Chapter 1
November 2012
London
A gleaming black Maybach sedan sped to a stop in front of the Georgian-style townhouse on a tony block in Mayfair. A man in a bespoke charcoal gray suit emerged from the rear passenger door just as a blue Spyder sports car screeched to a halt behind it. A young man erupted out of the driver's door while a lovely young woman unfolded herself from the passenger seat.
"Baldwin! Did you get summoned too?" Marcus Whitmore asked urgently, then his head swiveled as a classic black London taxi slowed on the street beside the two other cars, its door opening even before it was fully stopped. A petite, exotic-looking woman jumped out. "Miriam! You too?"
"Yes, Matthew summoned me. What's going on?"
"Summoned," the gray-suited man named Baldwin Montclair muttered. "Apparently Matthew needs another reminder just who is the head of his family." He stalked up the steps and banged angrily on the front door of the townhouse while the three vampires behind him exchanged eye-rolls.
Baldwin rapped impatiently on the knocker again, and then tried the front door handle just as it opened. Matthew Clairmont looked from one vampire to the others. "To what do we owe this—oof!" Baldwin pushed him back forcefully and strode into the house. "Please come in. Make yourself at home," Matthew murmured dryly behind him.
Diana Bishop-Clairmont stopped mid-descent on an impressive staircase, her arms around her nearly two-year old daughter Rebecca. She quickly looked back up to the landing where her adopted son Jack was holding the other twin, Philip. Without words, she signaled the obviously worried young man to stay put.
"What the hell is going on, Baldwin?" Matthew demanded.
"I think that's my line," Baldwin retorted. "Why did you… ASK all of us to meet you here? Regarding some 'matter of extreme urgency?'"
"I did no such thing," Matthew said, and all the verification needed was in the confusion on his chiseled face. "We're just preparing to leave for France this afternoon."
Baldwin looked ready to explode and Marcus stepped in between his father and uncle. "Matthew, we all got a summons from you. Miriam, Phoebe and me, and Baldwin."
"It didn't come from me—"
"It came from me," a voice called from the front parlor. A stranger, a man none of them had seen before, stepped from behind the wall. He looked about thirty, tall and lean but muscled, with a strong face, black hair and piercing blue-green eyes. "Sorry for the subterfuge—"
Before another word was uttered, both Matthew and Baldwin had moved at lightning speed and pinned him to the wall behind him. Until a force stronger than both of them pushed them back more than an arm's length from the man.
Matthew's eyes went nearly black and he turned to his wife. "Diana! Why did you do that?"
"It wasn't me, Matthew," she said calmly as she reached the bottom of the staircase. Her gaze moved from her husband to someone farther inside their parlor.
"It was me," a young woman said as she rose from the settee. She had a sweet ethereal look, long red hair that curled around a pretty face, and a lilting Irish accent. But there was no missing the power that emanated from her. Her eyes were the same unusual blue-green as the man's. "Please. If you will all calm down, we will explain." She gestured for them to come into the parlor. When no one made a move, she added. "It is quite urgent. A matter of life or death…. All of yours to be precise."
"You're a witch," Diana stated as she took a seat on a chair. She sat her daughter on her lap but the child reached out toward Ciara and burbled something unintelligible.
"Yes," the young woman said with a smile. "And like you, a historian. I'm Ciara Murphy."
"Ciara Cliodna Murphy? I'm sorry, I know I butchered your middle name. You've done excellent work on early Celtic and Viking history."
The other witch nodded her appreciation. "Thank you. It's pronounced "KLEE-nah." No one but the Irish would ever guess. Too many 'extra' letters. I'd compliment your work on alchemy but mutual professional admiration will have to wait. It's not why we're here." She looked to the young man who was rubbing his chest and glaring at Matthew and Baldwin. Marcus, Miriam and Phoebe had taken seats along with Diana while the two older vampires stood guard at the room's entry, as though ensuring the two strangers would not get away. Jack had come down the stairs and stood on the last step, bouncing Philip in his arms.
The young man exhaled audibly. "I'm Patrick O'Neill—"
Matthew's ire was beyond leashing. "I don't give a f—". He stopped mid-word and looked at his wife and daughter. "I don't give a fruitloop who you are. How did you get into my home? And why?"
