Page 10 of Cathmoir’s Sons (Bad Boys of Bevington #5)

Chapter 10

Spare Wisdom

RHODES

W hen I texted my details to Evan Lords, I did not expect him to show up at the den.

Luca’s in his first class of Winter Study and Law’s doing whatever Law does, probably stalking Kellan. So I’m unprepared for a knock on the door. I’m more unprepared to see Lords when I open it.

“May I come in?” he asks.

“Of course.” I step back and let him walk in. I’m used to the den, but seeing it through Lords’ eyes, I realize it must look strange. It’s on the outskirts of town, at the end of its own lane, built into a hillside so it’s partially underground. Most of the windows are covered with heavy curtains. The only illumination is from witchlight, warm and golden.

The front door opens directly into the lounge, with its fireplace, deep couches, and sunken cuddle pit that Luca and I use for more than cuddles. I lead Evan through the lounge to the open-plan kitchen, dining area, and utility room where I was in the middle of making seared tuna for lunch.

“Tea? Coffee?” I ask Lords.

“Any herbal tea would be welcome,” Lords says. “I won’t take up too much of your time.”

“No problem. I was just making lunch. There’s enough for three if you’d like to stay.”

Lords’ eyebrows arch over the round rims of his glasses. “I’d like that, if it’s not an imposition.”

“No imposition.”

“I’m in town for Carrie Prince’s memorial,” he explains as he sits down at our dining table, half of which is currently covered with tuna-making supplies since I don’t like standing at the kitchen counter when I cook. Once I make tea for him, I sit down across from him and measure soy sauce into a flat-bottomed dish.

“I didn’t know her personally,” I tell him. I didn’t take any classes from her after the required history of magic classes my freshman year. “But my boyfriend is Jane Serpa’s student. He knew Doctor Prince. He’s going.”

Lords nods. “Your boyfriend’s Prince Lucas, is that right?”

“No one calls him Prince, but yes.”

“Please don’t be insulted by any of my questions. I’m coming into this backwards and trying to get up to speed. I was incarcerated until very recently, so I’ve been out of the loop.”

I measure mirin into the dish. “Please don’t be insulted,” I echo back at him, a technique I’ve been taught by Dittman to create rapport. “My boyfriend’s middle name is research. I know about you being The Mr. Black, Hector Gravka’s murder, the sham trial, and your time in Karkarus. I realize telling you I’m joining the White Cloaks must have been triggering. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my issue to deal with.” Lords waves my apology away. “I know you refused my offer of protection the last time we spoke, but I’d like to make it again. Your cousin Kimberly is missing. Although Bromios seems to have turned his face away from our world for now, Kimberly has other allies. I’m deeply concerned about her coming after you again.”

I mix together the marinade, take the tuna out of its paper wrapping, and slide it into the liquid while I think.

“What would it entail, the Capricorn Guild’s protection?” I ask.

“Bringing you to our headquarters in London—” Lords begins.

I shake my head.

Lords sighs. “I anticipated you’d reject relocation.” He twists two silver and black rings off his fingers. “Could I persuade you to wear these? The Ring of Nine Rivers was given to me by some very special witches in London. It will substantially enhance your natural abilities. And this ring will summon me wherever I am if you twist it around your finger three times and speak my name.”

I take the rings from him and fit them on my fingers. Like most magickal rings, they shrink to embrace my fingers comfortably. “Thank you.”

“I’m stretched a little thin at the moment,” Lords admits. “But if I can find a green cloak who can spare some time, would you let them?—”

“Babysit me?” I interject. “No, but thank you.”

“I understand. I’ve spent too much of my life confined to be comfortable forcing curtailment on anyone.” Lords drums his fingertips on the table. “I hate to dig around in what’s likely a painful subject, but might I ask about your other cousin, Odin Nalkaine?”

