“What the hell is he doing here?” Des demanded.
“Helping.” Aidan closed his eyes and counted to five. “Look, I don’t know what your deal is with werewolves but get the hell over it or get out of my house.”
Tension vibrated in the atmosphere, until Des shook his head and held out his hand to Greg, though his nostrils flared. “Sorry. Long story and not relevant. What’s important now is Dina. Thanks for your help.”
Greg shook the mage’s hand, though his lips twitched into what might have been a snarl. “No sweat.” He turned to Aidan. “I didn’t find any trace of anything like djinn anywhere on the grounds. I can’t tell if the same elf was here and at the condo or not—too many similar scents overlain and too long ago.”
Aidan swore again.
“Any news on this end?” Greg followed them as they continued to move down the hallway.
“No ransom calls, no disturbance at Elise’s condo and Toby isn’t back from Underhill yet. We’re heading in now to see if Wallis knows anything more.” Aidan opened the door to the security room and stepped inside.
“Morning, boss.” Wallis looked up from a monitor screen, his face haggard with fatigue and strain. “I’m sorry. I’ve gone over every single surveillance photo of the wedding and can’t find anyone who wasn’t supposed to be here. Either our guy walked in as the date of an invited guest, or he was an invited guest, or staff. Jase emailed a list of the artists and their dates. No one leaps out as suspicious.”
“Which guests came via the portal?” Aidan asked. “Or staff?”
“The extra security I pulled in from Oakwood,” Wallis responded immediately, needing no time to stop and think. Good. “Along with extra cleaning and waitstaff from both Oakwood and Rosemeade. I’ve recalled all of them and you’ll find most of them waiting for you in the kitchen, though half the guards are patrolling the grounds. Guests, we’ve got a handful. Lord and Lady Willow, a few of Lady Rose’s personal staff and three invited by Sir Alaric. Looks like two other council members and their families showed up.”
Aidan turned to Desmond and translated. “We pulled in extra staff from both my estate and Meagan’s to help out. Ric’s guests were Lady Night Sky, the guardian of the Chicago portal, her husband and her sister, a healer who saved Ric’s life after an attack. Lady Willow is a human married to a council member, who took Meagan under her wing at Court. I can absolutely guarantee they are not involved in the purity movement, if that is what this is about. In fact,” he tipped his head at Wallis, “get a message to Lord Willow, asking him to contact me as soon as possible. He needs to be warned.”
“What makes you think this has anything to do with your elven purity bullshit?” Desmond helped himself to a cup of coffee from an urn in the corner.
“No ransom note, for one thing.” At least not yet. “And the timing, for another. It had to be a spur-of-the-moment thing. Somebody saw her at the wedding, jumped to the same conclusions I did and snatched her. The only question is why. What do they want from me? Money would be just too gods-damned easy.”
“Maybe they want to eliminate half-bloods,” Desmond suggested darkly. “Your people aren’t known for being fond of mongrels.”
Aidan’s stomach lurched, but he swallowed hard and managed to make it stop even as he shook his head. “I don’t think so. They could have killed her while she slept. Taking her was far riskier, so they have to have a different motive.” At least he hoped so.
Desmond mulled that over for a bit then grunted his agreement.
“Have you contacted Her Majesty?” Wallis asked tentatively.
“No and I need to.” Aidan nodded at Desmond and Greg. “Give me a minute, would you?” He didn’t want to get chewed out by the queen in front of the other men.
“Go on.” Greg pushed him toward the door. “Wallis and I will fill him in on what we know so far.”
Aidan turned and opened a door on the back side of the room. This one led directly into the library. From this side, it was simply a door, but from the library, it was completely disguised as one more section of paneled wall. A similar arrangement connected his private office with his secretary’s, which was the next room over from security headquarters. After nodding to the guard in the library, Aidan moved through into his office and flipped open his cell phone.
For the most part, modern technology and Fae magic didn’t work together well. Underhill Industries, however, had come up with a few gadgets that managed to blend the two successfully. Aidan’s phone was one of those. He and each of the other hundred or so portal-house guardians scattered around the world had direct contact with the queen—or at least her personal staff.
