The gates crashed closed. The guards locked the door again.
“What’s happening?”
Lizbeth listened for a moment, men were rushing along the walls and racing up the stairs and—
“They are fightin’, tis Magnus and Quentin fightin’ someone just outside.” A louder gun fired, from outside, twice. Beaty screamed.
A moment later Magnus and Quentin came through the door within the gates, Quentin with a limp to his step.
Beaty wailed in dismay and rushed to him. “Are ye well Quentin? Oh nae, please daena die.”
“I’m fine, I have a cut on my leg, sweet Beaty.” He peeled his socks down to see the cut. It was a small gash and would heal well enough.
Magnus came directly to me. “Are ye okay?”
I nodded. “There were two horses and we didn’t see the men.”
One of the men on the wall announced, “There’s a third horse at the back of the castle.”
“Kaitlyn, get tae the women in the nursery and lock yourselves in.”
The men were signaling to each other and spreading out to search the castle while we rushed to the staircase, to the third floor, and into the nursery. There was a guard outside the door but we were quickly let inside. The rooms were full of women and children, but very quiet, eerily quiet, as everyone sat waiting for the all clear. There were older women in the chairs so we sat against the wall. I raised my knees and tucked my head and tried to be as quiet as I could be.
And we waited and waited and waited.
A baby cried after a while and it unsettled the room. A search for someone possibly inside the walls of the castle, and the baby was inconsolable. Beaty pressed her hands over her ears.
Chapter 62 - Magnus
Men fanned out checkin’ all the rooms in the castle, twas a great many dark spaces and corners and would be possible for an enemy tae hide for a long time.
I went tae the Earl’s Chambers and knocked.
He called me in, sitting at his desk, wearing his most magnificent wig. He said, “Magnus, I was thinkin’ ye were away in the battle, have ye just returned?”
There was a man in the room with him. A man dressed in the leather armor we had been seein’ often this day — a man we were just now searchin’ the castle for.
“Is this man a guest of yours?”
The Earl said, “Why yes, this is Captain Alfaro. He has been offerin’ his services as a—”
“We are upendin’ the castle searchin' for him as he is a Campbell enemy, and I daena ken what he is about, but I do ken he is a dead man.” I drew my sword.
The Earl backed to the wall. Captain Alfaro drew his sword.
I said, “What is your business here?”
“To kill you, Magnus Archibald Caelhin Campbell, or would you rather, Magnus the First, crowned just recently in the year 2382?”
I charged him and swung, blade meeting blade, we clashed and fought knocking a table over with a crash.
I had him against the bookcase but he shoved me off. I lost my footing and slammed against the desk. The Earl cowered.
The Captain shifted his sword from hand to hand. “Or do you prefer, Magnus Campbell, the year 2018?”
I righted myself and studied him for his weakness.
“Living on Fletcher Avenue with Zach Greene and his lovely wife, Emma, and their son, Ben, right now preparin’ the house for your return...”
I roared, charged him, swinging left and right, arcing down. He miscalculated my left swing and overstepped givin’ me a chance tae slice his arm. I grabbed his jaw and with the heel of my hand against his throat shoved him against the wall. “Who sent ye?”
“And then there’s your wife, Kaitlyn. She hasn’t been to see her grandmother for their usual visits — such a shame. She is so lovely. She killed Donnan for you, she’s strong, though she is not invincible.”
I stabbed him through the stomach, deep, with a twist. Shoved him to the ground and yanked my sword from his body. I turned on the Earl.
“How dare ye invite this man intae this castle?”
The Earl straightened his wig and smoothed his coat. “I wasna aware he was your enemy, Young Magnus. I have been deceived. Twas a mistake.”
“You have made many grave mistakes, Uncle. You dinna send enough soldiers, we were outnumbered, ye have killed Archibald John Campbell—”
“Baldie is dead?”
