Rand had made no attempt to hide the fact that he had fired the elf-shot that killed Gerry. In the same breath, he asserted his diplomatic immunity. Despite the break with the Consortium, Donor had not revoked the status of Eorla and her people as envoys of the court. Doing so would have validated her own court, and that wasn’t something Donor wanted to give a hint of legitimacy. Of course, diplomatic immunity was also the reason Manus ap Eagan wasn’t in a prison hospital. Two police officers, a father and son yet, were dead by known assailants who could not be arrested for their crimes. The excuse did not sit well with present company.
The faith stone was feeding my body shield, but I was reaching the point of exhaustion holding it together anyway. Despite my more resilient constitution, using essence took effort. Maintaining a body shield was a constant drain. I was at my breaking point.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
Rand monitored everything and everyone around us, scanning, assessing. I realized that this was how Eorla saw him, his back always to her, facing her only when they were alone and in direct conversation. I had never had a full-time bodyguard and never thought about how much trust existed between protector and protected who didn’t look each other in the eye.
“I will answer their questions until they start to repeat, then I will excuse myself and return to Eorla,” he said.
Eorla. Not Her Majesty. I wondered if that was because she wasn’t present or if she allowed him to use her personal name in private. “Well, give me a heads-up because I’m not comfortable staying here without you.”
“Ceridwen’s people have set a perimeter for you. Once you leave this alley, they will not allow anyone with guns to enter the Tangle,” he said.
I didn’t need another debt to Ceridwen. She was going to hold me to my promise to help her get revenge against Maeve. I didn’t mind that so much. It was her subtle manipulations that bound me tighter every time we interacted that worried me. Promises made had a tendency to look very different from promises fulfilled.
I stood but remained near the wall. People nearby cast looks at me that ranged from anxious to angry. Janey Likesmith had arrived, but she didn’t tend to the body. She hugged Leo and remained with her arms around him. Meryl stepped back, still talking. Leo nodded over Janey’s shoulder.
Someone from the OCME—a human, I noticed—was breaking out crime-scene equipment. Clearly, no fey was going to touch this case. I wondered if news had gotten out in the force about the Murdocks, if people knew they were, in fact, fey folk. I wondered if it would matter now.
The officers out on the sidewalk shifted, shuffling to make room for someone. As a gap opened among them, Kevin Murdock strode through. His hair was disheveled from a hat, and red colored his cheeks. He stopped beside Gerry, his jaw set, hands clenched. Leo reached out a hand and said something, but Kevin shrugged him off. He raised his gaze, and we made eye contact.
His pale blue eyes shone with anger—and more. Essence flickered there, the telltale reaction of angry fey. In a flash, a body shield blossomed around him, pushing Leo and Meryl back. He stalked toward me. With a snap of his wrist, his hand burned incandescent white with essence. In reflex, I tapped my own body essence and shuddered as the darkness squeezed my mind. Kevin let the essence fly. The strike lanced toward us, shearing through Rand’s shield and throwing him off his feet. My head burned with heat as the stone pulsed and my shield—exploded was the only word I could grasp. It wrapped itself around both Rand and me, a solidified barrier. Kevin’s bolt hit with a splash of fire that washed over and away from us.
More essence launched through the air as Rand and Meryl recovered, ribbons of binding spells dropping over Kevin. They spun around him, cinching his arms to his sides, and he staggered to a halt. He remained calm, yet defiant. His gaze bored into me, his pale blue eyes burning with essence. Cops flooded the space between us, pushing Kevin back and pulling their guns on me and Rand.
This isn’t over. You’re a dead man, Grey.
My jaw dropped at the sound of his voice in my mind. The shield, the essence fire, and the sending were all high-level work. Regardless of where he was training, Kevin didn’t have the level of experience to achieve such ability. It was all raw talent.
Leo pressed into the crowd. “Hold fire! Hold fire!” he shouted.
“Leo….” I said.
