CHAPTER 77
Duncan and Methos exchanged the code through their phones that signaled they were in place.
Quietly Methos sprayed the lock and then turned the key. It opened with only the slightest rattle,
and went unnoticed in the noise of the city around them. He motioned for Ellen to follow him,
staying low in the dark cover of the foliage. They crept for several feet until they reached the
edge of the brush. Their swords in one hand and a gun in the other, both felt their breath catch
when they saw what Shafer had done to their friends.
Methos ground his teeth together, his jaw tight as he saw the blades glittering in the afternoon
sun above the heads of his friends and student. Amanda was just coming around and he felt his
gut tighten when she realized where she was and what was happening. "The bastard." He
whispered as he looked up to see Joe seated on the gallows, his grey head through the noose.
"How are we going to stop this?" Ellen asked in a hushed tone.
"I'm thinking … " he replied as he studied every inch of the platform. It was then he noticed the
wires. They ran from a box at the edge of the platform, and to small transmitters on each
guillotine and up along the gallows. "Damn, he's got them all set to go off automatically." Methos
whispered. "See the wires?"
Ellen nodded. She wished there was a way to warn Duncan, but all they could do was wait.
As if on cue, Duncan strode through the gate. "I'm here Shafer." From where he stood, he
couldn't immediately see the platform, but when he took a few steps forward, he felt the air rush
out of his lungs. However there was no time to react or even acknowledge the 4 faces that
turned their eyes toward the sound of his voice. Shafer cut off any thought of that.
"Duncan MacLeod, your day of reckoning is here." He shouted. "Today you will learn what it is
like to prove your loyalty. I wonder if once again you will choose to save yourself and let the
friends you claim such devotion for, die?"
"This game is vile Shafer. They've done nothing to you."
"Sometimes it takes the blood of innocents spilled to serve the greater good." He replied.
"And what good what that be? What purpose would their blood fulfill?" Duncan demanded.
"They will serve to teach you a lesson that should have been learned over 50 years ago when
you shrank back like the coward you are and watched as your friends were cut down one by one.
They will serve to teach you not to stand in my way. You robbed me of my destiny once. It won't
happen again."
"Are you hearing yourself? Do ye not see how insane this is?"
"Insane? You have no idea." Shafer replied. "It was insanity to let you live this long without
paying for your treason."
Duncan started to retort, but Shafer cut him off. "Enough!"
The ground between them had been clear, but now guards moved from the building and took
their places between them.
"What? Where are your friends MacLeod?" Shafer taunted. "I know you didn't come alone."
Methos and Ellen stood and moved forward, their swords drawn. Shafer grinned. "Such loyalty.
It's amazing that a man who doesn't know it's meaning commands so much from others."
"There were 14 guards on this plaza the day our comrades were led to their deaths. 14 guards
stood between you and I and their freedom." Shafer reminded him. "And now there are 14
guards between you and I, and the control that will send your friends one by one to their deaths.
Your advantage is that there are 3 of you, where as before we were only 2."
Duncan noticed the box Shafer indicated and the wires.
"You will have exactly 4 minutes for you and your friends to take down my guards before I will
walk from where I stand now, to that box and push the button. Once pushed, you will have
another 20 seconds before the first blade falls, another 20 for the 2nd, and so on … " Shafer
explained. "Once the chain is set in motion, you will have to pull each of them from where they
kneel. There is not safety switch and no way to stop it. If you cut the wires, all the blades will fall
together and the floor beneath your mortal friend will drop. Oh and did I mention? You will also
have to go through me MacLeod in order to free them."
"This is sick Shafer, even for you." Duncan replied.
"Mac, don't do it. We're dead anyway. You and Methos take your friend and get out of here."
Richie shouted to Duncan from where he knelt. He knew there was no way Shafer was going to
let Mac save them. All he could do was save himself.
Duncan gave him a look that said no way he was leaving, and Richie bowed his head. They
would probably all die here in this plaza.
Duncan looked from one face to another and knew he could not fail them. He saw the
determined set of Amanda's brow, Richie's Bravery, Joe's defiance, and Claudia's anxiousness.
The tearstains down her cheeks told him just how afraid she was. When his eyes locked with
hers he tried to show her without words that he would get her out of this. The moment was
interrupted by Shafer.
