by Helen Harper
She gave me a weak smile but I could recognise it was tinged with relief. Another damn thing to blame Brady for. He’d have demanded obvious and grovelling obeisance, probably including Lola crawling towards him on all fours, regardless of the severity of her injuries. It was going to take time to show all the shifters that things didn’t have to be like that.
‘You saved my life, my Lord,’ she croaked.
‘I did no such thing. I was on the other side of the country, for goodness’ sake.’
She shook her head. ‘I could feel it. The pain was too strong and the pull to yield and let go was overwhelming. You took that away. I don’t know how you managed it, but you did.’
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Beyond her words, the respect in her expression was clear. I pushed away my doubts that I wasn’t supposed to be the Brethren Lord and focused on what should happen next.
‘Where were you when the attack happened?’
‘We’d just left the Grange.’
I nodded. I’d thought as much from the mental images she’d sent me. It was a popular Brethren hangout thanks to its proximity to Hampstead Heath, the vast, sprawling parkland where it was possible to shift and enjoy the freedom of being in our other forms without worrying too much about being spotted.
‘Was the Ghillie Dhu at the Grange too?’
Lola knew what I was asking. I wanted to know whether any of them had acted with typical hot-headedness and provoked the Otherworlder into an attack. ‘No, my Lord. He truly came out of nowhere. Until he was on us with the sword, I hadn’t even glimpsed his shadow.’
I placed my hand on her arm. ‘Thank you. Concentrate on getting better now. Nothing else.’
I looked up at the weretiger hovering in the doorway. ‘Where is Chambers?’
He grimaced. ‘We had to snatch him from the hospital. As he started to regain consciousness, his body forced itself into a shift. We managed to prevent anyone from seeing but it was too risky to leave him there. He’s upstairs but still sleeping.’
‘And Annan and Shah?’
He dropped his head. ‘Already cremated. Their ashes are ready for you.’
My insides tensed. I jerked my head and stood up, then walked with a heavy heart back downstairs and out towards the back gardens to where I knew the urns would be – on the simple, unvarnished table in the gazebo.
‘Shah is on the left and Annan on the right,’ the weretiger murmured, before withdrawing.
I took a deep breath and moved up beside the table, placing one palm on each. ‘Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. Your remains will join those of your Brethren forebears, and your names will be etched into the wall of those we remember and mourn.’
I bowed my head and closed my eyes. They seemed too young to already be joining their passed comrades in the Brethren’s walled-off garden of remembrance. Two Brethren deaths and one pack alpha and I was barely weeks into this job. Being born into the shifter world meant you were already consigned to a short life expectancy filled with danger at every turn. We were the muscle of the Otherworld – and that meant our lives were on the line far too often.
***
When I finally returned inside, there was a large group of Brethren shifters standing in the foyer. The tension was palpable and the harsh scent of rage and thirst for vengeance emanated from them in waves.
‘We need to track down this Ghillie Dhu and make him pay,’ one snarled. Several other voices chimed in with guttural agreement.
‘He won’t get away with this!’
I stepped up. Everyone needs to take a breath. The assembly turned towards me, some sagging in relief at my presence, others seemingly satisfied that now the remains had been laid to rest, they could act.
I will seek out the Ghillie Dhu alone.
Several faces twisted. I’d used the Voice and, unless they were going to break my compulsion like Mack had, they had no choice but to hold back. The Brethren were known for acting first and thinking afterwards. Really, it was a miracle they’d managed to hold back this long. I switched to speaking aloud. ‘If indeed it was the Ghillie Dhu who did this, he managed to defeat four of our best shifters. We cannot risk losing more. I shall find him and deal with this matter.’
‘My Lord, with all due respect, how can you succeed in killing him where four didn’t?’
There were several sucked in breaths at the audacity of the question, but I noted that everyone still wanted to hear my answer. ‘Right now,’ I said calmly, ‘we’re known for our brute strength and not much else. We need to work on strategy if we’re going to avoid another bloodbath. The Ghillie Dhu has not been seen or heard of for decades and he was not an Otherworlder who sought out violence in the past. I need to find out if he genuinely is responsible and, if so, what his motives were in attacking us.’ There were rumblings of irritated discontent. I held my nerve, however. ‘If he is found to be the perpetrator, he will be brought to justice. But we are not jumping to conclusions. We need to know why this happened first.’
