Dinnick had eaten an early meal and was already heading to bed with his wife even as the sun set. Farm work started early, and there was no use wasting the dark hours by lollygagging about.
The young ones—all tuckered out from gathering the last of the tomatoes—were already in their nightclothes and tucked in for the night.
"You look less stressed than you have in a long while," Edyth pressed the blanket tightly around herself to ward off the bit of chill from the coming night.
"The vagrants will be forced to move on by morning. Perhaps I can get a bit of the wheat harvested after all. It may not be a total loss." Dinnick hopped into bed and laid his head happily on his pillow. His nightmare would soon be over.
Edyth smiled warmly. "I'm glad to see the light back in your eyes at last. When you went to the castle, I thought you'd all but given up hope."
"The king was quite receptive. I was pleasantly surprised. I did expect him to ignore my plea like the magistrate. I am very happy I was mistaken." Dinnick placed his body under the covers and cuddled up to his wife. Her lean but sturdy frame fit perfectly against his own.
"His Majesty is a good man, just like you." Edyth turned her head and kissed her husband's nose. "I am glad you are home."
"And I never want to leave again…" Dinnick paused.
He could hear a horse riding up nearby the farmhouse quickly.
'Perhaps it is just a messenger passing through…'
That sort of thing happened on occasion as the farm was in between two military forts, but they usually didn't come so close to the house.
All of a sudden the hoof beats stopped.
"Father…" a young man of around thirteen came into the room. "Did you hear…"
"Sh!" Dinnick rose from the bed.
A shadow passed in front of the bedroom window. It was so quick that the man almost thought he had imagined it, but the look on his wife's and son's faces told him that it had really happened.
The two young men who helped the family in the field had left hours ago. Maybe one of them had forgotten something?
But then why hadn't they called out and announced themselves. It would have been very improper for them to be caught peeping in their boss's bedroom.
Something was wrong.
Dinnick edged his way toward the window, hoping he would merely need to scold Joe or Jim for scaring the tar out of him, but the candle light in the room made him blind to the darkness outside.
All he could hear was some rustling like a bobcat trying to capture its dinner. "That's probably what it is…" he mumbled when the sound stopped. "I should check to make sure the chickens are tucked away properly. I think one of them might have just fallen prey to the wildlife."
"Daddy!" A high pitched squeal came from the other side of the wall. The urgency in the girl's voice indicated more than just a nightmare or need for water.
Sissy was frightened.
Dinnick grabbed his hunting knife from the nightstand and went running out of the bedroom.
Contained in the second and only other room in the farmhouse was the kitchen, living space and both children's bunks.
Under the smaller of the two beds, a tiny figure clutched the bedpost trying to keep from being dragged out by a burly man in tattered rags.
The man was about to lift the bed off of the girl and finish the job when the rest of the family entered.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dinnick held out his arm to keep back his son and wife while he moved toward the ruffian.
The farmer was not a fighter, but when his family was threatened, he would not let the matter stand. He reversed the grip on his hunting knife and surged forward in a low crouch. This intruder was no different than a bobcat or a wolf. He was not welcome and was putting the farm at risk.
The Lakilian soldier scowled at the man's tenacity. He let go of the girl and the bed as he dodged the farmer's sloppy strike. Seeing her moment, Sissy scrambled out from under the bed and rushed to her mother's side.
Edyth scooped her up into her arms and backed into the bedroom only to realize that there was a second man behind her. He grabbed the woman around the waist and threw her and the child on the bed.
"Stay still and this will be over in a moment. Don't make this painful for all of you." This soldier looked down on the females with contempt. They were a nuisance that he would deal with swiftly.
Seeing his mother and sister in distress, young Ned tried to jump onto the back of their attacker. But even with his hard-earned muscles, he was no match for the large soldier. The brute smashed his elbow into the boy's face and knocked him into the wall. Ned saw stars.
In the low light he watched helplessly as the burly man pulled a knife from his belt.
The women screamed. Ned reached for his sister. But his body would not comply with his desire to help those he loved.
Ned's vision went dark for a second, but he realized it was not because he was about to lose consciousness. A shadow had passed between himself and the candle. Or rather, a person.
The wraith hit the soldier with a devastating punch, forcing the brute to drop the knife. The ghost then used his inhuman strength to shove the vagrant out of the window.
The soldier grunted as he hit the ground outside. Without a word, the shadow followed. Ned slowly regained his strength as he heard the fighting both inside and outside the home. He could not miss out on helping when he was needed.
On the bed, Edyth sobbed as she held her hand over her daughter's eyes. She wanted to do something, but she was also afraid to leave her daughter's side. A sense of paralysis overcame her.
As Ned was just beginning to stand again, the stranger returned through the window. Where his face should be, there was only a black void in the candle light. If not for the fact that he had just stopped a man from murdering them in their home, they would have been terrified.
The figure looked at the stricken faces. "What's Dinnick look like?"
"He's wearing his night shirt!" Sissy chirped as she peeked through her mother's finger. Her brother nodded while the woman simply stared, still in shock.
The cloaked figure took the advice and ghosted from the room. The scene in the main part of the farmhouse was a harrowing sight.
One of the straw mattresses was shredded with its contents scattered. The table was turned on its side with at least one of the chairs broken to bits. The cupboard, which held all of the family's dishes, had been knocked open and Edyth's nice plates were shattered on the ground.
The two men were in an equally disheveled state. Dinnick's nightshirt was torn in multiple places and there were shallow wounds covering his arms and torso, but he seemed not to be badly hurt.
The other man had his fair share of scrapes and bruises. Having been unable to draw his sword in the small area, the Lakylian soldier had pulled his own knife to combat the angry farmer. Although the soldier had been trained to fight in combat, Dinnick was quite sturdy and more familiar with the terrain of his home.
As such, neither man was winning.
"Just die already!" the soldier called angrily.
"The only person who is about to die is you," the cloaked man answered calmly. Both men faced him suddenly.
"A Guardian!" The farmer exclaimed.
"A Guardian?!" The soldier looked for his comrades. His face suddenly grew pale. He was frustrated fighting with just the one man and now there was a ghost-man appearing to help him! The soldier had had enough.
The intruder picked up the lone candle still lit in the room and tossed it at the disheveled bed. The room went dark for a moment before erupting in flames.