The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,27

in your relationship where she has asked ye tae do somethin’ against the crown?”

“Never.”

I pressed m’palm tae the sensor pad by the door and reminded him, “Daena forget tae add Kaitlyn tae the security system, I daena ken why, but it bothers me she inna in the system.”

“I will make sure of it just before I go to Florida.”

“Good, thank ye.”

We entered the main room of the vaults, the floor filled with museum cases full of war plunder and medals. Spears, swords, and shields lined the walls. Armor and antique weapons filled shelves and drawers.

I pressed m’palm tae another pad and gained access tae the interior vault, a room that was much the same it had always been as if the men of auld, the Campbell men who had begun this journey centuries ago, had deposited the crates here and then had built the castle walls around them.

There were four crates and within them, the totality of all the vessels on the earth, held within our coffers. Unless they were being used by myself or Lady Mairead or our immediate family, or someone — and this was where the trouble lay — unbeknownst tae us.

When Lady Mairead and I had begun this journeying, we dinna ken of the true count of the vessels, because Donnan had been the guard of them. It took Kaitlyn discovering the book by Johnne Cambell with his written transcription of what happened on the date of Samhain, November 1, 1557, tae understand how many vessels there were.

In Johnne Cambell’s book he had described the dangerous days after the discovery of the vessels. Most of the men carrying the vessels had been massacred; one last remaining man had been tortured until he told Johnne Cambell of their mysteries and glories.

Tis how Johnne Cambell gained the power over the vessels and the ability tae jump time. He created a kingdom in the future, and jumped through time, looting and pillaging the world.

And then there was my ascendancy. I had become responsible for all the kingdom, the lands, the loot, and the future, and my son was next in line.

Kaitlyn had discovered all of this with the book: on its back pages a list accounted for the vessels and their individual markings. It was how we kept track of them, as our family grew. We always kent how many vessels there were.

But now Lady Mairead had said, twenty, and I felt it down in m’bones that twas nae right.

There were four crates. The first was empty, and had been since the beginning, except for straw, this was firm in m’memory.

There was a piece of paper taped tae the end of the second crate: seven vessels. I dug through the crate and counted them, they numbered seven and matched the list.

The third crate listed seven. Four lay bundled in the straw within. From this crate had been taken the three vessels Lady Mairead, Kaitlyn, and I used. I corroborated the markings, and they were correct. I had made the lists a year ago, I remembered writing them, and the handwriting was my own.

I checked the last antique wood crate, the list on the side, said it would hold six. I dug through the straw within and found one vessel, but I kent the location of the five missing: One had been lent tae Hayley. One kept here for the castle in emergencies or wartime. One that I had at our home in Florida, for Zach or Quentin tae use, a couple hidden at the ready.

I looked at the list for a long time, it was correct, the markings matched what I kent, but—

Quentin said, “It all makes sense, right Boss? Like, this is right… right?”

“Nae, I think… it seems right but I am nae…” I glanced at the list again. “The list is correct, tis the amount that hae always been here.”

Hammond asked, “How does it explain the empty crate?”

“I remember writing the list, here I remember it, but m’memory is clouded, as if I am nae rememberin’ it right.”

Hammond said, “The only people who can get in or out of this vault is…”

“Myself, Lady Mairead—

Quentin said, “Now imprisoned for treason, so she’s not really trustworthy.”

“Aye, true, Kaitlyn had access, but her name has been stricken from the security.” I added, “The trouble is we hae this empty crate, if the vessels were stolen afore they got here in the vault, if they hae never been here, there would be a different number. The only — I need tae