Gifts of Desire

Chapter 1

             
The man riding
before her on the narrow
trail came to an abrupt halt. 
Ella
’s horse
had
to stop suddenly as well, and she took a sharp breath at the
unexpected
jolt, startled
once again
out of her daydreams. 
She had not been paying attention to wher
e they were going for some time, her mind wandering
, fretti
ng over the days to come, imagining all of the possible outcomes
.
  In front of her,
Malcolm
held very still,
his head cocked slightly to one side,
as if listening for
a faint sound
. 
Knitting her brow
, s
he listened
too,
holding her breath
.  B
ut
Ella
could hear
only
the wind rustling in the
pine boughs
high overhead, and the eerie creaking of
the
swaying branches.
She glanced down
as her stallion, Sindal, restlessly
pawed a hoof
, and saw the yellow col
tsfoot flowers rising up from the forest floor
. 
Good for coughs
, her mind echoed
reflexively.  Esme had been teaching her herb-lore since she was just a child.
  Nearly every plant had a purpose, whether for food or medicine
, and she knew them all
.

             
The wind was picking up,
the clouds thickening,
and
she could tell by the feel of
the air
that
there
would be a storm
brewing
later.  She sighed
and bit her bottom lip
.  Though she didn’t mind storms
, she didn’t rel
ish the thought of being out
tonight with no shelter. 
A storm could be cozy when you were cuddled up in a chair before a warm fire, but not nearly so pleasant if it was drenching you.

             
Behind her, Duncan had also reined to a halt, though he was just as silent, waiting.
  She looked back at him, her eyes questioning, but his expression was stoic.
  If he knew why they had stopped
here and
now
after so many days of riding, he wasn’t letting on.
 
And she knew better than to interrupt Malcolm. 
    
             
The unexpected cry of a raven
turned
her
head back
, and
Ella
lifted her eyes to see the large black bird winging its way
just
above the path that stretched out in front of them. 
It flew straight towards them, rising up over their heads at the last moment
so
close that
s
he ducked instinctively, turning to see it disappear
into the trees
.  She
sucked in a
n
uneasy
breath; surely it was an omen.
 
She looked
expectantly
to
Malcolm
,
and
saw
him nod
to himself
and turn
slightly in the saddle to look back at her.  “We’re here,” he said
,
solemnly, though she thought she caught
what looked
suspiciously
like
a
faint
sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

             
We’re here?
 
Ella
looked around,
a bit
perplexed
;
perhaps she had missed something.  No, there was
nothing
but trees, no sign of a
castle.  A
nd this narrow road that was more of a path through the woods was certainly not the
main
route to a large holding like Tulloch
. 
They had clearly said she was to go to Tulloch Castle. 

             
“
What do you mean we’re here
?  I thought
we were going to a castle
...”

             
Malcolm
laughed and
slid down from his saddle, his black cloak billowing
out
in the
rising
wind. 

             
“You think too much. 
You always have
”, he said
.
 
“
Trust me love, everything will be fine in time;
all will be as it should.”

             
Ella
bit the inside of one cheek in mild annoyance
. 
She was used to such cryptic remarks from Malcolm,
he almost never gave her a straight answer,
but it did not explain why they had ridden for
nearly
a week
only to stop
here
.  He could at lea
st have the decency to explain
himself
…
 
B
ut h
er thoughts were interrupted when Malcolm reached up and pulled her from her horse, setting her
down
on the
mossy
ground
on one side of the path
, her
thin leather
shoes sinking into its soft
depth.
 
The
steadily
rising wind whipped her
long
golden
hair into her face and she had to keep pushing it back behind her ear
so that she could see
. 
With a mischievous glint in his eye
that she couldn’t have missed
this time
,
Malcolm
reached for Sindal’s
reins and
quickly
tied them to his own saddle. 
He leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek, and a tight-lipped smile. 
Then
he
swung up onto his mount
and
made to turn the horses around
,
an act which turned
her confused frown
to open mouthed astonishmen
t.  Were they going to leave her here alone?
 

             
“Malcolm, where are you going
?” she tried to keep the sudden
panic
from her voice.

             
He
gave her a
wicked smile
.  “Why, I’m going
back
home to my nice soft bed and a good hot meal, of course.”

