pecked his lips. “I would appreciate that. Thank you.”
A low beeping started on my laptop. “And now we really do need to focus. That is an autotask I put in place. It apparently found some data on the keywords I put in.” I pulled open Thane’s door. “To the Batcave, Alfred.”
“What’s the batcave and who’s Alfred?” Hollyn whispered.
Chapter 29 – Thane
I pinched the bridge of my nose as a headache set up residence directly behind my right eyeball. “Okay. One more time.”
Tove heaved a sigh. “I didn’t find anything on Alder Valley other than some housing developments in different states. Apparently, alder trees aren’t as poplar.” He snickered at his terrible pun.
“The information on druids and the Grove of the Oaks is spotty at best. There are a couple of groups who use that term in their religious practice, but I can’t find any of them near here. The only thing I’ve found that’s even close to being about nature and Druidry is The Copse Initiative. The guys who tried to kidnap Hols. They’re supposedly a small subsidiary company of a shell company of a bigger company that’s all about trying to bring back more trees after all the deforestation done by big business.”
“That still makes me sick to my stomach. I might not hold a lot of the values that the Oaks did, but bulldozing forests just to make paper?” Hollyn covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. “That’s horrendous.”
I can honestly say I’d never thought about it. Other than trying to get the eco-friendly tax cuts for our company. Telecommunications wasn’t huge in paper needs, but I’d worked hard to make sure we were a paperless company.
I rubbed a hand over Stretch’s knee. “There are a lot of good things and bad things about our world, Stretch. You’ll have to make your own decisions about the ones you want to support and the ones you want to fight.”
Tove cleared his throat. “Last big question is who is the master that Hols has mentioned.”
We all turned to look at her.
She was already shaking her head. “No. He can do a lot of damage. He’s really powerful. You don’t want to mess with him. And I won’t make it easier for you all to be put on his radar.” She crossed her arms.
“What kinds of things can he do?” I asked. “And I’m not trying to downplay your fears. But you grew up under this guy’s thumb. Maybe if you tell us some of the things he can do, we can give you possible explanations from our world.”
She chewed on her lower lip. Seemed to think it over. “Okay, he’s the only person who’s been able to heal my poison from metal.”
“Yours went away when you shot your power into me, sweetcheeks. I don’t know that that’s definitive proof of his greatness. Anything else?”
She was silent for a couple moments. “One harvest, all of our crops had died. He came back, did some ceremonies over the land, and the next season we had more crops than we had planted before.”
I wasn’t sure what to say about that one, but I did know the advances in agricultural sciences were picking up. “Maybe.”
“Can you at least give us his family name? Maybe we’ll know some of his relatives or I can look him up?” Tove asked.
Stretch shook her head. “No. I’m not helping you get onto his radar. Please stop asking me to put you in danger.” She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair.
Fuck. “Sorry, Stretch. We’ll quit pressuring you.” The pain flared over my right eye and speared deeper into my skull. I squeezed my eyes closed against the pain.
“Thane, what’s wrong?” Stretch asked.
I felt her hands on my knees.
I opened my eyes to see her on the floor between my feet peering up into my face. Her brows were furrowed and the corners of her eyes tight. “You’re in pain.”
I nodded, gave her a half-assed smile. “It happens sometimes. Been happening most of my life.”
Her eyes brightened. “Do you have any herbs or oils in the apartment? I could make you something for the pain.”
She looked so hopeful that telling her no was almost as crushing to me as it was for her to hear it. “Make a list, and we’ll get you some ordered in. You can create a rooftop garden if you want. Put it out on one of our balconies.” I patted her hand.
She rose to her feet. “I could try rubbing your