was the best trained of hundreds of Swiss Guards who protected the Pope. He had a predisposition to moral flexibility, making him a useful tool. His appetite for young women every night took him, however, down an unholy path Cormac had a hard time overlooking. Finn knew this but made no apology for it.
Cormac knew the captain’s warm bed had a warmer female body still in it.
“The attacked is the son of Ardall,” Cormac replied instead.
The smile dropped from Finn’s mouth.
“Do I have your attention now?” Cormac questioned, gratified at the captain’s change.
Finn Arne sat straighter. “Does His Eminence know?”
“The Pope has other pressing matters to contend with. It is best he know nothing of this—at least, not until it is finished.”
“And the others?” Finn Arne asked.
Cormac thought about the Vigilo. The other Cardinals were all devout and strong, entrusted with most Vatican secrets. The Pope led the Vigilo but the Vicar was its true leader. It oversaw the portals, prepared for any attempt by those on the other side to return from Annwn. The Church led the Yn Saith knights as best it could despite the machinations of the old wizard, but over the centuries the Vigilo had lost much of its power. Cormac breathed deep. Beyond this new situation there was an opportunity to gain a power the Church had had only once in its long past.
Including the other Cardinals could disrupt what chance Cormac had of gaining that power.
Finn Arne would know the truth, as would the Seer.
That would be it.
Cormac returned the man’s icy stare. “You alone will know of this.”
“The portal here is safe?”
“It is. Cardinal Seer Ramirez and Ennio Rossi protect it. If it were not safe, I would know.”
“What is it you want me to do?”
“Bring young Ardall here,” Cormac ordered. “This must be done discreetly and quickly.”
“How did you learn of this? Certainly not from McAllister.”
“From a spy in the employ of Archbishop Glenallen at my behest. I have had a certain bookstore in Seattle watched for some time now. Even if the old man avoids capture in one of his places of business, the Vigilo knows what transpires there,” the Cardinal said. “I have spies in all places, Captain. Never forget that.”
“Did the knight remove—”
“The boy’s memory? No, he did not,” Cormac grunted. “There is more going on here than what lies on the surface.”
“What of McAllister, should I encounter him?”
Cormac fought the distaste in his mouth. Richard McAllister. He was one of the older knights, a man whose past haunted him. While Cormac knew that past to be a hard one, the knight had lost the capacity to rise above it, for the role he was asked to play. He was an infected wound the Church could not afford to turn gangrenous.
“He should pose no threat. Of the seven Yn Saith, he is the weakest. I doubt he has the constitution to challenge you or your men. Leave him be. His time of reckoning is coming.”
“Then I will fly at once.” Finn Arne pushed away from his chair.
“Sit down, Finn,” Cormac commanded sharply.
The captain lowered back into his chair, his dead eye an agate in a harsh face.
“Be wary, Captain,” the Cardinal said. “Don’t run back to your warm bed too quickly. There are other forces along the Seattle waterfront you should be reminded of. The Kreche still lives and the old wizard is adept at calling on aid from all quarters.”
“The Kreche…” Finn Arne scowled.
“It lives longer than most halfbreeds, nigh on ninety years now,” Cormac reiterated. “It is not a factor to be taken lightly, Captain Arne, especially if Myrddin Emrys is pressed into a fight.”
“I will be cautious, Your Grace.”
“One more thing,” the Cardinal said, leaning forward. “The Ardall boy may have a seed of some kind on his person. It will be unlike anything you have seen before. Search his home, search his person. Search anywhere you think it could be and bring it to me unchanged.”
“You believe the old man has plans for the boy then.”
Cormac nodded. “The wizard is mostly impotent now, but he can be…unorthodox.”
“It will be as you ask, Your Grace.”
“You have the Lord and the Church on your side,” the Cardinal Vicar said. “Let no one stand in your way.”
“I will not, your Eminence,” Finn Arne promised.
“The jet will be ready when you arrive to the airstrip,” Cormac said. “Assemble your team. The centuries-long secret of the Vigilo cannot be discovered by this boy. Be the Shield you were meant to