“You okay?” he asked.
She saw flashes of blood, long claws, and white wings. Dead eyes, staring. She squared her shoulders. “I will be.”
“That you will. You’re a fighter.” He pulled her into a hug, his kilt brushing her leg. “Did you finally get enough sleep?” His breath was warm, and she longed to grab his hand, run with him upstairs, and forget about stalkers, demons, and vampires, but she couldn’t have him distracted.
“I suppose. I don’t even remember arriving.”
“You slept most of the way.”
“Did you give me a sedative?” she asked, stepping back and crossing her arms.
“No. Your snoring was all natural.”
“I don’t snore… do I?”
He grinned, and the flash of teeth made her knees weak. “Not much. But you talked a lot.”
“What did I say?”
“You said, ‘Oh, Cody, come here and ravish me—’” His voice rose, imitating hers.
“I did not. You’re lying.” The words fell like water on a fire, drowning both their smiles. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant, pip-squeak.”
“This is a beautiful castle.”
“Aye, it is. This is where I trained. It’s like a second home. Maybe a third. Guess I considered Nina’s my second home.”
“So there’s a castle just like this in New York?” Shay asked.
“Unfortunately.”
“You think Druan saw this place?”
“If Druan had seen this castle, even knew where it was, I think he would have at least made an attempt to slaughter the clan. There’s a book in the library that gives the history. Bree’s tracking down the names, but we’ll probably find that they’re just aliases Druan used. When the demons have been in one place too long, they move on, so no one realizes they aren’t aging. Sometimes they pretend to come back decades later as their own relatives.” Cody took Shay’s arm, and they started back toward the castle. “You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten in hours. Watch out, or Coira will have you round as a tub.”
“Coira?”
“Sean’s wife. You haven’t met them. Sean’s the Keeper of the book.”
“The lost book?”
“That would be the one.”
“Bree mentioned Sean. Where is Bree?”
“Last I saw, she was attempting to crash a restricted Council meeting.”
Shay’s hands clenched. “What did the Council say?”
“Well, they aren’t going to flog me for spilling the beans… again. That’s the good news.”
“Can they flog you?” she asked, not sure whether he was joking.
“No.” His fingers rubbed his wrist. “But they could’ve made things difficult. Still could, but they know they’ve made mistakes as well.”
“I don’t understand why demons and vampires think I have this book, or why they want it. What good would it do them to see a record of old battles? It’s fascinating history, but useless.”
“It doesn’t just have the past. It has the future too.”
“Future? Jiminy Christmas! You mean it lists battles that haven’t happened yet?”
“Aye. A demon could get the names of warriors and kill them off as soon as they’re born. That would destroy our clan.”
No wonder they were so worried about the book. “I guess if the ancient demons are trying to earn immortality, that would certainly impress their master.”
“Aye, it would. I’m meeting with some of the other warriors in a few minutes to discuss how the book might tie in.”
“I know the clan has issues, since it involves your book and demons and vampires, but on a personal level I need to know why Ellis did this, why Renee was involved, and how she got the book to begin with.”
“We’re trying to find out. Sam’s looking for Ellis’s boss. He may have some information.”
“Was Ellis after the book?”
“I don’t know, but they’ve matched his prints to several other unsolved murders.”
“A serial killer? I was working for a serial killer?”
“Aye. He was a sick bastard.”
“And I led him to Renee.”