He glared, his eyes tired and red-rimmed, and held his hand up to my face. I snapped my mouth shut. He pointed at Rand. “Get him out of here. Tell your boss she better take my call, or there will be hell to pay.”
Rand extinguished his essence and bowed. He took my arm and escorted me through the officers. As we passed Kevin, Rand removed his binding spell with a druidic hand gesture.
I’ll stay with Leo, Meryl sent. I gave her a barely detectable nod, letting my eyes tell her I understood.
At the mouth of the alley, a tree fairy, her face rough and stern, waited in a black car on the sidewalk. Rand guided me into the back like I was under arrest, then slid into the seat next to me. The tree fairy edged the car through the officers. The interior of the car rang with the sound of batons hitting the fenders. The tree fairy remained calm, though, and took us to Old Northern Avenue without further incident.
“That went better than expected,” Rand said.
31
Rand ushered me through heightened security at the Rowes Wharf Hotel. The death of a police officer at the hands of one of her people had brought protesters to the street out front. The National Guard had increased its presence, claiming it was about crowd control, but they didn’t seem much interested in calming anyone.
Eorla, on the other hand, acted as if it was another day in the life of the Unseelie queen. We arrived in her private office to find her calmly fielding phone calls. She gestured me to the guest chair. Rand waited at attention by the window. “No, I’m not concerned,” she said into the phone. “I will make a public announcement when I make my final decision…. I have guns pointed at my front door, sir. I apologize if I seem a bit distracted…. It is my understanding that the man was disguised, did not identify himself, and was firing on a civilian…. Fine. I will let you know.”
She ended the call and leaned back in her chair. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ve had better days,” I said.
“You look exhausted. I’ve had a room prepared for you,” she said.
“I shouldn’t stay here, Eorla. It complicates things for you. My place in the Tangle will be secure once the news cameras go away,” I said.
Eorla pursed her lips. “What do you plan to do?”
“I need to get some sleep before I can process all this,” I said.
“Publicly, I’m putting you on restricted duty, Rand. We need to deflect attention,” she said.
“Understood, Your Majesty,” he said.
I peered at him. For weeks, I had been noticing curious things about Rand, small things, things that didn’t add up to my understanding of an elven warrior in general and him in particular. In front of Eorla, he was all business—the picture of a high-level elven operative. When we had been alone together, though, his façade slipped, letting some of the man behind the image show through. I assumed it was because we had become friendly. Contrary to popular belief, elves were not dour and taciturn at all times. They were reserved in public, but among their own, they were like anybody else, high-spirited or low, with every personality between.
“What were you doing down in the Tangle anyway?” I asked. I kept my voice nonchalant and conversational. I didn’t want him to think I was accusing him of anything.
Rand glanced at Eorla with a mild flutter of a sending. “I was checking Ceridwen’s defenses.”
“Is there a problem?” I asked, couching the question to seem concerned about me rather than him.
“I think that would be obvious after what happened. Many approaches are unguarded,” he said.
“That’s true. Security is difficult because there are no clear boundar
ies in the Tangle. But I wasn’t attacked by someone from the Tangle. Someone has been training Kevin and Gerry Murdock to use their abilities.”
“You must have noticed their strategies and execution. I suspect they’ve found training from the Guild,” Rand said.
“MacGoren did say Maeve was behind the attack at Eagan’s, and I know Gerry Murdock was there,” I said.
“It would rehabilitate their image with the family after their involvement with their father’s death,” Eorla said.
“Kevin and Gerry hate the Guild,” I said.
He glanced at Eorla again with another sending. The pause made me wonder which one of them didn’t like the direction the conversation had taken. “I confirmed their Guild training. I saw it as necessary and neutral,” Rand said. “Regardless of who trained them, I was more concerned about the individuals’ being safely trained than who their trainers were.”
“Yeah, that didn’t work out so well tonight, did it?” I asked.
