Angus: A Highland Warrior Brief

by Anita Clenney

  "You and me both."

  "I assume you're taking this opportunity to put the file back."

  Aye.

  "You made copies first?"

  He lips twitched. "Of course."

  She and Angus went downstairs to a small unlocked door near the library, which led to a room that housed objects that were lost and found. Connor Castle was the clan seat, so dozens of warriors passed through on their way to battle demons, attend meetings, or help train younger warriors. Sometimes they just came for a little rest and relaxation. The castle was a home away from home for any warrior of the clan, and even other clans were often guests on their travels. Inevitably, things were left behind, and this was where they ended up.

  Once inside, Anna passed shelves that held books, swords, a pair of boots, a rubber snake? That must be Brodie's. Behind the lost and found area was another door to the archive room. It was always locked to keep people like Angus from sneaking in and looking at things the Council wanted kept private.

  Angus tried Walter's key, but it didn't work. "Wonder what it opens," he said, taking out his own key.

  "Maybe it opens something inside."

  Anna had been here a time or two with Angus, but it still amazed her to see all the shelves and boxes containing records and things from the past that were too sensitive or valuable to be kept in the library. Angus had even speculated that the Keeper might have the Book of Battles in here. If so, she was sure he would have found it.

  Anna saw several files labeled with names of demons she recognized. Druan. Malek. Tristol. Voltar. Those were the ancient demons. The demons of old.

  They spent an hour going through boxes and files. Angus kept getting sidetracked with other interesting papers. She could hardly blame him. Reading this old stuff was fascinating. "What's that up there?" She pointed out a box on the top shelf.

  "Let's see." Angus put back the file he had been looking at and climbed up the shelf. "It's heavy."

  "Hand it down to me. I don't want you breaking your neck."

  He grinned. "You'd miss me?"

  "How would I survive without the excitement of your mysteries? This has Walter's name on the top."

  "I don't see where the key comes into play, but this is a start," Angus said. The box contained several old records. "These are birth and death records. Aiden Connor." Angus held up a paper. "The Mighty Faelan's father. Killed by Druan in New York in 1860 when he and his sons went to help Faelan."

  "Can you imagine if the Mighty Faelan is really there, frozen in time, or whatever happens to you inside a time vault, waiting for someone to let him out?" He must have been one hell of a warrior to have earned that name. She hoped he was alive. It would be incredible to meet him.

  "If he is, we have to find him," Angus said. "He's the only one who can destroy Druan. If he's dead, the clan will need his talisman so Druan can be reassigned."

  "I just don't see him taking the book. I know he was special, but warriors don't ever touch the Book of Battles. What could cause him to break such an important rule?"

  Angus scratched his chin. He had forgotten to shave again. "That's what I want to know."

  They looked through more records of births, deaths, and reports of demon sightings. "If we're looking for a paper, why do we need Walter's key?"

  "Maybe he's crazy. This is probably the key to his garden shed." Angus paused, staring at a paper in the box.

  "Did you find something?"

  "Just another record. Nothing we're looking for. Why don't you check the door and make sure no one's around."

  "I haven't heard anything."

  "Just to be safe. We wouldn't want to get caught in here."

  "OK. Back in a second." She left the archive room and walked through the lost and found room to the outer door. She opened it and peered into the corridor. Clear. When she got back, she saw Angus adjusting his shirt. It looked bumpy, as if something was underneath. "The corridor is clear. I'm sure normal people are sleeping. Find anything?"

  "No. Let's move on." His voice sounded stiff.

  "You all right?"

  "Just tired. It's been a long day."

  "It has," Anna agreed. "And I have to leave for Germany tomorrow afternoon." She had to hunt a demon.

  Angus climbed up the shelf, and Anna handed him the box so he could put it back. She gathered a few files they'd been reading and slipped them into place on the shelf. One of them seemed to be stuck. When she moved the files beside it to make more room, something caught her eye. "There's something behind the shelf."