"I wike fwuitwoops," a small voice called behind him.
Jack blushed as he shushed the little boy in his arms. "Not now, twittermouse."
The young man named Patrick bit back a smile and glanced at Ciara. "Reminds me of Caelin." Then he turned back to the young man and boy. "You should come in too, Jack. This concerns you also."
Eyes narrowed, Jack said, "How do you know my name?"
"We know all of the de Clermonts. And their friends," he added looking at Miriam.
Fury was coming off Matthew in waves. "So you know us. That gives you no right to break into my home—".
The young man held up a hand to cut him off. "We're here because you are all going to cease to exist in the next two days," he said emphatically. "Unless you listen to us."
"This is some kind of blackmail?" Baldwin exploded. He moved toward Patrick but an invisible hand pushed him back once again. "Stop that!" he roared at Ciara.
"Please, Baldwin! And you too," Diana said, slanting a glance at her husband to ensure he also got the message. "Perhaps we can just listen first and then move on to fury."
The two men glowered at her, then nodded slightly, almost in unison.
"We are members of the "Tempus Custodi—"
"Keepers of time?" Marcus asked, translating the Latin instantly.
"In English we say 'time guardians' but… yes," Patrick said, and then instantly held up his hand to forestall the questions about to come from everyone. "I'll explain briefly now, more later if you wish." He looked around the room. "And I'm guessing this crowd will demand more."
He had an American accent and the expected irreverence to go with it. "For now- Time sometimes gets out of whack. It can happen for many reasons, including the inadvertent actions of time-walkers." He looked at Diana. "Sometimes, timewalkers stay too long in the past and affect things. Or take some small action that affects an event that is supposed to happen in the future. Not all little changes matter in terms of history but some could have apocalyptic effect. The Tempus Custodi are charged with fixing those situations to allow time to progress as it is supposed to. We've done it throughout history."
"Who decides how it is supposed to go?" Phoebe asked.
Patrick smiled at her. "Yes, that is the salient question." He took a deep breath and pressed forward. "There is a main timeline and there are … higher powers – in the past they were called gods and goddesses. Today some might think of them as extraterrestrials. I've heard them described as the collective consciousness of all humanity. What I know for sure is that they know the entire history of humans, past, present and future. All of it. I don't know who originally decided how it would all go, but the entire history of humanity is known to them. And it could end any time if history goes terribly wrong. That's what we're here to prevent."
"Only the history of humans? What about creatures? Do we not count?" Matthew asked quietly.
"Creatures are simply humans with a difference. You know that now, right?" Patrick responded with a small smile. "But to your real point, there is a council, made up of humans and creatures, who advise and debate and make the decisions that are not obvious about which timelines must be fixed. It gets… quite complex. The Book of Life explains that a new era is dawning, one where humans and creatures will flourish again—together- but… it could end almost before it begins unless you believe us. And act now."
Diana and Matthew exchanged a cautious, worried look.
"So you know about the Book of Life," Diana said. Her witch's intuition was prickling the colored threads beneath her skin. "There's more though, isn't there? What have you not told us? Did we, Matthew and I, do something in 1590 that is coming home to roost now?"
Patrick shook his head. "No, we cleaned up all of those anomalies a long time ago. They were minor, with the exception of Jack."
The young man's head popped up and his face telegraphed apprehension. But miraculously, his blood rage did not surface, his gray-green eyes simply showing concern. The blood rage never surfaced when he was holding one of the children.
Patrick guessed he was causing Jack anxiety and rushed to continue. "And somehow, when we consulted the main line of history, Jack was meant to be here. Now. With all of you."
Diana smiled at her eldest and Matthew nodded at him reassuringly. "So what anomaly are you here about? That would threaten this family?" he asked.
Patrick exchanged a look with Ciara, then returned his attention to the de Clermonts. "When all of you killed Benjamin Fuchs and his children and grandchildren, what you didn't know is that there were a half dozen of his family members not in Chelm."
"How do you know about Chelm—" Baldwin interrupted.