Rand stared down his nose at me. “You are alive. I’ll make no judgment whether that is for good or ill.”
I had to appreciate a rebuttal wrapped in a subtle insult. “So what went wrong?”
He considered before responding. “I was more concerned about Kevin Murdock. He appears inordinately powerful. I had full surveillance on him, but only daytime watchers on Gerald. With macGoren dead, it remains to be seen what they do next,” Rand said.
Keeva didn’t seem like she was going to be broadcasting macGoren’s death anytime soon. The events in the safe house happened less than twelve hours ago. Another reason to be curious about Rand. “How do you know macGoren’s dead?” I asked.
“My contacts at the Guild are high level, Connor. An extraction for you was in process when Keeva macNeve intervened,” he said.
“Have you ever been in the research labs at the Guildhouse?” I asked.
The question threw him, as it was meant to. “Excuse me?” Rand asked.
“The research labs on the second-level subbasement. Ever been there?” I asked.
His face became neutral, hiding whatever emotions he was feeling. “May I inquire the point of the question?”
I smiled to hide the fact that I was going to bait him with a lie. “Oh. Sorry. My mind was leaping around. The Guild was working on body-signature tracking. They’ve been trying to develop a method for tracking someone by body-signature markers. Pretty sophisticated stuff.”
“I’m not aware of this,” he said.
“Really? I would have thought you heard about it when you went down there. The guys working on it tell everybody,” I said.
“I have never been in those labs.”
Eorla smiled. “The Guild wouldn’t let Rand have clearance. Believe me. I tried.”
I leaned forward. “Eorla, can you lock down this room? No one in, no one out?”
With an intrigued look, she muttered under her breath. Essence swirled across the doors and windows. “Well?” she asked.
I looked up at Rand. “Who are you working for?”
He didn’t take it as an accusation, although this time I made it sound like one. “Her Majesty,” he said.
“Were you in the subbasement level of the Guildhouse where the research labs are?” I asked.
Rand clenched his jaw. “Your Majesty, I take issue with what is apparently an interrogation.”
Eorla tilted her head. “What is wrong, Connor?”
“I think Rand is a Guild spy,” I said.
No one said a word. Eorla looked down at her desktop while Rand looked at her. “Why do you believe he was in that subbasement?” she asked.
“Because I was there and his essence is there. It was as recent as the day the Guildhouse collapsed,” I said.
“Did it occur to you that he might have been doing something on my orders?” Eorla asked.
Rand relaxed when she said that. That was enough for me to know I was right. “Of course, it did. And if he was, his lying to me right now would make perfect sense. What I can’t dismiss, though, is how he used a druid spell tonight to bind Kevin Murdock.”
“I am adept at many modes of essence ability, Mr. Grey,” Rand said.
“I buy that. I’m sure most people would. But part of the issue with what’s going on in my head is that I am highly sensitive to essence, more than anyone I know. You killed Gerry with elf-shot, but it was laced with druid essence. The binding spell had more of it.”
I tensed, ready to react to whatever happened next. If Rand was going to make a break for it, that would be the time. Instead, he remained relaxed but alert. “With all due respect, Mr. Grey, I believe it has been well established that your faculties are impaired. You are mistaken.”
“And you happened to be in the Tangle tonight for something a midlevel agent could have handled,” I said.
The tension in the room hummed. I focused my attention on Rand, but I wanted to know what Eorla was thinking. “Connor, I cannot have you undermining Rand, especially after what happened tonight. We need unity.”
I jerked my head toward her. “None of this bothers you?”
She licked her lips and glanced up at Rand. “I am aware of Rand’s, shall we say, conflict of interest.”
Rand reacted predictably. “Your Majesty, I have ever been….”
Eorla held her hand up and a sending fluttered through the air. “Let’s not dance any longer. There are larger issues involved. Connor has seen through your subterfuge. Now I am concerned that he might not be the only one who has noticed these things.”
