Our honeymoon continued in a blur of lazy days spent with food, ale, lovemaking, and a surprising lack of sleep. But by the time our clothes had fully dried several days later, we were both ready to return home to Cooper.
I’d never been away from him for so long, and each hoof step that remained until I held him in my arms was one hoof step too many.
“What time do you think we will make it back to the castle?”
Eoghanan had sensed my desire to hurry much earlier, and he’d picked up our pace hours ago.
“This morning I would have told ye nightfall, but we have ridden well throughout the day. I am pleased to tell ye that we approach McMillan territory as we speak, lass.”
I looked out over the vast land, the village off to the left, the castle still miles ahead of us. It was a relief to know that I neared my son, and I relaxed a little until smoke billowing up from trees separated from the village caught my attention. There was nothing ominous about the sight, but an inexplicable desire to turn our horse in the direction of the smoke filled me.
“Eoghanan,” I pointed in its direction, “what is that over there?”
It took him a moment to respond, and I turned my neck to look up at him.
“I doona know for sure, lass. I know it seems odd, but I have no noticed such a place before. It must be a cottage.”
“Could it be?” I didn’t want to finish my question, but it was where my mind went immediately. The witch Jinty lived on McMillan territory—Eoghanan had said Baodan had raided her cottage. But surely a witch who knew others were looking for her wouldn’t be stupid enough to light a fire that would signal she’d returned home. If the smoke did indeed come from Jinty’s cottage, something was very wrong.
“Jinty.” Eoghanan’s conclusion came just a few seconds after my own, and his arms grew tense around me as he urged the horse forward more quickly.
He was now as eager to reach the castle as I was.
Chapter 43
Cooper knew his dad could be easily distracted, so when Bebop caught them in the hall on their way out to the pond and started chatting away, Cooper simply smiled, skipping off in the direction of the water alone.
The rock bounced up and down in his pocket, but he kept his hand cupped over it, protecting the magic stone that he knew he would have to use today. He could feel it—the danger coming toward the castle.
Someone meant to harm him; he’d seen the shadow approaching him for nights while he slept. The same scary dream that left him with plenty to think about each morning. He was frightened, but he had to be brave. Bravery was all that would protect him until he sent for Morna, and he knew that even after he threw the rock he would be alone for a time—the travel wasn’t always instant.
Cooper rounded the curve that led to the backside of the pond and stopped still. He saw her watching him among the trees, the same lady E-o had forced to leave the castle on one of the nights of the gathering. She couldn’t see him looking at her, and he knew that was best. It gave him a moment to think, to gather his courage and slip the rock from his pocket.
Mama never let him watch scary movies, but Dad sometimes did because he knew that Cooper was brave enough to know they weren’t real. Although now, as he watched the woman hiding among the trees, he felt like he was in the middle of his very own scary movie. If he wanted to live, he had to be smarter than all the people who ended up dead in those movies. He couldn’t make her angry, and he needed to keep her talking.
Cooper knew she’d grab him just as soon as he got close enough to her, so he took his time walking along the pond’s edge. Once he stood in front of her, he turned his back so that he faced away from her. It took only a moment before the trees rustled behind him. He knew she would reach for him.
As her hands clasped around his mouth, he threw the rock into the water, allowing the stranger to take him away.
*
Her cottage had been a short ride away from the castle and, for the whole ride, Cooper sat with his eyes closed, praying that Morna would arrive soon. When nothing happened after she yanked him off the top of the horse and dragged him inside, Cooper knew he would have to keep her busy for a time—to keep her from harming him right away.
Cooper swallowed hard, hoping that his voice wouldn’t shake as he talked. No matter how afraid he truly was, he didn’t want his captor to know that. “Wow, this is some place you have here, lady. What’s your name?”
To his surprise, she answered him with no hint of anger in her voice. For some reason, that frightened him more than it would have had she responded angrily. He realized she didn’t want him scared because he would be more difficult to kill—like the time he’d joined Bebop on a deer hunting excursion—you couldn’t scare the animals or they’d run.
“I’m Jinty. And what is yer name, lad?”