Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (18 page)

“Who else, besides yourself, might be using the gateway?” Philomena asked next.

“This gateway is only known to those of my Order,” Cam answered cooly.

Philomena surprised Matt with her wide-eyed reaction. “Are you a
Chevalier
, Sir?”

“What do you know of us?” Cam asked, not upset by her question, but rather seeming to be intrigued.

“When I was very young, I nearly fell to my death while I was exploring on a mountainside,” she said, surprising Matt. Judging by the expressions of those gathered, nobody had known of this particular event from her past. “I ended up falling off a cliff and landing on a ledge that was barely wide enough for my shifted form. My leg was broken, and I had no way to climb up the rock face either in wolf or human form. I prayed to the Lady, and two days later, I was rescued by a
Chevalier de la Lumiere.
He got me off that ledge and healed my leg. He was amazing, and so kind. He also told me that, one day, I would meet another like him, and the whole world would be in jeopardy.”

“I’m sorry, lass,” Cam said softly. “This is that day, and my brother was correct. The
Venifucus
threat is real, and we of the Light are coming back into this realm in larger numbers, working with those here who are on the side of the Light to defeat the darkness.”

Silence reigned for a moment while everyone took in the seriousness of his words.

“Cameron is known to the Clan,” Matt said firmly when Jenny looked at him. “He is what he claims, and he has helped us in the past. Grif has authorized every member of the Clan to aid him in his mission in any way we can.”

“Then, safe passage is the least we can do,” Jenny said after only a moment’s hesitation. “With the proviso that the gate and the tunnel leading to the surface are made no-go zones for our young and ourselves, unless under dire threat. I’d also like to know if there’s a way we can contact you if you’re Underhill. Is there some way we can get messages to you, Sir Cameron, if we have news to share or need your help?”

Cam looked impressed. “Aye. I can put up wardings that will let me know if one of yours says the proper words near the gateway. Will that do?”

Jenny smiled. “I think we have an accord.”

* * *

Matt and Morgan stayed at the Pack house longer than she expected. The women were friendly, and Morgan was glad to get to know them. If they were any indication of the rest of the Redstone Clan, then Morgan realized she had been worried about nothing. These women were bright, intelligent and clearly respected and well-treated by everyone else in the Clan.

When Jenny insisted they stay for dinner, Morgan couldn’t refuse. The food was delicious and plentiful. So often, Morgan had to hide her shifter appetite among humans. It was kind of startling to eat with the wolf Pack and see that they ate just as much as she did, and nobody raised any eyebrows at the mass consumption of rare steak. For once in her life, Morgan didn’t have to watch what she ate for fear of giving herself away.

She enjoyed every bite of her steak, munched on a turkey leg and didn’t skimp on dessert either. Matt ate even more than she did and kept refilling her glass and offering her side dishes. He was attentive without being annoying. In fact, he was the perfect dinner partner, and she found herself wanting to take care of him like he was doing for her.

After a while, she became aware of some rather pointed looks from some of the older ladies. They realized something was between Morgan and Matt, but they seemed to approve, if their smiles were anything to go by. They were grinning and pushing platters toward them, watching the way Matt would serve Morgan first with nods and grins.

They talked a bit more about plans for stopping the
Venifucus
and what was going on in the mine. Some of the most vulnerable were being sent back to Las Vegas until things settled down, but Morgan was impressed by the way Matt allowed the wolf Pack to make their own decisions on who would stay and who would go. Morgan was also impressed by how many of them chose to stay and fight and how easily Matt accepted that the females would stand alongside the men in this time of crisis.

The Redstones ran their Clan quite a bit differently than her original Clan. In fact, the Redstone Clan was a far cry from what she had grown up with. All for the better. So far, she hadn’t seen anything to concern her that she might be walking into a nightmare like that of her youth. No, the Redstones were what a Clan should be, and she felt truly blessed to be welcome among them.

