Chapter 17

17

T his was the kind of thing I was supposed to consult Queen Clark about. Breaking the treaty with the humans had far greater consequences than just what happened here in Edinburgh. But we didn't have time for that, or to wait while she deliberated on our next move.

It was red tape that we just needed to charge right through.

We waited until nightfall. At this time of year, it came shortly after four. We left our strongest blades at the castle, choosing far more discreet weapons, just in case we were caught. A fae sneaking into the Mayor's office after dark was one thing, but lurking around with swords and spears was quite another.

The Mayor's office was situated in Old Town, just like most of the government buildings. It was an elaborate display of old world charm. The large stone building formed a square where an metal horse statue loomed in the center. Even in winter, wooden pots held colourful flowers, neatly manicured and cheerful.

A few lights still blazed in the windows. Someone was working late. If we had more time, I'd suggest we wait until close to midnight, but we couldn't afford to let Lugh fill up on human fear in the meantime.

Instead of sneaking in through the front, we found a door on the rear side of the building, backing up to a close that was barricaded by thick metal bars. We watched as some officers strolled through the area, took a look around, and then strode back toward the front of the building.

We all lurked awkwardly in the darkness, waiting for the on-duty officers to disappear around the bend.

"Wouldn't it be great if we had Lugh's mad teleporting skill?" I asked in a low voice. "We could just pop in and out, and this would all be over with."

Uisnech nodded sagely by my side. The hobgoblin had insisted he come along, even though he stuck out like a sore thumb. A massive green thumb.

"Boudica, what are you thinking?" I turned to the warrior, who frowned at the building as if it were her lifelong nemesis.

"They're going to have CCTV," she whispered back. "But also, why would the Mayor keep the cauldron here? Wouldn't it be better off hidden in his home?"

She had a point. Forget the fact that we had no idea if any of the workers had pilfered the cauldron themselves, there was no way to know where the Mayor had decided to keep the thing if he'd been the one to find it. A few hours ago, when we'd first come up with the plan, Uisnech's excitement had propelled me forward. Now the whole thing felt like a terrible idea.

"The noble warriors must trust me." His little ears twitched. "Hobgoblins know. It is in there."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"He's right," Saoirse answered instead. "I can feel a pull from that building, and the sensation that they don't want us to find what it is. A magical object. One imbued with great power."

"There'll still be CCTV all over the place, imbued magic spidey senses or not," Boudica muttered. "I don't see how we'll get in there without being spotted."

Squaring my shoulders, I stood from where we lurked in the bushes. "Just follow me."

Instead of booking it across the courtyard to enter the back door, I rounded the corner and ducked through the elaborate archway. The crew followed close behind, fanning out in a V formation. The officers glanced our way, but they didn't stop us. As long as you acted like you knew exactly what you were doing, and like you had little to hide, no one questioned you.

When we reached the front door of the building, I pushed inside, motioning for the others to follow me. As I shut the door behind us, I flicked my gaze around, lingering on each of the cameras mounted in the corners of the ceiling. There were two in the front lobby, at least that I could see. Likely, there were more that couldn't be spotted by a cursory glance .

A pair of glass double doors separated the entrance from a reception desk inside, a tall, gleaming mahogany structure where a black monitor hunkered on top. On the other side of the desk was another pair of double doors, also glass. But what lay behind was obscured by thick, closed blinds.

The crew stayed silent as I pushed through the first set of doors and came to a stop in front of the reception desk. A man sat behind it. He was young—early twenties, as far as I could tell—but his thinning hair was already turning white, and thick spectacles perched on the long bridge of his nose. He glanced up, a flush spreading across his freckled cheeks.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a nasally voice.

"Yes, we're here to pick up some files for an investigation into the supernatural activities of the local vampire gangs." I lifted my leather jacket, showing him the hilt of my golden dagger. "We work for King Lugh."

The man paled, and his eyes darted toward the double doors, where the officers stood outside. "Weapons are not allowed on these premises."

