Lorna and Tobias spun around with an expression of surprise mixed with fear on their faces. The servant quickly backed away.
“Kai!” Lorna exclaimed, her voice slightly trembling. “What are ye doing here?”
“Ye know damn well what I’m doing here, traitor!” Kai growled, his gaze flickering to the bowl in Tobias’ hand. “What have ye done to Lord Alasdair?”
Lorna’s expression hardened. “That’s none of yer concern,” she spat. “What’s important is that we finish what we started.”
“And what is that?” Kai demanded, taking a step closer. “Destroying the Order? Killing innocent people?”
“They’re not innocent,” Tobias spoke up, his voice cold and calculating. “They stand in the way of progress. They’re holding us back.”
“From what?” Caitlin asked, her voice filled with anger and disbelief. “From your thirst for power? From your ambition to rule over everything?”
Lorna’s eyes narrowed. “Ye know naught,” she said, her voice low and dangerous. “Ye never have. Ye are naught but a bunch of fools who cling to outdated ideals and traditions. The world is changing, and we will be the ones to shape it in our image.”
“Ye willnae shape anything,” Kai said fiercely. “Ye’ll be lucky if ye dinna end up swinging from the hangman’s gibbet.”
Lorna laughed, a high-pitched, mocking sound. “Ye think ye can stop us? Ye are nothing but a bunch of children playing at being heroes.”
“Enough,” Kai said, drawing his sword. “Yer plan has failed, thanks to Caitlin. Surrender. It’s over.”
Tobias and Lorna exchanged a glance. Surprisingly, they didn’t look worried. Instead, their faces were impassive with no fear in their eyes. Kai wondered at their demeanor; he couldn’t tell if it was courage or arrogance. He had a feeling it was a bit of both.
Lorna crossed her arms and smiled an almost taunting smile at Kai while Tobias chuckled softly, shaking his head. “We canna do that,” Lorna said in a soft voice that held an edge of anger. “This is bigger than us now.”
Suddenly, a groggy voice interrupted them. “What are ye all doing in here?” Lord Alasdair blinked his eyes open, looking around in confusion. “What is going on?” He struggled to sit up. “Kai? Lorna?”
Lorna ignored her father. Her eyes were fixed on Kai.
“Will ye tell him?” Kai said to her. “Will ye tell him how ye have been poisoning him so ye can take his lands and title?”
“Not her,” Alasdair wheezed. His knuckles clutched the arms of his chair and it seemed to take all of his effort to remain upright. “Him.”
Kai’s glance sprang to Tobias but Caitlin, he noticed, was staring beyond them all, towards the shadows at the back of the room.
Her eyes narrowed before widening suddenly. “You!” she cried. “It’s you!”
A figure stepped out of the shadows—the manservant Kai had seen with Lord Alasdair before. He had short blond hair with a beard to match and wore a faintly amused smile.
A trickle of unease went through him and he tightened his grip on his sword hilt. “Who are ye?” he asked.
The man merely smiled, his gaze wandering around the room. “All right. Ye’ve got me,” he laughed softly. “I’m caught red-handed. But what will ye do about it?”
“Who are you?” Kai repeated, trying hard to keep his voice calm while his eyes flickered to Caitlin. She was still staring at the man.
“Dear God,” she breathed. “You’ve been here all along.”
The man smiled. “It’s been most amusing watching ye all blunder around, making yer preparations for my arrival. As ye can see, I arrived some time ago.”
Kai stared at him in shock. Could it be?
The man bowed his head solemnly. “Leif Snarlsson,” he said with a smile. “At yer service.”
All around them, silence fell. Caitlin breathed in deeply, her eyes still fixed on the man. “All those people at the fair,” she said. “You killed them. You’re a murderer.”
Leif laughed quietly, a low, mocking sound. “Murder? I like to think of them as casualties of war. For make no mistake, Caitlin of the twenty-first century, weareat war.”
Kai narrowed his eyes. The twenty-first century? How did he know where Caitlin came from? There was only one explanation.
