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"You’ve got a great house," I say, re the beautiful manor home on Charleston’s battery "So what do you ithon in Savannah, the last thing I want to do is linger in Drac’s castle when I could be on a plane heading home

"’Tis I ant to meet you," another man with a sirasps my hand in a shake Unlike Eli’s lukewarm skin, this man’s is warm "My name is Darius"

And the moment his hand envelops iven to id, and everyone around me fades into shadows…

When my vision clears, I’m not alone I’m not at Castle Arcos I’m not evenfor air, Darius fixed his stare on the bloodstained earth he knelt upon Resting his forear brow and glanced about Eleven Celtae druids lay dead, their bodies entangled within their black robes

"What we had to do," Darius answered He rose and ick within the Dubh Seiagh is uniinable The Celtae used it, Ronan To allow them to live would mean destruction for us all"

Ronan nodded and wiped a streak of blood froust of wind swept over thethe robes of the dead, and a blanket of mist settled over the browned and bloodstained heather The twilight’s dilow made the desolate lanced up "We havena rew fiercer, the other Druthan warriors gathered, h the fallen Celtae to stand at Darius’s side

Darius azes "You knohat must be done Four of our future kinsmen will become the immortal Arbitrators I sacrifice my own bloodline Who else?"

Three more Druthans raised their hands without hesitation

"Well done," Darius said

"What of the Archivist? Whose bloodline will he come from?" asked Ronan

"None of ours"

The wind screamed then, and Darius quickly muttered the ancient Pict verse that would name the Arbitrators twelve hundred years into the future And, the Archivist, centuries beyond By that tiotten Only the Archivist would have the ability to read it Thus, destroy it Until then, it would stay forever hidden

When the last as spoken, a deathly silence fell over the asps filled the still night air Darius hurried to the first Celtae body and knelt down

‘Twas as though every ounce of bone and muscle andit a flat and eh-pitched and chilling to the bone, ripped over the moor, followed by another, and another, over and over The wind picked up once again and roared through the air with gale force

"Darius!" Ronan yelled "What is this?"

Darius closed his eyes

They’d killed the Celtae

But their souls had escaped…

Quickly, he mouthed another verse, unrehearsed, unplanned Desperate

And prayed with fervor that it worked