was somewhat larger than the typical domestic variety. I should never pre-empt the future by being overly optimistic. Unfortunately, when I got back to my office and the incessantly ringing telephone, I discovered I was right.
‘This is Corrigan,’ I said into the mouthpiece.
‘My Lord, it’s Julia. From Cornwall,’ she added unnecessarily. ‘We’ve been trying to get in touch with you.’
A trickle of alarm ran down my spine. ‘What is it?’
‘There’s a portal. Alex Floride did something and made it appear. It’s on the beach close to where John’s body was found. But…’ Her voice trailed off and I could hear distant yells and panicked shouting. ‘It’s just opened,’ she said. ‘Something’s come out. And it’s not good at all.’
Chapter Sixteen
Tight, almost painful, frustration filled me. Keeping Julia on the phone, I bawled, ‘Albert!’ My voice carried out into the corridor. ‘Get the Arch-Mage to send someone here now! I need a damn portal to Cornwall. And I need it now!’
Rather than waiting to check that he’d heard and understood the order, I spoke to Julia. ‘How bad is it?’
She swallowed. ‘I think…it’s pretty bad, my Lord.’
I ground my teeth. Goddamn it. Were we never going to get a minute’s peace? I felt sick inside at the thought that even more shifters were now hurt – or worse. Mack’s face floated into my head and I pushed her out. It wasn’t just her I had to worry about. It was all of them.
‘Who’s there?’
‘Initially Thomson and Lucy were on guard duty.’ Julia’s voice was calm and it allowed me to take a moment to remember to breathe. ‘Mackenzie and the mage were also there on the beach when the portal opened. The others left the second we got word something was wrong and I’m on my way there now.’
‘No,’ I barked out, more sharply than I intended. I softened my voice. ‘You need to stay at the house. You have healing capabilities and we can’t risk everyone getting hurt. I need someone there who is safe and who I can trust. If the all-clear is sounded, then you may go.’
For a moment she didn’t answer. I wondered if she was going to refuse and I’d be forced to compel her. Eventually, however, she spoke in a quiet and respectful tone, ‘Yes, my Lord.’
‘Staines is at the beach?’
‘He should be by now.’
I took a deep breath. If they were all in the middle of a fight right now, I couldn’t contact them with my Voice. I couldn’t risk causing a misstep that might cause one of them to get hurt. My panic was, however, still rising. ‘Is it the woman? The one Floride scryed?’
‘I’m not sure, my Lord. I don’t think so.’
Albert’s head popped round the doorway and I beckoned him in. ‘The Arch-Mage said someone will be here in the next thirty minutes.’
I knew I wouldn’t have to put up with his prevarication and delaying tactics this time and that a mage would be here in that time, as promised. But thirty minutes suddenly felt like an eternity. For all I knew, this thing was already over.
‘Find the nearest Brethren shifter, Julia,’ I instructed. ‘Give them the phone and tell them to take it to Staines immediately.’
‘Yes, my Lord. I’ll hang up for now.’
‘Do it,’ I growled.
I heard the click then my eyes met Albert’s. His face was pale. ‘It never rains but it pours, does it, my Lord?’
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. That was certainly one way to put it. I calculated in my head how long it would take for Julia to locate one of the Brethren – assuming they weren’t all already at the beach getting slaughtered – and for them to get to the scene themselves. It was too damn long. Not to mention the fact that it was the middle of the day. I’d investigated the area and I knew it was rarely frequented by humans. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t notice a bloody massacre if it happened at high noon and right on their doorstep. I’d have to tell the Arch-Mage to be ready in case we needed several memory spells put into action. Stuck here in my office and forced to rely on both the information and abilities of others was making me feel not only completely impotent but also filled with rage.
The phone rang again. My eyes widened fractionally and I scooped up the receiver, assuming Julia had already found a shifter to act as messenger.
‘What’s