"By civilians," I said sharply. "I am not a civilian."

He nibbled on his bottom lip, his gaze returning to the edge of my jacket. "No offence, but what the hell are you, then?"

"I'm a fae," I said, speaking in a bored tone, acting as if this entire thing was some sort of routine activity I'd encountered one too many times already. "I work for King Lugh as an investigator. We have the same rank as a detective on the human police force."

He did not look convinced, but he didn't look as if he knew for certain that I was lying. "I've never heard anything of this."

Smiling, I pressed my hands firmly on top of the desk and leaned toward him. "Fae can't lie. Didn't you know? Of course you wouldn't have heard about this. It's far above your pay grade. Hell, I probably shouldn't have even told you. Keep it a secret, will you?"

He still looked uncertain. "I'll let you in, but you have to leave your weapons here at the desk."

I tried my best to look annoyed. "That is really out of the ordinary. You sure that's necessary?"

"No weapons allowed inside." He pointed to a sign that said that very thing. "I'll buzz you into a waiting room, and then I'll have someone come down to talk to you about those files. But I can't let you go in with your weapons."

Frowning, I glanced toward Boudica, who lifted her shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. "Bit annoying, but can't say I'm surprised. Last time I swung by, the other girl said the same thing. Forget her name. I think it was something pretty, something like…"

"Alyssa?"

"Yes, Alyssa!" Boudica nodded. "She wouldn't let me take in my weapon, either. Guess the policies are getter stricter. Not that I can blame you. It's tough out there right now. City's getting more dangerous every day. Which is why we want to help you lot stop these vampires."

I could have hugged her right then and there. Her words had softened the uncertainty on the man's face. Slowly, he stood and motioned for us to deposit our knives behind the desk. Once we'd dropped them off, he opened the next set of double doors.

"Just wait in here," he said. "The Mayor isn't here right now, but I can get someone else to come speak with you, who will be able to get you those files."

He shut the door, leaving us inside of a small waiting area with plush chairs, a television, and some generic magazines on tiny oak tables. As soon as the door had fully shut, I whirled toward Boudica.

"That was a very inspired speech you gave back there," I said with a grin.

She shrugged. "I took a page out of your book. Take a chance with your story. Sometimes, it'll pay off."

"And now we're inside," I said, rubbing my hands and glancing around. "Where's Uisnech?"

Boudica's frown matched my own. Warin and Saoirse had followed us into the waiting area, but the hobgoblin had vanished. I tried to think of the last time I was certain he was with us—about the time when we'd been hiding in some bushes. I'd been so focused on convincing the receptionist to let us inside the building that I hadn't noted if he'd followed us.

Closing my eyes, I sighed. "Please don't tell me he's running around causing chaos. "

"He couldn't come inside," Saoirse said softly. "He's a hobgoblin. Most humans don't even know they exist. We never would have gotten inside if he'd shown his face."

"Well, then where did he go?"

She shrugged. "I think he might be scaling the walls."

Tension rippled through my body. If Uisnech got caught climbing into a window, the whole building would go on high alert. Any chance we had at getting inside the Mayor's office would go flying right out of the window from whence he'd come. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to tamp down my frustration. I loved the little guy, but I swore to the Morrigan, if he got us caught…

From the opposite side of the room, a door cracked open. Two large ears poked through, and then a set of yellow eyes followed. Uisnech grinned and waved. My stomach dropped into my boots. I glanced around, spying three more security cameras. We were probably being watched now, and the humans would have spotted a strange little creature scurrying around.

"Noble warriors," he hissed, motioning us toward him. "Come!"

Well, that was it, then. The jig was officially up. In a matter of moments, guards would stream into the room and haul us away. Whatever truce we had with the humans would vanish within an instant, all before we managed to get our hands on that cauldron.

So much for doing this the easy way .

"Come on," I said to the crew. "Might as well go with him and see what we can find before we get kicked out. The guards will barge in here at any minute."