  Angus jumped down. "What?"

  "Look." She held the files apart. "This part of the wall is made of wood, not stone. I think it's a door."

  He bent down beside her. "You're right. We need to move the shelf." The shelf was on rollers. It slid away from the wall, revealing a wooden door similar to the one leading to the archive room. "Where'd I put the key?" Angus frantically patted his pockets, and Anna could clearly see an outline of something under his shirt.

  "Calm down before you have a heart attack."

  He found Walter’s key and opened the door. "It's a staircase."

  "Aren't we above the dungeon?" Anna asked.

  "Aye, but I don't remember seeing any stairs down there in this part of the structure. Let's find out. There must be a light switch." They found the light and walked to the bottom of the steps. There was another wooden door.

  "Try the key."

  Angus put the key in the lock. "It works." As he opened the door and stepped through, lights immediately came on overhead. Anna wouldn't have blamed him if his heart had stopped. Hers nearly did.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The room was filled with treasures. Old things. Rich things. Artifacts and paintings that even from here, Anna could tell were priceless. "It's like a museum."

  "The fabled treasure room," Angus whispered. "It's real."

  Angus had claimed to overhear one of the Elders mention the castle's treasure when he was a kid. She figured he'd imagined it. It appeared he was right. "Look at this stuff. It makes me wonder what else the Council is hiding."

  Angus recovered from his shock and walked around in awe, shaking his head. "I've always suspected that the space down here didn't match the floors above."

  Anna walked over to a large trunk and opened it. "Oh my God. It's gold." There were more bars than she could count. The next trunk held more, and there were several trunks.

  "This must be where the clan gets their money," Angus said. "I knew it couldn't be just good investments. The economy can change too much over time."

  Anna turned around and saw several glass cases, each containing a book. "Angus, take a deep breath."

  "Why?" He turned to see what she was looking at. "It can't be."

  "I think it is." The Book of Battles. The book and its lost pages were Angus's Holy Grail. There wasn't just one Book of Battles here, but four. A new Book of Battles was given to the clan by Michael the Archangel every five hundred years.

  Angus walked to the case as if he'd been drugged and ran his hands over the nearest one as if caressing the book inside. "There must be two thousand years worth of books here."

  "Don't touch the case," Anna said. "They might see the fingerprints."

  He stopped and ran his hands through his hair instead, and then went to the last case and leaned close. "There aren't any dates on the outside."

  "It can't be the missing book. Sean would know if it was here. He's the Keeper of the Book."

  Angus's arms were trembling. "We don't know for sure unless we see it."

  "Don't you open that case, Angus. You know warriors aren't supposed to touch the books."

  "Whatever Walter wanted us to find must be in this room. I don't see a lot of papers. It must be in the books."

  "You're looking for excuse to break into those cases. Walter said a paper. That's like a letter or something. Not a book."

  "But the current book is missing. What would it hurt—"

  "Angus I'll hi
t you over the head and drag you out of here if I have to. You're not breaking into those cases."

  "But—"

  "These books aren't going anywhere. If you have to look at one, you'll have years to do it." And she'd have years to talk him out of it. She'd shared in some crazy misadventures with Angus, but reading the Book of Battles, even an old one, wasn't something she wanted to mess with. "Look at the chests on this table," she said, hoping to distract him. "Maybe there's something inside."

  The small chests were beautiful, and probably worth a fortune if the gold inlay and jewels were genuine. They opened the first one and found it empty.

  "Nothing here," Anna said. The others were also empty. "I bet they're valuable. This looks like real gold."

  Angus nodded, but his gaze had drifted back to the glass cases that held the books.

  "We need to keep looking for the clues Walter mentioned. Let's check those old boxes in the corner." There were several of them stacked on the floor. They were covered in dust and looked as if they'd been shoved aside and forgotten. They probably didn't contain anything important, but she had to distract Angus from the books.

