by Helen Harper
‘Mack’s fine.’ I wasn’t quite willing to say anything more. ‘Is everything under control here?’
He nodded. ‘The mages are taking charge. They’re actually doing a good job.’ He sounded surprised.
I patted his shoulder distractedly. ‘Get everyone together for a debrief. We’ll meet and then head back to London as soon as the sun rises.’
‘My Lord,’ he murmured before withdrawing.
I sighed. I wasn’t doing a particularly good job of being Lord at the moment. I had to find Mack and apologise for leaving her like that. Whatever our differences, this wasn’t the time to let them overtake me. Not with Endor on the loose. I set my chin and went in search. She had to be around here somewhere.
Chapter Thirteen
I knew Mack was staying in a tiny bed and breakfast on the outskirts of town. It had seemed important to her to make her own way to Loch Ness and, as long as I knew where she was, the wisest thing had been to let her be. Now, standing in the tiny garden, with her quickly vanishing scent tickling my nostrils, I was fully regretting that decision. It didn’t help that I could detect definite traces of Solus and that stupid ex-vampire as well. Why Mack was continuing to allow Aubrey to hang around after her like a whining puppy, I had no idea. Then it occurred to me that I wasn’t far off the same where she was concerned. Mack seemed to have a knack for not only collecting all manner of waifs and strays but also commanding absolute loyalty. I had no idea how she did it – and I would lay money on the fact that she didn’t either.
I made an attempt to follow her trail, worried that she might have picked up another clue about Endor and had blindly gone off after him with no-one other than Aubrey and the Fae in tow. As much as Solus annoyed me, I doubted he’d allow her to place herself in that much danger though. Nonetheless I could feel my irritation and concern returning when it quickly became clear that her trail halted in the small car park.
I leaned back on my heels and rubbed my chin. She couldn’t have gone far. Solus would have opened up a portal if that were the case. Deciding that she’d probably warmed up, changed clothes and headed back out to the scene of the crime by car, I twisted round.
Mack? I sent out, hoping she’d answer.
There was no response. I gritted my teeth but, before I could try again, Lucy appeared.
‘Lord Corrigan, I’ve been looking for you.’
My head snapped up. ‘Is there a problem? Is it Endor?’
‘No.’
‘Then whatever it is, it can wait.’ I had to prioritise. Anything that didn’t involve either Mack or the damn necromancer would have to get in line.
She held out a small mobile phone. ‘It’s Leah. She says it’s important.’
I frowned. My sister could be annoying but she was also much smarter than me. She wouldn’t be in touch unless she had a very good reason for it. I took the phone from Lucy.
‘Hello?’
‘Corrigan?’
‘What’s the problem?’
She sucked in an audible breath. ‘It’s not exactly a problem…’
‘Leah, I’m kind of in the middle of things here. Unless you’re calling me up because you have a sudden insight into where Endor has gone, then I’m sure it can wait. If it can’t then get in touch with Laura, Mark and Colin in Gloucester. They’ll know what to do.’
‘It’s, um, personal.’
She wasn’t making any sense. ‘Leah,’ I sighed. ‘I’ll be back in London soon. We can talk then.’
‘No.’ Her voice was strained. ‘It’s not personal to me. It’s personal to you. Probably. Maybe. Um…’
Good grief. ‘Tell me.’
‘You know Philys?’
She was an older werefox who dealt with a lot of the Brethren’s administration. ‘Yeah.’
‘And you know how one of her jobs is to open the mail and sort it out for distribution?’
I stilled. ‘Has Endor sent something to us?’
‘Goddamnit, Corrigan!’ Leah snapped. ‘It’s not to do with him. It’s Mack.’
She’d sent me a letter? It didn’t make any sense. ‘What about her?’ I asked slowly.
‘Mack must have given the keep as her address. I have no idea why.’ I could almost hear the cogs turning in Leah’s mind. ‘We got a letter addressed to her from some hospital.’
