Sixty - Magnus
“I need a horse. I could get past this on a horse. Drive down the grass there, Quentin.”
“I can’t they’d arrest me. If you were driving, maybe — thing to remember: I’m a black man.”
The policeman, directing traffic past the accident, waved us through, and the cars ahead of us set intae motion, verra slow. “They should go faster than this.”
Quentin remained quiet. Then he began weavin’ through the cars and I held ontae the verra convenient handle by the door. “We should have brought her, then he wouldna have her right now.”
“Yeah, but who would he have? Hayley, Beaty, Zach or Emma? Katie is the only one equipped to handle it. I’m glad she was there to get him away from the house.”
“He spoke of doin’ terrible things tae her…”
“Yeah, the last mother fucker that did terrible things to Katie is a dead man. She’s going to be fine.”
“Och aye, and Reyes is a dead man already. I winna allow him tae breathe much longer.”
Quentin took a corner and sped down 8th street. Hayley called again.
“The storms are done, they’re completely gone.”
“You’ve written down everything he said? We’ll be there in twelve minutes.”
“Zach and security guard are talking to the police. They have a whole story about a gang of teens, busting the glass, tripping the security alarms, trying to steal the Christmas presents. It seems to be working, but be ready to answer questions, Zach will probably call you in a few to get your story straight.”
I asked, “How are Emma and Ben and Beaty?”
“They’re all good, scared shitless, but good.”
The rest of the ride we were quiet, I was prayin’ tae God and willin’ the car tae move faster.
* * *
When we made it upstairs and after the police left twas a verra worrisome look on everyone’s face except Lady Mairead who began talkin’ at once.
“He daena have Archie, I kent it. Twas foolhardy of her tae compromise with him on it. She should have more strength. I have been telling ye— and twas all for Bella’s bairn. I am surprised she allows herself tae get so emotional about him. She should—”
I was packin’ protein bars in my sporran tae take with me. I turned on her. “Kaitlyn was plenty strong enough tae stand up and go for this whole family. I daena want tae hear another word on—”
“You will hear me on it. She has put all of us in—”
I charged her and bowed over her, pressin’ her back intae the counter. “Dost ye ken where Archie is?”
“Nae, but he isna with General Reyes. I believe Bella has taken him tae Roderick tae join his court, as he is close tae being crowned king.”
I scowled. “You were supposed tae find him afore that happened.”
“I was distracted by trying tae help you.” She shoved against my chest pushing me off. “Kaitlyn has greatly complicated things, again, and for what, the mistress’s son?” She brushed off the front of her skirts and scoffed.
“She has opened her heart tae Archie and I winna fault her on it. You need tae be quiet on Kaitlyn or I will make ye quiet.”
The security guard came intae the room. “James Cook is here to see you, sir.”
James stormed in full of questions. “What the hell was that? That looked like that Nick guy, the one you were dating, Hayley? I ate dinner with him. I took him to a bar!” He was furious, wavin’ his arms. “He had an army! Did he just take Katie? What the hell? What is happening?”
I shook my head. “Tis a great deal goin’ on here Master Cook, ye canna understand and—”
“Damn right I don’t understand. I was driving down Sadler and saw that big ass storm and then men on horseback, again.” He glowered at me, his finger pointin’ at my chest. “Explain it to me or I’m calling the police and telling them what I know.”
Lady Mairead waved her hands at him. “What you ken? Ye daena ken anythin’!”
I stepped between them. “Master Cook, ye need tae ken that I am a time-traveler. Lady Mairead is also a time-traveler. We hail from the year 1702.”
“What the hell? Quentin, you believe this bullshit?”
Quentin said, “Yeah, I believe it, I spent part of the year living in a castle in the 18th century. Hell, my wife is from the 18th century.”
“Beaty is your wife? I thought she was your girl, and how the hell do you expect me to believe this — this is crazy. Zach, what is this shit?”
Chef Zach was leaned on the counter, a gun in his hand. “Welcome to my world. I just killed a man two days ago in the year 2380-something.”
