Highlander's Virgin Bride

Chapter 18

From his positionatop the castle battlements, Ryder was the only person who saw Melissa’s shawl apparently slip from her shoulder as she stepped inside the castle with Colby, the garment fluttering slightly in the breeze as it landed on the flagstone floor of the courtyard.

His shoulders finally relaxing from the rigid position they’d adopted almost as soon as his sister-in-law had come into view, he allowed a small smile of satisfaction.

“Good lass,” he said under his breath. “Now, if ye can just keep yerself safe for a wee while longer...”

As he turned around to face the small group of men who stood waiting for his command, however, he felt a trickle of fear run through his blood. The fact was, Ryder was not at all sure Melissa would be safe with Colby. He was not sure of that at all, and as he led his men silently back down the narrow stone staircase that led from the battlements to the courtyard below, Ryder knew he would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to her. Just as he had never forgiven himself for what had happened to his sister, all those years before.

Melissa is different, though, he reminded himself as he walked. She’s strong, and she’s cunning. She did not hesitate for a second when I told her my plan, and I will not fail her --- or Meredith.

By now, they had reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Wait here,” Ryder whispered, turning quickly to the men behind him, who shrank instantly back into the shadows. Pausing for a second to listen carefully to the sounds outside, Ryder carefully pushed the door before him open, one painfully slow inch at a time.

The courtyard was empty or, at least, it appeared to be. He paused for just a few seconds longer, allowing his eye to become accustomed to the light from the few torches, which, although dim, still contrasted sharply with the pitch darkness he’d just come from.

If everything had gone to plan, Melissa should be reappearing any time...

“It must have slipped off as I came inside,” her voice suddenly said from across the courtyard, interrupting his chain of thoughts. “Let me just... oh, yes, look, here it is!”

From his position by the tower door, Ryder watched as Melissa took a few steps into the courtyard, to where her shawl still lay on the ground, before returning to Colby, who stood waiting for her at the door. He did not see her drop the key he hoped she had managed to steal from him, but he knew she would have done so. He trusted her. He just hoped he’d be able to trust himself to do what had to be done to rescue Meredith without letting the burning anger he now felt towards Colby get in the way.

As he moved silently towards the spot he’d seen Melissa pick up the shawl, being careful to stay in the shadows of the castle walls to remain undetected by anyone who happened to be watching, Ryder’s hand itched to grab at the sword that remained sheathed at his side. He wanted nothing more than to raise the weapon against Colby --- to run screaming through the door he’d disappeared through and wreak his revenge for what he’d done to Meredith.

But no. Meredith was the priority now. He had to get her first... and then he’d be free to do whatever he pleased to Colby. A quick kill would be too good for the man, he thought grimly. I want him to suffer.

With this thought to spur him on, he reached the spot he’d last seen Melissa stand in, and, dropping to all fours and keeping a close eye on the door she’d disappeared through, he started feeling around in the darkness for the keys he knew she would have left for him.

Nothing.

Ryder paused, his heart hammering so loudly in his chest he was almost afraid it would give him away.

The key had to be here somewhere. It had to be. There was just no other option --- and no other way to get Meredith out of the dungeon Ryder was sure Colby would have locked her into. He was strong, yes, and his anger made him even stronger. Even that, however, would be no match for the stone walls and iron bars of a cell, which was why he’d needed Melissa’s help to get the keys. The keys that were now apparently missing.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Ryder paused for a second, then two, before recommending his search, this time spreading his hands wide as he smoothed them over the rough stone of the courtyard, waiting for them to make contact with...

...metal. As the cold metal of the keys brushed against the tip of his fingers, Ryder had to stop himself from shouting out in triumph and relief. Instead, he simply closed his hand silently around them. Not just one key, he realized now, but an entire bunch of them. Why, I must be holding the key to every single room in this castle, he thought, gripping them harder until the iron dug into the flesh of his hand. The realization, however, was quickly followed by another, much more sobering thought. That if Colby had, indeed, lost something so incredibly important to him, then it surely wouldn’t be long before he noticed its absence. That would put Melissa in terrible danger, and him and Meredith, too, of course.

Sure enough, no sooner had the thought entered his head than the door opposite him started to creak open, and Ryder sprang back into the shadows, his feet scrambling for purchase on the stone ground.

“Guards! Search the castle! I believe we have an unwelcome guest!”

Colby had appeared at the door, his anger apparent, even in the dark of the courtyard. Melissa was nowhere to be seen. Had Colby realized her role in the disappearance of his precious keys, or did he believe Ryder alone was behind the theft? Either way, it was clear that he must act now to free Meredith because as soon as Colby had finished blustering to his guards, he was certain to head down to the dungeon, which was, after all, the place he knew Ryder would go.

There was no choice, though. He had to save her, and he would risk far more than the wrath of Colby Green to do it if he had to, even death. What he would not do, however, was risk Meredith, so, with a last glance at the tower where he knew some of his men were still hidden, he turned and ran silently in the direction of the dungeon. He had left Matthew in command of the men he’d placed outside the castle, with explicit instructions on how to proceed --- whether or not he returned to them. He had to trust that they would do as he’d asked and that they would make it out alive. For now, though, he had but one thought on his mind:

Meredith.

He repeated her name softly under his breath as he ran, like a prayer or an incantation. Meredith, Meredith, Meredith. Please be safe. Please be alive. And please, for the love of God, let me not be too late to get ye out of this place.

Ryder had visited Colby’s home often enough to know its layout almost as well as he knew that of his own castle. He and Colby had sometimes played in these very dungeons as boys, creeping down there under cover of darkness, with just a single candle to light their way, telling each other ghost stories in the darkest corners of the cells, and waiting to see who would go running for safety first.

It had always been Colby, of course. Even as a young lad, Ryder had already seen too much cruelty and death to be frightened by a mere ghost. Ghosts, he knew, were not real and could not harm him. His father was real. His father could --- and frequently did --- do him the kind of harm that leaves lasting scars --- ones that weren’t visible to the naked eye but which were there all the same, just under the surface.

And so, Ryder had simply sat there, smiling in the darkness as Colby ran screaming from some childish ghost story, taking the candle with him. He always was a coward, Ryder reflected now, feeling his way through the dark passages which wound their way deep under the castle. But, in being a coward, Colby had inadvertently done him a favor. Because all of those times Ryder had had to find his way out of the dungeons alone and in total darkness had taught him how to navigate them effortlessly, learning each twist and turn, and the location of each and every cell built into their walls.