“Here, sweetie.” I reached into my backpack and pulled out the charm Lily had made. “Lily was one of the people who could get through. She helped Sarah on the project. This should make the ward think you’re her.”
I placed the small charm in his hand, and his whole body seemed to relax. “Thank the goddess. That’s better. So that’s what any human would feel if they tried to walk through? That was some powerful dread. I’m going to be honest. If I didn’t know what I know, I would have walked away and never come back.”
That’s what a really good ward could do to a person.
“You should see what happens to a witch who isn’t allowed through,” Neil said. “I’m sorry it affects you. Sarah was slowly working on the wards when she could. I guess she hadn’t gotten to the kids yet. And it’s a physical tunnel. Chad worked his magic on a construction crew.”
“Danny is Chad’s vampire master. How did he keep this from him?” I was sure it was one of the reasons Myrddin hadn’t wanted to let Danny go through the painting. Danny’s blood could influence any vampire or werewolf who took it.
Neil chuckled. “Oh, Chad will tell Daniel anything he thinks the king needs to know. He genuinely thought this was in his master’s best interest, so he kept it from him. Chad is pragmatic when it comes to his servitude. It’s the difference between a vampire and a wolf. After all those years, Zack would have told Danny no matter what. Which is why he was left out of this project. I always thought we should have made it prettier though. It’s got a very latter-day mine vibe about it.”
The walls looked solid, though the whole thing was way too confining. Lee could barely walk without hunching over, and his shoulders nearly brushed the sides. “So this will take us all the way to the basement under Ether?”
“Yes. From there you’ll need to sneak up the back stairwell. Sorry, Z. I’m afraid you can’t use the elevator,” Neil announced with a frown. “They wouldn’t be able to see you, but they would see the doors opening and closing, and that might attract attention. They’ll be less likely to see the stairwell doors open and close.”
It looked like I was getting a workout in. “All right. We should get going. I won’t be able to call you. Believe it or not, cell service doesn’t work under the cloak. Are you meeting the fake me?”
The lions were giving us a lioness who didn’t mind wearing a Zoey glamour and shopping with my bestie in case the witches were on the lookout.
Neil glanced down at his watch. “Yep. She should be up in the lobby right now. The human security company who works for Dev’s legitimate businesses is providing us with an escort so things look good.”
“You put the tunnel under our human security team’s building?” I asked, shocked at his audacity.
Neil shrugged. “They’re willing to do some pretty crazy stuff for their clients, and Neiman Marcus is a block over. I thought it would be a good shortcut for us when it was done. Freaking Myrddin screws up everything. I thought I would have a shortcut to designer wear. Instead, I’ve got a shortcut to an Icelandic bookstore that smells like patchouli and smoked fish. Call me when you’re out.”
“It could be an hour or two,” Lee said. “We’re going to be careful about this. I promised the dads I wouldn’t get Mom murdered.”
It was good they all had faith in my skills. “You know I pulled off the first part of this job about two weeks ago in my time. And my partner was eleven, so I think we’ll be okay.”
“You better be, Z. I’ll meet you back here in a couple of hours. If something goes wrong, I’ll text you, though I know you won’t get it until you get back to the tunnel,” Neil promised. “Be careful when you come out. Our intelligence puts all of Dev’s old playthings in the basement. Myrddin doesn’t like human weapons, so he shoved the whole armory there and hasn’t looked at it since.”
Lee’s eye lit with excitement. “Oh, I will be stealing some fun shit on my way out then.”
Neil nodded and then closed the door behind us, and I was left alone with my son. Rhys had offered to come along, but I’d wanted to keep the group as tight as I could. So I’d convinced him Shy needed him. She was still working through losing Harry.
The last time I’d seen them, Rhys had been holding her hand, so it looked like my dad’s plan was working.
Rhys was safe in Iceland. Evan had promised me she was securely in the primal nest.
I just had to make sure this son of mine survived.