Tavis shook his head. “Have you seen Faelan?”
Ronan snorted. “He and Bree are in the bedroom. Lucky bastard.”
Was he hankering after Faelan’s wife? She was a bonny lass. More than bonny. There was something compelling about her.
“Aye. Have you a piece of paper and a quill?”
Ronan frowned. “There’s a notepad there on the counter.” He nodded toward a small square. “There’s a pen beside it.” Tavis picked it up and saw sheets of paper bound together like a book. A quill, different than the ones he’d seen, lay beside it.
“Looks like you’re leaving someone a note,” Ronan said. “You going somewhere?”
“Just writing something down.” He had to go alone, or Lance wouldn’t take Tavis to Anna. “I’ll see you soon. I think I’ll rest.”
“Right.”
Tavis carried the paper down the hall. He heard quiet whispers inside and a woman’s laugh. He slipped the note under Faelan’s door and turned to go. He would contact Faelan as soon as he found Anna. How, he didn’t know. This wasn’t the same place he’d left. He slipped quietly through the house and outside.
“Nice rest?”
“Bloody hell!” Tavis turned and saw Ronan on the porch.
“You’re going to run out on your brother before he’s even welcomed you home?”
“There’s no time to wait. I have to go now.”
“What’s so urgent?”
Tavis gritted his teeth, his jaw still sore from the beatings. “Anna. The guard who kept us imprisoned is waiting in the woods. He’s going to lead me to her.”
“Why would he do that?” Ronan asked.
“Voltar intends to kill him soon, and he’d rather I killed Voltar first.”
“You can’t kill Voltar. Are you crazy?”
“He’s my demon. He was assigned to me.”
“Hell. Does Faelan know?”
“I told him.”
“Assigned or not, you’re not going alone,” Ronan said.
“The guard won’t cooperate if there’s anyone else. I have to risk it.”
“You’ve got the hots for her, haven’t you?”
Tavis didn’t understand Ronan’s words, but he understood the grin. “I owe her a debt.”
“Go with the guard. I’ll follow. I assume he’s got a car.”
“You can’t let him see you.”
“I won’t. I’ll hang back. Come on. We’ll need water and food.” They walked inside, and Ronan opened the large white box again and took out two clear bottles. “Water,” he said, handing one of them to Tavis.
It felt like the bottles in the house where Angus had taken him and the ones in Faelan’s bathroom.
“Plastic,” Ronan said. “I don’t think they had it in your time. Makes things a hell of a lot easier. And if this guard’s right about Anna, she may need food and water.” He picked up two strange-looking satchels from a table along the wall. He put one of the bottles of water inside. “Here, strap this on.” He demonstrated by hooking one of the satchels over both shoulders. “It’s like a big sporran for your back.”
Ronan waited inside the house while Tavis went ahead to meet Lance. He was just out of sight of the house when a figure materialized from the trees. “Where’s your car?” Tavis asked. But it wasn’t Lance. It was the quiet warrior with long hair. Shane. “Damnation. Is everyone following me?”
“I wasn’t following you,” Shane said. “Duncan and I were patrolling. I heard something and came to check it out.”
He must have heard Lance. “I’ll check it out. You can go back.”
“I don’t think so,” Shane said.
Tavis wanted to punch a tree. “I have something to do, and I need to do it alone.”
Shane shook his head. “Faelan won’t be happy if I let you leave alone.”
“Hell. I’m not alone. Ronan’s already coming.”
“Then there’ll be three of us. Lead on.”
There were actually four. When they got to Lance’s car, Duncan was sitting on the hood, and Lance was shackled on the ground.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HEY,” DUNCAN SAID.
“Damnation. Is the whole clan here?” Tavis asked. This was just like having Faelan and Ian sticking their noses in his business.
“Just us,” Duncan said. “What’s the plan? Lance says he was going to take you to Anna, and that you were going to kill Voltar. That’s bloody insane since Voltar is an ancient demon, but I assume you lied to find Anna.”
“I didn’t lie. I was assigned to destroy Voltar before I went into the time vault.”
“Hell,” Duncan said.
Shane shook his head. “You’re not strong enough to fight him yet.”
“I have to get Anna.”
“Is there something we should know?” Duncan asked.
“No.”
“If there is you might want to let the clan know,” Duncan said.
Shane cleared his throat. “People in glass houses and all that.”
Whatever he meant made Duncan scowl. “We’re going too.”
“You’re as stubborn as Ian,” Tavis said.
“He’s descended from Ian,” Shane said.
Tavis frowned. “This won’t work with all of us here.”
Duncan reached down and took off the shackles, which had a paralyzing effect on a demon. Lance jumped back, his eyes wide.
“Lance, that’s right, isn’t it?” Duncan asked, and Lance nodded. “This is how it’s going to happen. You can lead us all to Anna, and we’ll get rid of Voltar.” Duncan pulled in a breath. “Or we’ll kill you now and let our Seeker find Anna.”
Lance darted glances from one to the other. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
“You’ll just have to trust us,” Tavis said. “Where is Anna?”
“She’s at Voltar’s penthouse.”
“Penthouse?” Duncan said. “Finally, a demon without a castle or a fortress.”
“Refreshing,” Shane said. “Where is it?”
“New York City,” Lance said.
“I hate the city,” Duncan said. “We’ll take the small plane.”
“What about him?” Shane asked, nodding toward Lance, who looked like he might piss himself.
“We’ll blindfold him,” Duncan said. “Where’re your keys, Lance? I’m driving.”
Lance shakily handed over his keys.
“We’ll leave his car at the castle and let them check it out,” Duncan said. “We might find out more about his plans.”
“Ronan’s coming too,” Shane said to Duncan. “He’s following in his car.”
“Good. Tell him to meet us at the castle. We’ll load up on weapons.” Duncan put the shackles back on Lance. Shane blindfolded the demon and shoved him in the back seat of his Ford Expedition. He and Tavis sat on either side of Lance, keeping an eye on him while Duncan drove. They passed another road, and a car pulled out behind them.
“There’s Ronan,” Shane said.
Duncan pulled out the strange box with lights and buttons again. A cell phone, he’d called it.
“Ronan,” a voice said. It was Ronan’s voice, coming over the box.
“This is Duncan. Shane and I are going with you. We’re in Lance’s car.”
“Good. The more of us there are, the less likely Faelan is to kill us.”
“If we come back with news that Voltar’s dead, that’ll temper his anger,” Duncan said. “Tavis told you Michael assigned Voltar to him?”
“Yeah. Where are we going?” Ronan asked.
“Lance says Voltar has a penthouse in the city.”
“A penthouse?”
“Yep, a penthouse,” Duncan said, steering Lance’s car with one hand, which was making Tavis nervous. These vehicles went too fast as is. “Call the castle and see if Lachlan’s there. If he can take us, tell him to get the plane ready and loaded with weapons.”
“Will do,” Ronan said. “See if you can get any information out of Lance without taking the shackles off.”