Chapter 21

Jen watched Cam"s gaze narrow, his expression wary yet curious as the fighting paused. He signaled for the guardsmen to lower their weapons but keep them at the ready, a gesture of temporary respite. He stepped forward, his sword held loosely at his side, as he addressed the bandit leader.

"And who might you be to ask for parlay?" Cam inquired.

"I be Brian Dunhill; this is my band of men, and I speak for them."

"Very well. Speak your terms, though you must realize you are outnumbered here, and we"ve no issue with killin" every last one of you," Cam replied, his voice firm but cautious.

The bandit leader flicked his gaze among Cam, Jen, and the guardsmen. He nodded, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. "I propose that my men and I will leave Islay for good, if you and that tart who thinks she"s a warrior defeat me and my second, Rook." He smirked.

"You will both take me on, not her!" Cam declared.

"Then this fight continues. Is that what you want?" Brian said with a glare.

Jennifer, fueled by pride and defiance, stepped up next to Cam, her gaze fixed on Rook, the bandit"s second-in-command. He had stringy dark-red hair and an unkempt beard. His build was massive, and she was sure he used his frame to intimidate anyone who got near him. Jen put a hand on Cam"s forearm, and he glanced at her. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, but she didn"t turn to look at him. "I"ll take on Rook," Jennifer declared. "If I defeat him, you and your men will leave this land and never return."

Rook"s eyes widened, showing surprise and scorn, his lips curling into a sneer. "You think you can best me, lass?" He laughed heartily.

Cam went rigid, but then Jen saw him give a slight nod. She knew he wanted to intervene, but he kept it to himself and accepted that this was her choice. "I will watch over you, lass. I won"t let you die."

His words were barely a whisper and spoken through gritted teeth. Jen doubted anyone but she had heard him. She remained still, glaring at Rook and studying him, but squeezed Cam"s forearm to let him know she"d heard him.

Then, Jennifer squared her shoulders and let him go. She gripped her sword and gave Rook a feral grin, one she saved for her most annoying opponents, the ones who liked to shit talk and thought they were better than Royce Gracie but were nothing but blowhards who couldn"t fight their way out of a paper bag.

"I"ll enjoy teaching you a lesson in humility before you meet your death," Rook said, moving toward her, his meaty fist clenched around his short sword.

"You mean you"re going to bore me to death with your words? I don"t think so. I"ll cut out your tongue before that happens," Jen warned him.

The guardsmen, Cam, and the bandits formed a circle around her and Rook, anticipation radiating through the air. Rook lunged, taking a swing at her, but Jen quickly dodged, countering with a swing of her sword, which he blocked. It was a bit of back-and-forth for a moment as she learned his moves. He was just like any other opponent she"d faced. Granted, no one in the ring had swords, but the idea was the same.

Jen moved with grace and agility, using Rook"s assumption of her weakness to her advantage. She deflected his blows with skillful precision, her movements fluid and swift. With each strike, she demonstrated her abilities, channeling her frustration, determination, and newfound confidence into every attack.

Rook seemed to grow frustrated, and his attacks became more erratic and uncontrolled. His sneer morphed into a scowl as his confidence waned, his pride taking a heavy blow with each successful parry from Jennifer.

Jen landed strike after strike, and she could tell she was shaking Rook"s confidence. The power behind her blows grew, fueled by the will to prove herself. With a final swift and well-placed strike at his wrist with the flat of her sword, she disarmed him, sending his weapon clattering to the ground.

Rook wasn"t finished, though. He came at her with one of his meaty fists and Jen ducked, using his forward momentum and her shoulder to knock him from his feet. A moment later, she had her sword at his throat.

"Surrender," she said.

Before Rook could say anything, Cam shouted, "Watch out!"

Jen kept her sword where it was, the tip touching Rook"s throat as she heard more than saw Cam tackling someone behind her.

"Sean! We have a parlay! You cannae interfere!" Brian shouted.

Jen could hear them scuffling behind her, but she kept her eyes locked on Rook. "Surrender," she repeated.

"Aye, I surrender. I underestimated you; you fight like a man," Rook acknowledged.

Jen stepped back, moving the sword from his throat but keeping it ready in case he tried anything. "Get up."

Rook stood, holding up his hands in surrender. He moved to Brian"s side and turned to the brawl that was taking place between Cam and Sean.

Cam had the man on the ground, his muscular arm around Sean"s throat while he slammed his other fist into Sean"s face. A moment later, Sean was knocked out.

"Cam!" Jen shouted and moved toward him. "Cam, he"s out. He"s out; you can stop." She grabbed his arm.

Cam looked up at her and then back to the man he had choked out. His face was bloody, but he was still breathing. He shoved the guy to the side and pushed himself up. With a glare, he marched over to Brian and got in his face.

"This is over," Cam growled as he grabbed the man"s sword and broke it with brute strength.

Brian"s eyes snapped from the broken sword to Cam"s livid face. "Aye, we surrender. You win."

"What even brought you to these parts of Islay? We"ve barely the people here to warrant such harassment," Cam asked. "Why nae bother the Campbells? Why the Donald clan?" He paused a moment and then narrowed his gaze at Brian. "Did the Campbells send you after us? Is it their wish to finish us off?"

"Nae. 'Twasn"t the Campbells; I won"t be laying this at their quarter. 'Twas one of your own. Malcolm MacDonald," Brian shared.

Jen"s jaw dropped. "That bastard!"

Cam"s chest was heaving. "Take the rest of your men and leave Islay. If I ever see you or any of them around my people again, I"ll have your head on a pike." "Aye, we"ll go." Brian and Rook picked up Sean and followed the rest of their band of thieves back into the copse of trees and disappeared.

"He must be tryin" to sabotage your leadership," Errol said as he joined them.

Cam shook his head and Jen could see he was barely keeping his anger in check. "Send ten of the men to follow those bandits and make sure they get off of Islay." He reached into a leather pouch attached to his belt and pulled out some coins. "Give this to them to pick up provisions if they need them."

"Aye," Errol complied.

Cam turned to Jen and wrapped her in his arms. "Scared me, love. I thought I might lose you," he whispered into her hair.

Jen smiled into his chest. "I knew you had my back; I wasn"t worried."

"Come, let us deal with the dead, eat whatever is left, and then return to confront the traitor." Cam let her go and turned to the men, directing several to dig burial holes for the deceased, which thankfully weren"t any of his guardsmen.

Jen noticed several of the guards nursing injuries and started helping to bandage wounds with strips of linen. "We"ll have to get these cleaned and looked at properly once we return, but this will do for now." She glanced at Cam and asked, "Is there a doctor at the fort?"

"Nae. Mira usually sees to any of those who need a poultice or any injuries that need taken care of."

Jen frowned. She wasn"t medically trained, but she figured she knew quite a bit about how to care for a lot of injuries. She"d had her fair share of cuts, abrasions, and the like. She decided she would help out once they returned.

They finished burying the dead, ate, and cleaned up the site, putting out the fire and returning the logs to the forest edge. Once everything looked almost as it had when they first arrived, they mounted their horses and rode for the fort.