Jericho jumped, startled by the sound of my voice, then turned and looked at me. To my surprise, I saw the glimmer of red in his eyes.
“Clemeny. You startled me.”
“Sorry about that. How’s the book?”
Jericho snorted.
I chuckled. “I was never the scholarly type either. But The Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights sounds like a good one.”
“I liked the story about the sword.”
“Excalibur?”
Jericho nodded. “King Arthur was just an orphan. Everyone was always mean to him. And then one day, the Lady of the Lake gave Excalibur to Arthur, and he used it to protect the whole country.”
I looked down at the tattered text, a swell of mixed emotions rising up in me. “It’s a nice fairy tale.”
“Fairy tale? Sir Richard told me it was a history lesson.”
“I suppose that depends on whether or not you believe King Arthur was a real king, or if he’s just a fable.”
“Of course he was a real king,” Jericho told me, his voice filled with exasperation. “What is it that you’re wearing?”
“Speaking of fairy tales.” I lay the pendant in my hand. “Listen. Can you hear it?”
“What is that?”
“It’s a faerie gem.”
“Something about that stone isn’t right.”
I nodded. “You’re correct. I need to take the stone out of the city, get it away from everyone.”
“So…so, you’re leaving the city?”
“Just for a little while.”
“Is Sir Richard going with you?”
“No. He’s going to go with me to the airship towers, but he’ll be back.”
“I want to come.”
I shook my head. “Not this time, my dear.”
“But Clemeny...”
“I promised Afwyn I would keep you safe. Keeping you safe means leaving you here under the care of the Templars. When I get back, when all of this is done, then maybe things will be different.”
“You’ll come here and stay with us?”
That was never going to happen.
“I don’t know, but I do know I want to be closer to you and Sir Richard. I miss you when we’re not together.”
“I miss you too,” he said then wrapped his arms around my waist. “Wherever you’re going, please be careful.”
“I will.”
“Clemeny…please come back,” he whispered, his voice cracking a little.
A knot rose in my throat, and I swallowed hard. “Of course,” I said then kissed him on the top of his head.
A moment later, we heard footsteps approach. I kissed the boy once more then let him go. Lionheart entered the garden.
“Jericho, Sir Blackwood would like you to join the other Templars at Middle Hall. They’re holding a meeting.”
“About what?” Jericho asked.
“Some wolves in the city are misbehaving. He is assigning tasks to the pack. Sir Blackwood needs all the Templars here.”
“Including me?” Jericho asked, his eyes wide.
“Yes, including you.”
The boy moved as if he wanted to bolt to the meeting hall, but then he paused and looked at Lionheart. “You’ll be back, right?”
Lionheart nodded. “I’ll return very soon. You’ll be safe with the brotherhood.”
Jericho rushed to Lionheart, giving him a quick hug. “Please be careful,” he said then raced toward the hall.
“Is Briarwood really going to put him to work?” I asked, feeling concerned.
Lionheart nodded. “Yes, as a lookout, safely inside Temple Square.”
“Ahh,” I said then nodded.
“You were followed here,” Lionheart said as we headed back to the gate. “A boggart is lingering just outside. I told the others to leave him be.”
“Did he really think that a pack of werewolves wouldn’t notice him?”
“Apparently. Shapeshifters are good at what they do—shifting form—but aren’t very bright. They forget what good noses we have.”
We headed back to the steamcycle.
“After you,” Lionheart said, motioning for me to drive.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
I mounted the cycle then adjusted the mirrors. The pack was right. There was a gentleman at a shoeshine stand down the street who was not getting his shoes polished. He was just sitting. Watching.
Lionheart wrapped his arms around me then sighed happily.
“Now I know why you let me drive,” he said, firmly holding my waist.
“Oh, Sir Richard, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Chapter 26: All Aboard
Lionheart and I arrived at the central London airship towers just before six o’clock. Overhead, airships of all sizes, from single-person crafts to massive international ships, floated in and out of the port. The scarlet balloon of the agency airship was clearly noticeable on the platform reserved for official government or emergency business. I parked the steamcycle then grabbed my gear.
As Lionheart and I headed toward the lift, I scanned the crowd.
“We’re not alone,” Lionheart said.
He was right. I felt it too. The airship towers were a hotbed for preternatural miscreants, many of whom likely had nothing to do with Melwas and his plans to swarm the known world with all sorts of maleficent creatures.
I eyed the crowd as we made our way toward the lift. A moment later, Agent Rose fell into step with us.
“Louvel,” she said then eyed Lionheart. “And Alpha,” she added, inclining her head to Lionheart who returned the gesture.
“Any guesses on what’s creeping around?” I asked her.
“Besides the three of us?” she replied with a light laugh. “Well, the Pellinores have some interesting guests. At least three boggarts are watching them. I spotted a banshee, but I think she’s hovering about some airship pirates pretending to be traders. There are two goblin pickpockets working the crowd. The American trading vessel seems to have brought along some sort of shapeshifter I’ve never seen the likes of before, but he’s pretending to be a human and definitely didn’t want me to notice him. And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Lionheart chuckled lightly.
Given my history with the Twelve Days of Christmas, I was less amused.
“Oh, and the boggart who arrived just behind you,” Agent Rose added.
“And Melwas?”
Agent Rose shook her head. “Not here. He was spotted in the Dark District after the attack on the agency but not since.”
I frowned. “Let’s go up,” I said, pointing to the lift.
The lift operator, spying my and Agent Rose’s red capes, opened the lift gate but said nothing. Not making eye contact with any of us, he took us up to the platform where our colleagues waited.
On the platform just outside the agency airship, I spotted Agent Keung.
And Harper.
They walked down the platform toward us.
“Harper, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Once I heard the plan, I asked Her Majesty’s permission to come join you. I can’t have my partner out risking her neck while I’m sitting around drinking tea.”
“And keeping our colleagues safe,” I said.
“I agreed to take over Harper’s duties,” Agent Keung told me.
“And agents from Shadow Watch have arrived,” Harper added. “Shadow Watch is cleaning up the tunnels and securing headquarters. Except Agent Walsh’s unit. I sent him to the sewers.”