“Aye, ” I held my sword up and aimed at him. “As well as many other men, and ye are responsible. You were tae send men, instead ye sent field—”
“I paid from my own coffers for soldiers—”
I interrupted, “Using my gold.”
“If they dinna appear tae fight, tis nae my fault. You are bein’ unreasonable, Young Magnus.”
“I am King Magnus, ye should speak tae me with more deference.” I lowered my sword. “You need tae prepare the castle for the dead, they will be arrivin’ on the morrow.”
“Do we need more guards on the walls?”
“Nae, they are after me and I am leavin’ today.”
Chapter 63
Lizbeth and I were holding hands leaning against the wall when Magnus rushed in.
“Did you find him?”
“Aye, he is dead. I have news, Lizbeth, tis—”
Her face went ashen. “Liam — Sean?”
He took her hands in his. “Tis Baldie, he was killed in battle.”
“Nae, it canna be, Magnus, he was like a father tae us. He canna—”
Magnus put an arm around her and held her for a long moment. “Sean and Liam will be bringing him home, twill take some time.”
Lizbeth wiped her eyes. “Did we win the battle?”
“Aye, we won, Lizbeth. I daena think Delapointe will think tae meet us on the field again.”
He said to me, “Kaitlyn, we must go now.”
Quentin was at the door. Beaty rushed into his arms.
Lizbeth and I hugged.
I said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m so sorry we won’t be here for the funeral.”
“I understand Kaitlyn. Ye will speak tae Magnus and Quentin?”
“Yes, I’ll leave Beaty with you so we can talk.”
* * *
Magnus and I rushed upstairs to our room with Quentin right behind. Magnus recounted to him all Captain Alfaro said before Magnus killed him. Captain Alfaro, and of course General Reyes, knew everything about our lives. It was terrifying.
We were all panicked and confused about what to do next. Quentin said, “We have to go to Florida, or at least Savannah, we have to warn Zach.”
Magnus said, “Aye, we have tae move them tae safety.”
I said, “I agree.” Magnus and Quentin were both wearing clothes that were filthy and blood-covered. We dug through our packs for anything better to wear, for cleaner clothes, a way to comb hair, to somehow get presentable for America, 2018. We hurriedly packed bags and separated the last of the candy into a bag for Lizbeth to give to the children.
Magnus pulled his shirt up and I checked his wound and put on fresh tape while Quentin stuffed the oxygen concentrator from the last time we were here into a sack.
Quentin seemed quiet and distracted but finally he said, “I want to take Beaty.”
Magnus only half-listening asked, “What did ye say, Master Quentin?”
“I want to take Beaty with me.”
Magnus said, “I daena think—”
I jumped in. “I agree with Quentin, as does Lizbeth. Magnus, her father beats her and—”
Magnus looked serious. “Dost she have scars? You have paid a great deal of wealth for her—”
“Magnus! She’s not property.”
Magnus said, “Aye, she is femme covert, he has a legal right tae—”
“What does that mean?”
“She relinquished her legal rights, everything she does goes through her husband. He gets tae decide—”
“What? That is the most awful thing I have ever heard. You’re saying she�
�s like his property? Am I property? Holy shit.”
“Listen tae me, Kaitlyn, she is his wife and he can decide tae do what he will. Aye, tis much like property, but I daena mean he should treat her as such. I am simply askin’ if he wants tae complain on his contract.”
“Are you kidding me?” I jammed stuff into a bag. “I am so pissed off at you right now—”
“You are nae listenin’ tae me on it, ye are just arguin’.”
“He should be fighting for her, protecting her, not bullshit renegotiating his contract.”
“Kaitlyn, I have just come home from war. I have almost died three times this day. I daena want tae argue with ye about the contract of marriage as I am the one who negotiated it. I tell ye, ye are mistaken on it. I daena want tae discuss it anymore.”
“Aargh!” I crossed my arms and pouted, furious with him for not understanding. He continued packing our things into a bag.
