Under the Same Sky

by Knightley, Diana

  “That’s a good point,” said Quentin, “but he could still kill Magnus and then come kill Roderick. The simplest plan is probably the truest one. It must be bigger than simply killing Magnus and taking his throne.”

  Hayley said, “He is pretty evil, maybe he wants to torture him first—”

  I said, “Hayley, can you not?”

  Quentin said, “No, I think it’s even bigger. Like what if he figured out a way to control Magnus, to brainwash him? Maybe he wants Magnus to be king, like a figurehead, while Reyes controls him.”

  I cut my eyes to Lady Mairead. “He could use one of those metal neckpieces like you used on me.”

  She looked away. “I would never relinquish one tae him. It must be something else.”

  I said, “So we think he wants Magnus’s throne. He might be willing to wait to see if it’s Roderick’s throne. Or he might want to control Magnus. These are all possibilities. These are all big, evil possibilities and sadly almost-impossible-to-stop plans.”

  Zach shook his head, “I don’t know, I feel like it might be bigger than those…”

  Emma said, “What’s bigger than wanting Magnus’s throne?”

  Zach said, “Just spitballing here, no wrong answers and all, but if you could time travel you’d want Magnus’s great-great-great grandfather’s throne. Forget dealing with all this shit, you’d want to start all new shit.”

  I opened and closed my mouth. He was right. I knew it. Zach had figured it out. And shit — I needed to burn that book.

  Lady Mairead looked speechless. Then she looked right at me and said, “Where is the book?” Her face was terrifying.

  “Book? What book? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She grabbed the table knife beside her plate and held it clutched in her fingers. “You tell me where it is.”

  I shrugged.

  She lunged at me.

  Hammond jumped up and held her off. “If you threaten the queen again, I’ll have you arrested.”

  She laughed a high cackling laugh. “The queen, really! Fine.” She dropped the knife and sat. She gestured for Hammond to sit back down. “Relax, you are correct Hammond, I winna threaten the queen.”

  She addressed me. “There is a book. It was here. Donnan told me about it. He kept it within his writing desk. He told me it was verra valuable because it carried the date of the beginning of the vessels. You understand the danger associated with that date, I am sure?”

  I said, “I understand the danger.”

  “Well, that book isna here anymore. I have looked for it all through this house and I have searched the other places Donnan might have hidden it. You were here in this house when it went missing so I am sure ye must have it.”

  “I don’t. But that’s a good thing, maybe Donnan destroyed it, then Reyes won’t know when it—”

  “Reyes already kens the date, as he was there.”

  “Reyes is from the time of Magnus’s great-great-great grandfather?”

  Hayley said, “Wait, how old was he? I swear I’m getting more furious with every second. That’s got to be illegal to be — what, 800 years old and dating a 24 year old? Gross.”

  I ignored Hayley and asked, “So what does he want with Magnus?” But my stomach sank when it slammed into me—

  He wanted Magnus to go with him to the past. He was going to make Magnus go get the vessels from the very beginning. Because Reyes was there and he couldn’t loop back on himself.

  He was going to make Magnus do it.

  And if Magnus went back to that battlefield in 1557 all of this would disappear…

  Lady Mairead said, her voice level and scary, “I need tae ken the date, I need ye tae tell me where the book is so that I can go back there and help Magnus.”

  My mouth opened and closed. “I...” I had no idea what to do. I knew not to trust Lady Mairead. She was helpful sometimes but she could also be very dangerous. In this one instance I held more information than she did. I felt like I should keep my hard-won advantage.

  I needed to think on it, to buy some time, and right then Archie started crying from the other room.

  Emma read my face. “Kaitlyn, we should probably check on him, you know how he only wants to see you.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” I pushed my chair from the table. “Zach can you entertain Lady Mairead for a few minutes? Maybe tell her how much you’re enjoying her wedding gift? Hayley, maybe tell her how the house is? Quentin can you come with me for a moment?” I stood, my hands shaking. “Okay, I’ll be back in a mo—”

  “Where is Bella tae tend tae her baby?”

