“The man we are seeking calls himself the Lynx. He has long resided in this world. His glamour is incredibly strong, and thus we have not been able to locate him. He was trained by one of the foremost lore keepers in Tír na nÓg, who himself trained under the High Court magi. It is our hope that the Lynx will know how to break the banishment that keeps us from crossing back into our own world. Of course, first we need to find him.”
I digested that with a nod. “And that’s where I come in.”
“Yes. We need your Warding to break through his glamour, once we find him.”
“That’s all well and good, assuming this Gift of mine works on him, but what’s the plan here? You just tote me around the city playing fae-detector?”
She nodded. “In a sense, yes. Mairi and Gannon—Kaine’s Guardian, whom you have not yet met—have been searching the city for any trace of the Lynx, but he is incredibly elusive. He himself was banished from our realm some years ago, and it is said he has not trusted another soul with his whereabouts since earning the High King’s ire.”
“So you’re working off rumors?” That did not sound promising.
“Yes and no. We do have some friends willing to aid us here in the city, though they must do so indirectly lest they find themselves named outlaws. They pass along any worthwhile tips they hear to us and if the lead proves promising, Kaine chooses someone to investigate it. If you agree to help us, you will accompany them and become a more reliable set of eyes. Should you see someone that they do not, that person may well be the Lynx, hidden from our sight.”
I wanted to pace, but I couldn’t find the energy to get to my feet. My bottom lip stung from the vigorous chew I was giving it, but the angst had to come out somehow. This whole thing sounded insane, not to mention a bit dangerous. The last thing I wanted was to be dragged around the city, seeing all sorts of freaks in sheep’s clothing, looking for the one freak in particular that no one else could see. “And I’m expected to do this for free?”
She sized me up with a glance. We both knew I wasn’t talking money here, though to be honest I wondered for a moment if that was such a bad idea. She said, “Of course not. While I cannot say for certain that all you desire will be agreed to, you are free to set forth your terms for negotiation before the pact is struck.”
“Pact. My, that’s official sounding. I don’t think I’m dressed for the occasion.” I giggled and gestured to my little velvet flats and low-cut top. I could tell my usual default-to-sarcasm wasn’t going to go over big here. Seana was the most approachable of the three—or four, if I had heard her correctly—and my attempt at humor appeared to be lost on her. With my last ditch attempt to dissuade myself through avarice down, I was out of excuses. In the end, what choice did I have?
As if she was reading my thoughts, she said gently, “Caitlin, you do not have to do this.”
That was a lie. She was trying to be kind. “You don’t believe that. If I don’t help you, what chance do you have of finding the Lynx? And without the Lynx, what chance do you have of finding your way home? And if you don’t find a way home, who else is going to stop those things from coming here?” She remained silent. It was all the answer I needed. I looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. Like ripping off a bandage, it was better to do this fast than draw it out any longer. “So where do I have to sign?”
“I myself cannot make such a contract. You will need to speak to Kaine.”
Curiosity gnawed at my soul. “I get that he’s the head honcho around here but who is he, exactly? Obviously he was important enough to piss off the king and warrant this whole banishment business, so don’t try to tell me ‘nobody.’ I ain’t buying that.”
“I am not at liberty to discuss his personal matters. Suffice to say that Kaine once stood against the High King and his growing madness, and paid dearly for his sense of honor.”
Damn. That just made me all that much more curious. That he was highborn and influential was already a given. The way the two ladies had deferred to his quiet, detached presence in my apartment earlier in the week had assured me of that. I was dying to dig, but I knew better. Seana clearly considered him her leader and respected his privacy. If I tried to wheedle more information out of her, it wouldn’t end well. Guess that meant it was time to roll the dice. “Fine. Then where is the big guy?”
She let my flippancy pass but it earned me a warning glance. She nodded in the direction of the staircase behind me. “He is upstairs, in the study.”