Quentin said, “Um, Magnus, Kaitlyn? We need to get back to the issue...”
“I daena think it wise. Beaty wouldna understand. Twould be dangerous and painful and—”
Quentin said, “I can’t protect her if I’m not here and I can’t help you if I stay. It’s the only solution.”
Magnus said, “She’s verra young. She would be scared and—”
I said, “She’s his property, right? If he wants to take her it’s his right, who are we to stop him?”
Magnus said, “If ye will remember I wasna sayin’ tae treat her like property. I was sayin’ tae use his rights against her father. You are the one sayin’ tae treat her like property.”
I humphed.
Magnus slung a bag over his shoulder. “Quentin, I think ye should leave her here. Lizbeth will watch over her. She will be protected here in the castle. Twould be for the best.”
“I can’t leave her. I won’t.”
Magnus watched him for a beat, then he looked at me, then he nodded. “All right then, bring her, but we must go verra fast.”
Chapter 64
And that’s how we got out of the gates with Magnus and I rushing and Quentin behind us, leading Beaty, convincing her it would be okay. He told her she would be scared, but he would hold on to her and she wouldn’t understand anything she was seeing and other sweetnesses and kindnesses — not enough, because there was no way to truly prepare her.
She was assuring him that as long as she was with him she’d be okay but she had no idea what she was in for.
Also his reassurances were making me a little jealous because here I was — just argued with my blood-splattered husband. And he was, from the blood-splatters, clearly having a shit day. And despite his shit day I argued with him about marriage contracts and whether women were contractually property and while they shouldn’t be, I was arguing against centuries of precedence and if I had just listened... Instead I reacted and now we were rushing out the castle gates, running to an unknown future, and pissed off at each other while carrying loads of stuff and really feeling like I needed a rewind button. Really.
We came to a field and placed all our bags around our feet. I said, “I’m sorry.”
He adjusted a bag that was falling over. “I ken ye are.”
I chuckled sadly with a little pout.
“What?”
“You usually say,” I put on my ‘deep’ voice. “‘Ye daena need tae be sorry.’”
He grinned a half-grin. “This time ye do, mo reul-iuil.”
“God, you are...” I sighed.
He pulled the vessel from his bag. “Have I ever once treated ye like property, Kaitlyn Campbell?”
“No.”
“Have I ever once made a decision for us without takin’ your opinion on it?”
I shook my head.
“And I think more than once I have let ye make all the decisions in respects tae me, tis nae fair tae argue with me on this point.”
I nodded. “I know. I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I did it.” I exhaled. “This is all just so hard. I got carried away. I’m really really really sorry.”
He said, “Ye daena have tae be sorry.” And then he grinned and I knew we were going to be okay.
I tucked my head against his shoulder and felt his strong arm around my back. Quentin had his arms around Beaty and held his arm against Magnus’s. Magnus twisted the ends of the vessel. It hummed to life.
A moment later the force of the time-jump hit me in my gut and it felt like I was torn into microscopic pieces.
Chapter 65
The storm was dissipating when I woke. Magnus’s hand on my hip, he crouched over me. I tried to force myself up but there was a lot of wailing going on. Then I realized it was Beaty. I pulled myself to sitting and clutched her hands. “Beaty, shhhhhhh, shhhhhhh, it’s okay, you’re here. Quentin is right here.”
Magnus and Quentin were both facing different directions.
I said to her, “As soon as you can move, we need to move,” and then I waited for her to be able to hear me.
* * *
She was crying with her eyes clamped shut. “It hurts Queen Kaitlyn.”
“I know it does. And it’s really bright. Your eyes will hurt and you’ll want to keep them closed because everything you see is going to be scary as shit. But I promise it will be okay. Okay?”
I asked Quentin, “Is your phone working, can you call Zach?”
He pulled his phone from his sporran. “I still have juice!” He held Beaty’s hand as he called Chef Zach. Magnus and I whispered instructions: Tell him to bring Emma and Ben. Tell him to bring all of his important papers. Tell Emma to call Grandma Barb’s home and make sure she’s okay. Tell them to add security. Bring his laptop. Pack a bag.
