“I didn’t want anyone else with me. It was too dangerous. Only my talisman can destroy Druan or his evil. If another warrior accidentally aimed his talisman at Druan, the warrior would be dead.”
“So these warriors and your brothers risked everything to help you fight Druan?”
“Aye. They trusted me with their lives, and I let them down. I sent the warriors away, which means that when my brothers arrived, they would have faced Druan, and maybe the other demons of old, alone.”
Druan was alive, so that meant his brothers hadn’t succeeded, probably hadn’t survived.
Faelan focused on a spot over her head, a muscle working in his jaw. “I failed at all of it. Druan, his disease, the war.”
Bree touched his hand. “It’s Druan’s fault, not yours. The war started a year after you were suspended. You couldn’t have stopped it even if you had destroyed Druan. The trouble had been brewing for too long. Those other three demons were probably helping him for months, even years. You’re a good man, Faelan. Don’t carry Druan’s blame.”
“I betrayed the clan, the entire human race, when I sent the other warriors away.”
“If they’d stayed, or your brothers had arrived, could you have killed all of the demons?”
“I don’t know.” He looked doubtful.
“You may have saved the warriors’ lives. Druan might have been gone when they arrived. They could’ve lived long, full lives.”
“Perhaps.” He turned his hand over and captured hers, linking their fingers.
“Did anyone else know about the disease?”
“I sent word to the clan and the other warriors in America before I went to meet Druan. I doubt my brothers knew. They were likely already on the way.”
His brothers must have been desperate when they couldn’t find him. “Did they know where to look for you? Where had you planned to meet?”
“They would have brought a Seeker. Seekers can locate a warrior’s talisman. It’s the only way to find a warrior when he’s hunting or lost… or dead. I don’t know if they could find a talisman inside a time vault. They couldn’t have opened it, anyway.”
“What happens when a warrior dies?”
“His talisman is reassigned to another warrior.”
“But your talisman was locked in the vault with you. Cripes! Do the demons know a warrior’s talisman can destroy them?”
“No. None live to warn the others. If they found out, our greatest weapon would be compromised, one of the reasons secrecy is so important.”
“Can I see yours?” she asked. Her body tingled, as if she’d asked to see something far more private.
Faelan held the talisman out so she could take a closer look. She ran her fingers across the metal, brushing his. “How does it work?”
“It’s hard to explain. I guess you could say it’s like holy light.” He gripped her chin softly, raising her eyes to his. “Don’t ever look at it again. You can yell or hit me if you think I’m belittling you, but if you’re around and I aim this thing, you’d better close your eyes.”
“Yes, warrior.”
“I think the time vault weakened it. Otherwise, you’d be dead. We’re lucky it destroyed those halflings.”
“It didn’t look damaged to me. Does it do anything beside destroy demons?”
“It transports the shackles and time vaults. We have shackles that paralyze the demons so we can get them inside the time vaults.”
“What do you do with the time vaults? Bury them?”
“They’re sent to a holding place, not on earth.”
“Another dimension?”
“Aye.”
“Good heavens. Can you take the talisman off?”
“No. We don’t take off our talismans. Ever.”
Not even when they bathed or made love? “You were almost finished with your duty. You could’ve married soon. Did you have anyone special? Were you ever in love?”
He studied an old scar on his hand for too long before he shook his head. There had been a woman. Bree was sure of it. The thought gnawed at her, but there was no point in asking him. Whoever she was, the woman would be dead now.
“You must have dated?” He’d put every other lover she’d had to shame. He had acquired the skill somewhere.
“Dated?”
“Courted women.”
“A warrior needs his head in the battle, not worrying over a lass or a mate,” he said, not answering her question. “Many remain virgins until they take a mate. There are always demons trying to find weaknesses to use against us. The female demons take on exceptional forms.”
