Page 54 of Entangled With You

“Ugh. I’m twenty-four. Or am I? You guys were gone so long I might be seventy-four. Why the hell is Tyler here?”

We hid our voices from Baldie and Liam. “Sorry about that. We took a month. Magnus’s ribs are much better, Zach and Emma got married⁠—”

“He finally did it?”

“He did. We came back on this date to be here for Lizbeth’s birth. Sorry we left you for so long. There’s a lot more to tell you about — we were found and Tyler was there and we had to jump — he’s here accidentally.”

Quentin squinted his eyes in Tyler’s direction. “I don’t trust him.”

“Join the club, but he’s here and he’s going to help and⁠—”

“Well, we can use it. This here is a shitstorm of epic proportions.”

We all pulled chairs up to the table and Magnus ordered a round of whisky. “Where’s Sean?”

Liam gruffly said, “He has taken the Earl’s side in it. There is a man there, Commander Davis, he says he is from Donnan’s kingdom. He is here tae arrest ye for crimes ye committed there. He’ll be wantin’ your wife too.”

Magnus leaned forward. “The Earl means tae turn me over?”

Baldie said, “The Earl wants the weapons, we could use them in the comin’ wars. Davis has promised more weapons if they will turn ye over. We have had a rift in the family over it.”

Magnus scowled. “And Sean is with the Earl on this?”

“Och aye, Sean is with the Earl. Lizbeth tried tae persuade him tae see the reason of it, but he sent us away, and is convinced the weapons will bring the Campbells to power. He winna listen tae reason.”

I asked, “Where is Lizbeth now?”

“We had tae steal her away tae the home of McClelland. His wife, Madame Greer, is carin’ for her as the bairn is near.”

Magnus and I looked at each other. Magnus said, “Kaitlyn would like to see her, she has brought medicines and trained with a⁠—”

Liam’s brow drew down. “I canna let ye use your witchcraft, Magnus. There has been enough of the work of the devil here already.”

Magnus said, “Tis nae the work of the devil. I promise ye, as a brother, my wife can help bring Lizbeth through tae safety. My Kaitlyn is a god-fearin’ woman and...” He looked around searching for words. Then focused his speech directly to both Baldie and Liam, “I ken tis mighty devilish the weapons that have come, but they arna mine. They belonged tae Donnan and they have chased me here. I came askin’ for refuge. I dinna mean tae bring such destruction. I will fight with everythin’ I have tae bring our family back taegether.”

Liam looked skeptical.

Magnus continued, “Ye remember they were nae with me, they were against me. They were nae with Kaitlyn, they were used against her. We escaped with no more than our lives. I had tae depart tae be healed, but I am home now tae fight or if tis the only way tae remove the weapons I will turn myself over tae the Commander, what was his name?”

Baldie said, “Davis.”

“Aye. Are there more men?

“He makes the number six.”

Tyler said, “That’s not that many.”

Baldie said, “They have the weapons of a larger army, they daena need tae waste the souls on us.”

Magnus hung his head. “Ye have tae believe me, Liam, I am in earnest. I will lay down my life if I have tae, tae undo what has happened here. Please allow Kaitlyn tae see Lizbeth.”

Liam sat quietly for a long dreadful moment, then said. “Aye, Young Magnus, I will.”

Baldie said, “And though ye say ye are willin’ tae lay down yer life, I ask ye tae remain alive long enough tae rid us of these weapons. If they arna yours, I surely hope ye can remove them and turn Sean’s mind back to his former self.”

Quentin said, “I thought he was on our side too. I was in charge of the weapons. He helped me keep them locked up. We had a deal, use them if the castle was attacked. Then this Commander Davis strutted in and gave the Earl this whole bullshit story about you. Sean believed it. He all but forced Lizbeth from the castle.”

Magnus asked, “Maybe he was getting ye all out tae safety.”