"Mr. Montclair, if we are who we say we are, we would know it all. And we are exactly who we say we are. Benjamin's surviving children are the worst of the lot. And they're plotting revenge. Horrific revenge. They plan to kill all of the de Clermonts.
"And they will start by blowing up Sept-Tours while you are all there celebrating your twins' second birthday," Patrick continued. Although we understand their plan calls for them to take Diana and her daughter first, then eliminate everyone else."
The shock that statement created silenced them all for a moment and Matthew's eyes turned momentarily black until he regained some fragile control. And could speak.
"You obviously know things you shouldn't know. So you must also know we can and will protect our own. We always have."
"And we always will," Baldwin declared. "The de Clermonts… and the Knights of Lazarus." He nodded at Marcus who first looked stunned at Baldwin's declaration, but quickly nodded back.
"Yes, generally speaking the de Clermonts are well-capable of that. But in this case, multiple forces are coming for you, united in their desire to destroy your family. Some have been working against you for centuries. Some you may even have considered friends and allies. He shook his head. "Later for that. The only solution we can offer immediately is to… remove you and your family and friends from your timeline temporarily, while we work to identify the plot and the plotters. And bring them to an end."
"You said some of our supposed allies are helping Benjamin's children?" Baldwin said. He looked at Matthew. "Gerbert. And probably Domenico."
"And others," Patrick responded. "We will share more of the intelligence with you once we get you all to safety."
"And how would you do that?" Diana asked.
"We will simply take you to a place to which you are not connected, hopefully for not more than a few days. You would live your lives together during this time and enjoy a … family holiday of sorts. We will need some of you to assist as we work through the intelligence. You may see things we don't immediately recognize as relevant, or wrong."
"Where is this… place, where you'll take us?" Marcus asked.
"Ireland. The time guardians have always had a headquarters there." Ciara answered. "And my family is there. Patrick and I are cousins, although his branch are Americans. We'll take you to one of our family homes and cast a spell that will shield the property from other's eyes. So no one could see you even if they knew where to look."
"A spell?" Diana's curiosity nearly overrode her concern over what they'd just been told.
"Yes. As you guessed, I'm a witch, from an old family of hereditary witches. We've worked with the time guardians for many centuries. And I assure you, our highest and most sacred vow is first to do no harm. As witches and Tempus Custodi. Please… let us help you."
Baldwin threw up his hands. "I'm sorry. We're just supposed to accept this? The word of two possibly insane people who broke into this house? And now are telling us everything in history, every moment of humanity's existence, was pre-ordained by aliens? Or gods who might be aliens?"
"Baldwin—" Diana said,
"No, sister. This is absurd. I've lived through more of history than anyone else in this room and I can tell you there is no invisible hand guiding it along according to some predetermined blueprint."
Patrick and Ciara looked at each other and shared a silent communication. Finally Patrick nodded almost imperceptibly. Ciara raised her hand and gestured toward the fireplace as though inviting someone in. And a man appeared out of the air.
"My son, I lived a thousand and more years than you. And one thing you always struggled to discern is the mystery, the magic, that underlies everything."
"Philippe?" six vampires exclaimed in unison.
Diana rose and walked to him. "Philippe," she said on a sob, and walked into his arms.
Once the decision to go was made, Diana and Marthe packed up what the children would need for a few days away while the others milled about in the main parlor, not yet over the shock of seeing their family's patriarch once more. It was as though they wanted to ensure he did not suddenly disappear again. They watched him play with the two youngest members of the family without comment. None of them knew what to say to him.
Finally Matthew tried.
"You seem well. And—" Matthew stopped himself, unable to put the rest of his thought into words.
"And whole. Yes, my son. The time guardians went back to a time before I… died. They removed me from an alternate timeline before Benjamin was able to do much damage. Nothing that vampire blood could not heal."
"But you're dead?" Baldwin said. "Only you're not. Or are we all under some kind of a spell?"
