Guardians of Time (24 page)

David raised his eyebrows. “Did you tell him
you knew the clinic was surrounded?”

“No,” Callum said. “I’m holding those cards
close to my chest, for now.”

“Do you think he bought it?” Anna said.

“Are you asking if I trust him?” Callum
said. “Of course I don’t.”

“Eat.” Cassie came up behind Anna with a
plate of food in her hand and prodded her towards the table.

Abraham had made a large breakfast, complete
with Welsh bacon, which he and Rachel ate unapologetically along
with their eggs and fried bread. It wasn’t so different from the
food she’d normally eat for breakfast in the medieval world. It was
hard to go wrong with bacon and eggs, and everybody—medieval and
modern—was satisfied. As they sat around the large table next to a
fireplace that wouldn’t have been out of place in a great hall,
Anna could almost believe that they’d been miraculously transported
home. But no, that was coming later.

It was only at the end of the meal that
Abraham looked up and said, “I’m sorry. Are there any vegans among
you?”

Everyone laughed, though Anna had to explain
the concept to Math before he got it. “Monks don’t eat meat on many
days, but why would anyone else turn down good food when it’s
offered?”

“In this world, many people oppose the
killing of animals for food,” Anna said, and at Math’s continued
stare, she added, “Large farms keep animals in small cages or pens
all their lives and stuff them full of chemicals. It’s inhumane and
unhealthy.”

“But—

Anna smiled and put a hand on Math’s arm.
“This is one aspect of the modern world I really can explain later.
Now—” she looked around the table, “—my guess is that it’s time to
go.”

Christopher pushed away his plate. He’d kept
pace with David’s seconds and thirds, which given that he was
seventeen, was no surprise. “I want to come with you when you go
back to the Middle Ages.”

Uncle Ted put out a hand to him. “Son—”
while at the same time Aunt Elisa said, “Christopher!”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about this,”
Christopher said, not heeding his parents. “I know it isn’t a
decision to be made lightly, but it’s one I’ve made.”

“I know you want to go, sport.” Uncle Ted’s
hand came down on his son’s shoulder, though he met Anna’s eyes and
gave his own head a slight shake, which Anna took to mean
you’re
going over my dead body
. “I’d love to go too, but we just
can’t. Think of your mother and sister.”

“It isn’t their life.” Christopher kept his
attention entirely on David.

Aunt Elisa scoffed and rose to her feet.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I do too, Mom!”

Anna’s mother put out a hand to her sister.
“Elisa, may I?”

Aunt Elisa had been getting along well with
Mom up until now, but color had flooded her face. She looked like
she was going to protest again, but Uncle Ted drew her back to stop
her from talking.

Mom rested her elbows on the table and
studied Christopher over hands clasped in front of her chin. “You’d
be leaving this world for another universe, one you might never
come back from, and at seventeen, like it or not, you aren’t a man
yet. Not here. This isn’t your decision to make.”

Christopher opened his mouth, but Mom
forestalled him with a raised finger.

“It’s David’s decision. He is the King of
England, and in the medieval world, he would be your liege lord.
You might not think you have to obey your father, but you do have
to obey him.”

“I know that,” Christopher said. “I accept
that.”

“But David hasn’t given you permission to
come with us,” Mom said.

All eyes turned to David, who studied
Christopher for a moment before putting down his fork. “My mom is
right.”

Christopher’s chin was wrinkled like a prune
and his expression mutinous.

But then David canted his head. “Still, she
might not always be. If I do come back, we will speak of this
again. At that time, you can decide what is right for you.”

Anna had seen David speak like this dozens
of times, to many different people. It was as if he and Christopher
were the alone in the room. It was David at his best.

Slowly Christopher eased back in his chair.
“Okay. I will hold you to that.”

Aunt Elisa let out a trembling breath, and
Uncle Ted pulled her away from the table before she could ruin the
moment. In another few seconds, everyone else was standing,
clearing the table, and getting their things together to leave.

Except David and Christopher, who still sat
looking at each other. “Do you mean it?” Christopher said.

