Aimnéise Place of Pendants 2

Chapter Nineteen

Duggie’s Knee Kisses

“This.” Dougall chortled still grinning. He pulled out two daggers from the back of his pants, I didn’t even ken he had. He threw them at two guards, striking them in the neck. As one began to slump to the floor he rushed over grabbing his sword to throw at me before turning to punch a guard lunging at him. His fist slamming into the guard’s face as he snatched his sword.

I caught the blade as I was putting my fist into the face of guard on my right. Turning, ran the sword through the guts of another one heading my way. The fact that most of the guards held back shocked by Dougall moving like the wind, showed how substandard they were.

“Get them!” Garrison yelled.

I parried with one guard who wasn’t too bad with a blade catching sight of Dougall on the floor, on his back with one guard’s head jammed between his knees whilst fighting another at his left, with little effort.

The guard with his head gripped between Dougall’s knees was trying to pry his fingers in to remove himself. Good luck with that.

I was more than familiar with that move. When the bràthairs and I were wrestling, Dougall always managed to get one of our heads between his knees and rub our ears red. It smarted for days. Dougall would of course after doing so lay in wait for an opportunity to flick our ears as we passed. Dougall called it his famous Duggie knee kiss.

“Dougall get off tha bloody floor. There be nay time fer ear kissin!”

He flashed a grin at me. “Oh, but Connie ye ken how I love knee kisses.” I sliced my sword across the neck of one guard and then through the stomach of another. I’m sure Dougall had the strongest damned knees in the highlands. He could crack rocks with those things.

Another guard approached with his sword swinging above his head. What did I say? Yep they were children with toys. Rolling my eyes I punched him before he had an opportunity to bring his weapon down. I kicked him into one behind him, both crashed to the floor.

Dougall grabbed two guards by the scruff of the neck and pounded their heads together knocking them out. Smiling to myself, clutched one guard by the neck and the seat of his pants throwing him at two others, just now deciding to join the fray. Child’s work.

When only Dougall and I were left standing amid the groaning and dead bodies of guards we turned to see Garrison crouched behind his desk. What confidence he had when we first entered. He was now the epitome of scared rabbit cornered by a fox... two foxes.

“My nine to your eight.” Dougall whispered. Spinning my head to glare at him, surprised he’s keeping tabs on who took how many out, I shook my head at him.

Garrison got to his feet, his hands shakily holding onto his desk as if any minute his legs would give out and send him crashing to the floor.

“You won’t get away with this. You won’t get far! My soldiers will capture you again before you have a chance to make it to the next town.” He was attempting to sound confident, failing miserably.

It dawned on me then, he might have my pendants, but he had no idea what they did. Walking around the desk towards him Dougall stalked around the other side to trap him between us.

Pulling a dagger from his belt Dougall swiped it from his hand in a flash. I snatched my pendants from his clutches.

“I want to ken why, and how ye were waiting fer me? How did ye ken I was coming?”

Garrison straightened his back, a smile creeping up his face. He broke into laughter as if he had just heard a joke. Glancing at Dougall he was as confused as I was. Does he not realize that he was alone with nowhere to go? We could kill him before he moved a foot. Garrison either had to be bluffing or he was just plain loopy in the head.

“She will find you and when she does it will be you that will be dead!”

“Who’s she?” I demanded taking him by the scruff of his shirt.

He said one word that made me cringe, sending a shaft of ice down my back. “Aoife.”

“So, this isna over.” Dougall sighed as the same realization hit me. No this was not over. We thought when Morgan had handed over the box to the mother spirit there was no reason for Aoife to be pursuing Morgan or any of us again.

It had been her all along that controlled the Brollachans. As best as we could figure the box, and Morgan’s blood that would give her access to the Fae world, was no longer an issue. There was no way she could enter Tir na Nog without Morgan or the box. Yet here she was again. So, what the hell was her game?

I slipped the pendants back over my head and pushed Garrison hard to the floor. Walking back around the desk Garrison couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“She will come for you and that witch you have aligned yourself with. Aoife will eat your soul and leave your flesh to rot.” Garrison manically laughed again getting to his feet. “When she finds your witch, you will both die.”

I stopped dead. She hadn’t found Morgan as yet, the idiot’s word just confirmed that Aoife was still looking for her. I turned back to Garrison.

“Aoife is the witch; my wife is Fae, you haven’t a clue do ye of who this Aoife is? What did she offer ye? A long life or more riches than ye have e’er seen?” The only thing Aoife will give this inept piece of trash was a painful slow death.

“She’s my love, we are to be married, not that it will save any of you.” God’s blood! The man was insane. Another poor sod conned by Aoife in believing this garbage. I didn’t ken whether to feel sorry for him or kill him for being so stupid.

“Bràthair I cannae understand why tha witch is doing this.” Dougall uttered scratching his head. “Will Morgan ever be safe?”

Anger swirled through me. This had to end, I would kill the witch with my bare hands if I had to. One thing I ken with absolute certainty, she would not get to my wife again.

“We need to go!” I shouted at Dougall ostensibly lost in his own head no doubt with the same thoughts that were running through mine. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me so we could get out of here.

His arm came around my shoulder, I think more to steady himself and then I caught Garrison in the corner of my eye throw a dagger. I pushed Dougall out of the way as the dagger embed itself in my shoulder.

Instant reaction took over. I pulled the dagger out and threw it back at Garrison piercing his eye. He flew backwards crashing to the wall and sliding down to the floor already dead.

Dougall came back to my side and once again wrapped his arm around the back of my shoulder, with his other hand pressed up against my wound trying to stem the flow of blood.

“Nine, nine.” Dougall chuffed with a grin as we were encompassed in a swirl of smoke.