“Stay by the fire where it is warm,” Brody said, keeping his tone off-hand. “I will watch over you.”
Rafael’s smile was warm. He pillowed his head on his arm and closed his eyes. In less than a dozen breaths, sleep took him.
Brody watched him sleep, while turning over everything Rafael had revealed about his future.
Centuries. Hundreds of years.
What would the world look like, then?
Lugdunum had once been a great Roman military city. After a bitter civil war there, centuries ago, the city had never recovered. It was nothing more than a collection of abandoned villas, most of them falling apart, surrounding the great crossroads.
It was in Lugdunum that they parted.
“I have traveled farther west than I should,” Rafael told Brody, as they sorted out the contents of the wagon. “That is your fault, of course.” His grin was easy, without strain. “Now I have added more miles to my journey south into Iberia than I care for.”
“It is as well I am not coming with you,” Brody told him. “There will be no room in the wagon for me, between you and your self-pity.” For Rafael was taking the wagon and the horse, along with all the food. Brody wanted only the long sword.
At Lugdunum, Brody cast aside his dalmatic and bought the plainer over-tunics and cloaks the locals wore. They were bereft of the garish colors and patterns and embellishments Byzantines preferred.
“Now you look as everyone here does. Even your hair and face are the same,” Rafael observed. “Does that please you?”
“It means I am at last nearly home,” Brody admitted. “It pleases me greatly.”
He also bought a horse, to carry his few possessions and to make this final lap of the long journey go faster.
At last, there were no more arrangements to make. The time had come.
Brody hitched his horse to the back of the wagon while they traveled together from the inn they had been using, to the intersection of the two great, busy roads. Rafael pulled the wagon aside, so other travelers could pass.
For long heart beats, they said nothing. Brody couldn’t bring himself to climb down from the wagon.
“You delay my journey, Celt,” Rafael said softly.
Brody’s eyes ached. He pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes and looked at the pink moisture there.
There was nothing else to say. They had said their goodbyes last night. He let his shoulder rest against Rafael’s for a moment, then climbed to the ground and unhitched the horse.
Rafael clicked to the mare and the wagon rolled forward.
“Wait!” Brody said. He hurried to the front and put his hand on the bench, where he had been sitting a moment before.
Rafael raise his brow.
“I will be in the north of Britain,” Brody said, his voice low and urgent. “Eboracum. Remember the name.”
“Why must I do that?” Rafael asked.
Brody squeezed the edge of the seat and felt it flex. He loosened his grip. “So you know where to find me.”
Rafael opened his mouth to speak. Brody shook his head. “No, do not protest. Just listen. You must go home—of course you must. So must I. I have missed a lifetime there. I must get to know it once more. I know it drives you to return, too. Eventually, I will roam, but for a long time, Britain will be enough for me. Only…you and I are the same, Rafael. One day, Iberia will not be enough for you, either. When that time comes, when you feel your mortality chafe, come and find me. I will give you the world beyond the horizon.”
Rafael did not laugh at him. Neither did he refuse the offer. “How will I find you?”
The tension in his chest eased. Brody let go of the bench. “I might have any name. Ask for Breandán. Or Braedon. When you come to a place where people know a man who only lets his closest, dearest friends call him Brody, you will have found me.”
More Time Kissed Moments
[10]
Canmore, in the Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada. A few minutes later.
Alex didn’t speak for long moments after Brody had fallen silent.
Then he sighed. “You are Rafe’s maker. I should have guessed.”
“It runs deeper even than that,” Brody said.
“Yes,” Alex said in agreement.
“He chose you. He walked alone, until you came along,” Brody added. “He always walked alone. The only man more stubborn than Rafe is Veris.” He hesitated. “I owe Rafe in ways that…” He shrugged. “I owe him my life,” he finished. “If not for Rafe, I would not have gone on and found Veris and later, Taylor.”
Alex squeezed his shoulder. “It runs both ways, Celt. If not for you, I would not be here and would not have met Sydney and Rafe. Our lives are so intertwined, there’s no point in keeping score.”
Brody nodded.
Alex let his hand drop. “Although now I understand where Rafe developed this drive to help people cope with massive change. You were his first client.”
Brody shook his head. “I think Veris was the one who set Rafael on that path. He was kind to him.” He raised his voice. “It was you, wasn’t it, Veris? The man who taught Rafael about philosophy and the world beyond the horizon?”
Alex twisted to look over his shoulder, with a little start of surprise.
Veris pushed open the door to the workshop and came in. “I didn’t want to intrude.”
Brody smiled at him. “Your company is never an intrusion.”
Alex got to his feet. “I should—”
“No, stay, Alex,” Veris said. “I think David has arrived and I must go and stand between him and Marit.”
“He didn’t jump to here?” Alex asked, glanced at the arrival chamber.
“I must have forgotten to tell him about it,” Veris said. His tone was dry. He reached for Brody’s hand and held it in his. “Stop hiding down here. We need you upstairs.”
Brody held his teeth together. “All right,” he said, knowing Veris would not move until he agreed.
