Free Men of the Cave (Symbol of Hope Series) by Marisette Burgess

Kasey wondered.
    “Yes, we feel the pain, but only briefly,” I answered.
    “Not that you would really know,” John grumbled.
    “What does he mean?” she asked.
    “Dion is the best. It is difficult to defeat him in a duel, due to his speed,” Martin spoke well of me.
    “Interesting,” she smirked. “How old were you guys when you died?”
    “John and Martin are forever fifteen, I am twenty, Antony is twenty three, and Max is twenty-five.” I answered.
    “What about the other two brothers?”
    I let out a big sigh, “Sam is twenty one and James is seventeen.”
    “Don’t people notice that you don’t age?”
    “Good Lord, she is going to be a billion questions for the next few weeks. Good luck Dion.” John plopped into his recliner.
    “I’m sorry, I have so many,” she said.
    “It is quite all right, I expected as much.” I gestured for us to exit the room.
    “If you have any more you want to ask me Kasey, catch me some other time and I shall fill you in.” Martin offered. The boys resumed their game.
    She followed me out.
    “Would you like to go upstairs?” I did not want to take her home, yet. She walked by the coffee table and grabbed the plate of fruit, “Sure.”
    “Would you like anything else? I could find something in the kitchen?”
    “Nope this is fine.” She followed me upstairs.
    Our second floor consisted of a t-shaped hallway with six bedrooms equal in size. We started to pass the first two rooms.
    “What room is this?” Kasey asked as she entered the battle area.
    “This is our weapons room.” I answered following her. “We have all types of swords, daggers, arrows, and shields in here from various time periods. Most are authentic.”
    “No kidding,” she muttered under her breath. “Do you all battle like gladiators?”
    “Yes, it was the ‘in’ thing to do when we were living. We enjoy sparing. It helps to know you cannot hurt your opponent.”
    “You don’t consider yourself to be alive now?” This confused her.
    “To live is to die. We are incapable of dying therefore we are not truly alive either.”
    “Interesting, what do you like to fight with?”
    “I like dagger fighting. You have to be quick with sharp movements. This one, the mid first century Roman Pugio Dagger is my preference.”
    Taking the fourteen-inch long dagger off the wall, I slide it out of its iron-plated sheath. Then I swung it in fancy circles and laid it out in front of her so that she could hold it. Kasey took the sword with gentle hands. She treated it as if she were going to break it.
    “It’s light,” she said.
    “It weighs two pounds.”
    “Tell me about it,” she asked.
    “The blade is an hour glass shaped metal with a sharp tip. There are engraved lines that run from the tip to the edge of the grip handle. The handle is metal coated with gold. The t-shaped handle has a ball at the end inlaid with rubies and emeralds. In the middle of the part you grip you can see a lion engraved into the gold.”
    “It’s beautiful.” She admired the intricate details on the handle.
    “It is the dagger that killed Julius Caesar,” I mentioned coolly.
    “Uh…you mean this type of dagger is the kind that killed him, right?”
    “No, I mean that is actually one of the blades that went through his body.”
    The complete petrified look on Kasey’s face alarmed me.
    “Take it! Take it!” she squealed.
    I took it quickly and placed it back in its sheath.
    “Are you mad? Why isn’t that in a museum? I can’t believe you have this. You mean this actually killed Julius Caesar?”
    “Yes, we take pleasure in collecting rare and valuable items. Since we are time travelers, we tend to have an advantage over human archeologists. We have relics all around the world in our different houses. That is how we are wealthy. We barter and sell antiques.”
    “How many houses do you have?” she asked, astonished.
    “Twenty-seven.”
    “Oh my God! How did you get the dagger that killed Julius