Alaric and Broc fought hard, Broc’s sword clashing with a masked man dressed in black, his grunts telling him the man wasn’t going to give up easily. A score more men came out of the woods, some carrying small swords, some on foot, to join the assault. When Broc finally took one man down, two others came at him. An arrow flew from the trees, catching one man in theshoulder hard enough to knock him from his mount. The second man Broc went after with his sword over his head, bringing it down on his weapon arm and nearly amputating it. Then he followed the path that Alasdair had taken.
Alaric and his father followed him, his sire bellowing, “Don’t be foolish, Broc. The bastards already have Mama. Do not give in to what they want!”
Alaric came abreast of Broc, his father behind him. They could see Alasdair a short distance ahead. “We’re behind you, Alasdair. Don’t slow!” Alaric yelled.
Alasdair glanced back but then was suddenly attacked by four men from the woods he’d passed. He bellowed and swung like a possessed man, taking one attacker out immediately. Broc went after one, using the Grant war whoop to give him the power he needed to knock that attacker off his horse. He swung hard enough to send another man’s weapon into the forest and then plunged his sword into his chest, killing him instantly.
But five more came at them.
They were too far away for the archers to help them.
“Broc!” his sire called out when two men went at him. “Help me. I cannot take on both.”
Alaric fought two of his own. Broc killed his attacker quickly, then went to help his father who was slowing. He couldn’t lose his father.
Alasdair was nowhere to be seen.
Merryn was a distance away in the trees near Simone.
Uncle Connor hadn’t approached yet and neither had any of their guards.
It was the three of them against this new onslaught that had burst forth from the trees.
His father swung but was losing strength. Broc could see it in the sweat on his brow and the slow arc of his weapon. Brocattacked one man from behind, striking his flank and sending him retreating into the woods where he lost his mount.
“Da, move back!”
Finlay pulled his mount out of the way and Broc maneuvered his black beast in front of his father. Midnight Majesty had seen enough and nearly tossed Broc by raising up on his hind legs, though it was too small an area for the attempt.
Broc had to finish quickly, or he’d be off. His horse landed and snorted, turning sideways, which gave Broc the perfect angle to thrust at the man’s side, the life leaving his eyes as soon as the blade sunk into the soft flesh between his ribs.
Where the hell was Merryn? “Da, go back. Protect Merryn. I have to go after Alasdair and Mama.”
Alaric finished both of his attackers, and the two cousins stared at each other, heaving. Alaric said, “Alasdair’s long gone. Out of sight. I’m not going alone. You want to go?”
Broc wished more than anything to find his mother. “Da, go after Merryn. I’m going for Mama.” He turned his horse around and Uncle Connor galloped toward them. “Where is Alasdair?”
“Long gone,” Finlay said. “You’ll never catch him, and there were three men behind him. I can’t do it anymore. The rest? Simone, Artan, Merryn?”
“We finally finished off the men who attacked back there, but there could be more coming out of the woods any moment. We have no idea how many they have. More than I expected,” Connor said. “I don’t have the strength to go after them. Where is Lia?”
“I’ll go,” Broc said. “Lia is with John.”
Alaric said, “I’ll go with Broc.”
“Nay,” his father said. “We don’t know where your mother is. I cannot lose you, Broc. Don’t go. It’s too uncertain. And now they have John, Lia, and possibly Alasdair too.”
Uncle Connor said, “I’m acting chieftain and I’m ordering both of you to stand down. We don’t have enough men. How many were with Alasdair?”
Broc brushed the sweat from his brow. “He was after the one who had John, and four came out of the woods to follow him, keeping us back. I managed to take one and Alaric another, but then five more came at the three of us. I lost sight of him after that. At least two were behind him on horseback. Alaric and I can take them.”
“You’ll stand down. We’ll return later with contingents. I need the men from Grant land. We return and regroup.”
“Da?” He looked at his father, but then he thought of Merryn.
“Let Mama go for now. We’ll get her.”
“But it’s my fault. I should go after her. I could have…”
