The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

Henry’s chin shot up, and he looked at his brother. Their eyes had a conversation—a blink, a double blink, double-double blink—and then the twins switched to hand signals before Robbie said. “Remy needs more birds to cook. He only has a few, and he can eat those all by himself.”

David nodded. “Ye have a twenty-yard radius. If the Vikings capture ye, it might get dicey.”

The twins had another hand-signal conversation before synchronizing their watches. Then they calmly press-checked their Sigs and gathered their gear.

“Take the net,” Tavis said.

Robbie grabbed it, and they disappeared like phantoms in the night.

David stared at the spot where he’d last seen them, wishing they’d return so he could protect them, but they had wings, and he had to let them fly. At least that’s what Kenz said when Cambridge accepted the lads into the freshman class.

“I’m not sure looking for loopholes was a good idea, but I enjoyed watching the lads communicate with each other. I haven’t seen that for a while.”

With the twins gone, now David could worry about his entire family.

The handheld radio beeped. “CP, this is Six Bravo. We’re close. Can you see us?”

Austin stood with binoculars in hand and searched the beach. “I see them. Tell Connor we’re at his two o’clock. He should be able to see me.” Austin waved both arms, sending birds flying. After a few seconds, Connor waved back. “He can see me now.”

Ten minutes later, Connor, Daniel, Noah, Braham, and Lincoln joined them at their temporary campsite. It took another ten minutes to bring them all up to speed, and just as David finished, Pete called.

“Six Charlie, calling CP,” Pete said. “We’re bisecting the island. We weren’t as far away as I thought. Should be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Six Charlie, Six Bravo just arrived. Still missing two souls.”

David sat apart from the others while Remy cooked the birds. He didn’t know how the Council captured Kenzie and Cullen, but now he was convinced they had.

Pete and his team arrived, along with the twins carrying a string of birds, sniffing the delicious aroma coming from Remy’s skillet. It took twice as long to give the new arrivals a status update because they wanted to hear all about the other three teams.

Braham sent Patrick, Lincoln, Churchill, and Noah to guard the perimeter while the rest of them ate Remy’s Cajun-spiced puffins as if they were having a picnic under the old oak tree behind Mallory Plantation.

Except for David, who was alone with his thoughts, and they weren’t happy ones. He walked away from the group and stood at the cliff’s edge, gazing out over the ocean, remembering the last time he was here. They’d come to investigate a murder and discovered much more. If they all got out of here in one piece again, he’d never venture back.

Elliott joined him, clasping his shoulder. “There’s only one explanation for why Kenzie and Cullen aren’t here.”

Mounting fear and anger kept David from responding until he managed to swallow both emotions, holding them at bay temporarily. “The Council has them.”

“Aye. But I don’t believe the Council will risk harming them.”

“I disagree. They’re violent bastards,” David said, “and we know personally what a butcher Arne is. He’d want us to be scared of the Council. It’s how they maintain power.”

“They have Erik’s brooch. That’s how they maintain power,” Elliott argued. “They also have institutional knowledge. That’s worth a hell of a lot. They know the hows and whys.”

“I don’t care about the brooch—or its power—right now. Finding Kenzie and Cullen and getting the hell out of here should be our only priorities.”

“We can wait until dark and send the lads in with Tavis to search the settlement. They’ve gone through training similar to Navy SEALS.”

“It’s a good suggestion, but Kenzie wouldn’t want us to put the lads in danger to rescue her. She’d rather die than lose one of them, and so would I. It makes more sense for Tavis and me to do a search and rescue.”

“This isn’t yer battle, David. It’s mine,” Elliott said. “And I’ve known it since I unpinned the ruby brooch from Kit’s gown all those years ago. I’ll go by myself.”

David kicked at a stack of sand pebbles. As they tumbled over the cliff’s edge, they sparkled in the lingering light from the sun slowly disappearing behind darkening clouds.

“That’s not going to happen.”

He kicked at more pebbles, and they clicked and clanked and clacked as they tumbled down, rock on rock, toward the beach. And it reminded him that they didn’t have time for debate. The ship was coming. It was time to rock and roll.

“From what little I know, I believe we have power over the Council, and it lies in ye, as Keeper, along with Erik’s children. The Council has his brooch, but it doesn’t belong to them, and they know it.”

“Then it’s to their advantage to kill us—Tavis, Ensley, and me.”

“They can’t. If the Council had that authority, they’d have killed Tavis already.”

“Then why the hell are they holding Kenzie and Cullen?”

“If they have them, then they want an exchange. The Council doesn’t care about Tavis. They know he’ll never be one of them, but Joseph is young enough to be raised to think as they do.”

“No one will agree to deliver Joseph to the Council, and no one will abandon Tavis.”

“If it comes down to a swap, Tavis will agree to go back.”

“Then we’ll leave him a brooch so he and Joseph can come forward when they’re able. But I won’t suggest or encourage Tavis to do that and risk his and Joseph’s lives.”

“We have to go as soon as it’s dark. We’ll start with the settlement and move out from there.”

David heard footsteps behind him and turned to find Tavis walking his way. “I think you two have come to the same conclusion I have,” Tavis said.

“What’s that?” Elliott asked.

“Arne has Kenzie and Cullen, and he wants to offer an exchange—them for Joseph and me. Although it’s not