  He joined her, and when she opened the first one, she knew she'd found something big. There were several papers that appeared to be notes or journal entries. But it was the name on the top one that got her attention. Ian Connor.

  Angus looked over her shoulder. "The Mighty Faelan's brother. He helped hide the time vault. He must know what happened to the key."

  Anna pulled out the paper and handed it to Angus. It seemed right to let him be the one to read it.

  Tavis and I agreed not to tell the clan about Faelan since we did not know who we could trust, other than Ma. But the Seeker arrived home first. I did not have any choice but to get rid of him before he could tell them where Faelan lay, but I was too late. He had already told someone and the news spread. The clan was devastated to hear of Faelan's fate. All the clans are in turmoil. They are sending emissaries to discuss the situation. Everyone is afraid. Even though we killed Druan's sorcerer, the demon will not be stopped for long. He will create another virus, and Faelan's talisman is the only thing that can destroy him. I am afraid for him. Afraid for what he will wake to. Afraid for what will happen to us.

  "The legend is true," Angus said. "But Ian killed the Seeker who found Faelan."

  Since my return from America, I have sensed something not right. A heaviness in the air. I know Faelan's fate weighs us all down, but there is something more. I feel as if someone is watching me. I turn but there is no one here. I wonder if Faelan could be watching from the time vault. How daft that sounds, even to my own ears. But something is amiss.

  "Shhh. I heard something," Anna said. "I think someone is coming."

  Angus put the paper back inside the box and closed the lid. "We have to hide this. We'll take it back to my room." Angus carried the box, and they hurried to the stairs.

  "The door to the archive room isn't locked," she whispered. "If someone tries to get in they'll know we're here."

  "I'd rather get caught in the archive room than here. They'd probably lock us up."

  "Or kill us," Anna said. In times past, the clan had killed innocent people when it was necessary to protect clan secrets. Ian had probably killed a Seeker to protect his brother.

  They crept up the stairs and peeked out the door into the archive room. "Hurry," Angus said. Quietly, they closed the hidden door and put the shelf back. Then they heard two voices coming from the lost and found room. Angus pushed Anna into a corner behind a stack of boxes just as the Chief Elder and Sean entered. "Walter's old files are here," the Keeper said. He placed the ladder against the shelf and climbed up to the same box Anna and Angus had been examining. He took it down and handed it to the Chief Elder.

  "Thank you," the Chief Elder said. "If we're going to find the key to Faelan's time vault, it must be soon."

  "I agree. These are troubling times, and I hate to think of him lying in there." Sean glanced at the place where Anna and Angus hid, and then he walked toward the door with the Chief Elder following.

  Anna and Angus waited until the farthest door closed and then slipped out of hiding. They quickly exited the archive room and locked the door before making their way through the lost and found room. Angus opened the door and peered out. "Come on."

  As soon as they stepped into the corridor, a throat cleared behind them. Anna and Angus froze. Angus turned, deftly hiding the box behind his back. Sean stood in the corridor frowning at them, his lively wise eyes narrowed in disapproval. Sean wasn't just the Keeper of the Book. He was like a father to all the warriors. "I can't believe you two. Sneaking into the archive room? What were you thinking? What if the Chief Elder had seen you? There's no telling what he might have done. Angus, you're worse than a mischievous lad."

  "I just wanted to see inside."

  "How did you get in—don't tell me. I don't want to know, but you stay out of there. You almost got caught this time." His frown wasn't as deep now, and it looked to Anna as if he had a twinkle in his eye. "I'm going to bed. I'd suggest you two do the same. No more snooping."

  After he left, Angus and Anna scurried away with their box. "He doesn't know we found the hidden room," she said.

  "And we're not telling him."

  "You'll have to tell him about Ian's paper." Sean was one of Angus's biggest supporters. He'd helped him and Anna in their search for both the Book of Battles and the Mighty Faelan. He'd told them many things he remembered from past Keepers, including references to the missing pages. "And the Council," Anna said. "You have to tell them."

