Page 156 of Ash

“Well, that’s one word for it. A cross-realm private investigator is more like it.” The Satyr looked hopeful.

“Kade might be willing to expand,” murmured Cara. “He has his hands full with the human realm, but Jacques is right about the need.” She paused before a gateway framed in ancient grapevines.

Tyrez’s mind spun. Kade was Manitoba’s head enforcer, responsible for maintaining Cryptid law. The Sabre might value his hunting experience, and the chase would be infinitely better than moving furniture.

“Just think about it,” Jacques pushed.

The big Dragon nodded. “I will.”

“Okay, are we ready?” Cara asked.

Tyrez looked through the glowing gate, and stepped forward.

The heat hit them like a fist as they joined hands and walked through. The gateway opened to a desert realm. It had long been the chosen meeting site for the Cryptid council, perhaps because it was both remote and defensible—anyone approaching could be seen for miles. Tyrez’s inner Dragon purred, and he turned his face into the sun.

Cara shook her hand loose from Jacques. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Jacques grinned. “Sorry. You know me and powerful women.”

Cara rolled her eyes.

Dunes spread across the horizon, but the land they stood upon was flat. Just ahead, the coarse gravel dropped into a ravine framed in yellow stone. The trio walked to a set of steps carved into the walls and began their descent.

The air cooled as they descended into the shadows. Tyrez missed the baking heat, but it helped focus his mind on the task ahead. There’d be time, later, to consider new homes and futures. At the moment, he needed to be sharp, and on his toes, to pull this off.

A structure had been excavated into the opposite cliff wall. Its architecture revealed its extreme age. There was a sense of nobility in the arched columns and sculpted stone, and as they approached, all three remained silent in homage.

Razir stood just outside the entrance. Four large forms guarded the doors—two as beasts, two as humans. Heavily muscled, even the humans were impressive. But the beasts were over a thousand pounds of pure potential mayhem, from their massive, maned heads and broad jaws with seven-inch fangs to their powerful shoulders and paws tipped in razor-sharp claws.

Sabres. The council’s chosen enforcers.

“Think I was making the others nervous,” Razir said, shooting the furred shapeshifters a sideways glance. “Thought I’d wait out here.”

Tyrez’s lips twitched. His brothers were so different. Taran would have stayed within the meeting room and remained so silent and foreboding that the tension would have reached a fevered pitch in minutes. Razir was the opposite, avoiding potential conflict by removing himself from the equation.

What would Tyrez have done? He likely would have talked it out. Started to stitch together the coalition they so desperately needed. Or was that thought simply because he knew what must be done to make this happen? After all, this was his idea, not Razir’s.

They moved into the building, which was as beautiful inside as out. No windows—it was too deep beneath the rock—but natural light had been cleverly piped in through channels in the stone that opened to the sky above. In places, water bubbled from fountains that tapped into underground aquifers. Tapestries and murals depicting significant realmian events softened the walls.

The Dragon’s empire had limited dealings with the council, preferring to run their realms unassisted or otherwise hindered by an organization many generations younger than their own.

But they needed them now.

Not that it had an army to lend to the cause. But their policies governed many who might offer valuable assistance. Rindek had used freedom from their restrictions as a basis on which to build his own army. If the Archmage was to be defeated, Tyrez needed to arrange much the same thing.

There were two more huge Sabres at the entrance to the council chambers. Tyrez nodded to them, and they stepped aside.

The room beyond was large, and it needed to be. The three main species of shapeshifters: Dragons, Sabres, and Dires—all tended to be substantial when in human form. At one end of the room was a raised dais with a long table—the current council, made up of many species from across the realms.

The walls had been designed to amplify voices. The council’s table ran along the far wall while a large, semi-circular one spanned the room. It both pleased and shocked Tyrez to see so many seated around it. He recognized Kade with Tyrez’s friends Cody to one side and Neil on the other. Next to them sat the rarest of creatures—a female Sabre—Kitani, sister to Kade and mate to Cody.

They were framed by the head Sabres from the other Canadian provinces and territories. On such short notice, getting the entire Canadian component to attend was a minor miracle. The call had also gone further afield, but it was no surprise that only a few from outside the country had gated in for the meeting. That so many had managed it was a testament to how highly they regarded the Watchers’ warnings as well as to the alarm caused by the Dragons’ situation.

The other side of the table was even more remarkable—Tyrez recognized a few Dires. Alex, he knew fairly well now. And beside him, a big sandy-haired Dire. On his other side sat Emily, now official alpha female to Alex’s pack.

Tyrez didn’t know any of the Dire alphas other than Alex. But judging by the numbers seated at the table, at least thirty packs were represented.

The semi-circular table had an opening at the end closest to the entrance. Those presenting to the council stood at a podium in the center of the room. Tyrez, Razir, Cara and Jacques advanced to this point and remained standing as everyone in the room rose.

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