I was fully aware of the hackles I’d raised, especially in the more volatile shifters in front of me. I wasn’t looking for admiration though. Rather than encourage further dissent, I instead strode past the lot of them to where the car was already waiting outside. I was the Lord Alpha and I was going to put things right.
‘Lord Corrigan,’ bowed Mara, the elbow witch assigned as my chauffeur. ‘Where would you like to go?’
I held her eyes. ‘The Ministry.’
To Mara’s credit, she didn’t blink, merely nodded in assent and opened the passenger door for me. The Ministry of Mages didn’t recognise elbow witches as part of their magical contingent. Snobbery didn’t just abound in the shifter world and minor magic users such as Mara were often marginalised. The Ministry, of course, still demanded that they register the very fact of their existence, however. To fail to do so would incur not only considerable wrath but also potential consignment to eternal oblivion. I didn’t have to like the Arch-Mage’s actions, however, I just had to encourage his civility and temperance to improve relations between our two species. Not that I was going to be a soft touch though.
When we arrived at the imposing building with its high gates and arrogant driveway, the car was stopped by a well-dressed mage holding a clipboard and a walkie-talkie. The public face of the Ministry, I thought sardonically. This guy was a far cry from Alexander Floride. I decided I liked the hippy mage who’d helped us out in Cornwall better. At least he was more honest about who he was even if he did look like a slob.
I rolled down the window. ‘I’m here to see the Arch-Mage.’
I received an impassive look in return. ‘Do you have an appointment?’
‘No.’
‘Then you’ll have to wait,’ the gatekeeper sniffed.
I stepped out of the car without waiting for Mara. Pleased to note that I towered over the wizard, I kept my voice calm. ‘It’s quite simple,’ I said. ‘Let us in immediately or, as Lord Alpha of the Brethren, I shall have the entire population of London shifters here in the next twenty minutes baying for your blood.’ I smiled. A small part of me was hoping he would refuse us entry. Let the Arch-Mage see just how far I was willing to be pushed.
His radio crackled. ‘Lord Corrigan may enter.’
I bared my teeth at the mage and he took a step backwards, hastily opening the gates. That was more like it. Then I got back in the car and allowed Mara to drive me up to the front door. She got out and opened the door for me. I counted to ten in my head first. When the Arch-Mage himself appeared, just as I reached nine, I joined her outside.
‘Lord Alpha,’ he murmured, as if he’d been expecting me all along. ‘Why don’t we go to my office?’
I inclined my head. ‘What a wonderful idea.’
***
His office was both bigger and grander than mine. It shouldn’t have annoyed me, but it did. I made a show of walking round its perimeter. The carpet was soft and luxurious and the shelves were filled with all manner of m
agical objets d’art and heavy books. I shrugged and turned to face him, wondering how on earth he ever managed to achieve anything wearing those long, heavy robes.
‘You have been taking the piss.’
If he was taken aback by my words, he didn’t react. ‘I have no idea what you mean. Would you like some tea or coffee? Perhaps something stronger?’
‘I’m not here on a social call.’
‘I rather got that impression,’ he said drily. ‘What, er, piss have I been taking exactly?’
I drew myself up. ‘We paid you handsomely for a mage to track down the murderer in Cornwall.’
The Arch-Mage raised his eyebrows. ‘And, I believe, we delivered. You know what your murderer looks like and what actions they took. The rest is up to you. If you expected us to present you with the culprit neatly tied up in a little pink bow, then you were sadly mistaken.’
‘I expected more timely action. Not just with Floride’s arrival but with the portal. It wouldn’t be any huge stretch of the imagination to believe that once this woman is done with the shifters, she’ll start on the next most powerful group of Otherworlders.’ I looked at him pointedly. It was no mistake that I openly ranked his group of little wizards below us.
