Chapter 2
And they rematerialized in a homey and comfortable great room in a renovated castle near the coast of County Kerry. Large windows faced a lake and multi-hued green hills beyond, and flooded the room with light.
"How the hell—" Baldwin began, then he looked at his small niece and nephew and remembered they repeated almost everything they heard.
"Howdy hell," Philip said, delighted by a new phrase. His parents exchanged a mutual eye roll while Philippe laughed heartily.
When Diana shot him a reproving look, he laughed again. "A grandfather's prerogative, daughter."
"We have more important concerns at the moment, Diana," Baldwin began then stopped as another crowd of people appeared in the room.
"Diana!" Sarah exclaimed, rushing to her niece's side. "Are you all okay? What is going on?"
"Well, this is cool," Sophie Wilson said, gazing out the large windows. She smiled dreamily. "I always wanted to visit Ireland."
Her husband Nathaniel stood at her side, holding their three-year old daughter Margaret. He didn't look as pleased as his wife. His mother, Sarah's great friend and current head of the Congregation was surveying the charming room. "Beautiful use of color," Agnes Wilson murmured to herself.
"Matthew," Ysabeau exclaimed, as she quickly moved toward her son. She spoke softly in the old language they always used between them. "Qu'ei fasent?"
Philippe stood at the side of the room, surveying the group with one raised brow and a bemused look on his face. Until Ysabeau spoke. A look of unguarded longing crossed his face and nearly stopped his already slowly beating heart. And the ancient vampire was momentarily overcome.
Ysabeau was searching the room too, ensuring all of her large family had made it. Then she saw him. Had she been human, she was sure her heart would have stopped completely as the man she had loved for millennia walked slowly through the crowd, drinking in every particle of the sight before him.
Ysabeau was frozen in place. "Philippe," she breathed.
"Ysabeau, my love." He wrapped her in his arms and the room fell silent. After a long minute in which the two took no note of anyone else there, Philippe cleared his throat. "There is a path beside the lake. Will you walk with me?"
Ysabeau nodded, and managed two words. "Of course."
Arm in arm, they left and the room remained silent for a long moment until young Becca spoke. "Go with Gwanny and Gwampa?" she asked her father.
"Not now, sweet girl," Matthew said quietly, blinking back the moisture in his eyes.
"She knows Philippe?" Baldwin asked no one in particular.
No one answered because the attention of all was captured by Chris Roberts materializing at the end of the room. "What the hell—", Chris blurted. He quieted immediately, as Miriam moved to his side.
"Howdy hell," Philip called and Jack put a finger over his lips to shush him.
"Our apologies, Dr. Roberts," Ciara said to Chris. "We wanted my cousin Cait to meet you and explain before we transported you but we couldn't reach her. I was in London and my sister Áine was in France."
"Uh-huh," he said noncommittally. It was clear her words added nothing to his understanding but he held his questions for the moment. Then everyone was startled again as Hamish Osborne appeared on his other side, looking every bit as confused as Chris.
Hamish held his tongue and quickly surveyed the room. Spotting all the de Clermonts and the Bishops and the Wilsons, along with assorted friends and retainers, he sighed. "Well, if all of you are here, I know it's one hell of a story. Would someone care to fill me in?"
Ciara and Patrick greeted the time keepers who had accompanied the group from Sept-Tours. "How did it go, sister?" Ciara asked as she kissed the cheek of the young woman while Patrick exchanged a hearty hug with a man who resembled him closely. "All accounted for, Conor?" he asked.
"It went as planned, brother," he said. "Áine was very useful."
The young woman was more communicative. "Our guests were skeptical at first but it helped that Sarah Bishop is also a witch. And she would have known if anything I said was a lie. And then they called your group and they were ready to go not long after," she said with a smile. She was clearly the younger sister and looked little older than a teenager. "It would take our mother longer to prepare to go out to do the marketing."
"You both did well. We still haven't heard from Cait though. Have you spoken to her?" Patrick asked.
