Conspiracy (4 page)

I glanced at Eimile. She was listening to her daughter speak and had developed a horrified look on her face.

“My assailant was unknown to me at the time because he came at me from behind, but I recognized the other voice. It was Uncle Conchur. The man who grabbed me had a knife in his hand which he waved in front of my face. In moments, I was pinned face down on the floor as he sat on top of me. Conchur spoke briefly to him, then left. In an instant, the man had transported us to the forest outside the castle. The rest is…I don’t want to share details, but he completed the madness that drove him to this attack.”

Tears slowly dripped down Mallorie’s face, and Eimile also cried for her only daughter’s ordeal.

“As he finished, he stood and pulled me off the ground. He was a few years older than me, but I’d never seen him before. He’d been meeting with Uncle Conchur, so I thought there must be some relationship.”

I was curious to hear that name again, but not surprised. Conchur was the man who had kidnapped me and Reagan and had us taken to the island, planning to turn us over to the
Olc
.

Mallorie continued. “The man was indifferent that I had seen his face, even smiling at me. I took that moment to scream, but he hit me across the mouth and I fell to the ground and hit my head, which knocked me unconscious. When I awoke, I was in a small room somewhere I didn’t recognize and Uncle Conchur was with me. He told me Alamond—that was the young man’s name—had told him his version of what had happened. I tried to tell Conchur what had really occurred, but he wouldn’t accept my story. He insisted that I was at fault for enticing his son.”

“His
son
?” Eimile blurted out. “What son?”

Mallorie went and knelt by her mother. “I didn’t learn until much later, but Uncle Conchur had another family in the Eastern Realm. Alamond was his oldest son and he had one other, Senain. Both were half
Olc
, half
Maith
. Several years later, Alamond was killed by other
Olc
.”

“Why didn’t you come to me and tell me all of this?” Eimile cried. “I would have believed you.”

“I never got the chance, Mother.  I was in the Eastern Realm. In those first few days, Uncle Conchur told me he couldn’t have me ruining Alamond’s reputation, that he might be king of the Eastern Realm one day. He told me that if I ever came back or let you know that I was still alive, he’d kill you. I was terrified. I’d been raped, kidnapped, and threatened that you and Father would be killed.”

“That bastard. A villager found your torn and bloody clothing near the edge of the forest. We all assumed you’d been killed. Conchur must have put the clothing there so we’d think the worst. In light of the dispute between the
Maith
and the
Olc
, it seemed reasonable to assume the
Olc
had something to do with your death. From that moment on, my heart was broken. I’ve always been convinced your death and my own sorrow led to your father’s failing health. He simply had no will to live.”

Eimile stroked her daughter’s hair as she finished the story.

“Conchur created a false account of what had happened in the Western Realm, warned me to agree with the story, and then his son took me to the castle in Sophia. I stayed with the king and queen and became part of the household. They accepted me and believed that I was mistreated by my own family. I’m so ashamed that I lied about you, Mother, but I had to make them believe it so Conchur wouldn’t carry out his threat to have you killed. The royal family already had a mistrust of everything about the
Maith
, but I soon became a part of their family. Their son, Prince Aegir, took a liking to me and we were married. That angered Uncle Conchur, but then he saw it to his advantage. After several years passed, I came to have a happy life, Mother, and a son and a daughter,” she said, looking toward Alisha, “but I never stopped hoping that one day I’d see you again. I hope you can forgive me for my deception.”

“A daughter and a
son
? My grandchildren,” Eimile said, a quick smile shining through her tears. “Where is your son?”

“His life was also threatened, so we placed him in hiding.”

“Oh, Mallorie, I can’t believe we’ve missed all these years together. I’m so sorry you had to go through that by yourself.” Eimile pulled Mallorie up from her knees and hugged her.

“It was a horrible time, but I want you to know that everything worked out in the end. Aegir has been wonderful to me, and Alisha is such a comfort. Come, daughter, and let me introduce you to your grandmother.” Mallorie motioned for Alisha, who reluctantly peeled herself away from Gregor.

