Underestimate Me

Dizziness filled him as he tried to watch her decent. The way she paused for a moment; something was wrong. Meredith yelled up to her, but he managed to glimpse the finger she pressed to her lips. The tree shifted as if the wind blew through the branches before she landed with a small thud next to Meredith. Blades were drawn. Rowen forced himself off the donkey and onto his feet. Emma’s eyes widened as she watched him.

What could be happening? These women were meticulous about keeping their tracks hidden. How could anyone have found them? Rowen heard his name. A familiar voice called his name. He stirred a little, but not enough to move forward. Who was calling his name?

“ROWEN!” The scream, now much closer than before, woke his body up from the slumber it had taken upon this instance. His eyes focused on the shifting branches as his father’s men forced their way through. John. His father’s oldest tracker burst forth first. Rowen’s name fell from his lips before he noticed the four women surrounding him.

Josselyn’s blade found the man. He dodged her iron quickly, leaving her to his brother behind him. Next in line was Evelyn. He shoved her aside with his own blade, leaving a small cut on her upper arm. Meredith, the swift swordswoman, ripped into his leathery flesh.

“No!” At first it was a whisper, until the next man punched Josselyn in the center of her abdomen gaining closer access to Rowen. Robert, the oldest hunter, came next and hit her on her injured hip with the hilt of his sword. Josselyn hissed at him before her blade pierced his stomach. He writhed on the ground. Rowen grabbed Meredith’s arm to keep her from slicing into Will, John’s oldest son.

“NO!” He screamed. Will’s blade tore the cloth that held his wrists. He looked for anything to help his men but found nothing close enough to grab.

Will twisted away from Meredith as she turned on Rowen. Her sword raised above her head. She wanted to…he could see it in her eyes. One glance at Josselyn left her breathless and she turned to her next opponent before she made up her mind. Rowen looked at Josselyn. Will found his next fight in her. He sliced the red skin around her collar bone before she got a shot at his wrist. Will aimed at Josselyn’s neck, but she caught the crook of his arm with her blade. He fell back circling in the dark trees.

Evelyn’s arrow cut into the youngest member of their pack, Will’s cousin Bryce. She sent another arrow through the way and Henry fell at his brother’s feet. Charles’s sword pointed toward Josselyn just before his arm hooked around her neck.

“Your bitches have slain my brother, now I shall spill your blood before them myself!” He growled in her ear. Rowen’s heart stopped. Josselyn couldn’t die. Not like that, not after he just found her. He started forward, but found himself stumbling.

No…no…no!

“Men are not the only creatures who can play foul,” Josselyn yelled as she elbowed Charles in the groin. He fell to his knees as she reached for her blade. His throat was slit in one swift motion. Rowen’s heart restarted, but bile rose in his throat at the sight of his man’s bitter death.

“Move again, Rowen, and I will cut you from bough to sternum myself,” Meredith growled at him. Emma yanked his chain back, but Rowen, even in his ill state, was stronger than the innocent little girl. He snatched the chain from her grasp and continued his stumble toward Josselyn. Four of his men had been slaughtered. He could watch no more die.

Meredith hit an artery of the second best hunter his father trained. Rowen couldn’t remember the man’s name, but he was still a part of his village. “Stop killing my men,” Rowen growled. He moved forward just as Bailey put a sword through Josselyn’s left arm. The boy missed her heart by centimeters. He repositioned his sword, preparing to take another swipe at Josselyn. Anger took control of Rowen as he watched the crimson liquid fall from Josselyn’s arm and neck.

Before Rowen realized what he was doing, Bailey’s throat was caught between his fingers. He watched the boy, much younger than himself, silently plead for his life only for a moment. His eyes met Josselyn’s just before her sword pierced Bailey’s heart, nearly going through Rowen’s skin as well.

She turned away from him, preparing for another man to attack, but there were none left. Rowen took a deep breath. His hands still shook with fear. Josselyn was too calm, too collected, as she sheathed her sword.

“Are you alright,” she called to the rest of her group. All nodded in response, save Meredith who gasped.

Will’s dark eyes popped out of the darkness just in time for his arms to encircle Josselyn’s throat. The blood from the crook of his arm pooled on her chest with the blood he left on her collar bone. “You’ve killed my family, Rebel Bitch; now it’s my turn to kill yours.”

Meredith struggled with her blade. Her sheath clung to the iron while Evelyn searched her quiver for another arrow. She found them all buried in men’s chest or scattered in the darkness of the wood. Emma, who only had a dagger, was too scared to remember where she put it.

Rowen couldn’t breathe. He felt the sword tip touch Josselyn’s throat. He felt the helplessness of Evelyn as she prayed; the helplessness of Emma as she started to whimper. Rowen even felt the desire to kill the man threatening the woman he loved; the same desire that radiated from Meredith’s entire being as she yanked on her godforsaken blade.

The Son of Elrik moved with speed and grace he couldn’t muster five minute before to help his father’s men, his men. His fingers wrapped easily around Will’s neck. He felt the man’s blood coursing through his veins. A little blue line emerged in John’s oldest son’s forehead, but Rowen held on.

The blade fell from Will’s hand before the light began to fade from his dark eyes. Rowen couldn’t bear to keep his eyes locked onto his victim’s. Instead, he turned to face the woman he protected, the woman he loved, the woman who wanted the man smothering to death to be him. He stared into her eyes until he could no longer feel Will gasping for air. Until he could no longer feel the blood in his veins. Then he dropped his victim at Josselyn’s feet.