As darkness fell, Matt and Morgan returned to Atticus’s home. They went straight to the make-shift war room for an update. Irma and her husband had been under surveillance all day by
weres
and would be watched by vamps at night. Much to Morgan’s relief, Irma and husband hadn’t done much at all that day. By all accounts, they had slept most of the day away, appearing groggy around mid-afternoon. They’d eaten, washed up, and then had gone promptly back to bed.

Apparently, waking the San Andreas fault was exhausting work.

Cameron had traveled with them, hitching a ride once again in Matt’s vehicle. He was welcomed by Atticus as host, then given a seat next to Marc, the Master vampire. Morgan and Matt sat farther down the table but were still central to the discussion. Morgan was surprised, at first, that everyone just assumed she’d sit with Matt rather than near Marc, who was both her employer and had been her protector for so many years.

A subtle shift was going on. The Brotherhood was quietly acknowledging her new relationship with Matt in a way that was both alarming and very, very comforting. It was as if she’d brought home her boyfriend to meet her family, and they approved.

She supposed, if she had been brought up in a normal Clan of shifters, she might’ve experienced this sort of quiet welcome when she introduced Matt. It was touching to know that the people she held dearest in the world—Marc and several other members of the Brotherhood—liked Matt and approved of her relationship with him.

It was a big change for her to be part of a couple. She felt almost as if she’d lost something. There was now a subtle emotional—and obvious physical—distance between her and Marc. Before, she would’ve been sitting very close, probably slightly behind him, in the role of legal advisor. Now, she was farther down the table, seated next to her mate.

She looked over at Matt, watching him as he talked with Atticus. He was her mate. That was something she could never regret, though she wasn’t sure she could keep up with all the emotional changes finding him had wrought on her life. The new distance from Marc was stark and somewhat unsettling, but as if Matt realized her emotional state, he reached for her hand. He glanced her way and smiled, even as he continued to speak with Atticus. Matt held her hand, squeezing gently, offering silent comfort, and her whole world warmed with his simple, thoughtful gesture.

He was her
mate
. For better or worse, she would have to come to terms with all that meant to her life and her career. Things were different now, and there was no going back. Not that she’d want to. She would never give him up. Not for anything.

“Can we count on any further help from the fey realm?” Marc asked Cameron, drawing everyone’s attention as the meeting came to order.

“While there is interest in what transpires in this realm, if only for the sake of the half-fey progeny of many of our people, the fey are rather an insular race, these days. In centuries past, we spent a lot more time in the mortal realm, but with the advancement of your technology, we have retreated more and more to our own places. There are still many half-fey, half-human children, though, and many of them have a vested interest in what goes on here. Most of them are sworn to fight Elspeth already. A few of our greatest warriors are also pledged to end Elspeth should she escape the bonds of the farthest realm, which is her prison. If that happens, the fey response will be much greater.” Cameron sat back and sighed. “Unfortunately, not many believe that her followers could possibly succeed in freeing her. I’m afraid she will have to be on a rampage before the fey will come fight her in greater numbers—and the devastation of the battle will happen here, once again, as it did of old. Many innocents will die.”

“Then, we are on our own to prevent it,” Marc stated flatly.

Cameron sat forward once more. “Not entirely alone, my friend. The Knights are on your side. We are not many, but we are faithful and strong. We will come to your aid and do what we can to prevent a catastrophe. But do not discount the power you yourselves wield. The Brotherhood is strong. The
were
are cunning. Together, you have already stopped many attempts to free Elspeth. Lady willing, you will continue to block the
Venifucus’s
attempts to do their evil deeds.”

“The way I see it, we are not organized enough,” Atticus offered. “Even with our new level of cooperation with the Lords, we are only regional organizations, at best. We’re not global. From all evidence, the
Venifucus
are a truly global organization. There are too many variables around the world for us to cover every possibility. We have to rely on local groups—the Lords and Masters of each different region—to coordinate the defense. Unfortunately, some of them are not what I would call on top of things.”