Áine shook her head. "I don't feel anything that would tell me she's not all right."
"Me either," Ciara said. "But we haven't been able to reach her by phone since yesterday morning. When it was decided to bring the de Clermonts here immediately, we called and texted her, no response."
The younger witch looked at Patrick. "Should we be worried?"
He shook his head. "No one can take care of herself better than my sister."
"Yeah, we know, five older brothers and all that," Ciara said impatiently. "But, it's not like her to be out of touch—"
As they spoke, they heard the front door open and a voice call out, "Hello the house! Who's home?"
"Oh, thank God," Ciara breathed, rushing to meet her cousin in the foyer where she was dropping a leather portfolio on a bench, and her keys in a bowl on the glass console table there. The woman was stunning, with reddish blonde hair pulled into long sleek pony tail, and the same striking blue-green eyes as the others. She was fashionably dressed in a silk pants suit that flattered every curve. And she was immediately recognizable as the face for a major line of skin care and make-up products, even to Diana who rarely used any. And Sarah who never did.
"Hi Cuz," Caitlin O'Neill greeted Ciara. "The New York clients loved the renovations and the decorating. They took Finn and I out for a champagne-fueled dinner last night." She spotted Sheena, Patrick and Conor behind her. "Are we having a party?"
"You don't know the half of it," Áine said quietly, eliciting a puzzled look from her older cousin.
"Why didn't you answer my calls? Or texts?" Patrick demanded as he rushed to her side.
"Slow your roll, Patrick," Caitlin answered in a way that said this was a familiar conversation. "You may be my older brother but you are not the boss of me—"
"Cait—" he growled.
"Not that I owe you an explanation but my phone took a dive into the East River the night before last. I couldn't get a replacement right away because of all the security you all demand on our phones so I just called Mom last night to make sure everything was okay there. What's going on that you just had to reach me?"
"Well to begin, you have a houseful of people," Ciara began.
"It's a Tempus Custodi emergency," Áine added.
"We haven't had one of those in a while," Caitlin drawled. "What's the deal Patrick?"
"I'll explain more later. Suffice it to say we have twenty-one people to protect, and we have to put them up with you for a few days. We had to move them out of their time line to keep them from being blown to eternity. And avoid the beginning of the end of history for creatures and maybe all of humanity.
Caitlin blinked. "O-kay," she said slowly. "So nothing too serious. Can some of these people double up? We only have twenty-two bedrooms in this house…."
With that, she saw Diana standing in the in the hallway behind them and smiled.
"Hello. Welcome to my home," she said warmly. "I'm Caitlin O'Neill. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived. I was finishing a project in New York." She held out her hand and Diana took it.
"You're a witch too," Diana said.
"Guilty," Caitlin replied with a smile. "I uncloaked as I came in, because I didn't know we had company. But since you are as well…." She saw Sarah Bishop next and smiled. "And, we may soon have enough witches for a coven if this keeps up. Pleased to meet you, I'm Caitlin."
Agnes and Sophie peeked out from the great room. "Daemons too! Welcome."
"I put your face on one of my pots," Sophie said, her eyes wide. "I think I have a picture on my phone—"
"Not now," her mother-in-law whispered, then she introduced herself. "I love your designs," Caitlin said. "Wonderful use of color and texture."
After exchanging a few more words with Agatha, Caitlin noticed Marcus, Fernando and Jack loitering in the great room. "And we have vampires. It's practically a meeting of the Congregation." She turned back to her brother Patrick with a quizzical expression on her face. "What exactly is going on, big brother?"
He sighed. "This will take some explanations—for everyone. But maybe can we defer them until we get everyone settled? It's been a little chaotic…"
Caitlin looked surprised but she was clearly used to unusual requests. "Sure. Where's Maggie?" she asked, looking around for her housekeeper. The woman appeared beside her immediately, looking a little upended, and hoping for instructions about what to do with the sudden influx of creatures of all stripes.
