Cameron Unbound (Unbound 6)

Cameron Unbound (Unbound 6)
Rebecca York
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2023 Rebecca York

Pulling up the hood of his cape, Cameron Flint ducked low in the saddle and pressed ahead. Rain pelted down in a torrent and lightning slashed through the dark sky above him. He was in a forest, a dangerous place to be in a thunderstorm, and he needed to get out from under the trees.

He had come to this territory in Abercarn because there was reputed to be a herd of wild horses in the vicinity. So far he had seen none, and he was beginning to think he had been misinformed. But he was damned if he would return to Glencarn empty-handed.

His only course was to keep looking.

Somewhere in the vicinity, lightning struck, and he felt the sudden sizzle in the air as the ground shook. The closeness of the crash unnerved both horse and rider.

He leaned lower to speak to his mount, as much to reassure himself as the horse. “Come on, Storm Chaser; this is your kind of weather.”

When he urged the horse to speed up, the animal needed no encouragement to flee the scene.

But Cameron was in an unfortunate place to rush headlong through the night. Unable to see more than a few feet through the gloom, he slammed into a low-hanging branch at full tilt. The blow to his chest knocked the wind from him, and he tumbled from the saddle, striking his head on a rock as he hit the sodden ground.

Still in full panic, Storm Chaser continued his wild dash through the forest.

* * *

Bronwin Weaver jolted from sleep. A sudden pain had smacked her in the chest, and she struggled to catch her breath. In the next moment it was followed by a crack on the side of her head. For a moment she was paralyzed by the twin blows. As she struggled to catch her breath, the pain receded to a dull throbbing.

She sat up in bed, cupping her face in her hands and struggling to ground herself. She knew the pain was not her own. It came from someone else, someone who had been injured out in the storm. Yes, a storm. She heard it now, rain drumming on the roof of her cottage and wind trying to pry its way inside.

Bronwin knew more. It was a man -- out in the rain and wind. But who would be braving a night like this?

Was it one of the villagers using the weather as cover to skulk around outside, bent on some mischief? That brought a surge of anger, which she quickly suppressed. Anger had never served her well.

She had taught herself not to jump to conclusions. Cautiously Bronwin probed for more information. His thoughts were jumbled. Still, she was quickly reassured. Whoever was out there did not know her.

She probed further. He was not here for any devious purpose. He had come to the Ten Oaks area searching for wild horses for… his prince.

If one of the villagers had been injured, she would have considered leaving him for his fellows to find on the morrow. But she knew this was someone from far away, someone who might die if she left him lying in the chill rain.

Bronwin wanted to tell herself that his welfare was no concern of hers. Yet that thought sent old remembered guilt prickling through her. Once long ago a man had died out in the forest in a blizzard. She had been aware that someone was in trouble, but she had been young and had feared to go out and look for him in the drifting snow. Days later he had been found frozen to death.

This was different. It was only raining now. With resolve, she threw off her night rail and pulled on a serviceable dress. In the main room of the little cottage, she stoked the fire, lit a lantern, and pulled on her cloak. Unlatching the door, she peered into the night. The rain had lessened, leaving the air damp in the absolute darkness.

Standing very still, Bronwin listened with her mind. She had detected the man because of the sudden bursts of pain that came from him, but that didn’t tell her his location.

“Where are you?” she called softly, not expecting an answer. The act of speaking to him strengthened the connection between them, but not enough to find him. It had been years since she had deliberately reached out to someone this way. Her usual mode was to close herself off as much as possible. Now her only choice was to invite in the thoughts of others, bracing for an unpleasant barrage. With the shield around her mind down, she caught murmurs of thought from the village of Ten Oaks, the usual confused babble that made her head throb. But the occupants were far enough away that she could push them to the background and search for one voice. Well, not a spoken voice but an inner one.

She focused on the nearby mind. She wasn’t picking up any words from him, only images, and she judged he was not conscious. Still, the pictures helped pinpoint his location, and she headed into the forest, weaving her way through the oaks and locust trees and counting her paces so she would know how far she was from her cottage.

As she took her fifty-second step, she saw a dark shape lying on the ground. It was the man she sought.