Page 19 of Bond of a Bewitched Highlander

"I can make the females easier for you to capture and keep the males occupied and out of your way."

"Indeed?" Talnaroch crossed his arms over his chest. "How would you accomplish this?"

"I would distract them."

"How?"

"As I already mentioned, I cannot reveal my methods." She was glad he had no inkling about her magical powers. "If I make it easier for you to catch several females, you must pay me half of your earnings."

He chuckled darkly. "'Tis a steep price indeed, m'lady. I must pay my men. How about this... if we don't have to fight any of the male selkies, I'll pay you twenty-five percent of the take?"

"Very well." 'Twas nay what she wanted but was better than nothing. She didn't want to rile him further. He might refuse altogether.

He observed her with curiosity. "How do you plan to incapacitate them?"

"'Tis a secret." She smirked.

"Will you need a galley for transport?"

"I have one. 'Tis close at hand."

He still looked skeptical. "Alright. If we meet with no resistance tonight, I'll pay you twenty-five percent from the sale of the ones we capture this night. That is all."

She nodded. "I'll meet you back here in a sennight for my share."

"The negotiations and auctions are slow. Make it... three weeks."

"That long? Are you trying to get out of paying me?"

He gave a bitter laugh. "Well, you have done naught yet to earn that pay."

"But I will."

"Splendid." He motioned toward the exit door and the sea. "We're heading out right after dark. Will you be ready?"

She chuckled. "Will you?" She curtsied. "Until we meet again, m'laird." She walked out the door, whispered the spell, and vanished. Standing to the side, she waited until Talnaroch exited and joined his guards in the cobblestone bailey.

"Which way did the wench go?" he asked them.

Remaining silent, they glanced around, then observed him as if he were a lunatic.

"I saw nay wench, m'laird," one guard said.

"None of you saw her?" Talnaroch asked.

They shook their heads.

"Lady Wilona MacRae, you imbeciles!" Talnaroch yelled. "Did you see her?"

"Nay, m'laird."

"I should release the lot of you from your duties if you're nay more observant than that!"

Wide-eyed, they stared at him and each other.

Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Wilona opened the door and slipped back inside, still invisible. After stealing some food from the kitchen where the male cook prepared supper, she made her way up the stairs to the tower room.

While eating the bannocks and cheese, she sat on an old chair to restore her strength. After a quarter hour, she shifted into the storm petrel again and flew across the sea toward Rònmòrach Isle. She would hide and rest again, preparing for the upcoming battle. She had to make sure Talnaroch's raid would be highly successful.