"Ye think cuttin' us down is gonnae stop us?" one of the men demanded furiously. "Ye think ye can kill all of us? We outnumber ye, stranger, and there are more of us in the woods. Run while ye still can."
Cailean grabbed Maeve's arm and pulled her closer. "Stay beside me," he warned her in an undertone. His voice was rough and he didn't even look at her as he spoke.
"I dinnae ken who ye think the girl is, but she's a murderer and a traitor," another man spat. "She's comin' with us, or she's dyin' here."
"Two of ye are already dead. Ye're the ones who should be afraid!" Maeve declared, turning the dagger over in her hands. She knew she only had a few moments before this temporary standstill ended and these four men attacked, and God onlyknew what would happen when the others caught wind that something had happened.
Silence fell for a moment. Many of the horses had fled, spooked by the smell of blood, but Cailean's horse stood behind them patiently, obviously ready to await his master. Maeve glanced between each of the Darach men, knowing that they were going to mob them at any moment.
"Ye think this man will save ye?" one of the men taunted. "How will he save yer sister?"
Maeve froze. "What?" she couldn't help but answer. "Me sister?"
"Yer father gave her tae us, ye ken, as penance for yer crime," one of them replied, seeming to cruelly enjoy every word that fell from his mouth. "A pretty thing, if nae quite so bonny as ye. Naive and precious. Kyle will break her in and teach her, though, dinnae ye worry."
A ringing sounded in Maeve's ear. Her sister? The one upside to her awful marriage, the only silver lining in being sold like livestock to Malcolm Darach, was that at least her sisters were safe. Was it young Nessa? Maeve doubted it; her father would most likely have kept his favorite by his side if he had the choice. Fear of a different kind thrilled through her, not terror for herself but agony at the thought of what might be happening to her sweet, sensitive, innocent Breana. Surely not. Surely this monster was lying.
"Aye, I'd say he's gonnae have his fun with her—" a man started.
Maeve saw red and, before she could get control of her own actions, she gripped the dagger tight and threw herself ahead. Recklessly, she swung the dagger around, managing to slice his arm, only narrowly dodging his return blow and escaping certain death herself. Suddenly, Cailean had grabbed her again, pulling her back in a hard yank.
"Let me go!" she growled. "I'm gonnae kill him."
"Be cautious," he told her in a low voice. "Ye're gonnae have tae fight — fight smart. Dinnae forget what ye've been learnin'."
Maeve realized that he was right. She couldn't allow herself to be lost to this, couldn't allow herself to give way to her anger and lose herself entirely. She nodded almost imperceptibly and turned once again to face her attackers, just in time to find all four of them running forward with their swords drawn.
Cailean moved into the path, his sword raised to defend her. The clashing of swords sounded and found Cailean fighting two at once, and Maeve threw her dagger just as a third approached Cailean from behind. It was a lucky throw; it caught the Darach man right between the shoulder blades, sending him to his knees. Maeve ran forward, yanking the dagger from his back and acting quickly to put an end to it.
The fourth man ran toward her with his sword raised, and Maeve rolled out of the way. She noticed the newly dead man's sword was long and thin, still not perfect for her but better. She grabbed it and scrambled to her feet, and managed to parry the plunging sword just before it could hurt her.
Remember. Use their weaknesses tae yer advantage.Cailean hadn't spoken out loud, but she heard his voice in her ear anyway, and it filled her with a warm resolve. She could do this. They fought back to back, Cailean expertly dodging and weaving the two attackers, Maeve managing to fight off her own opponent only barely. She needed to find his weakness, but in the dark, when she was already scared and her face was hiding from being hit, she wasn't sure she could concentrate.
But as she dodged out of the way, there it was; he was favoring his right side, just as Darren had favored his left. And now she knew how to beat him. Weaving out of the way of his attacks, she feinted, and was rewarded by the man lunging in the other direction. Her sword flashed and, with a gasp, shemanaged to slice it quickly across his throat. He stared at her as if unable to believe what had just happened, then fell to his knees.
"He'll… get ye…" the man gurgled, before falling face-first onto the ground.
Maeve's heart was hammering, but she knew that she could not stop to think about the two men she had killed, not now. Now the only thing that was left for her to focus on was surviving, and making sure that Cailean survived as well. She whirled around, her sword still drawn, just as Cailean managed to dispatch both of his opponents with two quick slices.
In the silence that followed, Maeve staggered, and Cailean caught her, holding her upright.
"Are ye all right?" he asked her gruffly.
"There are… there are more…" Maeve gasped. "They dispersed into the woods. We need tae find them. We cannae let them discover…"
Cailean nodded tightly. "Stay here."
"No. I can fight."
She saw his eyes tighten, but she was in no mood to argue, and he could see it on her face. With a resigned nod, he beckoned for her to stay close. "We'll wait here, then," he said. "And catch them as they emerge."
And they did. The Darach men emerged from the woods again in twos or threes, each with mad looks of death and fury in their eyes, and Maeve and Cailean fought together side by side. Maeve was exhausted, aching, and terrified, but she fought on, knowing that the second she slipped up, she could lose everything. Having Cailean by her side was like a strange boost, and she focused only on that as she parried and dodged and sliced and avoided attacks. In the end, she took down another three men, and Cailean managed to overcome the other six. In the wildness of the fighting, even Cailean's horse fled into theforest after the others, but Maeve could only focus on the fight before her.
When the last men fell, Maeve collapsed to the ground into a sitting position and drew her knees up to her chest.
Cailean's voice was in her ear in an instant. "Get up. Ye dinnae ken if it's over yet."
"It's over," she sobbed. "Oh, God. I killed those men."
