“Tis a drone, it can hear ye. It can see ye. And it is armed against ye.”
“Tis livin’, Og Maggy? Can it be killed?”
The drone’s small camera silently turned, found me, its mark, and aimed on m’face. “Nae, tis nae livin’ but it can be ended all the same.” I raised my voice, “Tis only a cowardly weapon, used by a verra small man, shoot it if it so much as blinks.”
A voice, slithery and so loud it hurt m’ears, erupted from the drone. “If we wanted to kill your family, if we wanted to dismantle your castle, we would have done it already!”
Up close I could see the drone was the 11-EOS Hunter, an older design which gave me a sense of relief. My mother, or Hammond, wouldna be usin’ these outdated machines, not when they had the newer ones in our arsenal.
I attempted tae make m’voice commandin’ though I was speakin’ tae nothing but a flyin’ mechanical-bird. “Tae whom am I spaekin’?”
There was a pause, the booming voice said, “I am Lord Philip Delapointe!”
“Och aye, my step-brother. Dinna I tell ye nae tae bother me again? Dinna we sign a treaty?” I kept m’gun aimed on the camera. “The side of this drone bears the seal of m’crown, from the Kingdom of Riaghalbane, how dost ye hae m’weapons?”
There was another long pause.
“Ye are a thief. Ye are a criminal and ye should be imprisoned. But instead ye are takin’ the side of a usurper in a kingdom ye ken nothin’ about. Ye are in over yer head.”
The voice said, “If you do not come, your men will not survive the night.”
“I want ye tae ken that I warned ye that day that if ye broke the treaty I would kill ye for the trouble. Ye hae tested m’patience, tis done.” The guns on the drone, telescoped out, moved from side tae side, aimin’ at each of us. Twas terrifyin’ tae the men, they cowered. I dinna like tae be on this side of the gun barrel.
I asked, “Did ye turn off the vessels?”
Silence.
“I want ye tae turn the vessels back on. There are women and children who need tae go tae safety. If I come, I come without Archie, I want ye tae release m’men and turn the vessels on so the women and children can leave. Promise me that nae one will be hurt.”
“Archie is required or your men will die.”
“If ye kill m’men how will ye require me tae come?”
“You know we will begin shooting at the castle.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Kaitlyn at the top of the stairs.
“Archie is a bairn, he is nae necessary tae the discussion. This is between me and Roderick.”
“Roderick is demanding him.”
“I am Roderick’s king, he daena get tae demand an audience with m’son, a bairn. Roderick is a coward to ask it. I will be there, alone, in two hours.”
Silence.
“You tell Roderick he better be there when I get there, because he will answer for this.”
I kept the gun leveled on the drone as the camera withdrew. The drone retreated down the wall and flew across the field to the forest.
Kaitlyn rushed tae me from the stairwell and threw herself in my arms.
I said, “I never liked that man, and now he has aligned himself with Roderick, I like him even less.”
“I don’t see how we get out of this. Do you?”
“Nae, but rarely do I see m’way out of anythin’, yet here I still stand.” I held her face in my hands. “I need ye tae continue checkin’ the vessels, we need tae ken as soon as they are working. Ye need tae get Archie tae a safe place as soon as they are turned on — ye need tae go.”
“Where?”
“Go tae Maine, just after we left, we have the lake house, hide, I will come there.”
“Yeah, I could do that.”
“Hire security.”
“I will. You’ll come?”
“As soon as I can.”
“I don’t see how, it’s never seemed so bleak.”
“Never? Ye hae seen me marched away between guards. Ye hae seen me with a gun tae m’head.”
“True...”
“This time I am goin’ of m’own volition.” I smiled at her. “Tis almost as if I hae the upper hand.”
She sighed. “It barely seems like it. And usually our vessels work.”
“Aye, except that time in the snowy forest, dost ye remember the day, Kaitlyn? Ye were tryin’ tae kill me by nae listening to me.”
She smoothed the hair back from m’brow. “You sir, were trying