Authors: Christine Young
"Slade? Is everything all right? I'm scared."
His answer came quickly, muffled by the need for silence.
"I'm almost finished. By the time they catch up to our trail they'll think to follow Lachlan."
Lainie knew he was telling her half the truth. Slade had a way of smoothing over the dangers. She was smart enough to know that a lot could happen between here and safe shelter. This trail was narrow and rough. A steep ravine stretched out beside them. The riding would be slow and hazardous. A fine mist was falling now but it could turn into a downpour by morning.
"Will Lachlan be all right?" she asked.
"He can take care of himself."
Slade emerged from the thick undergrowth. His face was streaked with sweat and mud. So were his clothes. All she could see were even white teeth when he smiled.
"Can you see the trail?" Slade asked.
Lainie nodded. "Why?"
"I'm going to follow you for a short time." Slade's voice was flat. He tilted her face up for a quick hard kiss.
Lainie shivered, goose bumps sweeping down her arms. She didn't like the ominous sound of Slade's voice. Lainie could hear the fear for her safety that lay just beneath it.
"Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself."
"You'll be home before you know it," he promised.
Lainie didn't want to show her fear though she knew it was too late. She made herself smile as she brushed her fingertips over his lips.
"Don't fall too far behind," she whispered.
"I won’t," Slade said. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I make sure our plan worked."
After Slade disappeared behind her, Lainie inhaled a sharp, deep breath for courage, squared her shoulders, nudged her horse forward and prayed everything would turn out all right.
She was still praying when she heard a roaring thundering sound. The land seemed to shake and roll while trees creaked and swayed. She turned and started back at a gallop, her horse suddenly rearing and pawing the air. The animal whinnied in fright.
The trail had slipped away and Slade along with it.
"Slade!" Lainie yelled and slid off her horse in an effort to see what had happened. "Slade!" A gaping hole replaced the trail she'd just ridden down.
Nothing came back to her but the ripping sound of tree limbs and the sloshing of mud as they sought a new place to rest.
When Lainie peered over the edge, she could see nothing in the velvet blackness of the night. Frantically she pushed herself up to a standing position and searched for a way to get over the ledge. In the darkness, she could find no way down the steep slope. She thought of slipping and sliding down the incline, but in the blackness, it would be foolhardy.
The steady down pour sent rivers of mud downward to whatever lay below.
"Slade!" she yelled again and was met with silence.
She searched the emptiness for an answer, for the right thing to do. Then she inhaled and began sliding down the mountainside. Mud and shrubbery came with her. Still she slid, foolhardy or not. Slade, at least for now, was her life. She wouldn't let anything happen to him.
Lainie was eating mud. Wiping it from her
face,
just smeared the wet dirt more. Ignoring the brambles and tree limbs that scraped and bruised her body, she slid out of control to the bottom.
With every breath Lainie inhaled, she called Slade's name. No answer came but the horrific sound of the wind screaming around the debris and more mud sliding down the mountainside.
She hit the bottom of the ravine. Crying and calling for Slade, unable to see, Lainie crawled through the mud. A muffled groan floated toward her from a pile of mud and branches. A huge tree had been uprooted by the slide, roots tangled with shredded bushes stood sentinel in the dark night.
On her knees, and using both arms, Lainie pushed the debris away. For every armful of mud she pushed away, two more took its place.
"Slade."
There were no more sounds in the stillness save that of her broken sobs and the falling rain.
It was the same at dawn when Lainie realized she didn't have the strength to dig through the mudslide alone.
#
Filthy, wild-eyed, nerves ripped apart, Lainie scrambled up the hill slipping backward, pulling bushes and small trees with her. She prayed Lachlan was not far down the trail, and she prayed Jericho's men weren't right behind him. And if she met with Jericho and not Lachlan she would find someway to bride them. Slade was, after all a member of the King's army.
