Page 24 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

“Maybe, sir. But what about the dark creatures? The vampires and werewolves?” Tears stood in Will’s eyes now.

Diego’s heart went out to him. Clearly terrified, this lovely youngster still felt obligated to save the world.

He reached out to pat Will’s hand. “It’ll be all right, William.

But what you need to understand is that I have so many obligations.

I need to make certain that human relations with magical creatures are on a fair and just footing.

I have obligations to fae royalty to look after their interests.

Obligations to the inhabitants of the Otherworld to keep them safe.

And obligations to every magical creature, no matter our human prejudices.

There must be a compassionate response. Otherwise, we encourage pogroms and persecution.

I have things to see to this evening, but I’ll leave you my card.

You call my admin in the morning, and we’ll set something up. I—”

“Damn you!”

Diego suddenly found his upper arms in a vise grip as Brandon hauled him off the couch to face him. Wind whipped through the apartment as both of them pulled on the flows. Diego looked up into those angry, dark eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

“Why?” Brandon snarled. “Too goddamned posh to get your hands dirty? Fucking diplomat! Safe on your island while Will dies a slow death from these dreams!”

A sudden surge in power made Diego’s breath lurch. He yanked at the flows, creating tidal pools of magic in the room, desperate to throw some sort of barrier between himself and this wild young mage.

The Voice slammed into him, ripping craters in his soul. “To HELL With Your Compassion! To Hell With Your Obligations! Your ONLY Obligation Is To Make THIS World Safe!”

Searing pain knifed through Diego’s skull. A wrenching scream tore from him as pieces of him ripped away. The world shattered in a flash white as death.

Mr. Sandoval’s terrible screams echoed through all of them. Minky stood paralyzed as Will struggled through the magic wind, shouting for Brandon to stop. Lightning slammed out from the consul and hurled Brandon across the room.

Blind. She was blind, would never see again. In spite of any melodramatic thoughts, though, her sight cleared little by little, the terrible afterimage of Brandon and Mr. Sandoval locked together still on her eyelids when she blinked.

Fire licked at the coffee table. Will crawled, coughing and sobbing, to where Brandon lay. Mr. Sandoval lay on the carpet, his body twitching and jerking.

“Oh, God, we’ve killed him,” she whispered.

Nate yanked the coffee table into the middle of the room and smothered the fire with a blanket.

He shook his head. “No, he’s having a seizure.

I read he has them sometimes. It shouldn’t last too long.

” He moved furniture out of the way and loosened Mr. Sandoval’s tie.

“I hope he’s okay, though. Bran shouldn’t have said… those things.”

Kara finished putting out the fire while Minky pulled over a chair to climb up and take the battery out of the smoke detector.

“If idiot Brandon’s done any harm, he’ll just have to fix it when he wakes up,” Kara said. “I don’t care how much his head hurts.”

“I don’t know if he’s still alive,” Will said in a choked whisper, his ear to Brandon’s chest. “I can’t hear his heart. His back might be broken. He—”

“Hey, hey, slow down, little dude.” Nate moved Will out of the way with gentle hands and felt for a pulse. “He’s alive, so ease down on the panic, okay?”

“Okay.” Will drew in a shaky breath and swiped a hand over his eyes.

Mr. Sandoval’s jerking movements quieted, his face pale and drawn.

“We should call nine-one-one,” Minky said.

Nate let out a sharp laugh. “And tell them what? Oh, yeah, we were holding a diplomat hostage in our apartment when he had a lightning fit, body slammed our friend then had a seizure?”

“Shit.” Kara stood in the center of the room, arms crossed tight over her chest. “Get blankets, Mink. We’ll just have to apologize when he wakes up and if Bran doesn’t wake up soon, we’ll call the ambulance, and worry about how to explain later.”

A soft moan came from Mr. Sandoval as Minky covered him with the afghan from the bedroom closet. He opened his eyes and blinked at her, his gaze unfocused.

