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  He stepped toward Gabrielle and thrust the back of his right hand across her face. Pain coursed through her entire body as she fell to the floor next to her sister landing dangerously close to the fire. Heat tore at her face as she snapped her eyes shut and rolled in the opposite direction.

  When she opened her eyes, Heather was still at her side, moving slowly and looking like she might attempt to stand up.

  Samuel circled the two girls as a vulture would prey. His face had contorted into that of an animal, and his eyes were now noticeably glowing red.

  Observing that Heather had managed to get to her knees, he made his way back over to her with an entitled look on his face.

  “Where’s your beloved to protect you now, wretch?” Samuel growled, grabbing a fistful of Heather’s hair and wrenching her head backward.

  Gabrielle saw a trickle of blood spill from her eyebrow and noticed her eyes were beginning to swell. Samuel forced Heather’s head down until she was on her hands and knees. He then brought his foot into her stomach, kicking her so hard that Gabrielle could hear the air leaving Heather’s lungs.

  Gabrielle lay frozen, unable to move as Samuel continued to vent his rage on Heather, kicking her repeatedly, until she lay motionless on her back.

  He continued to circle the two girls with a fiendish grin on his face. Gabrielle glanced at Heather, willing her to be alive. Heather weakly tilted her head back, tears welling in her eyes.

  Gabrielle strained to see as she silently mouthed something to her. As she concentrated on understanding what Heather was trying to tell her, Samuel stepped between the two girls; his blazing eyes fixated on Gabrielle.

  CLICK.

  “I know what you're trying to do, you stupid little girl.” Samuel laughed as he made his way to Gabrielle. With fear spreading through her veins, Gabrielle dropped to her hands and knees and crawled away from the man turned monster, looking for anything that she could use to defend herself.

  Samuel grabbed a handful of her sweat-drenched hair, yanked her up and forced her to look into his eyes which flashed back and forth between red and their natural pale green. It was as though something was possessing him but was not able to keep hold of him for very long.

  As Gabrielle peered into the eyes of the devil, she realized that she was not scared of him anymore. She was, in fact, furious. Furious that this snake of a man enjoyed hitting her and Heather. Furious that she couldn't do anything about it, no matter how much she wanted to.

  “Yes, look at me with those big, beautiful eyes, for soon you will be unable to look at all.” Samuel trailed off as he thrust Gabrielle to the ground and walked over to the fire.

  He reached down and grabbed a wooden plank that was glowing red hot at the end and turned to face her, a small chuckle growing in his throat.

  Slowly, Samuel made his way back to her, plank in hand and an ear-to-ear grin on his face. He grabbed her hair once more and pulled her up, returning her to her knees.

  “An eye for an eye.” Samuel hissed, motioning toward his swollen eye. He tilted her head backward and raised the stake. Gabrielle did not close her eyes this time; she was so angry that she wanted to look him in the eye, even as he claimed hers.

  CLICK.

  “You foul bastard!” roared a voice from the doorway. Samuel dropped Gabrielle and turned to face Fionn with the glowing stake still raised in the air and the look of a man with nothing to lose on his face.

  Fionn stormed across the room to the crazed farmer as though he were a star falling from the heavens, the fire of hatred burning through his body. Samuel returned the enthusiasm as he advanced on Fionn like the madman that he surely was.

  The two collided in a sea of rage, and Gabrielle could see that Fionn had been in a more recent fight. He was covered in fresh silt and appeared to have small cuts and scrapes on his bare chest and arms.

  Gabrielle brought her attention back to Heather who was crawling around the opposite side of the fire.

  Samuel was suddenly upon Fionn, kicking ashes from the fire into his face and causing him to scream in agony. Fionn raised his bruised and bloody hands upward to shield his eyes and stumbled backward.

  Samuel brought up his stake, swinging it wildly at his opponent. Fionn frantically extended his arms and grabbed for the stake but landed on Samuel's wrist instead. Samuel’s fist then connected with the side of Fionn’s face.

