"Are they near?" Bruce asked her.
She nodded without turning her eyes from the trees. "Aye, and traveling fast. We will have to do our work quickly or we will be-" Ciardha's eyes widened and she spun around to face Bruce. "Behind you!"
CHAPTER 48
Bruce unsheathed his sword and turned towards the trail. Something slammed into him so hard that he was knocked backwards into the thick trunk of a tree. He slumped onto the ground and lay still.
"Bruce!" Ciardha screamed.
She rushed towards him, but she, too, was knocked off her feet and thrown to the ground just off the trail near me. I looked in the direction of our attack and my eyes widened as I beheld the former Bean Lyel who was now Sheehy, the witch of the old laird. She stood before us on the path covered in a black traveling cloak. Her skin was as pale as death and her eyes glowed with a demonic possession. Sheehy's lips were curled back in a hideous grin and one hand was raised so the palm faced outward towards us. I noticed a faint hint of black fog that floated in front of her palm.
Duncan and Angus hurried in front of me and brandished their weapons.
"Witch!" Duncan shouted.
Sheehy snarled at the pair of men. "You are fools to seek to stop your inevitable destruction," she sneered at us.
"No one is a fool who seeks to do God's work," Duncan challenged her.
Sheehy tilted back her head and let out a great cackle that echoed in the empty woods around us. "God's work? Your false laird is nothing but a monster."
"He is a better person than you!" I shouted as I pushed my way through the men and stood between them and the witch.
"Lady Campbell, stay behind us!" Duncan ordered me. He tired to grab my arm, but I moved out of his reach.
"I will no longer cower before monsters," I insisted.
"You, the whore of the wolf, dare call me a monster?" Sheehy mocked me.
I caught her eyes with an unflinching gaze and my voice rang loud and clear through the forest. "He is not the one who seeks to murder the innocent to avenge the death of an attempted murderer."
A dark shadow passed over Sheehy's face "She deserved her fate, and I was glad to be of assistance to him in that regards."
"Then it was you," a small voice gasped. I looked to Ciardha and watched her struggle to her feet. She clutched onto a boulder and glared at Sheehy. "You were the one who advised him on how to poison his own wife."
Sheehy frowned. "Who are you to know of-" Her eyes widened and she lowered her hand. "No," I heard her whisper. "It cannot be. You were killed."
Ciardha clutched her chest and turned to me. "Muira, call upon the gods for their help!" she commanded me.
I blinked at her and shook my head. "Call upon the gods? But I do not know how," I told her.
"There are no gods who can help you!" Sheehy roared.
She raised both her arms and strands of dark velvet fog slipped around her arms. The light focused around her hands and back large black balls from which came a hot heat.
Ciardha rushed over to me and clasped our hands together just as Sheehy threw the balls at our small group. A wall of flame burst from the ground between Sheehy and us. Her balls slammed into the wall and the whole earth was shaken by the impact. The balls disappeared and the wall collapsed, and with its falling so, too, did Ciardha's disguise vanish. She stood as she truly was, a beautiful woman.
Angus and Duncan's eyes widened, and Sheehy mimicked their response. The witch stumbled back and shook her head.
"No. It can't be. No one has the power to revive the dead," she whispered.
"I never died, but you are long past your time," Lady Campbell replied.
Sheehy steadied herself and scowled at Lady Campbell. "We shall see who is to die and-ah!" Her eyes widened and she clutched at her stomach.
My eyes traveled down to her waist and I saw that a dagger stuck out from her stomach. I followed the direction of the flight and saw that it had come from Bruce. He stood on his shaky legs with his back against the tree. A grin graced his lips.
"Never turn a blind eye to your foe," Bruce scolded Sheehy.
Sheehy grasped the handle of the dagger and stumbled back. She turned to flee, but her feet stumbled and she fell face-first onto the ground. Her body twitched for a moment before she lay still. I furrowed my brow and moved to go to her, but Lady Campbell held me back.
