Shadow Music by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page B

and bury him next to his brother.” Kenneth wasn’t offended by the name calling. “What clan are the soldiers from? You know, the ones hiding over there.” He waved his hand toward the east, squinting to see if he could spy any of them.
    “Never you mind what clan they belong to,” he answered. “The less you know, the better for you.”
    “Look! Liam might be waking up,” another soldier announced, nudging their captive with his foot.

    Roger cackled with delight. “Good. He’ll be knowing what’s happening when we dump him into the hole. Have any more water to throw on his face, Manus? Get him good and awake.” Before he could get an answer, Kenneth said, “He never waked up. I’ve been watching his face, and his eyes haven’t even fluttered open once. He’s as good as dead.”
    “But maybe like Gordon said, if we threw water on his face…” another soldier suggested.
    “I used up the last of it,” Manus said. “We could spit on his face.” The men thought that was a fine idea and began to laugh. Gabrielle heard the last two names as they pushed and shoved one another, acting like they were at a festival. Fergus and Cuthbert. She knew it was important for her to remember all seven names, for one day there would be retribution.
    Hamish’s snorts of laughter stopped when he happened to look up and spot Laird MacHugh.
    “There he is! There he is!” Hamish shouted as he struggled to get his hood up over his head. “There’s the MacHugh!”
    Everyone, including Gabrielle, looked to the ledge. A silhouette of a warrior on horseback moved like a golden blur against the sun.
    “We’ve got plenty of time,” Kenneth said. “The MacHugh can’t fly down here.”
    “Look at all the men following him. I’m counting up to twenty already,” Manus shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
    Gordon was getting jumpy. He thought he’d heard a noise behind him. He whirled around, his hand poised on the hilt of his sword. When he couldn’t see a threat, he turned again to look to the east and then the west. Nothing.
    “We’ve wasted enough time,” he said. “Get him in the hole. We’ve got to cover him with dirt and be on our way.”
    Roger and Cuthbert rushed to Liam and hauled him to his feet. The captive’s head dropped forward.
    Fergus grabbed him by his hair and jerked his head back. “His eyes are closed again,” he said, obviously disappointed.
    “His eyes were never open,” Kenneth replied.
    They were dragging Liam to the hole when a far-off rumble caught their attention. In unison all seven turned just as warriors on horseback broke through the trees at the far end of the glen. Their horses pounded the ground as they closed the distance. So far away, they were but dots on the horizon.
    “It could be the Buchanans,” Manus shouted. “Can’t see them good at all yet, but I’m guessing it’s them.”
    “They’ll kill us! They’ll kill us all!” Hamish screamed. He twirled in a circle like a cornered wood mouse trying to decide which way to scurry. “Where can we hide? Where?” Cuthbert and Manus dropped Liam’s limp body. Urgency cracked Gordon’s voice when he ordered,
    “Get him up. Hurry, damn you. Get him up. When I was pulling him off his horse, his eyes opened, so I’m the only one he’s seen. I’ve got to kill him before he goes into the hole. There isn’t time to bury him and let him suffocate.”
    Cuthbert and Manus didn’t obey the order. Neither did Roger or Kenneth or Hamish or Fergus, for all of them had already run for cover.
    Gordon drew his sword. At the same time, Gabrielle reached for an arrow and notched it to her bow in anticipation.
    The Buchanan warriors were still too far away for their arrows to reach the seven men, and the MacHugh warriors racing down the mountain were also too far away to save one of their own.
    Suddenly, there was another commotion. Soldiers waiting to ambush the MacHugh broke through the trees and headed across the flats toward