The Highlander [antikvár]

PrologueThe Scottish Highlands, 1281^ ^Soldiers! God in heaven, English soldiers!"A cry of terror shattered the silence of tiie idyllic summa: day in the Highland meadow. Men hastily retrieved weapons. Women who had moments earlier been enjoying a bit of gossip scurried in search of children playing in the tallWith a call to arms, the leader of the clan leapt upon his horse, drawing his sword. The horse reared up, then dropped to its knees, a knife embedded in its chest. As its rider fell, two English soldiers jumped on him and crushed his skull with a mallet.A woman screamed and tried to escape, but her voice was abruptly stilled. When a younger woman rushed to her aid, she found herself surrounded by men whose eyes glittered withbloodlust.Throughout the afternoon, the leaden skies reverberated with the clang of sword against armor, and the sound of terrified cries. By the time the sun had made its arc to the westem sky, the grass of the Highland meadow was stained ted with the blood of its people. Men, women, children, even infants at the breast, had been slaughtered.