The Empire and the Wolf King (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #21)

48. Chapter 48 - Karrie

CHAPTER 48 - KARRIE

BALLOCH CASTLE - PRESENT DAY

T hat was how we ended up standing on the bank of the river Tay while Liam shoveled dirt off a metal box that had been buried beside the roots of a tall tree.

He lifted the lid and looked inside. There was a handgun, a box of bullets, a bunch of pens, a stack of paper, a small sack, and a flint. Finch crouched beside it and pulled out the sack to look inside. He poured the contents into his palm: small gemstones and an assortment of coins.

I asked, “What is that for?”

Liam said, “From what we are gatherin’, this is an emergency vessel. If they need it they can dig it up.”

I said, “Oh, and there’s money and a gun, in case.”

Finch poured the gems back into the sack, tightened the drawstring and placed it back in the box.

Liam said, “I am goin’ tae go fast, I daena want tae touch it.” He wore gardening gloves, rustled through the tissue paper in the cardboard box, grasped the vessel, and quickly flung it into the metal box. It clanked on the bottom. “Och, did I break it?”

We all peered down.

“Nae, it’s fine.” He poked it again. “It’s good, right, I did it?”

Blakely said, “We dug it up, we stole it, we used it, and now we’re replacing it. We cannot be blamed for anything going wrong. But also, I don’t know if this matters…” She reached in her pocket and pulled out three ChapSticks and dropped them into the chest. “In case someone in medieval times needs it.”

Liam said, “I daena think this is for the fellows in medieval times. This castle haena been built then. How would they find it?”

She said, “Oh right, the castle hasn’t been built yet, so… it’s for people time traveling in the…?”

“More recent centuries, I think.”

They both looked down on the box.

She said, “They will still need ChapStick though. I wish we could put some batteries and a bottle of antibiotics in as well.”

Liam said, “There’s no’ enough room for everything they might need in their world.”

We walked down the road about a mile to a small stone circle in a field.

Blakely was looking down on her phone at the map coordinates, Liam had a shovel on his shoulder, walking merrily. They both were dressed casually, looking like rich people who were outside working in their garden.

Finch and I, on the other hand, looked totally out of place, like we were from LA. Finch looked like a rich rock star: his boots were shiny, he had bracelets on his wrist, his clothes were dark, and his jeans were perfectly tailored. And I looked like his wife, my clothes were designer, the kind that were for traveling with a rock star, with the possibility of being photographed. Neither of us brought clothes for digging in the garden.

We came to the stone circle and I said, “I was jet lagged and ready to just sleep and somehow I’ve been tricked into sightseeing.”

Blakely laughed, “I was just going to hangout and hear all about LA and civilization, but here I am about to be a tour guide…”

She grinned. “Do you know anything about the Croft Moraig stone circle?”

I said, “No, tell me about the Croft Moraig stone circle. You’ve got facts?”

Liam said, “Aye, she has facts, all she does is research the stuff around here.”

“It’s fascinating!”

He said, “Accordin’ tae my personal research, this is where the local teens come out at night tae drink beer.”

Blakely said, “I won’t bore you with details, but this stone circle was excavated in 1965, it dates back to 2000 BC.”

“4000 years old, that’s amazing!”

Finch looked around, “Right here on the side of the road?”

Liam said, “Aye.”

Blakely said, “There are 1300 stone circles in Britain and Ireland.” She looked down at her phone, “But the reason we are here is because we are looking for the guardian tree. On the north side, beside the boulder, about a foot down, there will be a chest…”

Liam looked over her shoulder and pointed. “It's that one.”

There was a large, gnarly looking tree, the largest in the area. I said, “Looks like a guardian, and there’s the small boulder.”

The tree had grown on and over a boulder, now embedded in the base of its trunk, lifted a bit by the root nestled around it.

Liam walked over and ran his fingers over the boulder. “Check this out, it’s got an M engraved on it.”

We all looked. Blakely said, “Magnus?”

Liam nodded. “North side, too.” He stuck the point of his shovel into the dirt, right in front of the boulder, stepped on the spade, lifted a hunk of dirt, and dumped it to the side.

I joked to Finch, “We came to Scotland to watch Liam dig holes.”

Finch said, “Apparently from what we are learning from the LA lady givin’ us a tour, four thousand years ago everyone in Scotland was draggin’ big stones around, now we are joinin’ in the fun, carryin’ shovels and digging holes under boulders. We are a verra plain folk.”

Liam laughed and dug some more.

He shifted and shoveled up dirt until he got the top of a chest exposed, half under the shadow of the boulder. He used his hands to pull the rest of the dirt away.

“The boulder is in the way, we canna get it out without breakin’ it. Let me just open it down there in the hole.”

He crouched and looked all around it. “I canna see a lock.” He tried to pull up the lid and felt all around the edges. “Canna find a release. Did Lady Mairead give us any more instructions?”

Blakely looked like she was reading, then said, “Nothing, but she seems like she isn’t sure the box is even here, so maybe we just report back…?”

Finch crouched beside him. “It looks like a pad for yer handprint.”

Liam pressed his hand, but nothing happened. He said, “I am too muddy.” He wiped his hand on his jeans and tried again.

Finch leaned forward and put his hand down on the pad and the lid flipped up.

Liam said, “Och, is it because ye are a brother, ye think?”

Finch shrugged.

We all crowded around to look inside. The box was empty except for a few pens, some pieces of paper, and one piece was folded in the middle with handwriting on it.

Finch said, “What are we lookin’ for?”

Blakely said, “We’re taking an inventory for when she calls later today. She wants to know if there are weapons or a vessel.”

Liam said, “Nae weapons, nae vessel, nae coins or jewels, nae ChapStick.”

Blakely noted it on her phone.

Finch pulled the letter from the box. “Just some pens and this note.” He read for a moment. “It’s a love letter from someone named Lochinvar.”

I said, “Lochinvar? We met Lochinvar! He’s one of the brothers. Young guy, why would he leave a letter in this box?”

Finch turned the letter over and read both sides. “It’s a letter from Lochinvar and a letter tae Lochinvar from a woman named Ash. Look, it’s dated 1683.”

Blakely said, “We ought to take it to the house, we can give it to Lady Mairead when she returns.”