James looked incredulous. “Is this a meth house? Are you all on drugs?”
I said, “I ken there is a great deal tae explain, but I have tae figure out where that man has taken Kaitlyn and I must go and rescue—”
“Oh, I know where he’s taking her. I parked my truck and snuck out on that dune over there and heard him tell his creep soldiers to meet him in Santa Reeni, wherever the hell that is, on May 20th.”
Lady Mairead said, “Santorini! Did he say the year?”
“He said, ’1840.’ I thought it was an address or something. That was a year? He’s taking Katie to a different century? What the hell?”
Lady Mairead turned tae me. “What is your plan?”
“I am goin’ tae Santorini.” I looked around the room. “Dost anyone ken where Santorini is?”
Lady Mairead said, “Tis in Greece, I have been there, tis where I spoke tae Reyes about joining me tae win the kingdom from Donnan.”
I said, “An admission that tis always the fallible Lady Mairead who complicates everythin’ with her conniving and dealing. I want ye tae remember twas your doings that brought Reyes here. You brought him tae our kingdom and now tis lost. Twas nae Kaitlyn, twas you that brought Nick Reyes.”
She sighed. “I understand that.”
“Good. Now tell me all ye ken of Santorini so I can get there and—”
“You have tae get there ahead of him. Tis how he travels. He sets men ahead, they recover and then guard the next men. He does it until he has a small squad—”
Master Cook said, “That’s the way it sounded, he was sending men ahead.”
“He dinna do that afore, tis a new tactic.”
Lady Mairead said, “Nae, he told me of it. He learned it from the verra beginning.”
Quentin was listening now too. “What do you mean he learned of it from the beginning?”
Lady Mariead said, “Reyes told me there were men left alive on the battlefield after the vessels were found. One of them had been part of a front guard. They had brought weapons for the time-period but were attacked with weapons that were more sophisticated than what they were expecting. They were outnumbered and then vanquished. That man and Reyes learned from each other.”
Hayley said, “That was us totally blowing the mission. We left someone alive. We screwed up the timeline and now you know more about it. Cool, huh?”
I said, “Aye, cool, Mistress Hayley.”
She smiled widely. “I am a terrible arse like Katie.”
“Och, aye.” I took in a deep breath at the thought of Kaitlyn doin’ something as dangerous as this, going with Reyes. She was a terrible terrible arse. Twas true.
“What kind of weather can I expect in Santorini? Quentin, can ye gather me the firearms I will need? I will want a sword. I will go early and learn about the land. Chef Zach, can ye pack me food? And a great many vitamins? Kaitlyn told me I needed tae take vitamin C with me when I travel, can ye make sure I have it, Emma?”
“Of course,” she said.
Quentin said, “As your security guy, I should go. Last I remember you were calling me your General or something.”
“Twas my colonel, and nae, I daena need ye there, I need ye here, guardin’ the house, making sure yer wife is well. I will do this myself.”
James said, “What should I do?”
“Would ye help
watch the house? I daena ken if the men are goin’ tae come back.” I buckled a belt over my kilt and said tae Lady Mairead, “I want ye tae find Archie and get him safe tae Balloch.”
* * *
A few hours later I was at the south end of the Island with Quentin and Hayley sayin’ goodbye afore my trip. “You will take care of everyone, Black Mac?”
“Aye,” he joked and then became serious. “You’ll find Katie, bring her home?”
“Or die tryin’.”
Hayley groaned. “Don’t die, don’t not bring her home, just get her back here. She doesn’t want to live in Greece or anywhere but with you.”
I had bags of knives and guns. I considered bringing an ATV with me, but decided against it, tae blend better; twould be the year 1840 after all.
“Don’t forget what we saw on Google Earth. You’ll be on a wide plain, mostly grape vines and olive trees, tall cliffs, mountainside houses. Get the weapons to a hiding place. Then mix into the neighborhood. Ask for his house. Then wait for him.”
