Page 78 of What Fools These Immortals Be
I focus on Kieran and Sam instead. Kieran stops just before the wards, and I remember what I heard—he can sense magic, too.
“Sam says you need some help,” Kieran says. Unlike his second, his expression is open, and though not friendly, it’s not off-putting.
“The same high fae who attacked you attacked Spectra’s bar last night,” I say, and Kieran looks at her but says nothing. “She and Sparrow need sanctuary until the Hunt have dealt with him.”
“Him?” Kieran says. He looks at Spectra. “You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“You know him?”
She shakes her head. I already asked her earlier, of course; knowing the identity of this fae would solve a lot of problems for me because the Huntsman knows just about all the high fae and would be in a much better position to track him down.
Hell, knowing his identity might even give us the chance to find his true name. That’s always more difficult, with the way the fae guard them, but there’s always the off-chance…
Not this time, though. Kieran’s gaze snaps back to me.
“You’re not with Njáll anymore?”
“The Hunt has other matters to deal with.”
“Like a vampire being assisted by one of the fae?”
“Yes, like that,” I say through gritted teeth.
Kieran looks over his shoulder at Sam. They have what looks to be a very complex conversation, all of it silent, and Sam throws his arms up and stalks a few feet away when they’re done. Kieran’s smirking, just a little.
He ignores me, now, all his attention on Spectra and Sparrow. “I heard the fae can’t lie.”
Spectra grimaces. It’s common knowledge in the way that fairy tales are; we all know that garlic and crosses don’t kill vampires, so it’s easy to dismiss this as another myth, too. “We can’t,” she admits warily.
“Good. If I let you in, will you cause harm to myself, any member of my pack, or anyone else who is—at any point—present in this building?”
“No,” Spectra says. She nudges Sparrow when they don’t speak.
“No.”
“Okay. Will you invite any other fae or creatures who would cause us harm?”
“No,” they say in unison, this time, and I watch on silently.
He’s clever, though he can’t account for every eventuality. Still, it’s a good start and I’m not too worried—if Vlad trusts Spectra enough to have sent me to a place she owns, then I can trust she really doesn’t intend any harm.
“You can keep in touch with us, if you’re worried,” I say, and Kieran frowns at that while Sparrow rolls their eyes. “I mean… It’ll be fine. I would not have brought them here if I thought otherwise.”
“I can help strengthen the wards,” Spectra adds, and Sam surveys her from his position further up the path.
“What about when you leave?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “I could come back and help if you wanted that. I won’t entirely be able to stop the high fae gettingthrough them; he got through mine. But it’ll put off any other fae.”
“Any other…” Kieran glares at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “How many are we dealing with, here?”
Keeping the truth to ourselves—the majority of it, at least—is one of the tenets of the Hunt. We work best in the shadows, the Huntsman often says, and I’m not fool enough to think I’ve never known why. The world might have changed, but shadows have always been places to hide.
“A lot,” I finally admit, “though I should think they would not be interested in you. Spectra’s wards should suffice.”
“They already were interested in us,” Kieran protests. “They already attacked Quinn.”
