She made her way through the madness, ducking, bobbing, and jumping to stay out of the way of the battling warriors. Even in her haste it was easy to see that Colum’s men were no match for Cree’s warriors. It would not be long before Cree claimed victory and with it lives.
Children cried, women screamed, knowing what was waiting for them. Once Colum’s men were conquered the true horror would begin for the villagers. She wanted to tell them to run and hide in the woods but would it do any good? Would Cree send his men to search for them? And where would they go from there?
Dawn finally spotted Lila on the side of a cottage. She was kneeling on the ground crouched over something and Dawn sped to her side. She dropped down beside her friend, her heart pounding when she saw that it was Paul on the ground and he was wounded.
“He’s hurt badly,” Lila cried.
“Forget me, help Lila, the babe is coming,” Paul said with such fear that it sent a shiver through Dawn.
She looked to her friend.
“I will not leave my husband,” she insisted and then doubled over in pain.
Dawn took stock of the situation. Paul had suffered a leg wound that was still bleeding. She tore a piece off the hem of her skirt and wrapped his leg. It wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding so she ripped off another piece of her skirt, and one of her sleeves and wrapped both around the wound. Blood seeped through but not as fast as before.
Lila went to do the same, but Dawn stopped her and patted her stomach letting her know she would need it for the babe.
“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.