I smiled. “Tis a perfect plan.”
“Nah, it’s a crazy plan, but it’s all we got. And as we Campbells say before every battle…?”
“Cruachan.”
“Yep, and me and Hayley will head over there to watch you go — safe travels.”
He walked a few paces away, then turned, “You sure you don’t need a front guard?”
“One of us would have tae go first, might as well be me.”
* * *
I looked down at the gear and provisions leanin’ around my leather boots. My kilt a deep blue and green, my sporran of black leather. The familiar weight of my broadsword across my shoulders and down my back. In my hands I held a vessel, itself a familiar weight, the size and markings meant tae take one from this world tae another. Twas painful, but necessary, in almost every instance, and never more so than this. I twisted the ends of the vessel and set it tae rip me tae another time and a distant land.
Sixty-one - Magnus
I woke in the dust cloud of a diminishin’ storm. Twas hot with a high blue sky. I looked around tae see I was alone and from the direction of the sun twas mid-day . An olive tree nearby was offerin’ a bit of shade. I lumbered tae my feet and pulled my gear and supplies tae the base of it and sat and rested for my strength.
A while later I saw an older man dressed in simple pants tied at his waist and a loose shirt. He had on a shade hat and was carryin’ a shovel. I stood and held up my hand hopin’ twould be understood as friendly. He raised his hand as well and then began callin’ tae me in a language I dinna understand.
He drew closer and I tried tae explain that I was restin’ from a walk and had been caught in a storm. He waved me tae follow, lifted one of my bags tae his shoulder, and led me tae his home.
The dwelling was small, only one story, with white painted walls and a beautiful blue door. Twas Kaitlyn’s favorite color and gave me a pain thinkin’ on whether I would get a chance tae show it tae her.
His wife was friendly and made a great deal of fuss about my size and found good humor in my kilt, wavin’ her skirt around as if we matched. She was plump and her voice sounded like a bird chirpin’ and though I daena ken any of her language she made herself clear with her hands movin’ tae express herself.
She had me understand that her name was Sophia and her husband’s name was Christo and then she led me tae the table and offered me tea tae drink.
I rustled through a bag and found a bar of chocolate I had brought for Kaitlyn and offered it tae her. Sophia was thrilled and after it I could do nae wrong. She fed me some food, a fish broth with greens floatin’ in it, and a white cheese that was verra tasty. I saw through an open window, Christo goin’ tae work in his fields, so I excused myself tae go help him.
I spent the rest of the day pullin’ weeds while Christo pruned, workin’ side by side in comfortable silence. Without a common language tae tell him I needed a place tae stay, he and his wife took me in tae stay as long as I needed, givin’ me a mat tae sleep on in a back room in their house.
On the second night they held a big dinner at long tables in the garden attended by Christo and Sophia’s grown children and their grandchildren. They held wide smiles and laughed a great deal and most of them came tae the height of my chest. Being amongst them was much like bein’ a giant.
At dinner I watched them closely and listened and soon learned a couple of phrases and gestures. I could tell when they were talking of fishin’ and I shared the story of when I was thrown overboard. I stood and acted it out, having consumed so much wine I was quite drunk, and when I told of my Uncle Baldie tossin’ me overboard they all laughed, even the bairn, and twas how I kent I had told the story well enough.
During the day I helped Christo and at night I slept in that back room, a clear view through the window, a starry sky. These were stars I dinna recognize, but they gave me comfort that Kaitlyn would be here soon and we would again be in the same place and time.
She was probably verra afraid, but I had been given a place tae gain my strength and the time tae contemplate my actions. And though the language was a mystery, at the family dinner I had been able tae ascertain the whereabouts of Nicholas Reyes’s house, a fair distance from here.
The next evenin’ I walked tae see it, an unguarded house, nestled in the hills along the cliffs on the west side of Santorini. He had been absent from it for a long time. I watched the house for a couple of hours as the night grew dark and the stars unfurled above me and there wasna a soul around.
