CHAPTER 72
Cassandra knew that if she stood a chance of getting the young woman who did not deserve to
be here out, she would need to get rid of the two guards on either side of Methos and the man on
the cement truck as well as Devan.
This was no small task, and she wished MacLeod would hurry. She had her phone set to vibrate,
so she would know he had arrived.
She decided that the best course of action would be to shoot the two guards and then try to take
down Devan with the bullets that remained since he was the only one not holding a gun, and
hopefully Methos could get to the other man before he could interfere. She had seen him working
the ropes behind his back, and knew when he stopped that he had been successful and was
biding his time. For this to work, her aim must be accurate though and she had to act before
Devan could use Beth as a shield. The odds were not in their favor, but the alternative was to
watch the young woman be struck down, and she was unwilling to do that.
She was about to raise her gun when her eyes met briefly with Methos' across the room. He
knew she was there … he would be ready when she set her plan in motion.
Taking careful aim, Cassandra picked off one guard easily, but wasted two shots on the other.
Methos didn't know her plan to hit Devan with the next shot, and unwittingly put himself in the line
of fire when he dove at the man.
Instead of being taken down by Cassandra's bullets, it was Methos who received a dagger in the
ribs. And as he fell to the floor, Devan grabbed Beth and held her in front of him … holding the
dagger to her neck as he called to the uninvited guest.
Cassandra tried to think quickly, the look on the young woman's face was something she could
not live with and there had to be a way to save her. Stepping out of the darkness, Cassandra
walked down the metal staircase with her head held high. Her eyes focused on Devan as she
gave him a sly smile, her calm demeanor not betraying the thoughts racing in her head.
As she came closer, her powers to block his senses fell away and he realized she was another
immortal.
"Where did you get such friends?" Devan asked the immortal who had fallen to his knees, trying
to stop the flow of blood from beneath his rib cage.
"He's no friend of mine." Cassandra announced as she reached the floor level.
"You bitch." Methos managed to choke out as he waited for the wound to heal. He guessed what
Cassandra was going to do and knew he needed to make this convincing.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Devan said, pulling Beth up tighter against him.
"And you are intruding."
"I could say the same about you." She replied. "I came to Seacouver to extract my revenge on
this miscreant, and I arrive to find your buffoons carrying him away."
"I'm afraid even a woman as beautiful as you must get in line." Devan retorted. "My reasons for
revenge go back over 2,000 years. He interfered in my affairs and cost me 150 years of freedom.
So whatever he's done to you … you'll have to get over it."
"Get over it?" Cassandra raised her voice and her sword. "He raided my village 2,500 years ago,
killed my people, took me captive … raped me more times than I could count and then when he
was finished, gave me to his friends for their pleasure. I'd say that is not something I'm likely to
get over."
Devan glanced over at the man he knew as Raphael. "You did all that?"
Methos shrugged indifferently. "So she says."
Beth didn't know what to think. She studied Cassandra, whose words were laced with complete
hatred, not realizing she was really there to help her.
"Your revenge won't make a difference Cassandra. Your heart is empty now, and it will be once
we are long since dead." Beth said somberly.
"I'll be the judge of that." Cassandra replied, giving the young woman a scathing look. "You
won't be alive long enough to worry about my heart."
"This is all well and good, and you are welcome to watch. But this is my revenge." Devan told
her.
"Then you give me no choice." Cassandra raised her sword higher.
"You're challenging me? For him?" Devan laughed.
"I'm challenging you for the chance to take his head … which is mine." She replied.
"Reynolds … " Devan ordered his man to take care of her, but Cassandra turned and looked
directly at him and began to weave her spell.
"Your arms are so heavy … too heavy to lift … " she chanted. Methos couldn't help but smirk as
he saw the man could not resist her magic and his weapon fell harmlessly to the floor. "Your feet
are like lead …" she continued.
"What are you?" Devan demanded as he tossed Beth across the floor and drew his sword.
"She's a witch." Methos answered, cursing his luck that the wound had yet to heal enough for
him to regain his strength. There was nothing he wanted more than to take Cassandra's place in
the challenge. But he couldn't even move to where Beth lay watching against the wall, trying to
make herself as small as possible.
Cassandra circled around, backing into a more open area of the factory floor as Devan loosened
his arm by making several sweeping motions with his sword.
"How long has it been since you took a head my dear?" he asked.
"Not so long I've forgotten how." She replied. "And I am not your dear, I am the immortal who is
going to send you to hell."
Cassandra made the first move, striking several blows over his head and then dipping to take a
sweep at his body. Devan was taller and stronger, and easily fended them off.
For several long minutes, metal struck metal as the two combatants swapped volleys before
Cassandra managed to slice through his defending arm and force him to temporarily fall back.
