Meg tsked through her teeth. “You mean like we’re experiencing now?” She gave a little moan. “David could be in prison.”
“You forget that I have been to the Land of Madoc,” he said, using the old term. “Your prisons are palaces compared to what we have here.”
“And if they’re not?” Meg’s voice broke. She hadn’t cried when they’d arrived at Chester to discover Dafydd had time traveled, and Llywelyn acknowledged he’d been a bit cavalier about it himself. He had been far more concerned about what was happening here, with the war and with these plots to murder Dafydd yet again.
He kissed his wife’s temple as he held her. “Dafydd has a destiny. We know that. Trust in God. He will not fail us.”
“He did in Avalon’s history.”
“Perhaps that had to happen to create a man such as Dafydd, so this here could happen. In Avalon, life is so soft. It’s easy to think a man can control his own existence and future, and he has no need for God anymore.”
Meg grunted. “It’s easier to have faith when my family is all together and safe.”
Llywelyn laughed. “That’s why it’s called faith. If anything, as we said in the hall, you should be concerned about Math and the others. Lili is marching to battle, the foolish girl. If you must worry about something, worry about a stray arrow hitting one of them.”
Meg glanced up. “You genuinely believe Cadell and David will be fine?”
“I do.” He looked into her face. “I didn’t say unchanged.”
Meg put her head back on his chest and cinched her arms tighter around his waist. “We’ll give it a day. Maybe two. The last thing we want, as you said, is five or six of us running around Avalon.”
“God knows I love my grandson, but perhaps a day or two in Avalon will teach him a little humility.”
“Cadell? Few things are less likely.” Meg laughed outright. “And that’s coming from someone who can time travel.”
Chapter Fifteen
3 April 2022
Livia
Livia had been the one to buckle in Cade, but she had kind of assumed she’d ride up front as before, and Sophie obviously realized that because she’d wavered between the front seat and the back. Looking at Livia now, however, Sophie gave her a rueful smile. “Do you mind? I get carsick.”
Livia shrugged. “Sit up front. You’ve had enough to deal with tonight without that.”
They’d taken an SUV to Llanberis, so they weren’t trying to fit everyone into a little Citroen with a tiny back seat like Livia drove, where her knees would have been up against the back of the front seat. Michael had started the vehicle remotely with his key fob, and she was already seated beside Cade when he came out of the restaurant. Even so, he hesitated after opening the driver’s side door, fob in his hand, looking at Livia over the headrest. “Do you—”
She waved a hand. “If I drive, I have to focus on the road.” She tipped her head towards Cade, who had just rolled down the window and rolled it up again. He was looking around with curiosity shining out of his eyes, having discovered the buttons closest to him. “I’ll stay with him.”
Thus, Michael sat again in the driver’s seat and navigated them away from the restaurant as fast as was reasonable, reversing the path they’d followed to get here. It could be that, because of her training through MI-5, Livia was a more professional driver than he was, but the vehicle belonged to Treadman Global, not Five, and Michael had shown himself on the way here to be a more than competent driver. In fact, she hadn’t encountered anything important so far he didn’t do well.
And it appeared he could think and drive at the same time. “Regardless of the fact that Five seems to be behind the curve at the moment, that doesn’t mean they always will be.” The car stopped at a stop sign before turning left onto the main road. For a moment, a streetlight illumined Michael’s face. “Someone is going to notice that second flash eventually.”
Livia’s lip curled. “I’m trying to think of what the consequences of that discovery are going to be. Sophie and Cade’s entry into this world has left a footprint just by the fact that they showed up at that restaurant.”
“We can have Chad send someone to track down the woman whose mobile phone Sophie borrowed,” Michael said. “The young woman who runs the restaurant put two and two together and came up with four. She swore to remain silent, but that doesn’t mean the older woman will—nor whomever she confided in, likely a family member the second she set foot in her house.”
