Page 33 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

Chapter Seventeen

The Captured Prince

For the world ’ s more full of weeping than you can understand . —William Butler Yeats, The Stolen Child

“ L ook, we can’t confront him while he’s in Congressional hearings.

He’s always surrounded by diplomats and senators.

” Zack paced the dining room turned war council room.

“And since Faolchú wasn’t able to pick up a scent after Lugh disappeared outside Diego’s hotel, we can be pretty damn sure he’s not in Washington anymore. ”

The TV, appropriated from the den, looped through all the footage they had been able to find of Lugh in Washington, walking up the Capitol steps, standing with Diego prior to that last, bizarre press conference, getting into Diego’s limo.

“Hold up. Pause it there, Angus.” Zack stared at the image. “Finn, you recognize that guy? The one playing driver?”

The young man had his hair pulled back in a neat tail, but the pale skin, the hooked nose…

“I do, yes,” Finn answered from where he slumped dejectedly in his chair. “That would be Diego’s vampire acquisition from Los Angeles.”

The vamp kid smiled and laughed at something Diego said before he shut the limo door.

Definitely does not look like that one’s under coercion.

“Damn. This just gets worse and worse.” He stared hard at the screen.

Something seemed off. “Hold up. It’s sunny in DC today.

Why’s that kid not curled up screaming or bursting into flames or something? ”

Morrigan snorted. “Human myths. Sunlight does not kill vampires.”

“It is not healthy for them,” Sionnach broke in with a glare at her. “It weakens them, Zack. Makes them ill if they are exposed too long. But this one is fully covered and soon retreats into the vehicle. He would not suffer overmuch.”

“Got it. Didn’t take long for that conversion, did it?”

“The right promises win loyalty quickly,” Danu said from her place at the head of the table. She had been unusually quiet, her dark eyes dull and wandering.

She’s exhausted . Zack considered asking her if anyone was helping her with the damn shielding but decided he’d better not call her out in front of everyone.

“Right.” He rubbed over his right temple where a headache was threatening.

“So here’s how I see it. Jump in, anybody, if you think I’m way off base here.

Diego’s in and out of Washington for the Congressional hearings, but since he can make a door anywhere, he doesn’t have to stay there.

He’s got the magic users he’s gathered stashed away somewhere, either locked up or working for him now, but not in Washington, or Lugh would be there, too. He can’t spread himself too thin.”

“So far, we have no disagreement,” Morrigan said in her grating rasp, her black claws clicking on the table.

“Great. Now Diego’s going to need to keep things stirred up, right?

Make sure Congress realizes how fucked up the situation is so they jump on his proposal.

Which means he needs more riots. He can easily cause a riot, snatch up anybody he wants from that city and make it back to Washington before the lunch recess ends.

” He waited a moment but the fae and his security staff all watched him expectantly. “I still think he’s hitting Memphis.”

A soft rustling pulled his attention to Finn shifting restlessly in his chair.

“Finn, bud, something on your mind?”

The pooka cleared his throat, eyes darting around the table. “Ah, well…as I understand it, this council…er, Congress, needs to have a fire under their collective feet in order to act swiftly. Diego would wish to be certain he has a large enough fire.”

“Go on. Don’t stop there,” Zack urged softly.

“There will be more than one riot in a single day. Perhaps within a single hour. Several, unless I miss my guess.”

“You have foreseen this, Fionnachd?” Morrigan snapped. “You with your prodigious skill in foretelling?”

Eithne waved a hand at her. “Hush, Morri, it’s only sense. If they move too slowly, he must create a greater crisis.”

Finn sat up a little straighter, obviously encouraged by the support. “So we must puzzle out which cities he will choose. And our Zack believes he is using Talking Heads’ songs as a puzzle for us.”

“Sionnach?” Zack unfolded the map he had brought in and thumb tacked it to the wall. “How many more are there? We’ve got Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh, all already hit. Los Angeles, he just wanted to go after that vamp kid, so we’ll throw that one out as an outsider.”

“Outlier, Sarge,” Marcus corrected under his breath.

“Whatever. What else is there, beautiful?”

Sionnach closed his eyes, petting his tail as he concentrated. “Memphis…that’s from the Cities song, and El Paso…”

Zack marked the cities he’d mentioned with colored pins and added Sionnach’s.

“Baltimore…New York…” The little fox Fomorian opened his eyes. “That’s all I recall.”

