“But why?” somebody in the crowd asked. “Why would she do any of this?”
“Absolute power,” Phoenix said. “She wanted my people to take over again. She didn’t like sharing power, and she was determined to rid herself of the Council. She spent a long time setting up others to take the fall. We returned from the UK before Koda was murdered, but she maintained secrecy in order to look guiltless. In any case, she caused the Council to fall. She attacked us and failed, but those of us who remain see that it’s time for change.”
“Maybe she was right,” the fae who had spoken earlier said. “If she was able to do all of this, then perhaps the Council doesn’t work.”
“Right?” Elathan asked. “She hid werewolves to use them against us. She helped those beasts come into the country. I know all of you were affected in some way. She worked with Gideon and Reuben to tear our defences apart. If it wasn’t for the tainted one and her rebel force, along with Phoenix and his werewolves, we may not have won that war. The humans helped us win. You do remember that part, don’t you?”
“You have a grudge against my people,” the fae argued. “You have an agenda.”
“I’ve fought next to Phoenix,” Elathan said good-naturedly. “I won’t blame him for the decisions of his ancestors.” He patted Phoenix’s shoulder as if to convince everyone.
An uproar began immediately, and Gabe shouted for silence.
“We don’t answer to you,” the fae shouted.
“I’m still a member of the Council,” Gabe said. “The Guardians work for me right now. Do not forget it.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t forget that half of your Guardians aren’t loyal to you,” the fae replied.
“Half is more than you have,” Gabe snapped.
Phoenix glared at the fae. “If it comes to power, my mother’s seat automatically comes to me, and I control the werewolves.”
“You murdered your own mother,” the fae said. “You’re a traitor to our own kind.”
“My own kind betrayed me,” Phoenix said calmly. “Perhaps I haven’t finished with my vengeance.”
People began to speak over each other, and too many of the Guardians had their weapons on display. I spotted Shay entering the room and waved him over to where we stood.
“How are we doing?” he asked.
“Not so good. Be ready to run for it because most people here aren’t ready to hear what we have to say.”
“Listen!” Esther shouted. “Fionnuala murdered Conn. She married him to hold on to her position, then killed him when she didn’t need him anymore. That’s why Phoenix disappeared. He didn’t agree with her schemes, and he left to protect his new family. She went after him and stole his family and his memories away. It was his right to seek revenge. That’s part of the fae laws, right?”
That seemed to appease the crowd slightly.
“It’s true that there were losses,” Gabe said. “But those losses were on both sides and only occurred when Fionnuala attacked. Those of us who weren’t part of Fionnuala’s plans were all attacked by assassins. Did you expect us to sit there placidly?”
“What happened to Erossi?” somebody asked.
Gabe shifted in his seat. “We aren’t sure. The witch Marina claimed some kind of responsibility, but she didn’t give us details.”
There was some shouting, and a fight broke out in the centre of the room.
“This isn’t working,” I said. “We have to get out of here and deal with the children first.”
“If I concede whatever power I have left, it will be a mistake,” Gabe said.
“Tell me what’s coming and how to fight it, and then maybe I’ll give a shit about whatever power you have left,” I hissed at him.
His jaw twitched. “We’ll leave, but we can’t let anyone else take over. We have to deal with this madness.”
“We can’t let Eddie use those kids, Gabe. We have to find him.”
“We will. I promise we’ll track him down and figure out what’s going on.”
We pushed our way through a supernatural mosh pit to get to the exit. But before we could get there, the doors burst open, and a dozen assassins strode in, weapons in hand. A hush fell over the gathering.
“Bloody hell,” I said. “I’m so sick of these gobshites. They have to be multiplying.”
“At least we don’t have to go to the bother of tracking them down,” Elathan said drily.
One of the assassins threw back his hood. Immediately, Guardians began to speak amongst themselves, so I assumed he had once been one of them.
His gaze roamed the room until he found our group. “We’re here to repay a debt.” He pointed his sword at Phoenix. “You owe us a life.”
A glass kylie whizzed through the air. I hadn’t even noticed Phoenix move. The weapon hit the assassin above the nose and sank deep into his head. He fell to the ground almost instantly.
“Come and take it,” Phoenix said, sounding livelier than he had in a while. He had hesitated when faced with his mother, but her assassins were fair game.
Two assassins stepped forward, both of them holding two daggers each.
“How dare you?” one of the fae shouted behind us. “You don’t come in here and threaten our royalty.”
I looked over my shoulder. He had been against Phoenix during the meeting. That apparently didn’t matter when it came to outsiders.
“These men belonged to my mother,” Phoenix shouted as he rushed at the assassins. “Choose carefully what side you take!”
Elathan grinned and joined Phoenix. Esther and I followed, albeit more slowly. I heard Gabe tut, but he struck out at the closest assassin. Most of the crowd backed away from the fighting, but many of the fae and Guardians helped us. The assassins didn’t stand much of a chance, but they put up a good fight.