Some of the high of discovering Sophie and Cade was wearing off, and Livia sagged back against the seat. “At Five, they warn us continually that secrets are incredibly hard to keep. Word of conspiracies gets out, one way or another.”
Michael met her eyes in his rearview mirror before returning his attention to the road. “You and I are working together, but that doesn’t mean Five and Treadman Global are on the same page, and we’re not the only ones with an interest.”
Sophie had been following their exchange like a fan watching a tennis match. “So ... you work for Chad,” she pointed at Michael, “and you work for MI-5.” She looked at Livia. “How is this working, exactly? Last I saw, MI-5 sent fighter jets to chase us into a mountain!”
“They did,” Livia said. “My director apologized to David for that. Of course, there was no way he could apologize to you. Heads have rolled back at Thames House, believe me.”
“But you just said MI-5 and Treadman Global might not be on the same page? How is that?”
It was Michael who answered. “Livia’s boss isn’t answering his phone.”
Livia bit her lip. “It’s worrying.” The more she thought about what might be going on back in London, the worse she felt. She could have blamed Michael for casting doubt, but it wouldn’t have been fair. She’d said much the same about his employer, and she had to admit that, so far, Five had a far worse track record than Treadman Global.
“And they definitely don’t know about Cade and me?” Sophie asked.
“Even if they know someone arrived, they would have no way of knowing who had done so since I didn’t tell them,” Livia said. “I don’t see how they could know.”
“CCTV,” Michael said.
“We did pass a cashpoint on the way to the restaurant,” Sophie said.
Cade had been animated in the restaurant, but since they’d started driving, he’d retreated inside himself. Now he said, in a voice very close to a mumble. “I wish my Uncle David were here.”
“So do I.” Livia decided to speak the truth and treat him like the little adult he appeared to want to be. “But you know how this works more than most. His life was in danger, so he left, and you can bet he’s where he’s supposed to be.”
“Why was his life in danger?” Once again, Sophie shifted her position in the passenger seat to look at Livia.
Livia glanced at Cade, who was now studying the mechanism for his seatbelt, and then back at Sophie. The truth was pretty stark, but Cade was going to have to face a few stark truths tonight, seeing as how he was here. “Someone shot him.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped. “When? How?”
“Shot at him,” Michael clarified. “The act of shooting at him sent him and William back to Earth Two.”
Cade put a hand on the straps of his backpack, which he held between his knees, looking like he was ready to leap out the door at any second. “People have shot at him before. He always time travels. They should have known better.”
“Not everybody believes David is who he says he is,” Michael said gently.
“Then they’re stupid.” Cade declared this with all the certainty of a boy to whom the world was divided into good guys and bad guys. “My mom told me people challenge Uncle David because they’re afraid of him. Maybe someone here was afraid of him and wanted to make him go away.”
Michael glanced up to the mirror again so he could meet Livia’s eyes. “Trust a kid to get to the heart of the matter.”
Livia met his gaze for a heartbeat,
allowing him to see her regret and worry—the same worry mirrored in his own eyes.
“Is Cade right? Do we know who did it?” Sophie said.
“We don’t have answers yet,” Livia said. “David disappeared at the same time—literally the same instant—as you arrived, and the culprits got away. Maybe something has happened since we left the warehouse, but if so, nobody has told Michael and me about it.”
“Do you have any suspects?” Sophie had grown very intent, her brow furrowed as she looked from Livia to Michael.
Michael scoffed. “We suspect everyone.”
“By everyone Michael means the CIA, MI-5, Chad Treadman, I’m sorry to say, as I know he’s your boss, and whatever unnamed rogue terrorist group is in vogue,” Livia said. “We haven’t ruled anyone out.
Sophie pressed her lips together for a moment before asking, “Why do you suspect Chad?”
Livia almost scoffed before remembering Sophie wouldn’t know any of the events of the last fortnight. So she gave a quick summary of what Chad had been up to while Sophie had been in Earth Two and then how things had gone the last three days with David. The more she talked, the grimmer Sophie’s expression became.
