Chapter 9
Guards and warriors flooded out of the breakfast hall. Beitris was already rushing through the Keep, Logan just behind her because he didn’t know where else he should be. Beitris found her father donning his armor. He peered at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Beitris, I don’t have time for this,” he said.
“Da, if I dinnae ride with ye then I am gaeing tae find a way tae sneak out. Allan and Elliot need us. They need my bow. Ye cannae keep me here. Better I should gae with ye then ye can protect me yerself,” she said, and was already thinking of a hundred different reasons about why it was best to take her into battle.
Ryan sighed.
“I thought ye would come tae me. I ken I cannae stop ye, but I need tae ken ye are safe.” He then turned to Logan and looked him directly in the eye.
“Make sure she is safe. Make sure she returns tae the Keep, nae matter what. Yer only task is tae keep her alive, dae ye understand?” he said in solemn words.
“Aye,” Logan said, his voice thick with emotion.
Beitris looked indignant. “I dinnae need someone tae protect me. Besides, with a bow I shall be at the rear.”
“I dinnae think ye will stay at the rear. I ken ye, Beitris,” Ryan said. Beitris humped. “These are my terms. If ye accept, then ride with me.”
Beitris knew that she wasn’t going to get another offer, so she accepted. She called for servants to fetch her bow and cloak. Quivers of arrows were already waiting on her horse. They wasted no time in riding out, with a sea of Knox warriors behind their backs.
Ryan rode ahead of them. Logan was close beside her. The rhythm of the horse thundered between her legs and she continually looked over at Logan.
Was it Warnock? Had Logan been wrong in his estimation that this battle would not warrant Warnock’s attention?
They both had people they worried about.
For her it was Allan and Elliot above all.
Even though they could be annoying they were still her brothers and she loved them.
For him it was Brody, a friend who had saved his life and endured hardships.
If anything happened to Brody she knew that Logan would blame himself, and she found herself pitying him.
And then she thought of what might happen after the battle.
She could feel herself becoming closer to Logan.
It was dangerous to trust him, to get close to him…
She hadn’t been lying when she said she had no great desire to marry.
It was just another way in which she could be different from her family, and her parents would certainly wish for a nobler match than a warrior.
Was she merely attracted to him because she knew it would rile her family, or was there something deeper?
Either way, she was pensive as she rode into battle because she could not bear thinking about Logan perishing in battle. He had made a vow to protect her, and now she found herself silently vowing to protect him, no matter what.
Logan pulled his cloak over his head as they rode into battle.
Like so many other villages before, this one was aflame.
The fire hadn’t reached every building yet and he could see that some warriors and villagers were trying to douse the flames.
Smoke drifted in the air, a thin haze rather than a thick mist. It wasn’t strong enough to cling to his throat yet, but he felt as though he was choking anyway.
If any of Warnock’s men saw him they would raise the alarm, expose him to the Knox army, and try to take him back home.
Logan shuddered at both prospects.
Warnock was nowhere to be seen. Logan scanned the battlefield and saw Brody fighting off some men. He darted nimbly and danced upon an upturned wagon, his sword flashing with flamboyant strikes.
Beitris took her position and started firing arrows.
They sang through the air and her aim was unerring.
While he had disparaged the bow before, he could not deny her skill.
Ryan charged in, bellowing his sons’ names, although Allan and Elliot were hard to find.
In the distance, he could hear Donal barking out orders.
Logan then realized that people were looking at him.
As second in command he needed to lead. He directed some warriors to bolster the others, reminding them to keep formation and remember their training.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Brody leap into the air, dodging an attack from the two men in front of him.
As Brody landed his foot broke through the wood and he was unbalanced.
“Brody!” Logan cried out desperately.
Beitris turned. Their eyes met.
She nodded, giving him permission to go.
She wasn’t in the thick of battle. She would be fine. She fired an arrow. One of the men in front of Brody sank to the ground, clutching the arrow that pierced his neck. The other one was still standing, flailing his sword upon Brody, who was struggling to defend himself.
Logan charged in, roaring like a lion. The man turned. Logan swiped his sword through the air, knocking the other man’s away. Then, he charged with his full weight and shoved the man aside. Logan fell upon him and plunged his sword into the man’s chest before turning to Brody. He thrust out a hand.
“Well, about time ye joined me,” Brody said, wincing as he lifted his foot out of the jagged hole.
“What are ye thinking, dancing when ye should be fighting?”
Brody shrugged. “I thought I would put on a show,” he replied. “Look, now is yer chance.”
Brody peered beyond Logan’s shoulder. Logan turned to see Ryan fighting through the enemy forces. Logan pulled his hood up. It had fallen down when he ran forward. He stroked his chin.
“Better tae be done with this. In the chaos of battle naebody will blame ye.”
“They will nae ken.”
“He will ken. Whisper it in his ear if ye must. He will die knowing that ye will be considered a hero in his own clan. What better revenge is there than that?”
Logan wrestled inside, but while he was thinking, he noticed a few enemy soldiers heading towards Ryan, clearly wanting the glory of his scalp. Donal was being held back by a cluster of guards, and he was directing other soldiers to rally around Ryan, but all of them were preoccupied.
“Watch Beitris,” he said to Brody and proceeded to head towards Ryan with a determined look in his eyes.
