The man’s expression turned to surprise, and he peered inside with a perplexed frown. “I don’t know.”
“That’s a very poor answer,” Aiden said softly.
The guard gulped. “I’ll find him,” he promised. He jogged around the hut and returned to Aiden’s side. “There’s a hole cut in the back wall. It seems he’s escaped, laird.”
Escaped.
An icy calm filtered through Aiden’s veins. Spinning on his heel, he hailed the guards at the entrance to the hill fort. “Seal the entry! No one is to go in or out.” To the men milling about the close, he said grimly, “Find me Daniel de Lourdes.”
Every gillie immediately ceased what he was doing and searched for the missing man, checking every hut, lifting every tarp, opening every barrel. The hill fort did not boast many hiding spots, and it quickly became clear that their wounded visitor wasn’t the only one missing. Isabail had disappeared, too. Aiden’s chest grew painfully tight, every breath a chore. There was only one conclusion to reach—the vixen had never intended to give him the names. She had plotted an escape with de Lourdes.
“Fetch me my horse!” he roared.
One of the lads raced forward with his mount in tow. He swiftly saddled the horse and mounted. The hound, Gorm, remained at his side throughout, even when Aiden wheeled his mighty steed about and tore out of the hilltop enclosure.
* * *
Daniel immediately released Isabail and grabbed Jamie, clasping a broad hand over the boy’s mouth. “One more word and you’re dead, lad.”
“Let him go,” Isabail urged, suddenly beyond weary. This madcap attempt to escape was quickly becoming a farce. “He’s just a boy. He has no part in this, Daniel.”
“He stinks,” Daniel said with a laugh. “Do you perchance tend the horses, lad?” Easing his hand away from Jamie’s mouth, he allowed the boy to answer.
“Aye.”
“Marvelous. The Lord is surely guiding our efforts. We’ll need you when it comes time to depart.” Daniel tossed a lopsided smile at Isabail. “Let us continue.”
“Nay,” she said. “I will not involve this boy in our affairs.”
The smile fell away, and Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “You will do as I command.”
Isabail took a step back. Never in all the years she had known him had Daniel spoken to her in such a tone. Not a hint of the charming scholar remained. In his stead stood a cold, hard stranger. “I will not.”
“You speak too hastily, Isabail.” He held up his eating dirk. “Enter the tunnel, or the lad’s blood is on your hands.”
“You would not hurt an innocent boy,” she protested, aghast.
“Are you willing to test my resolve?”
She shook her head, her mouth sour with dread. Turning, she led the way into the tunnel. But her feet dragged. Several of the torches that normally lit the way had burned out, and the walls felt unusually close and damp. Memories of being trapped in the darkness sucked the air from her chest.
Daniel gave Isabail a hard shove in the back that sent her to her knees. Rock bit into her knees and hands as she hit the floor. “Move,” he snarled. “Quickly, or the boy will suffer for your stubbornness.”
She scrambled to her feet, pressing her stinging palms to her skirt. “Let him go, Daniel. If you need a hostage, use me. You do not need Jamie.”
She turned to face him.
He held Jamie’s head in the crook of his elbow, one hand firmly clapped over the boy’s mouth and nose. Jamie’s eyes were wide, the whites clearly visible. Isabail’s heart clenched for him. This was all her fault. She had believed Daniel’s greatest wounds were physical when, in fact, they were of the soul. He had lied about his interest in the necklace—and he had made a fool of her.
A hot rush of anger surged through her veins.
“Let him go, Daniel,” she repeated. “Please.”
Daniel waved the dirk at her. “Cease your dallying. The hand I hold over his mouth and nose can either grant him air to breathe or deny him. Your actions decide his fate, Isabail.”
Isabail met Jamie’s terrified gaze, and she spun on her heel, continuing down the corridor. The shadows around her were deep and thick. Finding her way in semidarkness was a challenge she was ill prepared for. A few days ago, she would have found the task a simple one, but after her ordeal in the tomb, the creeping shadows gave rise to goose bumps on her arms and thoughts that made her heart pound.
When the tunnel opened into the wide storage area, she breathed easier. Again, she confronted Daniel. “We are here. Now let him go.”
