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Bev and Kate hurried from the cabin. Quinn suddenly appeared before then with a disgusted look on his face. Both women jumped with surprise.
�Pulled it off, didn�t you?� Quinn announced. �You placed your own spell around both of you.�
�That�s right,� Kate remarked. �And I�ll keep that spell around her until her dying day, if I have to.�
�You�re more trouble than you�re worth,� Quinn remarked. �I�ll just have to find some other witch to have my children. It would have been nice to have a young, attractive witch by my side, but I suppose any will do in the long run.� Quinn smirked. �In the meantime, I have a knight to execute. Brennan will be drawn and quartered at dusk. Come and watch, if you�d like. But there�s nothing you can do to prevent it.�
Quinn disappeared.
�He�s baiting you,� Bev announced. �He wants you to follow him.�
Kate frowned. �I can�t let him kill Brennan. I have to do something.�
Bev grabbed Kate�s arm and glared at her. �You can�t save him, Kate. He�s too powerful for you. Let it go.�
�If only Brennan had a chance at a fair fight,� Kate remarked softly. Kate hesitated then looked at Bev. �I�m sending you home. You�ll be safe. I think I know what I can do.�
�Kate,� Bev growled lowly.
Kate waved her hand. Bev vanished.
Kate walked across the courtyard as the sun set. Brennan stood on a platform before the chopping block with his wrists tied behind his back. A hooded executioner with an axe stood alongside him. Quinn sat on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. A woman in her mid thirties dressed in the clothing of the century sat alongside him. Quinn chuckled lowly and watched Kate as she approached.
�I knew you�d be back,� Quinn announced.
�I�d given this a lot of thought,� Kate said loudly from the center of the courtyard. �Hear me out.�
Quinn smirked and nodded.
�All I�m asking if for Brennan to have a fighting chance. No witchcraft. Just him against you in a fair fight,� Kate remarked. �Obviously Brennan is a skilled warrior, so for the sake of fairness, you could choose any animal form to fight against him.�
Quinn chuckled lowly. �And why would I want to do that?�
�Because I�ll marry the winner,� Kate remarked boldly.
Silence. Quinn stared at Kate a long moment then leaned back in his chair. �So all I have to do is kill Brennan without witchcraft, and I can choose any animal form to do it?�
Kate nodded. �But you have to keep your promise of no witchcraft, or I won�t keep my promise.�
�You have my word as a warlock,� Quinn announced.
The ropes, executioner, and platform all disappeared. Brennan appeared in the center of the courtyard with a sword in his hand. Kate approached Brennan. Quinn spoke softly to the woman on the balcony alongside him. Brennan glared at the balcony then looked to Kate.
�I appreciate the honor to die fighting,� he announced. �But you shouldn�t have made that promise to Quinn. I can�t win.�
�Why not?�
�That�s Quinn�s sister alongside him. That�s the woman who nearly killed me. You were right about everything. He may keep his word, but she�s going to interfere,� Brennan remarked.
�You leave the bitch to me. I have a few surprises of my own,� Kate informed him. He�s going to change into a dragon. He�ll come after you with his tail and his fire breath. He�ll be big and impressive, but he�ll have little agility. Go for the underbelly. I�m counting on you to keep your promise and kill Quinn.�
Brennan stared into her eyes and gently placed his free left arm around her waist. �Will you keep your promise?�
�My promise?� Kate asked.
�To marry the winner,� he said softly.
Kate smiled with some embarrassment. �I�ll gladly uphold my end of the bargain for you.� She kissed him quickly then pulled away.
Brennan grinned, flipped the sword in his hand, and caught it. �Keep an eye on the witch. I have a dragon to slay.�
Kate disappeared and reappeared on the balcony alongside Quinn�s sister. Quinn leaped over the balcony and immediately changed into a dragon as anticipated. He immediately breathed fire at Brennan. Brennan leaped out of the way. The huge tail whipped for Brennan. He dove over the tail, rolled across the ground, and sprang back to his feet and faced the dragon. Kate leaned closer to Quinn�s sister.
�Interfere with their fight,� Kate remarked lowly, �and I�ll rip you to shreds.�
Quinn�s sister chuckled lowly. �I don�t have to lift a finger. The mortal doesn�t stand a chance.�
Brennan dodged the tail again. The dragon snapped at Brennan and attempted to bite him in half. Brennan slashed his sword across Quinn�s nose. Quinn coiled back with a squeal. Brennan ran underneath the dragon�s belly and rammed his sword upward. There was a loud squeal. Brennan pulled his sword back. Quinn continued to squeal and turned his huge, dragon head toward the balcony.
�Lynette, help me!� he cried out.
His sister jumped form her seat and cast a spell toward the dragon. The wound to Quinn�s belly healed. He lunged for Brennan. Kate pointed a finger at Lynette. A bolt of lightning struck her. Lynette flew backwards but recovered almost immediately and transformed into a large, forty-foot snake. Kate gasped and jumped over the balcony, transformed into a panther, and landed on her feet. Lynette changed into a lioness and pounced over the railing and landed on Kate�s back. The two cats bit and clawed at one another. Kate lunged for Lynette�s throat and held onto her throat with her teeth. The lioness scratched at the panther with sharp claws but the panther didn�t let go. Blood ran from the throat wound. Lynette squealed, changed into a hawk, and flew away. The panther changed back into Kate.
Brennan impaled his sword into the dragon�s side. The dragon squealed and changed back into Quinn. Quinn sneered, raised his hand, and a fireball flew from his hand. The fireball struck Brennan and he was thrown back several feet. Brennan landed with a thud and a groan. Quinn turned to face Kate.
�This foolishness ends now,� Quinn growled. �You don�t have to marry me to have my children. You don�t even need to be free! You�ll remain my prisoner forever!� He coiled his hand back and cast a bolt of lightning at her.