“I would have to agree,” Marc concurred. “I’ve also reached out to certain human magic users I’ve heard of who are purported to be on the side of Light. I’m sorry to say, my overtures have not been well received.”

“Now, that’s where I might be able to help a bit,” Cam spoke up again. “I have connections with certain mages that might be useful. Humans might still fear bloodletters, but the interaction between human and fey goes back millennia. We taught them about magic to begin with, and most of the magic in your world today came originally from the fey realm. I can work with my contacts among those I know to be serving the Lady and the Light, to see what help we can gain from them.”

“And the
were
have always had a good relationship with a worldwide network of Priestesses who will help in any way they can, I’m sure,” Matt offered. “Several of them have already been in direct action against the
Venifucus
and are working with us.”

Marc seemed to consider. “I’d almost forgotten about those estimable ladies. We should probably ask a representative from their order to join our planning sessions, in future. For right now though, we have to decide how to stop Irma and Company in their tracks.”

The meeting went on as a plan was formulated. They had a little breathing room while Irma and her fellows recovered from the work they had done the day before, but it was agreed that they shouldn’t wait too long. No sense in letting the sorcerers get back up to full strength before the confrontation. They had to move soon.

They didn’t want to confront them in or near the mine. Not with the fault being active. The risk of energy overflow was too great, Cam cautioned. Best to fight it out as far away from the mine, as possible. Which meant they would have to confront the sorcerers in town. Preferably in their homes—which was both a problem and a solution to keeping innocent bystanders out of the fray.

The problem came in, Cam explained, in that any mage worth his salt would weave protections around his home. The good guys would have to overcome the magical protections before they could confront the bad guys, and by that time, they would almost certainly have lost the element of surprise.

But, in the case of Irma, at least, there was an alternative location that would serve. The winery office was an area Atticus could control. Cam agreed to check it for magical interference and lay down a few wardings of his own. With any luck, he’d be able to trap Irma in a web of magic before she even realized things had changed drastically at the Maxwell Winery office.

Because it was his home territory, it was natural that Atticus wanted to be the one to confront Irma. The Brotherhood decided to do that part of the job, leaving the
weres
to go after the two men. But each take-down team would have members of both races. The team going after Irma consisted of the leadership of the Brotherhood—Atticus and Marc, primarily—with Jenny’s family as backup, since it wasn’t out of the question to see winery workers at the office.

Morgan and Matt would go after Irma’s husband with Cam and the vampire enforcer, Ian, as backup. Philomena’s work crew was going to take down the third mage, along with another of Marc’s enforcers. A quick call to the Priestess Hilda confirmed that she would also be part of that group, since the two groups that were confronting the men would likely need magical assistance just to get through the wardings. Cam would do it for Matt and Morgan, but Philomena would need Hilda’s help if they were all going to strike at the same time.

Monday evening—tomorrow night—at sunset, was the moment they would all strike. Irma would be working on Monday, and Atticus would send a request through that she stay late—something he often did. The work hours of those at the winery office were flexible since Atticus often scheduled dinner meetings. Everyone knew going in that they would start work later and finish later as a result. The few office workers liked the hours, since they didn’t have to be in until noon, and the free gourmet dinners Atticus provided were considered a perk.

Morgan felt her inner cat perk up and pace inside her mind. She wanted to claw the evil ones for what they had done, and it began to feel like the moment for action was at hand. A certain excitement filled the room as they planned each action down to the last second. Morgan paid close attention to her part in the plan, thrilled that nobody was trying to get her to stay out of it. She owed those sorcerers for trapping her in that mine, and she was damned well going to get some payback.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“We’re beginning to live like vampires,” Matt observed as they entered the guest room after the meeting broke up near dawn. “I always enjoyed prowling at night, but I do need some sleep in order to function during the day.”