I flip the tuna over in the marinade while I think. “Let me anticipate some of your questions. I don’t know why he testified against you. We were close when I was little; he was like my big brother. But the age difference began to tell as we got older. We overlapped at Addlestone for a year and he was a dick to me there, avoiding me and putting me down to make himself look big to his friends. I recognize it for what it was now, but at the time, it stung and I avoided him after that. He tried to make it up to me after he graduated from Bevvy but I was firmly in teen shit-head mode by then. We didn’t talk except in passing at family events for the better part of a decade. I saw him at a family wedding maybe six months before he died. He offered me a beer and we played a game of pool. He looked bad. Skinny and tired in a way that said he wasn’t sleeping well. When I asked if he was okay, he brushed me off. Something he said stuck with me, though. I’d picked my major and told O that I was going for the White Cloaks. He laughed in a way that wasn’t a laugh at all and said, ‘maybe you’ll solve my murder, then’.”

Lords lifts his glasses off his nose and rubs his eyes. “He knew he was going to be killed.”

“It seemed like a joke at the time, but it’s haunted me ever since. I’m doing my Winter Study project on his death. I don’t believe he drowned. He was better on horseback than he was in the water, but he was a strong swimmer. He taught me to dive. I know that good swimmers can drown, but it just doesn’t ring true to me. He was murdered and I’m going to find his killer,” I tell Lords.

“It’s a cold case. You won’t get any help from the crows,” Lords responds, letting his glasses drop down onto the bridge of his nose again. “I’d like to offer you my assistance and that of the Capricorn Guild. Our resources are at your disposal. And if you would Water-Walk to the Guild to use those resources, oh, say every day after class, that would greatly ease my mind.”

I chuckle and turn the fish a final time before I rise and tap on the stove. “Nicely played.”

“I am very concerned about Kimberly coming after you again, Rhodes.”

I nod. “I’m not dismissing your concerns. I just won’t live my life in fear.”

“I understand,” Lords says. “Let me ask a few follow-up questions that I hope won’t be too invasive. First let me say that I don’t blame Odin for his testimony. It was clear even at the time that he was being blackmailed or threatened. He looked terrified when he was on the stand.”

“I’ve taken the classes on how to beat ‘the chair’,” I respond, returning to the table while the pan heats. I take a head of romaine out of its package and begin to chop. “I know that even the most powerful truth charms can be subverted if the witness believes what they’re saying. I just don’t understand how O could have been so deluded.”

Lords spreads his hands. “It was all circumstantial. It’s easy to convince someone of what they might have seen. Odin saw me with someone, a student, a curvy woman. It’s not too many steps from there to believe that curvy woman was someone he knew, his family friend, Jade Kalveri. I’ve seen witnesses led down paths like that before. What I find more curious is who and what. Who coerced his testimony and what did they have over him?”

“You’re wondering if I knew what their leverage was,” I say, following his line of questions. I pile the chopped lettuce onto three plates as I think. “The Hale family has secrets. The biggest is probably what Niles did to me, but there are plenty of others. None that directly involve O’s branch of the family, though. I’m not sure why he’d care about secrets like Aunt Kathy summoning a demi-goddess being exposed.”

“I suggest that’s where we start.” Lords takes a small black notebook. He opens it and shows me a family tree he has sketched on two pages. “I’ve only been able to go back to Evanda Hale herself but is this correct?”

I look it over. “Yeah, as far as it goes. You’ve missed off Grampy Ben’s side of the family and Grampy Adam’s first wife, their daughter Andrea, and Andrea’s sons Webb and Robin.”

Lords chokes, then clears his throat. “Robin ... Robin DeWinter? The Bevington professor who was having an affair with Jade Kalveri? He was your first cousin?”

I nod. “You didn’t know he was Family Hale?”

“No.” Lords writes furiously in his notebook. “How could I have missed that?”

“It’s definitely one of the family secrets. Particularly since Cousin Robin’s father was fae royalty. But again, not on O’s side of the family. I can’t imagine why he’d care about anything to do with Cousin Robin.”

“O’s mother and Kimberly’s mother were twins as I understand it,” Lords says, still writing.