"You have 5 minutes." Shafer called back as the first guard began to move in Duncan's direction.
Each guard was armed with a sword, and Duncan began to battle the first as quickly as he could.
Methos heard the deadline and decided that swordplay wouldn't be quick enough. Raising his
gun he pointed at the first man to move his direction and fired point blank at the man's skull,
blowing the back of his head apart.
"Another shot Pierson and I will cut this wire." Shafer shouted, his eyes locked with Methos.
"Guess we do this the hard way." Ellen called out from behind him as she moved forward and
took on the closest guard, tucking her gun in her belt
For several minutes they battled, and all the while Shafer counted down the time. Amanda,
Richie and Joe watched with great interest, but Claudia could not. She bowed her head and
closed her eyes, praying this would end soon.
Duncan made short work of 3 guards while Ellen and Methos combined for 6, fighting back to
back. Adding to that the one Methos shot, and only four stood between them and their goal.
Each realized that Shafer would probably push the button the instant the last guard hit the ground
… if not before. They knew it would be a race to pull the 4 from the jaws of the guillotine and
noose.
Duncan swung around and caught another guard across the throat, leaving him to choke out his
last breath along with a river of blood. Methos and Ellen were still working together and took
down two more, that left only one guard and Shafer.
Shafer drew his sword as MacLeod came for him. Moving toward the box, he tried to push the
button, but Duncan got to him first.
The remaining guard stood between Ellen, Methos and the task of pulling the others from where
they knelt. Methos started to battle with him, telling Ellen to get Joe, but the sound of a southern
drawl stopped him cold.
Methos spun around when he heard the familiar voice shout "Miss your wife Pierson?"
There behind him stood Garrett, the man who had kidnapped his wife and child and was still
holding them captive.
Forgetting everything and everyone, Methos lunged toward Garrett. Ellen realized something
was terribly wrong here, but had no idea who the man was. All she knew was that she needed to
deal with the last guard herself. She prayed they could finish both their opponents off and get to
the others in time.
Garrett pivoted out of the way and swung his blade, missing Methos body by mere inches. The
two men's eyes bored into one another and the hatred was thick enough to taste. They pounded
away on one another's swords, blocking and swiping and trying to gain advantage.
"Leandra wasn't lying when she said you were skilled." Garrett commented as he fought off
Methos' aggressive blows.
Methos ignored him and tried to focus his rage, but it was difficult. Garrett's smug expression and
half grin made his blood boil. Just the thought of what this man had done to his family brought
him past the point of reason. He'd lost everything that mattered because of him, and knew that
even after he rescued Beth, he could never get it back. It had all been ruined.
On the other side of the plaza, Shafer and Duncan were exchanging similar swordplay.
"I can see you've improved your skills." Shafer grunted as he lunged toward Duncan.
"Enough to send you to hell for what you've done." MacLeod replied.
Ellen managed to finish off the last guard and raced up the stairs to the gallows, ignoring Joe's
pleas to forget him and save the others. She pulled the noose from his neck and dragged the
chair off of the trap door before leaping from the high platform and onto the ground below.
Duncan and Shafer both saw what she'd done and their battle heightened in intensity.
Methos wondered where Garrett had trained. His skills were much more advanced than any
immortal of his age that he had seen. He also realized that his own anger was keeping him from
being as effective as he could be. Focusing on the task he tried to block out every thought but his
next move.
Garrett could sense the change in him and knew he needed to dig into the man's anger and tear
the scab off of the wound in order to defeat him.
"How did it feel to wake up and realize your wife had poisoned you?" he taunted. "How did it feel
to know she'd chosen me, after all you'd done for her and after all she'd promised?"
Methos knew he shouldn't reply, but couldn't help it. "How did it feel to know that the only way
you could have her was to kidnap our child and force her to go with you?"
Garrett was shocked. He thought their plan had fooled him and her family. "How did you? …" he
didn't finish the sentence because he knew to argue would give Pierson the upper hand. He
didn't want the man to know that he'd surprised him.
"You think she still loves you?" he grunted as he fended off another blow. "If she loves you, then
why did she come to my bed … willingly?"
The rage on Methos' face when he heard those words was unfathomable. "You bloody liar!" he
spat as his sword took an inch of skin off of Garrett's defending arm.
