Page 83 of Crown of Tides and Fury

Flann held up a hand. “Not so fast. A spy makes the most sense. Where else on this planet has anyone discussed the whereabouts of the Naming Powers? Where else had Bailey Rosier’s name been discussed? As we’ve concluded before, we cannae afford to take coincidences at face value. And if there are no coincidences, then…Orion has a man on the inside.”

“Or a woman,” Persi added.

Wickham took a deep breath, then another, before opening his mouth. “For argument’s sake, let’s take a moment to consider other possibilities. Ye’ve had a few hours. Anyone have a less simple but plausible theory?”

Brian grimaced. “The house is bugged?”

“And just who might have bugged it? And when? It’s been well and truly warded since the day we chose it. If Orion discovered where we were, he would have sent his minions and not bothered to spy.”

All heads nodded.

Everly looked hopeful. “A satellite?”

Wickham shot that down with a single shake of his head. “A satellite can neither see nor hear us.”

“What about our…” Urban shot a look at me, “our professor? Do ye reckon that wee pinfeather picks up sound?”

“That makes me sick just thinking about it,” I said. “If…he…was working for Orion, that means Fallon is either already dead or in grave danger. I might be delusional where he’s concerned, but I refuse to believe he’d let that happen.”

“Occam’s razor—simplest explanations, aye?” Wickham came to stand in front of me. “Have it on ye?”

I pulled up my shirttail, dug in my money belt, and fished it out. The poor little thing was looking more like a squashed insect these days than a pinfeather, so I smoothed it a little before I handed it over.

He held it up in front of his face. “Griffon Carew, if ye can hear me, come to the road. Ye ken where we are. If ye come to the road, I’ll allow ye a word with Lennon, ye ken? One o’clock local.” He handed the feather back. “I suppose we’ll know at one o’clock.” He glanced around the room. “Any other suggestions?”

“I have one.”

We all looked at Rinky, who sat sideways in her chair with her legs over an overstuffed arm.

“What if this Fae, this Orion, is much more powerful than you give him credit for? What if he is omnipresent? Omniscient? What if he already knows what we’re going to do because he sees the past, present, and future all at once?”

Wickham smirked. “Ye’re talking god-like power. That’s the very end result we mean to thwart.”

“So, let me get this straight. You’re saying that when the Fae King had all his powers, he was God?”

He nodded. “He styled himself God of the Fae, in that same contract, so at the very least, he believed himself to be.”

“So, if Orion takes all eight powers, he’ll only be God of the Fae, right? Not God of Man?”

That question sat heavy in the air for a long time. It was Flann who finally answered.

“After all our dogged research, I will admit I honestly suspect…that we Muirs are more likely than not…all Fae, or descended from Fae. Who can say Mankind is not as well? Perhaps, in the end, we shall all bow down together—"

“I can say it,” Wickham said. “I cannae believe that the god of man is a position that can be usurped by killin’ off certain witches. And, for the sake of my own sanity, delusion or no…” he paused to wink at me, one of the few mere mortals in the room, “I refuse to believe Fae and Man are one and the same.”

Felicity spoke up for the first time. “You believe in God, then?”

“As I’ve said before. I believe in everythin’. Now, back to the issue at hand. Unless we find Carew prowlin’ up and down the street this afternoon, we must accept that Orion has an informant among us.”

Kitch caught me staring at him and he laughed. “Ye suspect I’m a spy, Lennon?”

“No. I was just wondering…what are the chances our computers have been hacked? We’ve been searching for the names of theThirds, right?”

“Nay, lass. Not a chance. Each and every computer on the premises has been protected, cloaked, with technology and wards both. Nothing can be traced here. Even the locations of yer phones cannae be pinpointed by more than the nearest cell tower.”

“Then I’m out of suggestions.”

The others turned their palms up to say they were out as well.

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