“Kathy and Keira, yeah. Not like Luca and Law are. Um, fraternal twins, not identical. They looked alike. You could tell they were sisters. But unless you knew them well, I don’t think most people would have realized they were twins. They didn’t act similar. I don’t remember Aunt Kathy all that well, but what I do remember was that she scared me. She yelled a lot. I don’t remember her hitting Kimberly or the other kids, but it always seemed like the threat was there. The cousins all avoided her. That I do remember.”

Lords flips a page and keeps scribbling. While he’s writing, I lay the marinated tuna in the hot pan and listen to it sizzle.

“And Aunt Keira?” Lords prompts.

I shrug. “I haven’t seen her in a couple of years but she was always nice to me as a kid. After what happened with Grampy Niles, she acted, well, like she had to make it up to me. She used to sneak me candy, extra portions of dessert, that kind of thing.”

“I’m sure she was horrified by her father’s actions,” Lords says absently as he writes.

“It was a turning point for a lot of the family,” I admit. “People who agreed with Grampy Niles but were on the fence about summoning greater spirits backed away altogether. Even Uncle Ezra was pretty shaken.”

Lords nods. I let him write while I grab some tongs and turn the tuna over. It’s got a nice sear. I watch the fillet carefully as the ruby-red fish changes to a lighter pink; I whip it off while the middle third of the fillet is still deep red. I turn off the stove and take the tuna back over to my cutting board. I let the fish rest while I mix up a vinaigrette and dress the lettuce, dot the salads with tiny plum tomatoes, and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top. Then I slice up the fish and fan it over top of the salads. I clean up my mess and put out cutlery just as the door of the den opens and closes.

Law bangs in and out like the door’s done him a personal wrong, so I know it’s Luca just from the quiet entrance. He walks into the kitchen, loose-limbed and grinning to himself as he strips off his cropped sweatshirt. He freezes when he sees Lords.

I nod reassuringly. “Luca, this is Evan Lords.”

“The Capricorn,” Luca says. He tosses his sweatshirt onto a chair and lolls into the seat with feline grace, his pale chest and abs rippling.

Because no one can keep their shirts on for meals around here.

That makes me sound like a prude in my own head. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the constant temptation whenever Luca reveals so much skin. When we’re alone, great. When we’re not, it’s just potentially embarrassing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Lucas,” Lords says.

Luca snorts. “No one calls me Prince. I’m the spare.”

Lords closes his notebook and tucks it away. “After my last conversation with Rhodes, I had an interesting discussion with Callan Dùbhghlas. Although he takes delight in misleading me whenever he can, I believe he was in earnest when he told me that Kellan Wyndham has taken the mantle of Crow Queen and that you’re one of her fated mates. Prince Lucas seems appropriate, therefore. Perhaps even Prince Consort .”

Luca’s grin grows fangs. “Whatever you want to call me is fine, Primus .”

Lords lifts his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I had the, erm, pleasure of knowing Teddy Nowak and her husbands while they were at Bevington. They were also terrifyingly precocious. I got off on the wrong foot with Teddy and it took me some time to win her trust. I’d like to think I can learn from my mistakes. Let me try again. Luca, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Evan.”

Luca holds out his hand and Lords shakes.

Since Lords and Luca seem to be hashing things out, I grab bottles of water and pass the plates around. Luca sets in on his fish like he hasn’t eaten in a year, which I know isn’t true because we had a massive breakfast together this morning before he left for class. He’s also been sleeping a huge amount since Jedburgh Abbey. I think everything’s taken a huge amount out of him.

“Rhodes mentioned you’d researched my personal history,” Lords says as he cuts up his fish into small pieces like he’s feeding a child. He seems to realize what he’s doing half-way through and puts his knife down. “I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.”

Luca grunts. “Who in the Aedis Astrum framed you?”

“A question unanswered and unanswerable at the moment.” Lords sighs. “I have several suspects but no motives. There’s Chief Judge Gerard DeSal who handed down my sentence even though the case against me was paper thin. Other than the trial, I can’t find any connection between us. There’s Charon Carver, who interviewed me twice and compiled most of the evidence that was used at my trial. He was interning at the Aedis Astrum. Seven years on, he’s replaced me as The Mr. Black. But it seems a long Path between interning for the White Cloaks and taking my position, if that was his motive. There’s Sandy Smith who was the lead prosecutor. She was Evanda Hale before she became the Fifth Pillar. Again, a long Path between prosecuting me and ascending to the governing body of the Aedis Astrum. I just don’t know.”

