Listening for a few minutes longer, he finally allowed the tension to release from his shoulders. There were no fresh human or horse prints that he could discern. In all respects, the forest seemed calm and undisturbed.
Duncan looked up and saw the bright yellow and orange leaves that hung from the tree branches. A few weeks more, and all the ornaments from the trees would drop to the ground, the vivid colors fading and becoming as brown and tattered as worn pieces of clothing.
At the moment, he was convinced that no danger threatened them, so he turned his awareness to his stomach. There were only a few more hours of daylight, and he needed something to eat. While making oatcakes was adequate for staving off his hunger, he yearned for the succulent taste of fire-roasted meat. But if he wanted to satisfy his craving, he needed to hunt something before the sun went down.
A soft rustling in the bushes drew his attention, and he brought his steed to a standstill.
“Stay with the horses,” he said to Adrina.
Then without waiting for her reply, he dismounted. With practiced ease, he grabbed hold of the reins, and quickly secured the beasts to a nearby tree. From the side of his mount, he detached his bow and arrow, and walked cautiously over to inspect the soft ground near the shrubs. Hare tracks.
***
The horses grazed on the clump of grass that they found at the base of the old oak tree. Meanwhile a light westerly wind blew at the tree canopy, the noise of rustling like the clinking of coins in a sporran. Under different circumstances, the sound might have soothed Adrina, but the noise made her more aware of her isolation.
And while she tried her best to stay still, she had an uncomfortable sensation that she was being watched. Perhaps it was an enemy or even a hostile forest spirit — she really didn’t know who or what was spying on her. All she could feel were eyes boring into her, although she couldn’t place the direction of the stare. And even as she tried to reason with herself, she was unsuccessful in shaking off the uneasy feeling that had settled over her. It seemed that her inner guidance had abandoned her as well, and she felt even more alone and scared. If someone was to come upon her, she had little to defend herself except for the small dagger that hung at her belt. But what good was that against a full-grown man wielding a sword? And if it wasn’t a man that she was up against but an evil forest imp, what protection did she have against its dark magic?
Suddenly a bird screeched overhead, and she jumped.
Her hands felt cold and she placed them on her cheeks. “I’m being silly,” she said out loud.
The palfrey beside her twitched its ears at hearing her voice.
Stretching her hand, she smoothed her palm over her mount’s neck. “Tell me that I’m imagining things, horse,” she said.
But the animal continued to munch on the soft grass.
“I’m asking a horse if I’m delusional,” she said, letting out a self-depreciating laugh. The idea that someone watched her was pure fancy. It had to be. Over the past few minutes, she had looked over her shoulders numerous times, and had found nothing amiss. If she revealed to Duncan about this odd feeling, she was certain that he would laugh at her, and maybe even call her a coward. “If ye are so frightened, how did ye ever make it tae Tancraig Castle?” he would ask, a likely smirk on his face. How indeed. She had traveled to Tancraig Castle for several days, and without an escort. Why would journeying home be any different? But even as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she already knew how different it really was.
Her mouth felt dry, and she felt a strong urge to be near Duncan. What was taking him so long? At the moment, she would trade the eerie feeling she was experiencing, and would gladly suffer through the Highlander’s ridicule and sarcasm. At least then, she would have something to distract her from her unreasonable fears.
Giving her horse a pat on the neck, she left it, and walked in the direction in which Duncan had disappeared. When she saw him a moment later, she hurried over to him.
CHAPTER 7
Duncan stood as still as a mountain cat, as if he expected the hare to run out of its hiding place at any moment. And then it did. With an ease that seemed to come from years of practice, he pointed the arrow shaft and let it fly. The arrow whizzed through the air, and cleanly pierced through the animal. He was about to retrieve the game when Adrina’s foot stepped on a twig, snapping it.
He pivoted. “Why arenae ye with the beasts?” he asked, frowning when he saw her.
“I didnae want tae be alone,” she said, hugging her arms to her stomach. “I feared that someone was —”
“Nay one would have harmed ye,” he said, cutting her off. “I wouldnae have left ye by yourself if there was such a threat.” Duncan retrieved the hare, and started back to where their horses waited.
“Ye might have told me this before ye left,” she said, following him.
He grunted, but didn’t say anything else. At first he strung the dead hare to the back of his steed, and then turned to lift her onto her mount.
Off in the distance, wild geese honked as they passed over the area. Moving a few paces more, she heard the surge of water from a nearby loch. And as they moved closer to the watercourse, she felt the occasional cool breeze breaking through the tree barriers, brushing across her skin.
By now the rolling heather slopes had disappeared hours ago, and Adrina only had view of the forest that encompassed them.
Under her, she caught the distinct crunching and swishing of vegetation being trampled beneath the horses’ hooves. And every heavy step they took released the smell of earth, leaves and bracken. On her right lay a small rocky outcrop that was overgrown with sphagnum. However a small cluster of flowers, the blooms as red as the speckles in her bloodstone, somehow managed to spring up from the bed of moss.
And even as the sun began to drop in the sky, the leaves on the trees caught the sunlight, shimmering on the branches like pretty coins.
Yet, despite all the beauty that encircled her, she was well aware that darkness and silence would conceal it all. And the only things that remained were questionable and sinister. A chill ran through her as the idea took hold in her mind. As she tried to rub away the gooseflesh from her arms, she felt even colder.
Suddenly she began to feel dizzy as well. Raising her hands, she cradled the sides of her head in an attempt to gain relief. And when she closed her eyes, a faint image appeared in her mind. She shook her head, trying in vain to prevent herself from hallucinating.
