When Highland Lightning Strikes (10 page)

“Here…”

There! She heard the croak of Angus’s voice. This time, she didn’t mind the pounding in her head when her heart leapt to her throat.
He was alive.

Had Brodric heard him? Angus’s response had been so faint she couldn’t tell where he was. Before the lightning struck the tree, she’d seen him heading for the outside wall’s scaffolding, so he should be near the edge of the debris. She took a deep breath, inhaled a nose-f of rain, and coughed. Brodric called again. Nay! He had moved away. “Brodric!” Damn it, she could barely speak. He’d never hear her, either. But she tried, anyway, not wanting to count on him hearing when Angus cried out again.

If only she had the strength to lift all this debris and fling it away from the village, but she did not. Worse, she could see nothing around her, so she could not even free herself without risking other lives. The best she could do—the only thing she could do—was help the rescuers as they dug into the wreckage of the hall. Eventually, they must reach Angus. And her.

She forced herself to ignore her throbbing head and focused on the voices around her, listening to the rescuers shout back and forth about what to do next, how to move aside a rock or a splintered roofing beam. She lent her assistance where she could, trying to lighten their load, but the effort made her head pound more fiercely, leaving her whimpering. If she heard wrong, or guessed wrong, she could do as much damage as the storm had done. The thought of harming anyone nearly made her quit, but it was clear the rescuers were having trouble and her assistance often made the difference between freeing someone in time to save them or leaving them trapped until more help could arrive. She couldn’t give up. This clan had seen too much death.

A chorus of oaths followed by excited voices told her they’d found someone alive, someone they’d thought dead. She listened carefully to the instructions the men gave each other. From what the men described, she knew much of the structure had tumbled and stacked on branches of the fallen tree, stones on roofing beams and beams on stones, like game cards scattered by a frustrated child, creating pockets like the one she found herself in. She hoped nothing else collapsed before help could reach them. Even the would-be rescuers could become trapped.

****

Angus struggled to keep his head out of the water. The rescuers sounded closer. Would they find him before the depression he lay in filled with rain? Would they find Shona in time to save her? How many of his people lay injured and dying under the rubble? The questions running through his mind tormented him even more than the wet and the cold, or the cramping in his neck and shoulders from holding up his head.

He managed to croak out “here” in answer to Brodric’s call, but he doubted he’d been heard over the rain. His throat felt choked with dust. Another irony for a man about to drown in his own hall. He’d never felt so helpless. So useless, save on the day they’d found his brother.

The rain suddenly let up. To Angus, it seemed the storm held its breath. Voices filled the ensuing silence, and he added his to the melee, calling out uselessly, his voice too weak to be heard above the others. Then the next downpour started with a roar. Would no one reach him in time? Even though he could hear other people, Angus felt desperately alone.

Then a glimmer of illumination revealed Shona, lying only a few feet away. She lifted her hand and tensed, as if straining, yet she didn’t touch anything. Then her hand waved to the side and she did it again.

“Shona. What are ye doin’?” He managed a little more volume that time.

Angus couldn’t miss how her entire body suddenly stiffened, but she completed the movement, waving her hand to the side. Then she turned her face toward him.

“Angus?”

“Shona! Are ye hurt?”

“I’m well, except for a sore head. Are ye?”

“I’m fine for now,” he lied. “They’ll get to us soon.”
I hope.
The water kept rising around him.

“Brodric was near, but he’s moved away,” she announced. Her hands started moving again.

“I ken it. I heard him. He didna hear me. Or ye. What are ye doin’ in here?” If Angus could have dropped his shoulders in resignation, he would have. When she didn’t answer, he answered for her. “Ye ran into the wreckage.” Foolish lass. “I’ll be pleased for ye to be out of this. They’ll hear us soon.” To distract himself, Angus watched Shona for a moment. “What are ye doing, lass?”

“Helpin’ the rescuers.”

