Page 2 of A Wolf's Bargain
Cora pulled her mare to a stop, shifting nervously in her saddle. Cormac drew his sword, but it was soon clear that he wouldn’t need it. A young boy bounded through the long grass, waving his arms wildly. When he came close enough to make out his features, Cora gasped and called out to him.
“Niall! What are you doing here? Your mother will dig your grave herself if she finds you so far from home!”
The boy, Niall, stumbled to a halt next to her horse, panting as though he’d run the entire way from his family’s farm at the edge of the village. His wild, wheat-blonde hair clung to his head with sweat. “Lady Cora, you must help!” he begged between heaving breaths. “Englishmen. The village. They attacked without warning. My da, he went to stop them! My mam told me to run—to get help! Please, Lady, we need help!”
“Lady, we should leave now,” Cormac said, coming up beside her. “If they are in the village, they may come this way next.”
It wasn’t the first time Edwin’s men had attacked an Irish village, but they’d never come to her father’s lands before. Cora’sheart lurched when images of the village people flashed through her mind. There were no warriors there. No guards. The people of that village were farmers and herdsmen, and after a terrible sickness two winters before, they had few enough grown men as it was. They would be defenseless against trained men with weapons.
Cora shook her head. “There’s no time! If there are wounded, I can help them! Niall, run for the castle and find Captain Éogan. Tell him what you’ve told us—they’ll send men immediately!”
“Yes, Lady!” Niall dashed off without another word, dust flying beneath his feet.
“Lady, I must insist! If what the boy says is true, I cannot allow you to do this! If the Englishmen were to—”
Cora tightened her grip on Epona’s reins and glared at her escort. “Cormac, those are our people! They need us! Who knows when reinforcements will come? People are dying now! If you’re so worried about my safety, I suggest you come along and protect me!”
Without waiting for Cormac’s reply, Cora dug her heels into Epona’s flank and rode for the trees.
CORA SMELLED THE SMOKEbefore she saw it. The forest path that marked the last leg of her journey had always been peaceful, and she’d often wished it would last longer than it did. Today, she prayed for the end to appear as the path flew by under Epona’s feet.
She tried to ignore the images that flashed through her mind of the carnage that might await them. Ruthless Englishmen with blood-stained swords, mothers crouched over their children, and fathers and sons meeting iron and steel with pitchforks and hunting knives. Angry tears burned her eyes, but she wipedthem away and urged Epona to run faster. There was no time for tears, no time for weakness, fear, or hesitation.
Cormac cursed behind her. He’d been trying to overtake her, to cut off her path to the village, but Epona was young and strong, and his old mare could barely keep up.
“My Lady, stop!” he roared. “We must go back! Please, Lady!”
Cora ignored him, her gaze fixed on the road ahead. They were close. So close that she could hear cries up ahead. Her breath hitched when she saw black smoke curling into the sky. The border of trees outside the village couldn’t hide the billowing clouds or the bright flames that spread across thatched roofs.
When Epona broke through the tree line, Cora pulled her to a stop so quickly that the mare reared up in surprise. She stared wide-eyed, her mind struggling to make sense of the scene before her.
Bodies lay littered on the ground like forgotten bundles of wheat, blood pooling in the dirt beneath them. Every home had been set on fire, as had the fields beyond the village. Animals ran through the chaos, screeching in fear as they trampled bodies and dodged crumbling buildings. A child wailed somewhere nearby, screaming for its mother. It was all that Cora had feared and more.
Swallowing down the bile that rose in her throat at the scent of smoke and blood, Cora quickly scanned the area. There was no sign of the English attackers, only the evidence of their presence in the chaos left behind.
She turned to Cormac, who stared in shock at the carnage and destruction. He formed the sign of the cross and said, “Holy Mother preserve us—they had no chance... no warning.”
“Why would the English do such a thing?” she asked bitterly. “These weren’t soldiers in a battle! They were farmers!Shepherds! Women and children and old men! What could they have done to deserve this?”
Cormac sighed. “They did nothing to deserve it, lass. This was a message. King Edwin... he wants the lords to know that he’s a threat. That at any moment, he could strike.”
“Do you think they’ll be back?”
Cormac thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. They’ve done their job. Burned the village and the fields and likely ran off with anything of value. There’s nothing left here but trouble once your father arrives.”
Cora nodded, steeling herself against what lay ahead. “Then we’d best get to it. There are survivors who need care and dead who deserve a proper burial.”
“Aye, Lady.”
The deep breath she took to steady herself only filled her lungs with the stench of death and smoke, and as they rode toward what was left of the village, she wondered if it was an omen.
Chapter 2
Cora
She’d only been a child when her mother died, but Cora remembered that day with perfect clarity. She remembered the acrid smell of burnt herbs and her mother’s blood as the doctor bled her again and again to remove the sickness from her body. Hours later, when her mother’s eyes had closed for the last time, her face had been as white as snow. Cora had buried her face in her mother’s neck and sobbed until her throat was raw. There had been nothing in that moment but agony and the smell of blood.
That same agony enveloped her like a heavy cloak as she made her way through the village. The first burnt-out husk of a home belonged to an elderly woman and her two small grandchildren. Dried blood and ash streaked their skin, evidence of what they’d endured. She’d sent them away when the invaders came, and they’d run right into a thicket of thorny bushes to hide. When they’d seen her collapse after being struck, they’d left their hiding place and come back to protect her. That they hadn’t died alongside her had been a miracle unto itself.