I watched the reunion scene from the sidelines, pleased to see that Eimile had come to a happy ending with her daughter. Gregor also stood at the side, a guarded expression on his face. I guess it made sense that he was involved with the king’s daughter—he was the royal right-hand man and Alisha was a beautiful woman. He had never mentioned anything about her while he was in the Western Realm, but then, I wasn’t in his inner circle of friends.

Gregor went over and spoke quietly with the king, who nodded at whatever was being discussed. Gregor then came over to me and said, “Aegir has agreed that we must leave soon. We don’t need to wait—I can have my men bring whatever they need. I just need to know where we’re going.”

“Yes, of course. My father owns a small cabin off the coast of Mobjack Bay in Virginia. He has a decent-sized yacht tied up at a dock. It will sleep six comfortably.”

“Okay,” Gregor said. “Relay some of your memories of that place to me. If you take my hands and open up your mind, I’ll get a better understanding of where we’re going.”

I felt a little uncomfortable with the whole “opening up my mind” thing.

“Will you see everything I’m thinking?”

Gregor gave a wry smile. “No. Only what you want me to see. It’s a little tricky at first, but if you can get a good image of the cabin in your mind, I can lock on to it and sift us there.”

I shrugged. “Okay, let’s give it a try.” I held out my hands and noticed they were shaking slightly.

Gregor stepped closer to me so there were only inches separating us. He took my hands in his larger ones and gently squeezed my fingertips. “Don’t be afraid—I won’t hurt you.”

I looked up into his face and his eyes were warm. “Just imagine the cabin in your mind, and focus on the connection between us.”

I didn’t know what Elven magic he was producing, but I could definitely feel the connection. A warm heat flowed between our hands, running through my arms and into my chest. My heart started beating faster and our eyes locked. I was having a hard time concentrating with him looking at me like that, so I closed my eyes and thought about the cabin my dad had bought years ago for our family vacations. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which Dad said was a must with three women in the house. There was a small garden plot out the back door with a protective fence around the border to keep out the deer.  Mom had hung a red hummingbird feeder outside the kitchen window and planted roses along the front walkway to welcome guests. Thinking of Mom made me sad and I wished she was still there, rocking on the back porch. I felt Gregor rub my fingers with his thumb and I knew he could feel my sorrow. I had a firm picture in my mind, and I instinctively reached for Gregor’s consciousness to share my vision.

I gasped as I felt Gregor’s mind touch my own. It was more intimate than I was prepared for, and I tried to pull my hands away. He gripped them tightly and murmured, “Hold on. I’m almost there.”

I opened my eyes and watched Gregor’s face as he released his hold on my mind, and then my hands. They felt cold after the stream of warmth that had passed between us, and I was a little embarrassed that I wanted him to touch me again.

I stepped away to break the contact and saw Alisha watching us with narrowed eyes. I could tell she wasn’t pleased with what had transpired, but Gregor seemed oblivious to Alisha’s state of mind and gathered everyone together to leave. “I know where we’re going next, so everyone, please be alert and stay together. Stand close to me and hold my arm while we sift to Heather’s cabin.”

I stood next to Mallorie as we gathered close to Gregor and touched his arm, and we quickly found ourselves on the back porch of my father’s cabin on the Virginia coast. My first thought was that I hoped he wasn’t inside—Dad didn’t take well to spontaneous visitors.

Chapter Four

Reagan

Ian sifted us to my apartment in downtown D.C., where I immediately went to my phone and found two missed calls—one from Dad the prior evening, and the other from work, only an hour before.

“It looks like no one missed us during our three days off,” Ian stated.

“Considering how long we were really gone, that’s not so bad,” I replied.

 “So, how are we going to play this thing with Tony? I’ve known him a long time, and I have to believe he has no idea who he truly is,” I said.

“Nor did you,” Ian responded. He paced around my apartment, moving my knickknacks back and forth with a thoughtful look on his face. “Unless someone of Elven heritage has the appearance of the
Olc
, or they do something blatantly obvious to reveal themselves, it’s almost impossible for anyone, including me, to tell what they are. I worked with you for six months and until you killed the
Olc
at the Jefferson Memorial, I had no idea about you. We now know who Tony is, but only because Queen Mallorie told us. Obviously the
Olc
know who he is as well, so we have to assume they’re after him. He’s already had one attempt on his life.”

