Chapter 9 #3
Kenzie shuffled with a limp for his sword, but Ailith drew her knife and stepped between him and his weapon. His good eye widened at the sight of the unbloodied lass with the knife in her hand, then drew his own much longer knife blade.
Briefly, Ailith considered going for the sword, yet as weary as she was, she didn’t think she would have the strength even to lift the weapon into the air, let alone wield it with any measure of skill.
Her second thought was to circle to Kenzie’s right, hoping to get in his blind spot now that his right eye had completely swollen shut.
However, if she did, he’d just go for his sword again, and she’d be back where she had started, only without her pole and much more tired.
She had to attack but also needed to stay between him and his sword.
Ailith shifted her knife so she held it the way William had instructed while Kenzie held his blade up with his fat fist wrapped around the handle. Kenzie squeezed the handle so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
She raised her left hand like a shield, remembering her promise to William.
He had been right; using her own body as a shield was no easy decision.
She had to force herself to stop thinking about blocking his knife with her hand.
If she needed to, she would do it. She swallowed hard at how far this fight had gone.
What had happened to putting him on his arse to end it?
“Kenzie!” Alistair continued to yell to get Kenzie’s attention. “Kenzie Keith!”
So he was trying to stop it. That was something.
Yet, Kenzie was no longer listening. He saw red and was going to do his all to kill her. She read it plainly on his infuriated face.
He stabbed at Ailith, but she blocked his blade with her knife the way William had instructed her, grateful that she didn’t have to use her own arm to block.
Kenzie stumbled forward, exhausted with nothing left to give, but managed a desperate reach for her throat with his left hand.
Ailith slashed out at his fingers. Dark crimson sprayed the ground, along with two of Kenzie’s fingers.
Ailith froze, wide-eyed at the bloody wound. She had injured people before, bruises, and a broken nose, but nothing like this!
Kenzie stumbled to a halt, dropping his knife. He grabbed his left hand with his right, bringing it in front of his face to stare at his ruined fingers, and screamed.
At that, Ailith shifted into action again.
Wrapping her fingers and thumb around her handle, she leapt into the air, bringing her knife down like a hammer, hilt first, onto the center of Kenzie’s forehead.
Kenzie’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he dropped to his knees, then onto his face in the dirt.
The same move William had used with Eoghan, only a wee bit harder, knocking Kenzie unconscious. Thank god she didn’t have to kill him. She wasn’t quite ready to take a life.
Surprisingly, the onlookers erupted into cheers for Ailith.
Sweaty, panting, and fatigued beyond belief, Ailith spun around to make sure Teagan was on the platform.
Gulping for breath, she felt that her legs were going to give out on her, and they did.
Her knees turned to rubber, and she dropped to one knee to catch herself from falling flat onto the ground.
With shaky legs, she forced herself to stand and managed another step forward.
A movement at her side caught her attention, and she paused.
Her gaze landed on the two boys who had cheered for her and gave them a wink.
Then, recalling the terms of the trial by combat, Ailith took a deep breath, and under the irate gaze of Alistair Keith, she made her way back over to Kenzie’s unconscious body and gestured at the prone man.
“I won the challenge,” she panted, her gaze leveled at Alistair. “Let Teagan go.”
William slowed when he entered the center of Stonehaven and saw Alistair Keith standing on the center dais, his face frozen in shock. The orange-haired woman, Teagan, sat on the platform near his feet, her hands bound in front of her. She, too, was wide-eyed and panicked.
He sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. He pretty much knew what to expect when he turned to the spectacle at the center of the town and was grateful that the young MacDougal man at the market had the presence of mind to see Ailith challenge for Teagan, then run from town and ride toward Drumoak like all the demons of hell were on his heels.
It was pure serendipity that William met him on the road not far from Stonehaven.
Yet not soon enough, from the looks of it.
Ailith stood over a rather round man lying on the ground near some broken sticks, her feet spread wide under her skirts, and her sgian-dubh knife clutched tightly in her right hand. Her garnet-red hair had come loose from her plait and curled around her pinkened face and shoulders.
The expression on her face was one of absolute triumph.
