Magnus said, “Ye can take the gold threads so ye are rested when ye jump. Zach will send some vitamins with ye.”
I grabbed a notebook and a pen. “Emma and I will come up with a list of dates. The origination date of the vessels is November 1, 1557. So first we want you to jump to October 31, 1557.If your vessel disappears, you’ll wait for a day, you’ll miss your return date and someone here with a vessel and the Trailblazer will mount a rescue. But if your vessel is still there, awesome, you’ll jump to the next date. If your vessel is gone, wait there.If you don’t return someone will go back with the Trailblazerto the first date, then the second date, then the third and fourth until they find you.” I circled a date, and wrote a check mark beside another.
James said, “Just not 1589, not Dunscaith castle, no looping for me.”
I said, “Exactly. We’ll pick safe dates, and uncomplicated destinations. If you go to each of those dates and you have a vesselyou won’t need a rescue, that’s great, if not, stay there, don’t move, we’ll come get you — using the Trailblazer, and so on, until you get to 1290.”
Quentin said, “Who's using the Trailblazer in this scenario?”
I said, “It sounds like Lochinvar, Magnus, and Fraoch.”
Fraoch groaned.
Lochinvar shoveled in a forkful of waffles and moaned happily, “Does all the food taste as if God placed heaven upon it?”
Magnus said, “Just Chef Zach’s food — his is the best.”
Lochinvar said, “Ye want me tae use the Trailblazer? If I can come back and hae these fancy cakes with honey sauce and whipped clouds, I will do anythin’ ye ask of me.”
Fraoch said, “Ye are only sayin’ it because ye haena done it before.”
We stayed long at the table, eating breakfast and drinking coffee, but then we began loading up food and supplies for James and Quentin. Zach packed a cooler and Quentin went to town, returning with a small, non-military ATV. We were able to pack some supplies on it.
He said, “It’s noisy though, we can’t drive it around, but it will work for escapes.”
Sophie said, “Escapes!”
James said, “It’s for worst case scenarios. We’re only going in and out of time periods, checking the path. Quentin’s packed a couple of beacons, we’ll put them out wherever we land, and if I have any trouble, I’ll just stay tight. Fraoch and Magnus and Lochinvar will come for us. Right, that’s the plan?” He looked around. “Sophie is nervous so we need to make sure she knows, that’s the plan. Someone promises to come, right?”
Magnus nodded. “Of course, we will come for ye.”
Fraoch said, “That’s the plan, we will be ready tae go if ye daena return on the morrow.”
CHAPTER 65 - KAITLYN
It took all day to pack the stuff, many meetings to plan the strategy, there was a printed calendar with dates, times, and a ton of research to come up with the coordinates of out-of-the-way time-jump zones.
I spoke to Sophie after dinner, “Are you very nervous about James leaving?”
She said, “Aye, but he will return verra soon, on the morrow, and I will make m’self busy with the bairns until then.”
I said, “This is a very weird situation because I have memories of you that you don’t have. They’re fading though, it’s like they’re weak.”
“I ken, I was speaking with Master James about it. He has memories of mourning me, and yet I am here. Tis verra complicated.” She looked down at her feet.“I dinna want tae say anything, but because of losing me, James is verra frightened. He was pretending earlier when he was persuadingmetae be brave. He daena want anyone tae ken, but he is desperately afraid of losin’ me again. This is why he is so determined tae go on this test of the timeline. He is worried that if the timeline inna stable I will simply disappear.”
She looked out over the lake. “I daena ken how tae help him, he is afraid something will happen tae me, but he canna say what it is, he needs tae relax, tae ‘chill’, is that what ye call it? Tae chill?”
“Exactly, you want him to chill.” I added, “I don’t know how to help him either, except that with time he will relax, once he knows the timeline is stable he’ll feel more secure. We hope. And those memories will fade for him too. Then he will totally chill.”
James came down to the dock to check on her and she smiled, and they wandered toward the clearing to kiss goodbye.
And then James and Quentin were gone.
* * *
The following morning Tracy came to help. Emma helped her get acquainted with Zach’s needs, then said, “I’ll be out on the porch, if you need help with anything, tell Zach. If Zach is who you need help with, just come outside and yell, ‘Emma!’ and I’ll come running. He curses all the time, my apologies in advance.”
Tracy said, “That’s okay, he dropped five f-bombs when I delivered groceries yesterday, I won’t be surprised.”
