“We have little time,” Brogan reminded him.
“Then we better hurry.”
Brogan rounded up his men to find he had lost two and one was too injured to fight, but not too injured to return to the village and gather more men. He was glad Troy had lost only one man and though a couple were left injured, they wrapped their wounds tight and were ready to join in the hunt.
“While Skelly is no fool, he thinks highly of himself,” Troy said as he and Brogan mounted their horses. “Your capture would be a prize to him that he might not be able to resist.”
That news brought some relief and a quick plan to Brogan. “You think he will wait somewhere for his men to bring me to him?”
“It is a possibility and I know what you think to do to save time,” Troy said. “You want to be captured and taken to your wife without them knowing we follow. The only problem with that is you don’t know if they will harm you, since they believe you cannot die.”
“It is a chance I am willing to take,” Brogan said.
“And what if they harm you so badly, you are useless to your wife?”
“Then you will give me your word that you will see her kept safe,” Brogan said. “Though, if you say Skelly thinks highly of himself then I suspect he will be the one who wants to deliver endless pain on me. Either way, as long as my wife is safe, I care not.”
“Your love is strong for her.”
“Always, and she knows I will come for her. So, let us not waste another moment.”
Splinters of light tried to pierce Annis’s eyes and she cringed, not from that, but from the pain in her arms and shoulders. Where was she? What happened?
A slap to her face that shot her head to the side had her eyes shooting open and everything rushed back to her. She almost gasped at the sight of the man on a horse in front of her. Scars marred his face, and a large scar ran a path through a swath of hair on the one side of his head. He wore no cloak against the chill, exposing his lean body heavy with muscle. But it was his eyes that truly frightened, dark and empty, pure evil.
It took her a moment to realize that rope bound her wrists and she hung from a branch of a tree, her feet dangling a good distance off the ground.
Annis didn’t need to guess who the man was, and she held her chin high. “Brogan will rescue me and kill you.”
Skelly laughed. “That he will attempt to rescue you is something I count on. But he will fail, and I will make certain his wounds keep him from doing anything but watch in torment as I have my way with you. Then he will watch again as I cut out your tongue and sell you on the foreign market.”
If she was going to lose her tongue, she would make sure to have her say beforehand. “You are an idiot if you believe that.” Another slap to her face flung her head to the side. When she regained her senses, she laughed. “Only a coward strikes a woman who cannot strike back.” A solid punch to her arm had her swinging and she cringed at the pull in her arms, though her mouth would not remain silent. “That proves you are even more of a coward.”
“We will see how brave your mouth is when I have my way with you,” Skelly threatened.
Annis laughed. “So, your only way to get pleasure is to force a woman—another sign of a coward and a man with a wee shaft.”
That got her a punch to the stomach since several of the men laughed. The pain radiated through her entire body, and she silently warned herself to hold her tongue. But, of course, she did not pay heed to her own warning.
As soon as she caught her breath, she said, “And that punch only proves you have the tiniest of shafts.”
Strong laughter erupted this time and Skelly turned swiftly on his horse to cower the men with a vicious snarl.
“Now I know why he wants you dead,” Skelly said when he turned back to face her.
“Who wants me dead?” Annis asked, anxious to learn the culprit’s identity.
Skelly grinned. “The one who will bring an end to the cursed lords.”
Annis pondered his response. Why would he say bring an end to the cursed lords and not bring an end to the curse?
He laughed and sent her swinging again, the pain tearing through her arms and shoulders. Brogan would come for her of that she had no doubt, but she feared what her rescue might cost him.
Annis was brought to a sudden stop, Skelly holding tight to her legs. Her stomach roiled badly, and she could feel all color drain from her face.