My impatience turned to ice in an instant. ‘Is something wrong with her?’ I demanded. ‘Is she sick?’
‘No. Not sick exactly.’
‘Leah, I swear to God, if you don’t tell me what’s going on…’
‘Mack’s pregnant,’ she expelled in a rush. ‘She had a blood test done which has confirmed it. It doesn’t say who the father is. You know Philys wouldn’t have opened the letter if she’d known it was private. She’s not spoken to anyone else about it. It’s only me who knows.’ She trailed off, leaving me to absorb the news.
I leaned against the wall of the bed and breakfast, absolutely stunned. Pregnant? For a moment I was numb. It didn’t make any sense. It had to be some kind of mistake. Then heat flickered through me, expanding into violent rage. She’d almost killed herself. She was carrying my baby and therefore was probably already weaker than she’d normally be and yet she’d shifted into a dragon and tried to sacrifice her life for mine. Blood pounded in my ears as I remember our coupling in the forest in Shropshire. My baby. With Mack. Possessive delight roared through my veins.
Then another thought occurred to me. What if it wasn’t mine?
‘Corrigan?’ Leah’s voice sounded as if it were a long way away. ‘Are you still there?’
With some effort, I managed to grunt.
‘Is it…’ she paused. ‘Is it yours?’
It had better bloody well be. Not it though. He or she. Hot damn. ‘I don’t know. I need to talk to Mack. Don’t tell anyone about this, Leah. And make sure Philys keeps her mouth shut too.’
‘You know we both will.’
I forced out a goodbye and hung up. Now, more than ever, it was imperative that I found Mack.
Mack?
Nothing.
Kitten, talk to me.
Silence.
MACKENZIE!
…
Fuck.
***
It proved next to impossible to concentrate on anything. I attended the Arch-Mage’s meeting in London. Mack didn’t. No-one knew where she was. Just about the only thing that prevented me from ripping the country apart to look for her was the fact that Solus was missing too. As bloody annoying as he was, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I knew he cared for. Possibly even as much as I did. The Summer Queen claimed that she didn’t know where he was either. Considering the Fae are unable to lie, much as they might often twist their words to suit their purpose, I had no reason to disbelieve her. She also told me that she’d know if he were no longer alive. For some reason, I had the same feeling about Mack. Baby or no baby, we were inextricably linked. If Mack no longer breathed, I was sure I would feel it deep in my bones. It still didn’t make it any easier to concentrate though. I even considered contacting the vampires and asking them if they knew where Aubrey was. I promised myself that if there was still no sign of her by Monday then I would, whether they were lying, conniving bastards who probably hated Aubrey now he was no longer one of them or not.
When it came to locating Endor, things were hardly any better. Balud had no clue why his sword didn’t work. Nobody had any idea where the necromancer could be. The entire country was on high alert and the Fae were discreetly looking into other demesnes. There was no sign of him though. We couldn’t even come up with a shortlist of where he was likely to hit next. Sure, we knew it would be involving either Fire or Air but that hardly narrowed things down. Right now, there was a list of precisely four hundred and ninety two likely candidates from the Otherworld who he might try to attack. If he decided to just opt for humans again, then that list became more like fifty million.
I wasn’t the only person feeling the strain. I could see frus
tration and fear etched on just about every face I saw. We were losing and we all knew it.
When I spoke to Laura, she was remarkably calm and pragmatic. ‘You’ll find him.’
‘You can’t be sure of that. Blind optimism is not going to help us.’
‘Stop wallowing, Corrigan,’ she said, with the hint of a command in her tone. ‘If you think you’re going to fail, then you will. He’ll mess up sooner or later.’
I wasn’t so sure of that. I put on a brave face for everyone else. I did such a good job that I think even Leah believed I was alright, despite the fact that I avoided any situation where we might be alone together. I didn’t need to listen to her pepper questions at me when I didn’t have any answers. Time and again, I wished Staines were here. He’d have known what to do. The gaping hole his death left in my life was becoming more and more apparent.
