"Let's start over. Between you and me..."
"Okay."
"Glen. Shut up." He chuckled. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" He grinned.
"Enough. Limited time here." He nodded.
"I need you to find out everything you can about the elf/fae war."
"Why?"
"Great Paddy, Glen."
"Okay. What exactly are you after?"
"How it started. See if you can find a reliable source - either a primary reference or an authority who knows for sure."
"You got it, boss."
"What has he got?" Ram came in carrying another load of stuff the baby might need on the plane, wearing his damn extra-sensitive elf ears.
"Just getting Glen to keep an eye on my puppies. Like we talked about."
Ram nodded, opened the front door, and started carrying Helm's busload of necessities to the Range Rover.
"Scary," Glen whispered to Elora.
"What?"
"How easily you lied to him and how genuine it sounded."
"Yeah, well, keep that in mind if you ever get married."
"I'm starting to recognize the appeal of bachelorhood."
Elora pinned him with a look. "Seriously, I would never lie to him if it wasn't to protect someone."
"You're protecting somebody?"
"Yes. I'm protecting them. I'm protecting him. And I'm protecting them from him."
"I'll find out what you want to know."
Elora gave him her high beam smile. "You're the best."
"Is payment involved?"
"Yes. Here it is." She kissed him on the cheek just as Ram came back through the front door.
"Catch! Stop cruisin' my wife and help me move the entire inventory of Babes R Us to the armored tank."
EXCERPT V Moonlight
Prince Duff Torquil's family was having a small reception to celebrate his mid-winter graduation from law school from The University of Strathclyde at Glasgow. There was a tradition among the fae monarchy that those who were likely to rule should study history, with an emphasis on Fae history, and go on to law school, the logic being that the law was best administered by those who knew and understood it. The royal family, currently in residence at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, considered eight hundred guests a small reception. At that, there were sure to be at least two thousand more who would be in a snit and consider their lack of an invitation a snub.
When Elora received her invitation, she had written to the prince and explained that she and her husband had taken temporary quarters in the States. She added that she hoped it would not be presumptuous of her to ask that her good friend, Istvan Baka, and his bride, both employed by the same organization, take their place. Of course she knew it was presumptuous. After all, she had a background in the gentility of social arts, but she hoped he would grasp the code of her next sentence, which was this:
"You are certain to enjoy Baka's company and that of his new bride, who is popular among the entry level associates where she works. I'm certain you would make a loyal ally for life should you be kind enough to offer an extra invitation for her to bring a friend."