Chapter 17
Apistol shot and aloud, agitated horse's neigh woke Cat. Or had it been a dream?
Hooves pounded the earth, and a loud ruckus disturbed the night air.
"What in Hades?" Her heart leaping into her throat, she jumped out of bed and raced to the window. Was Torr fighting with someone? Had he been shot or injured? His white coat gleamed in the moonlight.
She opened the window. "What happened, Torr?"
He released a loud, fierce neigh, sounding enraged.
Determined to find out what was wrong and whether he'd been injured, she quickly pulled on her slippers, grabbed her cloak, and opened the chamber door. Holding to the rope handrail, she rushed down the spiral stone stairs, hardly able to see anything.
"Finnian! Something's wrong with Torr!" she yelled outside his chamber.
Crashes and yells resounded from the laboratory next door.
Sounded like a fight inside. "Saints!" Who would fight with Finnian? She had to find a weapon and help him. Near darkness surrounded her, and she could see little beyond the moonlight seeping in a distant window. Noticing a polished silver candlestick gleaming faintly on a nearby shelf, she grabbed it, then crept toward the closed door. Quietly, she pushed it open, but the dimness prevented her from seeing much.
"Release me, you demon!" Finnian yelled.
A jolt of terror hit Cat. What on earth was he fighting?
A loud screeching filled the room. In the moonlight, she glimpsed long, dark wings flapping and sweeping across the table. Metal and glass objects crashed to the floor. The rounded head came into view.
A massive owl?
It had to be Wilona!
Cat rushed forward and struck out with the candlestick. It barely grazed the bird's wing feathers.
"Leave him be, witch!" Cat shouted and drew back to strike again. This time, she connected with the bird's body. But not hard enough.
The creature left Finnian and launched itself toward Cat. Long, sharp talons caught in her hair. She screamed and ducked, dropping to her knees and escaping the entanglement. She thrust upward with her weapon again but missed.
"Blast!"
Finnian swung his staff toward the bird, knocking it spiraling out the open window. He quickly closed and locked the shutters.
"We must secure all the windows and doors, or she'll enter again!" he yelled.
"Aye." Cat ran upstairs to her chamber. Glancing out the window, she saw that Torr waited alone in the courtyard. He appeared fine, but she couldn't see him well. She closed the shutters and lit a candle from her low burning fire, then carried it with her.
After she, Finnian, and the maids locked all the window shutters, she approached the front entrance. "I'm going outside to see if Torr is well."
"Her guard may be out there!" Finnian warned.
"I saw no sign of Alpin last time I looked out. Besides, Torr would trample him with those wicked hooves."
"'Tis true," Finnian agreed.
When Cat poked her head out the doorway and peered at Torr, he snorted and turned toward something upon the pile of stones. What was that? He paced back and forth beside it.
"We're coming out," she told him. "Is it safe?"
He moved his head up and down.
"Come, Finnian." She descended the steps.
