The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,85
was unleashed.”
Fraoch’s voice from a foot lower. “Tis war a’ready.” He climbed up me and lay across me, his arms folded over his head.
An explosion rocked the building we were on and men were yelling all around us. General Hammond appeared and helped Quentin up. “Why are you here? Where is King Magnus?”
Quentin said, “He couldn’t come, but he sent me to warn you.”
“Warn me of what?”
Quentin yelled, “This! And we need to speak to Lady Mairead!”
“As you can see, we have a bit of a situation.”
“Where is she?”
“At the Royal Museum, she’s moving the art away. I am sending you there.”
Another explosion, I screamed. Fraoch said, “I hae ye,” and pulled me to standing, hovering over me, protecting me.
“Do you know who we’re fighting?” asked Hammond.
“Yeah, his name is Padraig Stuart. He takes the castle and conquers the kingdom in about three days. Magnus sent you this.” Quentin passed Hammond a stack of papers. “He wants you to implement Uaimh Bhinn.”
“Okay,” Hammond looked around nodding. “There’s nothing else though? Uaimh Bhinn is a last resort.”
“Magnus was captured about three days from now, held captive. We came to rescue him, and when I called you, you said to me, ’I’m pinned down in the WAD-lands.’”
Hammond blinked. “Thank you for letting me know.” He waved the papers. “I’ll read these. Load up in that helicopter.”
Quentin said, “We need to remove the vessels from the vault.”
Hammond said, “I will bring them to the museum before you go.”
Fraoch rushed me to the waiting helicopter, yelling, “I never wanted tae go in one again!”
“This one better stay in the air!”
Quentin, racing behind us, yelled, “I’m way too old for this!”
“Aye!”
I climbed in the helicopter. Hammond placed a helmet on my head while I strapped in. He yelled, “Hold on!”
Fraoch climbed into the seat beside me. Quentin sat across. Hammond patted the side of the chopper, “I will be there in a moment!” as the helicopter rose into the sky.
“Where are we going?” I had to yell to be heard. We weren’t wearing ear protection so Fraoch jammed his fingers in his ears.
“The Royal Museum! The kingdom is at war and she’s in the freaking museum!”
The night was cold. The ground was black, the forests a deep gray, stark contrast against the pale gray of the smoke filled sky. Explosions ringed the horizon. Blasts shook the earth and clouds glowed red.
Fraoch said, “Och, a firestorm of war. Quentin told me of it, but I haena seen such a thing.”
I held his hand.
As the helicopter turned we looked back over our shoulders at Magnus’s castle, not yet beaten all to hell, but dark, the power down except a few small lights for landing helicopters.
Quentin said, “That was a glorious castle, sad to see it right before it falls.”
It struck me how the lights of a place were part of power and without power, lights, energy, a building would easily fall into ruin.
The helicopter turned again. To the left the ruins of Balloch castle loomed. I had been on these ruins before, on that rooftop with Zach and Katie… I did not like the memory, at all. Evil bad guys had been shooting at us, and here we were again with war in the distance.
A gigantic Museum had been built alongside the ruins. A feat of engineering, and awesome architecture, it was a modernist building that looked like it had Balloch Castle in a chokehold.
Fraoch said, “This is Balloch?”
“Yes,” that’s all I could think of to say.
Quentin was watching to the west, he said, “Shit man, this war is close.” I held Fraoch’s hand tighter.
The helicopter landed on the parking lot in front of the museum.
Everything was shuttered and dark, as if the Royal Museum was hiding from its enemies. As we stepped from the helicopter the explosions and war sounded too close, we raced across the parking lot — Soldiers covered the front of the steps. One shoved the door open and waved us through.
We entered into the pitch black of the interior of the museum.
Lady Mairead rushed through the rotunda, with a flashlight in her hand, she was wearing a jet black floor length gown, with long draping red sleeves. “Colonel Quentin, did ye come tae help?”
Quentin said, “Lady Mairead, hello, but no, we came to get you, Magnus needs to speak to you and—”
“Absolutely not!” She waved her hand for us to follow her and raced away as we trailed along behind her. “I am verra busy savin’ the collection!”