Quentin told him to be careful, watchful, cautious, and to come, now.
He told us not to worry he was on his way. With Emma. With Ben.
We would all meet in this hotel and decide what to do next.
* * *
Beaty was sitting with her head buried in her knees.
I asked, “Can you try to stand?”
The day was bright blue, clear and cool, wispy clouds wandering across the sky. The garden we landed in was fragrant and pretty even though it was December. We were behind a grouping of bushes and I didn’t really know if we happened to land there or if Magnus had dragged us behind them.
I stood in front of Beaty and held out my hands. “One two three.” I hefted her up though she was so petite it wasn’t hard.
“First, you’re going to see cars, right off the bat, don’t freak out. It’s going to be weird, but try not to let people know you think it’s weird.
She said, “All right, Queen Kaitlyn.” But then we turned a corner, she saw a car and shrieked like the world was coming to an end.
Magnus stepped in front of her.
Quentin put an arm around her.
I held her hand. “Shhhhhh shhhhhhhhh, it’s okay. That’s just the car I was telling you about. That’s all it is, lots of them, see. But it’s fine.”
We got her crying down to a sniffle and then we walked the highway in our bizarro Ren-faire clothes. Luckily by carrying bags in certain ways there were no visible bloodstains, but we were certainly odd looking. Cars slowed and people gawked. They probably wondered if we were some weird religious cult, but hopefully they thought we were re-enactors of some kind. Like I thought back when I first laid eyes on Magnus.
Beaty had to watch our feet while we walked because if she looked anywhere else she spiraled out of control. We needed to get to a hotel; we still weren’t sure we weren’t being followed.
We passed the Cracker Barrel and crossed the parking lot to the Inn and Suites. So far Beaty was freaked by the parking lots, the inn, the noise, the lights, the cars, and a pigeon. Quentin went inside, with the credit card he thankfully had in his sporran, to book us all three rooms; there was one for Zach and Emma and Ben, too.
* * *
This all worked perfectly. We weren’t followed. Beaty survived. Zach was still ali
ve.
Magnus and I would buy dinner. Beaty would love a big meal. Wait until she tried American-restaurant-at-a-highway-exit style food. There was even a McDonald’s.
Also, and this was cool, we passed a Walmart. I would get everyone into the room and maybe walk back to buy us all some clothes and toothbrushes.
Quentin passed me my keycard and we went up a stairwell to our rooms. Beaty kept her head turned to his chest and he carried her in.
Magnus and I went into our room to rest. We were exhausted. All my plans for walking to get clothes ended up not happening. Instead we would wait for Zach in bed.
Chapter 66 - Magnus
She opened our door with somethin’ called a keycard and we stepped inside. The room was verra luxurious compared tae the tavern room I had secured for us near Balloch. I asked, “Why are there two beds?”
“I don’t really know. It’s called a double. I guess if you don’t want to share...”
I pulled open drawers on a dresser. “Tis empty.” I opened a wide closet.
“We can unpack our suitcase and put our things there, except we don’t have a suitcase. We do have this bag with an oxygen concentrator inside, a weird assortment of battery packs and other equipment from the drones and vehicles, and two-way radios.”
I opened a wee door tae see a wee refrigerator, also empty. Kaitlyn tore plastic off of two glasses and filled them with water. We both drank.
She sprawled back on one of the beds. “I’m hungry and want clean clothes but I also just want you in my arms.”
“Och, tis a request I canna disagree with.” I crawled ontae the bed and lay beside her. My head on her curved arm, my arm across her breasts. I could feel the rise and fall of her chest with her breaths. She twirled my hair.
She said, her voice tremulous, “I’m so sorry we fought.”
“I am too, mo reul-iuil.”
Magnus and a Love Beyond Words Page 21