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Gautier asked.
    â€œNay. I will meet you at the camp and we will make preparations for our journey. I hope to have more news to tell once I complete my tasks.”
    He was not able to tell them anything else, and they would keep asking questions. They had done so in the past and most likely would do so this time as well.
    By the time he rode out of Edinburgh toward his men, William had more questions than answers and little more to go on than what the king had said.
    And the mark on his arm continued to burn and form a shape that he did not recognize.
    The bad feeling that he’d had all day, the one that resembled the warnings his warrior nature received before a battle, increased, until he wondered if he would survive long enough to lay claim to his lands at all.

Chapter 3
    Spring, AD 1286
Yester Castle
    H e was angry.
    And when Hugh de Gifford was angry, everyone around him scattered, daring not to do something that would focus his anger on them. Unfortunately for the man who lay crumpled on the floor before him, the daft man had indeed drawn his attention.
    The moans emanating from deep within the mass of burned flesh, twisted limbs, and soiled, torn garments warned the few who stood witness that Hugh would not accept failure. He kicked him once more, but it did not ease his fury.
    â€œA simple task, John. Never allow the king to be alone with anyone. And what did you do when he chased his other sycophants out of the chamber to speak alone with someone?” he asked, kicking the now-silent pile at his feet several more times before meeting every gaze in the chamber. “You left.”
    He held out his hand and smiled as the others beganto tremble. His power, he knew, was awesome to watch, which was why he exercised it before his subjects. This lesson would be useful and would ensure that the others did not fail in their tasks as this worthless piece of dung had.
    The fire spread in his blood, and he felt it grow and gather within him. Hugh smiled and aimed his hand at the downed man, and he watched as the flames arced out from his fingers and incinerated every bit of flesh and cloth before him until only a pile of ashes remained. Then he gave those ashes a final kick of his boot, spreading them across the floor.
    â€œYou have your assignments,” he said quietly since there was not a sound in the room. “Do not fail me.”
    Hugh smiled again as they nearly knocked one another over, trying to escape his presence as quickly as possible. The extent of his power invigorated him. Once they were done, Hugh walked to the corner and pressed on a series of stones there until the secret door swung open, allowing him access to his private chamber. After he removed his garments and boots, he walked down the steps through the windowless tower and soon reached the oldest part of his keep. The power that had placed each stone surged through the entire vault and he breathed it in. Somehow, his goddess had found a way to contact him, and this chamber was the result.
    Chaela, goddess of chaos and fire, had directed him to build this underground chamber and had been instructing him on how to help her open a path back into the human world. Exiled hundreds of centuries ago by fools, she now sought out her descendants, and he was only too glad to help her. Hugh, his father, and his grandfather before him had prepared and waited forsuch things. His ancestors were her descendants, and through the centuries they had kept the knowledge about the old ones and their betrayal alive.
    They’d also practiced the power that they inherited from the goddess until they’d honed it and controlled it. Perfected it.
    Now only Hugh and his knowledge and powers could open the doorway to the other realm and allow Chaela back in. Since the bloodlines of those who worshipped the other old gods had dissipated so much, now was the perfect time to attempt it. There was barely enough of it left in any of the other six families.