“We need to let her know," I say.
"We've no proof Logan's involved. This could cause more crap between us. Talk about it later."
Mac sucks in a breath. "Listen. Can you just let me go? Seriously, I'll get out of here, and nobody will see anything of me again."
Xander places a hand on Mac's chest and looks around at me. We both know that's doubtful; disappearing in the supernatural world isn't easy.
"Do you have allies?" I ask. "Someone who'll help you. And how do I know you won't run to Logan and tell them about us?"
He pauses. "Because people have already crossed him and not survived. My chances are better if I keep away from a mind-reading, powerful fae who's big mates with demons."
"This is insane," I mutter under my breath.
"So?" Xander looks to me. "Let him go? Or not? I reckon a cleaner death by one of us would be better than what he could suffer at the hands of others."
"No! Guys, come on!"
The smug dealer we dealt with the other night when looking for Elyssia isn't so cocky now. I sense his self-preservation would stop him going to anybody else.
"Xan, if you let him go and Portia finds out, we're in trouble."
"He's dead anyway," Xander says to me in a flat voice. "There's no way he'll come out of this situation in one piece."
"You'll let me take my chances, right?" He turns a pleading look to Xander. "Right?"
"Okay. One more thing. Where do they meet? Who's in charge?"
"C'mon, dude," he continues to plead. "I don't know that or I'd tell you!" Xander’s eyes narrow, and he doesn’t move an inch. “Seriously, I know I won’t be able to hide from you guys. I’m not going to do anything to piss you off!”
Xander finally steps back. "I'm giving you a chance, Mac. I shouldn't but I'm feeling generous. But if I find you anywhere near this place or city again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Understood?"
Mac slides to the floor and grabs his rucksack handle, enthusing his thanks over and over. Xander leaves him where he is with a reminder what'll happen if he doesn't leave the area, then takes my arm and guides me to the edge of the passageway.
I frown when Xander pulls us behind the skip. "We wait here. I have a feeling about something."
I've no clue why Xander wants us hidden behind a skip, but sometimes his ideas and methods make no sense. Five minutes standing in the cold, feeling my feet numb, and I'm fed up.
"Let's go," I complain.
"Nope. We watch him leave."
A figure steps from the passageway with his rucksack over one shoulder. Mac bows his head and yanks his jacket hood up to obscure his face. He hunches over and slinks along the alley without looking around, before disappearing at a faster pace around the corner onto the street.
Xander huffs. “Okay. Nobody else is nearby.”
A solitary snowflake drifts onto my sleeve, and I turn my head to the sky. Another flake drops onto my nose, and I wipe it away. The strange stillness that precedes a snowfall fills the sky white-grey as the final step into winter begins.
“Let’s head home,” I say and yank my hood hard against my head.
We tread away through the snow already dusting the ground, away from La Fee Verte and from another puzzle piece we're unsure how it fits.
Slowly but surely things are adding up.
14
XANDER
The snow falls thicker as we drive back to the house and settles on the ground. By the time we reach home, the surroundings are blanketed in white, but at least the snowstorm stopped short of creating drifts. I hope the weather doesn’t get any bloody worse, because if all goes to plan, we're headed to Scotland in a couple of days. The last thing I need is blocked roads interfering in our plans.
Portia permitting.
Mac's news adds another layer, and things are becoming clearer. This has to be a new alliance between a fae element and the Order. Why, though? Do they know something we don't? I can't imagine hatred of Portia would be enough to forge a new bond with their sworn enemies, which indicates the Order could be closer than we realise to getting what they want: portals open and the big guy and his army through.
This leaves two unknowns. How far they are with their plans, and exactly what waits on the other side. In the past, the Order taunted us that we have no chance against whoever he is. Joss holds onto his theory this is Lucifer, and there's a Biblical connection, otherwise why our names? I'm not sold on that idea, but whoever or whatever waits to break through is powerful enough to devastate the world, otherwise why would our job involve protecting portals?
"Are you okay, Xander?"
I blink around at Heath, unaware I've sat in the car outside the house without speaking. "Yeah. My mind's on overdrive, that's all."
"What do we do about Logan and Portia?"
"We tell the other guys and see what they think, but I'm cautious about saying anything without proof. I don’t want to cause another shitstorm with the fae."
Heath rubs a hand across his mouth and stares ahead into the grey afternoon.
"But not Seth, Heath. I don't want him to know anything about this. It's bad enough he was there when she asked us to kill him. As far as he's concerned, we've done what Portia asked."
"Might keep him on his toes."
"Exactly." I open the car door. "I'm happy for him to keep thinking we'll take out our enemies."
Our feet crunch across the snow, spoiling the perfect white pathway. "I'm inclined to agree with you about Logan and not saying anything to Portia yet."
"Good. That'll help. Joss will probably disagree, but at this stage, I don't want anybody to think we're onto Logan. Portia has extra security around, and sounds like Elyssia will be under her watchful eye. As soon as we have anything concrete, I'll be straight onto her."
I'm happy to step into a warm house after freezing my balls off hanging around alleys and dealing with Mac. I'm honest when I say I don't believe he'll survive long. I bet we're not the only ones who wanted a “friendly chat.”
Seth's rooted to his usual spot on the sofa, and I pause when I see a laptop open on his lap. "Don't worry, I'm not allowed the Wi-Fi password." He doesn't turn around, and I continue past him, expecting the others are in the kitchen.
Nobody.
I check Joss’s study. Ewan sits at the desk, pouring over a book. “Are you reading now?”
He places a finger on the page to mark his place and looks around. “I’m trying to find the creature that attacked Joss. Maybe there’s a reference in a book, since I haven’t found anything online. Older magic, older enemy?”
“Maybe.”
“How did things with Mac go?”
“Great, but not so great. Where’s Joss? We can talk about this together.”
Ewan laughs softly. “He’s outside with Vee.”
“Doing what?”
“See for yourself.” He gestures towards the back of the house and returns to his book.
Vee’s shrieking sets me on high alert, and I rush to the kitchen door with Heath.