Fraoch took a step back and drew a gun.
I stood.
The disturbance outside grew louder, it sounded like a brawl.
I blocked the boys, drawin’ my gun.
Edward stood, his guards fell around him to protect him, drawing swords. I counted three who had drawn guns.
Then I heard Sean’s voice, yelling in fear and anger.
“Och nae.”
I rushed in the direction, but the flap raised, and three men barged through, with a struggling Sean between them. Everyone drew their weapons. We were in a standoff, guns pointing, tension as my eyes swept the men in the room.
Then a shot fired behind me. I ducked and turned tae see Zach holdin’ a smokin’ gun, standing over Thomas Hayden on the ground.
Zach yelled, “He was lunging at the boys!”
I turned back and saw Sean struggling. I yelled, “Unhand him!”
Fraoch fired, killing a man. I fired, killing another. But before we could kill them, a man reached down, pulled back Sean’s head, and slit his throat there on the ground. “Nae!”
All I could see was red and horror, the sound of m’brother dying in the mud of the field. I fired, killing that man. Fraoch fired, killing another.
There were gunshots everywhere, a huge melee, and some of my men lying on the ground, and reaching my ears, as if from far away — the sound of Haggis barking.
Edward was leavin’ the tent surrounded by his guards. The whole crowd was in disarray. Some of the men who had murdered Sean were down, but others had escaped intae the mayhem and fled the tent. The time traveler who I had been watchin’ was long gone — my heart was poundin’. My sight turned crimson. The bloom of blood from Sean soaked the rug. I was frozen in horror…
Fraoch grabbed my arm and pulled me back. But I had trouble pullin’ my focus from the lifeless body of m’brother, dyin’ alone. “Nae!”
He shoved me through the canvas flap intae the rain, the colorless landscape drained of life, the rain-soaked muddy ground. My men on horseback ready tae fight, their horses stampin’ in the mud, earth and steel and storm —Archie!
I swept the crowd tae see him — Cailean pushin’ Archie and Ben up ontae their horse. Zach getting on another. I saw a glimpse of Archie’s eyes, terror and despair, a great deal of fear.
I had to get them away from the battle.
I asked Fraoch as I was pushed toward Dràgon, “Where is Edward?”
“He left, but Og Maggy, we hae tae decide — do we stand and fight or flee? I must tell the men?—”
“We canna flee?—!”
A large rumbling sound shook the earth. We turned tae see a verra large modern military tank, shoving against the tent, collapsing it with a crash, and rollin’ up ontae it. The tank stopped in the middle, the turret turned, and it aimed at me.
Fraoch pulled me hard, stumbling tae the horse, yellin’, “Retreat!”
A voice from the war machine counted down, “Ten! Nine! Eight…”
We had never mounted our horses so fast — we raced intae the woods, crashing through the trees. Ahead of me, Archie and Ben were bent over, ridin’ fast, with Haggis runnin’ alongside. Cailean was leadin’ the way, Chef Zach was followin’ them.
The war machine fired.
I looked back, but the blast missed. They werena shootin’ at the woods, but behind us — as if it were missing on purpose.Or we would all be dead.
We were outgunned, outmaneuvered, fleein’ for our lives through a medieval forest.
My son just ahead of me.
