“Trying to prevent Fiona and her mysterious cabin from disappearing, round two!” Lorcan joked as he and Rohese approached the time portal again, although he didn’t feel much like joking.
“Maybe if we go back further it’ll prevent you and Fiona from hooking up at all,” Lorcan said to Rohese, “and she’ll be in a better mood. Or maybe she chose to leave so she wouldn’t have to see you again after your disappointing dalliance.”
“You talk too much, Demon. I would like to place a spell of silence upon you.”
“So what were you doing at Mystique’s shop the other day, Goldilocks? Getting a little witch action from her?”
Rohese turned up his nose. “I would not. She is repulsive and not to be trusted.”
Lorcan shrugged. “You weren’t opposed to sleeping with Jaycee and she’s not exactly trustworthy.”
“I will not speak of this with you, Demon.”
“Suit yourself, Goldilocks.”
They’d experienced some odd what Lorcan would describe as turbulence on this time journey, but they stepped through the time portal again and once more found themselves standing in front of the cabin. This time they found the spirit of Angus MacIntire waiting outside looking sorely depressed.
When he saw Rohese he scowled. As they drew nearer to the cabin, Lorcan noticed the door was open. Then he nearly fell over when he saw a beautiful redhead standing in the cabin doorway.
“Arianna?” Lorcan said. “Is that really you?”
“Well I don’t have a twin so aye, it’s me. I don’t know what I’m doin’ here, but I am here, but who are you and how do you know me?”
Lorcan shook his head. Okay, obviously she’d been brought here from a time before she’d met him—maybe prior to meeting Fiona, too.
“Arianna?” a male voice called and a tall broad blond man appeared beside her. Darius, Arianna’s husband.
“Good sir, do you know what in the name of Christ we are doing here in this peculiar cabin in this odd place?”
“You don’t know?” Lorcan asked.
“Would he be askin’ if he knew?” Arianna always did have a sassy attitude. All the transcendent witches were feisty, but Arianna was likely the most sarcastic with the hottest temper. “You’ve not even told me who you are and who’s your friend?”
“I’m Lorcan. I’d hardly say we’re friends, but his name is Rohese. He works for LAMB, too. He’s half elf, half Fae. Rohese, this is Arianna and Darius Wyndham.”
Rohese stared.
“How do you know us?” Darius raised his eyebrow. “And who is LAMB? I take it that it’s not a tiny sheep?”
“We don’t have a lot of time to explain. Have you seen Fiona?” Lorcan asked, needing to determine if they knew who he was talking about. “Is she in the cabin?”
Arianna cocked her head. “I know no one by that name.”
Shit! That just made things more complicated.
“I’m Lorcan Wright and I’m partner to Fiona…who you’ll know in the future.”
Darius and Arianna stared at one another like they weren’t sure whether to believe him.
“Look, I know you’re a witch.”
Darius stepped in front of his wife. “Are you a witchfinder?”
“No, he’s a demon,” Rohese piped up.
Wouldn’t have been what Lorcan divulged.
“Is that true?” Arianna asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes, but I’m a friendly demon so don’t use your damn hellfire on me. My companion here also has magic and we know you’re a witch, but we’re all on the same side.”
Arianna clutched Darius’s hand tighter.
“How many children do you have?” Lorcan asked.
“That’s a peculiar question,” Darius replied. “We have no children. We’ve only been wed two moons.”
“I believe you are Fiona Maguire’s ancestors?” Rohese nodded, gazing lingeringly at Arianna who was a knockout. “I see where she obtains some of her beauty. The shape of her eyes and color of her skin is like yours.”
Lorcan snorted. Guess the elfae did know what to say to women, for Arianna was eating it up and she stared back at Rohese who women seemed bloody drawn to, till Darius nudged her and she coughed and looked away.
Maybe that was where Fiona developed her preference to light-haired men. It was in the genes.
“I don’t know any Fiona,” Arianna repeated.
“Yeah, well one day she’ll be your granddaughter and we think she’s in danger,” Lorcan said.
No time for lengthy explanations.
“Why should we believe you?” Arianna said. “This strange cabin, which I have seen in my dreams, appeared near where we live. When we stepped inside, the door closed and we couldn’t get out. And when it opened, we found ourselves here.”
“Do you know what the hell is going on?” Darius asked.
“Long story short, your eldest granddaughter, Fiona, works for LAMB, an agency that locates and assesses magical beings.”
“Do they employ witchfinders?” Darius looked around, suspicious.
“Would you shut the hell up about witchfinders…although I understand the concern with your history. LAMB does have some witchfinders, in fact your grandson was one, but I digress. Please just take my word for it…one day we’ll be friends but now we need to find Fiona.”
