My Highland Bride (23 page)

More shouts rumbled up from the campsite, but they didn’t drown out the sound of Kenna’s pounding heart. They had to get away from here. Now. She broke into a run, stumbling her way through bushes and tangled sedge hidden in the deep shadows of the night.

Colum pulled her along ever faster, his long stride eating up the hillside. How in the world did he move so fast? How did he know where to go? Kenna jerked her skirts free of clinging brambles and struggled to move faster. Crashing sounds spread through the woods below them. Golden orbs of torchlight flickered and bounced through the darkness like great hulking fireflies.

Kenna squinted hard across the horizon. Surely they had to be rounding their way back to the road by now. Her heart lifted as she spied a lighter patch of night sky silhouetted by two large outcroppings of stone. That had to be the road up ahead. If they made it to that clearing, Rua would come running to Colum’s whistle. “Come on! The road is this way,” she shouted.

Colum’s wet hand slipped out of hers as Kenna turned toward the clearing and he veered off in the opposite direction. The ground disappeared out from under her feet just as Colum’s roared warning echoed through the night.

A scream ripped from Kenna’s throat. Sliding rocks and ice-covered branches filled with debris rained down around her, slicing into her flesh like broken blades as she careened down the hill. Larger slabs of earth and rock bounced all around her, increasing her momentum. Kenna vainly grabbed at the darkness, praying for a handhold to stop her fall. Sticks and brambles ripped through her fingers, while her wild tumble picked up speed. Mud and shale filled her mouth when she opened it to scream again.
Have mercy!
She was going to die, or even worse, she was going to be buried alive.

Something hard clutched around her ankle. Sharp pain burned clear to her hip as she was suddenly yanked free of the suffocating debris and launched through the air. Her torso slammed across the exposed root system of a fallen tree and pain exploded through her. She couldn’t breathe. More rocks and mud showered down atop her, and she covered her head with her arms. She was going to die. She was going to die buried beneath a ton of mud in the Highlands.

A despondent sob burst free; her heart breaking.
Dammit all to hell.
She was going to die and she was never going to see Colum again.

Chapter 26

Lore, he wished he had landed facedown rather than flat on his damn back. Colum forced his head to one side and squinted against the razor-sharp sleet as it pelted down harder.
Dammit if that isna worse.
He shielded his face and ear with the arm that wasn’t trapped by rock and wet earth and prayed for sunrise. He couldna see a damn thing in the inky blackness of wherever the hell he had landed. Worse yet, he had no idea what had become of Kenna.

He strained to listen for the slightest hint that she might be somewhere nearby. When the rock slide had taken her down, Colum had vaulted over her in a wild attempt to guide her fall. He had accomplished that trick once before while hunting wild boar with the MacKenna, managing to keep Gray from sliding over the edge of a cliff when the hillside had given way.

But this time…Colum swallowed hard against the burning pain shooting from his left shoulder all the way down to his left foot. This time he had been able only to latch onto Kenna’s skirts and what he hoped was her ankle. With strength borne of desperation, he had slung her toward the dark silhouette of what he prayed was a sturdy tree; he couldna tell for sure in the lightening darkness of early dawn. But if he had managed to snag her into the great tree’s arms, Kenna could still be alive.

Colum tensed with the unspoken fear gnawing at his gut. What if she hadna caught hold of the tree? What if his love lay somewhere at the base of the ravine, buried in tons of mud and shale?

A sharp pain tore across Colum’s chest, forcing his mind away from that gut-wrenching possibility.
Lore a’mighty.
It felt as though the verra earth itself had sunk its teeth into his body and was slowly chewing him up alive.

The bone-chilling slime of cold wet earth seeped down around the back of his head and inched across his exposed shoulder. Colum arched his body, then fell back into the gritty loam as the ground rumbled with another ominous shift. A nauseating crunch sounded somewhere in the upper region of his left leg. Colum blinked hard against the orbs of light flashing through his vision.
Nay, I willna lose m’self to the darkness
. He had to get free and he had to find Kenna.

A hollow roaring filled his ears. What the hell kind of beast made such a sound? A wailing cry pierced the deafening roar as the earth shuddered again.
May the gods be with me. Demons from hell must be a comin’ t’take me away.
Colum shook his head against the sound.