“Lord Green Oak.” The voice on the other end of the device belonged to Baldric of the Fjords, Lord Chamberlain. He was Queen Llyris’s first cousin and essentially her chief of staff and personal assistant. Baldric was a sneaky bastard, who was always looking out for himself, but Aidan was relatively certain the man was loyal to the queen, maybe even above and beyond his own interests.
“I need to know if any of the council members have had family members go missing in the last few days,” Aidan said. “Particularly those who sided with the queen in the recent vote.”
The Seelie Council was composed of the heads of the twenty-one noble houses of the Seelie Court. Aidan was one of those, Meagan another. From among the twenty-one, a ruler was elected, who usually maintained his or her office for life. For the first time in millennia, though, another faction had nearly gained enough votes in the council to unseat a ruler, a plot which Meagan and Ric had foiled a few months earlier.
“Yes.” Baldric didn’t hesitate. “One of Willow’s teenage grandsons, though his parents fear the lad simply ran away. Lady Northwood’s husband is also missing. The assumption is that he ran off with one of his human employees, who is also unaccounted for. Why?”
If they thought he’d taken off with a human, that meant the missing man was probably abducted Overhill, if he had been at all. “Was the boy Underhill or in the mortal realm?” Aidan squeezed the bridge of his nose.
“Overhill.” The older Fae practically spat the words. Baldric had little use for the mortal realm. “New York. Why?”
Much as he hated to reveal his own uncertainty, it wouldn’t do to leave the queen’s people uninformed. “Because tonight, a child who may or may not be my heir was taken from her mother’s home.” The Fae didn’t really have a concept of legitimate or otherwise when it came to children. For elven nobles, the title always went to the oldest offspring of the oldest offspring, male or female, regardless of legitimacy, or who or even what the other parent was. If Dina was Aidan’s daughter, she was his heir, despite her half-human state, or her mother’s opinion on the subject.
“Bugger it,” Baldric grunted. “I’ll inform Her Majesty and start contacting the other houses and warning them. Let me know if you hear anything more.” He hung up before Aidan could say another word.
Next, Aidan dialed the New York portal house, where he spoke with Lord Willow’s son, Clive, who was understandably frantic as well. When Aidan explained the situation, the poor man didn’t seem to know whether to be relieved or even more concerned.
As Aidan was assuring Clive that he’d be in touch if he learned anything, a wall sconce flashed on above another concealed door—this one leading to the portal linking the Grosse Pointe house with the Faerie Court.
“Finn,” he called to the guard out in the library. “Someone’s activated the portal.”
The younger elf moved into the office at the same time as Wallis stepped into the library. Both were armed with automatic weapons, though Wallis said, “It’s probably Toby.”
“Most likely.” With the other two covering him, Aidan opened the door into the small, windowless room that housed the portal. The space appeared empty except for an archway filled with a silver mist. As they watched, two figures stepped through the arch, hand-in-hand.
“We came as soon as we could.” Meagan released h
er husband’s hand to come hug Aidan. “Is Elise okay?”
Aidan scowled at Ric over Meagan’s coppery head. “I thought I told you two to stay in Paris.”
“As if.” Meagan punched Aidan in the arm.
Ric snorted. “Let’s see—a ten-minute trip to the Paris portal, in one and out the other in the palace, and we’re here. Did you really think we wouldn’t?”
Aidan shrugged. He’d hoped. Having Ric at his side would help him breathe easier, but he didn’t like the idea that Meagan might be at risk if it was about the council.
“Look, if somebody’s targeting mixed couples on the council, I was already at risk.” Meagan’s tone was even and reasonable. She let go of Aidan and stepped back to Ric, who automatically tucked his arm around her waist. The adoration in the bard’s eyes further reassured Aidan that his cousin had married the right Fae. “At least here, I’ll be surrounded by people who know me, instead of a hotel staff.”