In the future Darius and Arianna would know Lorcan. He made time journeys to all the transcendent witches. They sent letters and he took photos, which allowed them to stay in touch since they couldn’t time-travel any longer after the Battle of Magic. He wouldn’t mention that horrific battle.
“Fiona’s my partner,” Lorcan continued.
“Your partner,” Arianna interrupted placing her hand on her hip.
Darius squared his jaw and scowled. “You involve our granddaughter in this searching for beings and take her on these danger time jumps?”
“Well I don’t bloody well force her. Nobody forces Fiona Maguire to do anything. I didn’t want to be her partner any more than she wanted to be mine, but now we’re both okay with it.”
“And are you only her partner in employment?” Darius sounded like it was an interrogation and that he was protective of a granddaughter he didn’t even know.
“She’s a grown woman,” Lorcan said. “She’s smart and very particular with the men she chooses.”
Arianna gazed up at Darius as though pleased about that.
“Her only husband was also a demon,” Rohese whispered, sounding disgusted.
“You do know I can hear you, right?” Lorcan grinned. “Besides, I’m not her type. She likes tall, blond men…kinda like you.” He pointed to Darius.
Darius’s face colored.
“Speaking of tall.” Darius nodded toward Rohese. “Are you actually taller than me?”
“Yeah, he is, a little,” Lorcan replied. “And yeah your granddaughter liked him for a while, but they’ve fallen out with each other.”
“Sure, he must be much older if she’s our granddaughter?” Arianna asked looking at Rohese who probably looked in his early forties but was actually over four hundred.
“You have no idea,” Lorcan chuckled. “Anyway, do you have the lantern? Do you know how it works?”
Arianna and Darius shared a look that told Lorcan they had no idea what he was talking about.
“How did you get the cabin to come here if you don’t have the lantern?”
Arianna shook her head. “I’ve no notion what you’re meanin’ and I’ve seen no lantern.”
The shutters on the cabin window snapped open and a voice called out.
“Is this what you’re looking for?”
Lorcan turned sharply. Jaycee hung out the window, smirking as she dangled the lantern in her hand.
“Who in bloody hell is she?” Arianna asked.
“How did she get in there? For she wasn’t there before,” Darius said.
Lorcan held his hands out. “Be careful with that!” he warned.
Rohese stepped forward “Where is Fiona Maguire? If you have harmed her you will face retribution.”
That brought a sneer. Jesus. The elfae prince might attract females like flies to shit, but he really didn’t have any understanding of how to deal with them.
Jaycee pulled a face. “Wouldn’t you like to know!”
Rohese nodded. “It is why I asked.”
Arianna must’ve noticed the tension and she glanced at Lorcan then Jaycee.
“Don’t you try any magic on me!” Jaycee pointed to Arianna. “And no hellfire.”
“How does she know about my hellfire?” Arianna whispered.
“What is the relevance of the lantern?” Rohese asked.
Jaycee flicked her tongue. “It’s how I could choose to take all of you to find your precious Fiona…although I’d just as soon leave her stranded in Scotland. She thought she was so smart taking the lantern and closing the door.
“She believed she’d locked me in. Ha! Little did she know I made sure there was more than one lantern. Dewey’s 3D printer is amazing. I wasn’t sure the replicas would work so I had to try them out a few times, but they’re all as good as the original.”
Lorcan shook his head, trying to take this all in.
“Why Scotland?” Arianna asked. “Oh, I take it has to do with that ghost?” She pointed to him when Angus’s spirit appeared.
“Isn’t she clever!” Jaycee snapped.
“So are we going to Scotland or what?” Lorcan said. “We need a witch to let us inside the cottage.”
“Are you a witch?” Arianna asked the other female. “I don’t sense you having powerful magic and the magic you do have is dark.”
Jaycee placed her hands to her head and nearly dropped the lantern.
“Don’t you try to get inside my head,” she warned Arianna, “or I will drop this.”
Arianna lifted her hands trying to summon the lantern, but Lorcan shook his head. “That might be the only way we can find Fiona. We can’t risk it being broken.”
“Come inside then?” Arianna gestured to Lorcan and Rohese.
Jaycee glared at Arianna. “I’m giving the orders around here!”
“Aren’t you the juvenile one!” Arianna replied.
“I think it best we don’t rile her, my wee witch,” Darius whispered.
With his demon hearing, Lorcan heard.
“Well sure she’s rilin’ me to no end.” Arianna glared.
“Come inside then.” Jaycee sounded sweet now and smiled.
Fuck, her moods really could change in a flash.
Rohese took a breath and pushed his hair back to reveal a pointed ear and Arianna stared. If someone had never seen anyone of elven lineage it would be startling.
