“Too pitiful?”
“Aye, pitiful and weak, like a mewlin’ bairn.” He attempted a smile though it looked more like a wince. “Ye are often just a mewlin’ bairn. And now ye are m’younger brother, it makes more sense tae ken it.”
“I think if we take a proper accountin’ we can prove me tae be the older brother and I am nae a mewlin’ bairn.”
“Och, ye are much like one when ye are nae a murderous king. Apparently ye hae killed our cousin.” He held his side gingerly. “I daena mind though, he was a contemptible arse. Imagine tae ask a man’s own brother tae murder him for food.”
“Aye, I also killed his father, Samuel. He was a contemptible arse as well, and Donnan. He was evil. Ye and I hae a great deal tae talk of, someday, if I am tae return.”
Tae Hammie I said, “Would ye witness the signin’ of a contract?”
“Yes, King Magnus.” He opened the door of a vehicle and brought out a notebook with a pen. I clicked the end and wrote on a page:
If I, Magnus Archibald Caelhin Campbell the First of Riaghalbane hae nae returned tae the kingdom within...
I asked Lady Mairead, “What date was it when ye left the future?”
“I daena ken, what are ye up tae?”
“Ye ken the date, ye always ken. Hammond, what date was it?”
“Twas November 24, 2386.”
I continued writing:
...one year past that date, November 24, 2386, tae the year 2387, the date of November 24, I, Magnus Archibald Caelhin Campbell, will abdicate my throne tae Fraoch MacDonald, the heir tae the throne, a direct descendent of Donnan II.
I signed underneath it.
I turned the page tae Hammond. “Read it and sign below it. Ye hae witnessed me writin’ it.”
After he signed, I ripped out the page and passed it tae him. I asked, “May I keep the pen?”
“Of course, King Magnus. There are always more pens.”
Lady Mairead asked, “What hae ye done, Magnus? What did ye sign?”
“Hammond, ye can tell her.”
“King Magnus, if he’s not able to return, is to abdicate his throne to his, um...?”
I said, “To Donnan’s son, my half-brother, Fraoch MacDoanld.”
Lady Mairead said, “This is unacceptable, Magnus, what if I canna get ye returned?”
“Then ye should be kinder tae Fraoch, beginnin’ now.”
She scoffed. “I winna, he is an illegitimate son of Donnan.”
“Then ye need tae go verra fast bringing me home so he winna be your ruler.”
“If ye remained here ye could help me figure it out, ye could raise yer children and be the king.”
“Nae, dost ye hear yerself? Ye are already actin’ as if it winna be possible. It has tae be possible. Ye need tae find the possibility. Kaitlyn winna survive alone, I am goin’.”
Hayley looked terrified.
“I beg yer forgiveness for scarin’ ye, Hayley, for threatenin’ ye and Fraoch.”
“I’m not forgiving you for it. I may never forgive you for it. Please bring Katie home.”
“I will do m’best.” I exhaled and took stock. Hammond had ordered soldiers to gather and pack my supplies. The horses’s packs looked well stocked for a long time.
Lady Mairead said, “I daena understand what you are carrying on about. Ye canna go, tis a death sentence for ye.”
“Nae, tis a death sentence for Kaitlyn if I daena go. She canna speak tae them, tae ask for help...” I scowled. “I ken it may not be possible tae come home, but do yer best.”
“Where do I start?”
“I would start at the beginning of the vessels. Ye hae the book. Kaitlyn verra kindly gave it tae ye, use it. If it daena hae the answer, go tae the future and ask the men who invented the vessels tae explain why it daena go farther back. Ask them tae teach ye how tae make it go. We will be waiting.”
Hammond brought me the horses. He shewed me the settings for the vessels he remotely activated. “This is how we set them, King Magnus, these numbers.”
I set the number sequence intae my own vessel and I led the horses, fully packed, farther away intae the field. I twisted the vessel as Hammie jogged away.
Then Hammond’s voice behind me, amplified by the drones. “Everyone find cover, please stand away! Step away from the walls, a storm is coming.”
Lady Mairead stalked after me, I could see from her face that fury was drivin’ her. “Ye are makin’ a mistake, tae go tae the past like this, it is tae die. I winna accept that ye are this driven tae die. I winna accept it.”
“Lady Mairead, in the beginnin’ ye dinna tell me anythin’ about usin’ the vessels. Every jump I thought I was tae die because I dinna ken how tae direct them, and I dinna ken how tae survive them. Every jump. Yet ye hae carried the truth of them. Ye had ways tae make the jumps better for yerself. I trust that ye are again keepin’ the truth from me.” I twisted the ends of the vessels.
Her mouth opened and closed. “I dinna ken everything from the beginning. I had tae learn it over time... but whatever ye think of me, I am nae lying. I truly daena ken how tae go that far intae the past. Tis like the vessels stop short at the mark, while flinging the traveler farther along. I daena understand the workings of it.”
The wind was rising, the storm growing higher. Lady Mairead was wringing her hands. “Even if I could go farther back, I winna ken what time ye are in.”
“Aye, ye will need tae do some searchin’,” I said, “Kaitlyn and I spoke about it once, tis as if an explorer has cut a new trail. They hae carved intae the darkened forest, but only tae a certain point. Then other travelers come along at a fast rate of speed, they hit the forest, the trail ends. They are thrown from their horse, yet the horse remains.”
“Magnus, how is that helpful?”
I shook my head. “It inna, except tae say, ye best get explorin’.” I held the horse reins and twisted the vessel tae complete the activation, the storm rose as she hustled away. In m’fury, the one I had been ridin’ all day, I got a certain pleasure in watchin’ her scurry — the fear in her eyes that I was headed tae a certain death.
I couldna consider it, the death sentence of it, only that Kaitlyn was already farther along, and I had nae choice but tae join her. Twas nae ones fault, but twas a great many years of m’mother’s manipulations that had brought us here, and were now forcin’ us there, as if off a horse —
I was thrown.
Twenty- eight - Kaitlyn
I was face down in the snow, freezing, like really cold. I raised my head to see Bella’s body beside me. I straightened to see her, dead, stone cold, murder-crime-scene dead. I threw up in the snow.
Where the hell was I?
Pine trees, forest, the ground, it looked a little like where I had left, but completely different, the weather was shit — that was all I had to go on.
It was too cold to think.
I needed the knife jutting from Bella’s stomach. I clamored to my feet, clutched the handle with freezing hands and tried to pull, but my fingers were too frozen to grip. I rubbed them vigorously to get the blood moving and tried again, one two three — tug. The blade yanked free. I wiped it in the snow and stuck it in my belt. Then I reached in Bella’s pocket for the vessel trying not to look at her face — her eyes were freaking me out.