Their hard gazes stayed locked for a long time before Laird McLennan grasped Killian’s hand. “It seems to me like we have a common enemy, indeed.”
They shook hands, and once Killian let Laird McLennan go, he signaled to his men to withdraw.
“We march back to MacColl now,” he announced to his men as they fell back.
It was then it occurred to him that Fletcher was nowhere in sight.
He cleared his throat and walked to the first soldier he spotted. “Where is Gilies? Your General?”
“He returned to the castle, m’laird,” the soldier answered. “He mentioned he had a message for ye.”
Killian frowned as a sense of foreboding settled in the pit of his stomach. Some other guard had brought him the message of Laird McLennan’s men waiting at the borders.
What other message could Fletcher have had?
Shoving aside his suspicions, Killian mounted his horse and nudged it into a gallop while Laird McLennan matched his pace. He had to get back to Lily and tell her that he trusted her faith in Laird McLennan. Now, they could all work together to find their common enemy.
The ride back to MacColl was long, but they arrived in a short time because they had ridden with speed. Killian slowed as they reached the entrance to his keep.
From a distance, he saw men dressed in pied and some other colors lined up at the entrance, their armors arched and swords drawn like they were ready for battle.
Killian came to a halt, and when he glanced over to Laird McLennan, he found that he had slowed his horse too.
“These arenae my men,” Laird McLennan said as he came to a halt beside Killian. “These are…”
“The men who have attacked me all dressed this way. I believed it was ye, but the lady… Lily, she was persistent, and she didnaewaiver in her belief that ye were innocent. She is the reason I didnae march for McLennan all this while. She tried to prove yer innocence.”
Killian could not tell what Laird McLennan was thinking from the look on his face, but when he nodded, Killian sighed.
“I should find out who they are.”
He dismounted from his saddle, and Laird McLennan did the same. Together, they strode towards the leader of the men in front of the keep.
Once there, Killian cleared his throat and asked in Gaelic, “Who sent ye? Who asked ye to come here.”
The man stared at Killian hard without blinking, and a second later, when there was no reply, he repeated his question.
“Tell us who sent ye here,” Laird McLennan boomed when the man kept staring hard at them in silence.
Killian’s eyes skittered around the place, and he noticed that all the men standing in front of him had their hands glued to the hilts of their swords. “These men are ready for battle,” he whispered to Laird McLennan.
Killian was about speaking again when their leader drew his sword and let out a war cry.
The rest happened in a blur. Killian swiftly drew his sword and charged towards the men as they came towards him.
His army, combined with Laird McLennan’s, was a force to be reckoned with. The rays of dust that spurred up into the air as blades clashed over blades made Killian cough, but as he cut his way through each of his attackers, he let himself think about only one person.
Lily.I must get back to her alive.
He couldn’t tell how much time had passed as he and Laird McLennan fell into rhythm on the battlefield. It seemed as if the men were endless, and they attacked with more force as they spilled out of the keep.
Killian noticed smoke whoosh up into the sky as he stuck his blade in the gut of his next attacker. He felt the warmth on his cheek. He sniffed in thick soot as he looked ahead again and saw the black smoke curling up into the sky.
Oh, goodness.
“I think my keep is on fire,” he yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping Laird McLennan could hear him through the roars around them.
Most of their attackers lay at their feet now, and Killian stepped over a few bodies, fighting his way through the rest.