I was worried he was right about Tony being in danger. “We don’t have enough manpower with the right set of skills. I doubt we could form an Elven Secret Service,” I said, only half joking. “There are two of us, and he should have at least one person on him at all times.”

“Agreed,” Ian said. “I’d pull Gregor in on this one if he wasn’t already up to his pointy ears with Aegir and Mallorie.”

I laughed at his joke. We both knew that pointy ears were a Hollywood spin, but Ian continued to remind me of my earlier foolishness. “Why don’t you give him a call and see if he’s got someone who can help out? When Tony starts campaigning, he’ll be doing a lot of traveling. An extra person who knows the score would be a huge benefit.”

“All right, I’ll do that while you return your phone calls and check in at work.” Ian took his phone in my bedroom while I listened to my messages.

One of my agents had called to tell me about an employee who twisted an ankle on duty, but they had shifted him to a different detail that didn’t require as much standing, so all was well.

Dad’s message wasn’t important either, just checking in to say hello. I’d have to call him later and see how he was feeling after his heart attack scare. I also needed to find out if he had any plans to visit the cabin so I could warn Heather. I wondered how Heather was faring with the royal family’s drama.
Both
royal families, actually.

Ian came back in the room, “Done. Gregor has a few people in mind, so he’ll send someone over ASAP. You and I are back on duty tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. I have the early-morning shift, which will mean a run with Tony, and you come in at three. That will keep most of tomorrow covered by at least one of us. It’s terrible, feeling like the rest of the team is useless, but if more
Olc
come, they actually
are
useless, as are their weapons. If Gregor gets someone over here right away, we can figure out a plan. I just can’t bring someone on board without upper-level security checks, and you know what that entails.”

“I know. I talked to Gregor about that. The person he has in mind has a special skill set with persuasion and knows their stuff about security as well. I don’t think it would take much for someone to pull a few tricks and get on Tony’s campaign team, and no one will be the wiser.”

“I just have to say, I’m so glad
we’re
on the same team. You guys would be hard to beat.”

“I’m getting bored with all this planning. I thought your bedroom looked more than comfortable.” Ian gave me a sexy smile and a wink.

I felt another of those shivers that Ian could arouse, but before I could speak, Ian’s phone rang and he answered. “Ian Maitland.”

I could tell he was speaking to Gregor. After a minute, he snapped his phone shut.

“That was fast. Gregor has someone coming now.”

“
Now
?”

“Right now.”

Before I knew it, there were three of us in the room. Surprisingly, two of us were women. I wasn’t expecting
that
. I don’t think Ian was, either, because he had a shocked look on his face.

She came forward with her hand extended. “Hi, I’m Genevieve, but everyone calls me Viv. Gregor said you needed some help.”

It took Ian a second to respond, but then he put out his hand and shook hers. “Yes, we do. I’m Ian, and this is Reagan. We’re a little outmanned here with the job we need to do. Has Gregor filled you in?”

“Gregor came to the Realm and gave me the highlights before I left. I’ve had a few days, Elven time of course, to prepare myself.”

Viv was a class act. She wore a business suit in a professional gray pinstripe with a white blouse and a red scarf. Her three-inch red heels added height to her already statuesque frame. Soft blonde waves and red lips completed the picture. She looked like she had stepped right out of
Vogue
.

I spoke up, taking charge. “Thanks so much for coming, Viv.” I motioned to the couches. “Let’s take a seat and we can come up with a plan.”

“Oh, good—more planning,” Ian whispered in my ear.

We each sat and I jumped right in. “If Gregor explained, then you know that Tony Castillo, the man we protect, is the vice president of the United States, but he is also Elven. He doesn’t know of that heritage—he was raised as a human. The
Olc
have already attacked him once. Ian and I were right with him, but they still succeeded in injuring him severely. We were able to sift him to a healer and erase the memory, but now we’re afraid that his Elven ‘talents,’ so to speak, will begin to appear. The
Olc
won’t hesitate to make another move if we’re unprepared.”