“You are happy, I can see it,” her da said, joining her on the bench in the keep’s large kitchen garden.
Heather was pleased to see her da looking so well. “More than I ever thought possible,” she admitted to him and herself as well. “I must ask—did you know the Dark Dragon was Quinn?”
“I had strong suspicions. He materialized suddenly, requesting your hand in marriage and then demanding it. And he seemed to know so much about you. I had to rely on my instincts, though it seemed unlikely that Quinn should return after all these years, something told me otherwise. And so I took a chance. I wanted you to be happy. You deserved it.”
Heather reached out for her father’s hand. “I am so grateful that you did. Now, da, you need not worry about any of your daughters any more. We have each found good husbands. It is your turn to enjoy the woman you love.”
His eyes turned wide.
Heather smiled. “Rhys told me of Maura and you and I think it is wonderful. I imagine Emma will too.” She shrugged. “Patience I am not so sure of.”
They laughed together.
Patience came running toward them. “Hurry, da, Greer has sent a message to you and waits not far from here with an army of warriors.”
Donald hurried off and Heather scooped up Finn, the pup protesting with a small yap as she tucked him under her arm and carried him off to the keep.
~~~
Everyone waited anxiously in the Great Hall to learn what the message read that Greer McLaud had sent Donald Macinnes.
Donald shook his head as he finished reading and announced, “Greer declares war on Clan Macinnes for the murder of his wife and demands the release of his brother Rab and Saundra who he claims the Macinnes took as prisoners.”
“So he does not know what happened to Rab,” Hunter said, “yet he knows his wife is dead and Saundra resides here. I would venture to guess that his assumption that we hold Rab prisoner gave him even more reason to wage war.”
“He says we have until tomorrow at dawn to release Rab and Saundra or he will attack,” Donald said. “I will invite him to come speak with us.”
“You waste your breath,” Rhys said his arm around his wife and the pup snarling and nipping at his boot. “He is not interested in talking. He plans to defeat you and claim your land. He thinks nothing will stop him.”
“Rhys is right,” Hunter said. “Nothing will stop him.” Except a sword, Hunter thought, though would not say so since his mum sat at the table beside Ewan and was still grieving for the death of one son.
“Before dawn tomorrow, Hunter and I will go speak with Greer,” Rhys said.
“Hunter and you can come if you want,” Patience said, “but it will be me, a Macinnes, who rides out there to confront Greer.”
“If your father permits it,” Rhys said.
“I need no permission from my father,” Patience snapped.
“He is still chieftain of Clan Macinnes and you do not go without his permission,” Rhys warned.
Donald raised his hand and Patience wisely kept silent. “Patience is right. A Macinnes needs to ride with you and she will be the one to go.”
“As you say,” Rhys said with a nod. “Few words will be necessary to exchange with him since more of my troops wait on word from me. When he learns that the Dark Dragon is allied with the Clan Macinnes and that he cannot possibly see victory, let us hope he wisely surrenders.”
“I will send a message to Greer, letting him know we wish to speak with him at sunrise,” Donald said.
Ross, Ewan’s youngest son, spoke up “What will happen to Saundra now?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, standing protectively behind where she sat at the table not too far from his father.
“By agreement with her father, Saundra belongs to me now. Her fate is mine,” Rhys announced to startled cries and wide eyes.
Ross squared his shoulders and bravely said, “Then I request her hand in marriage.”
Rhys looked from him to Saundra. “What say you Saundra?”
“I would like that and be ever so grateful if you would grant permission,” Saundra said and turned a smile on Ross.
“Then so be it, I grant permission,” Rhys said.
A much needed cheer rose in the room.
Talk and preparation for tomorrow continued and it was a somber supper that was shared.
Everyone retired early, wanting to be fit for battle tomorrow if necessary.
Rhys had learned that having a woman before battle drained a man’s strength and not wanting to discuss with his wife how he had discovered that, he waited until he was certain she would be asleep before he joined her in bed.