She rose and gestured for me to follow her. The butterflies in my stomach were instant. I had the urge to yell, “No, wait!” but it was too late to back out. I knew what had to be done; what demands I had to lobby for if I was going to get through this alive and ever have a hope of living a normal life again. Heart beating in my throat, I followed her up the stairs.
She stopped me with a gentle hand on the second floor landing, nodding her head in the direction of the closest door, open just a crack to reveal a warm, golden light from within. “Wait here for just a minute, please.” She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
I stood there, feeling lost. I looked around, admiring the dark wood and ivory stucco around me. There were few personal touches in this hall. It was just a long corridor of closed doors and a runner of deep chocolate brown that matched the carpet in the living room below. At the end of the hall, beneath a high-set window, was a small, round table. Calla lilies filled a long, fluted vase on its surface. They looked real from the distance I was standing at. For some odd reason, the sight of fresh flowers comforted me. It made the people I was throwing my lot in with seem more relatable to me. More human.
Of course that was probably just a stupid excuse my alcohol-soaked brain made up to keep me from bolting. I wavered and reached out to steady myself against the wall before I could do something stupid, like topple backwards down the stairs. The longer I was on my feet, the more my body reminded me that it was approaching 3 a.m. and I was no longer a spring chicken. Thankfully only a moment or two passed before Seana slipped back out into the hall, leaving the door cracked behind her. I couldn’t read her expression, but I wanted to believe I saw something like concern in her eyes. “He will see you now.”
Wow; they were making this a proper audience weren’t they? Not trusting myself to open my mouth without something smart-alecky coming out—and I didn’t really want to sass the only one of them who had treated me with any sort of understanding—I settled for a nod. As I went to step past her, she stopped me with a hand on my arm. Her lips were so close to my ear I could feel her breath as she whispered, “Be careful. Remember: your words are your bond.”
I wanted to ask her what the hell that meant, but she headed down the stairs without another glance. It happened so fast I wondered later if my weary brain had made the whole thing up. I took a deep, centering breath and steeled myself for the worst. I stepped into Kaine’s office and closed the door behind me.
Chapter Eight
I stepped into Kaine’s study and was greeted by the most normal, cozy looking office I had ever seen in my life. It was something straight out of an HGTV special. The whole thing radiated masculine warmth, from to the deep green carpets to the honey-colored wainscoting. To my right lay a dormant fireplace; in front of me, a large mahogany desk. The wall behind the desk was lined with bookshelves. They were overflowing with everything from neatly tucked sheaves of paperwork to ancient looking leather-bound books.
The desk itself was the focal point of the room. Two plush looking armchairs faced it from my side, their upholstery matching the carpet. Kaine was seated on the far side in his own throne of a chair, head bent. There was a piece of paper centered on the blotter before him, which he was writing on with—I shit you not—an honest-to-God quill. Fluffy white plumage, graceful golden nib; the whole shebang.
I took in the sights, thinking yet again that I would kill to have their accountant cook my books, and waited. Something about the deference Seana showed him told me this was a “don’t speak until you’re spoken to” sort of situation. That level of patience wasn’t normally my forte, but I had the feeling it would be a struggle to get this partnership get off on the right foot as it was. I didn’t need to further stack the deck against me.
Besides, I was nosy. I scanned the bookshelves and picked out what titles I could. It seemed that my host had a taste for Greek philosophers and Irish poets. Not exactly my cup of tea (I preferred losing myself in a brain-numbing bodice-ripper any day), but I admired his spirit.
I was musing over one title whose foreign string of letters baffled my brain when he finally set his “pen” aside. He folded his hands on the blotter and looked up at me. I was struck again by how arresting his gaze was. It was like staring into a bottomless pool of some sort; deep and calm yet subtly unsettling. They were unnaturally bright, like turquoise come to life. There was an inhuman sort of beauty about him, a rugged edge to perfect Calvin Klein model features that spoke of something wild and, well, fae. I let my eyes drop to my feet. It was disgusting how poetic I got whenever I laid eyes upon him.