‘I trust that you’ll find her before it comes to that,’ he answered smoothly.
I took a step forward. There was no point in beating about the bush. ‘Things are changing. I am no Xander Brady and I would like greater co-operation between our two factions. So far, however, you are not exactly playing ball. If you want to continue to flex your magical muscle, then we may well do the same the next time you require our assistance.’
The Arch-Mage eyed me implacably. ‘Two months ago, a group of mages was attacked by an ogre. We cornered it up in the Pennines and contacted the Brethren for backup. It took you two days to arrive, by which time one of my best men lost an arm.’
‘So your delaying tactics are nothing more than petty tit-for-tat? Anyway, that happened under Brady’s watch.’
He pursed his lips. ‘What guarantees do we have that you will treat us differently?’
‘We need mutual respect. We don’t have to be friends but we can work together more efficiently to ensure greater results for all. I give you my word that the next time you call upon us, we shall respond within the hour.’
I could see him mulling it over. ‘Very well,’ he said eventually, ‘I shall promise the same.’ He cocked his head. ‘You should remember, however, that although we may lack your brute strength, we are also powerful. We are capable of both attack and defence in our own right.’
I bowed slightly. ‘I would not deny it.’ I decided I could afford a little ego massaging. ‘The Ministry is indeed capable of a considerable amount. Not just in terms of defence or care in managing the Otherworld factions, but also in restraint. The Brethren can learn from you.’
It seemed to do the trick and I noted a flicker of self-satisfaction in his eyes. ‘Indeed. Perhaps I can offer you the opportunity to exercise such restraint now.’
Wary of his motives, I frowned. ‘How so?’
‘I imagine you are not merely here to offer me an olive branch and to demand greater punctuality.’
I shouldn’t have been surprised. It would have been no great leap for him to learn what had occurred with the Ghillie Dhu and to realise I required help in tracking down the little man. I was still not sure where the Arch-Mage was going with his enigmatic comments, however. ‘You are correct,’ I said slowly.
He snapped his fingers and a thin-looking mage with pinched cheeks peered inside, quickly blinking in acknowledgment and disappearing.
‘Not everything is black and white, Lord Alpha. And not all shifter blood is spilled without reason.’ He tapped the corner of his mouth thoughtfully. ‘Restraint, dear boy, restraint.’
There was an odd shuffling sound and I turned back to the open doorway just in time to see a short man with a bruised face almost hidden by a thatch of coarse, black hair appear. His clothing was a dead giveaway: carefully arranged moss and woven leaves.
‘The Ghillie Dhu,’ I said unnecessarily.
‘Just so,’ the Arch-Mage replied. ‘The ball is now in your court.’ With that he swept out, leaving the small man and me alone.
Chapter Fourteen
I stared at the Ghillie Dhu. It was hard to believe that he could be responsible for the deaths of two shifters. It wasn’t simply his diminutive stature. I spent my entire life around predators and beings who were not only capable of violence but who often enjoyed it. The Ghillie Dhu, however, exuded fear. I could smell it seeping from his pores. But was he scared because he knew I would mete out extreme – and justified – punishment?
‘Did you kill my men?’ I asked finally.
He swallowed, refusing to meet my eyes, reminding me for a moment of a certain truculent werehamster. ‘Yes.’
Damn it. His voice was level and calm, containing no hint of a lie. I ground my teeth together. ‘Why?’ He didn’t immediately answer. I had to batten down the urge to grab him and shake him as hard as I possibly could. I glanced down at my hands and realised tufts of dark fur were starting to appear. I clenched my fists, willing them to disappear. ‘Was it for kicks?’ I snarled. ‘I thought you were a peaceful Otherworlder.’
He cocked his head, mossy-green eyes looking confused. ‘Kicks? I did not kick anyone. I used the sword.’
Clearly, the Ghillie Dhu had indeed been out of society for some time. ‘I mean enjoyment,’ I explained. ‘Did you slaughter my shifters out of enjoyment?’
‘I do not like hurting others.’
‘So why did you do it?’ I repeated in frustration.
‘The children told me the shifters had hurt them.’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘It is not good when the children are in pain.’