Through the windows I saw military-style barracks at the back of the house. I pried open a wooden shutter and slid inside, tae find a great deal of weapons and ammunition. I loaded a bag with all of it afore I walked back to Christo’s home verra late that night.
The next day I watched and waited for a storm but there wasna one so I went and hid weapons: first, under a wooded vine near Reyes’s home. A second, near a fence at the back of the house. I found a donkey cart and moved it near the back of the property. I loaded it with large rocks and a length of rope I found in a back shed.
I again waited as the day grew dark. I returned tae my perch and watched the house again.
A few nights passed and then one evenin’ long after dinner, while sitting in the place where I had been sittin’ for nights on end, a storm raised above me. Twas a furious wind that bent the trees and sent the roof tiles spinnin’ intae the air.
My sword was across my back, a bag of weapons lay at my feet. I slung the bag over my shoulder and raced through the fields towards the center of the storm and ended at a far sheltered spot under a grove of olive trees. I armed myself as the sun went down and the storm was fadin’.
Under the storm lay four men, the front guard, the ones unlucky tae have tae time-jump first. I dropped my bag of weapons tae the ground, unsheathed my sword, and then I tried tae do the impossible work of convincin’ myself tae kill them.
I was nae comfortable with killin’ a man that I dinna have cause tae kill. These men were not at my walls. I wasna protecting my lands or my castle. I dinna ken them tae hate them. I went from man tae man relieving them of their weapons. I cut their leather pouches away and dug through them looking for valuables, all the while tryin’ tae convince myself that these men deserved tae die.
Inside one pouch I found a finger, wrapped in cloth, the skin havin’ turned tae leather. I dropped it tae the ground in disgust. In another man’s pouch I found a lock of hair. They all had blood on their hands and I begged God that twas nae Kaitlyn’s blood.
Then, in the last soldier’s pouch, cut off and scrounged through, I found a scrap of cloth. Twas silk, the color blue of the sky, a favorite of Kaitlyn’s, and verra much like her underwear, and — I broke down that she might nae have survived the ordeal.
My breathing was hard as I held that scrap of silk. I pulled in gaspin’ breaths and found myself sayin’ a prayer that God would forgive me for my sins as I raised my sword and walked from man tae man killin
g each where they lay, one by one by one.
Twas merciless of me tae do, I kent it.
But I kent too that I was never goin’ tae be free of the fear of them. General Reyes wanted me dead. He dinna care tae keep my family safe, or my wife. He wouldna stop until I made him stop.
It was dark then, a full black clear sky with the guiding lights that once led the way for Trojan heroes circlin’ the islands of the Mediterranean. They now led me as I brought the donkey cart near and loaded the bodies intae it and carted them tae the high cliffs.
I made a pile of them at the edge and one at a time I bound the legs of the soldiers with rope, tied them tae a boulder for the weight, and then shoved them over. I heard nothing of the fall until a faint splash carried them intae the murky depths of the sea.
The time was well past midnight when I finished the work, returned the cart, and returned tae Christo’s home.
* * *
He had grown used tae me leavin’ at night, so I did it again the next night just at evenin’, and there was another storm, an hour after the one of the night afore. I kneeled on my sword, before their prostrate bodies and prayed for guidance about the deaths I was committing. I was protectin’ my family, but I was havin’ trouble reconcilin’ that protection with the methodical killin’ that I was made tae do.
This was another group of men, sent ahead tae guard over the arrival of Reyes, smaller, only three this time, I killed them as quickly as the others the night before. On checkin’ their pockets I found another scrap of cloth in the same sky blue silk.
I carted them tae the edge of the cliff and brusquely pushed them over intae the sea below.
I was verra worried that she was lost tae me, tortured and killed. What if I was wrong tae come here? What if Reyes took Kaitlyn tae Inchaiden, or some other place and time? What if while I waited here with Christo and his family, I was allowin’ Reyes tae have his way with her, tae finish her? What if I dinna protect her well enough?
Under the Same Sky Page 20