Undone Deeds

31

Rand ushered me through heightened security at the Rowes Wharf Hotel. The death of a police officer at the hands of one of her people had brought protesters to the street out front. The National Guard had increased its presence, claiming it was about crowd control, but they didn’t seem much interested in calming anyone.

Eorla, on the other hand, acted as if it was another day in the life of the Unseelie queen. We arrived in her private office to find her calmly fielding phone calls. She gestured me to the guest chair. Rand waited at attention by the window. “No, I’m not concerned,” she said into the phone. “I will make a public announcement when I make my final decision…. I have guns pointed at my front door, sir. I apologize if I seem a bit distracted…. It is my understanding that the man was disguised, did not identify himself, and was firing on a civilian…. Fine. I will let you know.”

She ended the call and leaned back in her chair. “How are you holding up?”

“I’ve had better days,” I said.

“You look exhausted. I’ve had a room prepared for you,” she said.

“I shouldn’t stay here, Eorla. It complicates things for you. My place in the Tangle will be secure once the news cameras go away,” I said.

Eorla pursed her lips. “What do you plan to do?”

“I need to get some sleep before I can process all this,” I said.

“Publicly, I’m putting you on restricted duty, Rand. We need to deflect attention,” she said.

“Understood, Your Majesty,” he said.

I peered at him. For weeks, I had been noticing curious things about Rand, small things, things that didn’t add up to my understanding of an elven warrior in general and him in particular. In front of Eorla, he was all business—the picture of a high-level elven operative. When we had been alone together, though, his façade slipped, letting some of the man behind the image show through. I assumed it was because we had become friendly. Contrary to popular belief, elves were not dour and taciturn at all times. They were reserved in public, but among their own, they were like anybody else, high-spirited or low, with every personality between.

“What were you doing down in the Tangle anyway?” I asked. I kept my voice nonchalant and conversational. I didn’t want him to think I was accusing him of anything.

Rand glanced at Eorla with a mild flutter of a sending. “I was checking Ceridwen’s defenses.”

“Is there a problem?” I asked, couching the question to seem concerned about me rather than him.

“I think that would be obvious after what happened. Many approaches are unguarded,” he said.

“That’s true. Security is difficult because there are no clear boundaries in the Tangle. But I wasn’t attacked by someone from the Tangle. Someone has been training Kevin and Gerry Murdock to use their abilities.”

“You must have noticed their strategies and execution. I suspect they’ve found training from the Guild,” Rand said.

“MacGoren did say Maeve was behind the attack at Eagan’s, and I know Gerry Murdock was there,” I said.

“It would rehabilitate their image with the family after their involvement with their father’s death,” Eorla said.

“Kevin and Gerry hate the Guild,” I said.

He glanced at Eorla again with another sending. The pause made me wonder which one of them didn’t like the direction the conversation had taken. “I confirmed their Guild training. I saw it as necessary and neutral,” Rand said. “Regardless of who trained them, I was more concerned about the individuals’ being safely trained than who their trainers were.”

“Yeah, that didn’t work out so well tonight, did it?” I asked.

Rand stared down his nose at me. “You are alive. I’ll make no judgment whether that is for good or ill.”

I had to appreciate a rebuttal wrapped in a subtle insult. “So what went wrong?”

He considered before responding. “I was more concerned about Kevin Murdock. He appears inordinately powerful. I had full surveillance on him, but only daytime watchers on Gerald. With macGoren dead, it remains to be seen what they do next,” Rand said.

Keeva didn’t seem like she was going to be broadcasting macGoren’s death anytime soon. The events in the safe house happened less than twelve hours ago. Another reason to be curious about Rand. “How do you know macGoren’s dead?” I asked.

“My contacts at the Guild are high level, Connor. An extraction for you was in process when Keeva macNeve intervened,” he said.

“Have you ever been in the research labs at the Guildhouse?” I asked.

The question threw him, as it was meant to. “Excuse me?” Rand asked.

“The research labs on the second-level subbasement. Ever been there?” I asked.

His face became neutral, hiding whatever emotions he was feeling. “May I inquire the point of the question?”

