Highlander Unmasked Read online

  She would be the cause of Alex’s death. For even if Alex surrendered, thereby saving her life, Dougal no doubt intended to kill him. Alex would know that, too, but it wouldn’t stop him. And it wasn’t just Alex’s life at stake. If Alex didn’t do his part, Neil MacLeod would be walking into a death trap at the castle.

  Because of her, the entire rebellion could fail.

  Chapter 25

  Alex and his warriors approached Stornoway harbor from the south, keeping as close to the tree line as possible to avoid detection. As they neared the crags bordering the northernmost section of the inner harbor, he signaled for his men to halt and ready themselves for battle. From this vantage point, he had a direct line of sight to the sea-gate of Stornoway Castle and of the harbor below it.

  He kept vigilant watch of his surroundings, wary not only of an attack, but also of keeping an eye out for the return of Robbie and the other men he’d sent with Meg. They should be back at any time, and he would need them. There was no cause for concern…yet. But all the same, Alex would be relieved when they returned and confirmed that Meg was safely ensconced at Dunakin.

  Meg. God, how he missed her. Her coming to him on Lewis had changed so much. With no secrets left between them, the distraction that had plagued him since he’d departed Edinburgh had lifted. Now he could focus his full attention on the battle, knowing that the woman he loved was waiting for him.

  When his work was done.

  The battle he’d been waiting for was finally upon him. Justice would be theirs. For his kin. Both living and dead.

  He felt excitement rushing through his blood as it always did before a fight. This was when he was at his best, when clarity of thought and unity of purpose drowned out everything else around him. The challenge invigorated him. Each battle was a test not just of strength, but of strategy and cunning. Of courage and of honor.

  Today was the culmination of years of training and months of preparation. Their plan was simple, as the best usually were. Simplicity minimized the opportunities for something to go wrong. But timing was everything.

  It was a three-pronged attack. At sea, trying to capture the supply ship, as they’d originally intended, would take too many men. They knew this now because of the information Meg had brought them. Instead, they hoped to delay it—and eventually, if they were successful, prevent the ship from landing at all.

  Two birlinns of sixteen MacLeod clansmen stood ready just offshore, awaiting his signal to attack the supply ship as it entered the outer harbor. Alex’s guardsman Patrick MacGregor would do his best to keep the ship busy while the land phase of their attack began. Except for his brother, there was no man Alex trusted more than the fearsome MacGregor.

  Alex had handpicked a small force of men that he would lead in the attack against the castle guards coming out to meet the ships. They would be outnumbered, but it was nothing they hadn’t faced before. At the same time, Neil and his men would lay siege to the castle, hoping to hit it hard when it was not as heavily defended. In doing so, Neil would be leaving his flank vulnerable. If anything went wrong, and the guardsmen were able to return to the castle too soon or with more men, Neil and his men would be trapped. To complicate matters, they also had to watch for Dougal trying to outflank Patrick at sea.

  The MacLeods’ strength would be significantly divided, but they would have the element of surprise. It would be enough.

  Alex scanned the sea again. It was near dark, but he could just make out the white of a sail in the distance. He ordered his men to wait for his signal. He kept his gaze focused on the castle. Waiting. Any minute…

  The sea-gate to Stornoway Castle opened.

  Every inch of his body was trained on the small stretch of land between the castle and the harbor, where the sixty or so men had begun to descend the stairs of the sea-gate and march toward the four waiting galleys. There wasn’t much time; Alex and his men had to attack before the Lowlanders could embark in their ships. He raised his claymore, ready to give the signal that would send his men galloping down the hill toward the unsuspecting soldiers.

  This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for was upon him. It was time to put his demons where they belonged, in the past. And win the day for the MacLeods of Lewis.

  The sound of stomping hooves from behind stilled his hand. He was just about to proceed anyway and lower his hand when a voice rang out.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  Alex recognized the voice and then the face that halted not twenty feet behind him. Dougal MacDonald. The rush of hatred hit him hard, but he would not allow it to interfere with the task at hand. He cast his gaze down to the soldiers making their way toward the boat. Nothing looked amiss. But he knew Dougal well enough to know that he was up to something. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t work. Alex was no longer a boy of eighteen.

  He would not be defeated. Perhaps it was fitting that his nemesis should arrive to witness this moment.

  Dougal led a dozen or so of his men through the clearing, forming a semicircle around them.

  Alex’s eyes narrowed at the implied threat, but he felt a vague inkling of trouble. “Don’t interfere, MacDonald. You’re outnumbered.” He indicated his own score of warriors, waiting for his signal to careen down the hill. “Surrender now and you won’t have to die.”

  Something in Dougal’s expression bothered him. He looked too confident, like a man holding an unbeatable hand. Alex’s uneasiness spread. Dougal wouldn’t challenge him like this unless he was damn sure of the outcome.

  “It’s not I who will be surrendering, MacLeod. You see, I need but one person to defeat you.”

  Alex stilled. No. He couldn’t…

  Dougal turned, motioning for someone to step forward.

  Out of the darkness from behind the trees, the tiny familiar form broke into view. Meg. Spitting-fire angry with a knife pressed to her throat by one of Dougal’s men. Vaguely, he was aware of Jamie and the other men behind her, bound, their wrists tied with rope.

  The ground shifted under his feet as the memories collided with the present. Not again.

  “Alex, don’t listen to him. He won’t kill me, it’s just a trick—”

  “Shut up!” Dougal shouted, striking her hard across her cheek with the back of his hand. Meg’s head rolled with the blow.

  Alex let out a strangled sound and leapt forward to attack—stopping only when he saw MacDonald’s man press the knife deeper against Meg’s neck.

  A red haze clouded his vision. He forced himself to breathe, forced his pulse to slow. He needed his mind to clear, he had to think. His gaze fixed on Meg, but out of the corner of his eye, Alex noticed that Jamie and Robbie had also leapt to Meg’s defense.

  “Stay out of this, Campbell,” Dougal warned.

  Alex couldn’t speak. Icy fear gripped his throat. He was staring at the knife.

  “Well? It’s your decision,” Dougal said, gloating.

  Just like four years ago, Alex thought. Dougal had recreated the scene for maximum effect. Would it be Meg who was gulleted before him this time?

  Alex was trained to lead. To make decisions. To make the hard decisions.

  Just not this decision.

  Could he surrender, saving her life, knowing that in doing so, he’d be forced to sacrifice so many others who were depending on him?

  Alex eyed the castle guardsmen on shore who were fast approaching their boats. There wasn’t much time. If they reached the boats, he’d fail. Patrick and the two birlinns of his men would be too far outnumbered in a battle on water with both the men from the castle and the new recruits. The Lowlanders would return to the castle with reinforcements, and Neil would be storming into a death trap.

  He made his decision.

  He lifted his claymore and swung it in a wide circle, the signal for his men on land and at sea to attack. They obeyed, their trust in him absolute. With a fierce battle cry of “Hold fast!” the men surrounding him rode off, thundering down on the unsuspecting castle