  As he stumbled back in an attempt at fending off the manic farmer, the tip of the smoldering wood lodged itself inside Fionn’s forearm. Samuel shrieked with delight as Fionn let out a roar of pain and crouched down, pawing at the stake.

  Samuel calmly stepped up to Fionn and pressed down on the stake. The light from the fire glittered in his eyes, and a smile escaped his lips.

  CLICK.

  Gabrielle could only watch as her friend cried out in pain. A tear dripped from her eye and then another and another. She looked down with a start at the small collection of tears on her dress; she hadn’t even noticed she had started to cry.

  Gabrielle thought she had awoken to Hell outside trying to get in, and now she could see that Hell was all around her. Alexandra was dead, her father was gone, this place—no matter how familiar it felt—was not real, Heather was bleeding and in a lot of pain, and to top it all off, Samuel was winning the fight.

  No! No, No, NO!

  She sat on the floor of the earthen hut and let the tears flow freely.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  As Gabrielle sat in horror, crying and watching the fight, Fionn brought his knee up into Samuel’s stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs. Samuel keeled over in pain as Fionn rose, a renewed look of strength glistening on his face.

  Now standing above Samuel, Fionn’s face was a blank canvas, emotionless and rigid. Beads of sweat dripped from his face and bare chest onto his opponent He twisted Samuel’s wrist backward and took control of the weapon that Samuel desperately clung to.

  Fionn briefly stopped to look at Samuel, who was staring at the ground with a mixture of sweat, snot, and blood dripping out of his mouth.

  He grabbed the back of the bully’s hair and forced him to his feet, just like he had done to the girls only moments before. There was a moment of complete silence as the two men stared at each other, neither willing to break.

  In that moment, even the chaos outside seemed to fade away. Fionn raised the piece of wood and buried it into Samuel’s only remaining open eye, as though his hand were being pulled by an unknown force.

  A loud gasp escaped Gabrielle’s mouth and the sound appeared to have brought Fionn back from his trance. He suddenly looked from Samuel’s body to the girls on the floor and the color rushed back to his face.

  “Quickly, girls, we must be off!” His voice cracked as it broke the awkward silence. “They are making their way here and will surely be upon us any moment,” Fionn stated, seeming overwrought as he lifted the girls to their feet.

  “What’s happening?” Gabrielle was on her feet grunting as she tried to pull Heather up off the floor.

  “They came back! Those cowardly bastards came back for your sister.” The shame in Fionn’s voice was obvious. “The villagers are putting up their best fight, but the soldiers brought far more than what they had this afternoon. We must go. I cannot be certain if they intend on taking Heather back to the castle with them or—” Fionn went silent.

  He pulled Heather to him, looking deep into her half-swollen eyes. He swept her hair away and tried to wipe the dirt from her face.

  “I am so sorry, my love. I should have never sent you back here alone. I can’t—”

  “I’m fine, Fionn,” interrupted Heather, pulling at his hands and looking into his eyes. “We must go, love, before they are here.”

  Fionn pulled both girls to him, and the three briefly, but deeply, embraced as though it was the last time they would see each other.

  “All right then, girls, quickly! We must leave!” Fionn turned and led them to the doorway. He reached back and took Gabriel
le’s and Heather’s hand in each of his as they rushed to the door then out of the cabin and into the cool night.

  A cold breeze ran across Gabrielle’s face as her feet touched the hard, frosty earth.

  Despite everything that was happening, she looked up at the full moon and thought how beautiful the clear night sky looked that evening. Just as she did this very morning, when she first set eyes on this place, Gabrielle looked across the field to a line of trees and thought that if they could just reach those, they would be safe.

  CLICK.

  The sound brought a sudden panic to Gabrielle until she realized that the sound wasn’t the same. This sound was more like a twig breaking than the thwarting sounds she had previously heard.

  A large hand pressed on her stomach and pushed her back against the hut. As Gabrielle slid to the ground she realized that it was Fionn that had pushed her and Heather out of the way.