Heather woke with a start, causing Rhys to do the same and causing Finn to rouse from his spot by the hearth and start howling, though it was not much of a howl for one so young.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Something is wrong?” she said and jumped out of bed to hurry into her clothes.
Rhys did the same, slipping his leather armor on as well.
Heather scooped up Finn and followed Rhys out the door.
Patience and Hunter were dressed and already in the hall. Emma’s door opened and she and Rogan stepped out dressed as well.
“Something is not right,” Emma said.
The bell sounded its ominous toll.
They were being attacked.
They all rushed through the keep and when Rhys went to step outside, he quickly turned and pushed his wife back, shutting the door and reaching to drop the wood bar across it. Rogan and Hunter hurried to help him.
“Stay here, all of you,” Rhys ordered. “These men fight like no other. My men will deal with them.”
Pitt rushed in from another entrance. “Haidar’s men are swarming in and behind them are Greer’s men.”
“Have our troops been alerted? Haidar will have made sure they did not see this coming.”
“I have sent word with more than one warrior.”
Donald Macinnes soon entered the Great Hall along with Maura. Ewan and Una soon followed, and Ross and Saundra were not far behind.
Without warning, Rhys jumped at Patience, giving her a hard shove and sending her stumbling just as a blade was about to slice her shoulder. He quickly sent his blade through the warrior who was covered in black and could barely be seen. Next, Rhys shoved Rogan out of the way and swung his sword again impaling another man that dove out of the shadows along the wall.
Pitt stopped another with his sword.
“Get the women out of here,” Rhys yelled as more warriors suddenly emerged from the shadows.
“You know where to go,” Donald yelled to his daughters, drawing his sword and seeing Patience do the same.
Heather grabbed Finn who was busy standing guard in front of her, yapping at anyone who came near her. She took Emma’s arm and hurried her out of the Great Hall, Una, Maura, and Saundra keeping pace with them.
There was a small room just before you reached the kitchen that few ever noticed since it blended with the shadows and that was where Heather took the women. She held the door as one after the other rushed in and was about to step in right behind Una and close the door when she felt as if her arm was torn from her body, someone having grabbed and yanked so hard.
“Shut it! Shut it!” Heather screamed as she struggled to free herself. She heard Emma yelling no, and was relieved to see the door slam shut and hear the board fall into place. They were safe...for now.
The hand gripped her tight. She could not budge it. She dropped Finn, not able to hold him as she fought to break free. The little pup yapped and yapped at the warrior, and followed after Heather as she was dragged through the kitchen and out the door.
Anger and fear gripped her and she lashed out at the warrior determined not to be taken again. The warrior swerved around, his hand coming down on her cheek so hard that for a moment it stunned her and she could not see clearly. She heard Finn’s repeated yaps, and then she heard him cry out in pain. Fury rose up in her that Fi
nn could be hurt and she let her anger loose on the warrior with all the strength she could muster.
Suddenly, his hand fell off her and she was free.
“Run!”
She looked to see Seamus standing there, a sword in his hand, the blade dripping with blood.
“Run!” he yelled again and gave her a shove and went to follow her when a blade suddenly tore through his chest and he gasped. The blade disappeared as fast as it had appeared and he fell to his knees, his dying breath urging her, “Run!”
Heather turned, but it was too late. One of Haidar’s warriors stood behind her and in front of her stood Haidar.
“This time you will not get away,” Haidar sneered. “And you will never feel the soil of your homeland beneath your feet after this day is done.”
“True, but it is you who will never feel the soil of your homeland beneath your feet again.”
Heather turned to see the Dragon standing behind her, gripping the hilt of his sword, the blade covered in blood, Haidar’s warrior dead at his feet and Finn standing on top of him, his little chest puffed out proudly and his head high. She scooped Finn up off the dead warrior, and ducked behind him.
“More of my warriors will come,” Haidar warned.
“Your warriors are meeting their deaths at the hands of my men.”