A cold bolt of fear slid into Angus’s belly. He thought he’d just heard her say she was helping the rescuers. Surely not. She’d said her head pained her. She couldn’t be thinking clearly. She must be hurt worse than she knew.

****

Shona stilled. The words had just slipped out—words that would betray her. Well, it was too late to care, and others still needed her help. Angus most of all. The clan needed him. And something in his voice made her ask, “How are ye, Angus, truly? Can ye work yer way free?”

“Nay, I’m lying in a trench, and there’s a beam over most of it, holding me down. I’m lucky, I guess. If it had fallen a little to the right, it would have smashed my head to
porritch
. As it is, one end is propped up enough to give me a bit of breathing room.”

“Can ye see around ye at all?”

“A wee bit.”

“Can the beam fall beside ye to free ye? Will anything else fall on ye if it moves?”

He’d have to tell the rescuers the same thing. She’d heard them moving around. Some even seemed to be coming closer. He took a breath, as if gathering strength to speak louder. That would be good. They might hear him, too.

“There’s a clear space to my left. If the beam had fallen two or three feet in that direction, I wouldna been trapped at all. I dinna think anything around it will fall on me when the men get here to move it.”

“That’s good, then. Is the clear space closer to me or away?”

“Away from ye…”

She could hear the question in his voice. He probably wondered why she wanted to know so much. She reached out to where she heard Angus’s voice and gave a gentle push.

“What the hell?”

“Did it move?”

“Aye. Someone must have rocked the beam. Who’s there? Brodric!”

She heard fear in his voice as he called out to his friend. Did he fear they’d drop a killing weight onto him? “Dinna fash. I’m going to try to free ye.”

“Ye are
what
?”

“I need ye to tell me everything ye see and feel. I canna see where ye are, and I dinna wish to harm ye.”

“Shona…”

She gave another slight push and heard Angus yelp.

“It rocked. The beam rocked! Who’s there?”

Tensing, she
pushed
with all her might. The pain in her head spiked, and she nearly retched. She released the beam, felt it drop, and heard Angus gasp and swear. “What happened?”

“It rolled on me…heavy…”

Panicked, Shona reached out,
lifted
, then
pushed
the beam away. She heard a thump and a crash as it rolled into other debris. The pain in her head exploded into bright shards, and she grabbed her skull with both hands.

“Angus!”

“Safe…I’m unharmed. It’s off me. Here!” he shouted, his voice sounding strangled, though he said he could breathe. “Shona and I are under here. Ye are close!”

He still thought searchers had moved it. Shona sucked in air and willed her head to stop pounding, her stomach to stop churning. In the last few minutes, the nearby voices had gotten louder. While Shona had been freeing Angus, someone else had been located, but the searchers weren’t saying enough for her to be able to help them. Not that she could do anything after moving the beam off Angus. Not yet.

In moments, she heard Angus moving. Sloshing sounds told her his situation may have been more dire than he’d admitted. “Ye’re verra wet.”

“Aye, but at least I willna meet the same fate as my brother, drownin’ in a shallow pool. No’ yet, anyway.” She could hear him crawling toward her, muttering and pushing debris out of his way. Then his hand landed on her arm and a sense of calm strength stole over her.

“So dark…”

“Aye. Here, let me get these rocks off yer legs. Are ye hurt? Is anything broken?”

“How…” Shona realized she’d been so focused on what was going on around her, she hadn’t even noticed her legs were pinned.

“Can ye wiggle yer toes, lass?”

She did. “Aye.”

“Good.”

She felt something shift off her as Angus let out a grunt of effort. Belatedly, she lent him her assistance, cringing at the pain knifing through her head yet again.

“That’s better,” he said, running his hand over her shins. “Lucky for ye, another rock supported the stone on yer legs, or it wouldha broken them.” Angus shifted around in the dark. “Take my hand, lass, and I’ll help ye sit up. There’s just enough room above us to do that.”

