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Rogan snorted. “The government erased the whole situation from practical memory. This place doesn’t exist. For all intents and purposes, neither do Alan nor I.”
I glanced around at the man behind me. “Does that mean you’re the teenager they found unconscious?”
“Yes. And my parents were never found and didn’t even get the benefit of a tombstone. Many here didn’t.”
The anger absent from Rogan’s voice vibrated through Alan’s. And again, I couldn’t help feel a sliver of sympathy.
“Why bring me here, Rogan? If you just wanted me for insurance against anything Lugh might do, you could have tied me up and left me in the car.”
“Given your propensity to escape, that would have been unwise.” He cast a glance over his shoulder, and there was something in his eyes—a disconnect or dispassion that I’d never seen before—that chilled me to the bone. “And who said your presence had anything to do with Lugh?”
That chill got stronger. I swallowed heavily and somehow said, “I don’t understand.”
“Now that,” he said, almost jovially, “is a lie.”
And it was. I fought back the rising tide of fear and said, “You don’t need me as bait, Rogan. Seryn can open the door for you.”
“I don’t need her to open the door. It’s already open—has been since that fuckwit tried to use his so-called auditory prowess to permanently lock the thing.”
“Then what the fuck do you want with me?”
“Perhaps Lugh got both the brainsandthe brawn in the family.” He shook his head. “As you have already noted, the Annwfyn will attack the minute I step through that gateway. So, a distraction will be needed, and you will provide that very nicely indeed.”
“If you think I’m going anywhere near that gateway—”
“You won’t have any choice. The drug we gave you has not only severed your connection to the wind but will also make you compliant to our will.”
So, I’d been right—the wall between me and the stormwasa drug. Question was, would it leave my system in time, or would I be forced to fight this battle without my biggest weapon?
“Did you kill Vincentia?”
He sighed. “Regrettably, yes. It is never wise to threaten someone when you don’t hold the appropriate cards and prove incapable of even retrieving them.”
Meaning the Codex, no doubt.
“And the singing bowl? Why frame Lugh like that when you needed us to keep researching the Claws?”
“That was not my doing, Bethany. As you said, it was not in my best interest, and I was as annoyed as you when the council called a halt to the Claws search. Luckily, your brother has a pleasing tendency to disobey such rulings.”
Overhead, thunder rumbled again, a deeper, angrier sound. I filled my lungs with the storm’s sharpness, and her energy, her power, rolled through me, making my skin and muscles tingle, and my heartbeat abnormally loud. Then it went deeper, blazing through my veins, chasing fire, easing pain. I hoped it would be enough. Hoped it would allow me to use my broken arm and grip my knife...
Then the wind snapped around me and brought with it a familiar voice.The storm’s force will burn the drug from your system, but it will take a little time.You must stop him regardless. He cannot be allowed to take the Claws into Annwfyn.
I cautiously wrapped my fingers around the Eye.If you and your fellow gods didn’t want the fucking Claws in the hands of the Annwfyn—or anyone else, for that matter—you should have destroyed the damn things long ago.
Some of us triedcame her response.But there are two sides to every game, and our opposition currently has the upper hand. It falls to you to stop it.
And if I don’t?
There is no don’t. There is only do.
I was tempted to point out it was unfair to expect me to succeed where a bevy of gods had failed, but I suspected she’d simply ignore that.
The wind fell away again. I had no doubt she was keeping an eye on the situation and couldn’t help but wonder if she’d provide any assistance if the situation went ass up.
We reached the mine’s entrance. It was in reasonably good condition considering just how much of the countryside around these mountains had actually slipped.
Rogan stopped, held up a warning finger, and then began to spell. Or at least, that’s what I presumed he was doing with all the finger movements and whisper-soft murmurings.
