But as he strode down the winding corridor toward the exit, where Belpheg and the remainder of the men awaited him, he couldn’t help but wonder. What would happen once Belpheg succeeded in his plot to destroy the Council? What would the dark fae do then? He’d already made it clear he had no designs on ruling the worlds, and even if he did, Mammon would at best be his servant not his partner. And given that Belpheg could be so heartless where a defenseless infant was involved, what did this say about his end-goal plans for Mammon?
Time to admit the truth. By helping the fae bring down the Council, he might also inadvertently be sealing his own fate. The reality of that chafed him to no end.
Yet there wasn’t much he could do to remedy the situation. Being here, having Belpheg on his side—at least for the moment—was infinitely better than rotting away in the Council prison.
Wasn’t it?
Chapter Twenty-One
Darkness had once again fallen over Romania. A thick mist shrouded the castle grounds, partially obscuring Dagan’s vision. That last part was courtesy of the Council liaison Tenos, who had traveled with them and who, as a moon elf, drew his power from the moon. It enabled him to moderately control the elements, including casting mist. Sure, it impeded their ability to see just as much as Belpheg and his men, but they would take every little bit of help they could get.
I can’t believe he’s even here.
Dagan glanced over at the tall, dark elf. He didn’t know why he’d expected the guy to be an asshole. Maybe just because he worked for the Council. But then Dagan and his brothers technically did as well, and they weren’t assholes…usually.
Much to his surprise, Tenos was actually pretty cool. After he’d wandered into the hotel room, they’d thought for a minute they were toast, but it turned out Tenos had been tracking them on his own. He’d shown up simply to warn them that the Council had some new Detainors hot on their trail, but after Keegan had explained what had happened and where they were going, the elf had instantaneously volunteered his assistance.
“If you can bring the dark fae down, they may be willing to grant you leniency,” he’d pointed out.
While Dagan didn’t hold out much hope for that, given the Council members’ track records of being complete dickheads, one could always dream.
After working out the details of their attack, Bram and the rayamara mercenaries had split off to gather corpses that could be used for the resurrection spell—a dirty, nasty job to be sure—and Tenos had accompanied the rest of them through the portal.
Tenos had glanced around with a puzzled frown the moment they’d passed through. “Why wouldn’t the dark fae have men watching the portal for our arrival?”
“Perhaps his resources are limited,” Keegan suggested. “We only saw a handful of guards when we broke through the barrier the first time.”
“Or maybe he just doesn’t care,” Dagan had pointed out. After all, the dark fae seemed pretty confident in his ability to take them on, and so far, with the exception of their surprise rescue of Lina, he’d been right.
“Barrier?” Tenos asked. “What sort of barrier?”
“The dark fae prevents entry or exit from the castle with some sort of invisible shield,” Keegan explained. “We can breach the barrier with a sword we have in our possession, but it’s still a painstaking process.”
Tenos’s face took on a calculating expression. “I think I might be able to use my magic to take down that shield, at least while the moon is high.”
One of Keegan’s brows shot up. “Really?”
Brynn, who stood by Amara and her succubi friends, shifted in her spot, showing the first signs of true life since they’d left the hotel. “If we can bring the barrier down altogether, I can get that many more zombies in. Spread out their location.”
And they might actually stand a chance of beating their powerful foe.
“It’s definitely worth a try,” Dagan had murmured. Especially since they didn’t have any other options right now.
Tentative plan in place, they’d all gathered in the woods outside the castle to await Bram and the mercenaries. Ronin and Keegan had flown off in opposite directions to case the grounds.
To say they were antsy would be the understatement of the year. Fear and anxiety reverberated throughout the hidden clearing in which they all gathered. Each and every one of them seemed lost in his or her thoughts.
Would they even live to see the light of day?
“This is crazy,” Lina finally whispered, so low that Dagan barely heard her even though she was standing closest to him. “I can’t believe we’re going to storm the castle. Again.”