“I’m comin’ with ye to find Spring,” said Ross, following right behind Shaw as they made their way to the stable.
“Wait for me,” said Reed, putting down the bowl of soup and running to catch up with them. His red kite flew behind him, disappearing up into the sky.
They made their way out into the courtyard when one of the guards atop the battlements sounded the alarm bell.
“What is it?” Shaw stopped and looked up to the guard, shading his eyes from the sun.
“Clan Gunn is headin’ this way. We’re under attack,” called down the man atop the lookout tower.
“Men, ready yer weapons and follow me,” called out Shaw. “Once we’re gone, close the gates to keep the women and children safe.”
“Aye,” the guard called back, waving a hand over his head.
“What’s happenin’?” Leod shot out of the keep, buckling his weapon belt around his waist.
“It’s the Gunns,” said Shaw.
“My laird,” said Baen, running down from the battlements, taking the steps two at a time. “The Gunns are bein’ led here by Spring and her brathairs.”
“What?” Shaw’s head snapped upward. “Are ye sure?”
“Aye. They’re ridin’ at breakneck speed. She must have betrayed ye.”
“Nay,” he said, feeling dread wash through him. Had this been why she’d been acting so distant lately? How hadn’t he noticed? “She’s my wife. She wouldna do that.” He said the words aloud, but no longer believed them. Once a warrior, always a warrior. He should have known their marriage was doomed from the start. But now he’d gone and fallen in love with her – only to have her respond in this way. He should never have let down his guard.
“She has been raised as a Gunn,” Leod reminded them. “She’s got that Viking warrior blood runnin’ through her.”
“Nay, she’s my daughter. She is no’ a Viking or a warrior,” protested Ross. “She’s a lady!”
“Da, we heard the alarm,” said Leith as Shaw’s three children ran up to him.
“Where is Spring?” asked Colina.
“She’s out there with the Gunns,” said Shaw with a stiff upper lip, not liking the fact he had to tell his children she was a traitor. She’d made them all look like fools. He made a dash for the stable with the rest of the men right behind him. “Baen, help the stableboy saddle our horses,” he shouted. “Donel, take yer brathair and sister back into the keep where they’ll be safe.”
“Da, I need to talk to ye,” said Donel.
“No’ now, Son,” said Shaw over his shoulder, trying to focus on the attack. “The Gunns are goin’ to try to take the castle and we’ve got to stop them.”
“It is important,” said Donel.
“Leod, shake off that drunken stupor and get yer arse on a horse,” said Shaw, pulling himself atop his steed. “Children, get into the keep and stay hidden, no matter what. Do ye hear me?”
“We’ll help with our bow and arrows,” said Colina.
“Nay, ye willna,” he spat, turning his horse. “It is too dangerous.”
“We ken how to shoot,” said Leith. “Spring taught us.”
“No one is shootin’ arrows,” he told them. “Now, do as I say. Donel, get them inside the keep.”
Chaos broke out as the men of the clan gathered their weapons and met by the gate. Some were on horses, but most were on foot. The women of the clan ran through the courtyard in chaos, dragging their crying children behind them. Dogs barked and nipped at their heels as they headed to safety.
“I’m in love with Vika Gunn,” Donel shouted, causing Shaw to stop and turn his horse.
“What did ye say?” His tolerance was low right now, especially since his wife had just betrayed him and was leading her clan on the attack. He didn’t have time for this.
“We want to get married.”
“We’ll talk about this when I get back.” He turned and started to ride away.
“I’ve had a vision that Vika is pregnant with Donel’s bairn,” said Nairnie appearing from nowhere.
That caused him to stop again.
“She is?” asked Donel.
“My visions are never wrong,” the old woman stated.
Shaw knew this was true since Nairnie had proved it time and again. He turned around, no longer able to hold back his temper.
“Donel, what the hell were ye thinkin’? The Gunns are our enemies!”
“Nay, we’ve made an alliance. Now we’ll have two alliances with them,” said Donel.
“The alliance is no’ real or are ye blind? Do ye no’ hear that the Gunns are comin’ to try to kill us? Dinna I have enough trouble on my hands without havin’ to deal with yer stupid act of gettin’ the enemy bairned? How could ye?”
“He’s no’ the only one who has bairned the enemy,” said Nairnie.
“Old woman, get inside the keep and watch my children.”
“Yer wife is carryin’ yer bairn, my laird. Perhaps ye’d better think about that before ye have her head.”
“Spring is pregnant, too?” That took Shaw by surprise. He looked up to the sky and shook his head. As excited as he was about being a father again, this wasn’t the ideal time or situation. “Men, move on out,” he commanded, leading the way, not sure what he was going to do about Spring turning traitorous on him when she was pregnant with their child.
