Free Always Remembered by Kelly Risser Page B

your
dad left them here in the first place, to protect us.”
    “Who’s first and second?” I asked.
    Ula rolled her eyes at me like ‘duh!’ “David
and Brigid.”
    “Oh yeah.” My dad’s guard was small, and he
and Brigid were the best fighters that we had.
    “You’re going to tell Uncle Angus,
right?”
    I hadn’t really planned on it. If I went, the
less who knew the better. I would already have to contend with my
angry father; I didn’t want to fight with my great uncle first.
    “If you don’t tell him, I will.” Ula knew
what my silence meant. She crossed her arms and gave me the stink
eye. I silently counted the taps of her foot on the ground. I got
to twenty when she spoke again, “You need to do as your father
asked. Send the guards. I won’t let you go and do something
stupid.”
    “You won’t let me?” I asked dryly. If
I chose to go, there was nothing Ula could do to stop me.
    She leapt at me and pushed me off the rock.
Caught off guard, I toppled back and bumped my head. Her curls fell
in my face and tickled my nose. She pinned my arms and grinned at
me.
    “Ow!” I cried. There were sure to be bruises
later. “That hurt.”
    “Baby,” she retorted. Her voice held the
irritating singsong tone of winning. “I was proving my point. I can
and will stop you. Now, do you promise to tell Uncle Angus and let
the guards handle it?”
    “Ula, get off me!” I bucked, and she hung on
like a burr.
    “Promise,” she said.
    Blowing out a frustrated breath, I gave in.
“Okay, I promise. Now, get off me.”
    She rolled back on her heels and offered me
her hand. I eyed it skeptically before placing my hand in hers. She
pulled us both to standing, and I winced.
    “Head hurt?” she asked, although her voice
held no remorse.
    “Yes,” I bit out, rubbing the back of my
skull.
    “Shouldn’t be so stubborn,” she said. “Now,
let’s go.”
    “Where now?” I hated the whine in my
voice.
    She grinned at me, a flash of tiny, white
teeth, and I realized she could be fierce when she wanted. “Uncle
Angus’ room, of course. You’ve got news to report.”
    ****
    Uncle Angus listened silently as I recounted
my conversation with Dad. When I finished he said, “I’ll send Drust
and Judoc as your father wishes.” Rubbing his beard, he hung his
head. “I pray they are successful.”
    “If not, I’m going next.” I raised my chin
and dared him to challenge me. He surprised me by laughing and
slapping one heavy hand on my shoulder, pushing me down in the
chair with more force than he intended, I was sure.
    “I’d expect nothing less of you, niece, and
it would be stupid for me to argue with you.” Another tap, this
time it was gentler. “You have that same stubborn set to your jaw
as your father.”
    Ula made a noise of protest, but Uncle Angus
cut her off. “It’s no use, Ula. If our two best guards can’t find
them, I will allow Meara to try.” He turned and pierced me with his
eyes. “But you must promise to give them a fair shot first. I won’t
have you running out there with them, potentially compromising the
mission and risking your life.”
    I fought the urge to roll my eyes at my
uncle’s lack of confidence, like I would do anything that stupid.
If I said I would wait, then I would. The question was how long.
“How long is fair?”
    “Two weeks.” He rubbed his eyes and sunk back
into his chair. “But let’s hope they are successful. We could use
some good news, eh?”
    Ula and I nodded silently in agreement.
    “You girls look a little parched. Let me get
you a cream soda, and we can discuss happier news.” He stood and
went to the refrigerator to pull out two cans.
    “Um…” A quick glance out the window told me
it was late afternoon. In an hour, maybe two at the most, Kieran
would show up at my door. I figured there would be plenty of time
to get ready. That was before Ula’s visit, Dad’s message, and now
Uncle Angus. If I didn’t leave soon, I’d run out of time.