The Wellspring (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #12) - Diana Knightley Page 0,92
or the time period where they stand, nae in a way that is helpful.”
“Maybe tis a different place than where ye think.”
Magnus nodded.
James said, “I want to add that to my answer too, we need to take the battle to their castle walls. Maybe bring along some meth alligators.”
Magnus looked questioningly.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask, I’ll explain it later.”
“Madame Emma, what is yer opinion?”
“You need to… I don’t know. Really, I have no idea, but we might need more security. If he’s out there and he wants you dead, you need more. It’s hard to imagine more security than what we have, but more all the same. Are we on the run? Are we in hiding?”
“I agree with ye and aye, we are in hidin’.” He turned to Hayley. “Madame Hayley, what dost ye think?”
“You have to go fight for your kingdom, I think—”
“Twill be hard without m’advisor and general, Hammond. Tae wage war would mean Colonel Quentin would hae tae come tae the kingdom—”
“And me, and meth alligators possibly some meth-geese, that’s a thing too,” said James.
Magnus chuckled. “It might be for a long time. I would hae tae take many of ye with me, I daena ken when we would return.”
Emma said, “I don’t like that idea at all now I think about it.”
Magnus turned to Fraoch. “What say ye, Fraoch?”
“I would ride tae battle with ye any day, Og Maggy, but I hope it winna come tae it. This is a small army and I believe we canna accept the loss of any in our ranks. I ken tis a hard thing tae lose Hammond. I ken he was yer commander, a cousin and a friend. I ken ye will be drawn tae avenge him, tae fight for yer rightful throne, but I also hope ye can think of another plan, one in which we get tae go fishin’ taegether more often.”
“I would like that Fraoch, I really would, there has nae been enough of it with us.”
Magnus gripped my hand and squeezed it. “Kaitlyn? Dost ye want tae advise me now?”
“I do. I don’t want you to do anything. I want to just live with you, with our children, and I want your heart to be safe. I don’t want you to have to wear a sword unless its decorative. I want there to be food aplenty, and no more stress.”
“Can I hae horses?”
I laughed. “That’s what I want — for you to have your horses and for there to be peace, you know?”
“I ken.” He turned to Zach. “I hae saved ye for last, Chef Zach, ye hae been an adviser and a friend for many long years and I value yer opinion. What dost ye think I should do?”
Zach shrugged. “I think Beaty made a good point, maybe where he is not where you think he is.”
Emma said, “Zach, how is that helpful?”
“No, hear me out. How’s dickwad got the power he has? The vessels, right? The Trailblazer. We’ve often said the man with the tech wins.” He pointed over at the monitor on the dresser beside the two crates. “I know having that monitor was a game changer for us. Having those pieces of string for the back of the kids’s heads cured a lot of issues. The person holding the Trailblazer gets to rewrite history. The tech is what makes you powerful. There were how many vessels originally?”
“Twenty-three, if tis the correct number.”
“Katie has a list, right, of which vessels belong to which sociopaths, present company not included? So what I’m saying is, gather all the vessels up. All. Of. Them. I mean, keep a couple out for our use, but the rest, gather them up and hide them. Hide them really good. Heck hide everything about them.” He chuckled. “It’s like when Michael and I were growing up, he used to badger me about playing board games with him. Man, I hated playing with him because he didn’t play by the rules and when I argued about it he would cry and get me in trouble with mom. So you know what I did?”
“Nae.”
“I hid all the board games.”
Hayley said, “You did? He told me you lost them because you were careless.”
He shook his head, “Nah, I hid them because he was a dick.”
Hayley laughed. “That’s too funny, Michael had this whole story about how you never took care of your things.”
They both looked at Magnus for his thoughts.
He asked, “So ye think I should gather all the vessels and