"The police are investigating Ricky in the disappearance of a man who was stalking him. A man who seems to be the target of the Cwn Annwn."
Ioan frowned. Before he could ask, I explained. When I finished, Ioan leaned back in his chair and said, "Ciro Halloran..."
"Never heard of him?"
"No, I certainly have. He's been doing exactly what you saw in your vision: killing lamiae."
"Lamiae? Plural?"
"Two so far, we believe. That does put him in our crosshairs, so to speak. We haven't been able to catch him, though."
"Is it really that hard?"
"The Cwn Annwn..." He straightened. "Explaining further might be seen as a violation of our contract. May I explain, on the understanding that your willingness to listen does not mean you are nullifying the agreement?" When I hesitated, impatience crept into his voice. "I'm not trying to trick you, Liv. That's their way, not ours."
I glanced at Ricky. He nodded, and I said, "All right."
"Good. Now, you know the Cwn Annwn pursue killers who murder those with fae blood. There are additional restrictions. We are hunters, not assassins. We must set the hounds on our prey. We cannot take lives ourselves. Nor can we set the hounds on them in any milieu other than a traditional Hunt."
"So you need to lure your prey into the forest? That's a little complicated, isn't it?"
"We have ways. Charms and compulsions, like the Tylwyth Teg. They do not always work, so we have sought other methods. Loopholes, if you will."
"The brainwashing experiments with Chandler."
Ioan's lips tightened. "Not one of our finer moments. The theory was sound, allowing
us to turn murderous partners against one another. It would also have allowed us to target those without a fae connection."
"Why?"
He looked surprised. "Because it's justice. The purpose of our existence."
And that, I suppose, was the only answer I'd get. The only one he could give. Their jurisdiction might be limited to crimes with a fae connection, but that did not keep them from seeing injustice elsewhere and wanting to correct the balance. Which is why they'd made the deal with my mother to kill murderers they couldn't touch.
Ioan continued. "My dealings with Chandler bore fruit, as you know, but they also caused the deaths of innocent people. I will not forgive myself for that. No more than I forgive myself for the danger he put you in. I knew Chandler was not a righteous man, but I thought he could be controlled. I allowed my zealousness to overwhelm my prudence. It won't happen again."
"And Halloran?"
"He appears immune to our compulsions. We've been seeking other remedies."
"But I had a vision of him being pursued by you guys."
Ioan frowned and then said, "We haven't caught up to him. Possibly that's a prognostic vision? Have you had those?"
"No, just visions of the past."
"I don't know what to say, then. I can only hope that it is a vision of the future, and we'll catch up to him soon. As for his interest in Ricky, though, that's very concerning. It seems--"
"Awfully coincidental?" I said. "Yep. Whatever's going on, though, I am going to investigate, because I can't take the chance of ignoring it. I'm here to ask for everything you know about Ciro Halloran."
"What about him?"
"Whatever you learned in the course of your investigation. Background info, current info, anything pertinent."
"None of that is pertinent," Ioan said. "He's killing fae. That is an undisputed fact. Details would simply get in the way. I can provide his home address, though."
"Already got it. How about the crimes, then? Begin with motivation. Why'd he do it?"