Page 76 of Horn of Winter

She didn’t look amused. “I’m not sure what you think you’re achieving by handing me over to the IIT. They’ve no proof I have, in any way, been involved in recent events?—”

“Actually, they do.” I gave her a not-so-sweet smile. “Remember that attack at the cemetery, the one where you and your team tried to kill Mathi and me, and you then killed said team?”

“Idid not. You can’t pin that on me.”

“Well, technically no, because we’re aware they were pixied into shooting themselves and that’s not a skill you possess. Thing is, we found several strands of hair hanging from a tree branch, and I’d bet a million that the DNA will be a match for yours. That puts you at the scene of the crime and, at the very least, makes you an accessory.”

She scowled at me but made no comment. Sirens swept down the street toward us, then cut out abruptly. I pulled my knife from the door, quickly brushed my fingers across the wood to heal the wound so the song could continue on unhindered, then swiped my keycard across the reader and opened the gate.

Sgott and Frankie strode toward us, while two others I didn’t recognize were taping off the street.

“Hey,” Frankie said, tone amused. “The boss tells me you’re joining the force as a consultant.”

“The boss knows that’s impossible.”

“The boss knows no such thing,” he commented. “You’re too much your mother’s daughter, my girl. Once this gig with the council is over, you’ll be looking for something to replace it.”

“Not on your Nelly.”

He raised an eyebrow in obvious disbelief, but simply stepped past me and pulled rather odd-looking handcuffs from his jacket pocket. The cuff on these weren’t the standard double-strand metal, but were instead a good inch thick and emitted a soft aura of magic—one that increased the moment he snapped them around Keeryn’s wrists. They were obviously inlaid with some sort of inhibiting spell.

Once she was secured, he stood back and motioned Frankie to take her away. Then his gaze returned to mine. “I take it you’re staying here, and that you’ve been in her room?”

“Yes to both, though I wore gloves, so I didn’t leave prints.” I raised my hands and wiggled my fingers, even though my hands were actually bare. “She’s got a locked phone buried under the clothes in her suitcase that might throw up some leads. There’s also an iPad. Which reminds me, I’ve also got Stace’s iPad—we searched Riayn’s home after we found Stace in that cavern.” I paused. “I suppose it’s too early yet for an autopsy report?”

“Yes, although I am expecting it will come through in the next twenty-four hours.” He glanced around as one of his men approached. “Rick will take your statements, and I’ll drop by sometime tomorrow to pick up Stace’s iPad. Keeryn’s room is where?”

“Up the stairs, first door on the left.”

He nodded and headed up the stairs. Once Rick had taken both our statements, we headed back to our room, closed the door, then stripped off and climbed into bed. With all the noisenext door, I didn’t expect to sleep, and I certainly wasn’t about to have sex—maybe I was being a little prudish, but I just didn’t feel comfortable when the man who was basically my father was working next door and the walls were paper thin.

Eljin seemed to understand without me saying anything, and simply cradled me in his arms until sleep claimed us both.

I got back to the tavern at ten and headed straight to the office to do the accounts and make sure everyone would be paid on time. Thankfully, Ingrid was now taking care of the stock orders, so that was one less thing I had to worry about. One of Sgott’s men came in at about one to pick up Stace’s iPad, by which time the headache that had been with me since waking had definitely worsened. I walked down to the staff break area to grab a couple of painkillers out of the medical kit, then went into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich and a cup of tea before returning to finish the accounts.

It was close to four by the time I was done, and the headache was finally beginning to abate. But as I headed upstairs, an odd sense of... awareness?.. surged. I slowed, put my overnight bag down, then reached into my purse for a knife. The blade was inert, but that prickly sense of awareness was growing. I warily continued, my back pressed against the wall, my gaze searching the shadows above. I couldn’t immediately see anyone, but something or someone was definitely up there.

A fact confirmed by the soft green glow coming from the center of the living room.

As I neared the landing, I realized what it was.

Liadon’s orb.

It spun rapidly around the moment I appeared, but Liadon didn’t speak through it, as she had in her underground system. Maybe she couldn’t thanks to the distance. I opened my mouth to say something, but the orb disappeared before I could.

Obviously, I had to go toher.

I swore softly. I really didn’t feel like going out again, but I suspected ignoring Liadon’s summoning would not, in any way, help my long-term goals. I dumped the overnight bag in my room, made myself a cup of tea, then put it in a travel mug and clattered back down the steps, grabbing my warmest coat from the hook on the way out the back door. The air was icy and filled with the promise of an oncoming storm, but there was a whisper of something—orsomeone—else within it. It definitely wasn’t Beira, if only because the presence within the wind felt too normal, and very definitely not angry enough.

I scanned the rooftops but couldn’t spot anything out of place. While the presence within the wind suggested whoever watched me had some control over the weather, that didn’t eliminate the possibility of a regular human watcher. Hell, it could also be shifter; they’d certainly been the go-to choice for many in the past. But if there was one thing I’d learned over the last few months, it was to take at leastsomeprecautions if instincts started warning of trouble stirring ahead.

I caught the wind and spun it lightly around my body, forming a gentle but continuous shield of air that would spin away a prelim attack of air or ice. It wouldn’t—couldn’t—deter a full-scale attack, but it would at least give me warning and some time to either protect or retaliate.

I continued on, senses alert as I sipped my tea. Nothing happened, but the awareness of being tracked continued to loom large, and the wind still had little in the way of details when it came to who or what was out there. Which probably meant it was a storm witch with far better control over the wind than me.

Our ice witch perhaps? It would make sense, given I was on both Keeryn’s and my aunt’s revenge lists. Whether my recent actions and the sensation of being watched meant I’d jumped to the top of my aunt’s list, I couldn’t say. Maybe they simply were keeping an eye on me while they worked on whoever the next target might be.

I guess I’d find out soon enough.

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