Page 115 of After 5

When I regained consciousness, my head pounded like a thousand cannons firing simultaneously. I forced my eyes open and blinked against the light filtered in through the opening in the tent. It wasn’t my head that concussed like cannons, it was cannons firing in the distance. Many of them.

I cursed Caiyan. He had gagged me with the chloroformed handkerchief, tied my hands in front of me, and hauled me inside the tent. How long was I out? My guess was that with the lack of sleep and the fatigue from the time travel, I’d been out for a while. Colonel Alexander had already started his cannon attack. I surveyed my prison. The small tents were open in the front. They didn’t have the flap like the wall tents, and the opening was held up by hardy tree branches.

I lifted my head, the camp felt deserted. Of course it would. The main attraction was about to take place on the battlefield. There would be injured on the far side of the camp in the field hospitals, but I was far away from them. I dropped my head to the ground and a sharp pain shot into my left eye, causing me to cry out. My stomach churned, and I fought against the desire to throw up. Side effects of the chloroform. I took a deep breath through my nose, inhaling as much oxygen as possible. Staring up at the worn material, I sighed. Who was going to find me here?

Marco. If I could get my bound hands inside my pants, retrieve my key and somehow place it around my neck, I’d be able to summon him to me.

I worked the buttons. Damn button fly. These people are going to flip out over the invention of the zipper. As I fumbled with the second button and forced my hand inside my pants a deep guffaw rebounded in the tent.

“Looky who I found, and takin’ care of business his-self. My girls could a done that for ya, but instead you used your potions on me.” Miss Maggie taunted me as her bulky frame leaned inside the tent.

She drug me out by my Brogans and hovered over me. I spoke into the gag. “Your slave’s a spy.”

“What are you sayin’?” She ripped the cloth from my mouth.

“Ouch!” The way she tore the gag from my face smarted and displaced my fake mustache. Covering my top lip, I repeated myself, “Your slave girl is a spy.”

“That’s ridiculous, she ain’t got the smarts to be a spy.”

“I was supposed to take her to General Lee, he’d give a mighty fine reward if you help me catch her.”

“Too late. There’s another fella that’s offered me a fair price for the girl.” The silhouette of a man stepped into my line of vision. Mortas. Perfect timing.

“Here’s one of them no gooders. Says my darkie’s a spy.”

Mortas assessed me with his cold, menacing eyes. My bare throat was dry and scratchy. I pushed hard to secure my mustache in place and swallowed hard. Two minutes later and they would have found me with my pants down and my key around my neck.

“Found him in the tent pleasin’ his-self.”

Mortas twisted his face and raised a disgusted upper lip at me.

As if. I recounted my lie. “Your slave girl ran off with a man.”

“What did this man look like?” Mortas asked.

He didn’t act like he identified me. We hadn’t had much interaction over the years. I had dealt more with his younger siblings.

“Dark hair, green eyes, spoke funny like a Brit. I’m just trying to help these soldiers.”

Toches sidled up to Mortas. When he looked down at me, instant recognition gleaned in his eyes.

I was busted and there was nothing I could do about it. My tale of the helpful doctor just went south. They would probably feed me to Miss Maggie.

“We should leave him,” Toches said. “He’ll be a burden, and he’s going to have a mess of injured to handle shortly.”

Toches didn’t blow my cover. What the heck?

“Which way did they go?” Mortas asked me.

“Toward the town.” I wasn’t sure which way they went, but it would keep the brigands on a search away from the places I intended to go.

Toches squatted down beside me. “Better work those knots doctor, in a few hours you’re going to be very busy.” The three of them stepped away from me, leaving me spread eagle on the ground, my pants undone, and relief flooding my bones. Toecheese didn’t give me away? The first battle of the day was a victory.

“Well if it ain’t that wanker from York town and his sidekick.”

I huffed. Dammit, not now. Mortas stopped and turned toward the voice.

I lifted my head to see Brodie standing hands on hips. “Look at ya, old git. You didn’t age well. And check out Kishin Toches, ya hairs all tidied up, like the boy Robin to evil Batman. The Mr. Smee to his Captain Hook, the—”

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