             
She felt a moment of panic tingle down her spine
.  “You can’t just
leave
me here!  I don’t kn
ow how to get there.  Y
ou are supposed to be my escort, Malcolm.”
 
She turned to the other man.  “Duncan?
  Wh
at’
s going on?
”

             
He just shrugged
at her, “I’m following Malcolm.”

             
She glared at him and stomped her foot.
 
“
Malcolm! 
What are you
doing
?”

             
Malcolm turned to look at the path ahead, his
eyes narrowing for a moment. 

             
“We
have to go
now
mo leannan
, but I promise you
”
,
he said with a little laugh,
“
no matter what comes
now
,
one day you’ll
be
thank
ing
me
!”
 
With that he kicked his horse forward, and Duncan
, the traitor!,
followed suit, raising a hand in a gesture of farewell.  “Take care, and good luck
to you
!”

             
“Malcolm!  Have a care for my horse!”  She loved that horse.

             
They had soon disappeared into the pines.  She stood there for a long moment, stunned.  No doubt they thought to leave her quickly, to avoid any protests she might raise. 
Good luck
, says he
!
 
Cowards! 
Her first instinct was
to
go
after and tell them exactly what she thought of them
,
but of course that would be a futile effort. 
They had taken her horse. 
Not to mention she had
far
too much pride to let them think she was frightened or couldn’t handle things on her own
. 
No
,
she
rationalized
as she calmed a bit
,
if
Malcolm has
left
me
here, it must be for a good reason
.  He was
the most gifted seer she knew
, and he certainly would not have been smiling if he k
new she would come to harm. 
The
blasted
rogue
. 
She had known him since they were children, and he was
like
an older brother to her.
  And h
e loved her like a little sister, this she knew, despite his teasing and constant refusal to give her a straight answer. 

             
Having r
easoned herself out of
most of her
doubt
, s
he straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, drawing in the musky
, piney
scents
of the forest around her.  A sudden gust
tousled her hair, and she pushed it back from her face
again
in a practiced motion.
  When had she lost the tie she had bound it with this morning before they left camp?
  Probably hours ago.
  And her bag was still on her horse, she realized.  She
now
had nothing but the clothes she wore and the dagger she had in the pocket of her gown.
 
They had not even left her any food!  She was sure to be starving by nightfall.  What on earth did they mean for her to do here all alone?  She didn’t know where she was, and wasn’t altogether sure she could find her way back home, either.  Ella
stood
exactly where they had left her for several long moments, the breeze blowing dry leaves around her feet,
wondering whether she should begin walking, and how far she might get before
the storm finally broke
.
 
 

             
The
brisk
wind must have carried the sound away from her, because she saw movement through the trees
before she could hear the
soft thud of hooves on the hard earth
. 
A jolt of
alarm
raced
through
her,
a
nd h
er
heart beat faster
as
she watched the horses
and riders
c
o
me into view
.  She
saw the moment the eyes of
the first man
landed on her, and he checked the speed of his mount.
  She saw
, as if in a dream,
the muscles of his bare arms flex as he pulled back on the reins
,
his powerful body moving in perfect grace with his mount
.  He came to a halt several yards from where she stood, and the rest of the
men pulled up beside him, forming a semi-circle that blocked her path on three sides.
 
There were five all
together
,
all
on massive steeds.

             
S
he stood her ground
,
frozen,
watching them
, what else could she do?
 
She certainly could not escape on foot from five mounted highland
ers
. 
All
were
large and well-muscled
,
clad in highland plaid,
and
all were
armed to the teeth.  Each
had one
hand poised lightly on the hilt of a
n
enormous
claymore, and the handles of knives and daggers
jutted from belts and tall le
ather boots. 
The horses they rode snorted and
danced and
nervously pawed at the earth
, as if eager for battle
. 
The tension of their poses told her that they were ready to attack in the beat of a heart. 
Warriors, all of them, bodies hewn for battle. 
Bodies hewn
by
battle
, in all likelihood
. 
And a
ll
of
that weaponry at the ready for
defense against one small woman.  That
sudden
ridiculous
thought made her lips lift slightly at the corners
,
despite the uncertainty she faced
. 
Surely she should be flattered
to be considered such a threat, after all she
did have the one small dagger
.