"Seems we're having an impromptu house party, Mags," Caitlin said with a laugh. "Let's get everyone a room – and then we can serve cocktails in the great room, perhaps?"
She quickly sorted the room arrangements as she worked her way through the group. Ysabeau and Philippe were assigned a suite overlooking the park, as were Marcus and Phoebe. Diana got a larger suite looking over the lake so the children could stay with her and Matthew. Fernando, Hamish and Jack were assigned to the bunk room. "It's a large family with quite a few cousins so we have a bunk room. But it's well-appointed and the beds are very comfortable," she said to the men apologetically. They assured her it would be fine.
Sarah and Agatha were given a room over the gardens, and Nat, Sophie and baby Margaret a suite next to theirs. She tried to send Marthe, Victoire and Alain to rooms above but Marthe announced they would prefer to be close to the kitchens and they were accommodated in the area originally designed for a large household staff where only Maggie and her husband the groundskeeper resided at present.
"Is that everyone?" Caitlin asked
"A few of our men stepped outside to talk," Diana said. "Philippe and—
"We're here, mon coeur," Matthew said, as he stepped back in through the French doors with Philippe, Ysabeau and Baldwin.
Caitlin put her hand out to introduce herself to the late arrivals. "Cait—" she stopped mid-word and her face drained of color. "Baldwin?"
The vampire had an identical look of astonishment. "Caitlin?"
The room went silent. And it held for what felt like minutes, everyone focused on the two shocked protagonists.
"You know each other?" Diana finally asked when it appeared not even Miriam could speak.
"Y-yes," Caitlin stammered, her eyes locked on the eldest de Clermont son.
"We do," Baldwin said, a look on his face that Diana had never seen before. Hurt, longing, anger, tenderness all warred with each other on the planes of his handsome face. Being Baldwin, he led with anger. "Where the hell did you go?" he demanded without preamble. "I told you to wait for me-"
That got Caitlin's back up immediately. "And I don't take orders from you, Mr. Montclair."
Baldwin exploded. "Well you sure as hell owed me an explanation—"
Caitlin's eyes flashed with indignation. "I owed you…?" she spat out. "After you lied to me, I owed you nothing!"
"I never lied to you!" he bellowed. "I left for a meeting and when I came back you were gone. I told you I'd be back directly and I was—"
"You told me a lot of things. Except the little one about being the head of the Congregation!"
"What?" Baldwin said, confusion knocking other emotions off is face. "Why the hell would you care about…?" He collected himself enough for his vampire senses to kick back in. "Wait, you're a WITCH?"
"Yes. And I was just about to tell you that when you stepped away to take a call and set up a meeting of the Congregation! Because, as you so sweetly put it, "the fucking witches are at it again!"
Marcus looked at Matthew. "That's the best Baldwin imitation I ever heard."
Thunderclouds crossed Baldwin's face and he sent a hard glare at his nephew before turning back to the woman before him. "That's it. We're not having this discussion here—" He reached for Caitlin's hand whereupon she flicked a finger at the air and pointed up - and he found himself hanging midway between the floor and the fourteen foot ceiling. "Put me down!" he roared, flailing at the odd sensation of floating in mid-air.
"No! Not until we finish this. You told me you were a businessman. Real estate and—and investments! Heading the Congregation is a heckuva big secret, Baldwin!"
"Why would it matter?"
"Because I'm a witch!"
"AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT, DID I? THAT'S A HELLUVA BIG SECRET TOO!" He had stopped floundering and was trying to find a place to put his arms without the aid of gravity. "You knew I was a vampire?"
Caitlin stared daggers at him. "Of course I knew. I'm a witch!"
He had calmed now and Caitlin nodded her head, which dropped him suddenly to the floor. Being a vampire, he landed lightly and stood to his full height. "How did I not know that?"
"My family has used a cloaking spell when we're out in the world, for centuries. And the most important reason for it is that we wanted to avoid the attention of your Congregation."
