Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (23 page)

“Sensor,” Ireth said, not looking up from what she was doing, “ask your questions. I’ve found the place of his secrets, but he’s shrouded them with lies. It is difficult to discern the truth from what is not.”

Well, that explained it. I stepped up closer to the table and met Yarrow’s eyes.

“Who is behind the attack on Feidlimid?” I asked.

Ireth pressed into his psyche harder. He struggled until he was convulsing.

She shook her head. “Something is blocking the answer. It’s there, but even he cannot access it.”

“Compulsion.” It had to be.

Her lips thinned. “I believe you are right.”

“We could try asking him other questions,” I suggested. “The compulsion may not cover everything.”

“Do it,” she ordered.

“Who attacked the city shields?”

Yarrow struggled for a moment before answering. “A sensor and two fae guards. They sacrificed themselves to take the shield down from the outside, but I do not know their names.”

“Did you help them in any way?”

He gritted his teeth, but Ireth didn’t let up on her grip in his mind. “The shield was too strong for human weapons and just one sensor to breech. I sold some special stones to a troll named Leech, ensuring his goblin friend, Gator, saw me do it. The goblin is a known thief and I’d been watching him bury his ill-gotten gains in the same spot for months. It was easy to set up.”

He’d put a chain of people between him and the set-up for the attack. It explained why it had been so difficult to trace anything back to him.

“Okay, but children got hold of the stones and actually threw them at the shield. Was that part of your plan too?”

He gave me a malicious smile. “I used glamour to pose as a friendly elf and told a young boy about the stones, knowing he’d share it with the other children. I informed him that they made pretty fireworks if thrown at the shield. What it was really doing was weakening it enough for the sensor’s blood to take it down.”

“That was a lot of ‘what ifs?’” I mused.

“They were from the weaker fae races. Manipulating them was easy with a little encouragement.”

My fingers curled. “You used some sort of compulsion on them? How could you do that knowing so many innocent people would die?”

He laughed. “I had to cover my tracks. What’s a few lives compared to the grand plan?”

I wanted to hit him, beat him senseless, and then kill him. Maybe I wasn’t a big fan of the fae, but their children hadn’t deserved this. A mental image of the mother who’d lost so many of her kids ran through my mind. The tears of sorrow running down her cheeks. How could anyone be so cold as to do something like that?

“What is the grand plan and who else is behind this?”

His jaw clamped shut. Ireth pressed his mind as hard as she could, but couldn’t force the information out of him.

“It’s of no use,” she said, face pale from exertion. “He cannot tell us and I see nothing but a dark wall where the information should be located.”

“What about Micah?” I stared down at Yarrow. “Where was he taken?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I only gave him the sleeping potion. What happened after I left his house, I cannot say.”

“Who took him?” I pounded the table.

He said nothing. Ireth tried pushing into his head again, but after a moment shook her head.

“Dammit.” I stepped away, taking a few breaths to get myself under control.

Whoever had compelled him had protected themselves, but not him. That was ironic. What he had been able to reveal did give us some clues. Just not enough to put all the pieces together. Then I remembered the missing relic from the vault.

I turned around and went back to the table. “What did you take from the vault?”

“No,” Ireth said, giving me a stern look, “that is not your business.”

Yarrow chuckled. “Afraid she might use the device herself and get you in trouble with the angels?”

I stiffened. What did he mean about the angels?

The elder female elf hissed at him. “Do not tell her if you wish to live.”

“You’ll kill me anyway and she’ll find out soon enough when she goes home.” He turned his head to look at me. “It opens the portal to Purgatory, but of course they don’t want you to know that for obvious reasons.”

He was telling the truth.

“What makes you think I’d want to get into Purgatory?” I asked.

“For the same reason many of us do. You have someone there you want to get out. When the angels take prisoners, that’s where they always go. Not many people know about it because those of us who do are all sworn to secrecy, but you’re one who knows, aren’t you?”