"Never trust a witch to be dead unless her head is removed," she advised me.
"And that shall be taken care of shortly," Bruce promised.
Bruce marched over to her body and hacked off her head with one clean cut. A scream escaped Sheehy's lips, and then there was nothing more. Bruce knelt beside her and rummaged through the folds of her body. None in our group spoke until the wail had faded into the distance.
"My God. What was that thing?" Duncan spoke up.
"An evil creature bent on revenge," Lady Campbell whispered.
"She is dead, and that is all that matters," Bruce commented. He paused and frowned, and his searching hand pulled forth a scrap of paper. Bruce opened the folded parchment and glanced over the contents. "Have any of you men the ability to read?" he asked the brothers.
"I have," Angus spoke up.
Bruce gestured for Angus to come to him. "Then read this aloud so your brother may believe the truth of it," he commanded.
Angus looked to Duncan, who pursed his lips and strode forward. They joined Bruce beside the body and Bruce handed the paper to Angus. Angus cleared his throat.
"The woman you seek travels through the woods to stop your allies. - S." Angus furrowed his brow and looked up into his older brother's dark face. "What can this mean?"
"It means there is a traitor among us, and I know of only one who bears the name of 'S' and would do something so horrible," Duncan replied.
Angus' eyes widened. "The laird's cousin?"
Duncan nodded. "Aye, and he travels with our laird even at this moment."
"Then we must hurry to warn him!" Angus suggested.
"A moment," Bruce spoke up. "We have our purpose in these woods, and if we do not succeed than one man will be the least of our concern."
"Then we will at least take this as proof of her death," Duncan commented as he reached for the head.
"Look out!" Lady Campbell called.
Dark shadows sprang from the earth beneath the body. Their tendrils reached out for the men and Sheehy's corpse Bruce and the other men jumped back. The darkness swallowed Sheehy's body like a thick fog and hid her from our sight. When the mist cleared her body was gone. All that remained was a patch of burnt ground shaped as her body. Bruce sneered at the blackened dirt.
"Filth of the earth. . ." he muttered. He turned to us and jerked his head down the path. "If you are done with your amusement than it is time we pressed on to our greater foe."
"A moment," Duncan spoke up. He stepped forward and studied Lady Campbell. "I know you, do I not?" he asked her.
She smiled and nodded. "You do, Duncan MacNaughton, for I am Lady Briana Campbell, wife to the old laird."
Duncan frowned and grasped the hilt of his sword. "And do you come from the dead as the witch accused you?"
Briana closed her eyes and shook her head. "I do not. I was saved from the poison by herbs, and escaped to await the day when it would be safe for me to return. That day came when my husband died."
"The less talk the better for us and not our foes," Bruce called some ten yards ahead of us on the path.
Duncan unsheathed his sword and glanced between Briana and Bruce. "We will not move forward until I have heard the entirety of this plan," he insisted.
"Do you now doubt your laird's plan when you are neck-deep in the mess?" Bruce challenged him.
Duncan furrowed his brow and tightened his grip on his sword. "I doubt the sanctity of our mission."
"God rewards the victor with victory, and we will ensure ours with fewer speeches and more walking," Bruce advised him.
Briana still stood by my side, and I
noticed her stiffen. He turned her head left and right, and her eyes widened.
"They come!" she warned the men.
Bruce straightened and spun around to look down the trail. He viewed it for a moment before he hurried back to us. Angus, too, unsheathed his weapon, though the brothers remained apart from we three. Bruce turned to Lady Campbell and me.
"Have you both powers to stop them now?" Bruce asked us.
Briana shook her head. "I have not, but she holds the ability," she replied as she nodded at me.
I felt the color drain from my face as the pair turned to me. "What can I do against an army? I could not even defend myself against the witch," I pointed out.
Briana clasped my hands and smiled. "You have a great power inside you, little daughter. It is your will to protect those for whom you care. Now, more than ever, those you love need you to use your love to save them from these fiends."