Garrett winced, but continued to fight. "Am I? Are you sure? Shall I tell you what she said to me
or how she looked with her hair tumbling over her shoulders as I lay beneath her?"
Methos swiped again, but this time his aim was off and he ended up taking the tip of Garrett's
sword across his ear when the man retaliated.
"Do you remember that delightful little birthmark she has?" Garrett continued to goad him. "You
know the one, the one high on the inside of her thigh? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
When you see it from just the right angle, you could swear it looks like a tiny maple leaf."
Methos expression froze. There is only one way the man could know that. Either Beth had gone
to him willingly, which he could not fathom, or he had forced himself on her. Either way, he would
die now.
Letting out a cry that he hadn't uttered since his days as a horseman, Methos dredged up every
measure of the darkness that dwelt inside him. Once again he became Death, the sword
wielding demon that haunted the nightmares of women and children who heard his terrifying
scream of pursuit and witnessed his carnage.
Garrett realized too late he'd gone too far. Methos sword was thrust deep inside his abdomen
and slicing upward before he could even react. He hadn't even hit his knees when Methos drew
his sword back to sever his head.
Suddenly a shot rang out and Methos turned to see MacLeod falling and clutching his stomach.
Shafer had drawn a gun and was diving for the box. In an instant the button was pushed and the
countdown had begun.
It took every ounce of control for him to leave Garrett kneeling where he had fallen and not stop
to take his head. But he could not. Every second counted, and if he was in a Quickening … he
could not help Ellen save the others.
Ellen was trying to pull Amanda free of the first blade when the shot rang out. Looking up, she
saw Shafer turning back to take Duncan's head. She managed to lift the vise and tug Amanda
away, but instead of moving to Richie or untying the ropes so Amanda could do it, she pulled her
gun and ran to the end of the platform.
She knew she was not supposed to interfere, but this was not an ordinary challenge. Methos had
the same idea and two shots rang out, Shaeffer stumbled across the stone plaza and fell face
forward on the ground. They had no choice but to ignore him now. The first blade had fallen on
Amanda's guillotine and Richie and Claudia were still in danger.
Methos raced to Richie's side while Ellen tried to pull Claudia from the guillotine that held her.
"It's locked!" she screamed as she realized that the vise holding Claudia's neck in place had a
padlock on it.
Methos managed to pull Richie free and turned to shoot off the lock, but it was too late. Just as
the shot rang out, both blades fell. Shafer had lied about the timing. He never intended for any of
them to live, and just to be sure, he had padlocked Claudia's guillotine so that she could not be
freed. He had chosen her guillotine because of the effect it would have on MacLeod had he
gotten that far. Shafer knew MacLeod thought of Claudia as a daughter and her death would be
the greatest tragedy for him.
"NOOOOO!" Richie screamed as his eyes met Claudia's just as the blade severed her head. His
arms still bound, he was forced to kneel where he was and watch as the first effects of her
Quickening began to spring from her body. "no … no … no …" he repeated.
Methos stared at the decapitated body in front of him. If he hadn't taken so long with Garrett …
maybe she could have been saved. He'd thought that he had stopped caring, but as he watched
the body of his student start to jolt with electricity, he felt a deep sorrow and sense of loss. She
didn't deserve this.
Ellen had tried to stop the blade with her arm and it was sliced in half, undaunted from it's
purpose. She cried out in pain and desperately tried to stop the hemorrhaging where the limb
had been severed at the elbow.
Methos heard her scream and quickly picked up the severed limb and forced her to let him hold it
in place. He knew that her immortal healing powers would only go so far, and if the limb was not
positioned correctly … it would not reattach. At least the cut was clean.
Amanda crawled on her knees, her eyes filled with tears as she made her way to where Richie
knelt with his face on the ground. Bending over him, she tried to give him comfort. Joe was still
gagged and tied to the chair on the platform above and was forced to watch it all.
Duncan was barely conscious, having lost a lot of blood. He whispered her name in horror and
disbelief before his pain and sorrow melted into a thankful oblivion of temporary death.
