Prologue

"Kneel before your laird, serf! I demand you kiss my feet!"

Twelve-year-old Aleck Campbell wrinkled his nose as he looked at his brother's dirty feet. "Ye out yer mind Lachlan. I dinnae want nothing to do with yer dirty feet."

His brother glared at him, the wooden sword pointed at Aleck's chest. "You will one day, Aleck. I'm the oldest. I will be Laird."

Aleck shrugged a shoulder as he walked around the perimeter of the great hall, his eyes casting glances at the large tapestry that hung over the fireplace. "Aye, perhaps, but yer too skinny to take the place of Da."

"I won't be forever," Lachlan called out, climbing down from the chair at the head of the scarred wooden table. "Then I will cast you out, you and Duncan."

"You can't cast out yer own brothers," Duncan muttered, swinging his feet wildly as he sat in the chair. "We are family."

Aleck stopped his pacing and looked at his two brothers. "Aye, we are family." Their da had told them that nothing was more important than family, and that they were responsible for each other.

He would, however, likely tan their hides for being up past their bedtimes, pretending to be the laird of the castle and such. Their ma and da had gone to a hut outside the gates that surrounded the keep to help heal a villager, as their ma had a knack for healing herbs. The lady sounded mighty sick and must have been to have them leaving at night.

The great door burst open suddenly, scaring the three boys, and Aleck watched as their uncle Fergus hurried in, his eyes wide. "Come!" he urged, grabbing Duncan off the chair. "Come with me noo!"

Aleck and Lachlan exchanged guilty looks. They had been found out and their ma was going to force them to clean the kitchen floor again for disobeying her.

"It was Aleck's idea!" Lachlan wailed as the older man took both of them by the arm, Duncan clinging to his corded neck.

"Quiet!" Uncle Fergus stated, silencing them further.

A loud boom rattled the keep and the boys jumped. Aleck whirled around to catch a glimpse of what was going on through the open door.

"Move quickly noo,"his uncle warned, propelling the boys to the tapestry on the other side of the fireplace. A great Scottish warrior stared down at them as Uncle Fergus drew it aside, revealing the hidden door that they all knew was there.

"Whit"s wrong ?" Aleck asked, the sounds of shouts and screams filling the air.

Uncle Fergus ignored him as he pushed open the door, stale air emanating from the opening. Duncan whimpered and burrowed his face in the large Scot's shoulder as Aleck peered in, curiosity propelling him forward. Lachlan joined him at the entrance, the wooden sword still in his hands. "Are we gaun in thare?"

"Aye," Uncle Fergus answered, pushing the two boys into the darkness. "I have to seal the door."

Aleck took a step forward, holding out his hands in front of him as he blindly moved further into the darkness. "Where's Da?" Lachlan whispered as he walked beside his brother. "And Ma?"

"I dinnae know," Aleck whispered back, hearing the fear in Lachlan's voice.

"Are you afraid?" Lachlan asked, as the sound of the door being shut echoed throughout the tunnel.

Aleck didn't answer, though inside he was trembling with fear. He wanted to see his da and ma and get out of this tunnel. Uncle Fergus came up behind them and forced them to walk faster, where the smell shifted, the air growing cleaner.

Wind whistled past Aleck's ears and Uncle Fergus pushed past them, placing Duncan on the ground. "Stay here," he warned in a low voice before disappearing into the darkness.

Frightened, Aleck wrapped his arm around Duncan's quaking shoulders, drawing his younger brother to his side. Lachlan would call him weak for doing so, but they did not understand what was going on.

All they had was each other.

Finally, Uncle Fergus appeared before them. "'Tis safe. Come noo."

Duncan wrapped his tiny hand around Aleck's and they moved, the tunnel opening to the dark night sky. Aleck recognized where they were immediately, but his ears were drawn to the sound of fighting beyond the keep. Were they being attacked?

Uncle Fergus forced them to skirt the fishing pond and head toward the woods, urging them to hurry. Duncan broke out into a run after Lachlan, severing Aleck's grip on his hand as he did so. Aleck turned back to the keep, horrified to see that the huts leading up to the keep were on fire, illuminating the fighting in the main courtyard. It was easy to spot his da, Callum the Great, swinging his claymore sword over his head as he cleaved a man on the head, letting out a roar as he did so.

Aleck started to run forward, knowing that he could help his da defend their home. "Da!" he called out, catching his da's attention.

His da's eyes widened and he started to shake his head, pointing his claymore at Aleck. "Run Aleck!"

Aleck's feet stumbled in the tall grass as he watched the great shadow rise up behind his da, the outline of a claymore poised for a deadly strike. Aleck screamed but it was too late. The claymore came down on his father's back. Callum the Great seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes on his son, before he fell to his knees.

A wail went up behind him before Aleck was grabbed about the waist, hauled against his uncle, and carried into the woods, where his brothers waited. The moment he was let go, Aleck collapsed to the dirt ground, tears streaming down his face. His brothers clamored around him, their whispers mingling together, but Aleck could not focus on anything but the sight he had just witnessed.

The etching in his brain that he would never forget.

He had caused his da's death.

Callum the Great was dead, and it was all his fault.