Philippe smiled. "You have always dealt best with what is black and white, on a balance sheet and in life, Baldwin. But some of life's mysteries are beyond explanation. Or just beyond our ability to understand the explanation at this point in human development," he said as he bounced his grandchildren Becca and Philip on his knees. Philip's griffin familiar had come into the room a while earlier, seemingly unperturbed by the appearance of Philippe, and taken up a place on the floor next to the ancient vampire.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," Jack murmured. Then he looked up and around, embarrassed to have spoken aloud.
Matthew smiled proudly and Baldwin looked surprised. Marcus chuckled and ruffled the back of the young vampire's hair. "You read that book I gave you," he said when Jack nodded.
"Twice," he said with a shy smile.
Philippe merely nodded at the young vampire who was his great-grandson. He had contributed to Jack's education in his own way and was pleased to see Marcus taking a similar interest in the boy who was his younger brother in every way that counted.
"That's it, exactly, Jack," Philippe said. "It is beyond my ability to fully understand. Even now. But when I crossed over, I was asked to serve on the guiding council of the Tempus Custodi. Few arrive with as much experience of history as I had."
"How is it none of us ever heard of the time guardians before?" Marcus asked.
"A mundane name for such an significant and courageous group of warriors but no one asked for my input at the outset," Philippe chuckled. "They actually predate my rebirth. A rare occurrence. And they are as good at keeping secrets as any vampire I've ever known."
Turning serious, Philippe continued. "Throughout time, I was often called arrogant but one who lives as long as I, sees many things. I first encountered the Tempus Custodi in the first century. Baldwin, you will remember I came to Londinium with Caesar and he tasked me to lead a small contingent to Ireland. To assess whether it was worth conquering. I met these guardians of time then. And while I did not comprehend as much as now, they demonstrated enough to me that I believed what they told me."
"You told Caesar there was nothing in Ireland worth his time or treasure," Baldwin said.
"Yes. It seemed best at the time."
He handed Philip off to Jack and shifted Rebecca so he could reach for his goblet. After a healthy swig of wine, he said, "Few things are better than a glass of excellent wine." That prompted Matthew to refill his goblet.
He sat back and continued his discourse. "The council is comprised of humans and creatures who have all passed on from this world. They remove us from our timeline just before we die but after it would affect no future event. Or none that matters in the main timeline. We … thrash out the discordant information and timelines that occur. Using our collective knowledge and understanding to ensure history happens as it should."
"I can't even imagine how difficult that would be," Phoebe said.
Philippe send his grandson's wife an appreciative smile. "Yes, it makes for some lively debates. Events are almost always confusing and hard to interpret. We don't act until we all agree. In this case, though, there was no difference of opinion among the council members. The de Clermonts have played a role in much of human history. But, if no action is taken now, the family will soon cease to be."
Philippe looked about him, pausing briefly on each of his family members in turn. "That would be disastrous for all of human kind. There is still much to do in the future, for all of you, for these children, " he said. "For others in the family now and those still to come. You must listen to Patrick and Ciara. There is no time to lose."
"What of the family at Sept-Tours?" Baldwin asked, having made the decision of what to do in his own mind.. "If all this is true, they're in danger. Ysabeau…." He watched the light that came into Philippe's eyes at the mention of her name and lost all doubt that this was indeed his sire.
Diana had returned a minute earlier and added, "Sarah and Agnes are there now too. And Sophie and Nathaniel with them," she added. "And Fernando, and Alain and Victoire."
Patrick spoke up. "There is another team of time guardians there. To take them to safety."
"What about Chris?" Miriam asked suddenly. The two had become a duo in more ways than one. "He's in New Haven. He may be in danger too."
Patrick nodded. "There are a few stragglers, yes. We'll bring them along also. But we must go now." He looked around the room and one by one the de Clermonts nodded. Matthew's and Baldwin's phones began to ring almost simultaneously, and each turned toward separate walls to answer them.
"I can't tell you more now, but yes, go with them, Fernando. Take everyone from Sept-Tours. We'll meet you there," Baldwin was saying.
"Oui, Maman," Matthew said, his gaze falling on Philippe. "You will be glad you came. We'll see you there soon."
As they both ended their calls, Ciara murmured ancient words only the vampires could make out and made a gesture with her hand that encompassed the room. And everyone in it blinked out of time.