Sorcha bristled. “Stop acting like a Neanderthal, cousin. You’re not my bloody bodyguard.”
Duncan cursed and stormed out, letting the door slam behind him. A few in the room chuckled, but most paid no attention.
Faelan hid a grin and wondered if Tavis had also risen from his grave.
“I think Angus would have told us if he needed a time vault,” Sean mused. “Same for Austin.”
“If Druan’s been reassigned, another warrior could have brought it for him.”
Sean shook his head. “I think we would have heard if an ancient demon had been assigned. Was there a key to this time vault?”
“No key. And no sign of another warrior.” Could it be the archeologist? How long had Bree known him?
“Maybe the time vault was for Tristol, Malek, or Voltar,” Bree said.
Sean looked puzzled. “The demons of old?”
“They rode with Druan that night,” Faelan said.
A pall fell over the room. “You’re sure, lad?” Sean asked, alarmed.
“I’m sure.” Other than Druan, Faelan hadn’t seen the ancient demons’ human forms. They protected that knowledge like the warriors protected their talismans and time vaults. But there wasn’t a warrior alive, at least in Faelan’s day, who hadn’t heard the stories from his father and seen clan sketches of the demons of old in their natural forms.
“That’s disturbing, it is,” Sean said, the wrinkles in his forehead growing deeper.
“I think they were helping Druan with the war. I don’t think they knew about the disease, Druan’s virus. Tristol was angry when I confronted Druan about it.”
“Too bad Tristol didn’t kill Druan for us. I’d have paid to see that fight.” Sorcha lifted her glass to blood-red lips.
“There’ve been rumors about the horror those four have wrought in the past, but they haven’t been spotted this century,” Sean said. “We’d hoped some of them had died.”
“I’m afraid we have more to worry about than ancient demons,” Faelan said. “Druan’s castle is an exact duplicate of this one.”
The room fell silent again, then everyone began to whisper.
Sean’s voice rose out of the din. “You’ve seen it?”
“We both have,” Faelan said, motioning to Bree. “In fact, we have a map of the inside. The only differences are some of the secret passages.”
“Could Druan have seen this place?” Brodie asked.
“Not likely, or he would’ve tried to destroy it,” Faelan said.
“Maybe there was a traitor,” Sorcha said, holding Faelan’s gaze.
“Even more puzzling, the castle is cloaked by some sort of spell.”
Tomas frowned. “Cloaked?”
“It’s invisible. That must be how he’s stayed hidden. I searched the area before. There was no sign of his lair.”
“What do you mean it’s invisible?” Bree asked. “The castle was right there.”
“You saw it, lass?” Sean asked, shocked.
“Of course. You didn’t?” she asked Faelan.
He shook his head. “All I saw was a field and trees. I found where you’d hidden your car, and I walked across the road, right into a tree.”
“But how—”
Further speculation was interrupted as Coira announced another group of warriors arriving. For hours the festivities continued, everyone smiling and hugging, bombarding Faelan with questions, comparing the current world with the one he’d known, whispering about ancient demons, invisible castles, and the American Civil War until he ached for quiet.
“Would you mind if I spoke to Bree?” he asked, interrupting her conversation with Sean.
“What do you want?” She was still upset.
“I want to apologize for not telling you about the other time vault and the cloaking spell. I didn’t want to —”
She held her hand up, her face darkening. “Don’t say it.”
“Sorry. This is a different world from the one I knew. In my time we took care of women, tried to make things easier for them. I don’t know what to do with you,” he said, studying her face. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Her expression softened, though her body still looked stiff as a corset. “I know you mean well, but I’m not a child. Don’t treat me like one. I don’t need another father.”
Like a child? That was nowhere near how he wanted to treat her. After he made sure Brodie had grown bored with his wine tricks, Faelan slipped away from the noise and commotion. Alone, he wandered through the house reliving memories far older than they felt. The library still smelled like a warm fire on a cool night. He could close his eyes and see his family gathered around the hearth listening to one of his father’s wild tales of his warrior days, while Tavis and Ian poked at each other when no one was looking. The furniture had changed, and the kitchen had
