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her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Too much noise for you?” she asked.
    A few of the friends they had made in Haines City and the other two Reapers were in Moira’s immaculate little house after having shared a wonderful supper prepared by the old woman and her moody daughter-in-law.
    “A bit,” he answered, and reached up to cover her hands with his. He held onto her soft flesh and continued to stare at the mountains.
    “What’s bothering you, mo shearc ?”
    Cynyr didn’t want to worry her, but he knew he had to prepare her for what was coming. “Arawn sent for the others,” he said, knowing she’d understand who he meant.
    “Why?”
    “From all indications, the Ceannus have come back to Terra,” he answered.
    “The Ceannus?” she questioned.
    “You’re slipping, wench,” he teased her. “Don’t you remember me telling you of the Ceannus? They are scientists from beyond this galaxy who brought the first rogues here mostly from the Cairghrian and Diamhair galaxies before the Burning Wars. When Morrigunia brought the first Reapers back, the Ceannus fled, leaving behind instructions for the rogues on performing Transferences of their parasites.”
    “Oh yes. I remember now.” She frowned. “What do you mean when Morrigunia brought the Reapers back? Had they been here before?”
    “Before the Burning Wars, there were several. Morrigunia snatched them, their families and friends up and took them away before the destruction of Terra began. She looks after her own.”
    “Arawn told me that. I am slipping! What happened to the rogues who were here?
    Obviously some survived,” she commented.
    “Unless I miss my guess the rogues were in positions of power and helped cause the destruction of Terra in the first place. Raphian would have had a hand in such evil. Once the Reapers came back, we began hunting down the rogues, decimating their ranks. We had almost wiped them out and now this.”
    His wife slid her hands from his shoulder and skirted the bench to sit down beside him. Nestling under the protection of his arm, she settled against his side and weaved her fingers through his. “You think the Ceannus are back to make more rogues?”
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    Reaper’s Revenge
    “Arawn and Bevyn believe they brought rogues with them. Balgairs —rogues—more dangerous than the first batch.”
    “What do you think?”
    “I can sense them, wench,” he said. “Just as Bevyn and Arawn do but there is something else I’m picking up on and whatever that something is, it is causing me great unease.”
    She turned to look toward the mountains. “You think they’re up there?”
    He nodded. “We’ll go after them in the next day or two.”
    At his words Aingeal felt her parasite shifting and though it caused her no pain, she knew it was a warning of sorts. “You could be riding into a trap,” she said quietly.
    “The Shadowlords will be with us,” he said. At her surprised look, he shook his head. “Not in physical form but with the full force of their powers directed at the balgairs and the Ceannus. I’ve no doubt we’ll wipe them out this time.”
    “Yet you are still worried,” she said.
    “Aye,” he whispered.
    She lightly delved into her mate’s mind and could see a spreading blackness that concerned her. “You fear you won’t survive,” she said, her fingers tensing around his.
    “I don’t know what it is, wench,” he admitted. “Something just doesn’t seem right.”
    She could not allow him to go into battle thinking he might not return. “You are the strongest man I know,” she said softly. “And you are the man I love.”
    He smiled at her and leaned in to claim her lips. His kiss was whisper-soft yet as searing as a bolt of lightning. It took her breath away.
    “You can overcome anything they throw at you, mo shearc. I know you can.”
    Cynyr laid his head against hers and returned his gaze to the forbidding mountains. His woman was in his arms, her soft