Since her head had technically not been taken by an immortal, but by a detached act, Claudia's
Quickening separated into separate bolts of light, each passing through the bodies of those who
had tried to rescue her. From his perch atop the gallows, Joe watched through tear filled eyes as
the bright colors exploded around them. Each felt a different part of her essence flow through
them. The sound of strong chords and melodic notes filled their ears as Claudia's gift played its
final measure.
When it was over, a hush fell over all of them except for the sounds of Richie's heart breaking
and the sobs racking his body.
Ellen's healing was complete, having been accelerated by the Quickening, so Methos moved to
Richie's side and cut the ropes at his wrist and around his body before moving to Amanda. He
then made his way up the stairs and released Joe. It was then that he realized Garrett was not
where he had fallen. He had somehow managed to crawl away. "Run while you can." He
whispered, knowing that it wouldn't be long before the man felt the force of his blade again.
As he helped Joe down the stairs, he couldn't help but wonder what if, and chide himself for not
acting quicker. He recognized Richie's grief. It hadn't been so long ago when his world had
come crashing down on him. The young immortal would have a tough time coming to terms with
this.
Looking across the platform and onto the ground where MacLeod's body lay, he dreaded the
man's awakening. How could he look him in the face when he'd failed so miserably? He'd let his
rage and anger cloud his thinking and had cost Claudia precious seconds while he let Garrett
taunt him. Knowing that Duncan thought of Claudia the same way he felt about Cassie, he
cursed himself for breaking the trust the Highlander had in him. The man deserved better.
Once untied, Richie rushed across the ground, picked up Duncan's sword and stood over
Shafer's body.
Methos saw what he was about to do and raced to stop him.
"NO!" Methos grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"Don't stand in my way Methos! You saw what he did to Claudia. His head is mine." Richie
demanded.
"His head belongs to MacLeod. This is personal for you and even more so for him. You will
leave him until the Highlander revives and let him be the judge of who gets his head."
Amanda moved beside them and put her hand on Richie's shoulder. "He's right. Duncan should
at least be able to witness, if not take his head himself."
Richie didn't know what to do. He looked from one to the other, and then at Duncan's body as it
started to revive. Nodding his head, he handed the sword to Methos and then let Amanda pull
him into her comforting arms.
Duncan and Methos exchanged the code through their phones that signaled they were in place.
Quietly Methos sprayed the lock and then turned the key. It opened with only the slightest rattle,
and went unnoticed in the noise of the city around them. He motioned for Ellen to follow him,
staying low in the dark cover of the foliage. They crept for several feet until they reached the
edge of the brush. Their swords in one hand and a gun in the other, both felt their breath catch
when they saw what Shafer had done to their friends.
Methos ground his teeth together, his jaw tight as he saw the blades glittering in the afternoon
sun above the heads of his friends and student. Amanda was just coming around and he felt his
gut tighten when she realized where she was and what was happening. "The bastard." He
whispered as he looked up to see Joe seated on the gallows, his grey head through the noose.
"How are we going to stop this?" Ellen asked in a hushed tone.
"I'm thinking … " he replied as he studied every inch of the platform. It was then he noticed the
wires. They ran from a box at the edge of the platform, and to small transmitters on each
guillotine and up along the gallows. "Damn, he's got them all set to go off automatically." Methos
whispered. "See the wires?"
Ellen nodded. She wished there was a way to warn Duncan, but all they could do was wait.
As if on cue, Duncan strode through the gate. "I'm here Shafer." From where he stood, he
couldn't immediately see the platform, but when he took a few steps forward, he felt the air rush
out of his lungs. However there was no time to react or even acknowledge the 4 faces that
turned their eyes toward the sound of his voice. Shafer cut off any thought of that.
"Duncan MacLeod, your day of reckoning is here." He shouted. "Today you will learn what it is
like to prove your loyalty. I wonder if once again you will choose to save yourself and let the
friends you claim such devotion for, die?"
"This game is vile Shafer. They've done nothing to you."
"Sometimes it takes the blood of innocents spilled to serve the greater good." He replied.
"And what good what that be? What purpose would their blood fulfill?" Duncan demanded.
"They will serve to teach you a lesson that should have been learned over 50 years ago when
you shrank back like the coward you are and watched as your friends were cut down one by one.
They will serve to teach you not to stand in my way. You robbed me of my destiny once. It won't
happen again."
