Cam could see her eyes glimmering with amusement about her brothers, and presumably warriors for their clan, fearful of a murderer. He then looked over at the two brothers, who were looking at him quite unhappily. Remembering that the men were advocates of The Beast, Cam suspected he would receive some animosity from them, but it was of little matter. He hated them as much as they hated him. Soon enough, they would pay for that hatred.
They would all pay.
Turning from the displeased brothers, Cam went to bid farewell to Clegg, who was speaking with Niall. When they saw Cam approach, Clegg was the first to speak.
“Laird Keith says that you should arrive at their village in a few days if the weather remains decent,” Clegg said. “While I do not normally see men off who leave The Cal, I will make an exception in your case because I want to tell you something.”
Cam was attentive. “Aye, m’laird?”
Clegg motioned to Axel, who produced a beautiful greatsword with a distinctive cross hilt. It was bigger than the weapons Cam had trained with, an elegant weapon meant for battle. Axel held it up to show it to him before tucking it into a heavy sheath and handing it over to him.
Cam was astonished by what was presumably a gift. He looked at Clegg, shocked. “I… I dunna know what tae say, m’laird,” he said. “It is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Clegg said. “It is a sword made for a great knight and even if you are not a knight, you havethe potential to become one of the greatest warriors in the Highlands. I believe that or I would not say it. I will give you this weapon under one condition.”
“What is that, m’laird?”
“That you bring it back to me when you return to finish your training. Go to the Highlands and do great things, but come back to us when you are finished. Let us train you fully and you, in turn, can help train others. Will you do this?”
It occurred to Cam that Clegg was offering him a position. “Ye… ye want me tae be a trainer?”
“We call themdoctores. You have a good manner with men, though I do not think you realize it. You are patient beyond measure, and that is an excellent quality. Will you return?”
Cam had to think on that, deeply. He was off to destroy men who trusted him. He was off to seek his vengeance. Would he be worthy of returning to the Ludus Caledonia when it was all over?
He wondered.
But one thing was for certain—he owed The Cal everything. When everything in his life had been taken away, the Ludus Caledonia had given him back the one thing he’d lost—
Hope.
“I will,” he said after a moment. “If ye’ll have me, I’ll return.”
Clegg nodded firmly. “Good,” he said. Then, he pointed to the brown horse that Wendell was still holding. “That is your mount. Every warrior needs a mount. That is Aeos, one of my personal horses. When you return, you will bring him back to me.”
Cam had never owned a fine horse before. He’d spent his life working with them, but he’d never owned such a fine beast. He went to the animal, running a trained hand up his front legs, looking at the lines of his frame.
“He’s magnificent, m’laird,” he said. “I’ll take great care of him. Better than I will care for myself.”
Clegg nodded, having said what he needed to say, and turned for the keep. He was a man of business above all and this was a business matter to him. He’d released a warrior who showed great promise for a tremendous sum of money, so it had essentially been a deal he couldn’t refuse. But he felt strongly he wanted that warrior returned to him when he’d finished his task for his new liege.
As Clegg headed back into the fortress, Axel took the sword from Cam and strapped it onto the saddle.
“You have the tools of your trade, Lion,” he said. “A great horse, a great weapon. Now you must do your duty for your new liege. Though you’ve not had the training we had hoped, I believe you are good enough. But do not forget us. We will look for your return when this is over.”
Cam was feeling overwhelmed by the generosity of Clegg and Axel. “I will return,” he assured him. “Ye have my word.”
Axel flashed him a smile and was gone, leaving Cam standing with the horse and with Wendell, who was standing off to the side. When their eyes met, Wendell stepped forward.
“You have changed quite a bit from that battered whelp at The Sticky Wick,” he said. “I was not sure you had it in you.”
Cam met his gaze steadily. “I know.”
Wendell’s dark eyes glimmered, perhaps with a bit of mirth. “I am aware of what you think of me,” he said. “But when I heard you were leaving us, I wanted to tell you something. I was not hard on you because I disliked you or had some imaginary grudge against you. I was hard on you because you were holding back. I could see it. We could all see it. Every time I pushed you down or hit you, you had this flash of rage that you suppressed. Am I wrong?”
Cam shook his head. “Nay,” he said honestly. “Ye could see it because it was there.”
“I wanted you to release it. It took some time, but eventually you did. I saw what you did to The Beast and that is exactly what I knew you were capable of.”