Devan cried out angrily and when he came at her, his rage powered his sword, pushing her back
toward the staircase. Cassandra quickly and carefully stepped up, hoping that she could find an
angle to attack him before he struck her down with the sheer force of his blade.
"Easy … easy … " Methos said under his breath, realizing that if she wasn't careful Devan could
easily drive her over the edge of the staircase.
It was then that he felt another presence, and was relieved to see MacLeod move through the
side door … even as Amanda and Richie circled around the building to come in from the back.
"Get her out of here." Methos called out and Devan knew he'd been had when he saw MacLeod
scoop a very surprised to see him Beth up in his arms and try to carry her out. But Beth fought
against him and rather than risk hurting her, he set her down where she wanted to be, beside
Methos.
"Please let him take you out of here." Methos said to Beth as she wrapped her arms around his
neck and clung to him tightly.
"No … I won't go. I won't leave unless you come with us." She replied. "I'm not going to leave
knowing that whoever wins that fight is going to turn their sword on you when they are done."
"Cassandra is not going to do that. She did this to get you out of here, now thank her by going
and being safe." He said, prying her arms from around his neck.
"But what if she loses?" Beth argued as Duncan tried to coax her away.
Methos was trying to keep an eye on the battle, but with Beth there it was difficult. "Beth leave
now. You don't belong here." He ordered her, his voice sounded angry and he immediately
hated himself for how he'd hurt her. He could see it in her eyes, but he had to think about getting
her to safety, and with any luck there would be time for a long apology later.
Duncan laid Methos' sword beside him and managed to get Beth up the side staircase, but that is
as far as she would go. "I'm not leaving."
"Beth this place is going to explode when one of them finishes off the other one." He argued,
looking up to see Richie and Amanda making their way across the scaffolding to them.
"You know I can't leave." She replied, defiantly wrapping her arms around the railing post.
Cassandra was beginning to feel the effects of defending Devan's powerful blows. Her arms
were getting weaker and she knew it was only a matter of time before he wore her down. She
cast a quick glance behind her, and decided the best option was to jump to the lower level and
hopefully land on her feet and have time to regroup before he made his way down. He was too
heavy to risk making the jump himself.
Methos realized what she was about to do and knew it was time to put himself into the game.
When Cassandra landed, he moved behind her and despite Duncan yelling at him not to do it, he
used the back of his sword to knock her out, catching her to soften the landing. "Sorry darling,
but this one is mine."
Cassandra knew that if she stood a chance of getting the young woman who did not deserve to
be here out, she would need to get rid of the two guards on either side of Methos and the man on
the cement truck as well as Devan.
This was no small task, and she wished MacLeod would hurry. She had her phone set to vibrate,
so she would know he had arrived.
She decided that the best course of action would be to shoot the two guards and then try to take
down Devan with the bullets that remained since he was the only one not holding a gun, and
hopefully Methos could get to the other man before he could interfere. She had seen him working
the ropes behind his back, and knew when he stopped that he had been successful and was
biding his time. For this to work, her aim must be accurate though and she had to act before
Devan could use Beth as a shield. The odds were not in their favor, but the alternative was to
watch the young woman be struck down, and she was unwilling to do that.
She was about to raise her gun when her eyes met briefly with Methos' across the room. He
knew she was there … he would be ready when she set her plan in motion.
Taking careful aim, Cassandra picked off one guard easily, but wasted two shots on the other.
Methos didn't know her plan to hit Devan with the next shot, and unwittingly put himself in the line
of fire when he dove at the man.
Instead of being taken down by Cassandra's bullets, it was Methos who received a dagger in the
ribs. And as he fell to the floor, Devan grabbed Beth and held her in front of him … holding the
dagger to her neck as he called to the uninvited guest.
Cassandra tried to think quickly, the look on the young woman's face was something she could
not live with and there had to be a way to save her. Stepping out of the darkness, Cassandra
walked down the metal staircase with her head held high. Her eyes focused on Devan as she
gave him a sly smile, her calm demeanor not betraying the thoughts racing in her head.
As she came closer, her powers to block his senses fell away and he realized she was another
immortal.
"Where did you get such friends?" Devan asked the immortal who had fallen to his knees, trying
to stop the flow of blood from beneath his rib cage.
"He's no friend of mine." Cassandra announced as she reached the floor level.
"You bitch." Methos managed to choke out as he waited for the wound to heal. He guessed what
Cassandra was going to do and knew he needed to make this convincing.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Devan said, pulling Beth up tighter against him.
"And you are intruding."
"I could say the same about you." She replied. "I came to Seacouver to extract my revenge on
this miscreant, and I arrive to find your buffoons carrying him away."
"I'm afraid even a woman as beautiful as you must get in line." Devan retorted. "My reasons for
revenge go back over 2,000 years. He interfered in my affairs and cost me 150 years of freedom.
