As he’d expected, Gaufrid’s men had surrounded the encampment and were now closing in; his uncle wanted to ensure that no one escaped, that all who’d sworn fealty to Cailin would die.
He glared at the man he’d once believed loved him, a man who was the only family he still had. But now he knew the truth, something his uncle would regret.
A grim smile touched his mouth as he glanced at the various weapons the Romani, the knights, and he and Elspet had prepared this day. Trebuchets lay strategically placed, pits with sharpened sticks at the bottom covered with sticks and brush were cleverly positioned, and hot oil was boiling in cauldrons along with numerous piles of stones stacked by each siege engineawaiting use.
His uncle stopped at the edge of the forest, raised his hand. His knights halted. “Sir Cailin,” he shouted, “if you and Elspet give yourselves up, my men and I will leave the camp untouched.”
Taog grunted at Cailin’sside. “A lie.”
“Aye,” Cailin agreed. “The bastard wantsus all dead.”
“Sir Cailin, if you dinna cede willingly,” his uncle continued, “you give me no choicebut to attack.”
“Sir Cailin? You mean the rightful Earl of Dalkirk,” Cailin called. “If you look around, you will see that you are far from in a position tooffer threats.”
A scowl marred his uncle’s face as he glared at the siege engines before turning back to him. “You are greatly outnumbered. Are you so selfish that you would sacrifice the lives of innocentmen and women?”
“Selfish? A rich claim when ’twas you who murdered my father and mother,” Cailin shouted, “and paid to have me killed.”
“’Tis lies,” his uncle called back. “Your parents’ deaths were an accident.”
“A witness informed me otherwise,” Cailin stated, his voice ice. “And before the captain you hired to kill me sold me to pirates, he admitted your treachery. The only thing you care about is ensuring that I am dead so you can keep my legacy.”
Rage mottled his uncle’s face. “I am deeply wounded that you would believe such mistruths. You are my nephew, my only family, and I am willing to help you.”
“You know not the meaning of family,” Cailin spat. “Save your lies for someone who believes you.I never will.”
“Then you leave me no choice.” Expression fierce, the earl raised his hand, scanned his men lining the camp. “Kill them all!”
Chapter 14
The screams of men, the stench of burning flesh, and the clash of blades filled the air. Each volley of the catapults from the Romani camp splintered the Earl of Dalkirk’s ranks, as they had since the initial attack hours before, forcing his men to fall back and regroup.
In Gaufrid’s calculated attack, he’d omitted one critical factor: that he would encounter formidable and organized resistance.
Elspet and several other women lifted another pile of stones into the pouch of the trebuchet. Once full, they hurried back; Elspet jerked the strap free.
The counterweight dropped and the sling hurled the load.
Pain-filled screams sounded from the enemy ranks as the wall of attackers again parted.
Three more volleys in quick succession drove the foot soldiers to withdrawfrom bow range.
Cailin glanced toward the setting sun. Bedamned, by now he’d hoped to have crushed his uncle’s invasion. But with his uncle’s forces having destroyed two of their siege engines, his combined forces with Taog were losing ground. His uncle boomed orders with twisted glee.
Between the screams and shouts, the earl’s men formed a solid line around the camp in preparation foranother charge.
Dread crawled up Cailin’s spine as he nocked another arrow. With most of their defenses destroyed and their piles of stones to throw in the trebuchet down to a single rock, they couldn’t turn back the next attack.
Face pale, Elspet shoved the last stone into the siege engine’s pouch, then met his gaze. “We have naught more to throw. What are we going to do?”
He opened his mouth, closed it, faced with the horrendous reality that in the next few moments when his uncle’s troops stormed the camp, many people would die.
Cailin didn’t care about himself, but he did care that Elspet, Taog and his people, and the knights who’d recently sworn fealty to him would suffer for his uncle’s twistedneed for power.
“We are going to fight.” He muttered a curse. “Never did I mean to involve you in this.”
“After what the earl did to my family,” Elspet withdrew her sword, “’tis my fight as well. Though you have sought to protect me, I willna hide behind you or any man but seek my own justice.”
