Page 22 of Fatality on the Field

“Lady Morgana of the surface… What might this old gamekeeper do to assist you and the assembled beings in my humble abode? Tell me how to be of service, and I’ll let ye know if it’s possible.”

I look at Jasper, waiting for him to jump in. The demons wanted to bring more shifters out here to search, and I’m not one hundred percent clear on how that will help. “Arces, the caliphate believe that having more shifters and mythicals to poke about might help us locate anything unusual in such a far-out place. I’m uncertain if it would be any more useful than those who came last night, but when they requested a second look, I was game to try it.”

The shrewd old demon cuts his gaze to the prince. “And what in the fires of the Wastes do you think you’re going to find on my land, boy? I told you people that you can’t get past my magic, and you looked around anyway. Now you’re back—should I be taking the offense most of my kind would at your disbelief?”

Again, Anton saves the day as he sets his teacup down and gives the Keeper a serious expression. “One would not believe that something out of place could exist in the Magic Enclave under many layers of conflicting magic types, and yet it did.”

“Interesting, young Aldaric. Have ye figured out what this… unicorn item… might be doing in such a theoretical location?” The red-headed demon strokes his beard as he leans back in his chair. It’s obvious that revelation bothers him, but I wouldn’t know if I didn’t read it in his body language. His expression changed little as he replied.

The demons do a scary job of keeping their true feelings under wraps when they want to, and it makes them dangerous if you ask me.

“Arces, we’re not keeping things from you because we don’t trust you,” Kat rushes to add as she smiles at the big man. “We just don’t know what the fuck is going on and why put you in danger if we’re not sure?”

Liam nods as he leans his arms on his knees. “Especially when so many realms may be involved.”

My mate’s allusion to the scope of our investigation makes Arces’ eyes widen, and he huffs a bit. “Well, well. That seems like a good reason to be cagey, I suppose. And yer logic about my home being on the outskirts near the Wastes is sound. I suppose it’s worth another look around to see if Jasper’s theory about a traitor sneaking things in via those with permission to be on my land.”

“Thanks, man,” Salem says with a broad grin. “This is super weird, and we don’t even have time for it, but here we are. Anything to make sure we don’t have shitheads worse than Darkstar trailing us, right?”

Arces laughs, his eyes twinkling at the dig at the headmaster. “Fair enough, Stryker. I would prefer you lot to be able to focus on the Games so no one I like gets their head lopped off as well.”

The Keeper definitely means Kat and maybe some of the others, but his vehemence makes me smile.

“Good. I’m glad we have it settled,” I say as I look around the room. “So, what comes first? Are we looking in here or just outside? Let’s get this party started so we have enough time to be thorough.”

“Very efficient, aren’t ye, lass?” Arces sets his cup and saucer down then his hands slap his knees. “Go on, then. One of you answer her question. I’m only here for hospitality and because it’s my bloody house.”

His grumpy answer makes Kaspar laugh and the two of them share a very male head nod as they bemoan all the younger supes running shit. Rolling my eyes, I keep my mouth shut, biting my tongue to keep from reminding the dragon that he and Li aren’t the eldest beings present in this group. Kat’s not old, nor are Lucas and Archie, but the entire caliphate would be at home in pre-Christian times.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Lucas says with a smile. “I guarantee we won’t fuck anything up while we’re sniffing around. Morgana would skin us if we were that rude, and I’m sure the mini-demon would be angry, too.”

Kat frowns, shooting to her feet as she glares. “I’m not mini. This form is just smaller than all of their humanoid ones. I don’t know why… age, maybe? They’re all fucking old enough to ride dinosaurs or something.”

Her off-hand insult makes everyone but the demons laugh, and I sigh as they each pretend to be offended in their own way. If we don’t put a stop to the flirting and shot trading, we will get nothing. No wonder I have to be so damn efficient; they’re all kiddos, despite ages, compared to me.

“Ahem,” I say pointedly. “We’re off-track again. The Keeper made a good point about where we need to start. I think since the home team believes we need to do this, they should direct where we’re looking, yes?”

The look I get from the dragon prince is damn near a sneer, but at least he isn’t shooting his mouth off again—I’d hate to make him cry like a baby in front of his crush.

“I see nothing new,” Lucas calls from his corner of the huge animal pens. “And I’m definitely looking in a place I didn’t before.”

I look around at the other searchers curiously, wondering if they see anything or if they’re like me. There are things here—they brush past my legs or fly past my feet—but I don’t see a fucking thing. Perhaps only the demons can see them, and we’re wasting our time using our eyes? That might be it, and I’m surprised no one has said it yet. “Hey!”

Kat and my guys turn first, followed by the lion, and then each of the caliphate members. The other woman in the group tilts her head as she says, “Did you find something, Morgana?”

Shaking my head, I brush hair off my face. “No. But I’m not sure we’re doing this right. It’s my understanding that yesterday everyone used magic and normal search methods to see if this place had anything hidden.”

“That’s accurate,” the prince says as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Why?”

“It occurred to me that maybe we’re going about it wrong.” Taking a breath, I sigh, not wanting the reaction I’m going to get but knowing I need to say it. “I think everyone needs to shift to an animal and start sniffing around in that form. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s worth a try.”

The prince gives me a smug grin. “Some of us searched this area in animal forms. Your idea is solid, but has already been tried.”

Lucas waves his hand at the cranky royal before he says, “You didn’t. And most of the people here today were not here yesterday. Worth a try for all the folks of different species to give it another whirl. I know dragons hate shifting when they can’t go on rage-draining rampages, but she’s kinda right, dude.”

Grunting in annoyance, Kaspar weighs in, surprising me as he growls, “I agree, unfortunately. We have mythicals and various species, many of whom are dual-natured. It’s probably a very good idea to use those abilities. My prince can allow his Fae nature to come forward completely as well.”

“I am willing to do so,” Li says with a serene smile. “It is not something I share often, as the dragons likely do not fully transform often for non-mates as well. However, I would ask that you keep this within our allied group. There are rules about this pertaining to royalty in Faerie, and I must not be seen as subverting them.”