“My grandmother: the Witch of Endor.” The vampire’s face was grim. “And she is rarely wrong. I cannot go with you, I cannot help you. I have to find my sister. I will go back through time if need be.”

Nicholas looked over at her. “Even now Saint-Germain is going to see if he can travel back into the past to rescue Joan and Scathach.”

Aoife grunted. “There are less than a handful of Elders in this realm with that power. And none of them are pleasant.”

“The Saracen Knight is taking him to his master, Tammuz, the Green Man,” Nicholas said shortly. “Like Chronos, he has the power to travel along the strands of time.”

“And you expect him to help Saint-Germain?” Aoife’s laughter, dark and ugly, rang out across the water. “Tammuz will tear him limb from limb.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“We could just fly to San Francisco,” Virginia Dare said quietly. “I quite like flying. Especially if it’s first-class, and particularly if you are paying.”

“I hate flying,” Dee muttered. “Besides, there are two problems with that: booking a ticket will leave a trail that anyone can follow, and the first flight is not until tomorrow morning. Then it’s an eleven-hour flight to the West Coast. We’d lose too much time, and it would allow the Elders to organize a welcoming committee for me when I land.”

“What about a private jet? You’re rich enough to do that.”

“Yes, I’m rich enough, but the paperwork would take hours and leave a huge trail also. No, this is a much better idea.”

“When you say better, does that mean dangerous?” Virginia asked softly.

“That has never bothered you before.”

“I am immortal, not invulnerable. I can be killed… and so can you,” she reminded him. “As I get older, I appreciate my long life. I have no desire to end it.”

The couple, looking like any other pair of tourists, were standing beneath the shade of a tree admiring the brightly lit facade of the Tower of London, the pale cream stone turned the color of butter in the warm lights. A recent shower had swept across the city and created puddles that reflected the lights. Even at this late hour there were still plenty of sightseers enjoying the cool air, admiring the London landmark on the Thames River. Occasionally cameras flashed.

“All my life seems to have been spent in and around the Tower,” Dee said wistfully. “I visited Walter Raleigh here just before his execution,” he added. “And when I was a boy my father took me to see the lions here, when it housed the Royal Menagerie.”

“Very touching,” Dare muttered. “Do you want to tell me now why we’re here?”

Dee nodded, a tiny jerk of his head. “There is an entrance to a Shadowrealm inside.”