Page 30 of Promises to Keep

Hayley said, “But what about Lady Mairead? He’s loyal to her!”

Magnus said, “She daena return the loyalty. He might have grown tired of waiting for her tae take him seriously.”

Quentin said, “And forthathe would align with your enemies?” He scoffed. “No way, I don’t believe it!”

“Nae, I am only sayin’ we canna be naive. We hae a cousin with a great deal of power and possibly a grudge.”

I joked, “Wehave?”

Magnus chuckled, “Again with the royal we. But it works since I am talking about m’future kingdom.” He added, “Andweare all family.”

Fraoch said, “So we will be mindful of Hammond…” He asked Emma, “Where is this compound?”

Emma had her phone to her ear. “I’m calling about it now. It looks like it’s about a five-hour drive.”

Fraoch said, “Who else is goin’ tae ride for five more hours in this van of tears, please God, nae me. The seats are too cramped and Mookie farts.”

Magnus listed, “James, Sophie, Zach, and Emma will attend, along with Quentin and Beaty, and all the bairns, tae the compound that Emma is...”

We looked over at Emma, she put up her thumb.

“...arranging for us. Then ye will keep the bairns safe and get the household runnin’ while Kaitlyn and I will operate the rescue of Lady Mairead. We need tae check in at Balloch, perhaps go check Paris, we will meet ye at the compound a few days after ye get settled.”

Fraoch said, “What about me and Hayley?”

Magnus said, “Tis up tae ye, Fraoch, ye want tae visit Balloch with us?”

He said, “Iwouldlike tae be able tae fish.”

Hayley said, “You were just fishing four days ago!”

Fraoch joked, “Och is this how long we hae been livin’ in this hellish cityscape where the sidewalks hae gaping holes that ye might fall intae that would send ye tae the bowels of the earth? It feels like ten years!”

We all laughed.

Quentin said, “I disagree, Fraoch and Hayley shouldn’t go with you, we need to continue with our ‘no looping’ strategy and—”

Magnus said, “Because it worked so well this last time.”

Chef Zach said, “But that’s not our fault, that’s because Agnie is—”

I said, “Pure chaotic evil.”

Zach said, “Nice, Katie, well done. Yes, she is chaotic evil, she is everywhere, in all times, one step ahead and her plans are inscrutable. While we figure her out we should be careful and split up our warriors. Hide them away until they’re needed.”

Quentin said, “That I agree with, we ought to have Fraoch at the compound with us—”

Hayley said, “And Aunt Hayley!”

Quentin nodded. “Of course, and that way if you discover something and you aren’t able to deal with it, we can send the next man and then the next.”

Hayley said, “Or woman!”

Zach said, “Absolutely, and like we did before, but this time it actually works.”

CHAPTER 18 - KAITLYN

Emma sat down in front of her laptop. “We got the compound, I’m sending our payment — your ‘Lord of Awe’ title worked wonders, Magnus, that was a great idea. He said we can sign once we’re there, and that he will keep the contracts anonymous.”

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