Veris sighed and let his hand go. “Alex, please make him see sense.” He strode from the room, his hand hitting the swinging door harder than necessary. The door flapped back and forth furiously.
“Sorry,” Brody said, as Alex cleared his throat.
“For a past which was over long ago?” Alex asked. “Or for being a cowardly fool in this century, too?”
Brody’s insides jumped. “Excuse me?”
“Or perhaps we should go back to calling you Breandán?” Alex asked.
Brody scowled. “You’ve all earned the right to call me Brody.”
“Except you don’t think you deserve to be called that anymore, do you?” Alex added. “You’ve been creeping around Taylor and Veris for over a year, trying to make amends for something which wasn’t your fault. If there was anything at all they needed to forgive you for, they did it the minute you came back to them. Only, you can’t forgive yourself and you’ve been holding yourself away from them because you don’t think you deserve them anymore.”
Brody couldn’t meet his gaze. There was a forgotten piece of wire beneath his bench, shaped like an s…
“Brody,” Alex said gently.
Brody sighed. “No, I don’t deserve them,” he said flatly. “Only, at the same time, I’m terrified I’ll lose them, too.”
“Rafe would kick your ass, if he was here,” Alex said.
Brody felt his mouth twitch. It was involuntary. “Let’s get him back, then. I’m long overdue and I can’t figure out how to do it for myself.”
Alex tilted his head toward the door. “Come upstairs. Veris listens to you and someone has to keep him from strangling David.”
With great reluctance weighing him down, Brody followed Alex out into the living room, then up to the main floor of the big house. As they climbed, voices grew louder.
Sydney sensed movement from the corner of her eye. She looked up. David strolled into the reading area at the top of the stairs as if he had been in the house all along.
Cassander Da
vid Solon Pallis, son of Alexander the Great.
“You can’t use the arrival chamber like everyone else?” Sydney barely hid her irritation. He had startled her.
His black eyes settled on her. The keen gaze seemed to drill through her. “As I am the only one able to help you get your mate back, you should be more pleasant.” His tone was chiding.
Sydney put the book she had been pretending to read to one side on the wide sofa and got to her feet. “You know where Rafe is?” She didn’t bother hiding the flare of hot hope which speared her and made her heart stir.
David put his hands in his pockets. “I do.”
“God, who’s making all the noise?” Alannah said, as she emerged from a bedroom. She had Jason on her hip, and Liberty held her other hand. Alannah scowled when she saw David. “Oh, it’s you.”
David didn’t turn to look at her. “Good evening, Alannah.” His voice, Sydney admitted, was smooth and honeyed and she could easily listen to it for a long time. She couldn’t tell what his accent was. Perhaps he had a plethora of them—picked up one by one over time so they blended into an unidentifiable foreign note in his otherwise rich British English.
Alannah leaned over the landing railing. “Marit, get up here!” she bellowed.
Sydney winced.
David raised his brow.
“Everyone is preparing, downstairs,” Sydney said. “Waiting to hear news,” she added.
David stepped back and waved toward the stairs. “After you.”
Sydney hurried down the stairs. On the landing, she met Marit on her way up. Marit’s eyes widened when she saw who was behind Sydney. Sydney turned her around by her shoulders and pushed her down the stairs. “He has news,” she added.
“Everyone is in the front room,” Marit said and moved over to the big doors into that room.
“Look who’s here,” Sydney called as she stepped through the doors herself.
Everyone in the room looked up as David strolled in. Aran sat in the big chair by the fireplace. Taylor had been talking to him. She stood beside the chair.
Jesse was on the window seat, her legs crossed, swinging a small, folded knife in her finger and thumb the way people spun fidget widgets. She stared at the view. Since arriving at the house, she had knotted her hair at the back of her head and removed most of her makeup.
Sydney recognized the shift. Jesse was preparing for action.
London and Remi were sitting together on the low bench placed near the front door. It was a flat surface which tended to collect hats and gloves. Boots were shoved under it. They had cleared space for themselves and had been talking with their heads together, one bright red, the other honey blond.
Neven was over by the other big window. Instead of sitting on the window seat, he stood in front of it, his feet spread, a worried frown between his brows.
Marit moved over to the other end of the window seat Jesse was using and sat on the edge.
David stepped in and took a place between the two halves of the room.
“David has news,” Sydney said.
Veris came in the door behind David and Sydney realized with a jolt that David was as tall as Veris.
Veris eased around him with soft steps and moved over to the space between the chair where Aran sat and the window seat, near Marit.
Jesse got to her feet at the mention of news. Her hands linked behind her back, and her feet were slightly spread. The Marine at ease.
No one spoke. They all watched David.
David didn’t seem uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
Sydney mentally urged him to spill his news but didn’t speak. She held her hands in tight fists.
“It took me a while to find Rafael. Searching the timescape was as fruitless for me as it was for Marit.”
Marit scowled, looking so much like Veris that Sydney had to clamp her teeth together to avoid smiling.
“There are few ways to hide on the timescape and from me, which gave me an idea,” David continued. “I looked for negative spaces, instead.”
“Get to the point,” Veris growled. “Where is Rafael?”
David met his gaze. “Cyrus has him.”