Luca licks his fangs. “I vote for Carver. He’s a tool.”

I chuckle. Luca and his twin have had several run-ins with the crows while at Bevington. The crows have always come off the worse in those encounters. It’s hard to sanction cats. Particularly cats like Law and Luca who can walk through walls when they choose. They really don’t give a shit that you’re trying to punish them.

The corners of Lords’ mouth twitch. “Since I’m no longer The Mr. Black, I can say without reservation that Carver was an odious bully of a student while at Bevington and I was trying to get him expelled. I believe him thoroughly undeserving of the White Cloak. I wasn’t sorry to hear he’d lost his position, although it was a nasty shock to discover he’s now chief crow.”

“Not for long,” Luca says. “We’re biding our time. Not rocking the boat until I graduate. But then he better watch his back. He pissed off Law one too many times.”

Lords takes a bite of fish, chews, and grins. “How unfortunate for him. But I have no doubt he’ll have a soft landing. His family’s very wealthy.”

Luca’s fangs appear again. “Not what my research suggests. The crows are his last resort. He turned down a position in his dad’s organization for the White Cloaks. Daddy Dearest is not forgiving. His stepmother likes him so he’s invited to family events, but otherwise he’s persona non . Trust fund has been locked up until his dad dies. Family business is going to his older sister, and by all accounts she’s a worse shark than his dad. The well’s run dry for poor old Charon. It would be unfortunate if he was made jobless and homeless.”

Lords’ eyes widen before he looks down at his lunch. He eats for a moment in silence while Luca and I watch him. When he lifts his eyes from his tuna, he glances between us.

“This is excellent,” he says, forking up another mouthful of fish. “And I’ll remember when dealing with you that the rumors about Cait being among the most ruthless fae are not exaggerated.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Luca says. “Why are you here?”

“He came to warn me that Kimberly’s missing,” I tell my boyfriend. “He offered me the protection of the Capricorn Guild.”

Luca bristles. “The Cait will protect you if you need protection.”

“I know, Lu.” I hold up a palm to placate him. “We were also talking about my Winter Study, trying to find who killed Cousin O. Lords has offered to help. He says I can use the Capricorn Guild’s resources.”

Luca’s gaze swings to Lords. “Really? What do you have?”

“Cooperation with both the human law enforcement and the crows’ office that I’m guessing you lack if you’ve gotten on Carver’s bad side while you’ve been at school,” Lords says.

Luca stuffs his face with several bites of fish and chews while he considers.

“I’ve been hacking into the crows’ files since we were sophomores,” Luca admits. “But I haven’t been able to get access to their physical files and there’s a lot from your time at Bevvy that hasn’t been digitized. Paper.” He huffs. “So last century. Anyway, if we can get scans or copies of the paper files through the Guild, that would be worthwhile. As for the humans, I’m not sure what they’d have of value, but it couldn’t hurt to see their evidence.”

“You are exactly the reason I’m so fond of paper.” Lords’ lips twitch. “Carver should be more afraid of you than he is. I understand human law enforcement were first on the scene. Odin’s body was discovered by hikers. Is that right?”

I nod. “Massachusetts State Police. They had his body for about two days before Uncle Bert reported O missing and the crows got involved.”

“Human forensics have gotten quite advanced in the last few decades,” Lords says, between bites of salad. “You’d be surprised what they can determine without magic.”

“Okay.” Luca shrugs. “What do you want in return?”

Lords shakes his head. “You misunderstand me. I didn’t come here to bargain. I’m concerned about Rhodes’ safety. There were too many casualties of Jedburgh Abbey. Carrie Prince ...” He trails off and swallows hard before he continues, “There can’t be any more. Not on my watch.”

Luca scratches his chin with the handle of his fork, his pale green eyes steady on Lords. Lords returns his regard, blue eyes haunted.

