“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.”

“How does it work?”

“It’s a combination of virus and sorcery. It destroys oxygen on contact, feeds on it like fire, but faster. Everything human will die. One vial will wipe out this entire country. He brought demons here from all over the world to solicit their help in releasing it.”

“They’re here in the castle?”

“No, Albany.”

The conference. “Is he working with vampires?”

“Vampires?” The old man looked startled. “Aren’t they extinct?”

Everyone seemed to think so, except the vampires. If Druan had formed an alliance with the undead, he would have to keep it quiet. The Dark One wouldn’t tolerate it. But it made no sense for the vampires to help Druan eliminate their food source.

“Druan wouldn’t work with vampires if they did exist. He can barely tolerate his own kind.”

Then what were they doing here? “Where is Druan?”

“I think he’s with the woman. He had something urgent to do.”

“The woman? Bree?”

“He didn’t say for sure—”

Faelan lifted the man by his shirt, dangling his feet off the floor. “What has he done with her? Tell me now, or I’ll kill you myself.”

The old man trembled. “I don’t know. I swear on my mother’s grave. He just said he had something important to do. He doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t trust anyone.”

Faelan dropped the man, swallowing back the pain. “Can you think of any place he’d take her? Somewhere hidden.”

“The secret passages.”

“We’ve checked there.”

“I’d tell you if I knew. I tried to warn her when she called, but he almost caught me.”

Faelan would have to get rid of the virus first, then find Druan, shackle him and force him to tell where Bree was. “Is this all of the virus?”

“It is. I packed it myself. Be careful. Once these vials are opened, nothing can stop it.”

“The virus won’t be released.”

“How can you stop it? It’d take a miracle—”

“I know someone in the miracle business. Close your eyes.” Faelan pulled his talisman from his shirt. “Better yet. Don’t blink.” He couldn’t let this monster live to create another virus.

The sorcerer didn’t hear him. He was staring past Faelan, his features twisted with terror. Druan stood in the open doorway, wearing his human shell, his gaze darting from Faelan to the box. The sorcerer ran toward the open window. Faelan grabbed for him, but it was too late. The old man plunged over the side with a scream, leaving Faelan with a torn piece of shirt in his hand.

“Good riddance. Saves me the mess.” Druan closed the door. After glancing at the ruined lock, he lowered an iron bar that must have been there since the castle was built.

It took all of Faelan’s willpower not to destroy Druan on the spot, but he had to find Bree first. “Where is she?”

“My human?” Druan laughed, but the sound was cold, hard.

“She’s not yours,” Faelan growled.

“Ah, but she is, warrior. I’ve watched over her for a long time. While you slept, I watched her grow. And after I rid this planet of its blight, I’ll need a few mixed breeds for slaves. Bree will make an excellent mother, don’t you think?”

Faelan wanted to shred Druan into pieces with his bare hands, feel his bones crunch and tissue tear. “Tell me where she is.”

“Where only I can find her. You believed she was a demon, didn’t you? When all she’d done was try to save you, which I’m punishing her for, even as we speak. Then I’ll practice this forgiveness your God is so fond of and make her mine.”

Every part of him seethed with panic and rage. Before he could judge the wisdom of it, Faelan sent his dirk sailing through the air. It struck Druan mid-chest, and the demon screeched. He ripped it out and flung it to the floor, hate oozing from eyes already starting to shift. His bones lengthened and skin bulged grotesquely, as he transformed into his natural form, towering over Faelan.

Faelan was no stranger to demons, but the sight and smell was still repulsive. “Tell me where she is, or I’ll destroy you now and find her myself,” Faelan snarled, his hand twitching over his talisman, the other tight on his sword.

“You’ll never find her in your lifetime. Not even two. I’ve saved the best trick for last.”

“Did you hurt her?”

Druan threw back his gray head and laughed again, a slimy hissing sound. “Did I mate with her? Not yet. But I will. In and out of my human shell.”

“You won’t get the chance,” Faelan said.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs. Druan smiled and moved toward the door. Faelan’s anger numbed. He should have let Cody stay. It would be impossible to destroy Druan, the virus, and his horde of demons, too. But he could finish what he’d started before Druan came in. If the virus was gone, Druan might be easier to manage. Before he could raise his talisman, the air shifted. He heard screams and voices calling his name. He recognized Ronan and Duncan. The reinforcements were his. They’d destroyed Druan’s demons.

Druan shrieked with rage. He whirled and came at Faelan, slashing with his claws. Faelan spun like a matador and sliced open Druan’s arm with his sword. “That was for my father and Ian,” Faelan said, trying to block the sulfurous smell.

Druan turned again, moving slower this time, calculating. “What about your sister, little Alana? I let her live… after I finished with her. But her firstborn son, how could I let him live, bearing your name?”

Druan had killed Alana’s infant son? Faelan’s anger merged into a fiery ball. The loss of his family, the death and destruction caused by a war that was no more than a distraction for Druan, the pain and heartache the demon had caused Bree. Faelan roared and lunged at Druan, striking again with his sword. A gash appeared in Druan’s chest, close to where the dirk had struck, but it would take far more to kill him by hand. Faelan struck again, this time slicing deep into the demon’s neck. Druan let out a terrible howl and swiped at Faelan. His claw caught on Faelan’s talisman. Druan jerked his hand back when the metal scorched his skin. The cord broke, and the talisman tumbled through the air, landing in a corner with a thud.

“Another scar. I’ll destroy that charm along with you this time.” The smell of burning flesh mingled with sulfur, and the pounding in Faelan’s head grew louder before he realized it was the door. It sounded like a hundred feet were kicking. Faelan moved toward the talisman in a haze. He had to get it back, or everyone he loved would die.

A whisper brushed his ear, soothing, balm to his pain. He didn’t know if it was Bree, Michael, or even God himself who tried to quiet his rage, but he held on to it, pulled it inside. Used it to focus on what he had to do.