Page 77 of Promises to Keep

Get up!

I came to as I was being dragged by the arms through the leaves of an ancient forest. I glanced up at who was dragging me — Lochinvar.

I muttered, “Lochie?”

“Ye hae tae stay here, Madame Kaitlyn, stay down.”

I mumbled, “Where’s Magnus...?” as the sound of yelling voices came into my hearing. Was that Magnus’s voice?

Hammond was yelling.

I turned onto my side, and patted down the leaves in front of my face to be able to see across the clearing, past the boulder, where Magnus was wrestling Hammond.

Magnus punched him hard and rose up above him, gripping his shirt and screaming into his face, “Why did you betray my family?”

Just past him Sean and Liam held another man, one of Hammond’s soldiers between them. His head lolled.

Sean yelled, “Who are these men?”

Magnus said, “This man is m’General, the guardian of my kingdom, he is a traitor.” He spoke to Hammond, “Why did ye betray me, what did they promise ye?”

Hammond struggled and tried to get up. Magnus held him down. “We are...”

Magnus screamed into his face, shaking him. “Who is we? Agnie? Tell me! Are ye comin’ for my family? Are ye going tae take m’kingdom?”

Hammond spit in Magnus’s face. “The kingdom is already ours.”

Magnus climbed up, grabbed Hammonds wrists, and began dragging him.

Hammond yelled, “Where are you taking me?”

“Tae prison! A prison of m’choosing, ye will live out yer life in a cell!”

Sean said, “He is a traitor, Magnus, ye canna allow him tae live.”

Hammond struggled free and scrambled up.

Magnus lunged on him, punching him to the ground again, holding him down, “Why did ye do it? Why hae ye betrayed me?”

Sean was yelling, “Tis treason, Young Magnus, ye canna allow treason! He will always be a threat tae ye, tae yer family!”

Magnus said, “Why, Hammond?”

Hammond yelled, “My life has never been my own. Agnie offered me a chance tae sit on the throne, this was my chance to change course!”

Magnus dropped off Hammond to the side, shaking his head. “Nae, och nae, Hammie.”

Hammond dove onto Magnus, grabbed Magnus’s dirk, fell back, and plunged it into himself. Magnus dove forward, trying to grasp the dirk away, but it was too late. The dirk was stabbed into Hammond, and the men were locked eye to eye until Hammond convulsed and fell back, dragging Magnus down on top of him.

“Nae!” Magnus bellowed, looking down in Hammond’s face. “Nae!” He held Hammond’s shoulders then bent close with his ear to Hammond’s mouth. He listened to something Hammond said, then said, “Nae, nae, och nae.”

And then collapsed back, sitting in the dirt beside Hammond, with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. His fingers gripping his hair. “Och nae, Hammie, nae.”

And Hammond took a last gasping breath and died.

I scrambled to my knees and crawled to Magnus and sat down beside him. I put my hand on his shoulder and he shook it off. His face was wet from sweat and tears, his jaw set. He glared at Hammond and then looked at me as if he had just seen me there, he dropped his head to my chest and I held on to him.

I held Magnus while Sean, unceremoniously, stabbed the other soldier through, allowed him to collapse to the ground, and then Liam tossed his body beside Hammond’s.

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