“Your telepathy skills have gotten better, cousin.” Aidan shook his head. Meagan had only recently gained access to her Fae powers, but she was learning to control them with unexpected speed and skill for a halfling.
“Greg may have mentioned the possibility of a purity plot when he called me,” Ric admitted with a wry grin. “But she’s right. At least this way, we’ve got some strength in numbers.”
“Besides, someone needs to be here for Elise.” Meagan looked up and made a face. “Oh—hi, Des. Well, another female to talk to never hurts.”
Ric nudged his wife toward a chair. “Anyway, we’re here. Now tell us everything.”
“That’s going to take more coffee.” Aidan’s temples throbbed. “And a bigger headquarters than the security office. Wallis, let’s set up the library as a war room. Bring in some extra phones, a couple of computers, some scrying materials and get somebody to send up breakfast.”
“Bronwyn and the cook are taking turns making sure somebody’s in the kitchen around the clock.” Wallis was already moving back into the security room as he spoke over his shoulder. “Standard crisis procedure, my lord.”
Of course it was. Aidan had set up the rules himself when he’d taken over the Detroit portal four years earlier. A well-fed force was essential in any battle.
Elise appeared in the doorway, dressed in her jeans and sweater from the night before, her black hair still damp and hanging down her back. Her expression was fierce, angry and determined. Aidan had to look closely to see the carefully banked terror behind the bravado. All she needs is a sword to be a perfect avenging angel.
“Elise!” Meagan was out of her chair and running to hug her. “Oh, honey, I’m so, so sorry this happened!”
“What are you doing here?” Elise tentatively returned the hug and shook her head. “Never mind. Of course you came.” She sat down between Meagan and her brother and turned to Aidan. “What news?”
They all gathered around the library table and Aidan caught everyone up to speed while they waited for food and Wallis’s staff set up equipment. Right after breakfast arrived, the portal light blinked on again, this time heralding Toby’s return. The brownie slumped into a chair, accepted a scone and began to talk.
“’Twas as ye feared, Cap’n.” The thickness of his brogue always increased with the amount of whisky he’d consumed and by the sound, Toby had downed several glasses while seeking out information. “There’s been a djinn seen hanging about the palace. Attached himself to the new Lord Le Faire, he has. Rumor has it, the snot-nosed lordling was offering a good bit of gold to anyone willing to come work for him who didn’t have much in the way of scruples. Built himself a small army of Unseelie sidhe—some trolls, an orc or two, a passel of goblins.”
“So Oswald Le Faire is continuing in his father’s footsteps, is he? No great surprise. If he’s kidnapping people, I assume he’s holding them in the dungeons at his family estate.” Most of the elven lordly manors boasted working dungeons—even Oakwood.
“Nae.” Toby hung his head morosely. “Spent the last two hours chatting up one of his housemaids. Oswald hasn’t even been back to his estate in a week or two. Wherever he has his captives stowed, ’tisn’t at his home.”
“Damn it.” Aidan paced back and forth at one end of the table. “Where?”
Mairead stood at the library doorway and ducked her head deferentially. “What can I do for you now, my lord?”
Aidan saw the relief on the woman’s face when she spotted Toby. Bollocks, how had he missed the attachment between the two? “Get some sleep. Toby, you too.” Neither of the two had had more than an hour or so before hell had broken loose. “I may need you to be well rested later.”
It was Elise who turned to her brother. “Des, have you contacted the League? What do they have to say?”
“I found out my call to Toronto was fake,” he growled. “Somebody wanted to make sure I was out of town and knew who to contact to make it happen. There’s no record of that request prior to the moment I was called—a couple of hours after the reception.”
Aidan leaned both hands on the table and glared at Des. “And you couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?”
Des shrugged. “It didn’t come up. But yeah, apparently the bastard has a contact among the Wyndewin. This purity thing may go deeper than you thought.”
“I wonder…” Greg drummed his fingers on the table. “There’ve been some weird rumblings in the shifter world, too—loners who think we should stop keeping ourselves secret from the humans.”
