“That does not mean you cannot be seriously injured and suffer horribly before you heal,” she argued, the thought unsettling her stomach.
“You do have a good point,” he agreed begrudgingly and dragged the other man who had suffered the same fate at her hands to the opposite side of the tree. “I need to search for the rope they brought with them, since they no doubt planned to take at least one of us captive.” And Brogan had no doubt of who that would be—Annis. The thought of what she would have suffered at their hands had him wishing he could kill the men all over again. “Call out if either of them stirs. The others have no life left in them and you definitely don’t want to look upon them.”
“As you say, husband,” she called out with a grin.
He scowled as he shook a finger at her. “We are definitely going to have that talk.”
“And I will listen to your words well,” she assured him.
“You will obey them,” he ordered with a shout and disappeared behind a tree.
Annis kept watch for any movement from all the fallen men, taking no chances. She might be smiling and teasing Brogan, but inside she was shaken over what had happened and what might have happened. She had not expected the possibility of losing Brogan, even though he insisted he could not die due to the curse, to frighten her as much as it did. The thought frightened her as much as the thought of losing either of her sisters.
Brogan emerged from behind the trees with a length of rope that he used to secure the two still unconscious men to the trees. He then dragged the bodies of the dead men into the woods.
Annis tossed the unused rocks into the woods and searched the trees for the ravens, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“Did you see the ravens?” Annis asked.
“I thought I heard a raven. There was more than one?” he asked as he scooped his cloak off the ground. He gave it a shake and used part of the hem to wipe his face and hands.
“There was,” she said and smiled softly at his thoughtfulness in wiping off what blood may be on him.
“The witch sends you help on our quest,” he said, sounding unsure of his own conclusion.
“If she does, I am grateful, for the ravens helped save you from serious injury.”
He scrunched his brow in question. “Why though when she helped curse my family to begin with?”
Annis had no answer, for she questioned the same herself.
A groan had both their glances going to the tree where the men were tied. The man Annis had first knocked out with the rock was starting to come to.
Brogan went to him and kicked him in the thigh. “Open your eyes.”
The man’s eyes shot open as if just realizing what had happened and that he could not move, though he winced from the pain afterwards.
“Mercenaries or thieves?” Brogan demanded.
“A bit of both,” the man said reluctantly.
“What are you doing in this area?”
“Chieftain Cowan sent out word for men to fight in battle with him. He offered good coin for it, since it is rumored that Lord Odran will soon join the fight.”
Brogan glared at the man, disturbed by the news, since he was aware that his friend Odran wanted no more to do with battle and had chosen a life away from his clan. Not that Brogan thought it would last. Odran’s father, Lord Fergus, wanted for his son what Brogan and Rannick’s fathers wanted for their sons… wives and heirs to carry on the clan names.
Brogan’s scowl turned to such a vicious sneer that it had the man yanking his head back to bump against the tree trunk. “Come near me or that woman,” —he pointed to Annis— “and you die, and it will not be a merciful death.”
The man nodded, his eyes wide with fear, and Brogan walked away to mount his horse.
“You are going to leave me here like this, tied to the tree?” the man asked, panic in his voice.
“You are not alone. One fellow who managed to survive keeps you company on the other side of the tree. You are lucky I did not kill you when I had the chance and do not make me regret that I didn’t,” he snapped.
Anger flared in the man’s nostrils.
“If you can break free before nightfall and escape the animals that come out to hunt, heed my warning, and go back to where you came from. You do not want to fight Lord Odran and his men. He and his men are more vicious and skilled than any warrior you have ever met.”
Annis turned her horse and followed alongside Brogan, relief that it was done, sending a slight shiver through her.