Chapter 6

Ireland

Matthew and Baldwin entered the war room after cleaning up and changing clothes. Baldwin threw two billfolds on the table before throwing himself into a chair. "Matthew and I are sure one was Benjamin's son. We didn't recognize the other's scent."

Patrick picked up one and looked at the ID. "Benedict Fox," he said. "One of Benjamin's family, for sure."

"The other was named Michael Gunn, a Scottish citizen according to his papers," Matthew said.

Philippe looked thoughtful. "Michel Auger's family always take a new surname that means some kind of weapon. It used to be spear or sword in whatever language was spoken where they were starting a new life. But modern times," he sighed and did not finish his thought.

"It's not definitive but, likely one of his grandsons or great-grandsons was involved. And if that's true, then he's probably involved too," Baldwin said. "Neither Matthew or I recognized the scent so it wasn't one of his sons."

"We should proceed as if Michel is involved. Walfrid too," Philippe said.

"And the witch from the Congregation, von Borcke," Matthew added. "Diana and Janet recognized her magical signature at Sept-Tours. Possibly another witch but we have no idea who it might be."

"She is the most powerful witch on the Congregation, maybe even more so than Knox was," Baldwin said. "Not like Diana. Or the witches here, though."

"Speaking of witches, Ciara returned from Norway a little while ago," Patrick said. "Our informant said they are chomping at the bit there, frustrated and starting to fight with each other. They've heard back from their people watching all the residences you use that no one from the family has been seen in almost two days. They're worried some 'partner' is going to start demanding answers but the informant hasn't confirmed a name. He did say they keep mentioning Venice—"

"Domenico then. And Gerbert. As we suspected," Matthew said.

"He said that Venice had recommended Michael Gunn to them. And he'd been sent with another of Benjamin's sons to watch Sept-Tours."

"Gerbert has always maintained a close relationship with Michel Auger, despite Auger being a Knight. I think we can confirm that link in the chain now," Baldwin said. "Gunn was most likely part of Auger's family."

"Yes," Philippe said. "Auger's a traitor to the Knights. And the de Clermonts."

"One other thing," Baldwin said looking thoughtful. "I've been wondering if they would go after Verin, Freyja or Stasia if they cannot get to us. Or my daughter Myako. I want to check in with them to see if they have seen anything unusual."

"Christ, if you bring them here—" Matthew started to say, then sighed. "They would at least be safe."

"And my sisters will never forgive us if they don't have the chance to see you, Philippe," Baldwin said quietly, looking at his sire. He turned his attention to Dimitrios and Patrick. "My phone is completely secure and all of theirs are too. My security people run weekly checks remotely and in person at least once a month."

"Yes, your security team does excellent work," Dimitrios said. "Go ahead and contact them.

Patrick added, "Caitlin has a few more rooms, or we could put them up at Castle O'Connelly down the road. If they want to come."

Baldwin left to make his calls and the others dispersed, except for Matthew, Fernando and Philippe.

"Who would have expected Baldwin to be the one to think of the others?" Matthew murmured.

"Of course he would, Matthew," Fernando said, irritation showing. "The man spends virtually his entire life thinking about the de Clermont family's needs, its security, its reputation, its fortunes. It's basically all he does."

Matthew looked surprised, and slightly chastised. "I didn't mean to imply he's entirely self-centered—"

"No, but you also never really notice that Baldwin's life is not his own. Because he's so damn condescending and dictatorial in the manner in which he does things."

"Fernando is correct," Philippe said quietly. "Baldwin shoulders all the responsibility of the de Clermont family and it takes up every moment of his life. He does it alone. I had Ysabeau and it was still sometimes overwhelming. It's the reason why he could never lead the Knights of Lazarus. No one could serve two masters in the manner Baldwin does any job given to him. But he would kill himself trying. He has always been that way."

"I always wondered if you didn't completely trust him," Matthew said quietly.

"Quite the opposite, my son. I trust Baldwin to always do what must be done, no matter how difficult. He never lets his heart override his best judgment. And I have learned, lately, that can be a mistake. Sometimes. I only hope Baldwin can learn that lesson before it's too late for him."

Norway

"I want to know what the hell you idiots are doing," the dark-haired man yelled with overt authority as he burst into the encampment's main building. "It's been days since you set the bombs at Sept-Tours and nothing has happened."

Devlin Fuchs bared his teeth at Domenico but the other vampire was having none of it.

"Your father would have had this done—"

"My father is dead, thanks to the de Clermonts," Devlin hissed. "We have just as much reason to want the witch in our hands—and the others all dead- as you and Gerbert."

"But Gerbert has wanted them dead for a thousand years longer, pup," Domenico replied. "His hatred is far deeper. And his patience is running out."

"They are not at Sept-Tours," Devlin's brother Valerian said. "All the intelligence we had—and you provided—said the entire family would be there. The witch and her daughter would be easy marks at the family celebration, you said—"

"So have you checked the other places they regularly reside? London? New Haven? Oxford? The chateau near Sept-Tours?"

