by Amy Sumida
“Hold on, Ainsley.” I held up my hand. “This guy mentioned his niece, who he said might make trouble for them. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think this slaver is—”
“That fucking bastard!” Dylan growled as he snatched the paper out of Ainsley's hand. “Is that Shane?”
“Let me see that?” I held my hand out for the paper.
Ainsley sighed and rolled his eyes. “That's what I was trying to tell you, Your Highness.”
“Why do you have a drawing of my uncle Shane, Ainsley?”
“That's the sketch created from Lisa's description,” he said.
We all looked at him blankly.
“The woman who we found with Sokolov,” Ainsley explained. “This is the fairy who abducted her.”
“And this email confirms it.” I swiveled the laptop for Dylan to have a look.
“That little shit!” Dylan snarled as he pushed the laptop away. “Why would he do this?”
“Money,” I suggested. “A way to keep himself in the lifestyle he'd grown accustomed to.”
“He's not going to be living any kind of lifestyle when the Councils hear of this,” Councilman Teagan said as he stood. “I assume that's a picture of Duke Shane Luminary?”
“Prince Shane,” I said automatically. Then I saw Dylan's face. “Oh, right. I guess he's nothing now.”
“No, Councilman Teagan is correct,” Dylan said. “Shane is a duke now, because he's still your uncle, despite being a cowardly criminal.”
“You're my only uncle,” I said grimly.
“Thank you, darling.” Dylan gave me one of his rare smiles. “Now, go call the Human Council and get a warrant out for that shiny, no good, son of a bitch.”
“You had me at shiny,” I said as I dialed.
Chapter Forty-Six
Just because there was a warrant out for Shane's arrest, it didn't mean this was all over. We still had to find the guy, and that hadn't gone so well for us this far. But it was the final clue to the puzzle, and everything was finally making sense. Shane was a coward; he had deserted his parents when my aunt Moire had challenged my grandmother, Queen Iseabal, for the Seelie throne. And he hadn't been seen since. However, Shane was a powerful coward, with the luminary magic as his mór. The way he'd tossed the barghest rath lord aside like he was nothing before he disappeared in the Elven Enclave proved that.
The sad thing was; Shane could have returned to Seelie—I would have let him, if for no other reason than he was family. But he would have been humiliated. All of Fairy would know that he was a deserter. So, Shane had chosen to leave Fairy altogether. And what was a powerful fairy duke on the lamb to do? He found a way to make friends and influence people, of course.
Turning humans into slaves for other humans was rather ingenious. Shane needed sanctuary in HR, and his family never had a major presence in the Human Realm. That meant he only had whatever he could grab in those few minutes before he fled Seelie. Maybe some jewelry that he'd have to pawn. But then he'd need a place to stay and someone to watch his back. It seemed as if Shane recruited from his own court, and then worked out a plan to make them all very comfortable on Earth.
Crime against humans wasn't new for Shane either. This wasn't the first time he had screwed with them. Not so long ago, he had tried to bring about an apocalypse in the Human Realm. After trying to kill nearly everyone on Earth, enslaving a few humans wouldn't be a big deal for him. What surprised me was that Shane was able to win over so many seelie after what he'd done; or hadn't done, rather. But, as I mentioned before, Tiernan had been considered to be a traitor right up until he took the throne. So, I suppose there were quite a few seelie fairies who would see Shane as their true prince, heir to the throne, even if he was a coward.
It was a bit disheartening for me. I'd thought the Fey had come a long way, as far as their elitist and racist ways were concerned. I had truly believed that they wanted peace between the kingdoms and for all of Fairy. Ideals will do that to you; make you think that everyone must share your beliefs because it just doesn't make sense that they wouldn't. I suppose that was close-minded of me.
Anyway, we didn't have Shane yet, but we did have several of his minions. They were under the custody of the Councils, so I couldn't star-cross them and interrogate them as I had Sokolov, but I knew who their leader was now, and that made a big difference. It gave me an upper hand. So, I was heading back to Oregon. I'd already called Killian, and he was meeting me in Portland. The twilight hour was too far away for me to use it for travel, and Oregon was close enough that I decided to just take a plane—a commercial one at that. I was waiting to board when Raza scried me.
I went into the bathroom and sat in a stall to speak to him. I didn't want anyone seeing my scry phone.
“Hey, you,” I said with a smile.
“Mo shíorghrá,” Raza purred, “I've missed you.”
“I miss you too, big guy,” I whispered.
I hadn't intended to tell Raza about Daxon yet; it seemed awful to do it over a scry. But as soon as I saw his face, I wanted to confess. I couldn't have this between us; Raza simply meant too much to me.
“What is it?” He asked, narrowing his golden, dragon eyes.
“I found the Tromlaighe,” I said softly. “He's head of the Fairy Underground in California; they call him a king.”
“Please,” Raza huffed. “A million people could call him a mermaid, and it still wouldn't make it true.”
