“Just play it,” I said.
The Hellequin character that came on screen sat in the same pose as before and appeared to be the same person. It was hard to tell with the mask and lack of lighting, but he spoke with the same voice as before. “We are the people who will put humanity in its place. We will take this world and make it better, make it in our own image, and all who stand in our way will be killed. To those of you who want to rise up, or disbelieve what we’re saying, you’ll soon see just how much power we have. Human, Avalon, or other, I no longer care. If you stand against us, you are our enemy, and you will be destroyed. My name is Hellequin, and we are Shadow Falls.” He gestured behind him, and several people appeared, all wearing dark clothes with similarly styled masks: black with a white pattern of some kind.
The video stopped, and I realized I’d been holding my breath. “The prisoner said Shadow Falls. Arthur wanted me to check on Shadow Falls, and now everyone who watched that is going to think any rumors they might have heard are correct. This is bad. This is really bad.”
“We need to get to Galahad,” Selene said.
“We need to contact Olivia and find out if she can head this off in Camelot before Arthur decides to declare war on the people living in Shadow Falls,” Lucifer said.
I stared at the screen, where a man using my name just threatened people I cared about, and felt the rage and hate course through me. I pushed it aside and picked up a phone that was on a nearby desk, then asked the man on the other end to patch me through to Olivia’s number, before placing it on loudspeaker when she answered.
“Olivia, this fake Hellequin has declared war,” Selene said. “Can you head this off at your end?”
“I’ll do what I can,” Olivia said. “Won’t be easy, though. I’m starting to hear whispers of people who want to go to Shadow Falls and take it by force. At best, I might be able to convince Arthur to go alone, or give you a few days.”
“With no concrete proof they were involved?” Zamek asked.
“Some people have been wanting to annex Shadow Falls for centuries. They just needed a reason to try.”
“Anything you can do is good,” I said. “Also, we think Mara is out of prison.”
“I’ll look into it,” Olivia said. “Sounds like I’m being kept out of the loop on a few things. I’ll call back soon.”
She hung up, and we all waited while a jet was readied to take us to America. Before we were due to board twenty minutes later, Olivia called back. I answered and put it on speaker.
“I managed to get you two days,” Olivia said. “I pulled a few favors with people who have Arthur’s ear. And Arthur agreed to go to Shadow Falls with only a small contingent of bodyguards. That’s the best I can do. Forty-eight hours, Nate—that’s all we’ve got to figure out this Hellequin’s true identity. After that Arthur is going to turn up, and when Galahad doesn’t play ball, he’s going to declare war on Shadow Falls and we won’t be able to stop it. You know Galahad isn’t going to just stand down and let Avalon troops into Shadow Falls. The east coast of North America is going to become a war zone.
“On top of that, Hera has walked away from Avalon and locked down London. The human news is calling it a terror drill and a high likelihood of an attack. She’s sorting out her defenses for what’s coming. Oh, and Mara had been transferred to The Hole about six weeks ago. I, of course, was kept out of the loop.”
“Who ordered the transfer?” I asked.
“Merlin.”
“Shit,” I said.
“Hera won’t be the first to leave and show their true allegiance,” Selene said with more than a little anger.
“Oh shit,” Olivia said after several seconds of silence. “Oh, no, no, no, no.”
“What’s happening?” Selene asked.
“Olivia?” Lucifer said after waiting a short time.
“There’s been another attack,” Olivia said. “We don’t know all of the details yet, but it looks like multiple magical detonations in North Carolina.” She paused. “Nate, whatever you have to do, get it done soon. A lot more people are about to become casualties.”
“Keep us informed,” I told her, and hung up. “I know we don’t number a lot, but we have to stop this. Or at least stop Arthur from making a huge mistake.”
“What if these people are a part of Shadow Falls?” Lucifer asked. “What if Shadow Falls is about to have its own revolt?”
“Let’s go ask.” I turned to Sky. “We’re going to need some things, if that’s okay?”
“The jet is almost ready, but I’ll speak to Cerberus. I’m coming with you. Galahad is going to need as many people as possible to convince him not to start a war he can’t win.”
CHAPTER 15
Mordred
Moscow, Russia
Mordred sat in the back of a van with Polina, Remy, Diana, and Fiona as the rest of the group sat in the back of a similar van in a parking lot around the corner. They were both well placed to watch the front of the nightclub and see who left and arrived. Mostly it was revelers, and with the time now after midnight, the majority of those leaving were a lot worse for wear.
“Police work sure is boring,” Mordred said. “How about I just walk up to the club and go inside?”
“They’ll know who you are,” Fiona said. “We went through this.”
“Doesn’t make it any less dull,” Mordred replied. They’d been watching the club for the better part of two hours, and he was beginning to feel the stress of staying in one place for a long time. “Also, calling your nightclub the Bear’s Pelt seems to be really quite unpleasant to bears.”
“A werebear used to own it,” Polina said. “Legend has it they kept him in the dungeon for weeks, forcing him to stay in his werebear form.”
“They skinned him, didn’t they?” Diana asked, her voice a low rumble of anger.
“That’s the legend, yes,” Polina confirmed. “It’s said that they keep the skin as a rug for an office.”
“What you’re saying is that the werewolves are bad people,” Mordred said. “I’m going to go say hello.”
“You are not,” Fiona seethed.
“Listen, I get you think I’m evil still, but I’m not. I am, however, Mordred. People know me. People occasionally hate and fear me, but more importantly, people know me.” He paused. “I said that already, didn’t I?”
Diana nodded.
“Right, well, the point stands. I can go in there, and people are going to freak the fuck out. They might try to kill me, but probably not. Viktor probably told them we were coming.” He turned to Polina. “Your people saw him enter the premises, yes?”
She nodded. “Alone and with a lot of looking around to ensure he wasn’t followed.”
“Excellent. He’ll have told them I’m coming, so they’ll be expecting us to storm the place in some covert operation. What they won’t be expecting is me walking into the front with a mic in my ear so I can tell you what’s happening. I’m sure that’s something they’re definitely not going to have planned for.”