"Or course we have," Valerian spit out. "They've gone to ground. All of them. Baldwin's not in New York or Berlin. Marcus is not in his little shack in bumfuck America. The witch's aunt is not in the ramshackle house in Madison. Or with the Australian daemon. Ysabeau is nowhere to be found."

Domenico absorbed that information, and sat down in a chair at the rustic wood table. He picked up a glass and a half-full bottle of wine, and then poured himself a glass. He sipped, and then quietly said, "Gerbert will not be pleased."

"Well, we're not exactly dancing a jig here either," Devlin growled. "Our best contact in London has no information either. Luc's been there for the past week and his source has gone dry."

"They've obviously been tipped off. You must have a mole in your team—"

"Not a chance. Every one here is a long-time contact…." Valerian said.

Domenico frowned. "Who are the two last to join your crew?"

"The man you sent, Michael Gunn was the last. We've… lost touch with him and our nephew who was watching Sept-Tours but it's only been a little more than a day. They may be hunting or—"

And the other next newest man?"

"Eric Sorley. I met him fifty or more years ago. We biked around the Far East for a year in the Seventies. I've seen him occasionally since then."

Domenico frowned, and looked as though he might know the name but couldn't place it right away. As he contemplated it, the door opened and a giant blonde vampire walked in, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"The team's gettin' antsy—"

"Gallowglass," Domenico shouted, rising to his feet. "He's a de Clermont!"

Gallowglass didn't wait to see if he could dissuade the other two men. With vampire speed, he disappeared out the door and into the thick forest surrounding the encampment.

"Holy Christ," he muttered to himself, pulling out a talisman around his neck as he ran, and pressing its center. "Don't fail me now, lass," he said as he heard more than a few vampires gaining on him from behind. He kept running, and gave silent thanks for his habit of running through these woods to escape too much time with Benjamin's whelps. His scent was everywhere.

"I think he's gone this way!" one vampire shouted behind him and Gallowglass heard several others follow him in the wrong direction. "Make sure all the docks are covered! He can't get off the island without a boat!"

"The freshest scent is this way," someone, probably Domenico called. Luckily Benjamin's family didn't like him much and they mostly chose to follow their own.

Gallowglass took a hard right turn and came to a skidding stop as he realized he would knock Ciara over if he didn't stop. He only bumped into her lightly and lifted her off her feet to keep from toppling her, given his size compared to hers. "Thank Christ," he breathed. "We need to get out of—"

They blinked out of Norway and arrived in Ireland, in the midst of the family room where most of the residents had gathered for a pre-dinner drink.

"—here now," Gallowglass said. He smiled. "I knew there was a good reason I love you, lass." He kissed her hard on the mouth as he wrapped her in his massive arms. A cough from behind him a few seconds later caught his attention and he slowly turned his head to find the entire de Clermont family sitting around the room. All of them grinning like loons.

"Gallowglass," Matthew said. "Good of you to join us."

Gallowglass slowly dropped his arms from around Ciara but he kept one arm around her waist. He looked at her. "A more private venue might have been nice."

She looked contrite. "Sorry, Eric. This is where I was when I got your SOS. I just did a fast boomerang spell."

"Aye. Well, better to be here than with Benjamin's sons and Domenico hard on my heels." He looked around. "Slightly better."

Diana rose from the couch and went to him. "Gallowglass," she sighed as she stepped up and kissed him on the cheek. "We've missed you."

"I've missed all of you, Auntie," he grinned. It was completely sincere and Diana felt his affection. But she sensed his love was all for the witch beside him. It lightened her heart immensely.

And in a moment every member of the family was either clapping him on the back, pumping his hand, hugging him, or kissing his cheek.

"Diana is correct," Ysabeau said as she dabbed at her eyes. "We've missed you, Sir Nomad."

Philippe was the last. "Welcome back," he said. "I guessed when Ciara disappeared she had gone to retrieve you. I'm glad you're safe and sound, Eric."

"And I am as well, Grandad," Gallowglass said.

"I really must learn these transport spells," Diana said. She turned to the O'Connelly witches. "When this is over, I'd like to spend some time with all of you."

"You will be most welcome, always," Caitlin said. "Ciara, if your friend wants to clean up, we're heading in to dinner in about ten minutes."

"If we're a little late, don't worry about us. Come on, Eric," Ciara said with a smile as she dragged Gallowglass off.

They arrived back after the main course was served but neither seemed hungry so they took the two open chairs at the end of the long dining table. Both looked slightly flushed, and Gallowglass poured two glasses of wine from a crystal decanter and gave one to Ciara. Then he looked down the table. "Well now, what's new?"

"Apparently you're now an informant," Baldwin said dryly.

Everyone laughed and settled in to the new reality of having Gallowglass among them again, and Gallowglass having a woman in his life who was not Diana. But was a witch. A weaver, to boot. And a historian.

In a few minutes a cheese course was served, with fruits and berries and nuts for the vampires and, after another half hour of chatter, the group returned to the family room. And began to pump Gallowglass for information about how he came to be an informant, and what had transpired among Benjamin's family.

