23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I refreshed myself in my rooms before going back down to my office because a short crying jag required a light sprinkling of makeup: nobody looked queenly with puffy eyes and a red nose. I plaited my hair to get it out of the way, then jogged down to join the others.

Greg was making small talk with Kearns, Liam and Archie were at the security desk and Tristan was pacing by the window. Bastion was sitting in my chair. ‘Cheeky bastard,' I said to him by way of greeting when I strode in. He gave me a barely-there smile in response but didn't get up.

I made my way around the table and gave him a kiss hello. ‘You've been briefed?' I asked quietly.

He gave a small nod. ‘Ready when you are.'

‘Great. Just keep him alive.'

‘The opposite of my usual assignments,' he quipped. He looked like hell and I really wanted to push him again about seeing Amber – or any witch, for that matter – but it would have to wait. Murderous bastards took priority.

I let Bastion stay in my big-boss chair and, after giving Kearns a friendly smile, took the seat next to him. ‘Have you heard the good news?' I asked.

He offered a mystified smile. ‘No?'

I grinned. ‘I asked Manners to be my mate. Happily, he agreed.'

Without hesitation, Kearns smiled broadly at us both. ‘That is great news! The werewolves' position will be strengthened further.'

‘It will indeed. So, as you are speaker of the Council, I want to talk to you about the Black Tourney. We know Larsden and Ramsay were involved. Things have gone quiet on that front – do you think that we've seen the last of them?'

He nodded decisively. ‘I think so. It is another great victory for you, my Queen.'

Ugh. Knowing what he was, his obsequious behaviour was hitting me all wrong. How had I ever thought he was on my side?

I was done pussyfooting around and so was Esme. Ask him about the Domini , she ordered impatiently.

‘Great,' I said to Kearns, as if I believed his assurances. ‘Well, that's one less thing we have to worry about. What about the Anti-Crea?'

He blinked. ‘We're on the human side so we're not in their crosshairs.'

‘So you think we should let their bigotry slide?'

He shrugged. ‘We have plenty of enemies already without picking a fight with an organisation that has nothing against us.'

‘You're right about that,' I agreed evenly. ‘I have enemies everywhere. What do you know about the Domini?'

He swallowed reflexively before making a visible effort to relax. He sat back into his chair. ‘Children's tales.' He shrugged. ‘Like the bogeyman.'

‘We both know that's not true, don't we, Andrew?'

He licked his dry lips. ‘What do you mean?'

‘I mean you were the one who killed Clark Farrier, weren't you? At the Domini's say-so? And you were the one watching for the rose – or lack of it – on my mantelpiece when I refused to join them. You arranged to have my family attacked and you're responsible for my brother now being a werewolf. You have a lot to answer for, Andy – and I'm not feeling very charitable.'

He gave a little laugh. ‘Well, it looks like you're not as incompetent as I expected. That's a shame because we were really hoping to do this the easy way. But no, you had to turn us down.' His voice held no warmth. ‘They're going to kill you, you know.'

‘They can try,' Greg snarled, ‘but they won't get past me.'

Andrew Kearns snorted. ‘You're a brawny one, that's true enough, but you of all people are going to be conflicted when the chips are down.'

‘My loyalty is to Lucy. Always. There is no conflict.'

‘We'll see,' Kearns said, then he opened his mouth. It stayed like that, frozen wide.

‘He's trying to bite down onto his back tooth,' Bastion said. ‘I'm stopping him because it turns out he really doesn't want to die.'

‘Well, we'll see about that,' Greg snarled. He pulled a pair of pliers out of his pocket.

‘Gently,' Bastion said, ‘or you'll crack the tooth as you extract it and kill him anyway.'

‘This isn't my first rodeo, Sam,' Greg grunted. ‘Hold him.'

Mouth still wide, Kearns surged to his feet. He was looking for an escape route but Tristan and Liam were on him in a blink. Tristan shoved him back into the chair whilst Archie tied him to it and Liam held his head still.

‘I can pull out the tooth if you tell me which one it is,' Greg said conversationally to Kearns. ‘Or I can pull out all your back teeth, just to be safe.'

Bastion grunted. ‘He has zero inclination to talk so I can't coax him to speak. He knows that if he blabs the Domini will kill him and his family and he's not risking that. Sorry, but we're not going to be able to coax the answers out of him.'

‘That's okay,' Greg said grimly. ‘We can do it the old-fashioned way. Hold his head still,' he ordered Liam, then leaned in to extract the poison-filled molar tooth from somewhere in the back of Kearns' mouth. He removed the same one that Ramsay had bitten down on first and then, just to be sure, he removed the other bottom back teeth while Kearns screamed.

When the bloody teeth and roots had been removed, Archie untied the ropes holding Kearns to the chair and re-tied his arms behind him. He unshackled Kearns' ankles, leaving them unencumbered so that he could walk.

Together Tristan and Liam heaved the man up. ‘Take him to the dungeons,' Greg ordered.

Wait? We had a dungeon? It was on days like these that something told me I wasn't the good guy. Not any more.