A sending fluttered from Eorla, then a soft knock sounded from the door behind her desk. The door opened, and I jumped to my feet. Standing in the doorway was an elven warrior, the exact image of Rand. Eorla cocked her head toward him. “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my first officer and confidante. Rand, this is Connor Grey and”—she smiled at the man in front of her desk—“your name, sir?”
I looked from one man to the other. The one in the red uniform whom I had known as Rand looked exactly like the man in a plain green house uniform standing behind Eorla.
“How long have you known, ma’am?” the imposter asked.
“Rand escaped from his cell when the Guildhouse was destroyed, but I have known your deception from the beginning,” Eorla said. “The Elven King himself could not create a glamour to deceive me.
The imposter glanced at Rand. “I will reveal myself in private.”
Eorla sat for a long moment. “Please excuse us, Rand.”
He bowed and closed the door. The imposter bowed his head in thought. Essence shimmered over him, twisting and smearing his image. The tight elven hair loosened into a head of curls as the ears shrank and rounded. His skin lightened, and a subtle shift in height—still tall, but a more slender build. The essence fell away from his face, and I started laughing.
“Surprised to see me, Con?” he asked.
“Danu’s blood, Dylan, I can’t believe I blew your cover,” I said.
32
Seeing my old partner Dylan macBain dressed as an elven officer was strange. Stranger still was realizing he had been undercover for months, and I had no idea. Dylan and I stood alone on the roof of the hotel. When we reached the open air, he dropped the Rand glamour. The muffled sound of protesters echoed through the financial district.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
True regret showed on his face. “It’s complicated.”
I leaned on the parapet, staring out over the harbor. The entire inner harbor was now cordoned off by the mist, the essence barrier rising from the sea like a wall of fog. “Uncomplicate it.”
“I don’t know if I can. There was concern you would expose me,” he said.
“Whose concern? MacGoren’s?”
He pressed his lips together, glancing down. “I don’t work for macGoren.”
I faced him. “Maeve? You’re working for her?”
He inhaled deeply and rubbed his face. “We’re not going to play a guessin
g game. I’m not going to tell you.”
Anger burned in my chest. Dylan and I had been Guild partners. Beyond that, we had been more than friends. “Did you kill those undercover agents?”
“No,” he said. He wasn’t upset. He knew it was a fair question under the circumstances.
“If you don’t work for Maeve, who do you work for?” I said.
He nodded. “An explanation wouldn’t help. Suffice it to say this was the highest-placed agent we’ve ever accomplished, Connor. You have to appreciate the delicacy of my position.”
“I would if I understood the purpose,” I said.
It was his turn to be angry. “That’s just it, Con. You don’t have to understand.”
“You killed my friend’s brother, Dylan. I think that entitles me to something. You’re not the one who has to face Leo,” I said.
“What I said before stands true. Gerry made his decision. You would have done the same thing in my position,” he said.
I would have. If Dylan were being attacked, I would have done the same thing. I did do it. I killed fourteen people when I thought he had been killed. “You don’t seem remorseful,” I said.
“I’ll deal with it in my own time. I’m not like you,” he said.
“Damn right you’re not,” I muttered.
I didn’t know what to make of him. We had been so close, and now this wall was between us. Maybe it was inevitable. Dylan had remained the good Guildsman. I had gone my own way. Maybe two people can’t always be what they once were to each other. I grunted in amusement. Maybe that wasn’t always such a bad thing.
“What’s so funny?” Dylan asked.
“Meryl and I used to hate each other. It’s funny how things change,” I said.
“The Wheel of the World turns as It will. Sometimes that’s good,” he said.
Sometimes it wasn’t. Sometimes life put you in a corner and dared you to come out. Briallen taught me that I had to change to meet new challenges and accept it when I couldn’t. Nigel taught me that I didn’t have to accept anything I didn’t want to and that I could push life in the direction I wanted. Somehow, they were both right and both wrong.
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