Highland Escape - Cathy MacRae Page 0,1
attempted to breach the gates. She recognized their armor and tactics immediately.
“Bloody English,” she spat.
Though her father’s soldiers kept the enemy at bay, the opposing numbers appeared too great.
She followed Edrick as he guided his horse to flank a small formation of archers pinning down Baron Braxton’s men, leaving them unable to ward off those trying to break through the massive wood-and-iron gate. She halted between two slender trees, sighting the archers, ready to protect her brother. Edrick kept his approach silent, riding through their back line before they could react. His sword rose and fell, cutting through the lightly armored bowmen like a sickle to ripened wheat.
He wheeled his mount to make another pass. Several archers broke formation to flee. Two archers readied to fire as Edrick charged. Prepared for such a reaction, Anna sucked in a steadying breath, then launched an arrow deep into the chest of the first man. Drawn swiftly to prevent the second archer from harming Edrick, her next arrow missed its target, penetrating the man’s hip instead of his torso. Knowing she’d fired too quickly, Anna took more time with her third shot. As the wounded archer turned, her arrow slammed into his breast, knocking him onto his back.
Edrick’s second pass through their ranks killed or scattered the rest, allowing the men atop the wall to focus on the large group manning a battering ram. He felled two more archers as they made their way toward the main body of the army. A cheer rang from the wall, her father’s men recognizing their unexpected allies.
Arrows, crossbow bolts, large stones and oil rained down with renewed fury on the attackers. Lit by torches, the enemy became screaming human bonfires, stalling their assault on the gate. The stench of burning oil and charred flesh soon joined the bitter smell of Anna’s home aflame.
A sickening roar pulled Anna’s attention from the fight. The roof of her home collapsed, flames and sparks shooting heavenward. A wall of the main keep shifted and crumbled as stone exploded under the heat of fire.
The conflagration continued to the tower where her chamber was located, a level below her father’s prized library. The terrible heartache of loss threatened to overwhelm her as the horror of death and smoke assaulted her. Anna violently shoved them aside and focused on protecting her brother.
She urged her horse forward, picking her next position amid the slain archers, and swung down to retrieve quivers of abandoned arrows. A feeling of hopelessness unlike any she’d known gripped her as she realized the odds they faced.
She turned her fear into anger, using it to shower death upon those closest to her brother. His sweeping attack from flank to flank at the rear caught the enemy unaware, and many foot soldiers fell before they could respond to the unexpected threat. Each time one turned to meet Edrick’s charge, Anna’s shaft pierced his chest, putting an abrupt end to his challenge. Another pass against the men on the ground, and Edrick pushed the enemy death toll well past a score.
Panic dug in like talons as the enemy surrounded her brother. She fired arrow after arrow, carving an opening in the noose of flesh and steel around him. Edrick’s sword cleaved death on two more, making use of the gap Anna created. He cleared the group encircling him and flashed her a smile that ended abruptly in a look of shock. He slumped forward in the saddle, a crossbow bolt protruding from the middle of his back.
“NO!”
Frozen, she watched in horror as a crush of men dragged her brother from his horse. The main gate shattered, the sound of splintering heavy oak drowning out all other noise. Soldiers swarmed the bailey of the barony’s fortified keep.
“No.” Her voice fell to a strangled whisper.
The enemy made short work of the outnumbered men inside the walls. Fixed by grief, unable to move, Anna watched as everything and everyone she loved was violently ripped away by blood, fire and steel.
The sound of horses approaching jarred her from the paralyzing terror. Twisting in the saddle, she spotted men bearing down on her. Remembering her vow to Edrick, she turned Orion and kicked once, spurring him toward the forest. She was instantly at a gallop, clumps of turf tossed high in their wake. Lying flat against her horse’s mane, she encouraged him as he lengthened his stride, ears flat against his head. Daring a backward glance, she noted the gap between them and the attackers widened, the