Chapter 30

30

Fighting For Life

W illiam moved to go after Dakota, but two men blocked his way. He tried to keep her in his sights, but that was impossible. The three attacked as best they could together, and the momentary distraction left him on the back foot.

He quickly brought up his sword and was able to block the first swing and then the second, but he could not block the third. The blade pierced his shirt and dug into his stomach. He felt the wetness soak the cotton and fell to one knee.

He looked to the right, giving up on life, and saw Dakota being dragged away as if in slow motion. She was speaking to him—saying she loved him.

William rolled onto his wounded side , and pain shot through him, almost sending him to his grave. A sword dug into the ground where he had been only a moment ago. He kicked with his left leg and rolled backward, dodging another swipe.

He was quickly back on his feet, the pain in his side forgotten. When he looked into the trees once more, his wife was not there—real or imagined. A thick red mist descended over him, and he said a quick prayer for the men who probably had families and yet were about to be sent to an early grave because a man in power was a complete idiot.

He parried the next blow and cut the man down immediately after. His training kicked in, and his instincts took over, and not five minutes after his wife had been stolen from him, he had defeated all three men.

But the win came at a cost. The blades had reduced in number one by one, but even fighting against two men at once made it impossible to block everything. Along with the initial wound on his stomach, he had cuts on both arms, one leg had been stabbed, and there was wetness on his back too.

He stumbled to the river to drink—an insurmountable thirst overtaking him. He waded into it and dipped his head, drinking the cool, clear water. He looked behind to see a thin red snake leaving his body—the blood from his wounds.

His vision stirred for a moment, and he almost passed out. He could not wait—his wife was in danger, and Conall would be putting distance between them. William stumbled and fell face-first into the water. The darkness consumed him.

William whipped his head up and took a deep breath in. He spluttered and water erupted from his lungs. He coughed again, trying to make sense of where he was. He grabbed the reeds and branches and pulled himself up into the bank. He had floated downriver a little, but not too far.

The world swam again, but William managed to get to his feet. He pushed himself up toward a tree and held onto it. The strength was slowly coming back to him. He stumbled forward. He had to get to his horse.

I cannae discover I love me wife and lose her all in the same breath. I am goin' to destroy Conall Millar and burn his castle to the ground if I need to.

William could only blame himself. He had been a stubborn idiot, and if he had only made love to his wife in the first place, he would not be in this mess.

He wanted to weep for the man she had helped him become and the happiness she had bestowed upon him, which only made him angrier. He pushed out of the trees and found both horses still tethered where they had left them.

He mounted his and set Cloud free, hoping the beast would make its way back to the castle. He whipped on the reins, and his horse set off at speed.

I promise ye this, Conall. Ye will beg for yer life at the end, and I will give ye yer death. Ye are goin' to suffer for what ye have done; ye are goin' to be die for touchin' me wife.

William did all he could to hold on for dear life. He tried as best he could, but he could not stop the darkness as it came for him.

"William, take it easy."

The voice was familiar, but William could not see who was speaking. He tried to blink, but it was as if his eyes were glued shut. He stirred and moved his head. Finally, he was able to open his eyes, and he had to blink furiously at the stinging light that assaulted his vision.

"William! Are ye okay? Who did this? Where is Lady Rottrich?"

"Cameron," gasped William. "Cameron."

"Aye, I'm here. What happened?"

William tried to roll onto his side to get out of bed, but the pain shot through him and incapacitated him. Cameron placed a hand on his shoulder.

"William, take it easy. Yer hurt pretty bad. What happened?"

"He took her," muttered William. "Conall took her."

"Is she still alive?" asked Cameron.

"Aye, but he will ken somethin' is up when his men daenae come back. I cannae lie here and do nothin'. I'm goin' after her."

The pain shot through William as he rolled onto his side and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. It was then he realized a physician was also there to treat his wounds. The learned man looked astonished at William getting out of bed.

William stood up, and while he was shaky on his feet, he overcame the constant pain to stay upright.

"William, dinnae be daff. Just tell me what happened, and I will go after her."

"Conall ambushed us. This is all because of what I did to him years ago. He's been bidin' his time and took her to hurt me. He'll be on his way back to his estate."

"This is an act of war," noted Cameron. "If he kens ye are still alive, he will ken ye have come back to the clan. Ye cannae ride off west to face him. He'll be waitin' for ye, and he willnae just kill ye, but he'll kill Lady Rottrich too." Cameron shook his head and looked confused for a moment. "Nay, he willnae do that. He might be a madman, but this is the action of a desperate man. He is startin' a war by doin' this, and even he is nae that stupid."

"He is," said William, growing stronger by the second.

"The English willnae back him ," noted Cameron. "If this is goin' to start a war, he will be on his own, but his clan is still bigger than ours. We need to get her back, but we must be smart about this, William."

"Aye, but every second spent here is another second of her in his grasp. I daenae care if I die tryin'."

"Would Dakota care?" asked Cameron.

That stopped William in his tracks. He wished the vision of her would reappear, but he did not need it to—he knew exactly what Dakota would tell him. She would want him to come, but she would not want him to die in a futile attempt to rescue her.

"He will be expectin' us soon," said William, taking stock of the situation. "Go out to all the clans, Cameron, startin' with the McGunn Clan. They will answer the call, and I expect at least two others to do the same. Four clans is what we need, but the more, the better. Lead them back to the castle and ensure they are all well-armed. I will lead them to the west."

"Rest, William. I will go as fast as I can, but it will take a couple of days. We just have to hope he doesnae do anythin' daff in the meantime."

"Och, stop talkin' and go!" shouted William. "I daenae want to hear such things."

"Just rest and be ready to fight. I want to tell ye to stay and heal, but that isnae goin' to happen, is it?"

"Nay."

"All right. I will return in two days at the latest."

"Fine," replied William. "As soon as ye are back with the clans, we go to war."