step back, possibly? Give us some space?”
As a single entity the princes took several steps backward. Turning back to Vee, I grabbed her hands, squeezing them in mine. “Okay. I’m ready to try again.”
I closed my eyes as Vee spoke in a low, hypnotic voice. “Great Protector. We ask you to destroy our enemies. To use our rings to cut them down where they stand—right in this field. We beseech you.”
“And we wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important,” I added.
“We believe that it is your will to save Doon, and we humbly ask you to destroy these, uh, things—”
“These skellies,” I added.
“Yes.” Veronica agreed. “Please destroy these skellies.”
“Thank you,” I intoned. Opening my eyes, I locked my gaze onto Vee’s. “Did it work?”
She glanced at the field, where nearly ninety skeletons stood erect and motionless. “Not sure.”
A moment later we had our answer, as the tip of a finger bone burrowed its way up from the ground. Letting go of Vee’s hands, I grumbled, “That was a bust. What’s plan B?”
Alasdair gracefully strode forward, all five-and-a-half feet of him appearing deadly. “I’ve an idea, Yer Majesty.”
“Shoot.”
The old guy nodded toward the field. “I figure someone ought ta go out there and try ta engage one o’ those abominations, see what happens.”
“No,” Duncan interjected. He and Jamie stood right behind their ancestor with contradictory frowns. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Although mo bráthair, Alasdair does have a point,” Jamie countered. “We’ve no hope of defeating those skeletons without more information. One of us should go out there.”
I watched the shadows move across Duncan’s face as he grappled with his brother’s logic. The moment he made up his mind, I could read his decision in the set of his jaw.
“Fine.” In one fluid movement he unsheathed his sword and strode into the clearing. Slowly, he approached the nearest skellie, the kid. Duncan made a careful circle around it with no results. Moving on to the next one, he stopped directly in front of it. After a moment of hesitation, he reached forward and tentatively poked the thing in the center of its skull. Not even touch could provoke it into life.
“It feels like cold bone,” he explained.
Pitching his voice low and projecting so that it carried, Jamie replied, “If you can touch it, you can slay it.”
Duncan nodded, never taking his eyes off of the monster. “It’s worth a try.”
Gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, he spun in a three-quarters circle, his weapon poised to cut the skellie in half just above the hips. But as the sword made contact, there was a flash of purple sparks and an ear-shattering clang. Duncan’s sword ricocheted back toward him as the pulse from Addie’s protective magic lifted him off his feet and propelled him across the field. He landed with a thud and rolled several times before coming to a stop against a large stone.
I watched in shock, not quite able to process what was happening or do anything about it. Holding my breath, I waited for him to move . . . but he didn’t. By the time my adrenaline kicked in and I felt able to react, Jamie had already scrambled halfway to his brother. When I started to follow, Alasdair grabbed me by the shoulders.
The old guy shook his head and whispered, “Stay tight. The lad’s got him.”
I held my breath until Jamie reached his brother and checked for a pulse. A few never-ending seconds later, he gave us a nod. My breath and Vee’s came out in a collective whoosh.
My best friend looked at me, her turquoise eyes mirroring my fear. She took my hands in hers and gripped tightly. “He’s alive, Ken.”
I shook my head, unable to speak over the tears lodged in my throat.
The skellies remained inanimate, but that didn’t stop Jamie from keeping a watchful eye in their direction as he eased Duncan onto his back. With another sweep of the field and a grim glance at Vee, he began checking his brother for injuries.
After another small eternity, Duncan groaned. That groan was followed by another as Duncan shook his head and opened his eyes. He blinked at the sky for a moment and then, with Jamie’s assistance, sat up. They exchanged a few words and then Duncan turned and gave me a little wave.
Alasdair patted me on the shoulder. “See there, lassie. Duncan’s a hearty lad. There’s no lasting harm.”
To underscore Alasdair’s words, Jamie hoisted Duncan to his feet and helped him make his way