“But the whole point of the Wyndewin League is to keep paranormals from messing with humans,” Elise argued. “I can’t see anyone in the league working against humanity. And certainly not helping kidnap a Wyndewin child.”
“I hope not,” Des countered. “But I got that call from the director in Toronto. As soon as we find Dina, I’m going to go up there, find out what the hell is going on and kick some ass.”
“Fine. Right now we need to find out where the hell Oswald is keeping his prisoners.” Aidan smacked his hand down on the table. “It may or may not be Underhill. If he has a djinn working for him, there’s no way to tell. Ric, since you’re here, I’d like you to go see what you can find out at Court, liaise with Baldric and check in with Willow. Greg, you are Meagan’s shadow and personal bodyguard while Ric is gone, Desmond, you keep an eye on your sister.”
***
Elise’s blood boiled. How dare he take command and relegate her to nothing more than sitting and waiting? That was not happening, not when it was her child, her baby, who was missing.
“Ummm, not exactly helpless here.” Meagan laid a hand on Elise’s arm right before Elise leapt to her feet. “I mean, yeah, I’m not going to go looking for a fight right now, but I’m computer savvy enough to take the place of one of your security officers so he can be out in the field. Elise is even better than I am. And we sure as hell don’t need both Des and Greg out of the action to babysit us if we’re right here in the house.”
“Of course. I should have thought of that. Wallis, meet your two new recruits.” Aidan rubbed his temples as if his head was throbbing and Elise’s anger softened a touch. Had he gotten any sleep? Elise checked the clock for the first time since she’d risen—she’d only managed a couple hours—he’d had even less.
Wallis nodded. “Where do you want me to send the extra men?”
“With Sir Alaric,” Aidan decided. “Lord Rose, rather.”
“Just call me Ric. It’s easier.”
Elise didn’t think the bard was quite used to being a lord yet.
“As the mate of a council member, he may already have a target on his back as well.” Aidan’s hands fiddled with a pen he’d popped in from somewhere.
Meagan bit her lower lip, as if that notion hadn’t occurred to her. When Ric absently laid his hand over hers on Meagan’s tummy, Elise’s eyes watered. She hoped Meagan appreciated how lucky she was to be going through her pregnancy with the man she loved beside her.
“Desmond, if you don’t mind,
why don’t you and Elise go back to her house? She can pick up anything she needs and you can see if there’s anything you recognize in the residual magic.”
A light flashed on the phone in front of Wallis and he held up a hand for silence as he clicked on the speakerphone. “Greene residence.”
“Lord Green Oak,” came a snarling voice. The accent wasn’t the near-British Elise had come to expect from the Fae. Instead it had an almost Middle Eastern cadence. Could this be the djinni everyone was talking about? “Now.”
“One moment please.” Wallis clicked the hold button on, nodded to Aidan and switched it back.
“Green Oak here.” Aidan’s voice was icy enough to remind Elise that he hadn’t made much of a leap from pirate to corporate raider. “Who’s this?”
“You don’t need to know that. All you need to know is that we have the girl.”
Elise bit her lip until it bled to cover a gasp.
Aidan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the phone. “What do you want?”
“Actually, Lord Green Oak, what we want is you.”
“Explain.” The sheer menace in his tone should have had whoever was on the other end shaking in his boots.
Instead he chuckled. “It’s quite simple. We’re willing to trade the halfling for someone much more useful. You turn yourself over to us and we’ll return the brat.”
“I want to hear her voice right now,” Aidan barked. “If I’m assured that she’s unharmed, I’m willing to make the switch.”
There was a scuffling sound on the other end of the phone and Elise held her breath, praying to every god she’d ever heard of. Please, please let Dina be okay.
“Hello?” Her light, high-pitched voice was strong and firm, thank the gods. “Mommy? Don’t cry.”
Meagan’s arm wrapped around Elise and kept her from lunging for the phone, even as a choked sob escaped from between her bloody lips.
“Adina, are you all right?” Aidan gentled his tone which was as unsteady as Elise had ever heard it. “Are you hurt?”
Motor City Witch Page 6