“Seana says you have changed your mind about aiding us.”
Sweet baby Jesus, I was mortified by how deeply this man affected me. Something in his deep baritone resonated with me, setting all my nerves buzzing. No one had ever been able to send my thoughts spinning to unabashed lust with such innocuous words before. Yummy or not, there was no excuse for how flushed that single sentence made me. Resisting the urge to try and cross my traitorous legs, which would look pretty ridiculous while standing, I cleared my throat and tried to sound a lot more confident than I felt. “Perhaps. I think I understand what it is you’re asking me to do, but I have some requests of my own before I agree to anything.”
It might have been my imagination—I was busy feeling pretty proud of myself for sounding so calm despite my quivering insides—but I thought I saw the corners of his lips rise in the faintest of smirks. He swept out a hand out and gestured to the chairs set before the desk. “Of course. By all means, sit. Let us discuss the venture before us.”
Well, there was certainly nothing sexy about that statement. Good. Talk of business kept my panties from dampening any further. I took the chair to the right. Once seated, I did cross my legs. I gave my libido a stern reminder that this was a very serious enterprise we were entering in to and not the time to be fantasizing about how silky Kaine’s thick hair would likely feel running through my fingers. We compromised: I promised it free reign to muse over such things once we got home, if it left me alone while I was trying to appear composed. I threw in the extra incentive of a hot bubble bath, because I’m just generous like that.
When I was seated, he asked, “What are your terms?”
I tripped over my tongue for a moment, surprised by the lack of preamble. Watching so many documentaries on the History Channel over the years had made me expect some sort of long, drawn out pomp and circumstance before we got down to the nitty-gritty. Lack of social puffery aside, he sat there behind his grand desk and watched me with the calm, expectant gaze of a man holding court to his lessers. His face was all but unreadable—and, really, I couldn’t meet his eyes without some very unsettling tremors in my lady bits—but I could tell he already thought of me as just another vassal looking to join his merry band of minions.
Lucky for me, I had also watched a lot of Law and Order in my day. I cleared my throat again and said, “First, I would like you to explain to me just how you expect me to help you.”
“As Seana has told you, the Lynx’s glamour keeps him hidden from us. He resides here, in Riverview, and we have ears listening for any hint of where he might next turn up. We will use your immunity to that glamour to help us locate him. One of us will accompany you when searching for his whereabouts.” His stone-cold expression went grim. I thought I saw him heave a small sigh. “There will, regrettably, likely be some trial-and-error to this course of action. While we are yet unclear as to how successful it will be, it is our best—and last—hope.”
Grim indeed. High stakes rode on one in a million odds, and Kaine knew it. I said, “I hope you don’t expect me to be trolling around the city night and day, looking for the invisible man.”
He sat statue still, not even a tremor of a smile crossing his lips. Perhaps my brand of smart-assery was foreign to him. He said, “No. Most of the leg-work will be done by Mairi, Gannon or myself. You will be free to live your life as normal, until we have need of you. When we have an idea of when and where he may make an appearance, we will call you.”
Yeah; no. That was not a pit I was falling into. I sat forward in my seat, imitating his ramrod straight posture, hands crossed over one knee. “That’s one thing we need to clear up before we go any further. I do have to keep living a normal life, as you yourself just said. That means I can’t drop everything and come running every time you think you’ve got a bead on this guy, especially during my everyday 9 to 5. If I agree help you find this Lynx, I will do so to the best of my ability. But if I can’t make it, I need you to respect that.”
That did not earn me a happy face. Steel entered his voice. “This is a matter of utmost importance, Ms. Moore. We need the Lynx found as soon as possible.”
“Upending my life will not motivate me to find him any quicker. My world has been jacked upside down as is, with trolls and Shades and satyrs frolicking in and out of it. I need some assurance that my life isn’t going to become one long, fucked up fairytale.”