I snorted.
“I assume that you apprehended him?” Raza asked.
“He hasn't done anything wrong, as far as the law is concerned,” I said carefully. “And he helped us track the men who used those bombs against the extinguishers. We've even discovered who's in charge of the slavery ring; it's Shane.”
“Prince Shane?” Raza lifted his brows.
“Evidently, he's a duke now.”
“Hmm, yes, I suppose he is.” Raza shrugged. “But not for long. He will be extinguished, I expect.”
“There's a warrant out for his arrest, not his extinguishment, since he's still a fairy noble and the Councils want to give him a trial. But, yes, I believe he will be executed,” I admitted.
“You'll have to catch him first,” Raza said shrewdly. “And Shane is tricky.”
“You're telling me,” I huffed.
“You have more to say,” he made it a statement.
“I wish I didn't have to tell you this over a scry,” I whispered.
“Seren, what is it?” Raza's face creased into worried lines. “Are you all right? Is it Killian?”
“Killian's fine.” I waved my hand dismissively. “I'm actually at the airport, waiting for a flight to Portland. I'm going back to interrogate the prisoners.”
“Then what is it? Just tell me.” His gaze softened, and the love shining in his eyes nearly made me chicken out.
“This underworld mermaid, we have a...” I stumbled over the words.
Raza's eyes went wide. “Have you cheated on me with the mermaid?” He asked in a horrified tone.
“No,” I said immediately. “Well, not fully. And maybe we should drop the mermaid joke because it's making me feel uncomfortable.”
“Not fully?” Raza roared before I could finish.
Someone in the stall beside me jerked and scrambled for the toilet paper. Well, at least they were in the best place for that reaction.
“Shh,” I admonished him. “I didn't sleep with him.”
“Then what did you do, Seren?” Raza snarled. “Tell me exactly.”
“I kissed him,” I confessed. “Raza, it's the Call of Danu; I'm certain of it.”
Raza went still... all except for a muscle in his jaw which fluttered until the pressure of his clenched teeth.
“I tried to fight it, but you know how that goes,” I went on. “It felt even stronger this time. I stood outside his door and couldn't walk away. I had a panic attack.”
“Seren,” Raza whispered as he closed his eyes.
“I'm so sorry, Raza,” I said. “I know this is hard enough as it is.”
“Why would Danu do this to us?” Raza asked.
“I love you so much,” I said as I stroked the crystal over his face. “Thank you for giving her the blame.”
“She is to blame,” he said gently. “As you said; I know the Call intimately. It's not something easily avoided. I understand, mo shíorghrá, I do. I think it shows how much you love us that you didn't betray your vows.”
“Didn't I?” I asked in a little voice. “I shouldn't have touched him at all, Raza.”
“Seren, you've had the Call fall upon you three times already,” he said firmly. “This is the fourth. Have you ever considered what that's done to you? Fairies experience it once in their very long lives, if they ever feel it at all. You, barely half a century—”
“Hey! I'm not even close to half a century!”
Raza chuckled. “All right; you, not even close to half a century, have experienced the Call four times now. Magic has a way of compounding; it leaves a residue that builds upon itself. When you first felt the Call of Danu with Tiernan, I imagine it was strong, but you were capable of resisting it.”
“Yes.” I blinked in shock. “But with you, it got stronger; it was harder to deny.”
“And with Killian?”
“Even more difficult,” I admitted. “Damn her; she's snowballed me with lust!”
Raza laughed. “In a way, yes, but don't damn our goddess just yet. She knew what she was doing when she brought the four of us together, didn't she?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“So, perhaps we should trust her once more,” he said with a sigh. “I don't want to, Seren. You know how I feel about you. But, the only reason I have you is because of Danu. If she thinks this man is necessary in your life, then I won't interfere.”
“I can't believe you're being so great about this.”
“Why not?” He scowled. “I am a great man.”
“After that whole scene with you glamouring yourself and testing me?” I lifted my brows, and he made a guilty face. “Yeah, but I also swore to you that you were all I wanted. I feel like a fraud, Raza.”
“You're not a fraud,” he chastised me. “You do only want me—in this form. Your love for Tiernan and Killian doesn't have anything to do with our love for each other. It's taken me awhile to accept that, but I do now. To know that you love me as I am—that you desire this body; claws, and wings, and all—means everything to me, mo shíorghrá. You're not seeking any other love; it sought you. I can accept that as well.”
“Fuck, Raza!” I hissed, and his eyes widened “How do you keep getting better? I thought I loved you as much as I possibly could, and then you do something like this, and my heart has to expand to make room for more Raza love.”
He burst into laughter, and then it settled into a smile. “I love you too, Seren. Enough to support whatever makes our love stronger. Even if it happens to be another man.”
“Thank you, dragon.”
“But good luck with Tiernan.”
I rolled my eyes.