“Shut up!” Ireth hit him hard enough in the head to knock him out.

Chapter Twenty-six

The elders and druids saw us off at the northern Feidlimid gate—the opposite of the one we’d first entered. As Nik had planned, we were leaving shortly after sunset. I was definitely ready to leave the place and hoped whatever we found in Fairbanks wasn’t half as bad as the things conjured by my imagination.

Ireth beckoned me to follow her. We walked until we were a short distance from the others.

She looked at me sternly. “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is you do not reveal the capabilities of the missing device. Nor can I stop you from using it should you recover it, but if you return the device to us without mishap I shall reward you greatly.”

I’d already heard this speech from her after we’d finished with Yarrow. She must have thought once wasn’t enough. It seemed that the fae had a deal with the angels to police themselves and send those who violated certain laws to Purgatory. I’d had no idea anyone aside from nephilim were imprisoned there. If the angels found out they’d lost the device that opens the portal, their city could be destroyed as punishment. Even I wasn’t cold enough to let that happen.

I put a hand on Ireth’s arm. “Don’t worry. If I get it back, I’ll return it to you.”

After I used it, of course. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I’d have to find some way to work a deal with Remiel afterward so he didn’t take Lucas back, but I’d figure something out. This was my chance to get Lucas back and I’d do whatever it took.

“Please do,” she said, stepping back. It must have really cost her to say “please” to a sensor and beg like this.

I nodded at Nienna and Elros as I passed them. They had been standing nearby, ensuring Ireth and I had our privacy. We’d already said our goodbyes, but the druids had chosen to escort me here as their final act as my guards. I was fairly certain it was symbolic at this point.

Felisha was waiting for me closer to the gate. She looked pale and wan. It must have been difficult for her to discover the man who’d been courting her was a traitor. I hadn’t wanted her to marry Yarrow, but his betrayal wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined her getting out of the courtship.

“When will you come back to Fairbanks?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “Perhaps in a few weeks. My mother is…not at her best right now and I need to stay with her until she recovers. The elders have some questions for me as well.”

I was sure they’d be questioning anyone close to Yarrow. It really made me angry that he’d gotten her mixed up in all this. They’d eventually execute him, but not before they’d dredged every bit of information they could from his head. At least I’d get satisfaction in knowing he’d suffer during that.

I gave her a hug. “You take care of yourself and let me know when you get back. Once we’ve got things sorted out in Fairbanks I’ll open the shop and take care of it for you.”

When I pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.

“Thanks, Melena,” she said, wiping her face.

I gave her a reassuring smile and stepped away. It was time to pass through the gate and join Nik and Derrick. I’d put it off, knowing I’d have to deal with the shield. It fizzled over me as I went through, setting off sparks in my head. I inwardly winced at the pain, but managed to get through it without too much difficulty.

Nik and Derrick were waiting for me on the other side. Standing next to them was Josslyn. It appeared she’d meant it when she said she wouldn’t let Nik out of her sight again. I’d only learned an hour before that she’d be traveling with us. Felisha hadn’t covered up her stricken look fast enough when she’d first seen the female vampire. I could already see this was going to cause trouble in the future, but for now I had bigger things to worry about.

The rest of my traveling party had their bags over their shoulders and expressions that said they were ready to leave. We gave one last wave to the elders and headed north.

“How long until the plane arrives?” I asked the master vampire.

“Less than half an hour. We’ll need to move fast to make it.”

I looked up at the dark sky filled with stars. “At least it’s clear weather this time.”

“The plane would not be able to land this close otherwise.”

The trek north was delightfully uneventful and no one spoke as we walked. We had to make our way through some marshy terrain along the way—courtesy of the recent rainfall—but other than getting our boots muddy it went fine. We even arrived at the designated spot with a few minutes to spare.

Nik pointed to the sky off to the west. “It’ll fly in from there.”

