It was humid but cool, and felt like there was a river nearby. The forest hadn’t seemed like the south. It was sunset, and I could hear noisy bugs.
It didn’t seem like the southeast. Something told me it was a Mid-Atlantic state, possibly the North.
Did it seem like Maine?
Unfortunately there were a lot of states I hadn’t traveled to… I didn’t really know. But I had seen houses like this in Virginia and Pennsylvania when Emma and I had been scanning Zillow looking to buy more safe houses.
Our feet thudded across the porch, and we were shoved through the front door to a foyer. The floors were wood, there was a fancy wooden stair that went up to the second floor. There was wallpaper. I looked for light switches, but there were just oil lamps on the wall. There was a grandfather clock in the entry…
A s we passed through the kitchen. I took a quick scan, there was no… I looked over my other shoulder: no refrigerator.
Definitely Colonial. Eighteenth century, probably. But where?
Magnus raced for the kitchen counter, but was grabbed and shoved, hard against the doorframe. Groaning with the jolt of pain.
I could see Magnus’s back ahead of me stretched in his shirt. His arms were bound, he was surrounded by mercenaries: he looked tight and ready to fight. Angry. Deeply angry.
I was angry too. It was very hard to get the sound of my children’s screams out of my mind.
The mercenaries pushed us out the back door and into a backyard, thick air and bugs buzzing. There were fireflies flashing over the grass. Then a hatch door was opened and Magnus and I were shoved down the steps into a cellar under the house.
It was dark, grungy, musty and damp, and frigidly cold.
Magnus hit the wall, stumbled, then righted himself.
A soldier stepped aside and Asgall sat down on the top step. It was difficult to make out his expression because he was lit from behind by the ambient light of the moon. We looked up as if we were down in a cave.
He lit a cigarette, dragged from it, exhaled smoke, then said, “Magnus, the reason I hae asked ye here today?—”
Magnus grumbled. “Ye hae seized me, the rightful King of Scotland, against m’will.”
“Och, ye hae done worse tae me.Iwas the rightful King of Scotland. Ye usurped m’throne with yer time traveling and stole m’queen and the son she was carrying. These are the acts of a usurper and a fiend. Did ye ken, Magnus, I had tae rebuild m’compound? And now I hae been lookin’ for m’queen through time.”
“Och, these are the reasonings of a lunatic. I was crowned king at Scone in?—”
He drew in a long drag of cigarette and blew smoke out, making rings against the sky. “Daena be ridiculous, Magnus, it is all as I said it was. But now I hae set this all tae rights. Ye hae been overthrown. Edward has intervened and will be appointin’ his own man tae the throne, probably John Balliol.” He shrugged. “Whoever, the important thing is that Edward will be beholden tae me... he will do whatever I want?—”
“How long hae ye been advisin’ the English King?”
“He has been workin’ for me for a verra long time.” He grinned. “As will yer mother.” He jabbed out his cigarette on the step.
Magnus said, “That is not possible. Lady Mairead wouldnever.”
“Well, not yet, mind ye, but shewillwork for me, once she finds ye hae been captured. Once asked...she will be highly persuadable, she just has tae learn what I am capable of. Case in point, I easily gained control of Scotland, England, the Colonies, and then the European continent. When I think on all that I own or rule over… even I am shocked by how easy twas.” He jabbed out his cigarette on the steps above and with tobacco-stained fingers lit another.
“I ruleallof it, Magnus.” He drew in a long puff of the cigarette and exhaled smoke in puffs around his head. “Tis an empire.”
Magnus groaned.
“What, ye daena like what I am tellin’ ye?”
Magnus said, “Nae, I think tis stupid. I think ye need friends tae run these soliloquies past, so they can tell ye that ye sound like an idiot. A friend would say, ‘Och nae, Arsegall, daena say such stupid things tae Magnus, ye are goin’ tae give him even more reasons tae kill ye, just tae shut ye up?—’”
He watched the burning end of his cigarette and spoke lazily, “Ye forget, Magnus, I am holdin’ yer wife as well. Dost ye want me tae teach her a lesson for yer insolence?”
I shrank back behind Magnus.
Magnus said, “Ye daena hae a lot of listenin’ comprehension, Arsegall. Ye see, twas not me sayin’ it, twas yer friends that ought tae hae said it. I canna help it that ye dinna get very good advice. Perhaps ye daena hae any friends, maybe.”
