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“No, but enough must have latent powers to tempt him. We can’t be certain that’s his goal, but we better consider it.” I pulled off my boots and socks and propped my feet on the coffee table. I’d painted my toenails—they were a brilliant crimson.
“Otherworld is on the brink of open war. Over here, the war is covert. The worlds are vastly different and call for different strategizing. Shadow Wing has to understand that, and so we’re seeing the results of what was probably long-term planning.” Trillian was sitting on one end of the sofa, Smoky on the other. Camille stretched out between them, her head on Trillian’s lap and her feet on Smoky’s knees. He rubbed her toes gently while Trillian stroked her head.
Morio sat on the floor next to them. “So two different fronts, two different battle plans.”
“And my people—humans—don’t know that nuclear weapons probably won’t do a lot against demons, but you know the governments here would resort to that if they knew about this danger. Shadow Wing may be worried that they might be effective enough to make things difficult. He doesn’t care if most of the world gets offed in the attempt, but he doesn’t want his forces harmed. No, I’m guessing that he thinks it’s better to infiltrate from within,” Chase said.
I had to agree with them. “You’re probably right. As far as we know, his attempts Earthside have been limited and will probably remain on the down low. However, should he make inroads in Otherworld, the sorcerers might be able to open enough portals to let the demons in that way. And from there, they can access the portals leading over Earthside.”
“That’s a horrible thought.” Delilah shivered.
“Damned right it’s a horrible thought. The influx of demons Earthside will be far greater once they gain a stronghold in Otherworld. My guess? Most of his outright efforts are being focused on Otherworld, while here, he’s preparing the reception committee, so to speak.” My feet hit the ground as I stood. “Mind control here can pave the way for them to come over from OW without a fight.”
“Which means we need to find and destroy Gulakah and stop the war in Otherworld. Neither of which will be easy. We don’t know where Gulakah is, Carter hasn’t been able to locate him, and there’s enough psychic mayhem going on in the city that—” Camille stopped as the phone rang.
Iris answered it. After a moment, she motioned to me. “Roman on the phone. Wants to talk to you.”
I stepped into the foyer where I could hear him better while the others continued to talk. I was nervous—I hadn’t spoken to him since Nerissa and I had left his house. “Hey…what’s up?”
“Menolly, I have some information for you. I’m sorry to tell you that one of my guards stumbled over a dead body about ten minutes ago, out in Tangleroot Park. I think it may be your agent.”
Fuck. Andrees? Dead? My heart sank.
“Crap. I didn’t want to hear that. Andrees is a good man. I hope to hell it’s not him.” I paused. “You say Tangleroot Park? There’s a rogue portal there. We’ve had one hell of a night so far and it’s not even midnight.”
“Do tell?”
I was about to tell him about the will-o’-the-wisps and the bhouts when call waiting beeped. I glanced at the screen. Carter. “I have to go, Roman. I have another call that I need to take. We’ll get over there as soon as we can. Will you have your men stand guard over the body until we arrive and tell them not to touch it, please? We’ve got several situations going. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
“Talk to you in a bit, my sweet. My man’s name is Standers, by the way. He’ll keep an eye on the body.” He hung up, and I clicked over to Carter.
“Carter?”
“Menolly? I have news. I got a call from a compatriot in Portland, Oregon. Something seems to be amiss with the witches and pagans there. A lingering malaise spreading through the communities.”
“That sounds all too familiar.”
“Yes, doesn’t it? I’ve talked to the witch who casts my wards. She’s a powerful sorceress, not fully human, but I’m not going to speculate on what her other lineage might be. She said that a week or so ago, she started to notice her energy flagging. She didn’t seem all that interested in talking to me, and I know something must be wrong.”
“I know what’s going on, Carter, but I can’t talk right now. We found our agent, I think. Dead. We’ll stop by after we get done in the park.” I paused, then added, “Carter, things are starting to go down in a really bad way. Watch your back.” And with that, I hung up and headed back into the living room to give Camille and Delilah the news.
The three of us, along with Shade, Morio, and Chase, headed out for the park. For once, I longed for the pull of the sun. So much had happened the past few nights that everybody was getting worn out, and I knew that Camille and Delilah were pulling long shifts with little sleep.
Morio offered to drive, so we took his SUV. Camille sat in front. Delilah and I were in the middle seat, and Shade and Chase sat in the back.
“Do you think that it’s really Andrees?” Delilah asked after a moment, her voice cracking. “I mean…it’s been a long time, but I really liked him. I always wondered what would have happened if I’d actually been brave enough to ask him out.”
“I’m hoping it isn’t him, but considering how stupid the OIA was, well…” I leaned back against the seat. “Now that we’re on speaking terms with Father again, we really have to reorganize things over there. As soon as we have this situation in hand, we’re revamping the ES side of the organization.”
“That’s what the FH-CSI was originally supposed to be,” Chase said from the back. “But the OIA refused to talk to us. They fed us what they thought we ought to know, which wasn’t much, and let it go. I had a list of operatives—before they pulled out—but half the time, it wasn’t accurate.”
“So, as we told Father, we’re going to establish a new base of operations here. We’re working for them on our terms now.” Delilah grinned.
“We can turn the FH-CSI into what it was meant to be.” I glanced back at Chase. “You like that idea?”
“Love it,” he said. “I’ve been feeling overlooked and underappreciated since your people first came over—not by the three of you, but by your government. This would make me feel vindicated. I’ve done my best to hold things together for the visitors coming over from Otherworld, but it would be nice to have more support from your superiors.”
As we pulled into Tangleroot Park, Chase grimaced. “I don’t fancy a revisit to this area, but I’m game.”
