Maybe I needed to get dosed on the coffee myself because my brain wasn’t keeping up with the conversation. “Explain,please.”
“The cauldron vanished from Mary King’s Close, yes? When the city began to rebuild it? Who was involved inthat?”
I frowned. “Humans. The Mayor. Some workers for the localcouncil.”
“As soon as the humans found it, they would not have returned it to Lugh. They would have kept it for themselves.” He shrugged. “I do not blame them for it. The magic of the cauldron is far too strong for a human to resist. It is also too strong for a nightmare wraith toresist.”
My heart thumped. “Wait a minute. You’re suggesting that a human got his hands on the cauldron, and that we could take it back and then dangle it in front of Lugh? Draw him away fromFaerie?”
Uisnech grinned broadly. “Exactly, my noble friend. He will not be able to resist the call of it. We can draw him to us, and traphim.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “But that still won’t work. He can just shadow shiftaway.”
“Not if we do it during the daytime when he will have no shadows he can use.” Uisnech’s smile stretched wide. “And then we can use the cauldron to bring back his soul, before the shadows come again atnight.”
I jumped to my feet, pacing back and forth on the hardwood. Hope was a strange emotion. At times, it was as elusive as the wind. But now, so much charged through me that I could scarcely draw the air into mylungs.
“Uisnech.” I stopped suddenly in front of the hobgoblin, grabbing his head and dropping a kiss on his forehead. “You’re a genius. You’ve found a way to win itall.”
“Brilliant!” Uisnech clapped with glee and then jumped off the bed. “We must start on our plan immediately! Boudica! Warin! We must gather the noble warriors atonce!”
I nodded, getting caught up in his enthusiasm. “Where do westart?”
“Why, we must break into the Mayor’s office, ofcourse.”
My smile died. Breaking into the Mayor’s office was against every treaty we’d ever made with the humans. But we didn’t have much of a choice. If Uisnech was right, the humans had the cauldron. This just might be the only way to save Lugh’s life—and prevent the nightmare wraith apocalypse from destroying the entireworld.
17
This wasthe kind of thing I was supposed to consult the Queen about. Breaking the treaty with the humans had far greater consequences than just what happened here in Edinburgh. But we didn’t have time for that, or to wait while she deliberated on our nextmove.
It was red tape that we just needed to charge rightthrough.
We waited until nightfall. At this time of year, it came shortly after four. We left our strongest blades at the castle, choosing far more discreet weapons, just in case we were caught. A fae sneaking into the Mayor’s office after dark was one thing, but lurking around with swords and spears was quiteanother.
The Mayor’s office was situated in Old Town, just like most of the government buildings. It was an elaborate display of old world charm. The large stone building formed a square where an metal horse statue loomed in the center. Even in winter, wooden pots held colourful flowers, neatly manicured andcheerful.
A few lights still blazed in the windows. Someone was working late. If we had more time, I’d suggest we wait until close to midnight, but we couldn’t afford to let Lugh fill up on human fear in themeantime.
Instead of sneaking inside the front, we found a door in the rear side of the building, backing up to a close that was barricaded by thick metal bars. We watched as some officers strolled through the area, took a look around, and then strode back toward the front of thebuilding.
We all lurked awkwardly in the darkness, waiting for the on-duty officers to disappear around thebend.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had Lugh’s mad teleporting skill?” I asked in a low voice. “We could just pop in and out, and this would all be overwith.”
Uisnech nodded sagely by my side. The hobgoblin had insisted he come along, even though he stuck out like a sore thumb. A massive greenthumb.
“Boudica, what are you thinking?” I turned to the warrior, who frowned at the building as if it were her lifelongnemesis.
“They’re going to have CCTV,” she whispered back. “And why would he keep the cauldron here? Wouldn’t it be better off hidden in hishome?”
She had a point. Forget the fact that we had no idea if any of the workers had pilfered the cauldron themselves, there was no way to know where the Mayor had decided to keep the thing—if he even had it himself. A few hours ago, when we’d first come up with the plan, Uisnech’s excitement had propelled me forward. Now, the whole thing felt like a terribleidea.
“The noble warriors must trust me.” His little ears twitched. “Hobgoblins know. It is inthere.”
“How do you know?” Iasked.
“He’s right,” Saoirse answered instead. “I can feel a pull from that building, and the sensation that they don’t want us to find what it is. A magical object. One imbued with greatpower.”