  Angus snorted. "That bunch of high-handed bastards. They sit back in their fancy robes and look down their noses at anyone who swings a sword. "

  "Maybe so, but you don't want to get on their bad side. You cause enough trouble as is with all your conspiracy theories. You have to tell them."

  "I'll tell them. After I tell Sean."

  He hurried upstairs to the bedrooms. The second floor was set up much like a hotel or an inn. Like a lot of warriors, Anna spent as many nights here as she did at her own place. She had a flat in London, but the castle felt more like home. They reached Angus's bedroom first.

  "You coming in?" His cheeks colored. "I mean to see what else is in the box."

  What was wrong with him, and everyone else for that matter? She'd been coming into Angus's bedroom for half her life. "I really should get to bed and rest up for my trip. This demon I've been hunting has a group of minions in Germany who are Nazi fanatics. I'm trying to figure out what they're up to."

  "I hate minions."

  "So do I. But not as much as demons." Anna despised them, as all warriors did, but her hatred ran deep. It had since she was a little girl when she'd watched her mother leave for weeks at a time because she refused to stop fighting demons even though she had a small child to care for. Her mother had fought as if it were up to her to eliminate every trace of evil in the world. While her mother was out trying to save the world, Anna had been left with babysitters or at the castle with Coira. Demons weren't just the enemy. They had stolen Anna's mother, what little bit of a mother she'd had. "You look the papers over and tell me what you find. I'll see you in the morning."

  Anna brushed her hand against Angus's back as she said goodnight. She felt the crinkle of paper. What was he hiding from her? At her door, she glanced back and saw him watching her with a worried frown.

  Once in her room, she undressed and showered, all the while puzzling over the hidden paper. She was still thinking about it when she got in bed. She couldn't sleep. Not just because of the paper Angus had hidden. She kept thinking about the Mighty Faelan locked away in his time vault and the warnings from the Watcher. Why had he dreamed about her? And could Druan have been the demon in her dream? Most warriors had vivid dreams, sometimes even visions. But this dream had felt different. More personal.

  When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of the demon again. She was running for her life, a
nd someone was with her. He was wounded. She knew he would die if he didn't get help. Angus? She couldn't see him clearly, but the demon wanted her and the man dead. The demon came closer, and just as his face started to come into focus, she woke.

  Anna leapt from the bed gripping the dagger she kept underneath her pillow. She was shaking all over. Bloody hell. She'd never had a dream like this before. The demon could have been real, or he could have symbolized the demons of her past. Would she ever be free?

  She didn't want to go back to sleep and risk dreaming again, so she went to find Angus. If she knew him, he'd be up all night reading those papers. She used the special knock on his door, but he didn't answer. Maybe he was asleep. She could do some snooping on her own and find what he was hiding.

  He wasn't sleeping. He wasn't there. The box of papers was sitting on a table. Anna opened the lid and saw a death certificate. Her mother's. What she read broke her heart.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  After she read and reread the death certificate several times, she put the papers aside and walked numbly out of Angus's room. Her head throbbed, and she felt a panic attack coming on. She hadn't had one for years.

  She was leaning against her door when Ronan found her. He helped her inside and sat with her on the bed until the attack passed. She hadn't realized she was crying until he wiped away a tear.

  "It can't be that bad," he said. "I've never seen you cry."

  "My mother killed herself."

  "I thought she was killed by a demon."

  "That's what the clan told me." In truth, she had killed her mother. Anna flopped back on the bed and closed her burning eyes.

  "Stay here. I'll be back." A minute later, he walked in with a glass and a bottle of whisky. He was bare-chested. She hadn't noticed before. He poured whisky in the glass and handed it to her. "Drink," he ordered, sitting next to her. His voice was slightly slurred. Shane was right. Ronan had been drinking already. "What makes you think she killed herself?"

  She sat up and took the glass, sipping the potent liquid. "I found her death certificate."