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I shook my head. "It's not you we're worried about." When he gave me a blank look, I added softly, "Think, Chase. Say one of the demons happens to capture you. Or one of the Elwing Blood Clan. Maybe somebody still kicking around after the battle with Dredge. Somebody who might be after Menolly. How long do you think you'd last under torture—"
Chase blanched, shuddering.
"Yeah, it sounds bad, but it could happen, and you know it."
"You could be more tactful—" Delilah started to say, but I cut her off.
"I'm over sugarcoating anything within our little group here. We can't afford to ignore the possibilities anymore. As I was saying, how long do you think Chase would last before he told them where the entrance to her lair is?"
I turned to him. "You may think you know it's in the kitchen, but there are the hall and the back rooms. You really don't know as much as you believe you do, and trust me, that's a good thing."
As I ran out of words, I realized everybody was staring at me. "What? We're in a fight, not only for our own lives, but for two worlds. And look at who we are! Morgaine was spot on when she told me we needed more allies. We may not be able to trust her, but at least she was honest about it. And we have to be blunt with ourselves, too. When mortals are dreaming of demons tearing apart the world, and when Raksasas are living in the open right here in the city—the problem's a whole lot bigger than we feared."
Realizing that I was on a rant, I dropped into my chair again. "Sorry, sorry…I'm just… Chase and Morio—living room, please. We'll finish dinner in a few minutes." As the two men filed out, I leaned my head against the table.
Delilah stood behind me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "I know you're worried. We all are. And you're right. We have to be honest with ourselves, or we'll make mistakes. But you're tired. You can't let this mess drain away your hope—"
"Let what drain away her hope?" Menolly pushed open the bookshelf that hid the entrance to her lair and slipped out, carefully shutting it tight again. "I thought those two oafs would never leave. I've been standing in there for five minutes."
She blew kisses to Delilah and me and paused to press light fingers on Iris's shoulders. Menolly wasn't a huggy person. Most vampires weren't very good with showing physical emotion.
While Iris summoned the men back to the table, Menolly poured herself a goblet of lamb's blood. We kept spare blood on hand for her from an organic ranch outside of Seattle. They saved it for me when they butchered their livestock, and we had a freezer full. It wasn't all that tasty, and Menolly often complained, but it worked in a pinch. Morio was working on a spell that would change the taste to some of the foods she missed from when she was alive, and so far it looked promising.
When we were all gathered around the table again, Chase said, "Can you fill Menolly in on the goblin and demon mess after I leave? I want to hear what you found out at the institution today. Then I have to get back to work. I'm probably not going to see my bed until well past two or three tomorrow morning."
"No problem," I said. "To cut to the quick, we know where to look for the third spirit seal. It's not going to be easy, though."
Morio and I filled them in on everything Benjamin had told us. After we finished, Delilah jumped up, drumstick in one hand, biscuit in the other, and started to pace.
"You think that the woman in the crystal might really be Aeval, the Unseelie Queen? What's going to happen when somebody uses that sword? Do you think she'll wake up? And was she the one who put it there in the first place?"
I shrugged, biting into another chicken thigh. Starved, I wished now that I'd bought a bigger bucket. Iris retrieved a cold ham from the refrigerator, and a fruit salad, and set them on the table. I flashed her a grateful smile.
"You read my mind," I said, slicing off a thick piece of ham. I turned back to Delilah. "As to your questions, I have no idea. We're going to find out, that I guarantee you. Because no way in hell am I allowing anybody else to get to that spirit seal first. But there's something else. Something I sensed while we were out at the retreat. I haven't even told Morio my suspicions yet, and I'll bet anything that Benjamin has no idea."
"No idea about what?" Morio dished out the fruit salad and slid a bowl across the table to me.
I gave him a grin. "I think Benjamin Welter is part Fae."
Chapter Twenty-three
Of course, that broke the conversation wide open.
"How do you figure?" Iris asked.
I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but I tell you, I was picking up on some very strange flares in his aura. His energy field was all over the place, and some of the spikes I recognized as Fae energy."
"I don't get it," Chase said. "Can you give me the twenty-cent version?"
"Hold on," I said, digging into my fruit salad. "Damn, I'm hungry. My head hurt so bad, it was about to pound me into the ground."
"Eat. I'll put on the kettle for tea and fetch dessert." Iris put the kettle to flame and broke out the chocolate pie I'd bought, dividing it into thick, creamy slices.
I patted my lips with my napkin. "Okay, maybe if you think of it this way it will help. Imagine that Benjamin is a star—like the sun. I can see the corona around him. Now, imagine there are several types of suns. Say human suns, Fae suns, demon suns, and each one has a halo that's a different pattern, depending on what race they are."
"I'm with you so far," Chase said.
"Okay, I looked at Benjamin, who should be a human sun, for example, with a plaid pattern. What I saw was an aura with a little bit of—oh, call it a polka-dot pattern—mixed into the plaid. And since polka dots belong to the Fae suns, it means that he has Fae energy in him."