After a weighty moment, Luca sighs. “Look, I’ve been trained from birth to fight the Mirk. I know how to evaluate a battlefield, and I could see within a few minutes that every mage at Jedburgh Abbey was going to die. I’ve never read of an army of barghests that large. Not even in the oldest legends. They outnumbered us more than ten to one. They were led by a Demi-Urge. Their gathering attracted a Mirk Rider. More would have come if Law hadn’t killed the first one. By rights, we all should have died. We didn’t.” He tips his head at me. “Well, one of us did but not permanently.”

I chuckle. We’re getting to the point where we can laugh about my round-trip to the Mother, although it’s taken us some time.

“My point is,” Luca continues, “that walking away with a handful of casualties was a miracle. And it was only possible because we had powers on that field that Bromios and his allies never expected. You had allies that your enemies didn’t anticipate. There are going to be battles we won’t come out of nearly as unscathed. I’m not making light of losing Doctor Prince or the others who died, but they died for a good reason, for a cause we all felt worth dying for. I know you’ve been in prison for a long time, and you were more of a policeman than a soldier before you went in ... if you’re going to be a general in this war, if you’re going to lead the Capricorn Guild, you can’t think like a policeman. You have to think like a soldier. Otherwise, being at war, particularly a war this big, is going to eat you alive.”

Lords and I both gape at Luca. I’ve never heard him speak like this. Did Jedburgh Abbey change him that much? Or has he always been aware we were in the middle of a war, and he’s just kept me out of it?

“Lu,” I say softly.

He puts down his fork and reaches his hand out to me. I take it and lace our fingers together.

“Sorry, Rho,” he murmurs. “I know you’ve been running from this shit for a long time. I thought I could insulate you from it. I didn’t blame you for not wanting any part of it. Not after what Niles did to you, the fucker. But if you’re going to be Caileán’s consort, I don’t think it’s avoidable. Being with the Crow Queen means fighting her battles. She’s always going to stand with her friends, and her friends have chosen sides. Which pretty much means we have, too.”

Lords clears his throat. “You’re barely adults.”

“This isn’t about age, grandpa,” Luca retorts. “It’s about might and right. We have the might. The question is just where we’re going to throw it. Law and I have been throwing it at the worst of Faery for a long time. With Caileán entering the fray, we’ve retargeted. That’s all. It’s more of the same for us. But you’ve got to get it straight in your head. You have to see us all as expendable, otherwise the losses are going to chip away at your soul until you’re no good to anyone.”

“You’re not expendable.” Lords shakes his head.

I echo him. “I can’t think like that.”

“We’re not to each other,” Luca says, squeezing my fingers. “But we have to be to you. I may only be the spare, but I’ve been trained for war right alongside Law. I know what it takes to lead. I’m warning you, you can’t take every loss personally. You can’t believe each death is your fault. You can’t. You’ll go crazy.”

Lords takes a ragged breath. “I’ll think on this.”

“I wouldn’t say this to, well, anybody else in the world, but I think you should spend some time with my brother.”

Lords barks a laugh. “I see.”

“Seriously. Dad’s been moulding him into a war-leader for a hella long time. It hasn’t always been good for him. It’s made him hard and somewhat callous. He has trouble seeing any perspective other than his own and Dad’s. But he has the mindset to win a war. He knows exactly what he can’t lose and what he can. Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t. I’m not trying to insult you. I’m just telling you what I see.” Luca groans a little and releases my hand to finish his tuna. “Also, I have to tell Kellan all of this. Which is totally unfair. But Law won’t do it so I’d better. Fuck me.”

Lords shakes his head but he’s grinning. “I’m also in love with a woman who makes my life both heaven and hell. You have my sympathies. Nor do I take any offense. I still have no idea why Azrael chose me.” Lords pushes the last of his tomatoes around on his plate. “I’m fumbling my way through this. Not always very successfully.”

Luca shrugs one shoulder while he polishes off his fish and stabs bites from my plate until I threaten him with my fork.

“Maybe what this part of the war needs is someone who brings people together instead of barking commands. I’m learning not to question the ideas of immortals.” Luca flashes a grin at me. “Life’s easier if you let them do what they want and just work around them.”

