“How?” she muttered. “How can they have had muskets?”
Conall, who was busy unloading something from the boat, snorted. “Because there are all sorts of new weapons flooding into the Highlands, including cannon and long guns from the east. Just be grateful they didnae have cannon or we’d both be dead.”
Molly stared at him.Newweapons? Muskets? Cannons? Was he serious?
She turned around slowly, taking in her surroundings. They were in a tiny cove, surrounded on all sides by towering cliffs. She saw no signs of civilization.
“Where...” she began but trailed off as her mouth went dry. She licked her lips and tried again. “Where are we?”
Conall dumped his belongings on the beach and then narrowed his eyes in concentration. “Depends how far off course we were pushed by those raiders. Not too far, I reckon, which means we are around twenty miles south of Thistle Head.”
Where was Thistle Head? She’d never heard of it.
She swallowed thickly. “And how far are we from Hollincross?”
Connall shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I dinna know the place.”
“You don’t know it? What are you talking about? It’s the village where you tried to steal my...where this boat was moored.”
He looked at her askance. “Lass,” he said. “There is no village in that cove. I should know—I’ve been using it as a stopping point for years.”
She laughed. “Oh right! Of course. Silly me. I must have been imagining the houses and the boats and the tourists!”
But Conall didn’t laugh. He was watching her as though he thought she was going mad. Which, to be honest, Molly was beginning to suspect too.
She swallowed and gestured at the bundle he’d dropped on the shingle. “What have you got there?”
“I intend to be prepared if those raiders find us again.
He unwrapped the cloth to reveal an assortment of medieval-looking weapons. There was a huge sword in a sheath, a brace of wicked-looking knives and a crossbow.
Her mouth dropped open. Oh, God. Who had she fallen in with? Who would be carrying weapons like that and why? But then she remembered the raiders firing at them and she could understand all too well why Conall might be carrying those weapons. She screwed her eyes shut, her body starting to tremble.
“Ye know how to use one of these?”
She opened her eyes to find Conall pointing the crossbow at her. She yelped and scuttled back before realizing it wasn’t loaded.
“No, of course I don’t!” she cried. “Are you totally crazy?”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll teach ye. If those raiders come upon us again, it’s the only range weapon we have.”
Yep. Definitely crazy if he thought for one second she was going to use a crossbow against anyone.
She wagged a shaky finger at him. “Okay, this has gone far enough. It’s not funny anymore. What’s really going on here?”
“I dinna ken what ye mean, lass. This is as real as it gets.”
“No. It isn’t. It’s some sort of sick joke or prank. I’ve never heard of anyone carrying swords and crossbows around like it’s the Middle Ages. And those raiders using muskets and cannons? That’s just...just....”
Conall’s expression softened slightly as he lowered the crossbow. “I understand yer unease, lass, but it’s the world we live in now. Things have changed. There are people out there who would do anything to get their hands on what they want, and they dinna care who they have to hurt to get it.”
Molly said nothing, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She backed slowly away, her gaze darting between Conall, the crossbow he was holding, and the boat.
“I...need to think,” she stammered.
She kept on backing away and Conall didn’t try to stop her. She spun and walked off down the beach, quickly picking up speed until she was running full-tilt, running as if her life depended on it.
Finally, when her lungs were burning and her legs aching, she slowed. She had reached the cliffs that marked the end of the beach, their rocky faces soaring high into the sky ahead of her, their knees carpeted with pine trees. In some parts they were sheer walls, impossible to climb without proper equipment, but in others there were narrow paths winding up to their tops. Sucking in great, rasping breaths, Molly began to scramble up one of those paths.