“I hear it,” I said after allowing my senses to expand outward. It was a single engine plane that hadn’t hit my radar yet, so it was more than a half-mile out.

I’d been practicing tamping down my senses and ratcheting them up as needed over the last couple of weeks. The trick didn’t work as well with my inborn abilities—such as detecting sups or magic—but it did fine for hearing and scenting things. The trolls in the fae city especially inspired me to perfect that skill. A heightened sense of smell around them was a definite disadvantage.

“You can hear it?” Derrick asked, giving me an incredulous look.

I shrugged. “It came with the immortality thing.”

“Huh.” He looked away. I was sure he could hear it too, but he still hadn’t adjusted to me being able to do that.

Josslyn gave me an inquisitive look, but said nothing. I couldn’t get a read on her emotions at all and hoped it was just a sign of a long-lived vampire who didn’t like to show her feelings, rather than something bad. My curiosity about her was steadily growing.

The plane finally came over the trees. Its lights were bright enough to help illuminate the way as it descended toward the large pond in front of us. Nik had arranged for a float plane this time since it was more flexible in where it could take off and land. After touching the water, the pilot guided the aircraft toward us. When it finally stopped, it was still some distance away.

“Want a ride?” Nik asked, holding his arm out and grinning.

“It’s not that far,” I said, stepping off into the shallow water.

It ended up coming to my knees by the time I reached the plane. Josslyn wasn’t powerful enough to fly, but she did let Nik take her over. They arrived ahead of me and were already getting seated by the time I made it.

I climbed on board and nodded at the pilot. He was a werewolf from the northern part of Alaska. Since Nik couldn’t reach anyone in Fairbanks, he’d contacted this guy to pick us up instead.

“How’s it going, Ulric?” Derrick asked as he climbed aboard.

The werewolf shook his head. “I ain’t had any better luck than ya’ll at getting in touch with anybody in Fairbanks. No one I know is answerin’ my calls. Can’t tell you guys what we’ll be flyin’ into.”

“We’ll deal with it when we get there,” Nik said, setting his pack down on one seat and taking a seat close to Josslyn on another. The DHC-3 Otter we were on this time had a lot tighter quarters than the Casa we’d flown in on before.

After we took off and got in the air, I let myself doze. One thing I’d learned in the army was to get my naps in where I could. Between interrogating Yarrow and dealing with the fae elders, I hadn’t slept much. There was no telling what would happen once we got into Fairbanks and I wanted to be rested for it. Worrying about Emily and the others there wouldn’t do me any good for the moment.

Nik shook me awake sometime later. “We’re about twenty minutes out.”

“Has Ulric been able to reach the tower on the radio?” I asked.

“Yes. Nothing seems to have changed there. They’re telling him he can land, though I’m not sure what to expect when we do.” His gaze became troubled.

It was Nik’s responsibility to protect his people and something bad had happened while he was away. That burden had to weigh heavily on his shoulders. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be master of a territory. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth, but maybe by the time I reached his age I’d think differently—though I highly doubted it.

“Have the pilot fly over your house on the way to the airport,” I suggested. “I’ll be able to sense who’s there and that’ll give us a clue as to where to land.”

If a group of supernaturals had invaded the Fairbanks area, his house would be the number one target. They’d put at least a few of their people there to hold it in case he came back. We both knew that much from experience. If it was something else, then only the usual sups would be in his home. Either way, it would tell us a lot.

“Excellent plan,” Nik agreed. “No need for us to fly in blind.”

Since we’d all put headsets on, the two werewolves overheard our exchange. The pilot gave a thumbs up sign to us. I took that to mean he’d direct the plane accordingly. Ulric had been to Nik’s house a couple times before so he must have remembered where to go.

As soon as we got within a half-mile range of it, my blood turned cold.

“Turn away. Turn away now!” I yelled.

The pilot immediately diverted the plane north, which was perfect. We were probably safe going that way.

“What did you sense?” Nik asked.

I shuddered. “My father.”