  “She’s in the guest quarters.”

  “Here on the grounds? Tis verra protective of ye.” Her eyes squinted. “What of her beau, John Mitchell”

  “Do you know him?”

  “Of course I ken him, John Mitchell works for me. He informs me of everything Bella does. If it involves Archie, the next-in-line for the throne, then it involves me as his grandmother.”

  Archie’s cries grew stronger, sounding desperate.

  “I need to check on him.” I performed my best sweep from the room followed by Quentin and Emma.

  Six - Kaitlyn

  I gathered Archie into my arms. “I’m sorry sweetie, Kaitlyn is going through some stuff and your wicked grandmother is here and I…” I looked at Quentin, “What am I going to do?”

  “You’re not going to tell that bitch anything. She thinks she knows what Reyes’s plan is but I’m not convinced.”

  “Well, I’m totally convinced; this is the reason Reyes has Magnus.”

  “It could be any of those other reasons: he’s trying to control him, he’s biding his time; the whole going back to the beginning is pretty complicated. Zach is kind of a stoner, this might not be the most plausible—”

  “He’s not really a stoner anymore and this situation kind of requires that kind of thinking. I’m sure of it. This is exactly right.”

  Quentin sighed. “Okay fine, if Magnus is being taken to the way long ago past, I should go get him. I know how to ride, to fight, and I’m his guard. Plus I’m a colonel in his future-kingdom-army whatever the hell that means.”

  Emma handed me a bottle for Archie and I got him to calm enough to start suckling. I kissed him on his sweet little forehead.

  I waved my hand around like a crazy person, “See all this? There’s so much crazy happening, where is Magnus? I haven’t even been able to think or rest or — It’s breakfast and I have to deal with Lady Mairead and crazy time-jumping stuff, and all it will take is one person going back in time and getting those vessels and—” I snapped my fingers. “This all disappears. I don’t want it to disappear. Maybe Lady Mairead, but not you or you, Emma, or Magnus or this little guy. Crap, I need to get back in there and protect Zach and Hayley from her.”

  Quentin asked, “Do you have the book?”

  I shook my head.

  Then I chewed my lip.

  I said, “Don’t make me answer.”

  “Okay, you don’t have the book. I questioned you and you don’t. It’s clear.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Firmly tell her you don’t have it. Tell her we’ll all look for it and we’ll let her know as soon as we find it.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I pulled up some tissues from the night stand and wiped my face. “Yeah. I can fix this. I know what to do.”

  Emma said, “You do? Because I have no idea.”

  “It’s easy. I just have to be stronger than Lady Mairead.”

  They followed me back down the hall to the dining room.

  * * *

  The conversation looked strained. All eyes turned to me.

  I rocked Archie back and forth and stood behind my chair. “First, Lady Mairead, I don’t have the book. I don’t know the date and so all I can tell you is we will look for it and when we find it you’ll be the first to hear. Secondly, thank you for dropping by, my apologies you can’t stay longer but as you know we are here because of a war and really don�
��t need new drama brought into our safe house.”

  Lady Mairead said, “Your safe house will hold for about three more days before it falls tae Roderick. He has already guessed your location and is now plannin’ tae corner ye.”

  Hammond leaned closer listening.

  She continued, “He would like to draw Magnus out tae fight. He will be surprised tae learn Magnus isna here.”

  Hammond said, “How do you know this?”

  “I have people who tell me things. Unlike here, amongst my own family and my household, where things are kept from me, hidden, as if I am tae be tricked.”

  I tried to keep my voice steady. “I am not trying to trick you. I am trying to understand where Magnus is and come up with a rescue plan.”

  “Well, you better go fast, ye have three days. I canna help because ye have hidden the book from me.”

  “I have not.” I took a deep breath. “What are we going to do about Roderick, Colonel Donahoe, any ideas?”

  “I will need to discuss this with the board and my commanders. I will have a working plan in a few hours.”

  Lady Mairead cut her eyes at him. “I will need a room.”