“Which probably means that’s all there is. Okay. Four new ones. Are we thinking he’ll hit them all in the same day?”

“It’s a possibility we have to consider,” Angus said as he caught Sionnach’s nervous hands in his.

“Separate strike teams, Sarge?” Kevin asked from where he leaned against the wall.

I think we should split up. God, this is sounding like a bad horror movie. “Yeah. Much as I’d like to have a no-fail squad, we’ve gotta make sure we have each possible target covered.”

“Field expediency.” Kevin shot him a grin. “What Marines do best, right?”

Zack managed something that was half laugh, half-frustrated grunt. “But he has to have been there to make the doorway work, right? Anyone know if he’s ever been to El Paso?”

“Not that he had mentioned,” Finn said slowly. “New York, of course. We visited Baltimore several times. They have lovely art museums he wanted me to see. Memphis, also yes. He had a writer friend there, since passed on.”

“Good enough. I want a mix of fighting and magical strength in each squad, so Morrigan, if you could lead the Baltimore team, Finn, you take New York—”

“Me?” Finn squeaked out, pale as tapioca pudding. “But I’m not…any of those things.”

“Yes, you. It’s the city you know best and damn it, you’re one of the most inventive magic folks I know. Don’t sell yourself short. You take Kevin and Marcus with you and you’ve got all the firepower you need. Princess Eithne, I guess you want to go with Morrigan?”

“It would be best.” Eithne shot her lover a quelling look when the battle raven looked ready to argue.

“Good. Take a couple of the boys with you, too. Angus and Sionnach, you’re with me heading to Memphis. Nathair, I’d suggest you join your wolf in DC. I want to keep eyes and ears there, just in case.”

“Understood.” Nathair shifted in his chair, obviously hesitating on a thought. “Zack, your teams should take the human children, as well.”

The suggestion ground his spinning brain gears to a screeching halt. “Um…why?”

“If, perhaps, someone manages to detain Diego, how long would you be able to hold him? Truly? How long could any of us hope to?”

“Yeah, okay, but—”

“Zack, if you had the boy who caused the change with you, perhaps he could undo it. A few words spoken would be all that is necessary, from what I understand. It may be our best hope.”

The headache blossomed behind Zack’s right eye. He rubbed at his temples to ease the tightness. “He’s only one kid and he can’t be everywhere.”

“No. But if he remains here, he has no chance at all of reversing the damage.”

“Lugh didn’t want the kids in danger.” And damn him, why in the hell do I still care what he thinks? Damn him for being a stubborn, bullheaded, manipulative…

“Then they must go with you,” Eithne said gently. “Who better to protect them?”

“Minky goes with me,” Finn blurted out, then snapped his mouth shut.

Now what? “I’m almost afraid to ask, but why?”

“She’s my…granddaughter.”

Silence greeted this announcement, most faces around the table registering some level of disbelief or shock, though Eithne only nodded.

Marcus finally broke the silence. “How’s that even physically possible?”

“Several times removed.” Finn waved a hand as if he could dismiss further questions. “Not my literal granddaughter. It would simply take too long to puzzle out how many ‘greats’ should be added. But I…I wish to have her with me.”

“Wow.” Zack leaned back against the wall, wondering how much more his tired, unhappy brain could process in one day. “So does that mean she can shift? Like you?”

“Not that we’ve discovered yet.”

“Um…okay. Since she’s family, guess she better go with you.

” Zack rubbed his hands over his face. “You take the girls, Finn. I’ll take the boys with me.

Best we can do, I guess. Those of you who can pop in and out of places, please wait for your human and Fomorian squad mates.

Carol, if you could get flights together?

Thanks, everyone. Let’s get moving. Faster we get there, better chance we have of finally getting ahead of him. ”

When the room had emptied, Zack took a moment to lean his forehead against the cool wall, concentrating on breathing slowly.

Lugh should have been with them. After their bout of rough sex, Zack had promised himself that he would apologize for his loss of control.

The damn prince hadn’t given him the chance.

No, the damn prince had used Zack’s anger, let him get riled up and distracted instead of extracting the promises he should have been.

Oh, he knew Lugh hadn’t lied to him, and that was the problem.

He’d let Zack fuck the hell out of him, then had spelled him to sleep while he’d been too sleepy-stupid from sex to think clearly.

“Sneaky bastard,” Zack muttered to the map pinned to the wall.

A black-furred head peeked around the doorway, triangle ears swiveling. “You are angry with him. Even now.”