“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” David
said. “If this is really something you want, you’d better do what
you can to make yourself ready. I heard your grades weren’t very
good last quarter.”

The mutinous look was back. David ignored
it, getting to his feet and moving to where he’d left his laptop.
Anna watched Christopher sit at the table for a few seconds, and
then she pulled him up to give him a hug. When she let go, she
said, “For now, we need you here, keeping this end of our lives
safe, Christopher.”

She put her hands on both sides of his face.
He was nearly six feet tall, so she had to reach up. Seeing him
like this made Anna miss her own boys even more. Cadell, at seven,
was four years younger than Elen, but far more independent than
many eleven-year-olds. Hardly a morning went by, however, when Bran
didn’t come in to her room, usually after Math was already up and
gone, to snuggle with her. She could see both of them in
Christopher, who in his disappointment was looking much younger
than his seventeen years.

“How can I possibly help with that?” he
said.

“You’re a smart boy. You’ve had a taste of
what it’s like for us when we come here, running around Wales like
we have. What do we need help with most?”

He scoffed. “It isn’t like learning Welsh is
going to do any good. You already speak it. But with those agents—”
he broke off, his eyes widening with sudden realization. “I could
join the FBI—”

Anna cut him off with a finger to his lips.
“You should do what you want. It’s your life—one which you must
lead
here
because David might not come back for a long
time—but if you really do want to make a difference for us when we
return, having an ally in law enforcement, even in the United
States, would be helpful. Alternatively, becoming an engineer or a
doctor could be very useful too. We need educated people in the
Middle Ages.”

She had meant only to appease him and to
make him less resentful of his mother and father, but she could see
the gears turning in his head as he considered the
possibilities.

“I know you’re going to make good choices,”
she said.

The sun was just rising when they gathered
in the oldest part of the house in preparation for their departure.
It was snowing in earnest again, so it wasn’t as if they could
actually see the sun, but Papa, at least, had taken a walk outside
and returned with a more contented look on his face. He knew this
region of Wales like the back of his hand. Seven hundred years and
the English conquest couldn’t change that.

Callum called for everyone’s attention. “We
have multiple tasks before us. The first is to return Ted, Elisa,
and the children to the Black Boar.”

“I’m worried about what will happen to them
when we do that,” Mom said. “MI-5 might still want to question
them. Tate might not honor our bargain.”

“If that’s what happens, it happens,” Uncle
Ted said.

“Under the circumstances, I find it likely
that with our presence and the prince’s speech, MI-5 have bigger
fish to fry,” Callum said.

“Tell them as much of the truth as you wish
to,” Cassie said to Uncle Ted. “You spent Christmas Eve with us,
and then we went on our way.”

“Unfortunately for her, Cassie needs to stay
with the van, ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” Callum said. “I
would prefer that at least Rachel, Abraham, and Meg stay with her
while some of us escort Ted and the others into the city, and the
rest scout the perimeter of the castle square.”

David had confided to Anna that if he’d had
his way, Abraham would have been left behind at the house, but
Abraham was insistent that he come with them. He’d heard enough
about the sudden nature of the appearances and disappearances
between the Middle Ages and the twenty-first century to fear that a
sudden event might take Rachel away from him again.

For her part, Anna liked Abraham very much
and thought he could be a great addition to the family. He might be
showing them only his good side, but since his good side had
included accepting their origins in the Middle Ages, Mom’s need for
care, and housing them for the night at Aber—which Anna still could
only just believe he owned—he would have to turn into an ogre
pretty quickly for anyone to object strongly to his company.

“I don’t like it.” Mom frowned. “But I also
know that I’m not trained for anything that will help you now.”

“Nor am I.” Rachel sighed. “I hate being
left behind.”

Cassie tsked through her teeth. “You and me
both.”

Abraham, however, raised a hand. “You might
want to include me in the party that scouts the area around the
bridge. At the very least, I have an invitation to sit in one of
the VIP chairs during the prince’s speech.” Abraham looked sheepish
as everyone gaped at him. “None of you are supposed to be here, so
it might come in handy if we’re stopped. I also know Caernarfon
well.”

