Time Masters Book 1, The Call

The Call

They came in a blizzard, we offered them heat,

A roof o'er their heads, dry shoes for their feet,

We wined them and dined them-we gave of our meat,

They slept in the house of MacDonald.

They came from Fort William wi' murder in mind,

The Campbell had orders King William had signed,

"Put all to the sword," these words underlined,

"Leave non alive o' MacDonald."

They came in the night, when our men were asleep,

This band of Argylls, through snow soft and deep.

Like murdering foxes among helpless sheep,

They slaughtered the house o' MacDonald.

Some died in their beds at the hand of the foe,

Some fled in the night and were lost in the snow,

Some lived to accuse him who struck the first blow,

But gone was the house of MacDonald...

Cruel is the snow that sweeps Glencoe,

That covers the grave o' Donald.

Cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe,

And murdered the house of MacDonald.

JimMcLean

Prologue

Glencoe, Scotland, February 13, 1692

You are all going to die.

See how the snow swirls and rises in high drifts, the wind hard-pressed to conceal your pitiful dwellings? It piles the snow and beats against walls as the storm intensifies. I trust it will serve well those who will need it within the hour...

Dallan MacDonald's breath caught in his throat, causing him to choke, an action that chased the dream away. His eyes opened and he quickly studied his surroundings. He lay wrapped in his plaid, his young brother, Alasdair, asleep at his side in front of the hearth. He shook his head to clear it, wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow, and waited for the garbled, chilling voice from the dream to fade. Only then did he sigh in relief. The dreams were becoming more frequent of late-strange dreams that made no sense. But this one seemed different, more like a premonition...

He settled himself and mused over his arrival and grandfather's greeting when they first spied each other. The MacIain's eyes had been warm for the briefest of moments, then filled with cold warning, the auld Fox's first words anything but friendly. Of course, Dallan had learned to expect nothing else from the chief of the Glencoe MacDonalds. The MacIain could be a hard man when he wanted, and often was when in Dallan's company. In fact, Dallan couldn't remember him being any other way.

Alasdair moaned in his sleep. Dallan turned to his brother and smiled. Unlike his grandfather, the boy hadn't left his side since he arrived in Glencoe two days ago. He gazed at him with a pinch of envy. Alasdair's face was peaceful, content. The boy held not a care. No, not a one.

Unlike the rest of his clansmen.

Confused at the number of Lowlanders and Campbells residing in the glen after he arrived, Dallan made his way to his elder uncle's house to find what was amiss. His Uncle John informed him the Campbells had shown up in the glen nearly two weeks ago with papers signed by the king himself; papers demanding quarters be given in Glencoe for two companies of His Majesty's foot soldiers.