He arched his back again, straining away from the wet earth crawling slowly across his body. He pawed away the mud and debris, scooping the sucking quagmire off his face and throat as the hillside settled over him.

Finally, the encroaching landslide stilled. Colum allowed his head to fall back against the wet ground, gasping for precious air. His heart pounded as though trying to break free from his chest. He had to rest. He had to bide his time. At sunrise, he’d dig his body free and search for Kenna. Once he found her safe and well, he’d hunt down the bastard responsible for this and leave Sutherland’s body on a pike. The damn wolves could take the man and sharpen their teeth with his bones.

Chapter 27

Kenna pulled her right eye open, then forced the mud-encrusted lid of her left eye open as well. She blinked hard and rubbed her face against one shoulder.
Ugh.
Bad move. What the devil was jammed into her ribs? She spit away clumps of dirt and wet leaves as she slowly raised her head. A groan escaped her as she shifted sideways among the jagged bed of broken branches holding up her body.
Holy crap
. Even her hair hurt.

“I see her!”

An excited shout rang out from somewhere on the hillside above her, but Kenna couldn’t make out whose voice it was. She struggled to free herself of the pincushion bed of broken wood. She had to find out what had happened to Colum.

“Dinna move. Ye must keep still. Ye could harm yourself all the more. The lads and I will ease ye down. Keep still, lass.”

Kenna’s heart fell. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the slimy bark of a wet branch. She knew that voice. It was Ronan.

The sucking sounds of multiple pairs of boots working their way down the wet earth of the steep hillside sounded closer. Something fell across her back, followed by two more thumps of a limp object being draped around her body, then snugged tighter around her middle with several sharp jerks. It had to be ropes, or leather reins. Kenna pushed up from the bundle of branches cradling her upper body and squinted through the soft gray light of the misty morning. Big mistake. She wasn’t snagged in the top of the tree. She’d gotten caught in the mangled root system of an ancient oak felled beside the edge of a ravine. At present, she dangled over a steep drop that was high enough to make her nauseous. Even the flannel-like fog settling down among the trees below her couldn’t camouflage the dizzying depths of the ravine.

“Tie off securely, lads. The ground is weak from the night’s rain and this morning’s shift in temperature.” The woods echoed with rustling brush and the huffing grunts of men moving up and down the hillside. “Make haste, m’fine men. The tree could go at any time.” Ronan’s deep voice held no fear, just sheer determination. “Grab the ropes about yer waist, lass. Tuck into a wee ball and keep your arms held close about yer body.”

Kenna snugged her elbows against her ribs.
Please let this work. Please let me survive this so I can find Colum.
She sucked in a deep breath, then curled into as tight a knot around the lifeline lashed about her waist as she could manage. Kenna tensed to hold the position. Her arms and legs had grown numb, whether from the freezing temperature or shock, she didn’t know. But she knew they had to hurry. She couldn’t endure this for long.

“ ’Twill all be o’er soon, lass.” Ronan’s calming voice sounded several feet higher up the hillside.

That’s what I’m afraid of.
Kenna pressed her cracked, muddy lips tighter together and closed her eyes.

A sudden yank expelled the wind from her lungs. Kenna yelped when a second

gut-wrenching jolt launched her into the air. She tucked her chin tighter against her chest and prayed Ronan and his men knew what the devil they were doing. She heard a creaking groan and snapping wood, then a thunderous
whoosh
roared just below her. Kenna gasped as she landed against the muddy embankment where the tree had just been. A soft thud sounded far below as the tree shuddered to a stop at the bottom of the gully.

Strong hands gently gathered Kenna up against a hard chest. Calloused fingers wiped muddy hair out of her face. “Are ye hurt? D’ye have any pain?”

Kenna opened her eyes to Ronan’s concerned gaze. She eased in a deep breath and released it with a slow careful sigh. “I don’t think I’m hurt. Nothing hurts very much—at least not any worse than I can stand.”

Relief brightened Ronan’s face as he accepted a soft hank of leather from one of his men and gently wiped more mud away from her face. “Yer a fine brave woman, Lady Kenna. A fine brave woman indeed.”

