Page 23 of Highland Guard

“We can do both. Only need to bellow out an alarm and make sure they dinnae get so afraid they hurt each other in fleeing.” Callum whistled, bringing Tamhas and Gybbon to his side.

Both men cursed freely when they saw the problem and raced for their horses, held by Joan’s boys at the edge of the village. Harcourt was just trying to think of a way to quietly spread the word that people needed to move when the first arrow came toward the town in a pretty if deadly arc of flame. He slapped Callum on the shoulder and the man began running to warn people as he turned and raced into the butcher’s to get Annys and Benet out of the shop.

Annys turned quickly to see who had just slammed into Master Kenneth’s shop. The look on Harcourt’s face had her reaching for Benet who was patting a lamb, blissfully unaware that it was soon for the block. Something had gone terribly wrong, she thought, and a heartbeat later she heard the sounds of alarm outside the door.

“Out of the building,” Harcourt ordered. “Someone is trying to set the roofs alight.”

Master Kenneth grabbed what he cherished most and headed straight for the door, snatching up the lamb as he walked past it. Annys clung to Benet as Harcourt pulled them out onto the street. For a moment it looked like complete chaos but she quickly began to see that Callum was working to get everyone out and to begin work to save as much as they could.

“Get to the edge of the village but stay in sight so I ken ye are safe. By Old Tom’s rowan tree.”

“I should help.”

“Ye will. I mean to send the women and children to gather there with ye.”

A cry and several people pointing caused her to look up. Even though she knew that what was headed their way was viciously dangerous, Annys was fascinated as it sailed over her head and landed on the roof of Old Meg’s little home. That woman was already hurrying out of the house dragging two sacks of her meager goods. Annys hurried to her side, grabbed one of the sacks, and then led the woman to where Harcourt had told her to wait.

“My bonnie wee home will be gone,” cried Old Meg, tears streaking the dirt on her wrinkled face. “What will I do?”

“If they cannae save it, Meg, then ye shall have a new one,” Annys promised.

She soon saw that she had been given an important job, alleviating the last of her unease about not being right there in the midst of it all alongside Harcourt and the men of the village. The women who had the strength and agility to help, stayed with the men to try to save what could be saved but they readily sent their children over to Annys and the older women. Annys soothed whom she was able to but her anger over the destruction was a hard knot in her belly. Keeping children and old women calm and corralled at the tree took all of her energy and she was grateful for that. Something inside of her was demanding she have a screaming, fists-and-heels-pounding-on-the-ground fit, the kind that had been quickly beaten out of her as a child. Giving in to that would be too humiliating.

Men from the keep raced into the village and swiftly moved to help. Annys tried to see where the fire had come from and saw Callum send a few men toward the hills. She then recalled seeing Tamhas and Gybbon ride that way as she had hurried to get Old Meg to the tree. It frightened her to think that men that far away could wreak such damage but she could not move the village or flatten the hills. She was worrying about that danger when she was distracted by a wrinkled, dirty hand patting her on the arm. She realized she must have let her alarm show for Old Meg was trying to comfort her.

“Everyone got out, m’lady, and that be what matters.” The old woman squinted toward the hills. “I suspicion those fine knights ye fetched for us will think of something to fix that weakness now that it has been seen clear and all.”

“I suspicion they will indeed,” replied Annys as she finally set Benet down. “Stay right here with all of us.”

“I will, Maman,” he said, his bottom lip trembling. “I dinnae like the burning. Why would someone want to burn our village?”

“A mon who wants us to leave so he can have this land for his own,” she replied. “All the people got out of the houses, love. We will be fine.”

“The animals are running about all scared. They could get hurt.”

Annys had noticed that. Needing to flee quickly meant not being able to gather up one’s pets or livestock and it appeared the solution had been to just open wide the doors, gates, and hutches. The bigger animals had swiftly moved to the edge of the village away from the smoke, milling around nervously as each kept a close watch on the fire. The smaller animals scurried around squawking, quacking, barking, and just making a general, dangerous nuisance of themselves.

“I dinnae think there is much we can do about that, Benet. We cannae get in the way of the ones fighting the fire.”

She yelped and leapt out of the way when a large cat raced between her legs followed by a barking dog. Spinning around she watched the cat leap into the tree while one of the boys grabbed the dog by the ruff and pulled it away. Several people laughed and Annys’s concern for everyone eased a little more.

“We can go down and gather up some of them, m’lady,” said a young girl with a face splattered with freckles. “We willnae get in the men’s way. We ken how to get most of them to come to us.” She pointed at the two girls with her.

“Be verra certain ye stay away from the burning areas and the men, Annie. Ye as weel, Una and Beth. None of those poor animals are worth any of you getting hurt.”

“We will be careful, m’lady.”

With so many women watching the children, Annys felt safe keeping her attention on the girls slipping around the edges of the area that was on fire. They had collected two boys to help them. Soon the small livestock along with dogs and cats, most of which made a quick retreat up a tree as soon as they reached one, joined the women and children by the rowan tree. She made certain to congratulate the girls and boys on a job well done and meant every word of it. Without all of the smaller animals cluttering up the road in their mindless panic the men working to put out the fires moved a little faster.

Soon no flames could be seen although a few things still smoked. The ones who could see that their homes remained untouched began to cautiously return to them and the crowd gathered by the rowan tree began to thin out. Holding firmly to Benet’s hand, Annys carefully made her way to where she could see Harcourt and his men studying the damage, occasionally ordering a few men to throw some more water on something that appeared to be still smoldering. She had just reached his side when Gybbon and Tamhas returned with three men from the keep who had raced to help them hunt the ones who had committed this crime. Annys needed only one look at their faces to know those men had gotten away from them.

“They were already mounted as they shot their last arrows and rode off the moment we started up the hills,” said Gybbon. “I think those three men were hired because they were so skilled. It was only a wee lead they had on us but it was enough.”

Tamhas nodded his agreement. “And they rode off leaving their fires still burning which meant someone would have to stop to put them out. Aye, these men were far better than any of the others we have faced.”

“No trail?”

“A wee one. We decided to nay go too far ere we discussed it with you.”