Shona flailed around until she felt Angus’s big hand grasp hers, then groaned as he pulled her to sitting. The pounding in her head pulsed in her blood and spread throughout her body.

“I’ve got ye, lass. Here, lean on me. I ken ye are frightened, but help will be here soon.” He pulled her into his embrace. “Ye must be cold.”

“Aye, I am. Mostly my head hurts.” Shona snuggled into Angus’s heat, grateful to be in his arms. Grateful he still lived. She cast around, listening to the rescuers, trying to sense the extent of the disaster. Angus’s fingers explored her head, and she hissed when they found a lump at the back.

“Sorry, lass,” he murmured and left off.

Excited voices shouted commands Shona could use. She
helped
and was rewarded when a cheer went up, and a childish voice started coughing at the same time a woman started sobbing. Good, one lad free. How many others?

As soon as they quieted, Angus called out. “Brodric! Shona and I are here.”

“Laird!” Brodric’s shout answered Angus. “Finally! Are ye hale?”

“Aye, we’re fine. Take care of the others first. Someone fetch Craig.”

“Already done, laird. We’ll have ye out of there soon!”

“How bad is it?”

“Bad enough I sent Cathal to the Aerie to fetch more men. And their healer.”

“Aileana? Nay.”

“If she comes, she’ll be able to help. There’s work for her here.”

Angus muttered, “Damn it, the Lathan laird and lady are coming to our rescue again.”

“Is that so bad?” Shona asked.

“As little as I like it, until we are free, I’ve no way to judge whether Brodric had done what is needful or overreacted.”

“Trust yer friend, Angus.”

Chapter Seven

Angus concentrated on breathing. He’d never been buried alive before and didn’t relish staying here a moment longer than necessary, but he feared something else toppling down on them if they moved. The rescue efforts were going slowly, but well—so far. The need to get out of this trap so he could help consumed him.

He shifted Shona onto his lap, snugged his arms around her even tighter, and gently kissed her temple. She sighed and relaxed slightly in his arms. He and Shona were all right—wet and cold, but otherwise mostly unhurt. He expected to have a fine set of bruises in a day or two. So would she. But it wasn’t all bad. His heart had lifted to hear young Finlay’s cough as he was pulled out of the rubble. And Shona was in his arms.

He worried, however, about her.
She’d seemed to be imagining she’d moved the timber trapping him in the trench. Surely some rescuers had done that, without realizing anyone was underneath. Though it was odd he’d heard no one speaking. But Shona could not possibly have done it.
Except for waving one hand in the air now and again, and tilting her head as if she was trying to burrow deeper into the warmth of his chest, she hadn’t moved. Hadn’t reacted to the scene around her. Hadn’t said another word.

The storm had let up, so the worst of it must have blown away over the mountains. It could still be raining lightly, or what he felt could simply be dripping from the trees and fallen structures around them. The sky had brightened now the storm had moved on. But in a few hours, the sun would go down, and darkness would hamper the efforts to find anyone left in the wreckage.

Frustrated, he went back to watching Shona’s hand lift and sweep to the side, as if she imagined moving things in her mind. He took her hand and kissed it. One of the nearby rescuers swore and added, “Hold up yer end, damn it!” He couldn’t tell who’d spoken.

“We’ll be all right,” he told her. “‘Twill no’ be long before they have us uncovered.”

Her nod was the barest movement of her head. He could only think it still hurt her too much to do more. But she pulled her hand out of his grip and went back to waving it in the air. He contented himself with holding her close and rubbing her back to soothe her.

“I ken ye want out of here. I do, too, lass. And I’m sorry I got upset with ye earlier. What yer uncle was up to with Colin doesna matter. Dinna fash. He needna conspire to throw ye in the path of the new laird. Ye ken I already want ye.”

That statement stilled her hand. She slowly tilted her head his way. “Ye speak nonsense,” she said, then started waving her hand about again. “Ye must marry for the clan.”