  He took a step forward, fists clenched and eyes alert. Gabrielle looked around and saw two soldiers rushing from the sides of the cabin at Fionn. The first swung a large sword at him, which missed as he ducked and rushed behind the man, grabbing him and using his body as a shield.

  The second soldier thrust his sword at him, only to find it stuck into the torso of his cohort. Fionn then grabbed the impaled soldier’s sword and swung it at the other man, who was still advancing.

  The sword met its mark as Fionn brought it down into the side of the man’s neck, forcing Gabrielle to turn her head in disgust at the blood that seeped from the wound.

  “Take them, and kill the monster!” shouted a familiar voice from the shadows as several more men appeared. All the soldiers were clad in battle garb and had their weapon drawn in a battle-ready formation.

  Gabrielle crawled over to Heather, who gathered her into her arms and embraced her like a mother shielding an infant from harm.

  Fionn remained as sturdy as a mountain, unmoved by the presence of the new soldiers. His chest swelled in intimidation as the soldiers surrounded him.

  “Well, this doesn't seem very fair, now does it?” growled Fionn as he turned around to face the men that had come for them. A dozen soldiers circled Fionn and stood their guard, waiting for the order to strike.

  “You might want to retreat to grab more men.” Fionn sneered and raised one eyebrow, eyes fixated on the officer that appeared to be leading the raiding party.

  “The girl is to come with us. This man—” The officer used his sword and pointed it at Fionn’s bare chest, “is to be slain as punishment for the crimes committed against the Lord and county.”

  Slowly, Fionn began to turn in place until he could see the girls. Gabrielle was silently but heavily crying as she looked at him for answers on what to do. He looked from her to Heather and mouthed the words "I love you" and then turned back to face the officer.

  “Well, it’s your call, officer. Do we duel, or will you save yourself some time and surrender to me?” Fionn asked.

  “Kill this peasant and burn the cabin,” the officer snarled as the guards raised their weapons.

  Fionn looked into the night sky then took a breath so deep that, for a moment, Gabrielle thought he might suck all of the air from the world. He brought his eyes back to the officer and let out a rebellious, blood-curdling yell.

  Even before the yell had ceased, the guards had sprung into action, and a few of them charged into the circle at Fionn. The first guard to reach him was met with a kick to the chest that sent him doubled over to the ground.

  A second soldier, attempting a stealth approach, was struck in the face by his powerful fist, forcing him to fall next to his fellow officer, where he cradled his broken and bleeding nose.

  The remaining guards all paused for a moment, unsure if they should advance on their opponent. Fionn smiled and waved his foes on as he turned a half circle, surveying how many officers were left.

  “Now!” called the officer in charge of the group, enraged that his men were cowering in fear of Fionn.

  Gabrielle felt a tug as she was being pulled away from the fight. The fight was a diversion.

  Heather let out a piercing scream as the two girls were being dragged away. As Fionn took a step to begin pursuit of the girls' attackers, the remaining guards followed suit and charged him.

  A sanguine spray jetted through the air in the pale light, as Fionn fought through the remaining guards to get to the girls. He spun in a circle like a frantic cyclone as he engaged his attackers, a look of fear plastered on his face.

  Fionn took his eyes away from the battle to look at the girls, and a guard approached from behind and raked his sword across his calf. Gabrielle felt her heart jump out of her body as a look of pain consumed him.

  With a roar of agony, Fionn turned and dropped the guard with a quick thrust of his sword. A scream-filled gurgle brought chills to Gabrielle as the man fell, lifeless.

  Another soldier swept in from the side, and his sword found the muscles of Fionn’s left bicep, opening a deep cut and severing the distinctive inked design that had been there. She watched in horror as Fionn fell to one knee and another officer charged at him, sword raised.

  As Gabrielle watched in horror, the soldier’s eyes began to flicker the color of fresh blood. She could almost see the monsters diving in and out of the soldiers, taking hold of their limbs as if they were puppets.