David was chuckling quietly to himself. “I
get it now. You’re a Welshophile, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t ever heard that term before, but
you’re not wrong,” Abraham said.

“If Abraham goes with David and Llywelyn—”
Callum hesitated, and he actually turned a little red.

David smirked. “We aren’t kings here,
Callum. You can say our names.”

Anna gave a sudden laugh, realizing as she
thought back over all the interactions she’d witnessed between
Callum and David and Papa over the last day, not once had he
actually said their names. She was also kind of amazed that Callum
wasn’t trying to leave her behind too, but she supposed her black
belt in karate, ancient history as it was, qualified her in his
mind as a combatant.

“Mark and I will go with Math, Anna, and the
Shepherds to the Black Boar, after which we’ll make our way to the
castle square. We’ll keep in touch by mobile phone. These
particular mobiles can conference all of us into one call, which
means we can stay in constant communication.”

“You’re going to be inside the city walls,
and there are only a few exits,” David said. “You need to be
careful—and Math should leave his sword in the van so as to be less
conspicuous.”

Math frowned, but he nodded.

“That leaves Abraham with David and
Llywelyn,” Callum said.

“I’ll stick with David too,” Darren said.
“You never know when an MI-5 badge will come in handy.”

“I expect security to be everywhere.” Callum
checked his phone. “We have an hour and a half before the meeting.
I want to know how many men Tate brings and where they are.”

Mark lifted his chin. “Only Math has never
popped up on MI-5’s radar. They may forgo men on the ground in
favor of cameras.”

“We should expect both,” Callum said. “With
the Prince of Wales—” he gestured to David, “—not you, of course,
speaking in nine hours, all of Caernarfon will be crawling with
security.”

“That’s why we will park again in the Tesco
parking lot,” Cassie said. “From there, I can monitor what all of
you are doing and be on hand to pick any of you up if I need
to.”

“It’s also is a quick drive from there to
the other side of the swing bridge if Abraham’s friend needs an
assist,” Callum said, “though the road is really narrow.”

“I know my job, Callum.”

Callum put out a hand to his wife. “I didn’t
mean—”

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“I didn’t either. It’s okay. We should go.”

They drove through the darkened village and
entered the motorway heading west, driving past Bangor towards
Caernarfon. Few people were on the move yet. Anna sat beside Elen,
who grinned and said, “This was the best Christmas
ever!”

Anna put an arm around her shoulders.
“People are better than presents.”

Behind her, Anna heard Aunt Elisa whisper to
Mom, “If I were a better sister, I’d say that I want to come with
you, but I don’t.”

“You don’t have to explain,” Mom said. “It’s
totally okay.”

Meanwhile, Uncle Ted bent to Anna’s ear.
“What did you say to Christopher?”

Anna smiled. “You can thank me later.” Then
she laughed. “Or not.”

Reaching Caernarfon, Cassie navigated the
city with aplomb and stopped in the Tesco parking lot as
planned.

Anna elbowed David in the ribs as he got out
of the van, since he was eyeing the nearby McDonalds again. “You
just ate.”

He patted his stomach. “I could get
something to go.”

“After,” Mom said, overhearing. “It’s
Christmas Day. They’re not open anyway.”

Callum laughed. “Since David isn’t going to
be allowed to eat again, we’d best get started.”

Anna

F
eeling pressed for
time now that they’d arrived at the Tesco, the companions split up.
David, Abraham, Darren, and Papa wended their way along the river
that ran past the castle, heading for the swing bridge, while
Anna’s group walked through the neighborhood to the east of the
castle square.

Within a few paces of entering the
neighborhood beyond the main street, they saw that Mark hadn’t been
wrong about the high security. Men in black coats and yellow
reflective gear were already setting up barriers everywhere,
stopping all local traffic and waving only official vehicles
through. The security men mistook them for tourists—one benefit of
being with Aunt Elisa’s family.