Shaw and his men on horseback rode ahead of the others on foot, reaching Spring and her brothers first.
“Dinna shoot or raise yer sword unless I give the word,” Shaw commanded.
“Shaw! Shaw!” yelled Spring, riding toward them, waving her arm above her head. “Dinna hurt us. We come in peace.”
They stopped their horses and Shaw kept a close eye on Spring’s brothers. If either one of them raised a weapon he wouldn’t hesitate to attack.
“Shaw, my brathairs and I are here to warn ye to secure the castle. My faither and the clan are right behind us.”
“I’m yer faither,” growled Ross, from atop a horse next to Shaw.
“My other faither,” Spring said. That told Shaw that she’d come to terms with the idea that Ross was really her father after all.
“Are ye three really on our side or is this another part of yer traitorous plan?” asked Shaw, being cautious. He would not be fooled again.
“I’m sorry, Shaw. I should have told ye sooner. But ye must believe me. I’m tellin’ ye the truth. We’re on yer side.”
Shaw nodded slowly, believing her, though his head warned him not to. The Gunns were closing in and he had to make a snap decision. “All right. I believe ye,” he said. “Spring, I ken ye’re bairned. I dinna want ye in danger. Get back to the castle and tell them to close the gate behind ye.”
“Nay. I’m goin’ to stay and help fight. I’m the best with a bow and arrows, and ye ken it.”
“Then shoot from the battlements,” said Shaw. “Ye’re no’ stayin’ out here. Now go!”
“I dinna ken.” She looked at her brothers.
“We’ll help fight the Gunns, Laird Gordon,” said Egil. “Spring told us that we were probably stolen by Cromwell as babies, also.”
“Aye,” said Ross. “There were two other families of the Douglas Clan that had their babies stolen. They were boys.”
“So, we are no’ Cromwell’s sons?” asked Bodil.
“No’ on yer life, laddie,” said Ross.
“Then, let’s take him down for what he’s done.”
“Can we trust these two?” asked Leod from atop his horse.
“We dinna have a choice,” said Reed, who had also joined them.
“Ye can trust us,” said Egil. “We’re sorry for all the problems our clan has caused ye in the past.”
“There’ll be time for that later,” said Shaw, pulling his sword from his scabbard. “Here comes old Cromwell now with the rest of his clan. Boys, we’ve got work to do.”
Spring made her way to the castle and over the drawbridge, not liking the fact that she’d been sent away from the battle. Never in her life had she retreated from a fight. Mayhap she wasn’t a descendant of Vikings, but she still had the warrior blood running through her veins. It would always be a part of her, whether Shaw liked it or not.
“Spring!” cried out Colina, pulling away from Nairnie and running across the courtyard to greet her. Leith was right behind her.
“Raise the drawbridge,” she called out to the guards. She noticed Donel rushing toward the drawbridge with his bow and arrows in his hands.
“Nay, Donel!” She kicked her heels into the sides of her horse and cut him off before he could make it over the drawbridge. “Yer faither wants ye to stay here.”
“I canna. I need to go protect the girl I love. She is carryin’ my child.”
“Ye go out there and ye’ll get yerself killed. Do ye want Vika to have to raise yer baby without ye?”
“I dinna want to stay inside the castle walls. I am old enough now. I want to fight and help protect the ones I love.”
“Then do it from the battlements next to me,” she said, dismounting her horse.
“Ye’ll let me fight?”
“If ye’re by my side, we’ll pick off as many of the Gunn Clan as we can from behind the protection of a merlon.”
“But the Gunns were yer clan,” said Colina. “Ye’re goin’ to kill them?”
“If I have to do it to protect all of ye, then I will,” Spring told her, showing no emotion.
“What about Da?” asked Leith. “He’s comin’ back alive, right?”
Spring didn’t want to lie to the boy by giving him false hope. In battles like these, the survival rate was low. There was a good chance none of them would ever see Shaw again. But she had to stay positive and she had to keep Shaw’s children safe. Her hand went to her belly. She needed to protect all of his children.
“Nothin’s goin’ to happen to yer faither as long as I have anythin’ to say about it,” Spring promised. “Colina and Leith, ye go with Nairnie and start preparin’ herbs and salves for the wounded. Rip up some bedsheets and make bandages. We’ll need to be ready for the worst.”
“I’m ready to fight,” Donel told her, holding his bow in the air.
“This is no’ target practice, this is a real battle,” she told the boy. “Are ye sure? Are ye goin’ to be able to deal with how it feels to take a life?”
“I am,” said Donel with a nod. “And if anythin’ happens to my faither, I will carry on in his stead.”
“Then come along,” she said, leading the way to the battlements, hoping beyond hope that a miracle would happen and there wouldn’t be a battle after all.