Clive smiled. “He’s coming. I hear his paws thumping on the ground.”
The vampires were eyeing me warily.
“So,” Thi said, “not just a werewolf, but relative of wicches and friend of the fae?”
“That my lady and mistress talk,” Adaeze began. “Was she referring to the queen of the fae?”
I glanced at Clive and Bracken before nodding.
“The queen of the fae sent one of her warriors to protect you and hunt the pooka?” she clarified.
I nodded again.
Her eyebrows went up on a sly smile. She was standing closest to the pond, so the rest of the vamps behind her couldn’t see the smile.
That should make them stop and wonder before any of them tries to move against you. The voice in my head, though, wasn’t Clive. It was Adaeze. Interesting.
“If this is done, can we get back to Guild business now?” Pablo asked, sounding bored and annoyed.
Bracken raised his hand. “Before you begin, might I inquire if the one investigating Rafaela’s abduction has learned anything more? I’d very much like to contact her grieving family. I would, of course, tell them that as soon as the vampires knew she had been rescued, they did what they could to find and verify her family.”
The vampires were silent, no one making a move to indicate which was Joao. Cadmael himself waited, rather than covering for Joao.
Finally, Joao said, “My people haven’t finished investigating, but early indications are that it probably is her. They have found no other reports of a black jaguar—male or female—being abducted. They’re a rarity in the shifter world, so…” He trailed off, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere other than right here, having to answer this question.
“Marvelous,” Bracken said. “I’ll call Cipriano and let him know we may have located his daughter.”
Ahmed gestured around the folly. Turning to Clive, he asked, “How do you have this?”
“That’s a bit of a long story,” Clive told him. “The short version is that we helped rescue a dragon who had been abducted by Aldith Atwood. You no doubt heard about her menagerie of supernaturals that she imprisoned to feed on.”
There were multiple heads nodding. Not Pablo’s, though. That must have been something else no one had told him.
“One of her captives,” Clive continued, “was the brother of one of Sam’s good friends. We helped her friend and the matriarch of the Drake clan rescue their loved one, as well as the rest who were suffering under Aldith’s hand. The Drakes knew that Sam loved the folly we’d visited in Wales and so negotiated with the dragon builders to create one for us.”
Adaeze grinned again, while Ahmed shook his head and said, “Your wife is little sister to the dragons as well? You seem to have married up, my friend.”
“I have, indeed,” Clive said, pulling my hand to his lips.
It felt like a bit of theater with these three trying to drive home the point that I had very powerful people in my corner, and the others should think twice before starting any shit.
“Well,” Ahmed said. “I vote we conduct our Guild meetings here.” He looked up at the faux sky. “I know it isn’t real, but that doesn’t change the fact that it feels as though we’re walking in the sun for the first time in hundreds of years.”
“That’s interesting,” Clive mused. “I don’t recall offering my home.”
Ahmed waved away his response. “Nonsense. You already have two of us staying here. What’s a few more?” He looked back toward Canterbury. “I might build myself a treehouse on that island.”
“The island is mine,” Cadmael said.
“I beg to differ,” Clive interrupted.
“There’s plenty of room. I can stay on the far side of the island.” Ahmed looked quite pleased with his plan.
“Whereas I’d like to stay in this little village,” Adaeze volunteered.
At what was probably my look of panic, realizing far too many vampires wanted to move in, she said, “It would only be for perhaps one week a year. We have our own communities to look after. We usually only meet in person once a year.”
Clive glanced at me and then back at the others. “Sam and I will discuss it later. In the meantime, perhaps we should return to the nocturne.”