Phoenix tore a hood from one of the bodies to reveal the magical tattoos. “Do you understand now?” he asked. “How deep this has gone? It’s time for change. The old ways are over. The more united the races are, the stronger the country will remain. We can never allow one person to dominate. We can never allow one race to enslave the rest of us. We must stop making the same mistakes of the past.”
“What are we supposed to do?” a shifter asked. “Brother is against brother, and there’s fear on the streets that the humans will rise up against us all. There’s no way we can unite. Not like this.”
“We can try,” Gabe said. “There are worse days coming. Fionnuala wasn’t the only person with power who courted darkness. Something is on its way, and if we don’t stop it, we’ll all pay. Go back to your people. Discuss your options. Remember that there is more at stake than power and quotas. There are the werewolves, the exiled, the slave market children, and the other special children scattered across the country. The secrets must end, and you must all make a decision. We’ll meet here again in three nights. Be prepared to answer.” He strode out the doors.
I hesitated. I felt as though I needed to warn them or convince them or something.
“Koda was a decent person,” I said, surprised to find they were all listening to me, the tainted mongrel they had all been suspicious of or feared or hated. “But he didn’t act in time. Don’t make his mistake. This isn’t about one person against another. We won against the BVA because we all worked together, even humans. Change might be more hard work, but we’ll end up stronger. News of the werewolves is going to spread, and we’ll be the ones facing any repercussions from that. The best way to prepare is to protect ourselves with unity. We can do it, but we need your help.”
I headed for the door, accompanied by my group. Once outside, I stayed alert for any stray assassins.
“Nice touch,” Shay said. “I could really use you at one of the press conferences.”
“No, thanks. I’m only good at fake confidence for a few minutes a day.”
The way out remained clear, but we were slowed by Guardians who wanted to pledge their loyalty. We had changed some minds, but that wouldn’t be enough
if Eddie came out swinging.
***
Gabe, Phoenix, and Elathan left to seek out Eddie, and the rest of us waited in the cul-de-sac. We were all injured and tired, and we didn’t know what else to do with ourselves. It was time to back off and let what was left of the Council take over.
Shay remained with us, quieter than usual.
“You okay?” I asked him.
He nodded. “They don’t think twice about taking life. None of you do.”
“It won’t always be this way,” I said. “This is war time. This is different.”
He gazed at me unhappily. “Is it?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “We’re not worse than the beasts, Shay.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just strange for me to see people so willing to kill those who disagree with them. Phoenix…” He shook his head. “Makes me wonder if there’s a right side to be on.”
“We’re changing centuries of rules and orders. It comes at a cost.”
Esther nodded. “And it’s far from over. We have to keep protecting ourselves, no matter what it takes.”
“The assassins could come here at any time,” Val said. “Anyone could.”
“Not much has changed,” I said, “except now they don’t have a leader and we have some idea of who was involved.”
“We’ll never get everyone,” Shay said. “It’s impossible.”
“We’ll make it harder for them to get away with this kind of thing again,” Carl said. “We have to, or it’s not worth it.”
“Can everyone stop looking so depressed?” I asked. “Plenty of people in that room took Phoenix’s side when it came down to a fight. That says way more than their words.”
“She’s right,” Esther said. “It’ll take time, but I think we can swing this properly.”
“But Eddie’s still missing,” Carl pointed out.
“I get the feeling that Gabe knows something,” I admitted. “I just wish I knew what that was.”
“We can’t trust anybody,” Lorcan said. “We’ll have to figure it out for ourselves.”
“How?” I shook my head. “We can’t even find him. All we know is that he’s a keeper of power. I don’t know what that means exactly. He traps souls. A natural witch who practises dark magic is helping him, along with her coven. He’s very old, and he has access to a lot of ancient, important books. Archives, practically. He was disgraced for something a long time ago and kicked off the Council. He owes Daimhín money, and he wanted rid of the Council. His spare room is luxurious, but all there is in his bedroom is some crappy old furniture and a painting of a woman. How does it all fit? What exactly does he want?”
“He wants to do something that’s important to him personally,” Carl said. “And he needed the Council out of the way to do it. Maybe it’s linked to whatever disgraced him. Maybe he wants to break some kind of old law.”
“And Gabe’s not talking,” I said.
“Maybe Elathan knows,” Esther said. “He’s a consultant.”
“I don’t know,” Aiden said. “Why would Elathan?”
“He’s sneakier than anyone gives him credit for,” Esther said. “Plus, he’s been around a lot longer. And maybe you were only given the job because of how easily you could be trained.” She narrowed her eyes. “And corrupted.”
Aiden sighed and looked away.
“I need to go,” Shay said. “I’ll talk to Moses and the lads back at the station. I’ll spread the word to be alert on the streets. Whatever’s brewing will hit soon enough.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Get the reporters ready, too. After we deal with Eddie, we’ll hold a press conference, and all of the truth will come out.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Aiden asked. “It’s a little dangerous to instigate drama right now.”
“We need to make sure everyone has the right information,” I said. “The secrets and lies keep mucking shit up. We’ll likely know who’s on our side by the next meeting. In the meantime, we work on Eddie.”
