“He’s here,” Barrons said coolly, “because he has three of the stones necessary to corner the Book.”

“Hand ’em over and get the fuck out.”

“It’s not my fault you’re turning into a fairy.”

V’lane said stiffly, “Fae. Not fairy.”

“You knew my tats weren’t protection enough—”

“I’m not your babysitter—”

Christopher hissed, “You should have checked him—”

“For the love of Mary,” Rowena snapped. “I’ve a plague of barbarians and fools!”

“—and it wasn’t my job to tattoo you. Pack your own fucking parachute. It wasn’t even my job to try to keep the—”

Drustan said softly, “We should have checked him—”

Dageus snarled, “Doona be acting like ’twas some bloody favor you did—”

“You didn’t try to get me out of the Silvers. Did you even tell anyone I was there?”

“—but the hour grew late,” Drustan said, “and time can no longer be undone.”

“—for the human race, when you’re part of it,” Dageus finished.

“—walls up. And it was a bloody favor, though you wouldn’t know by the bloody thanks I’ve gotten, and don’t be lumping me in the same gene pool as you, Highlander.”

“Oh, shut up, all of you,” I said, exasperated. “You can fight later. Right now we have work to do.” To the Keltar, I said, “How certain are you of the parts you improvised?”

No one spoke for a moment as they finished the battle in silence, with glares and wordless threats.

“As certain as we can be,” Dageus finally said. “We’re not new to this. We’ve been the queen’s Druids since before the Compact was negotiated. We sat with them in the Old Days, when the great hill of Tara had yet to be built, and learned their ways. Plus we’ve a few other … bits of arcane lore at our disposal.”

“And we all know how well that turned out for you last time,” Barrons said silkily.

“Mayhap you weren’t helping but hindering, Old One,” Dageus growled. “We ken you’ve your own agenda. What is it?”

“Stop it, all of you!” Rowena snapped.

The tension swelled.

“Barrons and his men will place three of the stones.” I tried to get things back on track.

“He will give them to my sidhe-seers,” Rowena said sternly. “We will place the stones.”

Barrons gave her an incredulous look with the subtle arch of a brow. “In whose fucking reality do you think that’s going to happen?”

“You have no business being involved.”

“Old woman, Idon’t like you,” Barrons said coldly. “Be careful around me. Be very, very careful.”

Rowena closed her mouth, perched her glasses on her nose, and pursed her lips.

I looked at V’lane. “Did you bring the fourth stone?”

He looked at Barrons. “Did he bring his three?”

Barrons bared his teeth at V’lane.

V’lane hissed.

The Keltar growled.

And so it went.

Forty-five minutes later, when we all stalked from the room, two of the walls were shattered and the floor was cracked.

But we’d nailed down the nuances of our plan.

I would fly a Hunter over the city and locate the Sinsar Dubh, radioing back the location.

Barrons, Lor, Ryodan, and V’lane would close in with the four stones, while the Keltar began the binding spell to seal its covers so it could be moved.

Drustan would pick it up.

Barrons, Rowena, Drustan, V’lane, and I would ride together in Barrons’ Hummer to the abbey (because no one trusted V’lane or any other Fae to sift him with the Book there and wait for everyone else to arrive).

Rowena would drop the wards, and all of us who were in the room today would enter the underground tomb that had been created eons ago to contain the Sinsar Dubh.

Dageus would complete the binding spell that would seal its pages closed and—according to their lore—turn the keys in the locks, which would silence it in a vacuum of eternal awareness, alone forever. A hellish thing, to be sure, he’d said grimly.

And something he’d seemed to know a thing or two about.

There’s no reason for her to be there, Rowena had continued to protest, giving me the gimlet eye, even as they were blindfolding her and the sidhe-seers. Ryodan didn’t want them seeing his club or knowing the back way in.

There’s no reason for you to be there, either, old woman, Barrons had said. Once you drop the wards, we don’t need you.

You’re not necessary, either.

You think only Dageus should go in, with Drustan and the Book? I’d said acerbically.

She’d fumed the entire way out.

As I stepped into the overcast afternoon, I shivered. All trace of spring had vanished. The day was dark as dusk again, heavy with rain. Tomorrow night we would meet at O’Connell and Beacon.

And, with luck, by dawn the next day the world would be a safer place.

In the meantime, I was desperate for some downtime away from all the men in my life. I needed a girl’s night and the comforts of normalcy.

I turned to V’lane and touched his arm. “Can you find Dani for me and ask her to come to the bookstore tonight at eight?”

“Your wish, my command, MacKayla.” He smiled. “Shall we spend tomorrow at the beach together?”