Highlander Unchained(33)

“Get her out of here,” Paul insisted.

“No, I won’t leave you,” Lila cried.

The chaos in the village grew worse, the clang of swords, the moans of the injured, the screams of the dying shivered Dawn down to the bone. Paul was right... this was no place for Lila to be with the babe coming.

Dawn took charge. She motioned to Lila that she would get her to the safety of the woods and then return for Paul. Lila wanted Paul to go with them, but Dawn argued with exaggerated motions that it could prove fatal to them all. Then she held up three spread fingers and snapped them close together reminding Lila of something the three had long ago agreed to.

Lila shed more tears. “We made a pact when we were young to always help each other no matter what.”

Dawn crossed her chest with her finger.

Lila nodded. “You promise to help Paul and you have never broken a promise to me.”

It was Dawn’s turn to nod and she helped Lila to stand. Dawn then bent down and shifted her shoulder beneath Paul’s and with a strength born of determination dragged him closer to the side of the cottage where he’d be less noticed. She then motioned to Paul that she’d be back for him soon and the three would then hide in the woods and help Lila with the birthing.

Paul tried to argue but Dawn dismissed him with a wave of her hand, then pressed a finger to Lila’s mouth warning her to remain silent and took off with her, Dawn’s arm around her waist to help move her along.

Once Dawn found a spot in the woods, Lila grabbed her arm and with labored breathing said, “Please, Dawn, bring him safely to me.”

Dawn squeezed her friend’s shoulder and nodded.

She took off again not wanting to leave Lila alone too long and needing to get to Paul before it was too late. She didn’t know where she found the courage to keep going in spite of her fear, though fear had become a constant companion of hers lately. She had come to know it well. It had clung tightly to her from the first moment she had laid eyes on Cree. He was not a man to trust or to care for. Why then was she relieved that he had not died?

The battle had worsened. More of Colum’s men lay wounded, dead or dying. The stench of blood and death hung heavily in the air and she knew the end was near. Cree would claim victory over the Village Dowell this day.

She hurried to where she had left Paul, weaving, bobbing, and jumping to avoid the battling warriors. She finally reached Paul and with a bit of a struggle she got him up. He leaned heavily on her, his wound painful and making it difficult for him to walk.

They shuffled along and several oaths ran through Dawn’s head. She was unable to take the easy path to the woods that she had with Lila. The battling warriors had blocked it and so she had to make her way around it.

Paul grew heavier with every step, but she kept hold of his weight and when there was a break in the fighting she hurried him as best as she could across the center of the village giving her a direct path between the safety of two buildings and to the woods beyond.

Unfortunately, the pain had worn Paul out and he staggered weighing down more heavily one her. She stumbled and fought to regain her balance and for a moment she feared he would propel them both to the ground landing on top of her.

Just as she got him steady, she spotted a lone rider baring down on them... it was Cree and fury blazed in his eyes.

Dawn did not think twice, she dropped Paul to the ground and threw her body over him.

Seconds later she was yanked off him with such force that it made her head spin and then she heard Paul cry out, “Please no, Dawn is helping me.”

The point of Cree’s sword stopped within inches of Paul’s chest and Cree looked to Dawn to confirm Paul’s plea and she nodded. He then pointed to her ripped sleeve and tunic. “Who did this to you?”

She tapped her chest and looked to Paul who hurried to explain that she had used the torn pieces to wrap his wounded leg. He then continued detailing what had happened and the whole time that he did, Cree never let go of her. And while Cree listened to Paul’s plea for mercy and help for his wife who was about to give birth, several of Cree’s warriors formed a protective circle around them.

Cree finally ordered Paul to be silent. He then turned to one of his men. Take this man to the keep for the healer to look after.” He looked to three other warriors and ordered, “Take this woman and let her lead you to her friend in the woods and bring them both to the keep as well.”

When he released Dawn he said to the three warriors, “This one hears clearly enough, but she has no voice to protect herself, let no harm come to her. And make sure she is returned directly to me.”

The three nodded and then formed a protective wall around Dawn, and she found herself running to keep pace with them as she pointed the way.