"But how? I do not understand how," I persisted
"A girl is no defense against so many," Duncan spoke up.
"She is more defense than your sword," Bruce argued.
Briana stepped between them and raised her hands. "We haven't time for your bickering. Our enemy is nearly upon us and we must have faith in this young woman."
"Have faith in a young woman in a coming battle? Are you mad?" Angus questioned her.
Briana glared at him. "Not mad, and not foolish. She is our only hope to survive."
While they bickered, my sensitive ears picked up on the faint footfall of hundreds of feet. They crept through the foliage and trees towards where we stood. I glanced at my companions, but they continued their dithering. They would not be prepared for when our foes came, and they would be slaughtered. My valley would be taken, and my family and beloved would be killed, if the traitorous Seumas had not already done away with him.
I pursed my lips and pressed my fisted hand against my chest. A warmth arose inside me, a feeling that told me to meet my foe in the darkness of the woods. I slipped around my arguing friends and down the path.
"Andra!" Bruce called to me.
It was then that I ran.
CHAPTER 49
I raced away from them and into the dark depths of the shadowed woods. They followed, but my swift feet took me far ahead of them until I could no longer hear their calls. I was alone in the ancient woods, but I felt no fear. The feeling inside me gave me the comfort and strength to continue on.
The tread of the enemy grew louder until I glimpsed their helmeted heads and shimmering armor. They marched in one long row that was several columns deep, and they numbered in the hundreds. A soldier led them along the path along with a man in peasant garb. They were completely silent but for their footsteps and the faint sound of metal as it brushed against soft branches.
The soldier in the lead noticed me and raised his hand. The columns of men stopped their march but for four who hurried from the front line. They rushed past their commander and raced at me with swords drawn. Their dark eyes held no mercy as they barreled towards me. I raised my arms and my clear voice echoed through the trees.
"Return to your lands, men of Menzies!" I cried out.
The men who threatened me quickened their steps. They covered the twenty yards between us and raised their swords. I cringed and covered myself with my arms as they swung their swords downward.
A bright light erupted from my hands. The men cried out in terror and fell back five feet from me. I straightened and held my hands out palms-up so I could study their brilliance. Their light was as the light of day against a thick fog that created a thick glow. The glow brought me a warmth that heartened my soul and instilled in me a spirit that desired to protect those for whom I cared.
The soldiers shrank from my light and shielded themselves with their swords.
"Let not a witch live!" called the commander.
The four men rallied at the order and two of them dared rush towards me. No longer was I the meek woman who they dared attack. Now I stood before them as a shield maiden of old with the spirit of a goddess within me. I raised one hand with spread fingers so my palm faced them. A brilliant ray of light burst from my palm and slammed into them. The men flew back and landed on their backs a few feet shy of their commander. None of them stood, nor even moved.
Their two unharmed companions cried out in fear and retreated. The commander marched forward and met them half way. He pulled out his sword and cut them down. Their blood spoiled the beauty of the forest and the foul scent of death filled my nostrils. The commander turned to his men and brandished his bloody sword so all could see his deed.
"There is either death or victory. Any who tries to retreat will be killed!" he warned them. The men shrank from his words, and he spun around to face me. His eyes narrowed and he flickered off some of the blood. "I know not your name, witch, but your devil will welcome you in hell."
He gave a roar and rushed forward. His men followed him with their swords drawn and battle cries in their threats.
The warmth inside me spoke softly to me. The she-wolf told me to raise my hands over my head. I followed her command, and the brilliance in my hands joined and erupted into a ball of light as bright as the sun. Light burst from the light and formed into a long wall that sailed ahead of me. The light passed over tree and bush without so much as a hint of breeze, but the collision with the men was more devastating.
The commander was the first to be reached, and he screamed in agony as the light seared his flesh. The light sank into his body and ate away skin and bone until everything dissolved into the air. The same happened to the rest of the army, even those at the rear who turned and tried to flee at the cries of warning from their pained companions. They, too, were swallowed by the ghastly and wondrous light.
