“Easy, brother. He told me all. The base of their Order’s operation is in London, in a place called The Belthew Building, on the lower West Side. ’Twas he and his companion that were after Chloe in Manhattan. ’Twas his companion who leaped from your terrace. He followed you here, hoping to get another chance at Chloe. They were trying to provoke you to use magic and force the transformation.”

“I’ll kill the son of a bitch!” Dageus snarled and began to move toward the door of the library.

“Sit,” Chloe said, dashing after him and tugging firmly at his sleeve. “Let’s hear the rest of it. You can kill him later.”

Bristling with unbridled fury, Dageus refused to move for a moment, then he snorted and followed her back to the sofa. You can kill him later, she’d said, almost absently. When he sank back down on the sofa beside her, she snuggled into his arms and patted him like one might soothe a rabid wolf. He shook his head, nonplussed. Sometimes, he mused, it might be nice if she were a wee bit intimidated by him.

But not his mate: She feared nothing.

“He admitted”—Drustan smiled with grim satisfaction—“under a bit of duress—”

“Good,” Dageus snapped. “I hope ’twas excruciating.”

“—that the building is constructed atop a labyrinth of catacombs, and in those crypts is where all their records are kept. So far as he knows, the building is commonly occupied by no more than three or four men, and at night, ’tis most oft but two, deep in the heart of it. The building has a security system, yet I believe ’tis naught to present a challenge to someone with your unique skills, brother,” he added dryly. “There are complex passkeys, and much to his dismay, he described to me precisely what we must do to pass them. To the best of his knowledge, they still believe you have no idea they exist, and that you do not know of the Prophecy.”

“Perfect. It should be a simple matter to break in late at night and search their records and histories. Did you ask if he knew of a way to get rid of the thirteen?”

Drustan frowned. “Aye. Of a certain, I did. ’Twas one of the first things I asked. He indicated there was a way, but he didn’t know what it was. He overheard the Master of their Order, a man called Simon Barton-Drew, express concern that you might discover it. I assure you, I probed him thoroughly, but the man has no idea what the method is.”

“Then we need to find this Simon Barton-Drew, and I doona give a damn what harm we must do to him to discover what he knows.”

Chloe and Gwen nodded their agreement.

“So, when do we leave?” Gwen asked matter-of-factly.

Dageus and Drustan both skewered her with a glare.

“We doona,” Dageus said firmly.