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“William Eliot is a powerful wizard from an old family. There is both human and Sidhe royalty in his bloodline. She must not wear the locket.”
“Um, what?”
“He will give her a locket. Steal it from her if you have to and empty the contents under running water. It will have no effect on you. Most of the wizard’s magics will not affect you as long as you stay away from large bodies of water.”
“You want me to take jewelry away from Zoe? What are you trying to do, get me killed?”
Liliana tilted her head to one side, confused. “That is not what I intend at all.”
Pete chuckled. “I know, Lilly. Just a joke.”
Liliana blinked. How is that funny? She gave up after a moment. “The wizard does not want Sergeant Giovanni. He desires another. But the locket is spelled to bind her to him. She will do anything he asks. When he is done using her, he will spurn her, and she will kill herself.”
The wolf-kin’s lips tightened into a thin line. “No way I’m going to let that happen.” His face turned thoughtful. “Why would he do that to Zoe? What is it he wants?”
“He wants her to steal your sword for him.”
“My sword? The one my mother gave me? It’s gone already. Someone stole it a few days ago. Do you think that’s what happened to it?”
“He did not steal it, nor did Sergeant Giovanni, but they would have if you still had it. Your sword will return to you when you need it.”
Pete chuckled. “Sounds like something a sword in a legend would do.”
Liliana blinked her human eyes at him for a few moments. “You really had no idea what you held, did you?”
“It’s nice, well-balanced, and really old, but seriously, it’s just a piece of metal. Not worth killing anyone over.”
“It is Fraegarthoch, the Retaliator, an ancient sword of Fae, from the time long before Rome when the Sidhe ruled as gods in Ireland and Iceland. If a land-bonded Sidhe Fae held that sword, every sleeping Fae in a hundred-mile radius would wake up at once. The rule of science would begin to fade from that point outward, and the rule of magic would return. The world as we know it would end.”
Pete looked at her for a long moment. “Right. That would be bad.” He ran his hand through his thick red hair. He gulped down about half the bottle of beer. “Maybe I should have destroyed it,” Pete said hesitantly. “Melted it down or shattered it?” He clearly did not wish to break the gift his long dead mother left him.
“You cannot. Fraegarthoch is virtually indestructible. It would take incredibly powerful magic to destroy it, and probably heat on the level of the heart of a volcano.”
“Wonderful.” Pete rolled his eyes and downed another big gulp of beer. “Well, at least we don’t have any Sidhe royalty on this continent. North America is probably the safest place for something like that to be.”
“There is a Sidhe prince in Fayetteville. Also, his sister, Aurore, the daughter of Titania, the unseelie Queen of Air and Darkness, knows that you have the Retaliator. She sent an assassin protected by magic to kill you and steal the sword, but the prince killed the assassin to keep you safe.”
“Wait, an unseelie Sidhe prince killed someone to protect me?”
“Yes. I don’t believe he knows yet what sword you hold, only that his sister wants your sword badly enough to kill for it.”
“Who is this guy? Why didn’t I know about this?”
“He does not want you to know who he is.”
“Why not? I mean, sounds like he saved my life?”
“He is unseelie. You are a Celtic wolf. He does not wish to be your enemy.”
Pete rolled his blue eyes. “Doc Nudd is unseelie. Some of the Others I work with at Liberty are unseelie. You know none of that matters to me.”
Liliana smiled at her hands. “I know. He does not. Although perhaps he is beginning to understand.”
“You should introduce me to this prince.”
“I think that would be a bad idea. If he holds your sword, the world order could be shattered and reality re-written.”
“Fair point. You don’t introduce Frodo to Sauron at a cocktail party and casually mention he has a cool ring.”