Chapter Forty-Seven
“He's okay with it?” Killian asked as we pulled into the drive of the Salem Council House. “Raza? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Damn, I'm impressed,” he huffed. “Good luck with Tiernan, though.”
“Why does everyone think that Tiernan is unreasonable?” I scowled as I got out of the SUV.
“Because he is.”
“No, he isn't,” I protested. “He was great about helping me search for Shane, back when we didn't know it was Shane.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What?”
“That was a search, not sharing you with yet another man.”
“Let's talk about this later.” I gave Killian a quelling look as we entered the council house. “You let them know that I wanted to speak to the prisoners again, right?”
“Yes, he did, Ambassador.” Councilman Spalder met me in the hall. “They're in the cells below; I'll have one brought up into a conference room for you. Do you have a preference?”
“The moomin,” I said. “I can read him the easiest.”
“Excellent.”
Five minutes later, I was sitting across from the moomin, whose name was Ip. I'm not even kidding, that was his name. Anyway, Ip was bound in magic-dampening cuffs again, looking much as he had the last time we spoke, except a bit more morose.
“Hello, Ip,” I said.
“Queen Seren,” he bowed his head.
“Our last conversation was cut short,” I noted. “We had to deal with those less-desirable types of humans you mentioned. So, I thought we might take up where we left off.”
“Where we left off?”
“I was telling you how you could make this easier on yourself,” I reminded him.
“I think I'll just take my chances,” he murmured.
“I know who your leader is,” I said smugly.
His face went pale, and he started to fidget.
“It's just a matter of time before we catch him,” I went on. “So, you have a very small window of opportunity to make a deal with me. Do you think you might like to make use of that window now?”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Good. We've found some of the humans,” I said. “But there's still roughly forty unaccounted for, and I need your help finding them.”
“I told you; I don't know where those humans are,” he whined. “I only took care of them.”
“Yes, but you do know where Shane is, don't you?”
The moomin's eyes went wide, and he twitched in a very strange manner. I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Duke Shane,” I clarified, “your leader. Where is he, Ip?”
He stared at me.
“You know that you'll be extinguished for this if you don't help me,” I growled. “Tell me where Shane is, and you live.”
“I want it in writing.”
“What?” I blinked at him in surprise.
“Writing,” he repeated. “I want the Councils to write on paper that I won't be extinguished if I give you this information.”
“You've learned a few things from the humans, huh?” I smirked.
“A few,” he admitted.
“All right, Ip,” I agreed, “you'll have your paper promise.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Ip got his contract, and we got an address. It wasn't even all that far away. Shane was hiding out in Eugene—the town where we had first investigated a fairy ring. It was just an hour's drive away from Salem. I was a little surprised by the location, and I fidgeted with my sword the whole way there. Oregon was a rainy state, and Shane was not only a seelie, he was a Luminary, which meant that he loved the light. It was hard to imagine him choosing to live in the gloom.
But there were the fairy-rings to consider. Oregon had been having quite a few of those pop up lately, and Shane needed to be nearby to make use of them. That made sense, and it settled me a bit, but I couldn't help feeling that something was off. The way that moomin had twitched when I said Shane's name—
“Seren?” Killian asked as he stopped the car. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I'm good.” I looked around. “Is this it?”
“That house there.” Killian pointed to a rustic home set about fifty yards back from the road. “The Extinguisher team is getting into place now.”
“We should take point,” I said. “We're better equipped to handle Shane's mór.”
“Can I go snakey?” Killian smiled brightly.
“Not outside, where the neighbors can see.” I grimaced. “But if you need to shift inside the house, go ahead.”
“I think if I shifted inside that house, I'd end up outside anyway.” Killian gave the structure a dubious look.
It was a single level home, and Killian was right; the roof wasn't placed high enough to allow for the space to accommodate Killian's gigantic snake form.
“We'll wi
ng it,” I said as I hurried over to the gathering group of extinguishers. “Hold on, guys; let me and Killian do the honors. This guy has some bright magic that may sting a bit.”
“You got it, Ambassador.” The lead extinguisher waved us forward.
If we wanted to be cannon fodder, he wasn't going to argue with us. But it ended up being moot. The house was empty.
“Damn him,” I hissed after we searched the place. “You guys check the yard?”
“Nothing there but dirt,” an extinguisher answered. “No other buildings, no underground bunkers; not even a shed.”
“But there is this.” The lead extinguisher held up a folder with a smile.
“The missing people?” I asked.
“Yes, ma'am, they're all listed here,” the extinguisher reported with smug satisfaction.
“Let me see that.” I took the folder and flipped through it.
Shane had kept meticulous notes. The extinguisher was right; there was everything we needed to find the rest of the missing humans. I handed the folder back to him and then made another round through the house. It looked as if Shane had packed in a hurry. He must have known that we were coming, or he had expected us to find this place eventually. I went to the sink and looked at the dirty dishes. There were remnants of a meal rotting there. So, this place had been abandoned awhile back.