Brogan expected his wife to shed tears after hearing that her success could also mean failure, leaving her sister to suffer. Her actual response set a fright in him.
“I intend to save my sister one way or the other and if Rannick remains evil, then there is only one thing left for me to do to see my sister safe. I will kill Rannick and not shed a tear for him.”
Troy smiled. “You and Gunna will get along well.”
Brogan shook his head. If Gunna was anything like his wife, he would have his hands twice as full. He had had enough of the mercenary being in charge. He stood and took his wife along with him.
“I have had enough. I will see my wife kept safe and that means we return home. Bring Gunna there so she may talk with Annis,” Brogan commanded with a strength that dared to be challenged.
Troy got to his feet about to respond when a scream echoed through the woods.
“ATTACK!”
28
Brogan drew his weapon and saw all the men there do the same. His eyes skirted the area for a place to hide his wife, but there was no time. Vicious roars split the air as men came out of the woods. Fear ripped through his stomach, knowing blood would flow soon and Annis would faint and could easily be dragged away from him.
“Do not faint,” he ordered his wife before he turned his sword on a man charging at them.
Annis watched in horror as swords clashed and men fell. It was obvious they were after her, but with Brogan and Troy flanking her they were keeping the men from reaching her. She did her best to avoid any sight of blood, keeping her glance from settling on anything but the striking swords.
Several mercenaries suddenly descended on Brogan and Troy, and they fought bravely, but there were too many of them. Annis thought quickly and ignoring her own safety, she whipped off her cloak, flung it near the fire so the wool would catch and as the flames devoured it, she flung it at two mercenaries that bared down on her husband. The fire did as she hoped it would do, it caught their plaids and set them ablaze.
The men around them hurried to get away so the flames wouldn’t catch them. Two were not successful and screams filled the air along with the stench of burning flesh.
The fighting continued and Annis did her best to keep herself safe between her husband and Troy so no one could reach her. Then what she feared might happen did. A man fell in front of her, blood covering his chest.
Her head began to spin, and her arm was suddenly yanked.
“Fight it,” her husband ordered, and his hand fell off her arm.
She was about to when suddenly something rammed not only into her but her husband and Troy as well. She fell, her face landing on the bloody chest of the dead man. There was no fighting the faint that rushed over her and forced her into total darkness.
Brogan scrambled to his feet having been hit by a force of several men, their intentions obvious and the strategy successful—to separate him from his wife.
Two men charged at him with swords before he could reach his wife draped over a dead man, her face buried in the blood on his chest. He had little time to save her, and Troy would be of no help, fighting off the other men.
He swung his sword with speed and accuracy, but more men came and when he finally maneuvered enough to catch a glance of his wife, it was to see her being carted off over the shoulder of one of the mercenaries.
Brogan let out a horrific roar that stilled the mercenaries for a moment and gave him time to finish off the two in front of him. He didn’t waste a minute; he took off after his wife. He tracked the heavy footsteps and roared again when he came to a spot where horses had waited and now were gone.
He would never catch them without a horse. He turned and ran back to find the fighting had ended. Of course, it would. They got what they came for. Dead and wounded lay scattered about, those foes who survived running off.
Brogan ran to Troy. “I need a horse.”
“You cannot go alone. Skelly will have men waiting in the woods to capture you and you will be no good to your wife once captured,” Troy said. “We need to see how many men are able enough to join us.”
Anger raced like a fiery liquid through him, setting him ablaze. He had to get to his wife before it was too late, before they took her far enough away from him that it would take days or weeks, or more to find her. By then she would have suffered endless pain and humiliation. But he also knew Troy was right. He could not do this alone. He wished his friends Odran and Rannick were here. He could trust them to help him save Annis. But they weren’t and he had no choice but to trust Troy.