Page 46 of Warrior’s Lady

"Two?" Hamish asked, clearly startled. "How do you know?"

"Experience," she replied.

Hamish shrugged. "Find a place to hide, and I'll do what I can to cover both entrances."

"May luck be with you," she said, picking up Violet and holding her against her chest.

"I'm scared," Violet whispered against her shoulder.

"Fear isn't always a bad thing, Violet. It keeps us alert," Rhiannon said as she turned into the darkness of the storeroom. It would be wise to hide Violet somewhere close to that doorway if it became necessary for the little girl to escape.

Rhiannon quickly moved through the hazy darkness until she came to the end of a row of barrels. She tried to tip each one, searching for one that was lighter than all the rest. "If only I can find an empty barrel."

"I know where one is," Violet said, lifting her head from Rhiannon's shoulder.

"You do?"

"I accidentally spilled the ale the other day when Uncle Camden and I were playing."

Rhiannon stifled a smile at the memory of Violet's stained dress. "Show me."

Violet wiggled out of Rhiannon's grip and headed down the row of barrels on the far side of the room. "This way," she cried, no longer afraid.

The container stood empty at the end of the last row at the back of the cellar's wall. Rhiannon had hoped for something closer to the doorway, but this would have to do.

"How do we get it open enough for you to slip inside?" Rhiannon pondered to herself.

"Allow me."

Rhiannon startled at the sound of Hamish's voice behind them.

"I will need to know where to lead the intruders away from." He moved around them and with a grunt, lifted the barrel from its shelf before positioning it against the wall. He took several steps back, then hurled himself forward, landing with both feet firmly planted against the wood that formed the bottom of the barrel. A sharp crack filled the air as the wood collapsed beneath his assault. Hamish hit the floor with the force of his blow, but rolled once, and in a fluid motion came up on his feet.

The new opening in the barrel gaped wide enough for Violet to slip inside. Once she was hidden, Hamish placed all the wood slivers inside the barrel as well, then lifted it back onto its shelf with the open side facing the wall.

"She'll have plenty of air to breathe, yet be fully concealed," Hamish said with a note of satisfaction. "Excellent idea."

"Thank you," Rhiannon said, deeply touched by the compliment.

"Now, where do we hide you?"

"There is no time," she said as a thunderous crash filled the air. The sound went on for what seemed like an eternity. Just as silence settled, the sounds of battle emerged as the roar of men's shouts mingled with the thunder of hoofbeats.

"The wall has been breached." Hamish put into words her greatest fear.

Rhiannon clutched the bow in one hand and drew an arrow from her quiver with the other. "You take one doorway, and I will cover the other."

"Only if you promise that if we are discovered, you will run and hide yourself among the barrels."

"Agreed."

At her consent, Hamish turned away to head for the doorway that led to the storeroom from inside the castle. Rhiannon positioned herself near the other door. She aimed her bow at the doorway and waited, her heart thundering in her chest.

She had to protect Violet. After several long minutes, the door on Hamish's side slammed open. Bright light and the shouts of men followed. Rhiannon spun toward the sounds. She kept her aim on the shapes moving within the hazy darkness, until a single figure broke away from the others, heading her way. She waited. Prayed he would turn. But nay, he continued toward her. Halfway across the room, she loosed her arrow and hit her target in the thigh. He stumbled to the ground.

Without thought, she nocked another arrow, allowing it to sail into the same space where the man she'd just hit had been. A cry of agony pierced the air. Her fingers trembling, she set another arrow. The door slammed open behind her. She twisted around and let the arrow fly, missing the man. He surged forward.

With a gasp of fear, Rhiannon plucked another arrow from her quiver and darted behind a long row of barrels.

"She's got tae be here somewhere," a voice called out of the darkness. Could this be the man who had betrayed Violet's presence to the Bishop?

"I watched her go down here with the child and the warrior," an unfamiliar voice said.

A chill moved through her at the realization that these men were after her, and not Violet. Rhiannon crouched behind a wooden barrel as the men ran past. Even if they were after her, she had to lead them away from Violet. She couldn't take a chance like that with Violet's life.

Rhiannon braced herself and bolted for the open door. A shout behind her told her she'd been spotted. She twisted around to see who followed. Two hulking men came at her, their features distorted by the shadows, but she knew their intent from the menacing grins on their faces.

She let another arrow fly. One man fell to the ground. She hurried up the stairs, in the darkness, her heart pounding and her hands shaking. Rhiannon broke through into the light only to hear footsteps coming swiftly up behind her. With a burst of desperation, she sped forward only to be hauled back against the solid wall of a man's chest. He wrenched the bow from her fingers and jerked her hands behind her.

"Going somewhere, my sweetlin'?" he breathed against her ear.

Rhiannon shuddered. He smelled of sweat and fish and rotten teeth. She twisted in his arms. She gasped at the sight of the man who'd fought Camden at the cottage. A scream tore from her throat, only to have his brutal hand clamp over her mouth.

"Yer comin' with me," he said with the look of hatred blazing from his cold, dark eyes.