Page 90 of The Bells of Triumph
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VENGEANCE UNLEASHED
Flora and Seamus flew down the stairwell, their swords already drawn as they entered the courtyard. Moving through the crowd of soldiers, they made it to the front, where Errik and Liam were waiting for the inevitable.
“The gates are going to burst at any moment,” Liam called over the sounds of battle happening on the other side of the wooden doors. “But we are ready for them.”
Tightening her grip on her sword, Flora loosened her shoulders and took in a breath. This was the moment she had spent her whole life training for. This was what she had waited for since the day she was told about her parents' execution. They couldn't fail.
“Stay close to me,” Seamus murmured in her ear before he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “I love ye. I would nae want to do this with anyone else by my side.”
She turned to reply, to tell him how much she loved him, everything that he meant to her. But the doors burst open and a deafening cry of victory from Campbell's warriors drowned out anything she might have said.
In a matter of seconds, the courtyard turned to sheer chaos. Swords clashed, blood spilled, and arrows rained down from above. Flora and Seamus fought, as they always had, side by side and back to back. Errik and Liam, likewise, fought like a well-oiled machine. All of their years together were made clear as they moved as one, taking down Campbell's men quickly and effectively.
“Leave her alone!”
The shout came from the stone steps that led up the ramparts. Finn raced from his position giving orders to the archers and careened towards Iona. Flora caught glimpses of the three men who had sought Iona out that Finn was desperate to protect her from. With one wild swing, Finn managed to knock two of them off the stairs, sending the men crashing to the unforgiving ground below. His second move had the third soldier wavering. Another turn of his arm and the soldier was on his knees with blood pouring from the corners of his mouth. Iona watched in horror, unable to move so much as an inch until Finn reached out and pulled on her arm.
“On yer left,” Seamus shouted, drawing Flora's attention back to the fight she was in.
Moving on instinct, she fended off the attack, disarming the man who had come at her before plunging her sword through his middle. Behind her, Seamus did the same thing, fighting tirelessly as the wave of Campbell's soldiers continued to pour through the gates and into the courtyard.
“Ye always were sloppy,” an older man taunted.
Flora turned to see Connor squaring off with one of Campbell's commanders.
“And ye were always too lazy to get up and fight yerself. I am shocked to see ye here,” Connor retorted, lunging for the older man.
“His old commander,” Seamus explained. “The man had an evil streak. Connor has been waiting a long time for this.”
Even as he talked, Seamus continued to wade through the seemingly endless stream of Campbell's soldiers. She tried her best to do the same while subtly making her way closer to Connor. She wanted to be there just in case he needed some back up. But by the time she looked away from fighting the latest man who had tried to best her, Connor already had his old commander on the ground, pleading for mercy.
“Please,” the old man whined, his hands up. “Ye dinnae have to do this. I can give ye insight into Campbell's plans. Please, spare me.”
Connor stared down at the man, emotionless. That half a second pause was all that was needed for the commander to reach for his belt and pull his dagger out. The tip of his blade was less than an inch from Connor's thigh when Connor plunged his sword into the man's neck. It wasn't long after that the dagger fell, along with the now lifeless hand.
“We have to find Campbell. That is the only way to end this.”
Flora pressed her back against Seamus' as they each took down their own opponent.
“These soldiers dinnae wish to be in this fight. Look at how easily they are defeated. They are only here out of fear,” Seamus continued, his breath coming a bit harder now. “If we can find Campbell and kill him, then the rest of these men will nae ken what to do. They will have to stop fighting.”
“I see two problems with that.” She thrust her sword into a man, sending him to the ground as she spoke. “The first is, even if ye do manage to find and kill Campbell, his council, those loyal to him will turn on ye the second they are able. The second is we have nay idea where Campbell is.”
“Perhaps I can help ye with one of those problems.”
Seamus and Flora turned in tandem to see Liam wipe his sweat drenched face with the back of his hand as he ran down the last few steps off the ramparts.
“I agree that Campbell needs to be taken out, so I went to look for him. Like the coward he is, he has decided to let others fight his battle for him. He is hiding in the group of trees some two hundred yards away from the gates, on the left.”
She looked at Seamus, only to watch his face darken with determination.
“We have to find a way out there,” he told her, already searching the courtyard for a solution.
“But what about the men around him?” she argued. “Are ye seriously planning on taking them all down yerself? We must think through this. Ye cannae go out there alone.”
“I was nae planning on it. I assumed ye would go with me.”