"Are you hearing yourself? Do ye not see how insane this is?"
"Insane? You have no idea." Shafer replied. "It was insanity to let you live this long without
paying for your treason."
Duncan started to retort, but Shafer cut him off. "Enough!"
The ground between them had been clear, but now guards moved from the building and took
their places between them.
"What? Where are your friends MacLeod?" Shafer taunted. "I know you didn't come alone."
Methos and Ellen stood and moved forward, their swords drawn. Shafer grinned. "Such loyalty.
It's amazing that a man who doesn't know it's meaning commands so much from others."
"There were 14 guards on this plaza the day our comrades were led to their deaths. 14 guards
stood between you and I and their freedom." Shafer reminded him. "And now there are 14
guards between you and I, and the control that will send your friends one by one to their deaths.
Your advantage is that there are 3 of you, where as before we were only 2."
Duncan noticed the box Shafer indicated and the wires.
"You will have exactly 4 minutes for you and your friends to take down my guards before I will
walk from where I stand now, to that box and push the button. Once pushed, you will have
another 20 seconds before the first blade falls, another 20 for the 2nd, and so on … " Shafer
explained. "Once the chain is set in motion, you will have to pull each of them from where they
kneel. There is not safety switch and no way to stop it. If you cut the wires, all the blades will fall
together and the floor beneath your mortal friend will drop. Oh and did I mention? You will also
have to go through me MacLeod in order to free them."
"This is sick Shafer, even for you." Duncan replied.
"Mac, don't do it. We're dead anyway. You and Methos take your friend and get out of here."
Richie shouted to Duncan from where he knelt. He knew there was no way Shafer was going to
let Mac save them. All he could do was save himself.
Duncan gave him a look that said no way he was leaving, and Richie bowed his head. They
would probably all die here in this plaza.
Duncan looked from one face to another and knew he could not fail them. He saw the
determined set of Amanda's brow, Richie's Bravery, Joe's defiance, and Claudia's anxiousness.
The tearstains down her cheeks told him just how afraid she was. When his eyes locked with
hers he tried to show her without words that he would get her out of this. The moment was
interrupted by Shafer.
"You have 5 minutes." Shafer called back as the first guard began to move in Duncan's direction.
Each guard was armed with a sword, and Duncan began to battle the first as quickly as he could.
Methos heard the deadline and decided that swordplay wouldn't be quick enough. Raising his
gun he pointed at the first man to move his direction and fired point blank at the man's skull,
blowing the back of his head apart.
"Another shot Pierson and I will cut this wire." Shafer shouted, his eyes locked with Methos.
"Guess we do this the hard way." Ellen called out from behind him as she moved forward and
took on the closest guard, tucking her gun in her belt
For several minutes they battled, and all the while Shafer counted down the time. Amanda,
Richie and Joe watched with great interest, but Claudia could not. She bowed her head and
closed her eyes, praying this would end soon.
Duncan made short work of 3 guards while Ellen and Methos combined for 6, fighting back to
back. Adding to that the one Methos shot, and only four stood between them and their goal.
Each realized that Shafer would probably push the button the instant the last guard hit the ground
… if not before. They knew it would be a race to pull the 4 from the jaws of the guillotine and
noose.
Duncan swung around and caught another guard across the throat, leaving him to choke out his
last breath along with a river of blood. Methos and Ellen were still working together and took
down two more, that left only one guard and Shafer.
Shafer drew his sword as MacLeod came for him. Moving toward the box, he tried to push the
button, but Duncan got to him first.
The remaining guard stood between Ellen, Methos and the task of pulling the others from where
they knelt. Methos started to battle with him, telling Ellen to get Joe, but the sound of a southern
drawl stopped him cold.
Methos spun around when he heard the familiar voice shout "Miss your wife Pierson?"
There behind him stood Garrett, the man who had kidnapped his wife and child and was still
holding them captive.
Forgetting everything and everyone, Methos lunged toward Garrett. Ellen realized something
was terribly wrong here, but had no idea who the man was. All she knew was that she needed to
deal with the last guard herself. She prayed they could finish both their opponents off and get to
the others in time.