A sword was thrust towards Ryan. It headed straight for his shoulder and might have taken his arm as the blow was given with such force.
Logan thrust his sword out at the last moment, deflecting the blow.
He turned his wrists and took advantage of the extra force, for the enemy soldier had been unable to regain his balance.
Logan’s sword drove up into the man’s throat, and blood oozed out of his mouth.
Logan found himself fighting side by side with the man he had sworn to kill. The irony was not lost on him, but nobody else was going to take Ryan Knox’s life. It belonged to him.
“I thought I told ye tae watch over Beitris,” Ryan grunted, still a formidable warrior even though the prime of his youth was far in the past.
“Would ye rather I leave ye tae these mongrels?” Logan replied.
Together they pushed back two warriors and fought valiantly until the enemies thinned. Ryan turned to him and clasped his shoulder.
“Ye hae my thanks. I will gae and help Donal. Return tae Beitris, please,” Ryan said.
He turned his back. Logan gripped his sword. He could have easily plunged the blade into Ryan’s back, but the moment passed. He kept telling himself that it was because he needed Ryan to know who he was and why he was doing this, yet the more he told himself this, the more hollow it seemed.
When Logan turned, his eyes widened in horror.
“Logan, come, it’s the lead raider!” Beitris cried, sheathing her bow and drawing her sword, seemingly eager to put her new talents into practice.
Logan groaned inwardly and followed, regretting that he’d ever taught her these dark skills.
“I thought I told ye tae keep an eye on her,” Logan cried out to Brody, who merely shrugged.
“I took my eye off her for one minute and she charges ahead,” he said.
“Yield now and tell us where Warnock is, otherwise I shall fire an arrow through yer heart,” Beitris said, brandishing her sword in front of the raider.
Logan knew the man she was facing. Mikkel was said that he was descended from Vikings.
He was taller than any other man on the battlefield, with flaming hair and broad shoulders that were packed with muscle.
Beitris looked tiny compared to him. He wielded a battleaxe, the handle of which looked as thick as a tree trunk.
“I will never yield,” he said, then cackled with laughter.
He bore down on Beitris and swung his axe. She barely managed to raise her sword in time. Logan cringed. He was already running at full pelt and feared that he would have to watch her perish.
The intensity and rawness of this emotion took him by surprise, but in that moment all of his denial was stripped away and there was nothing left but his purest intentions.
Mikkel raised his axe again. The first blow had staggered Beitris, and she didn’t look as though she would recover in time. Logan threw himself forward and extended his sword. It was just long enough to block the blow.
Mikkel snarled and directed his ire onto Logan. Logan was unbalanced and tried his best to get his feet to move properly, but then an arm came crashing around and slammed against his chin and throat.
His neck snapped back and he gargled. A hand was then clamped around his throat and he was lifted off the ground, gasping for breath. The sword slipped from his hand.
“Let him gae!” Beitris screamed.
Mikkel held Logan in one hand and his axe in the other, fending off Beitris’ wild and clumsy strikes. Logan’s hood was in the process of slipping off his face. He watched Beitris out of the corner of his eye. Her emotions were making her forget her training.
Mikkel squeezed tighter and tighter. Logan felt his eyes bulging, as though they were about to pop from their sockets. He was shaken about in the air, and the hood slipped away.
Mikkel stared at him, furrowing his brow.
“I ken ye,” he said, and then chuckled. “Ach, Warnock’s been looking for his blood—”
Mikkel was silenced as a clod of mud slammed into his face.
Mikkel lost his grip on Logan, who dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.
He turned around, the hood falling over his head again.
Mikkel staggered back, clawing at his mouth, nose, and eyes to get rid of the dirt.
He swung his axe in front of him. Brody leaped in alongside Beitris, and together the two of them took the fight to Mikkel, pressing him so that he did not have a moment’s respite.
Logan looked up, trying to gather his strength. There was a ringing in his ears and saliva swam over his tongue. His vision was blurred and he patted the ground, trying to find his sword.
Then he heard a cry.
His vision cleared enough to see Brody being thrust away, one of Mikkel’s huge legs had kicked Brody like a mule, pushing him back. Mikkel grabbed Beitris’ hair and turned her body aside. There was a nasty snarl on his face as he brought his axe to bear.
Logan was already moving.
He didn’t know where he drew the strength from, only that he needed it.
Pain flared all over his body, but he put it to the back of his mind.
He was single-minded in his desire to protect Beitris.
He pushed Beitris out of the way and took the blow in his shoulder.
He arched his body, wincing in pain as the blood was freed through a dark, deep gash.
He didn’t have time to waste, however. In a trembling hand he summoned what remaining strength he had left and then looked up at Mikkel.
“Ye traitor—” Mikkel started, but he never got a chance to finish his sentence.
The tip of his blade found Mikkel’s neck and Logan pushed it as deep as it would go before his strength left him and he let go of the hilt, taking his secret to the grave.
Darkness encroached upon his vision and he sank to the ground again.
The last thing he saw was a blurred figure leaning over him.
“Logan, Logan please hold on. I cannae gae on without ye.”
Strangely he did not feel angry that he had failed to kill Ryan, only happy that he had saved Beitris.