activities in Wales,” Callum said. “If his anger is directed at David, and if it’s about Ireland, that’s where we start our inquiries.”
“David, he could be gunning for you,” Cassie said.
“He hasn’t tried to murder me yet. He’s had opportunities before. You know he has.” I chewed on my lower lip as I thought. “I’m more worried about my father.”
“You sent a pigeon to Cardiff to warn him that Lee is missing,” Callum said. “You’ve done what you can. Your father will be prepared in case Lee returns to Wales to renew his mischief there. But I think he won’t. He’s up to something else.”
“If that’s true, why murder Mike and Noah? Why now?” Cassie said. “What are we missing?”
“A lot,” I said. “Not even Bevyn saw this coming.”
“Lee could have other plans for you,” Cassie said. “It’s only you, your sister, and your mother who can return him to Avalon. Maybe Lee wants you alive so you can take him back when he’s ready.”
“After he’s wreaked havoc here, you mean,” Callum said dryly.
“It’s odd,” I said. “He never once talked in my presence about returning to Avalon.”
“Mike did,” Cassie said. “He talked about it all the time. It was annoying.”
“But not Lee,” I said. “What if he was glad to find himself here because this is where the conquest of Ireland started? What if he thinks he can change things now so the future never happens?”
Cassie frowned. “He does realize this is a different universe, right? We think of ourselves as time travelers, but we’re really not.”
“He knows,” Callum said.
I ran a hand through my hair, my eyes going automatically to the bloodstained ground where the bodies had lain. I forced myself to turn away. “As important as Lee may be, he must take a back seat to my current and very pressing dispute with the Church. I was due at the Archbishop’s palace an hour ago.”
“I would agree that the dispute with the Church is more important—unless Lee’s sudden departure and your disagreement with the pope have something to do with one another,” Callum said.
“I can’t see how that could be,” I said.
Callum made a rueful face, and I returned my eyes to the ground, silently nodding in acknowledgement that it usually paid to keep an open mind when it came to affairs of state. I looked up again in time to see the identical apprehensive look cross both Cassie’s and Callum’s faces, which would have been comical if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
With the bodies loaded into its bed, the cart headed down the alley towards the cross street. Mike and Noah would lie in a room off the barracks awaiting a more thorough examination by Rachel. It wasn’t a task I envied her. She’d already mounted her horse in preparation for returning to the castle, and Cassie left us to join her. Beyond them, the crowd had moved aside to let the cart pass by, and then Justin replaced the barricade.
“Who found the bodies in the first place?” I asked Callum. Now that everyone else had dispersed to their various duties, he, Carew, and Bevyn were my only remaining companions.
“Jeffries,” Bevyn said, butchering Darren’s name into something barely recognizable. Bevyn’s English was functional, but he hadn’t ever gotten a handle on English names, which he considered bizarre and unnatural. “He and Cobb together.”
Darren Jeffries and Peter Cobb had also been on that bus. While Darren had worked at MI-5 with Callum and stuck close to my mom and sister, even knowing they were time travelers, Peter had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately for Peter, he fit right in. He hadn’t worked for the intelligence services, but he’d served in the military in Afghanistan, even doing a stint in the military police. Both men were now part of Callum’s personal retinue.
“Keep them at it.” I put my hand on Callum’s shoulder. “Whatever you’re doing, however this hunt
“David, he could be gunning for you,” Cassie said.
“He hasn’t tried to murder me yet. He’s had opportunities before. You know he has.” I chewed on my lower lip as I thought. “I’m more worried about my father.”
“You sent a pigeon to Cardiff to warn him that Lee is missing,” Callum said. “You’ve done what you can. Your father will be prepared in case Lee returns to Wales to renew his mischief there. But I think he won’t. He’s up to something else.”
“If that’s true, why murder Mike and Noah? Why now?” Cassie said. “What are we missing?”
“A lot,” I said. “Not even Bevyn saw this coming.”
“Lee could have other plans for you,” Cassie said. “It’s only you, your sister, and your mother who can return him to Avalon. Maybe Lee wants you alive so you can take him back when he’s ready.”
“After he’s wreaked havoc here, you mean,” Callum said dryly.
“It’s odd,” I said. “He never once talked in my presence about returning to Avalon.”
“Mike did,” Cassie said. “He talked about it all the time. It was annoying.”
“But not Lee,” I said. “What if he was glad to find himself here because this is where the conquest of Ireland started? What if he thinks he can change things now so the future never happens?”
Cassie frowned. “He does realize this is a different universe, right? We think of ourselves as time travelers, but we’re really not.”
“He knows,” Callum said.
I ran a hand through my hair, my eyes going automatically to the bloodstained ground where the bodies had lain. I forced myself to turn away. “As important as Lee may be, he must take a back seat to my current and very pressing dispute with the Church. I was due at the Archbishop’s palace an hour ago.”
“I would agree that the dispute with the Church is more important—unless Lee’s sudden departure and your disagreement with the pope have something to do with one another,” Callum said.
“I can’t see how that could be,” I said.
Callum made a rueful face, and I returned my eyes to the ground, silently nodding in acknowledgement that it usually paid to keep an open mind when it came to affairs of state. I looked up again in time to see the identical apprehensive look cross both Cassie’s and Callum’s faces, which would have been comical if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
With the bodies loaded into its bed, the cart headed down the alley towards the cross street. Mike and Noah would lie in a room off the barracks awaiting a more thorough examination by Rachel. It wasn’t a task I envied her. She’d already mounted her horse in preparation for returning to the castle, and Cassie left us to join her. Beyond them, the crowd had moved aside to let the cart pass by, and then Justin replaced the barricade.
“Who found the bodies in the first place?” I asked Callum. Now that everyone else had dispersed to their various duties, he, Carew, and Bevyn were my only remaining companions.
“Jeffries,” Bevyn said, butchering Darren’s name into something barely recognizable. Bevyn’s English was functional, but he hadn’t ever gotten a handle on English names, which he considered bizarre and unnatural. “He and Cobb together.”
Darren Jeffries and Peter Cobb had also been on that bus. While Darren had worked at MI-5 with Callum and stuck close to my mom and sister, even knowing they were time travelers, Peter had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately for Peter, he fit right in. He hadn’t worked for the intelligence services, but he’d served in the military in Afghanistan, even doing a stint in the military police. Both men were now part of Callum’s personal retinue.
“Keep them at it.” I put my hand on Callum’s shoulder. “Whatever you’re doing, however this hunt
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