The attack lasted no more than a few moments, and then all lay still. Nothing more moved among the trees ahead of me save for a soft breeze that rippled the leaves. The only evidence of battle were the four dead men, two from my initial attack and the two slaughtered by their own commander.
"Muira!" came Briana's voice.
I turned and saw my companions far down the path. Briana led the way with Bruce behind her and the brothers a dozen yards back. I stepped towards them, but my leg shook so badly that my knee buckled and I fell. My hands caught me before I lay stretched out across the ground, and I felt my whole body tremble. Bruce and Briana reached me, and she knelt beside me and grasped my shoulders.
"Are you well?" she asked me.
I raised my head and nodded. The warmth slipped from my body and left my limbs weak. "Yes, but I am very tried," I replied.
She smiled at me and squeezed my shoulders. "The powers of the goddess are very great, are they not?" she mused.
"What happened here?" Bruce spoke up. I looked up and saw that he gazed out across the empty battlefield. His nostrils flared and his eyes were narrowed. "I smell a terrible amount of death, but I do not see more than four bodies."
I hung my head and closed my eyes. "Our enemies came in a great multitude and I tried to warn them to stay away, but they tried to attack me," I whispered.
"Ssh," Briana replied as she leaned her face close to mine. Her words tickled my ears and comforted my heavy heart. "You did nothing more than protect those you love, and there is no sin in that."
Duncan and Angus hurried up, and the elder looked over the woods for a moment before he turned to Bruce. "Where are our enemies?"
"By the grace of god they are dead," Bruce replied. He nodded at the four bodies. "That is all that remains of them."
Duncan frowned. "The dead do not merely vanish," he argued.
Bruce turned away from the battle and sheathed his sword. "You are welcome to search for them, but for us we will return and assist how we can in the other battle in this disgusting war," he replied.
Angus' eyes widened and he looked around us at the dark woods. He turned back to his brother. "I would have us believe the miracle and not remain here," he pleaded.
Duncan
glared at his younger brother who shrank beneath his dark look. "There is no greater fear here than death," he scolded.
"There is more than death here, and your younger sibling is not so immune to its effects as you are," Briana argued.
"And far too much talking," Bruce chimed in as he helped me take a few shaky steps. "The battle will not wait for our coming."
"Then leave me here for my legs won't walk very well," I told him.
Bruce smiled and shook his head. "I wouldn't think of leaving you, Andra. Not when you have saved us." He swept me into his arms as his son had done many times and proceeded down the path. Briana followed, and Bruce called over his shoulder to the other two men. "I will give your laird your kind regards when we meet him."
I looked over Bruce's shoulder and noticed Duncan's lips purse together. He grasped Angus' shoulder and pushed him ahead of him down the path towards us.
"Don't dawdle for I won't carry you," Duncan warned him.
And the pair hurried after us to the other battle.
CHAPTER 50
We retreated from our victory in the woods and found our horses as we had left them. Lady Campbell took the reins of our horse and Bruce set me behind her. The men took to their saddles and we hurried on our way to the northwest where lay the High Road and the other battle. Our horses flew swiftly over the bare fields until we came to a small path that led out of the valley and onto the main road above us.
My heart quickened at the thought of finding not victory for our side, but a dismal defeat. The likelihood of living the rest of my days without my beloved, even after such a short time together, was almost too much to bear. I grasped Lady Campbell's arms and squeezed my eyes shut.
Lady Campbell looked over her shoulder and smiled at me. "Have faith, little daughter. I sense that my son still lives."
Our long journey up the steep slope came to an end an hour later. We crested the top of the path and came out on the High Road. There were no houses nor fields along this stretch of the road, and no sign nor sound of any battle.
"All is very quiet," Bruce commented as he turned his horse towards the north. "Let us hope that if the day is won, our men bury the bodies."
We spurred our horses and rushed down the road for a few miles before Bruce suddenly reined in his horse. His eyebrows crashed down and his eyes focused on the road ahead of us.