Garrett pivoted out of the way and swung his blade, missing Methos body by mere inches. The
two men's eyes bored into one another and the hatred was thick enough to taste. They pounded
away on one another's swords, blocking and swiping and trying to gain advantage.
"Leandra wasn't lying when she said you were skilled." Garrett commented as he fought off
Methos' aggressive blows.
Methos ignored him and tried to focus his rage, but it was difficult. Garrett's smug expression and
half grin made his blood boil. Just the thought of what this man had done to his family brought
him past the point of reason. He'd lost everything that mattered because of him, and knew that
even after he rescued Beth, he could never get it back. It had all been ruined.
On the other side of the plaza, Shafer and Duncan were exchanging similar swordplay.
"I can see you've improved your skills." Shafer grunted as he lunged toward Duncan.
"Enough to send you to hell for what you've done." MacLeod replied.
Ellen managed to finish off the last guard and raced up the stairs to the gallows, ignoring Joe's
pleas to forget him and save the others. She pulled the noose from his neck and dragged the
chair off of the trap door before leaping from the high platform and onto the ground below.
Duncan and Shafer both saw what she'd done and their battle heightened in intensity.
Methos wondered where Garrett had trained. His skills were much more advanced than any
immortal of his age that he had seen. He also realized that his own anger was keeping him from
being as effective as he could be. Focusing on the task he tried to block out every thought but his
next move.
Garrett could sense the change in him and knew he needed to dig into the man's anger and tear
the scab off of the wound in order to defeat him.
"How did it feel to wake up and realize your wife had poisoned you?" he taunted. "How did it feel
to know she'd chosen me, after all you'd done for her and after all she'd promised?"
Methos knew he shouldn't reply, but couldn't help it. "How did it feel to know that the only way
you could have her was to kidnap our child and force her to go with you?"
Garrett was shocked. He thought their plan had fooled him and her family. "How did you? …" he
didn't finish the sentence because he knew to argue would give Pierson the upper hand. He
didn't want the man to know that he'd surprised him.
"You think she still loves you?" he grunted as he fended off another blow. "If she loves you, then
why did she come to my bed … willingly?"
The rage on Methos' face when he heard those words was unfathomable. "You bloody liar!" he
spat as his sword took an inch of skin off of Garrett's defending arm.
Garrett winced, but continued to fight. "Am I? Are you sure? Shall I tell you what she said to me
or how she looked with her hair tumbling over her shoulders as I lay beneath her?"
Methos swiped again, but this time his aim was off and he ended up taking the tip of Garrett's
sword across his ear when the man retaliated.
"Do you remember that delightful little birthmark she has?" Garrett continued to goad him. "You
know the one, the one high on the inside of her thigh? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
When you see it from just the right angle, you could swear it looks like a tiny maple leaf."
Methos expression froze. There is only one way the man could know that. Either Beth had gone
to him willingly, which he could not fathom, or he had forced himself on her. Either way, he would
die now.
Letting out a cry that he hadn't uttered since his days as a horseman, Methos dredged up every
measure of the darkness that dwelt inside him. Once again he became Death, the sword
wielding demon that haunted the nightmares of women and children who heard his terrifying
scream of pursuit and witnessed his carnage.
Garrett realized too late he'd gone too far. Methos sword was thrust deep inside his abdomen
and slicing upward before he could even react. He hadn't even hit his knees when Methos drew
his sword back to sever his head.
Suddenly a shot rang out and Methos turned to see MacLeod falling and clutching his stomach.
Shafer had drawn a gun and was diving for the box. In an instant the button was pushed and the
countdown had begun.
It took every ounce of control for him to leave Garrett kneeling where he had fallen and not stop
to take his head. But he could not. Every second counted, and if he was in a Quickening … he
could not help Ellen save the others.
Ellen was trying to pull Amanda free of the first blade when the shot rang out. Looking up, she
saw Shafer turning back to take Duncan's head. She managed to lift the vise and tug Amanda
away, but instead of moving to Richie or untying the ropes so Amanda could do it, she pulled her
gun and ran to the end of the platform.
She knew she was not supposed to interfere, but this was not an ordinary challenge. Methos had
the same idea and two shots rang out, Shaeffer stumbled across the stone plaza and fell face
forward on the ground. They had no choice but to ignore him now. The first blade had fallen on
Amanda's guillotine and Richie and Claudia were still in danger.