They stepped inside and Lorcan wished he had Fiona’s ability to see echoes of what had happened here earlier. He had a sense Jaycee and Fiona had argued.
“Now what?” Lorcan said when everyone stood looking at one another. “Aren’t you going to take us to Fiona?”
Jaycee groaned. “I’m tired of hearing about that woman.”
Lorcan could tell Arianna was biting her tongue. All transcendent witches were protective of their families.
“Do you know Fiona is our granddaughter?” Arianna sounded as if she knew her.
“Yeah. She told me when she begged me not to go back to your time to get you. She didn’t want you involved. Well…I suppose I don’t blame her. It probably won’t end well for her or you. People in Scotland don’t like witches much.”
There was a flash of fear in Arianna’s eyes, but Darius put his arm around her waist protectively.
“So if I were to break that lantern.” Darius stepped forward. “Our granddaughter would be trapped somewhere in Scotland, but my wife would be safe to use her hellfire on you?”
Jaycee smiled. “Aren’t you an impassioned one? I like that in a man. But I don’t think the other two men here would be happy. They both have a thing for your granddaughter who is, like, way older than you two…which is really weird by the way.”
“Are you part snake?” Arianna asked.
Jaycee flicked her forked tongue and smiled at Arianna’s repulsed reaction.
“Don’t pretend you haven’t dealt with malevolence before,” Jaycee said. “Although you wouldn’t know anything about the Battle of Magic yet and what a fight you have on your hands dealing with his father…” she gestured to Lorcan “…and all of his legions. Maybe we should go back there first.”
Lorcan did a double take. He didn’t miss the confusion on Darius and Arianna’s faces. Rohese hadn’t been there that day, but judging by his wide-eyed expression, Fiona must have told him about it.
“I think Dark Lord Odhran and I would get along just fine,” Jaycee said. “Although I sense he liked precious Fiona, too. He was as attracted to her as his son is.”
“What do you hope to gain from this, Jaycee Orm? Is it your wish to take Fiona’s life and that of her grandmother?” Rohese pointed to Arianna. “You desire to hurt the half-demon and me? Will that give you more powerful witch magic or earn favors with anyone?”
Jaycee glared and hissed at Rohese. “With the spell, I’m a powerful witch now.”
“Should I perhaps find a spell that enables me to become a…vampire?” Rohese asked.
What the fuck? Wouldn’t have been Lorcan’s choice of MBs but he could see Rohese had her attention and must be trying to distract or confuse her.
Jaycee made a face. “That’s just stupid, Elrohese. If you wanted to become a vampire, you’d have to be bitten. But why would you want that? You’ve already lived for centuries and you don’t even have to drink blood.”
“But do we not usually desire what we can’t have?”
She growled. “Now you’re talking about Fiona again because you want her.” She sounded hateful. “You want her so badly you’re willing to give up immortality.”
What did Jaycee mean by that? Would Goldilocks give up his semi-immortality to be with Fiona? How would Jaycee know?
Rohese was still talking. Maybe hoping to distract her so Arianna or Lorcan could take the lantern.
“You are young, intelligent and lovely, Jaycee Orm. You have many who believe you are worthy of being a LAMB agent. Your brother cares much for you.”
Or maybe Rohese was a genuine nice guy and trying to make Jaycee feel better?
“If you were to take us to Fiona Maguire and then return these people to their time, we could forget this happened.”
Jaycee’s eyes flashed angrily. “No one at LAMB would forget and I’d still be alone. Joel has to love me!”
“You are fortunate to have a sibling.”
“You told me you have a sister,” Jaycee replied.
“A half-sister, but we are not close and we’re nothin’ alike. My father left my mother to be with hers.”
“Yeah, well my parents left us with LAMB when we were teens. They didn’t like our reptilian traits or my changeable moods.”
Shit! That was harsh, Lorcan thought. Especially if she was bipolar. His empath abilities might help him now.
Lorcan nodded. “Rohese is right, Jaycee. Minerva likes you. Dalton’s a reasonable man. They both defended you today. Take us to Fiona and then let us return Arianna and Darius to their time. We’ll forget this ever happened.”
“You think I’d take the word of a demon?”
“Then, what’s your plan, Jaycee?” Lorcan was losing patience and could feel his temper near the surface. “Going to kill us all?”
Rohese shook his head. Darius and Arianna stared.
“Didn’t you say this LAMB you speak of has a time gateway and that you can make portals sometimes?” Arianna asked.
Lorcan nodded. He hadn’t said all that. Arianna must know his thoughts.
“So maybe we don’t need her and that lantern after all. Let’s walk out that door and use the portal to go find our granddaughter. I can do a locatin’ spell. She is my blood.”
