He grabbed me by the arm, reminding me of his freakish strength. I was also aware that I felt weaker than I had earlier. I opened my mouth to protest, but suddenly losing the will to speak before I could utter a sound.
Alasdair led me through the exit and into the main residence. As he sped us through the house’s grand halls, I was overwhelmed by the place. Everywhere my eyes turned brought on strange thoughts, almost like memories, although I’d never been here before. The walls were lined with massive oil paintings of people I’d never heard of or seen, but whose names I somehow knew. I was suffering from what felt like a prolonged episode of déjà vu.
We reached the library and my jaw just about hit the floor as Alasdair led us inside the massive space. The room was three stories high and was lined, floor to ceiling, with bookshelves. In the center of the room was a lighted display stand and on that stand was a full suit of armor and a broad sword.
“If I let you go, do you give me your word you’re not going to do anything stupid?” Alasdair asked.
I nodded, but he could see I was more focused on the armor than his words.
“That armor once belonged to a great warrior. It’s incredibly old,” he said in a reverent, almost hushed tone.
“It’s magnificent,” I said, moving in for a closer look.
“Please don’t touch anything,” Alasdair said, sounding like an uptight museum guard.
I raised both hands, giving him the universal ‘hands off’ sign.
“If it’s old, it’s gotta be valuable, huh?” I asked.
Alasdair nodded. “Immeasurably.”
“Then why keep it out in the open like this? Shouldn’t it be locked up somewhere?”
“I look forward to the day anyone tries to take anything from this house,” he said in a way that sounded more like a welcomed challenge than false bravado.
“I’ve never been in a place like this before,” I said, scanning my surroundings.
“A library?” Alasdair mocked.
“A castle,” I replied, ignoring his wisecrack. “What’s the deal with this place anyway?”
“How about I ask the questions for a while?”
“Just one more, I promise,” I said, and after he gave me a nod of acquiescence, I raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you capable of not being an asshole?”
“You act as if you know nothing about Castle Gunnach, or Kade Gunnach himself, for that matter and yet, here you are, registered to compete in our games under a false name. What am I to make of that Mr. Mann? Or is itJohnson?”
“You interrogate all of the competitors like this?”
“Only the ones who glow.”
“I told you before, I have no idea what that was about. I came here to compete. That’s it. My life was perfectly ordinary and uneventful until I crossed paths with you people.”
Alasdair’s phone buzzed. “Perhaps we should talk a little about how you came to Scotland,” he said, looking down at the screen.
“What about it?” I asked.
“I’ve had my team check and you didn’t arrive on a commercial flight.”
I shrugged. “So what?”
“You came over as part of a flight crew on a refrigerated cargo plane,” he said, still looking at his phone.
“A guy I know back home hooked me up with the gig,” I said.
“Hooked you up?”
“I needed a plane ticket, and he needed his water tank repaired. I’m the best welder in Port Thunder, and he has a brother who assigns flight crews for Chilly Freight. It just kind of worked out for both of us.”