They want the bounty placed on my head. They can have it. But first, they have to dig Slade free. I don't know how I can hold them at sword point but I'll find a way. I'll think of something. I won’t let Slade die.
Lainie knew her plan was foolish at best. She just didn’t care. She could think of no other way to save Slade. If she didn't find Lachlan, she would have to approach Jericho and his mercenaries. She wasn't strong enough to dig Slade out from beneath the tree, Lachlan was and so were Jericho's mercenaries.
She needed help, so she would take her chances.
Lainie picked her way around the slide, leading her horse by its reins. Her hair and her clothes were coated with mud. So was everything except the sword, the longbow and the dirk she carried. She had wiped them down with a care her brothers had taught her. She had grabbed hold of Slade's longbow. It was loaded and ready to use. If nothing else, she could shoot an arrow straight through Jericho's heart.
The trail Lachlan took was bordered by forest and brush. It was also wider, more well traveled than the one she and Slade had taken. Silence was impossible, but that didn't matter any more, speed did.
Lainie heard the men first. Their talk was loud and raucous. She pulled her horse off the road and made her way parallel to the road on an animal trail. They had stopped to eat and were spread around a little clearing. A creek meandered near by. She had already decided Jericho would be her prisoner. It was just a matter of figuring out how she was going to go about capturing the man.
Hunkered down behind thick berry bushes, Lainie told herself she was lucky not to be a prisoner herself. A quick count gave her a total of ten men.
Hopelessness twisted darkly in Lainie's heart. Five men she might have managed to watch. Even six…
But ten?
I can't change what's out there. Grab Jericho, make a deal, and get Slade's help. No matter how bad it looks for me, what Slade is facing is worse. Trapped beneath a tree and mud, he was buried alive. At least she prayed he was still alive.
I've got to get him soon. I can't leave him there. He'll smother if I don't get him out soon.
Lainie refused to think about the possibility Slade was dead under the weight of the huge tree, waiting for help that might be too late. Lainie was certain she would know if he weren't alive. She would feel his death just as surely as she felt her life now.
Wiping her eyes against her sleeve, she looked again at the men. The rain had stopped and a light mist fell. A hazy sun shown dully through the fog-like clouds, creating an eerie scene.
Smiling grimly, Lainie eased back from the berry bush. As soon as she was moving into the open a hand shot out and clamped over her mouth. Simultaneously, a powerful arm clamped around her waist, pinning her arms to her body. Though she was holding a longbow, she had no chance to use it. An instant later Lainie was lifted off her feet, helpless but for her wildly kicking feet.
"Slow down, lass," a deep voice said quietly in Lainie's ear. "It's your brother."
Lainie went dead still then looked over her shoulder. "Hawke," she mouthed, no sound coming from her parched lips. "How did you find me?"
Hawke's steel blue eyes looked back at her. The warmth she remembered in his eyes was lacking. He looked just like he used to look--before he met Callie--a man seeking vengeance.
Lainie nodded to show she understood she was safe. Slowly, Hawke set her down. When she was standing on her own feet, he jerked his thumb, silently telling Lainie to move deeper into cover.
As soon as she did, another man stepped forward. She didn't recognize him immediately because he stood in the shadows. But as he moved, she realized he had the same black hair and the same muscular build as Hawke.
"Ian," she whispered.
Relief swept through her. For the first time since the mudslide, she believed Slade might live. Hawke's hands moved silently, telling Ian what he wanted him to do. Ian nodded and moved past Lainie, embracing her quickly in silent greeting as he did.
Lainie stared for an instant. Then eased farther back into the trees, pulled by Hawke's hand on her arm. As soon as it was safe to speak, she did.
"There was a mudslide. Slade is trapped. I don't know how you're going to pull him out, but you have to find a way."
Hawke's eyes narrowed. "Do you know if he is alive?"
She nodded, unable to say anything for the fear sweeping down her spine. She didn't want to acknowledge in any way he might be dead.