Michael noticed too, but he’d fixed his rearview mirror to again look out the rear window, so Livia couldn’t see his eyes. “What’s going on, Sophie?”
“George and Andre told me yesterday—” she laughed mockingly, “—or rather, seven hundred and twenty-eight years ago yesterday, that they suspected Chad was in some way involved in the plane crash that sent us to the Middle Ages. They had several theories, including that Chad tipped off MI-5, else how could they have tracked Anna so quickly to his house? They thought maybe Chad had put us on that plane with the real expectation we might end up in Earth Two before we landed. He wanted us to time travel.”
“I can’t speak to that, since I wasn’t involved then,” Michael said.
“I was. Nobody has mentioned such a relationship to me. And, as far as I know, Chad was not involved in the decision to call in the RAF.” Livia pressed her lips together for a moment, as Sophie had done, before adding, “Maybe I wouldn’t know, however.”
“I didn’t believe them, but seeing you two together makes me think they’re right.” Sophie resettled herself in her seat. “MI-5 and Chad are pretty cozy now. Who’s to say they weren’t two weeks ago too?”
Livia frowned. “That’s what I was trying to say earlier. That Michael and I are working together isn’t necessarily reflected in our respective organizations.”
Michael glanced back to shoot Livia a grin. For the last mile, they’d been caught behind a very slow moving farm vehicle. On the winding roads, there was no way around it. “It seems to be going okay, though.”
Livia flashed him a smile before sobering. “Right now, I feel as if Michael and I are negotiating the tip of an iceberg. We’re looking at what’s above the water without any idea about what’s going on underneath. While it isn’t outside the realm of possibility Chad tipped off Five, I was in my office when Anna arrived at Westminster Palace. That day, my bosses were way behind the eight ball.”
Sophie nodded, seemingly placated somewhat. “Mark told us you were helping him stay one step ahead of them.”
“Cameras and facial recognition can go a long way towards finding someone, and that day all the resources of Five were directed towards Anna,” Livia said. “They found her fast, but not so fast it surprised me, not with the number of people they had working on it. Our software can sift through every single phone call made in the entire country and search for keywords. What was unexpected, to me anyway, was calling in the RAF.”
“Five thought the plane was leaving Britain,” Michael said.
“It was!” Sophie said.
“Five has no jurisdiction in Ireland,” Livia said. “I imagine the director felt, with some urgency, the need to stop you from leaving British airspace.”
“It wasn’t as if everyone didn’t know where we were going,” Sophie said. “He could have called MI-6.”
“At that point, nobody from Six had been read into the operation, and it was probably the last thing the D-G wanted,” Livia said. “Bad enough that the CIA was involved, since he had to tap them initially to help reconstruct the Time Travel Initiative.”
“Odd we haven’t heard from the CIA since,” Michael said musingly.
“Maybe we have. I wouldn’t know.” Then Livia looked at Sophie again. “On Friday, the head of Internal Security, Amanda Crichton, was sacked right in front of me for urging the D-G to take aggressive action against David, as she’d urged him to do with Anna. The D-G had followed her advice then, resulting in your disappearance. He was not going to make that mistake a second time.”
“Could Chad have arranged something with her which she kept quiet?” Michael asked, not with an accusing tone, but with definite curiosity. “Forcing a plane into Snowdon and shooting up an interview are essentially the same M.O.—designed to elicit time travel.”
“If time travel can have an M.O.,” Livia said. “But maybe Cade is right about someone being afraid of David. From what I saw, Amanda was.”
Sophie turned her head to look out the window. “At the time, I argued with George and Andre, not wanting to believe their theories. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, however, I see Chad was prepared for us to time travel in that plane. That’s why he packed it full of weapons and medical supplies.”
“Being prepared for it is not the same as causing it to happen,” Michael pointed out. “Your pilot did that.”
Sophie looked down at her hands. “Maybe.”
