Page 49

“Oh my god, Tyler, do you see it? There’s more.”

He said, “Look, stay here, don’t move.” He crouched and ran around the front of the truck leaving me to myself.

My view was the dock. If I could get there. I could pull up the vessels and get us away. Tyler fired. I raced to the dock hunched over. Shitshitshitshitshit.

I dropped down on the dock, grasped the long chain hanging over the edge, and began tugging it up, hand over hand over hand from the water. It was heavy and long. The water was ice cold. Within a second my hands were ice-cold-freezing-rigid-painful. “Fuck.” One hand and another up and up. The chain dragged splashing and splattering. I took glances over my shoulder at Magnus — fighting for his life.

My eye caught as Magnus swung, misstepped, and stumbled forward. “Please, please, God, please let him live.

One of the soldiers jumped off his horse and charged me on the dock. Swinging his blade. Coming fast.

Tyler was a few steps behind, yelling wildly.

There was nothing I could do but cower in a ball. He would be on me in a sec⁠—

Tyler fired, the man jerked, stumbled forward and collapsed on top of me. I shrieked and shoved him off.

Tyler made it to me just as another man was running at us. Tyler said, “Get back man, Don’t come another step. I’ll kill you if you come closer.”

The chain felt even heavier as the safe box rose to the surface. I tugged and tugged and finally got a hand on the case’s handle and lugged it onto the dock.

Behind me Tyler fired. I turned to see the second soldier whip back, yell, clutch his stomach, and drop to the ground near our pile of gear.

Tyler stood over me, arms locked, pistol aimed. He fired toward the soldier Magnus was fighting and missed. “I can’t get a clear shot.”

Magnus’s blade sliced deep through the soldier’s arm. Blood gushed from the wound. The man dropped to his knees and then slumped to the ground. The last soldier charged Magnus, swinging. Magnus fought him in a circle, blow for blow, his sword swinging down and arcing up. He was growling and bellowing as they fought.

He had to be exhausted. I was exhausted watching it.

I dialed the number into the combination lock on the case. It took two tries before I got it open. Inside were the two vessels wrapped in waterproof bags. I opened one of the bags as Magnus took a blow that knocked him to the ground.

“He’s tired, he’s going to get killed.”

“I know, I need to get closer, stay right here, don’t move.”

“What’s going to happen to me? He’s the only one left.”

Tyler said, “We don’t know that.” He raced toward the truck to get a better shot as Magnus got back to his feet and swung his blade up knocking the man back.

Magnus swung at him again and again and again forcing him up the slope until finally Magnus arced his blade down bellowing and cut the soldier between the neck and the shoulder with a burst of blood. The man dropped lifeless to the side.

Magnus held his heavy sword tip to the ground, leaned forward, breathing heavy.

I watched from my place on the dock, on my knees, my skirts wet from the splashing. Tyler rushed back to stand guard over me. I was watching Magnus from around Tyler’s legs. How were we going to get rid of Tyler before we jumped? How were we going to explain all of this insane crazy bullshit violence and swordplay?

Magnus swung his sword over his shoulder and into its scabbard. He grabbed the reins of the horse closest to him and a strap on a dead soldier’s armor and pulled the horse and dragged the body down the slope toward us.

I jumped to my feet and rushed to the other horse and led it to our gear. Tyler followed me. I asked, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, just⁠—”

Magnus dumped a body on the pile. “Are ye okay, Kaitlyn?”

“I’m okay.”

Tyler said, “Was that it, all of them? Are you sure?”

Magnus shook his head. “I daena ken⁠—”