“That paltry group in the woods that await your word?” Haidar said with a laugh.
Rhys waited until his laughter died. “You taught me well. That troop was there for you to see what I wanted you to see. It is the massive army of warriors behind them that you failed to see and who now finish off your warriors one by one.”
“You have learned nothing,” Haidar challenged. “The warriors who wait on my ships will be here soon and I will see everyone dead, except you and your beautiful wife, of course.”
Rhys wiped the blood from his sword on the body at his feet. “They will not becoming and your ships will not be sailing...my warriors made sure of that. As I said, you taught me well and now it is time for you to die.” Rhys lunged at him with his sword.
Heather had seen what a skilled swordsman her husband was and now she saw why. Haidar handled a blade as if he was born with it in his hand. The Dragon had learned from a master and suddenly Heather feared for her husband’s life.
Haidar seemed to toy with Rhys, deflecting every thrust and swing with ease as if he purposely prolonged the inevitable. The enjoyment Haidar was getting was apparent in his smile and confident movements.
Finally, Haidar seemed to tire of his actions and stepped away from Rhys, his smile replaced with angry scowl. “You rob me of burning your home and you rob me of taking you home with me and seeing you suffer for what you have done. But before I take your life know that your wife will suffer more than you ever did.”
Rhys moved so fast that he was a blur to Heather and Haidar as well, and the next thing she saw was Haidar’s sword arm sliced near to the bone, his sword dropping from his useless hand. But Rhys did not stop there. By the time he finished, Haidar was on his knees, blood running down from what was left of both his arms.
Haidar raised his head, fighting against the pain. “At least I die at the hands of a worthy opponent.”
Rhys dropped his sword and pulled a dagger from his boot. “I promised Anala I would deliver a message to you before I killed you.” He stepped behind Haidar, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head back, pressing the dagger’s blade to his throat. He leaned down and whispered, “Anala told me to tell you that she gave you the only son that you would ever have and never live to see.”
Haidar’s eyes turned wide. “My son lives?”
“He does and good Scottish parents took him in, they love him, and call him their own, and he will never know any differently.” Rhys drew the blade across Haidar’s throat swiftly and as he bled to death he glared at Rhys with hate-filled eyes.
Rhys wiped the dagger clean on Haidar’s shirt and snatched his sword up off the ground and looked to see his wife crouched over a body. He went over to her and dropped down beside her and saw that it was Seamus.
She turned tearful eyes on her husband. “He died trying to save me.”
“Then I am forever grateful to him and pleased that he died a warrior’s death, not a crippled old man, which I believe was his intention when he picked up his sword and joined the fight. I will see he has a warrior’s burial and see that he is buried where he wished to stay—on McComb land, his home.” He helped Heather to stand.
She glanced over at Haidar, and then back at her husband. “You are finally free.”
“I was finally free when I first held you in my arms.”
He went to kiss her when suddenly a warrior rounded the corner with his arm tight around Patience’s throat and a dagger in his hand. He made a wide berth around Rhys and Heather.
Hunter came barreling around the corner and stopped when his eyes fell on his wife. “Let her go, Greer, this is between you and me.”
“You ruined everything,” Greer yelled.
Heather wondered why Patience did not do something. She had seen her sister get out of that type of hold many times. Then she saw the blood running down her arm. Patience was too weak to fight back. Instinctively, she stepped forward and felt a strong hand pull her back.
Heather looked at her husband. “She needs tending now.”
“Wait,” Rhys ordered.
Heather did not argue. She trusted her husband; he would not fail her sister.
“You did this yourself,” Hunter said and cast a quick glance at Rhys who gave a slight nod to him.
“I should have killed you before I killed our father,” Greer shouted. “You were always nothing but trouble to me.”
“Then here is your chance. Fight me like a true warrior.”
Greer looked from his brother to Rhys. “Once I kill you the Dragon will kill me.”
“I give you my word that if you kill me no one will stop you. You will go free,” Hunter said and gave a nod to the Dragon.
