dawn stared at the woman round with child. She had familiar features, but she could not say from where.

Cathan turned harsh words on Netty. “You are here to care for her and you leave her in a cold room with a threadbare blanket to keep her warm?”

“Do I need to remind you and him,” —Netty pointed to the bulky man—“once again that I am no healer.”

“I will stay and tend to this woman,” Cathan said, “let Netty go. She can be of no help here.”

“Netty can go. She does nothing but complain anyway, but she stays.” He pointed to Dawn. “You said she is a healer and saved many with her potion. She will tend the woman. You and Netty will leave after you finish giving the potion out to all. You will hurry and be done with it or I will throw you out and let the silent one dole out the potion to everyone.”

Dawn saw how the woman in the bed looked with wide eyes on Cathan. Was that fear or trust in the woman’s eyes?  Did Cathan know all this time that the woman held in the keep was not the woman they searched for and what would she tell Cree and Torr? Would she continue to make them believe that it was Torr’s wife they would rescue?

Dawn went to Cathan and stood in front of her so that the man could not see her grip Cathan’s wrist and turn angry eyes on her.

“Treat her well or you will be sorry,” Cathan warned with a whisper.

Dawn knew then that she had no intentions of telling Cree and Torr that Wintra was not here.

“The two of you leave now,” the man ordered sharply, pulling the dagger from its sheath at his waist and waving it at them to move.

Netty did not hesitate. She hurried out the door, looking relieved that her time here had come to an end. Would she say anything to Cree and Torr when she met them or would she be too fearful?

Cathan bent down to the woman in the bed. “The healer cannot talk, but she can hear and understand you. She will help you.” Her voice turned to a whisper, though Dawn heard her. “I will be back for you.”

Dawn shot her another angry look when she stood. Cathan would save her friend, but what of Wintra? They had wasted time here. Now what would they do?

Cathan stepped around her and Dawn was quick to follow, but it was not Cathan she was after. She pointed to the man and to the door and shook her head, then tapped her chest and waved her hand back and forth.

The man looked to Cathan and demanded, “What does she say?”

Dawn hoped Cathan understood. Dawn had every intention of helping to free the woman in the bed. It was the only way to be done here and resume their search for Wintra.

Cathan realized what Dawn wanted and was quick to relate it to the man. “She wants you to leave the door unrestricted so that she can come and go to get whatever she may need to tend the woman.”

The man looked hesitant.

“How can she do any harm, she cannot even speak?” Cathan said.

For some reason, most believed if one had no voice they had no sense and paid them no heed. She hoped the man thought the same.

“Fine, but do not go wandering around the keep,” the man ordered and hurried Cathan out the door, Netty having already disappeared down the stairs.

Cathan sent Dawn one last look and she saw worry in the woman’s eyes, and Dawn wondered who the worry was for.

Dawn waited until their footfalls faded completely on the stairs, then she dragged the thick plank that had kept the door from opening over to the hearth and laid one end in the fire. She would keep moving it, feeding it to the flames, until the plank fit in the hearth.

She went to the bed and eased herself down to sit beside the woman. She was slim, except for her large, protruding stomach, and had long, dark hair, soft blue eyes, and a pretty face that was much too pale.

“I am Margaret,” the woman said.

Dawn smiled and it took several gestures before Margaret finally said, “Dawn. Your name is Dawn.”

Dawn nodded.

“I am pleased to meet you Dawn and glad to have a true healer here to help me birth my bairn. It is my first one and I am sorry to say I am fearful.”

Dawn shook her head and patted the pouch at her waist, trying to reassure her. Cathan would return soon with Cree and Torr, and Cathan would tend Margaret. There was nothing for her to fear. She hoped wherever Wintra was that she was being tended well.

Dawn tapped Margaret’s arm, pointed to the door, then locked her wrists together and shrugged, hoping the woman would understand her.

“Why am I being held prisoner here?”

Dawn nodded.

“It is a story you are better off not knowing.”

Dawn pointed to her mouth.

“I understand you cannot tell anyone, but please believe me when I tell you that you are far safer never knowing my story.”

Dawn nodded. Her curiosity would be satisfied when Cree freed the woman. He would demand answers from her and Cathan.

Margaret sighed and rubbed her stomach.

Dawn looked at her with concern.

“Not yet, but with the way he twists and turns inside me, I believe it will be any day now.” She yawned. “The fire warms me and makes me sleepy. It has been hard to sleep when it has been so cold.

Dawn gestured for the woman to close her eyes and sleep. It was not long after she did that Margaret lay snoring lightly. It gave Dawn the time she needed to slip out of the room and listen at the stairs. She wondered if Cathan and Netty had finished with the brew and had taken their leave. She thought she caught the sound of Cathan’s voice. She wished the woman would hurry and be done with it. Wintra was somewhere and they needed to find her.

She turned to return to the room when she thought she heard a moan. She listened and it came again, a bit stronger this time. There was only one place it could be coming from and that was the other room. She approached it cautiously, seeing that there was no plank across it, which meant no one was being held captive in there.