“You should ask Chad when you see him.” Michael’s voice was full of masculine logic, though Livia could see his point. “I did.”
Sophie’s head came up. “You asked him about the plane? What did he say?”
“I asked him if he was behind the shooting. He laughed at first, and then when he realized I was serious, he denied having anything to do with it and asked why he would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Those were his exact words.”
“But he didn’t kill him,” Cade piped up from beside Livia. He’d been so quiet, she’d almost forgotten he was there.
“No,” Livia said. “Nobody did.”
“My mom is going to be worried.” Cade wrinkled his nose as he looked at Livia. “She worries a lot.”
“Moms have a lot to worry about,” Livia said.
Cade seemed to accept that assessment at face value, though he added, “I’m going to be a man soon. I’ll be going to war with my father. She isn’t going to like that.”
“I imagine she’s going to do everything in her power to make sure there are no more wars for you to fight in.” Livia had met Anna only briefly, so she didn’t know her well. But she knew her well enough by now to know this.
Cade nodded, implying his mother’s behavior was self-evident. Then he leaned into the middle of the back seat and looked towards Michael. “Are you taking me to a castle? I think it’s probably the best way to get me home.” Then came the real truth, which he said somewhat heavily. “I shouldn’t have come.”
Rather than looking at her through the rearview mirror, which once again he’d adjusted so he could meet Livia’s eyes, Michael actually turned his head to meet her gaze directly. She was learning his expressions by now, and she interpreted the look as a request for her to answer, since he didn’t know what to say.
Figuring she might as well continue, since she’d been answering up until now, Livia touched a hand to Cade’s arm. “Here’s the problem: you came with Sophie, but I’m pretty sure she isn’t prepared to go back just yet, if at all.”
Sophie looked down at her hands for a second, and then turned in her seat so she could meet Cade’s eyes. “I’m sorry about that, really I am.” Then her expression softened. “Any time any member of your family rides in a car, everyone else has to wonder if time travel is right around the corner.”
“I will try very hard not to crash
.” Michael had accelerated to finally pass the farm vehicle and now eased back to the speed limit.
Sophie settled her shoulders against the seat. “It might not be up to you.”
Michael redirected his attention to Cade. “So, you see, it’s a bit complicated.”
Livia nudged Cade’s arm. “The real problem is we can’t send you alone.”
“Why not?”
Livia wrinkled her nose as Cade had done. “How often does your family return to the same place they started?”
Cade frowned as he thought. The question was rhetorical, but he took it seriously, so Livia waited for him to answer.
“Once. Gwenllian and Arthur left from Westminster Palace, and they returned there in Christopher’s car.”
“With Christopher,” Livia said.
Behind a hand, he yawned hugely while at the same time nodding.
“We don’t know where your uncle ended up when he returned, do we? It probably wasn’t Chester unless that was where he was meant to be. So even if we send you back, we have no idea where you’re going to end up either. Just because Arthur came and went from the same place doesn’t mean you will.”
“I’ll end up where I’m meant to be. You just said.” His child’s logic was impeccable.
From the front seat, Michael nodded. “We know that, but Arthur had Christopher and a whole car to arrive in. The real problem is that we can’t send you back alone into the void unknowing.”
Livia blinked at the startlingly literate statement. “Exactly.”
Even in working so closely with Michael these last few days, Livia had been making certain assumptions that reflected badly on her. His competence had been a surprise. That he spoke a ridiculous number of languages had been a surprise. That she thought of him as her equal had been a surprise. Careful, Livia. Your Cambridge snobbery is showing.
And really, the differences between her and Michael were less than one might think. While she had Cambridge in common with both Director Callum and Sophie, her upbringing hadn’t been privileged. Her father was a plumber, and she was the first in her family to attend any university. Attendance at Cambridge wasn’t a requirement for Five either, no matter what Mark had sourly observed. Though, come to think on it, graduates of her acquaintance from her alma mater outnumbered those who’d gone to Oxford three to one.
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