Page 26 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

They moved. The little fading girl actually ran.

Only when they had all piled in the van did he take time for introductions.

The blond was William Schoenberg. The name sounded vaguely familiar.

The big kid was Brandon McLean and the more outspoken girl, Kara Watts.

The little dark-haired one was Minky Jones, the Minky from Diego’s email files.

“Sergeant? It’s Sergeant Morrison, right?” Nate asked when they had Brandon strapped to the stretcher and had all crammed into the back of the van.

“Yes.”

Nate jerked his head toward Lugh. “You’re his Sergeant Morrison?”

“Yeah.” Zack couldn’t help the little smile. “I am.”

“No offense, but weren’t you almost dead recently?”

Zack fixed him with a bland look. “I got better.”

“Um, right.” Nate blinked, but didn’t glance away. “Not being nosy. Just thought if there was some magic potion and stuff involved…” He nodded to where Brandon lay, his hand clutched between Will’s.

“Got it. No, no magic potions. But if we need to snag a healer, we’ll get one, don’t worry.”

Nate nodded and didn’t ask anything further.

They seemed like good kids. A little messed up, a little lost, but they cared.

Rare enough, in Zack’s experience, and for them to take such risks showed even rarer courage.

He wanted to be furious at them over what had happened to Diego, but in the face of their earnest desperation, it wasn’t easy.

Besides, Lugh was right. Done was done. Being mad about it wasn’t going to get Diego back.

Zack overrode debate about returning to the island immediately.

Security-wise, it would be better. He wasn’t sure enough about Brandon’s condition to subject him to the trip, though.

Lugh could get back instantaneously, but it was strictly a solo proposition.

He’d never been able to translocate with anyone in tow.

At the condo, Lugh placed his passenger on the sofa with exaggerated care while Zack directed the rest of the youngsters to get their various tech devices powered up. They’d had a glimpse of where Diego had gone. Now they just needed to ID the place.

“Diego can’t build a door unless he knows where he’s going or has someone on the other end to guide his mind.” Zack penned a list of cities, trolling his memory. “I’ll give you a list of all the cities he’s ever visited that I know of. Of course he was born in—”

“Miami. Yes, we know.” Kara cut him off. “And grew up here in New York. And lived in New Brunswick, we know all that.”

“You know an awful lot. How long have you been stalking him?” Kevin rumbled.

“All of that’s on his author bio at his publisher’s website,” Nate answered softly. “No big state secrets. We were fans, all of us, before the Veil opened.”

“Great. So you have a start.” Zack handed over his list. “Here’s some more. And if you wait a couple, I’ll have some pics for you. He always sends Carol phone pics from wherever he is. I’ll have her email Minky.”

“You need my email addy?” Minky said in a tiny voice.

“I think Carol already has it, hon. You emailed Mr. Sandoval enough.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Zack left them to their task and pulled Lugh into the kitchen. “Unholy mess.”

“Indeed.” Lugh wrapped strong arms around him. “Should I look at the boy? I’m not my mother but I can accomplish small things.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. You’re not pissed at them?” He rested his head on Lugh’s broad shoulder, wishing he could take him back to bed.

“They are rash and foolish, but they are so young.” Lugh’s chest expanded in a sigh. “Yes, I am angry and I fear they may need to answer for their actions some day. But that time may never come. We may all perish first.”

“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.”

Lugh put a hand under his chin and tilted his face up. “My Zachary, we should never be forced to face our beloved Diego in conflict. But if we do, know that a more powerful mage has never walked this earth. This is perilous.”

“Yeah, well.” Zack leaned up and caught Lugh’s bottom lip between his teeth, tugging softly. “You think I waited this long for you just to lose you now? I don’t think so.”

A shuddering breath gusted from Lugh. “My fierce sergeant. Though if you insist on pressing up so close, I will feel compelled to take you right here on the kitchen counter.”

Zack clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. “For shame, Highness. There are kids in the next room.”

“I believe they are all of legal age.” Lugh’s brow furrowed.

“Kinky and an exhibitionist, too.” Zack managed a grin despite the worry knotting his stomach. “All right, go see what you can do for Brandon while I call Carol.”

Lugh’s deep voice drifted from the living room as he spoke in soft, reassuring tones to Will. He was good with the kids, his quiet patience putting them at ease, and Zack’s heart swelled with pride. That was his prince in there, back to himself, doing what he did best.

“Sergeant?” Carol’s voice came over the line in her usual professional tones, though Zack knew her well enough to pick out the worry. “Are you finished keeping me in the dark today, or are things on a need-to-know basis?”

“Sorry about that.” Zack slid onto one of the kitchen stools. “Things got a little hairy here. I’ll tell you what I know, then I need to ask you a couple dozen favors.”

“Zack, you’re heading toward owing me the biggest box of chocolates any man has ever purchased, you know that, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. Godiva or Lindt?”

“Something Belgian, you cheapskate. Now give.”

He caught Carol up on what he could, then asked for the photos, the Collective-owned helicopter for a pick up and a healer to stand by. Carol’s fingers tapped away at her keyboard all through his requests.

“Sending the entire file with the photos, Max should be landing on the roof helipad in six hours, and Princess Eithne is right here with me. She’ll be watching for your arrival.” Carol hesitated a moment. “You may want to put the prince on the phone.”

“Why?”

“I need official clearance for your guests.”

Zack smacked his forehead. Forgetting his own security protocols. Only the royal family or the Consul could grant outsiders permission to step onto the island. “Right. Hold on a sec.”

He switched places with Lugh, settling into the chair the prince had just vacated. Brandon’s eyes were open but wandering.

