For King & Country
FROM THE HEART OF BELFAST
COMES A TERRORIST THREAT
THAT SPELLS DOOM FOR BRITAIN'S
ONCE AND FUTURE KING . . .
AND THE REST OF US AS WELL
What SAS Captain Trevor Stirling doesn't know may kill him—along with every man, woman, and child alive. Stirling thinks his mission is simple: follow a terrorist into the year AD 500 to stop a Northern Irish fanatic bent on murder. If the terrorist succeeds in killing Artorius, the Briton Lord of Battle and the most revered icon of British history, before his greatest military victory, the time-space continuum will fracture, destroying the British nation. And, coincidentally, the rest of the world.
In a tale where no one is ever quite who or what they seem, hidden enemies and unexpected allies play out a drama of 21st-century terrorism against the backdrop of Arthurian Britain at its darkest hour. One man, alone in time, struggling to save an entire universe from extinction, must choose between duty to his mission and the growing conviction that he should forsake everything he holds dear to follow a higher duty—to risk it All,
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Robert Asprin is the nationally best-selling author of the "Phule's Company" series of space adventures and the New York Times bestselling "Myth Adventures" series of humorous fantasies. He was the creator and editor of the "Thieves' World" series, the first shared universe series in fantasy and science fiction. Asprin makes his home in New Orleans.
Linda Evans is coauthor with Robert Asprin of four novels in the "Time Scout series" for Baen. An expert on weapons both modern and ancient, she puts her expertise to good use in her science fiction. She has also written the novel Far Edge of Darkness (Baen). She lives in Archer, FL.
Illustration by Larry Elmore
Cover design by Carol Russo Design
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Hardcover
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and
events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real
people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, August 2002
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Asprin, Robert.
For king & country / by Robert Asprin & Linda Evans. p. cm. ISBN 0-7434-3539-7 1. Great BritainHistoryTo 1066Fiction. 2. Attempted assassination Fiction. 3. Arthurian romancesAdaptations. 4. Kings and rulers Fiction. 5. Time travelFiction. I. Title: For king and country. II. Evans, Linda. III. Title.
PS3551.S6 F67 2002 813'.54dc21 2002023216
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ISBN: 0-7434-3539-7
Copyright © 2002 by Bill Fawcett & Associates
All rights reserved, including the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com
Production by Windhaven Press Auburn, NH
Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com
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For David James Hollingsworth, the sunshine of our lives.
My deepest thanks, as always, to Robert R. Hollingsworth, military historian and battle choreographer (whose wonderful archery post graces the cover) and to his lovely wife Susan Collingwood, whose discerning eye keeps me on track. Thanks to them, as well, for the loan of their libraries and their highly limited time!
I owe special thanks to Susan Gudmundsen, for climbing the immensely steep slope of Cadbury Hill, just to take photos for me. The weather was raw and thoroughly disagreeable, but up she went, into the wet clouds, to get my 360-degree panorama, which illuminated the whole climactic ending of the novel.
And another special thank-you to Patricia Grohowski, for her tireless cheerleading, for pointing me in the direction of that wonderful little shop where I found the books on Glastonbury Tor, for lending me half her fascinating library, and for always finding a way to make me smile, in the midst of all the howling.
I couldn't have done it without them!
Also by Robert Asprin & Linda Evans
The Time Scout series
Time Scout
Wagers of Sin
Ripping Time
The House That Jack Built
Also by Robert Asprin & Jody Lynn Nye
License Invoked
Also by Linda Evans
Far Edge of Darkness
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