Chapter V

V

“Aindreas me boy, are you feeling ok.” Sheila said as she came into the room with her husband and hugged her son. He was sitting up on the bed with a large bandage on his forehead that wrapped around the entire top if his head. “We were so worried about you all day yesterday.

“So, what happened to your sister, boy?” Malcolm said gruffly to the boy.

“I don’t know father, didn’t she come home?” Then Drew quickly added, remembering what had really happened. “I think it was someone hit me from behind and knocked me down father.”

“So that must have knocked you out and they must have taken Aileen away.” Malcolm said. “It wasn’t a dragon that hit you in the back by chance, was it boy?” He added, able to joke a bit even at this time of great trouble.

“I tell you, I din’na see what it was father. I was just standing there with Aileen by the loch and there it was, something hit me and I was knocked out.

Back at the pub, the good men were still discussing what had happened the previous day. Several men from the village had searched most of the day for Aileen, but there was nary a trace of the lass. “Well, I suppose it could have been the dragon that got her.” One of them said. “That giant named Hoarch lives up on the ben ‘ya know, she could have runned off and got captured by the giant while the boy was fighting the dragon to save her.”  He added as he took another swig of ale.

At that time, McKinney arrived at the pub, leaving Drew and Drew’s mother outside in the wagon. He stood in the doorway with the setting sun at his back. Immediately the whole place went silent. “Any word of ‘yer daughter?   How’s the boy doing?” One of the good men asked breaking the silence.

“No word of the girl, but the boy says that someone hit him from behind, knocking him out, and they must have taken her.” He said walking inside and right up to the bar. The barman handed him a bottle of ale, waving off the coin Malcolm offered, and McKinney took a good swig. “I think it was outsiders who came in from the city that took her.”

“We was thinking that Dreacues the dragon might have attacked the children and she might have run off up the mountain and that giant that lives up there might have her.” One of the good men sitting at the table said.

“Aye mon, it were a Dragon moon last night and Dreacues, or even his spirit could have frightened the children.” The second man added.

“Enough of ‘yer silly legends.” McKinney said. “Me daughter is missing, and I’ve got to find her.”

“It is possible that she might have got scared and run off up the mountain.” The third good man said, leaving out the part about just discussing the giant named Hoarch. “Why don’t you take ’yer boy home, mon, and come back here in the morning and we can go up the mountain and look for her on the morrow, if she has not come back yet that is.”

Thinking that if Aileen had been captured and taken off to the city it would be impossible to find her, McKinney began to consider it. The possibility that she had just got scared and run off seemed to make some sense. But, if it was outsiders who attacked Drew and knocked him out, then they would have certainly captured Aileen and not let her run off.