Her brother was tensed to respond violently he had his hands balled into fists and was just about to hit her, when they were distracted by messagangers sprinting along the lines of defenders.
"Pull back! Pull back! The main road is about to be destroyed! Get to the high ground and stay there, until you're told differently!"
"Move!" Eraldo told her, pushing something sharp against the small of her back. "We"re going the other way, towards Port Lira -"
"We"ll be on the wrong side!" the others protested.
One of the stablehands gave Rosemary a black look. "I"m done with all of this, you can go to Port Lira and get yourselves killed if you want, I am going to high ground." And with that he was off before anyone could react.
Rosemary was, if anything, relieved when they left the area. "I think I know what you have in mind," she said approvingly. "Your father's men won't expect anyone to remain behind. They'll be busy trying to get past the blockages caused by the destruction." She smiled, though without humour. "I even have the ideal place for us to hold up."
He gave her a speculative look, then bowed fractionally. "After you."
**
Mr. Ferguson and his men flattened themselves instinctively on the ground as a number of large explosions from either side of the port shook the ground and echoed off the hillsides.
"They have dynamited the roads," one man said, a note of respect and misgiving in his voice. He had been hoping for a quick end to this campaign, utilizing the ship's guns to pound the hillsides above the defenders in an effort to dislodge and disorganize them. He knew instinctively that if they had the sense to block the roads, they would also have the sense to remain safely out of range. "We"re going to have to rush them; now, before dawn, when the ship's guns will be under water. Bolt-action rifles or not, they will turn this entire area into a kill zone."
"Tell the men that they are to take no prisoners," Mr. Ferguson told him.
Emerson gave him Mr. Ferguson a look of disapproval, he could tell that Mr. Ferguson was in an unpredictable mood, and for a moment Emerson tried to understand what drove the man- although his own thoughts were in vain.
"As you wish." He gave the order, and they began working their way towards the piles of rubble where the road cutting through the town had been. A small flicker of light caught his attention, and as he turned his attention to the light he and his men watched as a small flame moved high atop a hill. Suddenly drawing back, going suddenly upwards, then arcing down towards them, a mere firefly in the dark. More began falling, and as the first struck the ground and exploded into flame, the hills suddenly became alive with the sound of arrows piercing the air, and the sound of gunfire. Finally realizing what was happening, Emerson sprang to his feet. "Get out of the light! Get out of the light! Move! Into the buildings, all of you! Find cover!"