“Before who wakes up?”
“Russell. Turn off the flashlight.”
“Russell’s here? I chased someone through the woods. Did you see your yard?”
“It must have been him. Hurry. He’ll kill us.”
“Kill us? What’re you talking about?”
She looked back at Russell, inert on the ground. Was there enough time to get the book and disk and escape? “I’ll explain it in the car. You’ll need to be sitting down, anyway.” Where could they go? The only person who could stop Russell was still in Scotland, and he believed she was safe in Florida.
“My car’s still at the dig,” Jared said.
“Start mine. The keys are in it. I have to get something.”
She grabbed the tote she’d dropped and hurried to the house. She unlocked the back door, ran to Faelan’s room, and pulled up the loose floorboard. The only thing inside was the puzzle box. Had he moved the book and key? She didn’t have time to search the house. She hurried to her room and yanked off her damp coat. She pulled out drawers so violently the dresser tilted. She steadied it and flung clothes into her tote bag. She ran back to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, swiping bottles and jars aside until she reached the mayonnaise at the back. Her head was still in the refrigerator when someone pounded on the back door, rattling the knob. Russell’s contorted face pressed against the window beside the door, fists rattling the glass.
“Oh, God.” She shoved the mayonnaise jar into her bag and ran outside to the waiting car. Russell came around the side of the house, just steps behind her. She jumped into the passenger side and slammed the locks. “Go! Go!”
Jared spun out of the driveway, throwing her against the seat. She looked back and saw Russell loping after the car, mouth open in a scream. Another man—or creature, considering how it moved—materialized out of the woods behind him.
“What’s wrong? What are we running from?” Jared asked, looking through the rearview mirror. “Was that Russell?”
“He’s not really Russell. He’s a demon. That’s just his disguise.”
Jared stared at her, his face rippling with shock.
***
“Keep the change.” Faelan got out of the taxi, yawned, and rubbed his gritty eyes. The trip home had been a nightmare, changing planes in London, getting lost in the Newark airport. He’d almost missed his connecting flight. He would have kneeled and kissed the ground if he thought he could get back up.
“I can drop you closer to the house,” the driver said, peering down the tree-lined drive.
“This is good.” He was already taking a risk coming here at night. He had to make sure the key and the book were safe. Then, he was going to trap a demon and find out what Druan was plotting. A couple hours’ sleep first would help in case he had to use his talisman. He longed for his bed, but it would be safer if he slept on protected ground in the crypt.
Faelan dragged his bag out of the taxi and crept up the driveway. He kept close to the trees, eyes and ears tuned for things that didn’t belong. He felt naked without his dirk, but Bree had warned him that airport security would scan their luggage. Not only did people fly through the air where only God and birds belonged, but now they could see through walls and inside locked luggage. He couldn’t chance having to explain his weapon while he was carrying fake identification.
The top of the house appeared through the trees, and he thought he saw an old woman’s face in the attic window, but when he blinked, she was gone. When he broke through the trees, he saw Bree’s front door standing wide open. The demons had been here.
Thank God she was in Florida.
He set his suitcase down and eased inside, sniffing the air. He could smell lavender, but no demons. The house was empty. He passed Bree’s antique mirror, and it rippled like the surface of a loch. Jumping aside, he waited until it became solid again, then pulled it from the wall, laid it face down on the floor, and put his foot through the back. An enchanted mirror. He’d seen only one before. They weren’t used much; they were too unstable, but when working properly, Druan would be able to see inside the house. Did he already know their secrets, already know how Faelan felt about Bree? Damnation. He should have sent her someplace besides her mother’s. Russell would know where his future mother-in-law lived.
More warriors would have to be sent to protect Bree and her mother. He’d call Cody, see if he and his brothers could help. Faelan reached for his phone but remembered he’d left it in Scotland. There was one in Bree’s bedroom. First he had to get the
Faelan grabbed his dirk and crossed the hall to Bree’s room. Her drawers were open, clothes strewn about the room. Had Druan searched Bree’s bedroom for the key? Faelan saw a coat crumpled on the floor, the coat she had worn in Scotland. Fear slithered up his spine.
Bree wasn’t in Florida.
Where was she?
He grabbed the phone and dialed her cell. It rang in his ear as a tune played on the floor. The music grew louder as he picked up the coat and pulled her phone from the pocket. She wouldn’t leave her cell phone. Had she forgotten it, like he had? Or had she been taken against her will?
With his dirk in one hand, talisman ready, he crept down the hall, searching the rooms. The kitchen was a mess, refrigerator open, bottles strewn across the floor, as if there had been a struggle. After checking the entire house to make sure she wasn’t sleeping or unconscious, he opened the back door. Her yard was gone, nothing left but dirt.
A groan came from near the chapel. Bree? He moved closer. A man lay outside the door. Blood ran from his
