Highland Hunger

Highland Hunger by Hannah Howell

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Authors: Hannah Howell
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guards, and Una hastily stepped out of the shadows. She noticed no one was surprised to see her, their ability to see in the dark as keen as hers. Little Joan and Alma huddled at the back of their cage closest to her.
    “Dinnae fear,” she said, loud enough for the prisoners to hear her but not so loud that it would attract the attention of one of the guards. “These men are here to free you.”
    “And from what I can see, that will happen verra soon,” said Allana as she watched Jankyn hurl a guard against the wall, picking the man up and throwing him as if he weighed nothing. “ Jesu, they are like us,” she whispered in shock a heartbeat later as she watched Cathal sink his fangs into another guard’s throat.
    “Aye,” said Una. “There is so much I need to tell you.”
    “Una,” Raibeart called as he took a ring of keys off a dead guard’s body. “Catch.”
    She easily caught the keys tossed her way. It was not until she turned to start unlocking the cages that she realized one was empty. Una feared she had returned too late to save all of them.
    “Where is Madeleine?” she asked as she opened Allana’s cage and moved on to the next one.
    “The laird’s fools took her away,” replied Nan as she darted out of her cage as if she feared she could lose the chance to escape if she moved too slowly. “She swooned as she always does, but I heard one of them say it didnae matter this time, that Angus would enjoy his reward whether she was awake or nay. They believed that would be a fine entertainment.”
    “He is giving Madeleine to Angus? But, he ne’er shares the women.”
    “I dinnae think he sees it as such a great gift he is giving Angus.”
    Una let the little girls out last and they both rushed to wrap their arms around her legs and bury their faces in her skirts. The three women stood together, watching the MacNachtons closely. The two youths, Bartram and Colla, flanked the women. They looked prepared to protect the women, but the faint tremor in their hands revealed their fear. Una did not blame them for being afraid, for the MacNachtons had quickly and savagely killed all eight guards, and she did not see that a single MacNachton had been harmed in the doing of it.
    “These are the allies we needed,” Una said. “They are the MacNachtons and ’tis their blood in us that makes us what we are. They are going to take us to Cambrun where we will be safe among our own.”
    Allana studied her for a moment. “Ye certainly look much healthier than ye did when ye left here.”
    Raibeart stepped up to Una. “There are only three women. Are we too late to save them all then?”
    “Nay, they have taken Madeleine to the laird’s chambers,” replied Una. “It appears that Angus has returned, and whatever he told the laird pleased the madmon enough to reward him. Angus gets to have Madeleine, awake or no.” She nodded in approval when all the men’s faces hardened with fury and then told them how to get to the laird’s rooms.
    “Einar, I want you, Skelli, Erik, Ranald, and Filib to get these people out and to the horses,” Cathal ordered and then he looked at the cages, his rage at the sight of them easy to see. “Put the guards’ bodies in the cages. Let them rot there. The rest of ye come with me.” He strode away, Raibeart and the others close at his heels.
    Una handed Einar the keys before standing back with her friends as the MacNachtons tossed the bodies of the guards into the cages and locked them. She pushed aside the pang of guilt that tried to settle into her heart. The guards had not been terribly cruel, but they had not been kind, either. They had allied with the laird in imprisoning innocents and ignoring the abuses heaped upon them. She suspected they had not been entirely ignorant of what the laird was doing to the women and children he held. When she saw Einar pocket the keys, she knew the man intended to see that his laird got exactly what he wanted. The guards would rot where

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