She looked like a small goddess standing victorious after a battle.
Feck me. What had Ailith done now?
He leapt off his horse and rushed to her side.
“Ailith!”
On steady feet but with her breasts heaving wearily under her kirtle, she turned to him. William said a quick prayer to God that the man on the ground lived. Senseless but alive, as evidenced by the movements of his burly chest.
“Seize her!” Alistair Keith shouted from the platform, but no one moved.
William had to force the smirk off his lips.
Did they hesitate because of William and Robb?
Or because of the spitfire redhead wielding the knife over their man?
Or because they were in a state of immobile surprise at what they witnessed?
Honestly, he could not begin to guess. Robb moved to join William at his side.
Holding a hand up to stop Alistair where he stood, William shifted his focus to Ailith, trying his best to temper his odd sense of pride and his greater rising fury.
“Ailith,” he said again, lowering his voice so only she might hear him speak. “What has happened here? Wee Arran raced like the devil chased him to find me.”
With a final, gratified look at the prone man in the dirt, Ailith peeked around William to the dais, then turned her flaming green eyes to him.
She lifted her skirts inappropriately high and sheathed her new knife, and then wiped the sweat from her brow.
If she was attempting to goad him more, it was working.
“They accused Teagan of witchcraft,” she answered with authority. “I knew that she would spend the rest of her life rotting in a cell if no one stood up for her, if not death, so I offered trial by combat.”
William inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That I can see –”
“And I won,” Ailith boasted.
“That I can also see.” He tempered his voice. Truly, he didn’t know if he was angrier that she put herself at risk or proud that she had succeeded. Hell, she always was putting herself in some sort of risk . . .
Moving to William’s side, Ailith pulled herself to her full height in front of the sputtering Alistair man. “I have championed the woman. She’s no witch. Release her now so we might take her home.”
William groaned loudly. Instead of confronting Ailith in front of an audience, he had to present a united front with his wife in public. In private, on the other hand . . .
“MacDougal! Control your woman!” Alistair Keith shouted.
This time, William did free his smirk. The man was far too full of himself. “‘Twould seem my wife speaks the truth. I dinna even see a priest or Callum here to oversee this debacle. We shall take the woman with us and return her home on the way to Drumoak.”
“This will no’ sit well with the Keith.”
Ailith surged forward to speak, but William placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Ye can bring it up to the MacDougal. He would like to hear about how ye are abusing women this way. ‘Tis the sign of a weak man, one who abuses women.”
Alistair quieted, his face a closed mask of anger.
William’s words held weight, echoing what he and Ailbert had said before, and he wondered if Alistair had heard of the abuses against the Keith woman earlier.
The crowd also fell silent, eagerly watching the battle of wills.
Alistair broke first with a defeated frown and waved a hand at Teagan.
“Take her,” Alistair snapped, spun on his heel, and stormed off.
Ailith rushed to the dais and worked the ropes until Teagan’s hands were free.
Robb leaned into William. “What has happened here, William? Ye dinna seem surprised that Ailith was here, holding a knife over this man.”
“Weel, I was the one who gave her the knife,” William said in a bitter tone. “But nay, Ailith has always been a force of will. I’m no’ surprised.”
Ailith walked Teagan toward them. The poor woman was rubbing her wrists where the ropes had chafed her translucent skin.
“Are ye well, lass?” William asked. Teagan nodded, and William looked pointedly at Robb. “Take the lass back to her croft, if ye will? I’ll escort Ailith back to Drumoak.”
Robb cut his gaze from William to Teagan and back, then pursed his lips. He wasn’t happy about the entire situation or his assignment with Teagan, but didn’t question it. “Aye. I’ll meet ye back at Drumoak. But we’ll have to tell Cormag about all this. He will no’ be pleased,” Robb commented.
Robb was adapting to his role as second-in-command, and William was impressed by how well the young man handled himself. It was another sign that Robb would be a fine tanist one day.
“Agreed,” William answered, then took Ailith’s arm in a tight grip and led her toward their horses at the rear of the courtyard.
“William, I –” she started, but he shook his head.
“Dinna say anything here,” he whispered to her. “We dinna know who’s listening.”