Methos raced to Richie's side while Ellen tried to pull Claudia from the guillotine that held her.
"It's locked!" she screamed as she realized that the vise holding Claudia's neck in place had a
padlock on it.
Methos managed to pull Richie free and turned to shoot off the lock, but it was too late. Just as
the shot rang out, both blades fell. Shafer had lied about the timing. He never intended for any of
them to live, and just to be sure, he had padlocked Claudia's guillotine so that she could not be
freed. He had chosen her guillotine because of the effect it would have on MacLeod had he
gotten that far. Shafer knew MacLeod thought of Claudia as a daughter and her death would be
the greatest tragedy for him.
"NOOOOO!" Richie screamed as his eyes met Claudia's just as the blade severed her head. His
arms still bound, he was forced to kneel where he was and watch as the first effects of her
Quickening began to spring from her body. "no … no … no …" he repeated.
Methos stared at the decapitated body in front of him. If he hadn't taken so long with Garrett …
maybe she could have been saved. He'd thought that he had stopped caring, but as he watched
the body of his student start to jolt with electricity, he felt a deep sorrow and sense of loss. She
didn't deserve this.
Ellen had tried to stop the blade with her arm and it was sliced in half, undaunted from it's
purpose. She cried out in pain and desperately tried to stop the hemorrhaging where the limb
had been severed at the elbow.
Methos heard her scream and quickly picked up the severed limb and forced her to let him hold it
in place. He knew that her immortal healing powers would only go so far, and if the limb was not
positioned correctly … it would not reattach. At least the cut was clean.
Amanda crawled on her knees, her eyes filled with tears as she made her way to where Richie
knelt with his face on the ground. Bending over him, she tried to give him comfort. Joe was still
gagged and tied to the chair on the platform above and was forced to watch it all.
Duncan was barely conscious, having lost a lot of blood. He whispered her name in horror and
disbelief before his pain and sorrow melted into a thankful oblivion of temporary death.
Since her head had technically not been taken by an immortal, but by a detached act, Claudia's
Quickening separated into separate bolts of light, each passing through the bodies of those who
had tried to rescue her. From his perch atop the gallows, Joe watched through tear filled eyes as
the bright colors exploded around them. Each felt a different part of her essence flow through
them. The sound of strong chords and melodic notes filled their ears as Claudia's gift played its
final measure.
When it was over, a hush fell over all of them except for the sounds of Richie's heart breaking
and the sobs racking his body.
Ellen's healing was complete, having been accelerated by the Quickening, so Methos moved to
Richie's side and cut the ropes at his wrist and around his body before moving to Amanda. He
then made his way up the stairs and released Joe. It was then that he realized Garrett was not
where he had fallen. He had somehow managed to crawl away. "Run while you can." He
whispered, knowing that it wouldn't be long before the man felt the force of his blade again.
As he helped Joe down the stairs, he couldn't help but wonder what if, and chide himself for not
acting quicker. He recognized Richie's grief. It hadn't been so long ago when his world had
come crashing down on him. The young immortal would have a tough time coming to terms with
this.
Looking across the platform and onto the ground where MacLeod's body lay, he dreaded the
man's awakening. How could he look him in the face when he'd failed so miserably? He'd let his
rage and anger cloud his thinking and had cost Claudia precious seconds while he let Garrett
taunt him. Knowing that Duncan thought of Claudia the same way he felt about Cassie, he
cursed himself for breaking the trust the Highlander had in him. The man deserved better.
Once untied, Richie rushed across the ground, picked up Duncan's sword and stood over
Shafer's body.
Methos saw what he was about to do and raced to stop him.
"NO!" Methos grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"Don't stand in my way Methos! You saw what he did to Claudia. His head is mine." Richie
demanded.
"His head belongs to MacLeod. This is personal for you and even more so for him. You will
leave him until the Highlander revives and let him be the judge of who gets his head."
Amanda moved beside them and put her hand on Richie's shoulder. "He's right. Duncan should
at least be able to witness, if not take his head himself."
Richie didn't know what to do. He looked from one to the other, and then at Duncan's body as it
started to revive. Nodding his head, he handed the sword to Methos and then let Amanda pull
him into her comforting arms.