Sprinting away from the doors, we joined Uisnech in the opposite hallway. He'd found a dimly lit corridor lined with closed office doors. Whoever worked in this section of the building had gone home for the night. That was just as well. Otherwise, they might get the fright of their lives.

"This way," Uisnech whispered. He half-jumped along the hallway, his floppy ears wagging with every step. The four of us rushed after him, stopping only long enough to swerve left into a second hallway. The lights in this section of the building were just as dim, but a glow emanated through the cracks of the door at the very end.

He pointed. "That is the Mayor's office."

I frowned. "Looks like someone is inside."

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, the great man is in there now."

"I'm not sure I'd call him a great man," Boudica muttered beneath her breath. "He stole the cauldron."

"The receptionist said he wasn't here," I pointed out. "Was he lying?"

The door cracked open at the end of the hall, and the Mayor's bulky frame filled the space. He had thinning hair on top and thick spectacles on his nose. "You mean my son, don't you? He is smarter than he appears. "

I pursed my lips. Shit. No, double shit. We thought we'd conned the receptionist, when really, he'd conned us. "Mayor Richardson? I'm Moira Talmhach, and I work for Queen Clark Cavanaugh, of the fae. I've also been working with King Lugh, the fae who holds court in the castle on the hill. We're here to speak with you about a very important matter."

He arched a bushy brow. "Yes. Some nonsense about vampire files. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Ah. So, he'd bought that part, at least.

"That's not really why we're here," I admitted, glancing around. "Could we come inside your office?"

"I'm supposed to trust a bunch of fae who sneaked inside with a fake story?" He laughed. "I didn't get to be Mayor by being gullible."

"It's important." I spread my arms wide. "And we're unarmed. Your son saw to that."

"I know the fae," he said, wagging his finger in the air. "You don't need weapons. You have powers of your own. We can speak out here in the hallway just fine, where my men have their eyes on you."

Frowning, I cocked my head and flicked on my enhanced hearing. Not far behind us, around the bend in the corridor, I could hear the unmistakable sound of hurried breathing. The guards had come already, and they were waiting to pounce if we made even the slightest wrong move.

"Fair enough," I said. "We're here to ask you about an important fae object that was lost in the collapse of Mary King's Close. I believe King Lugh himself has spoken to you about it, asked your workers to keep an eye out."

He pursed his lips, his spine stiffening. "Yes, he did ask me about it, and we've told him all we know. The cauldron was never found when we cleared out the rubble. Wherever it was, it's gone now. If we happen to find anything during the rebuilding process, we'll send word."

I levelled my gaze at him. He seemed sincere enough, but there was a slight warble to his voice that I might not have heard if I didn't have my hearing up on max. "There's something you're not telling us."

He blinked. "You have no reason to doubt me."

"Except we have every reason to doubt." With a deep breath, I strode down the hallway toward the Mayor. Shuffling sounded behind me as his guards rounded the corner. "You see, the object we're looking for—the cauldron—has certain magical traits. Ones that make you desire to own it. If you found it, you wouldn't want to let it go. You wouldn't want to tell us it was in your possession because then that would mean it would leave your side. The cauldron was in that close, Mayor. It didn't just vanish. Either you have it or one of your workers does. Either way, you know exactly where it is."

Bubbles of sweat broke out on his brow as he shifted in his shiny shoes. "Well, that's where you're wrong."

I narrowed my eyes. "Look, we don't want trouble. Just tell us where the damn cauldron is, and we'll be on our way."

"You're right. I did have it." He shook his head and laughed nervously. "I would have kept it away from you forever if I could have…that thing was…well, I don't know what, but it melted my mind. And…it didn't melt only mine." He glanced up, and his eyes went sharp. "Someone else has already been here for the cauldron. Some thing actually. Not a fae, nor a vampire, nor anything of the sort. Something full of shadows. It took the cauldron, and it vanished into the darkness."