Every hour on the hour, I used my Voice to search for Mack. Every hour on the hour, silence rebounded back at me. So three days later, when I was stalking the dark corridors of the keep and she finally did answer, I was so surprised that I walked into a door.
Mack. Are you there?
Hi Corrigan.
My forehead bounced off the panel of wood. The pain and shock were quite extraordinary but hearing Mack made my clumsiness fade into the background. You’re there. I turned round and leaned against the offending chunk of wood, closing my eyes and trying to remember to breathe. She was alright. She was still around. That was when I exploded. Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been trying to contact you for days.
Mack didn’t answer. For one horrifying moment I thought she’d gone again. I all but screamed her name.
Mack!
Uh, sorry, she apologised. She actually sounded like she meant it. I didn’t realise I’d been away for that long. I need you to contact the council for me. Arrange a meeting. In, say, a couple of hours’ time?
That was what she was going to say to me? She had disappeared off the face of the planet for three days – not to mention the fact that she was very probably carrying my child inside her – and the first thing she wanted was to call a damn meeting? It’s two o’clock in the morning, I snapped.
So?
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Mack must have something on Endor. She wouldn’t be in such a hurry if she didn’t. Fine. I’ll arrange it. Where are you now?
With Solus. We’re going to drive the car back to Fort Augustus, I think, then use a portal to get to London.
I couldn’t help myself. I roared. She was still holed up in Scotland? Was that because the baby was actually Solus’s and they’d spent the last three days together celebrating that fact?
What? She seemed bemused. You’re going all Lord of the mighty Brethren on me, are you?
I had to know. Is it his?
The portal? It’s certainly not mine, Your Grumpiness.
I blinked, then sat down on the floor. Why the hell would I ask about the portal? I sorted through both her tone and her words in my head. Was it possible that Mack didn’t know she was pregnant? She hadn’t received the letter from the hospital after all. From what I’d seen, she’d merely gone in to donate blood. It was a damned stupid thing to do if you asked me but maybe, just maybe…
We need to talk, kitten, I finally sent out.
Which is why I’m asking you to call a council meeting. It’s not hard, Corrigan. Just do it. She broke the link.
I dropped my head into my hands. She really didn’t know. It hadn’t even occurred to me. I counted back in my head. If the child was mine then Mack would be less than four weeks gone. There might not even be any symptoms yet. It explained a lot. Mack might be rash but it made sense now that she did what she had on the Loch Ness cruiser. My stomach lurched. That meant I’d have to be the one to tell her. I’d be able to see her face and tell whether the thought of having my baby delighted or disgusted her. Maybe it would finally change things for the better between us. Or maybe it would finish us for good.
Chapter Fourteen
The atmosphere around the Alcazon table was considerably different compared to last time. No prizes for guessing why. When Mack arrived, with a steely determination in her eye, everyone sat up. There was no denying we were eager to hear what she had to say. Even the Summer Queen, who normally kept herself aloof from everyone else, was watching her expectantly. For my part, I couldn’t prevent myself from glancing at her belly. It had the same slight curve it always did. But despite the obvious exhaustion in Mack’s face, she possessed the same healthy glow I’d noted days earlier. She was definitely pregnant. Fortunately, none of the Otherworlders present seemed to realise it.
Mack took her place before looking at each of us in turn. I didn’t think I was imagining it when her gaze lingered on me for longer than the others. Then she took a deep breath and told us where she’d been.
‘Aubrey just might have saved us all,’ she said. There was a tiny waver in her voice. ‘Some of you may know the Clava Cairns in Inverness. I went there with him. Solus managed to open up a portal to the dead world.’
The room sucked in a collective breath. The Arch-Mage placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. ‘You went there? To the in-between place?’
Mack nodded. ‘Aubrey and I walked those dark corridors.’