“Maybe he’s taking a break,” Lorcan said. “Maybe it isn’t as bad as it looks.”
“It’s Eddie Brogan,” I said. “It’s always much worse than it looks.”
I stayed up late that night, worrying and unable to sleep. Deep down, I had always known that Eddie would come into play and that I would be dragged into something with him, but I hadn’t ever planned on him disappearing before I could figure out what exactly that might be.
Chapter Twenty-One
A ringing phone woke me from a deep sleep. Groaning, I rolled over, but the call refused to stop. Finally, I checked my phone. Shay’s name flashed on the screen.
“Ava,” he said when I answered. “Put on the news. Right now.”
“What’s going on?” I mumbled as I hurried downstairs.
“Just watch it,” he said in a strained voice. “Call me back.” He disconnected the call.
I ran into the living room and switched on the television. The news reports showed fighting in the streets. Assassins, supernaturals, gangs of humans. Blood everywhere.
I sank onto the sofa and sat on a pair of legs. “Sorry,” I whispered. “Forgot you were there.” I slipped onto the floor, watching the TV intently.
Phoenix rolled over and kneed me in the back of the head. “What’s going on?”
“Carl! Get down here!” I gathered my knees to my chest and watched my country turn on itself.
Phoenix sat up, gasping in surprise. Carl came running down the stairs. He stood rooted to a spot halfway across the living room as soon as he noticed the news report.
“There’s no leadership,” Phoenix said. “They’re rebelling or else taking advantage of the mayhem. I see Guardians out there.”
“They might come here,” I said. “They might—”
The front door opened. We all glanced at each other as footsteps approached. My stomach tightened into a knot, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t do a thing.
Peter stepped into the room, his eyebrows rising as he caught sight of a shirtless Carl and Phoenix. “Hey,” he said.
My breath caught in my throat. Light footsteps in the hallway, then Emmett was there, and my life lit up again.
“You’re back.” I scrambled to my feet to hug Emmett.
He wrapped his arms around me, accidentally digging into my wound, but I didn’t care. Carl slapped Peter on the back and introduced him to Phoenix properly for the first time. I held Emmett tight, catching his scent, knowing he was safe. I ran my hand across his shaved head, and everything felt okay again. He was where he belonged.
Except that wasn’t right.
“Wait,” I said, pulling away from him. “What are you doing here?”
Peter caught my eye, and there was something new there, something I hadn’t seen before. “Maeve’s been pretty much haunting my son. I need you to make it stop.”
“Oh. And how do I do that?”
He gave me a humourless smile. “By listening to what she keeps insisting on telling Emmett all day every day.”
I glanced at the boy, suddenly seeing how weary he looked. “What’s she been telling you?”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “She said that he’s going to kick-start the end of days. He’s going to use the book.”
I exhaled loudly. The book. Eddie’s book. The living book of dark magic that he kept hidden in his room. The one Gabe had been interested in. “She sent you back here for this? Why didn’t you just tell me over the phone?”
“She insisted we had to be here,” Peter said. “And the way things are going down, it seems like nowhere in the world is going to be safe soon enough.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Peter gestured at the TV. “The governments are falling. The UK, here… it’s spreading across Europe. There are rumours that now is the best time to rebel, that now is the best time to work together to push back against the oppressors, to form new ways.”
I bit my lip. “
And that’s not a good thing.”
He choked out a laugh. “Ava, not everyone wants to be restrained by rules. This is the chance to create a new world, a world in which the strongest win. Every time. Is that what you wanted?”
I shook my head dumbly.
“We have to regain control,” Peter said. “We have to stop the madness.”
“We’re doing what we can,” Phoenix replied.
“And that’s why people are dying on the streets?” Peter asked.
“They’re Fionnuala’s assassins,” I muttered. “They have nowhere else to go.”
“Then we have to kill them all,” Peter said firmly.
“You shouldn’t have brought him back,” I said. “It isn’t safe here. Not anywhere.”
“He wanted to come home,” Peter said.
“We all did,” Yvonne said from behind him. I hadn’t even heard her come into the house.
“You can’t just come and go when you please,” Carl said in a harsh voice.
Peter looked surprised. “When did it become your business?”
“Since—”
Gabe strolled in then skidded to a stop when he saw everyone. “Oh,” he said. “Peter.” But he didn’t seem happy either. What the hell was going on with everyone?
“You’ve seen the news?” Gabe asked me.
“Yeah, Shay warned me.” I was trying to pay attention, but I had trouble keeping my eyes off Emmett.
“They’re trying to take over Headquarters,” Gabe said. “Whoever takes control gets the werewolves, the cells, the children, and everything else we have. We need to clear the place out.”
“What about Eddie?”
He sighed. “Hasn’t shown himself yet.”
“Somebody wake up Aiden and Esther,” Phoenix said. “We need them to help figure out the Guardian and assassin situation.”
“Aiden’s here?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” Carl said. “Long story.”
He and Peter left to fetch the others while Emmett and I hugged again. Yvonne leaned against the doorway, refusing to sit down. Phoenix observed us all in silence.