I bristle at his words, but Rachel's grip on my hand keeps me from lunging at him.I do growl, however."I'm not claiming anyone, you jackass.Rachel makes her own choices."
"Aye," the woman in question adds, her voice hard as steel."And I choose Joey Finnegan."
"He's a fucking Irishman?"Alisdair's face contorts with rage, and he spits his words at Rachel."You dare reject me for this...this outlander?"
"Go home, Alisdair," Kieran snarls."Ye'll never wed my daughter, so leave before I toss you into the moat with rocks tied to your ankles."
Alisdair studies our little army for a moment, then his shoulders flag."I'll be back for Rachel, mark my words."
Our entire group follows the jackass as he makes his way through the castle and out the gates, onto the drawbridge.He keeps going, headed back to his own clan I assume.
Kieran invites me to go up the tower steps with him to check things out from a higher vantage point.I'm not ashamed to admit the long staircase leaves me a bit winded by the time we come out of the stairway and onto the walkway.
Kieran chuckles softly, seeing my condition."Thievery hasn't made your body stronger, eh?"
"Guess not.I'm hardly a wimp, though.Just not as wicked strong as you are."
"That can be remedied---with enough training.I recommend swordplay."
As we prowl the walkway, searching for enemies beyond the gates, Kieran explains the architecture."These are crenellations---solid blocks between slits in the wall, which allow archers to fire off arrows while hiding behind the blocks."
"That's cool.I never knew castles had features like that."
"Warfare in this time is different than the sort waged in the twenty-first century, or so my wife has told me."
"Yeah, it's very different.You don't even need men to fight for you.Machines do it for us."
Kieran shakes his head slowly."I ne'er could've imagined such things before I met Alyssa."
As we continue our surveillance along the walkway, I start to hear odd little noises that almost sound like...footsteps crunching on the dirt path that ends at the drawbridge.I halt, smacking Kieran's arm."Hey, do you hear that?"
He stops and swivels his head side to side."Aye, I hear it too.Someone is coming this way."He whips his claymore out of its scabbard."Go, warn the others."
I rush down the walkway to the top of the staircase, taking the steps two at a time.As I burst into the great hall, my heart pounding, I find Rachel and the others huddled around the fireplace.Their heads snap up at my abrupt entrance.
"Someone's coming," I gasp, gripping the doorframe."Kieran's on the walkway.He sent me to warn you."
Rachel's eyes widen, and she's at my side in an instant."How many?Did you see them?"
I shake my head."Just heard footsteps.Sounded like one person, so it could be Alisdair again."
Alyssa's expression hardens as she hefts her dirk."That dirtbag never knows when to quit."
"We need to prepare," Rachel says."Morna, Efrica, start preparing for a confrontation.You ladies know how to handle an invasion.Use magic if necessary."
The two older women nod grimly and hurry off, their skirts swishing as they move with surprising speed for their age.Lachina has stayed behind.
Rachel turns to me."Joey, we need to get back up there with my father.If it is Alisdair, he won't be alone this time.Warriors know how to be stealthy, and they could easily trick us into believing there's only one man."
"Good point."I grip my dirk tightly."I'm right behind you."
"I'm coming too," says Dale Vescovi, Alyssa's dad."Maybe I'm old, but I'm not incapable.Traveling back to medieval days has forced me to get buff.Who says senior citizens can't be badasses?"
Norma Vescovi, Alyssa's mom, expresses her desire to help too."I was an Olympic archer back in the day.That means I can help too."
After I hand out the weapons, we're ready to go.
We all race back up the tower steps, our footfalls echoing in the narrow stairwell.As we emerge onto the walkway, I see Kieran crouched behind one of the crenellations, his massive frame barely concealed by the stone block.
