A sly look came over Eagan’s face. “You see, Nigel. That’s why I wanted Grey. He has a unique ability to think outside the box.”
Nigel stood. “If something happens to you and there is no successor, you will throw the Guild board into chaos.”
Eagan smiled sweetly. “Then the High Queen’s Herbalist has an enormous responsibility in not letting something happen to me, don’t you think?”
“I have done my best to advise you, Manus. I have business elsewhere,” Nigel said. He nodded, a bare courtesy, and walked stiffly out the door.
Eagan waited until the door closed before laughing. “I do love throwing wrenches in his plans.”
“What are his plans?”
Eagan shrugged. “Nigel has plans within plans within plans. He’s off to Ukraine or Russia or some such. That’s why Maeve sent her spy to replace him.”
That was interesting. “Nigel spies on you for Maeve?”
“To a point. He tells both of us enough to keep him close but not enough to trust him fully.”
“Then why did you have him as your alternate at the Guildhouse?” I asked.
Eagan showed his trademark self-satisfied grin. “Because I knew the last thing Nigel Martin wanted was to be Guildmaster. Why do you think he lets macGoren run the day-to-day operations? Nigel, at least, is one knife that I knew wasn’t pointed at my back.”
Eagan struggled into a seated position and waved his hand toward a large vase on a nearby dresser. “I have a flask in that vase.”
I reached into empty space. “Empty.”
He pointed at the bookcase next to the dresser. “Try behind the Bible. Tibbet won’t touch it.”
I slid the large volume out and found an antique silver flask behind it. Danann fairies had a weakness for alcohol to the point of addiction. I didn’t know if Eagan was an alcoholic, but he liked his whiskey. I handed him the flask. He took a deep draft and handed it back. “I’d offer you a glass, but the house staff will tell Tibbet if they find it.”
I took a swig. “Sounds like you have spies all around you.”
Eagan chuckled. “Indeed, I do. It’s the nature of my life. Which brings me to why I asked to see you.”
I held the flask out, but he waved his hand back toward the bookcase. I hid it again. “I had a feeling you didn’t need my advice on a political decision.”
Eagan smiled. “Don’t underestimate yourself, boy. I actually do like the idea of doing nothing. Right now, though, I need information. The human civil authorities are closing ranks against the fey. I need to know what their thoughts are, what they fear, and what they’re planning to do about it.”
“Why ask me? I’m not privy to that stuff.”
“Leonard Murdock is the son of the police commissioner,” said Eagan.
The statement didn’t exactly rock me back on my heels. Eagan lived in a world of intrigue. For all his comments about Nigel’s plans, he had more than a few of his own, and exploiting resources was second nature to him. “Murdock’s a friend.”
Eagan nodded. “I’m not asking you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, Grey. I’m saying if an opportunity arises that might allow you to pursue a line of inquiry, that you take it. If you learn something in a way that doesn’t violate any of your moral qualms about loyalty and friendship, then you might feel the need to share with me what you hear.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “And why might I do that?”
A languid ripple flowed through Eagan’s wings, a sluggish movement that revealed how weak he was. “Because I see beneath your attitude, Grey. You don’t like the Guild. You don’t like Maeve, but you still care what happens to the fey. You even care what happens to the humans. You could have walked away from the recent catastrophes, but you stayed. Because you care. Nigel’s a fool for thinking that’s worthless.”
I pursed my lips. “I’ll think about it.”
Eagan closed his eyes and nodded. “Of course, you will. That’s exactly what I want. You may not do what I want, but you will do what you think needs doing. So far, that’s worked in my favor.”
“Really? How?”
He laughed, low and raspy. “Because we’re not all dead, are we?”
I chuckled. “I guess that’s as good an answer as any.”
“Damn right. Tibbet will give you a way to reach me.”
“What if I decide not to do it?” I asked.
Eagan shrugged. “Then you don’t. Part of what I’m relying on is your judgment, Grey. It’s an issue of trust for both of us.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Eagan’s smile broadened. “It was a pleasure to see you.”
I bowed cordially. “And you, sir.”
I walked the wide expanse of carpet to the door. Eagan called my name, and I paused at the door. He fussed with the covers on the bed, not looking at me. “When you see your friend Murdock, you should ask him with whom he’s been sleeping,” he said.
3
House staff threw me curious looks as I paused outside the Guildmaster’s door. Whatever his intention, Eagan’s comment amused more than angered me. Implying anything about Murdock didn’t cut much ice with me. I knew where I stood with him. He told me what he wanted to tell me, and we were comfortable with that. Occasionally, my curiosity got the better of me, and I pried. Murdock was a big boy. He ignored it.
I descended the stairs into the shadowed grand hall. Maeve glared from her portrait, influencing events from across the ocean. She was like one of those giant planets that smaller satellites scurried around. Most large planets were big balls of gas if I remembered rightly.
On the bottom step, movement near the fireplace caught my eye. Moira Cashel strolled across the hall, the provocative smile she’d worn in Eagan’s bedroom still on her face. “Will you be coming to the Solstice party?”
The major highlight of the fey social calendar was Eagan’s Winter Solstice celebration. When I was a top agent for the Guild, my attendance was a given. The last couple of years, my invitation seemed to have been lost in the mail. “The hall doesn’t look like a party’s going to happen.”
She stopped a few feet away, her hands clasped behind her back. “Oh, I heard the staff talking. It’s planned. Will you be coming?”
I smiled politely. “I’ll have to see.”
She moved closer and ran her hand along the lapel of my coat. “I seem to remember a young man who liked parties.”
I glanced down at the hand on my coat. “Excuse me?”
Her eyes shone with amusement. “Oh, come now, Connor. Don’t tell me you don’t sense me in your memory.”
With closed eyes, she rose on her toes and kissed me. Surprised, I stumbled back against the elephant. “What the hell, lady?” I said.
She threw her head back and laughed. A chill went up my spine as the sound stirred an old memory. Her face blurred and shifted, her dark hair lightening to a pale brunette, and her face narrowed. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember Amy, Connor.”
She held her hands on her hips, an old familiar smile twisted into a smirk.
I wasn’t buying it. “What kind of game is this? Who the hell are you?”
She released the glamour and resumed her real face and former dark hair color. Cashel chuckled. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d get a kick out of the surprise. It really is me, Connor, Amy Sullivan. Actually, Amy Sullivan was really me. I couldn’t believe it when you walked into that room.”
I frowned. “Forgive me, but you don’t think I believe for a minute that Amy Sullivan was the Queen’s Herbalist.”
She giggled. “I wouldn’t believe that either, now that you mention it. I wasn’t the Queen’s Herbalist back then, silly. What can I do to prove it to you?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. This is some game Maeve is playing.”
A crease formed on her forehead. “What interest would Maeve have in you?”
I moved toward the door. “Now I’m really not believing you. When you report back to Maeve, tell her I said nice try. Insulting, but nice try.”