“Her death is a worthy one,” Rudd said. “You will see the wisdom of it.”
Rudd raised the dagger ready to drop and plunge it into Annis.
The ravens came from out of nowhere, dropping from the sky to jab Rudd with their beaks.
Brogan rushed at Rudd to reach the man and with one good blow to his jaw knocked him out cold. He would not escape an easy death, not before he got more information out of him.
He dropped down beside his wife, her body lifeless. He feared the worse and placed a hand to her face. It was warm and her chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm. She was alive and he intended to see she stay that way.
29
“You need to wake up, wife. You have a quest to finish,” he said as they rode toward the village with his wife in his arms. He wanted to hear her snap back at him, argue with him, tease him, tell him how much she loved him. “You have rested enough. Wake up!”
She laid still in his arms, not a muscle moved nor did her eyes flutter. She was as still as death itself and he had the urge to shake her awake. She remained that way all the way home.
He was in a hurry to get her to Una and left all but two of his warriors to see to returning Rudd to the village. His warriors had been shocked and angry over Rudd’s betrayal and fearful that they also might be accused of treachery. Unfortunately, Brogan wasn’t sure who to trust.
He was relieved when the village came in sight, and he directed the horse straight to Una’s cottage. People soon gathered outside the cottage once they learned what had happened to Annis.
“I need to get her out of these bloody garments and to clean the blood off her face before she wakes,” Brogan said, entering the cottage cradling his wife in his arms.
“I will fetch water,” Una said and hurried off.
Brogan laid her on the bed to more easily and gently strip her garments off. She had some bruises on her arms and legs and a sizeable bruise on her one side. Her wrists were rubbed raw from the rope, and he could see bruises peeking out from under the blood left on her face.
Una returned and he was quick to ask, “She has a bruise on her side. Will it cause a problem?” It troubled him since he had seen men die of bruises there though they were much deeper in color. He pulled the blanket back for her to see.
Una looked at the discolored area and felt around it. “I don’t believe so but sometimes the insides suffer more than it shows. I would tell her to rest until the bruising fades a good bit.”
“I will see that she does,” Brogan said.
“I can also fix a brew she can drink that might help, but…”
“Tell me, Una,” Brogan said when Una hesitated.
“If she does not wake by nightfall, I would take her to the witch. There are herbs that grow on her land that I have no knowledge of, but she does.”
“She will wake,” Brogan said as if he commanded it, but he would keep Una’s suggestion in mind. If she did not wake, he would take her to the witch and, if necessary, he would beg her to help his wife.
“Her wounds tell me that she suffered many punches, but until she wakes and tells me more, I can do nothing for her,” Una explained. “I will prepare a brew and bring it to you for when she wakes.”
Brogan tucked the blanket over his wife’s bare shoulders and laid a cloth over that before he rinsed a cloth in the bucket of water, then he talked as if she was awake to hear him as he began to gently wash her face.
“You have much courage, wife, though if you had minded your tongue more you would not have so many bruises. But that is something I do not think you will ever do—mind your tongue. You say what you will when you will, and that is what I admired about you when we met—your tenacious courage. It should serve you well now to wake from this forced sleep.”
He rinsed the cloth again and winced when he cleared the blood from the one side of her face to reveal a good-sized bruise. He wished Skelly was still alive so he could kill him slowly and painfully.
“Wake, Annis, and speak with me. I miss you teasing me, telling me how much you love me, and I especially miss you telling me what a handsome and wonderful husband I am.” He chuckled, waiting for her to tell him that there he goes thinking highly of himself again, but he was met with silence.