Page 163 of Home to the Hollow

I shoot a worried glance at Lucy and he nods his agreement. Someone is stacking the deck for this clown show, but it’s not apparent who or why. That’s a problem we would never have expected, and it will make our job at the reception that much harder.

“Then we discuss strategy in the car as we head to the entrance. Haggerty is meeting us at the door. O’ Flanagan, make sure we have enough earwigs from mydrugar’sstash downstairs for everyone to be wired. We may have to split up during the cocktail hour to curry votes from all the old farts they brought in to sway the proceedings. Everyone clear?”

We all nod at Edgar despite no one putting him in charge. The weight of Zasha’s revelation is weighing on all of us as the group quietly makes their way outside to the cars.

I imagine a lot of interesting conversations are going to occur on the short drive to one of the Society Hall’s various secret entrances.

* * *

By the timewe schmooze our way through the reception, I can tell Edgar is going to have a hard time holding his temper. Haggerty had to pull him away from Amy’s father and, as much as they dislike one another, the frustrated hound allowed it. His bond with Magpie is the strongest because it’s the closest to completion for one of his inner beasts. One more step and that part will be sealed—so he’s on edge like I’ve never seen him before.

Even the mighty have an Achilles heel, and our girl is ours, without a doubt.

I took one look at the wildcards who deigned to attend and knew we’d need to shore up our plans. Lucy was fabulous at working the crowd with his beauty and special fairy traits, but even Boone’s political schmoozing isn’t going to completely lock our victory. As everyone begins to file towards the elevator, I grabbed all of Jolene’s men and even a few extras like MacAuley. Steering the group to the stairs, I lower my voice as I speak.

“Look, gents. Behle is ramping up to get his daughter clemency, but I think she’s got him twisted enough that he will try to force the Council to do something about Jolene. She’s not ready to emerge yet, and shattering the world around her while that spell slips will fuck with her in a way we won’t ever be able to fix. We have to come up with a better plan.”

Doyle snorts. “Aye, birdy. Or any plan a’tall, seems to me. Having the pretty boys work the room wasn’t bad, but it’s not enough for these folks. You have to give ‘em the old razzle dazzle.”

“Razzle dazzle?” Boone grunts. “What the fuck are you talking about, leprechaun?”

Wolfie looks at him and murmurs, “He means we have to distract them while we present our case. If we can force them to look like blustering old fools while we are calm, centered youths, the mostly younger voting pool is likely to follow our lead.”

I grin at him, and ruffle his hair. “Couldn’t have put it better myself.”

“Right y’are, puppy dog. I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeves, but there might come a time when we need one or both of the docs to throw some feathers. I’ve always found the winged gits make the ladies lose their minds.” Doyle winks at me and I groan inwardly.

I do not like shifting—even halfway—in front of a crowd.

“Just what do you plan to do, Haggerty? It’s not like we have a fuckingcluewhat your skill set is,” Edgar growls as we stop at the bottom of the stairs.

“Cause trouble, of course! That’s what I do best. We all need to sit in different parts of the crowd so we can see each other, and when someone turns your way, do whatever ye can to get everyone focused on you. Once it becomes obvious that there are quite a few people objecting to whatever nonsense Reggie is spewing, it will catch on.”

Sighing, I nod. “Okay.”

The rest of the crowd gives their assent as well, and we head through the archway into the large underground chamber where they hold meetings. I watch as Haggerty makes his way to the front left side of the gallery before choosing to go into the opposite direction. Boone heads for front row center and it doesn’t surprise me a bit. Lucy and the others filter into the crowd slowly amongst murmurs from the women.

After all, Magpiehasthe hottest men in town in her family, and her bestie’s group aren’t anything to throw out of bed, either.

Hopefully, Mayor Nelia will keep this circus in the ring and our plans won’t be necessary, but I’m ready if we need to pull the trigger.

Magpie’s future depends on us.

Week Four

Presley is an excellent speaker, and Haggerty’s idea about the wings seems to work. Everyone is staring at him in awe, and even though the two Boones look like they’re going to murder one another, I think the gallery is warming up to us.

Of course, I say ‘us’ even though I’m the only one who’s barely spoken to the lovely woman I caught dancing with paint covered cats, but that’s irrelevant.

Because of my fealty, Ican’tbe as outwardly aggressive as the others. My kind cannot be seen to influence the course of events, but that doesn’t mean I cannot allow them to unfold without interference. Knowing the guys’ plans means I have to make sure people don’t realize I know—a feat I excel in, though I haven’t had a vision to hide in quite some time.

I watch the elder Boone pound his gavel for order, and my gaze catches our typically careful mayor smiling to herself. She might be on Jolene’s side, and for that, I’m grateful. Her expression goes back to neutral as she thanks the doctor for his input and asks for her next witness to come forward.

Unfortunately for the sneaky old men plotting to steal this verdict, that witness is Doyle.

Even the younger Boone smirks as the fiery-haired Irishman walks to the center of the gallery and holds up his hands. Everyone quiets down like magic and he bows at the various elders and the mayor before he weaves his tale. Doyle captures the attention of the entire room easily, and Senator Boone tries to dress him down, but he fires back. You could hear a pin drop as he waits for the human to back down, and then he speaks again. His storytelling style is vivid, and he paces around the inner circle, talking to the crowd.

My jaw drops when he mentions me and references my abilities—that son of a bitch made a distractionwithouttechnically breaking the rules that govern me.

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