The Summer Queen’s brow furrowed, a tiny line marring the normally smooth perfection of her skin. ‘I do not understand. Why would you do this?’
Mack lifted up a shoulder in a half shrug. ‘Because vampires can communicate with the dead.’
Several mouths dropped open. I looked at the Arch-Mage and he stared back at me with the same bafflement. ‘We did not know this,’ he said slowly.
The Summer Queen’s fingers twitched. ‘It explains a lot,’ she muttered with a tiny snarl.
‘They kept that well hidden,’ Beltran agreed.
I shook my head, wondering at the knowledge and power the vampires had at their disposal with such a feat. ‘And you went there?’ I asked Mack. ‘With Aubrey?’
She bit her lip. ‘Yes. He was confident he could still talk to them even though he was no longer a vampire.’
I noted that she was using the past tense. Considering that she didn’t have Aubrey in tow with her to back up her story and chip in with extra detail when necessary, I had a pretty good idea that we wouldn’t be seeing him again. I searched inside myself but I couldn’t muster up much sadness. If any.
‘He said that the vampires rarely went there. It’s not a … pleasant place.’ Mack shuddered. ‘It took us a long time to make our way through then Aubrey went ahead on his own.’ She swallowed and her bottom lip trembled. Shit. She was obviously upset at his apparent loss. She still managed to grit her teeth and continue on, however. ‘He found out that Endor is hiding out in another demesne called Dorchadas and the next element he’s after is Air. He was confident that his information was accurate.’ She leaned forward. ‘We know where he is. We can bring the fight to him now.’
‘Dorchadas?’ the Arch-Mage asked with a troubled frown.
Mack glanced at him. ‘Yep. Do you know it?’
‘I know of it.’
‘Darkness,’ the Summer Queen said quietly. ‘It means darkness.’
Mack rolled her eyes. I just felt worried. She was going to plan some all out assault on this place and put herself – and the baby – in danger once more. ‘So,’ she said, ‘we need to find a way to get into Dorchadas without setting off any magical alarm system. And we need to do it fast.’
We. Surprise, surprise. ‘And when you get in there,’ I inquired through a tightly clenched jaw, ‘how exactly do you plan on killing the apparently unkillable necromancer?’
‘I’m working on that,’ she said with a sigh, acknowledging that finding Endor was one thing but killing him was something else entirely. ‘We had it from Balud that he would be vulnerable to palladium.’ She nodded to me. ‘Now we know that’s wrong. I sent Alex off to find out what the problem was. We didn’t have much
palladium to work with in the first place, so it’s possible that’s why it failed.’
‘Why didn’t you have much of it?’
I had the impression that Mack was itching to smack the Arch-Mage in the mouth for that question. ‘We didn’t have much time to get any more together,’ she answered.
‘I will talk to Mage Floride,’ he commented, ‘as soon as possible in order to ascertain what he’s discovered.’
‘Can you begin to look into ways to get into Dorchadas?’ Mack asked the Summer Queen.
She inclined her head. ‘That is not a problem. It may go quicker, however, if we can work with some mages. That way we can be sure we haven’t missed anything. Any traps or warning systems and such like.’
I tried – and failed – not to look too surprised that she was actually volunteering to work alongside the mages. Things really were changing.
‘It’s a good idea,’ the Arch-Mage agreed. ‘It would probably also be worthwhile if we can have some shifters and mages work on research for other ways to bring down Endor. Their two different approaches and areas of expertise will complement each other.’
It occurred to me that with so many Otherworlders cooperating, there was a good chance I could find a way to keep Mack out of this Dorchadas place. She didn’t have to be the hero every time. ‘Agreed,’ I said, watching her carefully.
‘Excellent.’ Mack stood up. ‘We don’t know when he’s planning to strike next, so we need to work quickly. Let’s meet back here in twenty-four hours.’
‘At four o’clock in the morning?’ Larkin asked. Clearly he enjoyed his sleep too much, regardless of the Armageddon we were potentially facing.