I smiled to hide the fact that I was going to bait him with a lie. “Oh. Sorry. My mind was leaping around. The Guild was working on body-signature tracking. They’ve been trying to develop a method for tracking someone by body-signature markers. Pretty sophisticated stuff.”

“I’m not aware of this,” he said.

“Really? I would have thought you heard about it when you went down there. The guys working on it tell everybody,” I said.

“I have never been in those labs.”

Eorla smiled. “The Guild wouldn’t let Rand have clearance. Believe me. I tried.”

I leaned forward. “Eorla, can you lock down this room? No one in, no one out?”

With an intrigued look, she muttered under her breath. Essence swirled across the doors and windows. “Well?” she asked.

I looked up at Rand. “Who are you working for?”

He didn’t take it as an accusation, although this time I made it sound like one. “Her Majesty,” he said.

“Were you in the subbasement level of the Guildhouse where the research labs are?” I asked.

Rand clenched his jaw. “Your Majesty, I take issue with what is apparently an interrogation.”

Eorla tilted her head. “What is wrong, Connor?”

“I think Rand is a Guild spy,” I said.

No one said a word. Eorla looked down at her desktop while Rand looked at her. “Why do you believe he was in that subbasement?” she asked.

“Because I was there and his essence is there. It was as recent as the day the Guildhouse collapsed,” I said.

“Did it occur to you that he might have been doing something on my orders?” Eorla asked.

Rand relaxed when she said that. That was enough for me to know I was right. “Of course, it did. And if he was, his lying to me right now would make perfect sense. What I can’t dismiss, though, is how he used a druid spell tonight to bind Kevin Murdock.”

“I am adept at many modes of essence ability, Mr. Grey,” Rand said.

“I buy that. I’m sure most people would. But part of the issue with what’s going on in my head is that I am highly sensitive to essence, more than anyone I know. You killed Gerry with elf-shot, but it was laced with druid essence. The binding spell had more of it.”

I tensed, ready to react to whatever happened next. If Rand was going to make a break for it, that would be the time. Instead, he remained relaxed but alert. “With all due respect, Mr. Grey, I believe it has been well established that your faculties are impaired. You are mistaken.”

“And you happened to be in the Tangle tonight for something a midlevel agent could have handled,” I said.

The tension in the room hummed. I focused my attention on Rand, but I wanted to know what Eorla was thinking. “Connor, I cannot have you undermining Rand, especially after what happened tonight. We need unity.”

I jerked my head toward her. “None of this bothers you?”

She licked her lips and glanced up at Rand. “I am aware of Rand’s, shall we say, conflict of interest.”

Rand reacted predictably. “Your Majesty, I have ever been….”

Eorla held her hand up and a sending fluttered through the air. “Let’s not dance any longer. There are larger issues involved. Connor has seen through your subterfuge. Now I am concerned that he might not be the only one who has noticed these things.”

A sending fluttered from Eorla, then a soft knock sounded from the door behind her desk. The door opened, and I jumped to my feet. Standing in the doorway was an elven warrior, the exact image of Rand. Eorla cocked her head toward him. “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my first officer and confidante. Rand, this is Connor Grey and”—she smiled at the man in front of her desk—“your name, sir?”

I looked from one man to the other. The one in the red uniform whom I had known as Rand looked exactly like the man in a plain green house uniform standing behind Eorla.

“How long have you known, ma’am?” the imposter asked.

“Rand escaped from his cell when the Guildhouse was destroyed, but I have known your deception from the beginning,” Eorla said. “The Elven King himself could not create a glamour to deceive me.

The imposter glanced at Rand. “I will reveal myself in private.”

Eorla sat for a long moment. “Please excuse us, Rand.”

He bowed and closed the door. The imposter bowed his head in thought. Essence shimmered over him, twisting and smearing his image. The tight elven hair loosened into a head of curls as the ears shrank and rounded. His skin lightened, and a subtle shift in height—still tall, but a more slender build. The essence fell away from his face, and I started laughing.

“Surprised to see me, Con?” he asked.

“Danu’s blood, Dylan, I can’t believe I blew your cover,” I said.