  “You don’t have anywhere else—?” I remembered the old adage keep your friends close your enemies closer. “Forget that, you’ll stay in the—” I looked around confused at this big ass house that was mine apparently, a part of the kingdom I now ran without Magnus.

  Lady Mairead said, “Is Bella in the East Wing? I’ll take the West.” Her brow lifted. “The rest of you are all sleeping here together in the main house, how very friendly of you.”

  We, all of us, gave each other a look. Mine was overwhelmed. Zach’s look was astonished. Emma showed pity. Beaty — confusion. Hayley looked murderous.

  Lady Mairead sighed. “The awful part is I have a remembrance of the book, in the top drawer of Donnan’s desk, and I canna return for it as I canna loop back on my life, twould make…”

  She kept speaking but I stopped listening.

  Archie done feeding, looked up at me sweetly. Yeah, little guy, terrible stuff is happening, but don’t you worry — I’m that dragon I was telling you about when we met. I’m going to go back there to the middle ages and breathe fire on a really, really bad guy.

  I said to Lady Mairead when she finished, “Yeah, well too bad you can’t find the book. Um, anyway, I need to go sit down in the other room in a comfortable chair. If you’d like to go to your rooms, we’ll let you know if we discover anything.”

  Seven - Kaitlyn

  Ben was toddling around banging shit and I didn’t care because he was all sweetness and normalness and I needed some of that right now. Emma followed him around attending to him, worrying and watching, and I thought about how this motherly business was so her.

  I looked down at Archie and sighed.

  Mrs Johnstone bustled in. “Bella has sent word she wants Magnus’s son brought to her right now.”

  All eyes turned to me, holding my husband’s mistress’s baby in my arms.

  “Oh, yes, of course.” I placed him gently in the baby carrier. “Will you make sure there are full bottles for him?” I tried to be a grownup while she carried Archie from the room but my heart hurt. With my hands on my hips I said, “Great.”

  Hayley, watching Mrs Johnstone carry Archie from the room, said, “Yeah, that is not the right word, sweetie. That shit right there isn’t great, it's a complicated, big, heaping pile of bullshit and I’m sorry you have to deal with it. I have half a mind to go over to that bitch’s guest wing and give her a piece of my mind. But I might kill her and–“

  “I know you mean well, Hayley. I know you do, but I have a lot of stuff to worry about and I don’t need to worry about whether you can handle yourself like a grownup. I need you to handle your shit and be strong and help me. I’m dealing with a lot of people. I’m supposed to be strong and dignified and respectable. So when I’m alone with you and my family, I would really like to be the one who gets to throw temper tantrums and threaten to kill people and for you to be the one who talks me down.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. I’m not going to kill her. Only a terrible friend would say something like that and I’m your best friend in the world. It was just my head wound talking — momentary insanity. What do you want to do?”

  “Kill her. In some horrible way, like with a pit involving alligators.”

  She grinned at me. “You shouldn’t kill her, sweetie, she seems like a lovely person.”

  “Now that might be going too far.” I sighed. “I don’t really want to kill her, she’s Archie’s mom, you know? And she’s had a really difficult life. Donnan raped her, I’m sure of it. He collected her like she was some kind of an artifact and kept her in his castle and she really thought Magnus was going to save her from that. I feel sorry for her. I love Archie and the truth is, when it all comes down to it, she’s his mom. I have to accept it and live with it.”

  “When did you grow up?”

  “I don’t know,” I joked, “but I’m furious it happened.” I slumped down in the chair. “What are we going to do?”

  Quentin said, “Hammond is working on a strategy to keep the kingdom from falling to Roderick. I’ll meet with him in a few hours.”

  “Perfect.”

  Zach said, “I intend to relieve Mrs Johnstone of her duties as cook, do you think she’ll mind?”

  We all groaned. “I hope not.”

  “Cause those beans were for sure straight from the can. I mean, add some spices, get creative.”

  I nodded.

  Emma said, “I’m not being much help, sadly. Maybe I’ll figure out if there are any extra clothes, make a list of things we need from the store... are there stores?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Who do we ask?”