“ Dios . I feel so strange.” He sat up slowly, rubbing his chest. “So…light.”

Nate explained in swift, brief sentences what had happened, ending with, “We’re so sorry, sir. Brandon didn’t mean to hurt you…”

Mr. Sandoval’s reaction was the opposite of what Minky expected. He turned his head toward where Brandon was sprawled against the wall. “Stupid child. Stupid, arrogant child. He should have his tongue cut out so he doesn’t make any more mistakes .”

“Are you, um, feeling okay?” Minky asked as she edged away from him again.

“That’s a good question, chiquita .” He used the couch to lever himself up to his feet.

He shook his head and caught himself on Nate’s shoulder when he swayed.

“Am I okay?” He took two careful steps as if testing his balance.

“You know, I think I am. I don’t think I was before, but I think I finally am. ”

“What do you mean, sir?” Nate backed up a step as well. Something cold and hard in Mr. Sandoval’s voice had them all easing away from him.

“I feel so free.” He held out his hands.

Sparks danced over his fingers, whirling into bright vortexes until tiny lightning storms hovered over his palms. He threw back his head and laughed.

“ Dios , I feel so damn free . So powerful. How could I have locked this away for so long? I could slaughter whole towns with a flick of my fingers.”

“That doesn’t exactly sound like a compassionate response, sir,” Nate said as he backed up another step.

“Ah, now see, in that regard your stupid friend was right.” Mr. Sandoval added rain to his palm-sized storms, his eyes glittering. “Compassion has its place, but it can cloud reason. Drown logic. It encourages sentiment over sense. And in this ever more dangerous world, we need more sense.”

“I think…think you’re not well, sir,” Will said on a shuddering breath. “Who should we call for you? Someone at the embassy?”

“The embassy?” Mr. Sandoval’s forehead creased. “No. No, they’ve kept me constrained for too long. Encouraged me to hide away from my true responsibilities. Hidden away while the world falls to pieces. It’s my doing, the magical chaos. I need to face this.”

He started to pace, running a hand back through his hair. “Yes…yes. There must be some order to things. Control.” He stopped abruptly and whirled to face them. “Yes. There’s only one way. I have to take control. No one else is powerful enough.”

“What the hell, Mr. Sandoval? You sound like some comic book arch villain,” Kara snapped. “Control of what?”

He blinked at her. “The world, of course. The magic in this world. The fae can take care of their world, but I’m human.

Therefore, I’m responsible for this world.

I need to seize control so that there will be order and, from there, security.

Peace.” He took a step toward Will and reached out to stroke his cheek.

“Then beautiful William won’t need to be frightened anymore. Wouldn’t that be better, dulce ?”

“Dictators have always said those things, sir,” Will said on a hard swallow. “Nazis, fascists, they’ve all said the same.”

“They all wanted power for the wrong reasons, William,” he answered gently.

“But I need to make the world safe. Come with me. You are a true oracle. I feel the power leashed in you. Stand by me and you’ll have everything you desire.

I’ll teach you things you’ve only dreamed of.

Such a beautiful creature deserves more than what a selfish boy could give him. ”

“But, sir…you’re married,” Will choked out.

“True. But Finn has had so many lovers. I think my husband would appreciate you.” Mr. Sandoval’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “He does get lonely when I’m working.”

“No, sir. I’m not… That’s…” Will shook his head frantically. “No.”

Mr. Sandoval shrugged. “No matter. Now. Later. I’ll leave the offer open.

You’ll get tired of that”—he waved a hand at Brandon, still sprawled unconscious by the wall—“sooner or later.” Then he clapped his hands together, the sharp noise like a gunshot in the silent apartment.

“So. I have things to set in motion. Tests to run. Evil to vanquish. If you’ll excuse me. ”

Magic wind shrieked around them when he raised his hand. A ball of white lightning settled on his palm and shrank until it was no longer visible, the hum of it still singing along Minky’s nerves. He hurled the tiny missile and a hole suddenly opened in the air beside the coffee table.