Kenna squirmed up into a sitting position and stretched to look around the mist-covered wood. “We’ve got to find Colum.”

A cold mask shuttered down across Sutherland’s face as though someone had lowered a curtain. “The man surely lies dead at the bottom of yon ravine.” Ronan yanked the ties away from Kenna’s waist and tossed the tangled mess to Ian. “I’ll have the lads set a cairn along the roadside so his family will know his body lies at rest here in the wood.”

A combination of denial, disbelief, and pure rage exploded in a rush of energizing adrenaline through Kenna. “He is not dead.” Her voice shook with the conviction of her words. She yanked herself away from Ronan’s outstretched hands and stumbled to her feet. “I would know it if he was…He is
not
dead.”

“Steady now, ere ye end up down there with him.” The thin blanket of mist swirled across the ground like a writhing spirit as Ronan jumped to grab hold of Kenna’s elbow.

Kenna twisted away. She forced her cold, stiff fingers into the tattered folds of her skirt and grappled the heavy wet wool of the cloak as high to her knees as her shaking arms could manage. She wallowed upward across the broken hillside. Colum was not dead.
No way. No how.
All they had to do was find him, and by golly, she wasn’t leaving this muddy hellhole until they did.

“He…” Kenna gasped and panted against the burning pain stabbing in her side. “He is not dead, and I’m not leaving here until we find him.”

Ronan’s men backed away as she thrashed past them. Kenna didn’t miss how they all looked to their master, then bowed their heads when he frowned and shook his head.

Kenna stopped, whirled around, and shook a fist at all of them. “He is not dead,” she shouted. Her voice broke into a hiccuping sob. Damn them all. If they would just listen and help her find Colum, she would prove it.

“Find the man afore she starts another landslide.” Ronan flicked a hand toward the

fog-shrouded hill as he climbed up the steep incline. His scowling gaze searched about the wood as he spoke. “Take care walking through the mist. Brid’s soft gray blanket hides the treachery of the land.”

The panic cutting off her air lessened a bit as Ronan’s men fanned out across the hillside. Good. If they all moved in a slow line down through the wood, surely they would find Colum soon. Tensed seconds stretched into agonizing minutes. The only sound stirring through the wood was the slow steady shuffling of the men working their way through the thick mulch covering the forest floor.

“Master!” Liam called out from the left, a few feet below Kenna. “Here he lies,” he bellowed up through the fog.

Kenna bunched her skirts up to her knees and ran. Uprooted saplings twisted her boots and threw her to the ground. Kenna ignored the searing pain across her shins and the warm sticky wetness that could only be fresh blood. She’d had skinned legs before. She didn’t give a damn about anything but getting to Colum.

Liam’s solemn face loomed up from the swirling fog as Kenna slid around a jagged pile of stones and mangled saplings. “Take care, Lady Sutherland, ere ye land atop him.”

Kenna flapped her hands against the mist at her knees. “Damn, this wicked stuff.” It was as though the fog were some evil entity trying to hide Colum from her. A crackling torch blazed through the air beside her, dissipating the heavy moist air away from the ground.

“Oh. My. God. Colum—no.” Kenna’s knees buckled and she sank to the ground. She pressed her cold muddy fists against her mouth and swallowed hard against the pounding need to scream.

Colum’s head and a bit of his upper chest, right arm, and bent right leg were the only parts of his body not buried beneath large broken chunks of limestone, splintered branches, and glistening mounds of mud. His free hand clenched the ground at his side as though he was wrestling the earth.

The part of his chest Kenna could see was entirely too still.
Please. Breathe.
Kenna stared at the base of Colum’s throat, praying for the slightest movement. Colum’s jaw barely moved as a strained swallow shifted the muscles of his neck. The pallor of his skin had taken on a deathly grayish tint. He was alive, but he didn’t look as though he would last much longer.

“Colum.” Kenna crawled closer, biting her lower lip so hard she tasted blood. Her heart leapt as his eyes slowly opened and he labored to turn his head toward her. “Colum.” Kenna reached out again. “You can’t leave me.” Hot tears raced down her cheeks as she brushed shaking fingers against his cold cheek.

“Dinna cry, love.” Colum flinched as he raised his free hand and touched a finger against Kenna’s wet cheek.