  I shrugged. “Mrs Johnstone?”

  “So don’t piss off Mrs Johnstone, Zachary.”

  “I won’t, but I also can’t fucking sit by and watch my loved ones eat beans from a can.”

  Hayley said, “We all thank you.”

  Quentin said, “So now I have to rescue Magnus. Where is he? Reyes could have him anywhere.”

  I said, “Lady Mairead’s thoughts are the best I’ve heard on the matter. General Reyes is going to send Magnus back in time to fight the original men for the vessels. Winner takes the spoils. I think he will be there.”

  Hayley said, “What would happen then?”

  “All of this, everything that happened since Magnus appeared in my life, would be over. Like it never happened.”

  “No more Magnus?”

  I nodded unable to say it out loud.

  Quentin squinted his eyes, “So that’s all we’ve got to go on. I’d like to say that it could be any number of things, but if everyone else agrees, I’ll go along with this.”

  Hayley said, “It won’t hurt to go check, I suppose. If he’s not there then you can go look somewhere else.”

  Zach said, “I know I brought this up, but now that it’s a working plan it sounds kind of crazy.”

  I said, “But if I say it’s not crazy, if I say I know this is it?”

  Zach nodded. “Then I say okay, Katie. That’s what Quentin should do.”

  “Thank you. Is everyone in agreement?”

  They all nodded.

  Quentin said, “I’ll go back in time, stop Reyes, rescue Magnus, and keep them from making a big mistake, but you don’t know where because you don’t have the book—”

  “I do know where and when. I’m trying not to tell anyone else though, so I will go with you. You and I will go rescue Magnus.”

  “Just tell me, is it in the long ago past, in Scotland? I need to pack the appropriate weapons and for my kilt to be color coordinated with the landscape.”

  “Yes it is.”

  Beaty who had been listening but so quiet I forgot she was in the room spoke up then. “I needs be goin’ with ye, Quenny.”

  We all turned.

  “If ye a
re a goin’ tae Scotland ye need me. I can speak tae the men, and I ken the lay of the land.”

  “I’m not sure that makes sense...”

  “You are goin’ tae long ago Scotland, where I hail from, accompanied by a queen from some future place and ye are a black man from the New World. I daena think ye will last for a day. Ye needs a Scottish lass tae lead ye through the lands.”

  Quentin chuckled and shook his head. “I mean, you’re not wrong, Beaty.”

  She laughed. “I ken it, Quenny, I am nae wrong. I can ride and I can speak Gaelic. I am the daughter of a farmer and I have fought with a pig and I have plucked a chicken and I can keep ye from the trouble that is always followin’ ye. Ye need me.”

  Quentin took her hand. “I suppose we do. Do you agree Katie?”

  “Yes, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes, I suppose we do need Beaty, and I’m very glad you feel better.”

  “I do I feel much better. The food this morn was delicious. Dost ye think ye could find me some of the clothes ye be wearin’? I wants tae be wearin’ the man-breeches, like Emma has on.”

  Emma laughed. “I’ll look through closets. Here I was worried about how you would acclimate, but you seem to be doing it faster than Magnus.”

  “I like this verra much. Tis a grand house and I like tae be reclinin’ in this great chair.” She wiggled her bottom in her seat.

  I said, “I’m not good at riding horses. What if I got two of those all terrain vehicles from Hammond? Then, as soon as we see the storm, we can cover ground faster, because we need to get there before the Scots get there.”

  Quentin said, “ATVs will be noisy, but they’ll give us speed and more firepower, so yeah, let’s do it.”

  Hayley said, “I’d like to go too.”

  We all turned to her.

  “Nick is my fault, we all know it. And I have ATV skills. I can shoot. Michael and I used to go to the range all the time. I know how to ride a motorcycle. I’ve taken self-defense classes and I’ve been CrossFit training. And Katie, you owe me because last time you took me to Scotland you deserted me. You can show me the country proper this time. I’ll help you rescue Magnus and then you’ll forgive me for almost getting him killed.”