“It’s not on time,” Brandon muttered.

“What’s not, love?” Will stroked his face.

“Paving stones.”

Will swallowed hard. “Please, Bran, you’re not making sense.”

“He might not for a bit.” Zack patted his shoulder. “Just help him stay still and quiet. Don’t think he’s quite back with us yet.” He looked around the room at the three other youngsters, eyes glued to their notepad and laptop screens. “Anything yet?”

Three heads shook, three sets of fingers flew over touchpads.

“Keep at it. Has to be somewhere he’s been. Anybody have any objections to a little road trip?”

When Zack explained, they all looked at him as if he’d told them they were getting ponies for Christmas.

The eager young excitement was almost suffocating.

Dear God, was I ever that young? “We think you’ll be safest on the island.

But this doesn’t mean you can wander back and forth to the Otherworld and bother busy fae.

You be polite and you stay out of the way, got it? ”

Three heads nodded mutely, eyes wide and shining.

“Good. Marcus, I’m catching a few Z’s.”

Marcus waved toward the bedroom. “We’re good, Sarge. Maybe get His Highness to take a rest, too. Probably still not feeling too great.”

There were a couple of snickers at the obvious ploy to give them some alone time. The kids were wide-eyed, but they weren’t stupid.

“Catnip hangover’s a bitch,” Kevin rumbled from his place by the door.

All snickers abruptly ceased.

Back in the kitchen, Zack found his prince sitting at the counter, his head buried in his arms.

“Hey.” He stroked his hand over Lugh’s dark hair. “What’s all this?”

Lugh heaved a long, shuddering breath. “All of this is my doing. If I had not been so selfish, so self-absorbed, none—”

“No, oh, no.” Zack gave him a little smack on the shoulder. “We are so not going down that road.”

He snagged three bottles of water from the fridge and one of the plastic bags from the cabinet.

To the uninformed, the contents would have appeared to be trail mix, but this recipe had whole, uncracked kernels of wheat, rye and oats mixed in.

Good for someone with a bull’s constitution. Not so great for humans.

“Come on, big guy. Water, food, bed, in that order.” He towed Lugh by the hand toward the bedroom. “I don’t know if you boys have adrenaline crashes but you’re going into some kind of crash, big time. We don’t have time for you to wallow in it.”

Lugh guzzled down all three water bottles in short order and plowed through half the bag. “But it is true,” he finally said in a weary voice.

Zack shook his head as he lifted first one hoof, then the other to wipe them down with a damp cloth.

“Lots of things’ve happened, babe. Lots of people had a hand in all this.

I guess it’s like what your mom told me once about prophecy.

That the more you try to keep it from happening, the more you make for damn sure it’ll happen. ”

“She said that?”

“Well, not in those words. I’m paraphrasing.”

“Ah. It is true, beyond a doubt. But we knew of no prophecy.”

“We didn’t. William did. And tried to stop it.

” Zack eased the T-shirt off over Lugh’s head and pushed him back against the pillows.

“Damn it, that’s not what I was trying to say, either.

I’m not so good at this stuff. You did a dumb thing.

But the problem with Diego is not your fault.

One thing led to another and to another. ”

He undid Lugh’s fly and peeled him out of his tight jeans, trying to keep his eyes off the sizeable package at the front of his boxer briefs. “I need you strong. Need you focused. I don’t think we can make it through this without you.”

Lugh held out his arms and waited until Zack had settled against him, resting his head in the crook of one powerful shoulder. “You are better at this ‘stuff’ than you think,” he said softly. “Stay with me?”

With a huge yawn, Zack nestled closer and slid his arm over Lugh’s stomach. “You just try and get rid of me.”

He must have been more tired than he realized. When he woke again, the room was dark, the condo quiet. For a moment, he lay still, wondering what had jerked him from sleep. Lugh’s scent surrounded him, a comfort and a balm. The prince slept, his chest rising and falling in deep, even breaths.

There . An odd scritch-scratch jarred his nerves, like a branch scraping the side of a window. No trees grew outside. They were twenty stories up. Zack slid from the bed, crouched low as he eased toward the window.

“My love?” Lugh whispered, his voice sleep-thickened and confused. “What is it? You seem to be growling.”

Zack cut off the rumbling vibration, unaware that he had been. “Sorry. Think something’s out there. Do you hear it?”

Lugh’s dark eyes glittered in the gloom as he sat up slowly. “Yes. Zachary, please be careful.”

“Just having a look.” Zack lifted the edge of the curtain. He jerked back in shock when something slammed into the glass. “Shit.”

He took a moment, heart pounding. What the hell had he seen? Feathers? As he listened, his newly sharp ears straining to pick out sounds through the thick glass, he became more certain. Wings rustled outside.

“Oh, damn.” A sudden realization hit him. He flung back the curtains and threw open the window. A huge black bird fell through to land in a heap on the floor.

The bird, a hawk, he thought, breathed in shallow, frantic sips of air. Finally, it said, “You took your blasted time with that window.”

“Finn?”

“It’s certainly not the great Roc of Persia.”

Oh, yeah. That’s Finn . “Thought I asked you to stay put, bud.”

Hawk-Finn settled his wings on his back, a tremor in his voice as he asked, “What has passed here, Zack? Where is my Diego?”

Zack rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “A lot’s happened. This isn’t going to be easy for you to hear. Diego’s—”

A soft knock on the door interrupted him. A timid voice called out, “Sarge?”

He opened the bedroom door to find Minky on the other side, her laptop clutched in both hands. “He’s in L.A.”