“Very true,” Lords says. “In the fallout of Jedburgh Abbey, I’ve found myself dealing with a number of immortals or quasi-mortals who delight in making my life difficult. If you, or your brother, were to assist me in dealing with them ... I’d be very grateful.”

“Sure.” Luca shrugs again like the head of a Zodiac Guild didn’t just ask him to be an envoy.

“One last thing and I’ll thank you for lunch and let you enjoy your afternoon.” Lords steeples his hands over his plate. “Kellan Wyndham. I understand her transition into a Queen of Faery has been difficult. There are rumors flying after her appearance at Teddy Nowak’s Hogmanay Hootananny—don’t tell Teddy I called it that, she’ll never let me live it down—and the following day when she evidently took a long walk around Thistlemist with the Holly King. Is she entertaining his suit?”

“Entertaining his suit?” Luca squints at Lords. “Move on from the Middle Ages, grandpa. Is he making a play to be added to her harem? Yeah. Is she going to? Dunno. Depends on whether his interests align with ours.”

Lords rubs his temple. “Which would be?”

Luca slides me a long glance. I keep my face still. I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone else to know that Kellan intends to overthrow the Oak King. But I don’t know what she’s already told her friends. Lords may know more than we do.

“You should ask her,” Luca says finally.

Lords spreads his hand across his forehead and massages both temples. “My fiancée and Teddy Nowak—of whom I’m ridiculously fond, unfortunately—are Kellan’s best friends. No matter what I say or do to try to dissuade them, they’ll follow her straight into the teeth of the storm. Or the teeth of the Oak King, in this case.”

I swallow hard. He knows.

“Those aren’t losses that I’ll ever be able to accept,” Lords says emphatically. “Rachel and Teddy and her family won’t ever be expendable to me. I need to know how to stop Kellan from marrying the Holly King, killing the Oak King, and taking over all of Faery.”

Luca and I trade lifted eyebrows.

“I don’t think ruling all of Faery is her goal,” I say. “If that helps any.”

“Is she going to try to kill the Oak King?” Lords asks flatly.

“Yes,” Luca says. “But not because she wants to rule Faery. It’s personal. And I don’t think she has any intention of marrying the Holly King. Law wouldn’t allow it, anyway.”

“When you say allow—” Lords begins.

Luca rolls his lips back from his fangs. “Law was two minutes away from eating the Holly King’s head at Hogmanay and all the Holly King did was ask Kellan to dance. What do you think Law’ll do if the Holly King tries to kiss her, or worse, propose? Only one person will walk away from that, and it won’t be the Holly King.”

“Can the Holly King be killed that way?” Lords asks.

“Law’ll give it the old college try,” Luca says. “And if that doesn’t work, Law will eat the rest of him. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Lords pinches his temples. “Blessed Mother, this is giving me a migraine. And I know a demon Law should befriend. Their methods are similar.”

“If that’s Baron Ash, I’d really like an introduction,” Luca says.

Lords looks up at him sharply. “The extent of your knowledge is alarming. How do you know that name?”

“I warned you about his research skills,” I say.

“You did,” Lords admits. “Also, no, I’m not introducing you to a lord of Hell . There’s a minimum age requirement and you haven’t reached it.”

Luca snorts. “Which is?”

“Two hundred,” Lords retorts. “None of us should be involved with demon lords. It’s extremely hazardous to the health.”

“See? This is going to be an issue,” Luca says. “You keep treating us like kids. And I understand your perspective. You were a Bevington crow. You had to wipe a lot of students’ noses. Law and I have been fighting a war you learned about a few weeks ago for our entire lives . Between us, we have thousands of kills. We’re mated to a queen of Faery. We’re not kids. We’re Cait. Keep treating us like children and Law will probably eat you before he eats the Holly King.”

Lords folds his lips together. When he releases them, he laughs softly. “Forgive me, Luca. You’re right. I’ll arrange an introduction. And I’ll make time to spend with your brother. If nothing else, it will be entertaining.”