She shrugged. “I think he might be scaling thewalls.”
Tension rippled through my body. If Uisnech got caught climbing into a window, the whole building would go on high alert. Any chance we had at getting inside the Mayor’s office would go flying right out of the window from whence he’d come. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to tamp down my frustration. I loved the little guy, but I swore to the Morrigan, if he got uscaught…
From the opposite side of the room, a door cracked open. Two large ears poked through, and then a set of yellow eyes. Uisnech grinned and waved. My stomach dropped into my boots. I glanced around, spying three more security cameras. We were probably being watched now, and the humans would have spotted a strange little creature scurryingaround.
“Noble warriors,” he hissed, motioning us toward him. “Come!”
Well, that was it then. The jig was officially up. In a matter of moments, guards would stream into the room and haul us away. Whatever truce we had with the humans would vanish within an instant, all before we managed to get our hands on thatcauldron.
So much for doing this the easyway.
“Come on,” I said to the crew. “Might as well go with him and see what we can find before we get kicked out. The guards will rush through that door at anyminute.”
Sprinting away from the doors, we joined Uisnech in the opposite hallway. He’d found a dimly-lit corridor lined with closed office doors. Whoever worked in this section of the building had gone home for the night. That was just as well. Otherwise, they might get the fright of theirlife.
“This way,” Uisnech whispered. He half-jumped along the hallway, his floppy ears wagging with every step. The four of us rushed after him, stopping only long enough to swerve left into a second hallway. The lights in this section of the building were just as dim, but a glow emanated through the cracks of the door at the veryend.
He pointed. “That is the Mayor’soffice.”
I frowned. “Looks like someone isinside.”
He nodded vigorously. “Yes, the great man is in therenow.”
“I’m not sure I’d call him a great man,” Boudica muttered beneath her breath. “He stole thecauldron.”
“The receptionist said he wasn’t here,” I pointed out. “Was helying?”
The door cracked open at the end of the hall, and the Mayor’s bulky frame filled the space. He had thinning hair on top and thick spectacles on his nose. “You mean my son, don’t you? He is smarter than heappears.”
I pursed my lips. Shit. No,doubleshit. We thought we’d conned the receptionist, when really, he’d conned us. “Mayor Richardson? I’m Moira Talmhach, and I work for Queen Clark Cavanaugh, of the fae. I’ve also been working with King Lugh, the fae who holds court in the castle on the hill. We’re here to speak with you about a very importantmatter.”
He arched a bushy brow. “Yes. Some nonsense about vampire files. I’m afraid I can’t helpyou.”
Ah. So, he’d bought that part atleast.
“That’s not really why we’re here,” I admitted, glancing around. “Could we come inside youroffice?”
“I’m supposed to trust some fae who sneaked inside with a cover story?” He laughed. “I didn’t get to be Mayor by beinggullible.”
“It’s important.” I spread my arms wide. “And we’re unarmed. Your son saw tothat.”
“I know the fae,” he said, wagging his finger in the air. “You don’t need weapons. You have powers of your own. We can speak out here in the hallway just fine, where my men have their eyes onyou.”
Frowning, I cocked my head and flicked on my enhanced hearing. Not far behind us, around the bend in the corridor, I could hear the unmistakable sound of hurried breathing. The guards had come already, and they were waiting to pounce if we made even the slightest wrongmove.
“Fair enough,” I said. “We’re here to ask you about an important fae object that was lost in the collapse of Mary King’s Close. I believe King Lugh himself has spoken to you about it, asked your workers to keep an eyeout.”
He pursed his lips, spine stiffening. “Yes, he did ask me about it, and we’ve given an update recently about its status. The cauldron was never found when we cleared out the rubble. Wherever it was, it’s gone now. If we happen to find anything during the rebuilding process, we’ll sendword.”
I levelled my gaze at him. He seemed sincere enough, but there was a slight warble to his voice that I might not have heard if I didn’t have my hearing up on max. “There’s something that you’re not tellingus.”
He blinked. “You have no reason to doubtme.”
“Except we have every reason to doubt.” With a deep breath, I strode down the hallway toward the Mayor. Shuffling sounded behind me as his guards rounded the corner. “You see, the object we’re looking for—the cauldron—has certain magical traits. If you found it, you wouldn’t want to let it go. You wouldn’t want to tell us it was in your possession because then that would mean it would leave your side. The cauldron was in that close, Mayor. It didn’t just vanish. Now, either you have it or one of your workers does. Either way, you know exactly where itis.”
Bubbles of sweat broke out on his brow as he shifted in his shiny shoes. “Well, there’s where you’rewrong.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Look, we don’t want trouble. Just tell us where the damn cauldron is, and we’ll be on ourway.”