I knew there were shifters, both within the Brethren and without, who would sometimes attack without provocation. Not everyone had control over their baser animal instincts. I could not lay credence to the suggestion that any of them had hurt a kid though. I was struggling to give the Ghillie Dhu the benefit of the doubt. ‘Which children?’
‘The Dark Flowers, of course.’
For one absurd moment, I thought he was referring to some teeny pop group I’d not heard of. Then something clicked. ‘Fae,’ I breathed. ‘You’re talking about the Unseelie Fae.’ No wonder he’d not been seen for decades. He’d been in Tir-na-nog.
‘They cried,’ he told me, a single tear rolling down his cheek. ‘They showed me their wounds. Claw marks on their soft skin.’
‘And you had to protect them.’ I looked him up and down. No Fae, regardless of their age, would let a shifter get close enough to hurt them. These children were not victims, regardless of what they’d told the Ghillie Dhu. ‘Let me guess. They gave you the sword?’
He nodded mutely. I closed my eyes. No wonder he’d found it so easy to defeat four shifters. A Fae weapon could manage a hell of a lot, especially if it was forged in the Unseelie court. ‘Silver,’ I muttered to myself.
‘Pardon?’
I opened my eyes and gazed him. ‘The sword they gave you had silver in it.’
‘It was quite heavy,’ he agreed. A look of misery crossed his face. ‘I didn’t mean to kill anyone. I just wanted to stop them from hurting the innocent ones.’
I almost snorted. I didn’t think these ‘children’ could be classified as innocent. They’d taken one man’s vulnerability and exploited it for their own amusement. Bloody Fae. ‘They tricked you,’ I told him flatly.
A frown marred his forehead. ‘No. They wouldn’t do that.’
‘Oh yes they would.’ And they’d laugh afterwards at the ensuing chaos they’d caused. ‘You cannot return to Tir-na-nog.’
Alarm crossed the Ghillie Dhu’s face. ‘But that’s all I want to do. I came here to the mages to ask them to help me get back. I don’t like it here. It’s noisy and hard. The smoke chokes me.’ He scratched at his skin. ‘It hurts.’
&n
bsp; I took a closer look and realised that where his nails were scraping, there were harsh-looking welts. Despite my anger at his actions, I felt a wave of sympathy. The modern world was no place for someone like the Ghillie Dhu.
‘I can help you get back to Scotland,’ I suggested. ‘There are many open areas. The moors and the heathers remain. Not everywhere is like London.’
‘It’s not safe, not safe,’ he moaned, scratching harder.
I leaned forward, gently taking his hands and laying them down by his sides to prevent him from mutilating himself further. Actually, he was probably correct about safety, although not for the reasons that he’d think. There were plenty of shifters in Scotland who would champ at the bit to seek him out and show him the error of his ways. And that’s not to mention what would happen if the Unseelie children caught up with him again.
I rubbed my chin. I knew what most, if not all, of the Brethren would say. Cut the Ghillie Dhu’s throat and be done with it. He was responsible for two deaths. Whether he was manipulated into them or not, whether he intended for them to happen or not, he deserved no less than swift execution. But I also knew what the Unseelie Fae were capable of. And no-one would be served by killing the small, virtually defenceless man in front of me. It wouldn’t bring either Annan or Shah back. It wouldn’t heal Chambers’ or Lola’s wounds any faster. Punishment wouldn’t help. The Ghillie Dhu wasn’t evil. He was merely naïve.
‘Why were you at the Unseelie Court?’
He shrugged. ‘They found me wandering. They told me to stay with them.’
I opened up a Voice link, hoping I wasn’t going to catch Albert, the shifter I’d left in charge, unaware. I need to speak to the Summer Queen.
There was a brief pause. Of course, my Lord. I will contact her immediately. Be aware, however, that she often takes some time to respond.
I wasn’t surprised. It involves the Unseelie Court. Tell her if she wants to gain an advantage over the Winter King, she’d be wise to make it swift.
I will do my best.
I looked at the Ghillie Dhu. ‘Where is the sword now?’