Not a hole…a gate, a door.

A hill of dry grass overlooked a sprawl of housing. Skyscrapers loomed in the distance.

“Goodbye, children,” Mr. Sandoval said with that chill smile. “Stay safe. I’ll come back for you someday. Find a place for you all in my new household. Except the big one.” He nodded to Brandon. “He can crawl and beg before I’ll take him in.”

A little frown creased his forehead as he stared through the door in space, as if he tried to recall something. Then he shook his head and stepped through. With a whistling shriek, the doorway snapped shut behind him.

Will dropped to his knees with a desolate wail.

“Did he hurt you, Will?” Minky touched his shoulder with a shaking hand.

“No, no! Don’t you see!” Will rocked, beating his fists on his knees. “The dark mage…he didn’t exist before. We made him. Oh, fuck.”

“To hell with your compassion,” Nate said softly. “A man without compassion, with so much power…”

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,” Kara muttered on a huff of breath. “We have so fucked up.”

“Sarge?”

The knock on the bedroom door jerked Zack awake. He hadn’t realized he’d dozed off, Lugh’s head cradled on his chest, until Marcus called him.

“Yeah?”

“I hate to bug you right now, but Finn’s on the line. He’s freaking out and he’s not making any sense.”

Zack stroked a hand over the heavy silk of Lugh’s hair. “Lemme up, gorgeous. I better check this out.”

With a grunt, Lugh shifted his head over but made no move to get up. Zack couldn’t help a smug grin. Tired my poor prince out…

“Sarge?”

“Just a sec.” He pulled on his pants and opened the door enough for Marcus to hand the phone in to him. “Finn? What’s up, bud?”

“He’s gone!” Finn wailed in his ear.

“Who’s gone?”

“Diego! Please, we have to do something!”

“Okay, bud, I hear you.” Zack stepped out into the hall. “But I need you to take a deep breath. Diego’s here in New York. Didn’t he tell you before he left?”

A broken sob drifted through the phone. “I know he went to the city, I know ! And I could feel him there, but now he’s gone ! Why won’t anyone listen?”

A sliver of ice lodged in Zack’s gut. “Marcus, get on the line to Kevin. When’s the last time they checked in?”

“Not due to for another ten minutes, Sarge.”

“Fine. We’re doing a random check. See if you can raise him. His cell, Mr. S.’s, whoever answers.” Zack returned to the receiver. “Finn? Did you feel anything strange? Like he was hurt or anything?”

Finn sniffed but he managed in a calmer tone, “He was there one moment, as he always is. I felt…I’m not certain. I think perhaps he was afraid. Or something took him by surprise. Then he was gone.”

“You’ve called to him in your head? Tried to reach him? Nothing?”

“Not a whisper.”

“Sarge?” Marcus called as he raced back from the kitchen. “I can’t raise them. Kevin’s goes to voicemail. Mr. Sandoval’s doesn’t even connect. The concierge at the dinner says they never got there.”

“Shit.” Zack moved even as he barked orders, striding back into the bedroom to get dressed. “We’re taking the van, Marcus. Going down there. Highness, you’d better come with us. Rather have you in sight right now. Finn, bud, you stay put. Hear me?”

The voice on the phone no longer belonged to Finn, though. Carol answered him instead. “Zack? He’s shifted to some sort of large bird and flown off. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. I think we have to figure he’s coming here. We’ll keep an eye out for him.” Zack yanked his boots on, hesitating only a moment to make sure Lugh was up and moving. The prince was already dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, his expression grim. “You heard?”

“Everything. If he has been harmed—”

Zack hooked the sidearm on his belt. “We do this by the book, big guy. No charging off into someone else’s jurisdiction on vendettas. You stay with me.”

“And if I do not?” Lugh growled.

“You really want me mad at you again?”

Lugh’s shoulders slumped. “No.”

“Let’s go. I’ve got a bad feeling this is what the bane sidhe were trying to warn us about.”