"A cloaking spell? Is that like a disguising spell?" Sarah asked.
Ciara answered, "Similar but even another witch can't recognize us when we use it."
"Can you practice magic when you are 'cloaked'?" Diana asked, her curiosity piqued.
"No, but we can undo the cloaking in a second if magic is suddenly needed," Áine replied.
"Enough, cousins," Caitlin said. "I don't think we should be sharing so much with a member of the Congregation." She looked at Patrick. "De Clermonts. I didn't make the connection before. You will need to explain why you chose to bring the family that founded the Congregation, and created their so-called Covenant, into my home."
Philippe stepped forward. "You have mostly me to blame for that. I'm Philippe de Clermont. At the time, we thought forming the Congregation was the only way for creatures to survive in an increasingly hostile world of humans."
Caitlin snorted. "Well, with all due respect, it was quite a display of arrogance to think nine creatures in a place far away could make an agreement that would bind all creatures, for all time."
Diana giggled. "Oh, I think we're going to get along famously," she said. "But you should know the Congregation has been reformed. And the Covenant set aside."
"Yes, we heard that." Caitlin looked at her brother Patrick. "But I thought we said we'd wait a decade or two to see if the changes actually stuck, brother."
"We had to accelerate the plan when this problem came up," he replied through gritted teeth. "If you answered your fucking phone, you'd know that, sister."
Baldwin turned toward Patrick. "Keep a civil tongue when you speak to her," Baldwin said, angling his body to stand between Patrick and Caitlin.
"And there it is," Miriam murmured to Marcus. "Another de Clermont mating with a witch."
"Miriam, keep your thoughts to yourself," Baldwin growled. "I need to speak with Caitlin. Now." He reached for her hand again and she backed off.
"I believe I told you I don't answer to you," she said. "You may have reformed your little club but I'm still a 'fucking witch,' Baldwin."
Baldwin ran his hand through his hair, leaving some of the deep copper strands standing straight up. It was an uncharacteristic gesture, more something Matthew would do in moments of exasperation.
"Please. Let's just step away from the crowd and talk, Cait. Please." Vampire witch and daemon eyebrows rose around the room at the sound of the de Clermont's current king pleading.
Cait hesitated, warring within herself but finally nodded. "All right. Let me get everyone settled. I—I need to make one phone call first. Conor, can you call Mom on your phone, please? And let me speak with her—
Her brother instantly took his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and pressed a button before handing it over.
"Mom? It's me. Listen, we have a—a crowd at my place. I'll just meet you later at yours, okay?"
At she spoke, the front door opened and a woman's voice called out. "Too late, darling, we're already here!"
Two handsome older women entered the room. From their looks, expecially their unusual blue-green eyes, they were mother and grandmother to Caitlin and the others. Each was holding the hand of a small boy. Spotting Caitlin, the two boys took off, and hurled themselves at her.
"Mama! Mama! You're home! Did you miss us? We missed you!" the two boys said, speaking over each other. They appeared to be about four years old and were identical. "Tess has a new colt!" "We got ice cream with the McCormac!"
"My favorite boys in the world," Caitlin answered, crouching down to give them both a hug. She kissed them and hugged them again. "I missed you too, mo chlann mhac-:
"Are we having a party?" one of the boys whispered, looking curiously around the room.
"Unka Conor! Unka Patrick! Will you play baseball with us?" the other called out to the two O'Neill brothers.
But no one else in the room spoke. They were all numbly staring at the two little copper-haired boys. Then looking at the copper-haired vampire standing, paralyzed, in the center of the room. And he was looking at the two little boys in shock. Only Philippe seemed unsurprised by what he was seeing. He waved at the children.
"Fweep!" the two boys said in unison, and Baldwin turned to glare at his father.
"You knew?" he said accusingly. Philippe responded with a maddening grin.
"We do have to talk, Baldwin," Caitlin said quietly.
"You're damn right," he responded furiously. "Seems like there's at least one more secret we need to discuss."