“I will see your word kept,” Rhys said.
Greer let go of Patience and stepped away as she dropped to the ground.
Rhys went over and lifted her into his arms and brought her to his anxious wife.
“Leave us,” Greer shouted.
Rhys turned after placing Patience on the ground, Heather already busy tending her. “If I leave and you live there will be no one to guarantee your safety. Now fight and be done with it, you fool.”
“I will come back for you,” Greer sneered.
Rhys laughed. “Ghosts do not frighten me.”
Raging anger turned Greer’s face bright red and like the fool he was, he charged at his brother.
Rhys was well aware of how skilled Hunter was with a sword, but it was his ability to focus and let nothing interfere when he wielded his sword that made Hunter an exceptional swordsman.
Greer thrashed about while Hunter delivered precise blows and Rhys could see that Hunter was delaying killing his brother, but then Greer deserved to suffer some before he died for having taken his own father’s life.
“Kill the fool and be done with it!” Heather shouted.
Rhys turned, shocked by her words.
Hunter smiled, though it vanished as with two quick strokes he ended it, Greer’s body dropping to the ground dead. Hunter hurried to his wife. When he saw her eyes closed and looking so lifeless, his eyes went anxiously to Heather.
“We need to get her inside and sear the wound before she loses more blood,” Heather said. “And you must know it was Patience who insisted I shout that out to you.”
“I knew the words were hers even if the voice was not,” Hunter said, easing his wife up into his arms.
“She wanted you beside her that was why she urged you to be done with it,” Heather said. “Whenever she got sick or frightened when she was young, she would not want me to leave her side. Now, as it should be, she wants you...her husband.”
“I will not be leaving her side unti
l she is well,” Hunter said and carried her to the door.
“I never wager,” Rhys called out, “but I wager you will be eating those words soon enough.”
Chapter Thirty-three
One month later
The Macinnes sisters sat on a bench in the garden that had once been Heathers pride and joy, their hands clasped to one another.
“You will see that the garden is tended well,” Heather said tears clouding her eyes.
“I will make certain of it,” Patience said, sniffling back tears.
Tears rolled down Emma’s cheeks. “I cannot wait until this babe is born so I will stop crying so much.”
“What does Hunter have planned for the Clan McLaud now that he is chieftain?” Heather asked.
“We have talked, but he has made no decision yet. In time, he will know what to do.”
“But you will not leave Macinnes land, will you?” Emma said, though she and Heather already knew the answer.
Patience shook her head. “Never, and Hunter is well aware of that.” She squeezed her sisters’ hands.“It is odd. I will miss not having you both here, but I look forward to life with my husband.”
Heather smiled. “We will always be there for one another, always love one another, but it is time we start our own lives.”
“And we have three fantastic husbands to do that with,” Emma said.
Patience shook her head. “I still do not know about the Dragon. He can be a handful to deal with at times.”
Emma and Heather burst out laughing.
~~~
It had taken time and much work to recover from the battle. Haidar’s warriors had fought to the bitter end until not one of them was left. Greer’s warriors quickly surrendered to Hunter their new chieftain. The damage the village had suffered during battle was quickly repaired and the dead, friend and foe alike, were buried.
The time finally came for Heather to bid her family good-bye once again, but this time it was a much happier farewell. She had hugged and kissed her da and made him promise to come visit her. She made Maura promise to look after her da, though Heather had no doubt she would. The woman truly loved him. She had cheered along with everyone when Una and Ewan announced they would wed. And she shed tears of joy when she watched not only Una and Ewan exchange marriage vows in a simple ceremony, but Ross and Saundra as well. Rhys had insisted they wed before his departure so that he knew Saundra was safe and well cared for. She had assured her sister Emma for the hundredth time that she would be there for the birth of her babe and wished her a safe trip, she and Rogan taking their leave shortly after her and Rhys.
Highlander The Dark Dragon Page 28
