Elisa offered eibhear more tea, which he readily accepted. Did he think this was some kind of tea party? It wasn't!

"So do you need me to kill someone?" eibhear asked.

"You two seem kind of focused on that. Do many ask you to kill?"

Izzy and eibhear shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you both, but this isn't about killing. This is about rescuing."

"Rescuing?" eibhear was surprised. No one had asked him to rescue anyone. Ever. "I can do that."

Izzy looked at him. "Do you really have time?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Your mother gave you a task, eibhear. To find out about Vateria."

"Well then," Elisa cut in. "That makes this much easier."

"You need me to rescue someone from Vateria?"

"No. Before the last night of the full moon, you need to rescue Vateria before she's sacrificed."

"Huh," eibhear grunted, truly surprised. "I really didn't see that coming."

Chapter 38.

One of the Nolwenns led them to the doors that eibhear had kicked in. "When you're done," the witch said before they walked out, "you may return. But not before."

Not liking the cow's tone, Izzy pulled her arm back, but eibhear caught hold and dragged her out the doors.

"Why do you keep doing that?" she demanded.

"Must we repeat what just happened?"

"Forget that, eibhear. We need to talk about-"

"Izzy!" a voice called out.

Izzy looked at the street and grinned. "Brannie!" She ran down the stairs and met Branwen halfway. They threw their arms around each other and eibhear looked past them to Aidan, Caswyn, and Uther. All four of them rolled their eyes at each other. One would think the two females hadn't seen each other in years rather than a few days.

"Are you all right?" Izzy demanded of her friend. "Were you hurt?"

"Iz, I'm fine." Brannie hugged her again. "I figured this was the most likely place to find you. We have word from Rhiannon."

"I'm sure you do, but that'll have to wait." Izzy smiled. "I have people for you to meet."

"People?"

Izzy took Brannie's hand and led her down the steps to her birth father's family, who were still waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her.

"Who's that?" Aidan asked, the four of them watching Izzy introduce each family member to an overwhelmed Branwen.

"The family of Izzy's birth father."

"Really?"

"Aye."

"How are they?"

"Ever so nice. All soldiers and blacksmiths. I think my father will like Izzy's grandfather."

"How does Izzy's grandfather feel about you?"

"Oh, he hates me."

Aidan shrugged. "He knows you're defiling his granddaughter. What do you expect?"

"I hate you."

"Only when I'm right."

"So now what?" Caswyn asked.

"You sound eager."

"He's met some long-tailed royal," Aidan explained. "And hopes to spend time with her at the human's harvest festival."

"I hope to buy a prostitute at the harvest festival," Uther announced. "Just for a night or two. Not to keep."

"Especially since Annwyl outlawed slavery of any kind."

"Did she?"

eibhear walked around his idiot friends and headed toward Izzy and her family. "You ready?" he asked.

"What's going on?" Maskini asked.

"Well," Izzy said, "I beat up my grandmother, which was weird because she looked just like Mum, but she did start it, and I found out that all the times I've used a shield to protect myself from Magicks was apparently a vast waste of effort. I also met my great grandmother who said she'd help my sister but only if eibhear does something incredibly stupid, but it seems he won't listen to me about it. Plus, Brannie, it looks like Macsen is descended from battle dogs, and as far as eibhear's concerned, tea can soothe anything."

Aidan smiled. "Now aren't you glad you asked?"

"Gods," Layla sighed, "you really are like your mother."

Chapter 39.

eibhear held up a map that Zachariah had dug up for them. Normally, they'd place a map on a table, but at the moment, there wasn't enough room around the table for that. There was Izzy, Izzy's family, eibhear's comrades, and Brannie all packed into this small, fourth-floor family room.

"Are you just going to hold that?" Maskini asked him.

"Unless you have a better option."

Maskini took the map from eibhear's hands and walked over to the far wall. She held it up against the cool brick. "Layla."

Layla walked over to her mother and pulled out two blades from her boot. Lifting the daggers, she rammed one in each of the top two corners. "There," she said, pleased with herself. Her smile just like Izzy's.

Stepping back, eibhear studied the map.

"What did the witch tell you?" Aidan asked.

"That they'll have Vateria near a source of power. Most likely here," he said, pointing to a mountainous terrain less than a half day's flight outside the city walls.

"They weren't more specific?"

"They never are."

eibhear felt a tug on the back of his shirt and he saw that it was Izzy sitting on the table behind him. He stepped back until his ass rested against the table and she handed him something. He stared at it.

"What is this?"

"I got it from Zarah. She took two slices of bread and put meat in the middle. It's good and you can eat it without a knife."

eibhear took a bite.

"It's good, yeah?"

He nodded his head in approval while Uther sidled up next to him. "What's that you got there?"

eibhear glared at his comrade. "It's mine. That's what it is."

"You can't share?"

"No."

"Are you two done?" Maskini demanded. She pointed at the map. "We've got work to do."

"But we're hungry," Uther replied.

"Are you whining?"

"Maybe. A little."

Rolling her eyes, Maskini pushed past her family and walked out.

"Maybe?" Izzy teased Uther.

"I'm hungry!"

"Okay!"

eibhear stared at the map and ate his meat and bread.

"All right," Izzy said next to him, her voice low. "What's bothering you?"

"Who says something's bothering me?"

"I do. I can see it on your face."

"Know me so well now, do you?"

"I've always known you well, dragon. You just never wanted to see it. Now what's bothering you?"

"Can witches be lied to?"

"Anybody can be lied to. The question is whether they believe the lie or the liar. Why?"

"How many converted does this cult have?"

"Heru didn't say. Enough for him to be nervous and for them to feel confident enough to attack your mother's troops at the salt mines."

"Right. But they didn't strike right at us. They came under cover of dark, nice and quiet. If you hadn't alerted us, they would have had you and been gone long before we'd realized you were missing."

"Which means what to you?"

"That they're not at full army strength yet, and they're not ready for direct attacks."

"So?"

"Then why would they put themselves here"-he pointed at the map again-"out in the open, where they'd be unable to stop a full onslaught?"

"Because they need the power that's there."

"According to my mother, there are power sources everywhere. She can get power from a bloody vegetable patch if she needs to." eibhear walked closer to the map, studied it. "There has to be a place of power that makes more strategic sense."

"Who says they're strategic?" Uther asked, grinning when Maskini handed him, Caswyn, and Uther two slices of bread each, with big chunks of meat in the middle. "Ta."