“Moving along.” His lips tightened. “The issue with the competing forces—the one that came at you from the front of the house? Those sort of…barbarian people? What was up with them? I only got a glimpse as they traveled to your town, but hello, cosplay, am I right?” He rubbed his face. “They were ridiculous. That wasn’t in the cards, actually. I got wind of them heading out there to check you out, wanting to know your relationship to me. It was bound to happen. I had to scramble a little, but I figured it was time to get the basajaun active, and for you to start working on some of Ivy House’s key vulnerabilities. Also, you know, to meet an adversary who would give you a pause.” He rubbed his chin. “It took you a while to find that deer. That guy doesn’t even like flowers. Didn’t you stop to wonder why a man was eating flowers? Just because he changes into a deer, doesn’t mean he eats like a deer.”
Austin and I both tensed, and I exchanged a glance with him. Yes, we should’ve realized that. We hadn’t. Too much had been going on.
“What do you mean, get the basajaun active?” I said, adrenaline going through me. I knew Elliot had always been a step ahead, but not just how big that step really was.
“The basajaun was always meant to be part of your journey. Fun fact, my dear friend Burke, who has been sniffing around the tunnels for the past few days, had finally found the entrance to my residence. I’m not quite sure what he planned to do there. Hide under my bed and try to kill me in my sleep? Look for incriminating evidence? Check my browser history? We’ll never know. Unless he has hidden powers we don’t know about, he got squished in the fallout from the basajaun’s cave-in. I’m not sure if I should add him to my wall, though. Technically, he wasn’t my kill… Ah, sure, I might as well, as Niamh would say.”
“How did you…get him active? Did you tell him to help me in the cave?”
“Good Lord, no! That was a shock. But then, if he was destined to be part of your journey, it makes sense he’d feel an immediate rapport with you. No, I simply gave him a reason to join your fight. I told my man and his merry band of helpers to head over the basajaun’s mountain. The vision said it would anger him.” He spread his hands. “I wasn’t sure how at first, but now I realize it takes very little to anger him. So…”
“You sent shifters to die,” Austin said with a growl.
Elliot held up a finger. “No. I sent the deer shifter to keep an eye on you, and then to get your attention when those barbarians were sniffing around. That fool Marcos collected a bunch of passive shifters and drove them to you for a distraction. Good riddance, huh? I hoped you’d take him off my hands. I won’t ask where he’s buried.”
“You’re telling me that you had no hand in that?” I asked.
“I sent the mage with the directive to kidnap you using the potions that make Ivy House vulnerable. The rest was his creation. I don’t tend to micromanage. In that situation, I wish I had.”
“What if he’d kidnapped me?”
“Your alpha probably would’ve tracked him down and killed him horribly. Or the basajaun would’ve. If all else failed, I would’ve…figured something out along the way. I wasn’t too worried, though. You always rise to the occasion.”
“Kinsella?”
“Another fool. He was not my design, and it was a real treat to tear off my illusion and give him the justice he’d eluded for so long. What a wanker.”
“That wasn’t part of the vision?”
“No. Not directly. But I knew I needed to extract myself from the situation and figure out a way to lure you here. He provided…” Elliot chuckled and shook his head. “That whole thing was perfect. Talk about fate. You handled it all beautifully, and now here you are. Owning your gargoyle, falling in love, contemplating killing a double-crossing scoundrel. I deserve it, I get that. I wasn’t fully honest with you at Ivy House. Shifters do fascinate me, and they made me feel fear for the first time since my sister died. There was something enlivening about it…I was truthful about that. But the real reason I stayed there was you. To train you. To fulfill the vision. That’s not something I could say.”
“Were you even summoned?”
“Yes, but I knew I would be. It was part of the vision. Listen, Jessie, here’s what it comes down to. So often powerful people will hide evil deeds behind empty promises. I decided early on that I’d wear what I am on my sleeve. I’m weird, I do things oddly, I don’t play into the mage hype, and I’m rotten in plenty of ways. The thing with my sister, with my upbringing, messed me up quite a bit. But I promised myself that I wouldn’t hide what I was behind a crooked smile.” He paused. “Yes, I recognize the irony. I know that when I accidentally smile in that illusion mask, it comes out crooked. You have to be really careful not to make any facial expressions in that thing or the mask slips. That or you look weird.” He waved his hand. “But you know I mean figuratively crooked.”
“What’s your point?” I said, trying to wrap my brain around all this and decide if he was lying, or if he was telling the truth and I was still mad as hell anyway.
“I also decided that if I was ever fortunate enough to get to work with you, I’d be the bad guy so you wouldn’t have to make the hard decisions. To take out mages like Kinsella. Or to organize extravagant meetings with people neither of us have any intention of working with so they can see your power, prestige, and potential. I decided that I would set the stage so that you may shine.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why would you forgo the audience? You seem to love holding court.”
He frowned at me. “I didn’t say I would forgo an audience. I said I’d be the bad guy. It’s much more fun.”
Twenty-Seven
I sat and stared at Elliot, mulling over what he’d said. So much of it had struck a chord. The more I thought about it, the less I doubted him. His story checked out, as crazy as that might be.
But it was hard to let go of the hate. It was hard not to blame him for all the hell I’d been through.
“What do you think?” I asked Austin, turning my head a little.
He shook his head. “This isn’t something I can direct you on. Either you trust him or you don’t. I’ll back you whatever you choose.”
“Including sitting on my chairs without a towel under your naked butts,” Elliot said softly.
I quirked an eyebrow at him.
He shrugged and looked away. “Common courtesy.”
This wasn’t the time to laugh, but I wanted to.
“You’re positive he smells like Sebastian?” I asked Austin.
“Yes. But given his powers as a mage, it’s probably wise to get a second opinion.”
“He’s Sebastian. Here’s your second opinion,” Ivy House said.
“I’m not so inclined to trust you. Or talk to you right now.”
“I sided with Austin when you two had your spat. I was right then, and I’m right now. I look forward to eventually telling you I told you so.”
“By all means.” Elliot waved his hand. “Let them through.”