So whatever he's done to you … you'll have to get over it."
"Get over it?" Cassandra raised her voice and her sword. "He raided my village 2,500 years ago,
killed my people, took me captive … raped me more times than I could count and then when he
was finished, gave me to his friends for their pleasure. I'd say that is not something I'm likely to
get over."
Devan glanced over at the man he knew as Raphael. "You did all that?"
Methos shrugged indifferently. "So she says."
Beth didn't know what to think. She studied Cassandra, whose words were laced with complete
hatred, not realizing she was really there to help her.
"Your revenge won't make a difference Cassandra. Your heart is empty now, and it will be once
we are long since dead." Beth said somberly.
"I'll be the judge of that." Cassandra replied, giving the young woman a scathing look. "You
won't be alive long enough to worry about my heart."
"This is all well and good, and you are welcome to watch. But this is my revenge." Devan told
her.
"Then you give me no choice." Cassandra raised her sword higher.
"You're challenging me? For him?" Devan laughed.
"I'm challenging you for the chance to take his head … which is mine." She replied.
"Reynolds … " Devan ordered his man to take care of her, but Cassandra turned and looked
directly at him and began to weave her spell.
"Your arms are so heavy … too heavy to lift … " she chanted. Methos couldn't help but smirk as
he saw the man could not resist her magic and his weapon fell harmlessly to the floor. "Your feet
are like lead …" she continued.
"What are you?" Devan demanded as he tossed Beth across the floor and drew his sword.
"She's a witch." Methos answered, cursing his luck that the wound had yet to heal enough for
him to regain his strength. There was nothing he wanted more than to take Cassandra's place in
the challenge. But he couldn't even move to where Beth lay watching against the wall, trying to
make herself as small as possible.
Cassandra circled around, backing into a more open area of the factory floor as Devan loosened
his arm by making several sweeping motions with his sword.
"How long has it been since you took a head my dear?" he asked.
"Not so long I've forgotten how." She replied. "And I am not your dear, I am the immortal who is
going to send you to hell."
Cassandra made the first move, striking several blows over his head and then dipping to take a
sweep at his body. Devan was taller and stronger, and easily fended them off.
For several long minutes, metal struck metal as the two combatants swapped volleys before
Cassandra managed to slice through his defending arm and force him to temporarily fall back.
Devan cried out angrily and when he came at her, his rage powered his sword, pushing her back
toward the staircase. Cassandra quickly and carefully stepped up, hoping that she could find an
angle to attack him before he struck her down with the sheer force of his blade.
"Easy … easy … " Methos said under his breath, realizing that if she wasn't careful Devan could
easily drive her over the edge of the staircase.
It was then that he felt another presence, and was relieved to see MacLeod move through the
side door … even as Amanda and Richie circled around the building to come in from the back.
"Get her out of here." Methos called out and Devan knew he'd been had when he saw MacLeod
scoop a very surprised to see him Beth up in his arms and try to carry her out. But Beth fought
against him and rather than risk hurting her, he set her down where she wanted to be, beside
Methos.
"Please let him take you out of here." Methos said to Beth as she wrapped her arms around his
neck and clung to him tightly.
"No … I won't go. I won't leave unless you come with us." She replied. "I'm not going to leave
knowing that whoever wins that fight is going to turn their sword on you when they are done."
"Cassandra is not going to do that. She did this to get you out of here, now thank her by going
and being safe." He said, prying her arms from around his neck.
"But what if she loses?" Beth argued as Duncan tried to coax her away.
Methos was trying to keep an eye on the battle, but with Beth there it was difficult. "Beth leave
now. You don't belong here." He ordered her, his voice sounded angry and he immediately
hated himself for how he'd hurt her. He could see it in her eyes, but he had to think about getting
her to safety, and with any luck there would be time for a long apology later.
Duncan laid Methos' sword beside him and managed to get Beth up the side staircase, but that is
as far as she would go. "I'm not leaving."
"Beth this place is going to explode when one of them finishes off the other one." He argued,
looking up to see Richie and Amanda making their way across the scaffolding to them.
"You know I can't leave." She replied, defiantly wrapping her arms around the railing post.
Cassandra was beginning to feel the effects of defending Devan's powerful blows. Her arms
were getting weaker and she knew it was only a matter of time before he wore her down. She
cast a quick glance behind her, and decided the best option was to jump to the lower level and
hopefully land on her feet and have time to regroup before he made his way down. He was too
heavy to risk making the jump himself.
Methos realized what she was about to do and knew it was time to put himself into the game.
When Cassandra landed, he moved behind her and despite Duncan yelling at him not to do it, he
used the back of his sword to knock her out, catching her to soften the landing. "Sorry darling,
but this one is mine."