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Judah couldn’t be sure, but he sensed that Sidra knew about Eve.
“The Dranir is tired after his trip,” Claude told the others. “As Sidra said, he has difficult choices to make, decisions that require time and thought.”
Within ten minutes the council members were gone and Nadine had s
lipped away to her private quarters, leaving Judah alone with Claude.
“I think you need a drink,” Claude said as he approached the bar area.
“No, nothing for me.”
Claude paused and turned around to face Judah. “Sidra could be wrong, or she could be interpreting her visions incorrectly. She’s not infallible.”
“Choosing between battling Cael or going up against the Raintree on Cael’s timetable is not the only decision I have to make.” Judah looked deep into Claude’s consciousness, needing to know if he dared share his secret with his cousin.
“Does this decision have something to do with why you were able to enter the Raintree sanctuary so easily and why you stayed there after you stopped Greynell from killing Mercy Raintree?”
“Mercy Raintree has a child, a six-year-old daughter.”
Claude stared questioningly at Judah.
“My…affair with Mercy was seven years ago.”
Realization dawned. “This child is yours!” Claude gasped. “She is a mixed-breed, half Ansara and half Raintree?”
“Yes, she is.” Judah riveted his gaze to his cousin’s. “My daughter possesses unparalleled power. She could become our secret weapon against the Raintree.”
“Or she could be our downfall,” Claude said.
Cael showed Horace into his home and poured his loyal subject a drink. Although he was eager to learn what this brilliant Ansara detective had unearthed about Mercy Raintree, he would play dutiful host in order to keep Horace allied with him and against Judah. He was counting on good news, a revelation of some sort that he could use against his brother. Up to this point, the first two days of this all-important week had been terribly disappointing. Stein had failed in the assassination attempt against Judah. And not only were Dante and Gideon Raintree still alive, but so was Echo. It turned out that Tabby had killed the wrong woman. Nothing had gone as he had planned.
“Sit, relax,” Cael said.
“Thank you, my lord.” Horace’s hand trembled as he lifted the hundred-proof to his lips. After taking a sip of whiskey and gasping as the liquor slid down his throat, Horace sat, as Cael had instructed.
Hoping to put the man at ease, Cael sat across from him, doing his best not to seem overeager. “I’m pleased that you have worked so quickly to compile a report on Mercy Raintree.”
Horace took a second sip of whiskey, then set the glass aside. “In the outside world, little is known of her. She seldom leaves the sanctuary, except in local emergencies and occasionally to visit her brothers.”
“That is what I expected. After all, she is the Keeper of the Raintree home place.”
Horace nodded. “A position she acquired when the old guardian, Gillian, died six and a half years ago. Before that time—”
“I’m really not interested in what was happening in the princess’s life before then,” Cael said, growing impatient.
“Very well. Where shall I start, my lord?”
“With the present,” Cael said. “With this year.”
Apparently perplexed, Horace stared at Cael. “As I said, little is known of her. Our psychics have tried to study her, but she has a powerful protective cloak around her, as do her brothers. We know only that she is the Keeper, the Guardian, and the greatest Raintree empath.”
“She is the greatest empath alive, Raintree or Ansara,” Cael corrected.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Has she ventured from the sanctuary this year, other than to help in local emergencies?”
“No, my lord. She has not. Dranir Dante and Prince Gideon visited her in late March, as they do every year, but she has not visited either of them since last year. Her last trip was when she and her daughter went to Wilmington to visit Prince Gideon.”