"Well, granddad sent Patrick to find me about four months ago. The time guardians had figured out who from Benjamin's family was still alive—"

"But we had to be sure none of them had ever crossed paths with Gallowglass as a de Clermont," Philippe added.

"You've been working on this for months?" Marcus asked. He looked hurt that he and the rest of the family had not been read in. "Did you not trust us to keep it confidential?"

"Not at all, Marcus," Dimitrios said. "But we suspected you have a mole or an informant in your midst. Too many things leak out of your circle…"

"I've been worried about that," Baldwin added. "We keep upping the surveillance and security but could never figure out who it is."

"Once we knew it was safe, I arranged to 'run into' the son of Benjamin that I already knew. Valerian Fuchs. He only knew me as Eric Sorley. I occasionally dropped my irritation about the Covenant being set aside into conversation. How vampires have lost their place in the hierarchy, all that nonsense. But mostly we just hung out in London. With one of his brothers who's called Luc Fox. Also known as Lucifer. Did some boxing and wrestling, backed them up in a couple of brawls. Eventually they took me into their trust and I ended up in Norway. Supposedly helping them plan to kidnap Diana and Rebecca. And blow up the rest of the family."

He took a sip of wine and settled comfortably in the overstuffed sofa. He lifted one arm and put it behind Ciara who was sitting beside him and she subtly shifted to nestle into his side. "Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out, Gerbert and Domenico are in this up to their necks. And a couple of witches are working with them, but I didn't get names. I'm pretty sure one is on the Congregation though. Domenico showed up tonight on Devil's Island to tell them Gerbert is out of patience. He recognized me and that's why I needed to be extracted right away." He smiled at Ciara and lowered his voice. "Best, fastest getaway, ever."

Jack had been sitting quietly on an ottoman near Matthew and Diana. He looked pensive, then raised his hand and said, "Um, you said Luc Fox is the one in London, Gallowglass. Right?"

Gallowglass nodded. "That's right, Jackie. Why?"

"Well, Leonard—" he stopped and looked to his grandfather. "That's my best friend, Leonard Shoreditch. You remember him?"

Philippe nodded.

"Well, he drives a car for Father H's limousine and car service. And his best customer is Luc Fox. Luc sometimes takes him to the futbol matches, or out drinking and—" He blushed. "Meeting girls. And stuff. Leonard invited me to go with them a few times but Luc had to cancel each time—"

"Because he knew you would recognize him as Benjamin's son," Matthew said angrily. "Even if you'd never met him specifically, you'd know the scent signature."

Jack looked sick. Thoughts of Benjamin, and all his grandsire had done to him, had retreated to the back of his mind over the past two happy years with his family but now they all came racing back in a moment. Diana and Matthew both watched him for signs of his blood rage surfacing.

"Oh, God," he said, "I talk to Leonard nearly every day. I tell him—what I've been doing, where we're going—" His green eyes went to black and Matthew jumped to his feet but Áine was sitting beside Jack and grabbed his hand. In the time it took Matthew to get to his side, Jack's eyes had turned back to green and he exhaled softly. Both Matthew and Jack looked to the younger witch who had closed her eyes and shuddered but now opened them and they were the same clear blue-green as always.

"What just happened?" Baldwin asked.

"Áine's strongest power is for healing," Caitlin said. "She's a true empath. She can take on someone's pain, or discomfort, and then release it to the universe. Although if someone is seriously hurt or ill, it takes a toll on her."

"This wasn't hard though," Áine said. "Jack told me about his blood rage and I suspected it would not be hard to draw it off." She smiled at him. "And it wasn't."

"That's something we need to study," Miriam said.

"But first, it looks like we know who our mole is," Baldwin said. "Leonard—"

"Leonard is harmless—" Diana said immediately.

"Young Mr. Shoreditch doesn't have a bad bone in his body—" Ysabeau said at the same time.

"Leonard's a good lad," Fernando added.

Baldwin held up his hands in surrender. "No need to convince me. I've met Leonard. Maybe a card or two short of the full deck but a 'good lad,' yes. Seems like this Lucifer Fox took advantage of Leonard's good nature."

Jack still looked stricken but thankfully not blood raged. "I knew Benjamin had a son named Lucifer. He's one of the most sadistic of them all. Benjamin bragged that he made sure he lived up to his name. I never connected this guy named Luc to him. I'm sorry…" He looked around the room.

"Nothing to apologize for," Philippe said. "You solved the mystery of the mole in our midst. We should be thanking you."

"Now, we need to use that knowledge," Baldwin said. "We can plant some information with Leonard about where he can find Diana and Becca—"

"We are not using my wife and daughter as bait!" Matthew exploded immediately.

"Not bait, Matthew. I'm just talking about telling Leonard and ultimately Benjamin's children, where they can find them. Not actually having them there. Then we move in and end them all."

"I would never put Becca in danger like that, but you may need me to actually be there," Diana said. "To draw them out. Especially if you want to catch Gerbert too. He or Domenico will know if I'm not really there."

"Absolutely not," Matthew said and they all spent the rest of the evening arguing, debating and ultimately developing the plan to lure their enemies into a trap.