Sydney sucked in a breath. “Cyrus? He was stranded in Powys, in the tenth century! How can he be here, now?”
“Clearly, he found a way back,” David said, in the same soft tone.
“The Council,” Marit said, her tone bitter. She sounded very old. “Herakleides is on the Council and he just happens to be Cyrus’ brother.” She stood and glared at David. “Your precious Council did this. The question that leaves is did they do it on your orders?”
David didn’t react. His gaze was mild as he considered Marit. “You are a smart woman, only you let your passion cloud your judgment. Think. What reason would I have to order the Council to do this?”
“To fuck with us,” Marit said bitterly. “You’ve never liked that we outed you, a year ago.”
“And yet my existence has remained a closely guarded secret within this family, just as I requested. There is no extortion here. I did not give the order. This is not the Council’s doing, although Herakleides may have assisted his brother to return home.” He paused. “We will never know for certain, for Herakleides is no more.”
Sydney drew in a shaky breath.
Behind David, Brody and Alex came through the door. Brody edged around the man, heading for where Neven was standing. Alex dipped around David with a murmured apology and moved straight to where Sydney was. He stood beside her, close enough so their hands brushed together.
“Did you hear…?” she murmured.
“Yes. Cyrus.”
Veris crossed his arms. “Okay, it wasn’t the Council behind Rafael’s abduction. Only, how does Cyrus know how to shield himself from the timescape?”
Sydney swiveled to catch David’s response to that. It was a very good question indeed.
David gave another elegant, Continental shrug. “I told the Council.”
“Perfect,” Brody said. “Just…perfect.”
Veris dropped his arms. “Tell me I really didn’t hear you say you gave the Council the information that Cyrus is now using to hide himself and Rafael from us.”
“That is exactly what you heard,” David said. His tone was still polite, his tone quiet. He wasn’t afraid of Veris at all. Not even now when Veris’ temper was making his blue eyes snap and his jaw to work. Veris was squeezing his fists, too, which made the tremendous forearms flex.
David continued speaking as if no one was staring at him with shock, horror, dismay or outright fury. “A Council is only as useful as the information it has to work with. I have always been frank with them, so they could provide services I required. Naturally, I told them about the incident with Brody’s brother, so they could consider the long-term ramifications.”
Alex shifted on his feet. “Then it is you we should hold accountable for whatever happens to Rafael?” His tone was as cool as David’s yet Sydney could feel a fine trembling in him. He was as angry as anyone in the room.
David’s gaze settled on Alex. “I am ultimately responsible, yes. That is why I am here. The information I give the Council is classified and not intended to go any further. This matter has demonstrated I can no longer count on their discretion. Therefore, their primary function has been compromised. That is why, before I came here, I formally disbanded the Council.”
Veris moved faster than Sydney had ever seen anyone move. It was vampire speed on steroids and he was a blur to her vision. In this room of vampires and their kin, Veris could be reckless about appearances.
David’s reactions were faster. His hand gripped Veris’ throat and squeezed, halting him an arm’s distance away. Veris growled, tearing at David’s fingers.
“A little more pressure and I will tear your throat out,” David said, his tone conversational. “I expected more from you, Väinämöinen, than this cliched knee jerk. I will put it down to a father’s concern and give you the benefit of the doubt. Nod, and I
will let you go.”
Jesse’s eyes were very large. She had not seen vampires at their worst, before, but she was staying in control, anyway. Sydney approved of her clear-headedness.
Veris breathed heavily.
David brought Veris closer and dropped his voice. “Are you going to help me get Rafael back, or should I consider you an obstacle, too?”
Veris patted David’s hand.
Sydney didn’t wait to hear more. She skirted around the spectacle of Veris being put in his place and hurried through the back hall to the door. She grabbed her coat as she stepped outside into the crisp early evening air and moved over to the far north-eastern corner of the big verandah.
The twilight was thick and silent. The mountains reared over the house, making Sydney feel insignificant. It was a lesson too many people in this house could stand to learn.
“Hey.” Alex spoke from the doorway. “Do you want company?”
Always considerate. Sydney sighed. “We did this to Rafael.”
Alex closed the door and came over to where she stood. He didn’t bother with a coat. “You mean, because of the jump back to Powys?”
“No, yesterday! This morning! Whenever the hell it was!”
Alex hesitated. “The argument,” he ground out. “How does that make us responsible?”
“Every day we’ve been in Rafe’s life makes us responsible,” Sydney said. “He would not have been alone out there for Cyrus to take, if not for us and what we did to him.”
Alex gathered her in his arms. “Shh, shh…”
“But it is true.” She closed her eyes.
“And you’re letting emotions cloud your judgment,” Alex said softly. “You’re being Sydney, not Morrigan, and it won’t help Rafael.”
Sydney rested her head against Alex’s shoulder. “I can’t help it. That awful, awful argument! The things we said!”
Time and the Detective
Granada, Spain. Yesterday.
Alex texted Sydney to meet him in the bedroom. He said nothing else. He didn’t need to. Just the simple R back. Bedroom was enough to make her heart stir and pound.
More Time Kissed Moments Page 18
