Niall burst out of a hidden door at the foot of the stairs, brushing cobwebs from his face. “Have you found it?”
“We think so,” Cody said. “Door’s locked.”
“It’s locked from the inside,” Ronan said, rising. He stood guard while the others kicked the door on the count of three. It flew open, revealing a stark white room with tubes and machines and metal surfaces.
“Looks like a laboratory,” Niall said.
“Same as the room in the other tower, except for the window,” Ronan said.
They heard a gasp, and the white-haired man Faelan had seen when he came for Bree began frantically lowering something out the window, the thing so heavy it was about to take the old man with it.
“Stop,” Faelan yelled. He ran toward the man, shoved him out of the way, and caught the rope. A large metal box dangled two feet from the bottom of the window ledge.
“He’ll kill me,” the old man said, struggling with Faelan, eyes wild. Declan grabbed the man around the chest, holding him back, as Faelan gripped the rope. Cody and Niall helped him pull the box up to the ledge and move it inside.
“I’ve found minions and a bunch of halflings hiding on the third floor, north side,” Brodie called over the microphone. “I need help.” In the background they heard screams.
“Go,” Faelan told the others. “I have to do this myself.”
“I’m on the way,” Niall told Brodie. He and Declan took off at a run.
“I’ll stay,” Cody said. He had a look that said he didn’t fear death, might even welcome it, but Faelan decided he couldn’t have that on his conscience. He’d failed too many already. If he had to die to get this done, he wouldn’t take anyone else with him.
“No, Brodie needs help. There could be others hiding. I’ll destroy the virus—it’s probably in that box—and meet you on the third floor. We can’t let anyone escape.”
“Are you sure?” Cody asked. “I’m willing to… stay.”
And to die. “I’m sure.”
Cody clasped Faelan’s arm, his gaze somber, and then nodded.
Ronan held back. “Be careful, Faelan. It’s not over.”
But it was close. Ronan and Cody left. Faelan turned to the white-haired man. “What’s in here?” he demanded, pointing at the box. It was heavy, solid. “Speak, old man.”
“He’ll kill me if I talk.” He glanced from the box to the door with terror-filled eyes.
“He’ll kill you anyway. That’s what he does.”
“He promised to take care of me after it’s released. He’s created a special place for those he wants to keep, like me.” He raised a hand, rubbing at a nervous tic in his left eye.
“You’re his sorcerer?”
“I didn’t want to do it but I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice. Are you human?”
“Half. I was born in 1720. I was an alchemist and a sorcerer when Druan came to me after his first sorcerer was killed.”
“Why does he want me?”
“For revenge, and he needed to test the time vault, to see if it worked. He planned to wake you in time to witness his victory. He didn’t realize it would take so long to create this new virus. He doesn’t understand these things,” he whispered, as if Druan could hear him. “Just like the mirror. I told him no one uses that spell anymore.” He glanced at the door again.
“Did Druan tell anyone about the time vault?” If he had, their trouble wouldn’t end with Druan’s destruction.
“No. He protected his secrets. He was always afraid one of the others would find out.”
“Others?”
“Them. The old ones. That’s why he used this castle, so no one could see what he was up to, including his master.”
“Are the other demons of old helping him?”
“No. They don’t help each other. The league is a farce. Druan wants rid of them as much as he wants rid of you.”
League. The word Tomas had seen in Angus’s notebook. “Did you cloak this castle?”
“No. I don’t know who did it.”
“Is this the virus?” Faelan pointed at the box.
“If I tell you and you destroy him, will you save me?”
He wasn’t making any promises to a sorcerer who’d spent more than a century figuring out how to destroy humans and could pass the information on to someone else. “Is this it?” Faelan put his dirk to the man’s throat.
“It’s in there.”