  One officer brought his sword down on the back of Fionn’s head as Fionn raised his sword to meet his opponent's stomach. The soldier dropped his weapon before it could meet its mark and grabbed at his gaping wound.

  As he pawed at his blood covered stomach, he knocked the sword from Fionn’s hand, unintentionally disarming him.

  With a vicious call, the leading soldier brought the attack to a halt. He sauntered over to the bodies of his fallen, and to a kneeling and defeated Fionn who stared up into the red eyes of his foe without fear.

  Suddenly the face of the soldier contorted into that of a monster. His nose elongating into the beak of a bird and his eyes sinking back into his skull.

  There was a pause as the two looked at one another. A look of unbridled horror strewn across Fionn’s face as he viewed the monster that stood before him.

  The remaining guards shuffled to the fallen man, limbs stiff as if they weren’t their own. In unison, a monstrous scream echoed in the night and the soldiers piled on top of Fionn, pulling and ripping at his skin.

  Just as Gabrielle was pulled around the side of the hut, shock apparent in her slack features and wide eyes, she noticed a man watching.

  No one else seemed to notice that he was there as he stood and watched the fight. The man brought his head up and looked at Gabrielle, his white hair and red eyes familiar to her. A sinister smile crept across his face and he gave her an ever so slight wink.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Gabrielle felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest and tossed into the fire. She had finally given up; she stopped fighting her captors and fell limp on the guard's shoulders.

  She couldn’t see Heather, the village, Fionn, anything; all she could see was the ground — painted orange from the heat of the fires that slowly took over the small village.

  After a moment, Gabrielle looked up as the soldier picked up his pace, his armor clinking as he carried her down the center street of the village between cabins burning and bodies of both townsfolk and soldiers strewn lifelessly around them on the road.

  In the distance, villagers were still fighting, but it was clear this battle wouldn’t last much longer.

  The soldier carrying Gabrielle shifted sideways as he stepped to avoid a brawl between two men and a couple of soldiers. The men appeared to be winning their scuffle as they cast down one soldier with an ax.

  Gabrielle squinted in the darkness and saw that William was fighting alongside a man that looked as though he were an older version of him. She opened her mouth to yell for help, but she didn’t want to see any more of her friends killed by these savages.

 
Gabrielle closed her mouth, gave a small sniffle, and tried not to think about what had happened to Fionn.

  It’s only a dream, it’s only a dream. She repeated the mantra to herself over and over again, but even she was starting to wonder if she would ever wake up from this nightmare.

  As Gabrielle watched the salty tears drip from her swollen cheeks to the ground below, she noticed that the orange coloring of the ground had faded to a dark gray.

  The yelling and fighting she heard only moments before was now a distant. The only sound she could hear was the labored breathing of the guards as they grunted and carried the girls over their shoulders.

  The soldier carrying Gabrielle strained as he began to walk up a hill approaching the castle. Heather began to quarrel with the man that held her, but she only got a few mumbled and confused words out before she went silent again.

  Gabrielle winced as the soldier adjusted her on his shoulders and his armor dug into her side. Another adjustment pulled her more tightly against him to prevent her from slipping.

  It was in this moment of complete exhaustion that Gabrielle gave a passing thought to her old life, her mother and father, and even to Alexandra. She wondered if she would ever see them again, or if she was meant to be tortured in this strange dream from Hell forever.

  “Are we finished with the village?” The guard holding Gabrielle asked as another soldier approached the group.

  “Aye, we have been finished for a while now. The remaining scuffle is just some of the new ones having a bit o' fun.” Gabrielle felt the acidic pain of bile creep up her throat as she listened to the officers’ talk about her friends in such a brutal and uncaring manner.

  She found herself looking at her bangle as it glittered when it caught a beam of moonlight. Rage ran through her body so greatly that she brought her knee into the face of the man carrying her. He let out a sharp yell, and she went rolling off his shoulders and fell to the ground.