“Iosa is Muire Mhàthair,”Keegan muttered.
McMurdo came back after Dirk.
“Damn the old bastard,” Keegan muttered, yearning to charge forward.
“What is happening?” Isobel asked behind him. “Is Dirk hurt?”
“Shh.” Keegan waved her back. There was naught she could do about his injury now. If he allowed her to get hurt, Dirk would string him up.
Rebbie moved in to help Dirk, beating McMurdo back. But Dirk was holding his own despite the arrow protruding from his calf.
Two more of Haldane’s men fell beneath the blades of the MacKay guards, both of them too young to be seasoned warriors. Keegan knew them, for they had both been part of the MacKay clan before Haldane had gone rogue and led the other lads astray.
Where was Haldane, anyway?
Keegan surveyed the area around himself and beyond. “Keep alert,” he told the guards.
Five men emerged from behind a rock formation several yards behind them. Haldane led the charge, his long red hair flying back in the breeze, his teeth bared in a snarl, and his green eyes glinting with pure bloodlust.
“There!” Keegan told the guards.
Placing the women between himself and the boulders, Keegan assumed the guard stance. In passing, he noticed knives in both Seona’s and Isobel’s hands. He hoped they could protect themselves if need be. But he didn’t want it to come to that.
Haldane avoided him and engaged one of the other guards in swordplay. Coward.
Keegan had never before seen the scraggly man who ran toward him. Though he looked scrawny, the first blow from his sword was passable. Keegan was faster and stronger and three strikes later, he ran the man through the abdomen. He shrieked and collapsed, writhing in pain. After disarming him, Keegan turned his attention to the other outlaws. One of the guards had already cut one of the knave’s throats. Haldane and the other two turned tail and ran the way they’d come.
He couldn’t believe what cowards they were. “Come back, you bastards!” Keegan yelled. He wanted to finish the three of them off.
Once they’d disappeared from sight like terrified rabbits, he glanced back toward where Dirk and the other men were fighting.
Despite his injury, Dirk was still slashing and thrusting.
His blade sliced McMurdo’s shoulder and the older man jumped back. Then he fled.
Twenty feet away, he turned back and yelled for the other men to retreat. He obviously knew the outlaws were on the losing side of the skirmish now, even with the reinforcements they’d found along the way.
Rebbie chased after McMurdo, but the old man was quicker than he looked. A few of the other brigands fled to the left, down an embankment and through the bushes.
“Is Dirk hurt?” Isobel demanded, sidling up to him.
Since the outlaws were gone, he could reveal the truth. Still, he grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t go running out there too soon. “An arrow struck his calf.”
“What? Oh good lord!” She tried to jerk away from him. “Unhand me, Keegan.”
Dirk limped in their direction, his face red, eyes wild and jaw clenched.
Keegan released Isobel. Making sure Seona was beside him for her own safety, he moved toward Dirk. Isobel fussed over him, crying.
“Calm yourself, Isobel. ’Tis naught to worry over. Merely a flesh wound,” Dirk said, his voice rough. He was obviously trying to hide his pain.
“How do you feel?” Keegan asked him.
“I’ll live.”
“How will we remove it?” Isobel asked.
“Rebbie will do it. Go over there with the ladies so you don’t have to watch. I don’t want you to pass out.”
