Deni was still growling, and Jace’s snarls filled his throat. An ancient enemy stood before them, and though Jace had seen this man before on other trips to Austin, the shock of him being here made his wildcat a little crazy.
“You remember Fionn,” Sean was saying. He eyed Jace warily, as though ready to stop Jace’s attack. “My mate’s true father.”
Andrea Morrissey, Sean’s mate, appeared on the other side of the Fae, flanking him in a protective move. Andrea’s dark head was up, her gray eyes daring Jace and Deni to do anything against Fionn.
Andrea was half Fae, half Shifter. Fionn, Jace had been told, had come to the human world forty or so years ago, seeking refuge during some unknown Fae war. He’d met and fallen in love with a Shifter woman, a Lupine, who’d then borne Andrea. For complicated Fae reasons, he hadn’t been able to stay, and Andrea had been raised by her mother and a Shifter stepfather. Andrea had had it tough as a half Fae growing up among Shifters and hadn’t met her true father until a few years ago. Now Andrea was mate to the Guardian, and no one hassled her about her origins. Not to her face, anyway, and never within Sean’s hearing.
Fionn had proved himself to be on the Shifters’ side in many cases, but the sight of a Fae still made Jace want to shift, fight, and kill. The Fae had created the first Shifters many centuries ago, breeding them to be fighting slaves. The Shifters had finally broken away from their Fae captors, staying in the human world while the Fae retreated permanently to Faerie. The Shifter-Fae war had ended seven hundred years ago, but still Shifters had a tough time even looking at a Fae.
Jace cleared his throat. “I assume you came to help with the Collars?”
Fionn curled his lip—Fae were always prone to sneering. “No, I came for a barbeque. Haven’t got my fill of Texas ribs.” He turned his disdainful dark eyes to Sean. “Why you think I can help, I don’t know. I’m a warrior, not a magician. I don’t know anything about the Fae magic in these Collars.”
Andrea put her hand on Fionn’s arm. Fionn softened as he turned to his daughter—the only person Jace had ever seen Fionn be nice to. “But you might have some insight into their construction,” Andrea said. “It’s Fae technology as well as Fae magic.”
Fionn patted her hand. “We’ve had this discussion before. I don’t know anything about what Fae did with Shifters. Shifters were out of Faerie, never to return, before I was born. I can see where Shifters would have been useful in battle, but I for one wouldn’t want to put up with them between wars. I’d have to cage them up to keep them from killing me, and they’d cost a fortune to feed.”
Deni made a growling noise in her throat. “Good thing we won the Shifter-Fae war, then.” she said.
“Yes, good thing,” Fionn answered. “Saved me a lot of bother.”
Andrea shot Fionn a frown. “Sorry, my father enjoys baiting Shifters. He thinks it’s fun.”
“I may be looking for amusement in the situation, but I also speak the truth,” Fionn said.
From what Jace understood, Fionn was a formidable warrior in his world, leading the armies of his clan in victory over other Fae, and possessing a lot of power. Other Fae had learned not to mess with him. Jace noted that Fionn kept his eye on everything in the room, including all the exits, the high windows, and anything that could become a weapon. He might be here to help, but he couldn’t stop being a fighter by instinct.
Dylan opened a locked cabinet and removed a silver and black chain. Jace recoiled inside, and he felt Deni move closer to him. Even Sean shivered. This was a true Collar, and Dylan carried it to Fionn.
“We’re looking for the third element,” Dylan said. “Fae magic, computer chips, and something else.”
Fionn took the Collar gingerly between his fingers, held it up to his eye level, and scanned it. The small circle of the Celtic cross glittered in the harsh light of bare bulbs.
“Interesting.” Fionn ran a fingertip down the links. “Silver and black silver, which is a Fae metal. No iron.” If it had contained iron, Fionn couldn’t have held it—iron made Fae sick, could even kill them if they had too much contact with it. Fionn looked the Collar over again, frowning. “Sorry, I don’t know. My experience with metals is confined to swords and other bladed weapons. Not jewelry.”
“Well,” Sean said, letting out a disappointed sigh as Dylan took the Collar back, “let’s see what we can do tonight.”
He unsheathed the Sword of the Guardian again and laid it on the table. Jace thought Fionn would walk out, back to the circle of trees that took him to Faerie, but Fionn settled himself against the wall near Andrea and folded his arms, ready to watch.
“You did that before,” Jace said to Sean, sitting on a stool and trying to stem his nervousness. “Took out the sword before we started. Why?”
Sean shrugged. “I thought the magic in it might help figure out the magic in the Collars. Magic vibrations or something. The sword has done some interesting things.” He glanced at Andrea, who nodded. The two together had performed amazing bouts of healing, when both of them had been touching the sword.
“Ready?” Sean asked Jace.
“No. But let’s do this.”
Dylan held the knife Liam had used, plus an electric probe, while Sean stuck with the soldering iron. Jace balled his fists, setting his teeth against the coming pain.
A soothing coolness cut through the heat in his body, originating at a point on his wrist. Opening eyes he hadn’t realized he’d closed, Jace saw Deni’s hand, tanned from Texas sun, resting on his forearm. She looked at him, giving him a little nod and smile, her gray eyes warm. An answering warmth stirred in Jace’s heart, wrapping around his nerves and breaking through his fear of the pain.
“Hurry up, Sean,” Jace said without taking his gaze from Deni. “Other things I want to do tonight.”
“You got it, lad.” Sean brought the soldering iron closer as Dylan touched the electric probe to Jace’s Collar.
A vibrating buzz went around the chain, and then Jace felt the nick of the knife. The iron heated the silver, and the second link Liam had already loosened came free. Dylan quickly lifted a third, then a fourth.
The pain was there, but not as intense as last time. That is, until Dylan tried to loosen a fifth link. The Collar snapped back a huge arc that jolted Dylan backward and shocked hot pain into Jace. Deni jumped as well, caught in the current, but she didn’t let go of Jace.