Jaycee shook her head. “You’d never find her in time.”
“In time?” Lorcan asked, wanting to shake the reptilian bitch.
“Before she gets married to Angus MacIntire, or burned at the stake…whichever comes first. The wedding’s tomorrow, but I’ve already begun to spread rumors that she’s been practicing witchcraft. Do you know how suspicious those Scots were back then?” She laughed.
Lorcan was barely keeping his cool. He could likely attack her and knock her down. But if the lantern broke…would they find Fiona? He did have the tartan, but would they get there in time to save her?
“The Highlander Scot does seem to care for her…of course.” Jaycee flicked her tongue. “I did some cool stunts with the lantern in testing it. I took some historical people to different places and times. Messed a little with history. I also used holograms and bent time a little. It was all entertaining. Better than video games.
“I played around with Dewey’s monitors and Ringo even let me touch the control panel for the time machine. With my photographic memory, I could probably run the entire facility now…all by myself.”
Lorcan blew out his breath, trying to remain patient. “How did you get Dewey and Ringo to do that? They’re serious about keeping LAMB’s secrets.”
“Dewey’s a damn virgin and too shy to fall for my seduction, so I had to be sneakier, but Ringo…he’s a lot more adventurous. All I had to do was put my hand down his pants and let him touch my breasts and he would have let me end the damn world as we know it. But O-gee was even more gullible.”
“O G?” Lorcan asked. He could tell Jaycee was dying to tell them what she knew. “Who’s that? An ogre?”
She grinned. “No, he isn’t an ogre. Everyone knows Dewy and Ringo are clones. But did you really think there’s only two? O-gee was the name they gave the original. Dewey is short for Duplicate. And Ringo for ringer. You know as in dead ringer? But I’m sure there’s more somewhere hidden in this place. There’s a lot of things hidden here.”
Jaycee purposely widened her eyes as she glanced around the compound.
Lorcan and Rohese looked at each other. Was there truth to this or was Jaycee just fucking psychotic?
Arianna sighed. “How old are you?” she asked Jaycee.
“Twenty-seven,” Jaycee replied. “Why?”
Arianna shrugged. “It’s taken you this long to figure out you can get what you want from men by offerin’ sexual favors?”
Darius looked like he might just blow his stack, but Lorcan saw Arianna squeeze his hand. She was just bullshitting, trying to fluster the reptilian woman. “It’s the oldest trick in the book, Jaycee. May I call you Jaycee?” Arianna said. “I don’t really know you.”
“No. You don’t know me and I can tell you’re just trying to make me think we have something in common.”
Arianna sighed dramatically. “We’re both female and have dealt with men’s horse shite—sure that’d be enough to unite us.”
“You’re a witch and witches can’t be trusted,” Jaycee snapped.
Apparently she was becoming more upset, for she was swinging the lantern around wildly. Lorcan glanced at Rohese and he nodded, then casually took an arrow from his quiver.
“What are you doing?” Jaycee yelled. “I will drop this. I warn you.”
Rohese shrugged. “If you do the demon will catch it with his super speed…or this lovely red-haired witch with her magic. Or perhaps this large warrior man, for he looks hale and hearty.”
“Just take us to Fiona and then you can make whatever demands you want,” Lorcan suggested. “You want to sleep with me? Or Rohese? Both of us? Together?”
Rohese did a double take, Darius coughed, and Arianna’s green eyes became wider.
Jaycee just stared, amused. “Oh…I’ll be making plenty of demands. But I’m not promising we’ll get to Fiona in time. Maybe we should jump around time again for a while. Then she’ll either be fucking a Scotsman or getting completely fucked up by a whole lot of them. Have you ever seen a person burned alive?”
Lorcan looked away. He had, and it wasn’t something he’d wish on even his most malevolent enemy, much less Fiona.
“I watched some people being burned at the stake,” Jaycee admitted. “It was rather…interesting. The smell was a little much with the fat sizzling, but I’d heard that on crime shows. I knew what to expect.”
Lorcan felt his pulse quicken. He was about ready to take his chances with breaking that damn lantern, too, or maybe Jaycee’s neck, but she was the only one who knew where Fiona was.
“Get us to Fiona and we’ll talk later,” Lorcan agreed.
“Fiona, Fiona, Fiona! Grrr,” Jaycee wheezed but then she whispered a date, and an image of a bridge and a village appeared in the lantern.
Was that Stirling in Scotland?
Angus’s spirit nodded. “That’s where you’ll find her. But hurry…will ye?”
Jaycee flicked her tongue and hissed at Angus, too, but the door closed and the cabin began to move.