Page 154 of Dark Lover

“Ye must take the vows yer father has taken. ’Tis time.”

Ian was certain he’d misheard. He glanced at his father, whose eyes shimmered oddly. “Ye want me…me…to join the Masters?”

“Of course we do,” MacNeil said. “Dinna we protect ye during the time of yer captivity? Any other man, even a near-immortal, would have died. It was written that ye’d live to see this day—and many others.”

Ian was stunned. The gods wanted him after all. An image flashed, of living in New York City, his duty now to the Innocent. And Sam Rose was at his side…

He was so overcome, he could not speak.

HALF-DRESSED, Sam looked at the peanut butter jar her sister was holding. “Are you kidding me?”

“Pretty clichéd, huh?” Tabby grinned.

“That’s where you stashed Moray’s evil?” Sam started to laugh. It seemed funny now.

“It was the only jar I could find on short notice. And besides, this spell was the previous one in reverse, if you remember.”

Sam shook her head. “I do remember, you told me about it—last time you sent him up into the universe. I don’t think a peanut butter jar is going to hold Moray’s power for very long.”

Tabby was smug. “It’s going in a vault at my local Bank of America.”

Sam smiled. “How about we hand that over to CDA? They have secret vaults downstairs that we’re not supposed to know about. I always wondered what was in them. Hey, maybe a hundred peanut butter jars are in there, all filled with the evil left by dead demons.”

Tabby wrinkled her nose. “That’s a disgusting thought.”

It was. Sam sobered. “What’s next, sis?”

Tabby put the jar down on a bureau. “We have to go back. But I have some good news. Macleod read Hemmer’s mind. The page is in a vault at the Bank of New York.”

“That will make Nick really happy.” Sam thought about the pages from the Duisean that Moray once had and that the monk of Carlisle had undoubtedly come to possess. “Did he happen to read Carlisle’s mind?”

“The Brethren are searching Carlisle Cathedral as we speak, Sam, for any parts of the Duisean. But it’s a long shot. The monk could have hidden them anywhere.”

“You’ll let me know if you find something, right?” Sam said, already missing her sister. But it wasn’t like before. It was a soft pang and it didn’t hurt. Tabby was fine. Macleod was actually a great guy. And she had Brie, back there in the Middle Ages. Brie was doing just great, too. She had Aidan.

“I will let you know. This time, we are staying in touch.”

Sam looked at her closely. “I saw Mom.”

Tabby started.

“It wasn’t real, but it was great.”

Tabby touched her. “Rose women don’t die. They go to another place.”

“That’s a myth.”

“Is it?” Tabby smiled at her, as if she knew something Sam did not.

“How are we going to stay in touch?” Sam asked.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, Sam.”

What did that mean? “I am not moving to the Middle Ages!”

“I never said you were. But while some of us are meant to stay in one time, for the most part, others, not so much.”

Sam stared. “And I’m one of the others.”