LITMIR.BIZ

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face away from gentle Aydan’s stare.

      “Why are these brothels so much worse than the ones run by mortals?” The man who spoke was a recent recruit called Iago. He was slightly older than the others around the table, and his eyes were an unusual pale green color, made even lighter by their bright ring of fire. He reminded Tanzi of one of the medieval knights in Rina’s tales. With his dark beard and courtly manners, she could imagine him slaying dragons or rescuing maidens. “Some of them can get pretty nasty.”

      “The beings in Moncoya’s brothels are slaves, stolen from their homes—sometimes as children—and forced to work there. They have no choice. Often they are beaten, starved or drugged into compliance. The services they offer are not only illegal, they are deadly. These brothels cater for the basest desires, both mortal and nonmortal. Moncoya’s henchmen provide a personalized service. They will kidnap a being to order. You’ve seen a teenage were-cougar you like the look of? Hand over the cash and she’s all yours. You have a fantasy about an underage male witch imprisoned in your own torture chamber? As long as the price is right, consider it done.” Somehow, Lorcan’s lilting accent made the horrors he described sound even worse.

      “Is La Casa Oscura one of these brothels?” Iago asked.

      Lorcan shook his head. “No. La Casa Oscura is unique. The darkest of the dark houses.”

      “I don’t understand.”

      “La Casa Oscura was designed to be a well-disguised portal to Otherworld.”

      “Until Moncoya made it into something more.” Aydan’s pleasant features hardened.

      “Yes.” Lorcan continued his explanation. “I’m not going to pretend that before Moncoya there were never those who exploited the border between Otherworld and the mortal realm for nefarious purposes. Of course it happened. But until Moncoya, it was never done on this scale. This is organized crime that would make the gangs of Eastern Europe gnash their teeth with envy. This is people trafficking to an extent that the mortal realm cannot conceive. Yet, because it takes place between worlds, the law enforcement agencies of this world have no idea it even goes on. The Alliance has sworn to stamp it out, but they have enough problems at present bringing the dynasties around the table, and Moncoya is flexing his muscles from his hiding place. In the last few days, there have been faerie terrorist attacks in some of the major Alliance strongholds.” This was the first Tanzi had heard of this, and she sat up straighter. Lorcan, noticing her movement, threw her an apologetic glance.

      “You said La Casa Oscura is more than just a portal.” Iago drew Lorcan’s attention away from Tanzi and back into the conversation.

      “In addition to the day-to-day portals, there are other ways of gaining entry into Otherworld. These are the dark houses. They are a very specific portal, leading to the darkest reaches of Otherworld. Those who wish to gain entry without attracting attention do so by using a dark house. Smuggling, trafficking, anything illegal is done through the dark houses.”

      “Were the dark houses created by Moncoya?” someone else asked and Tanzi closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. Even though, since the battle, she had seen concrete evidence of her father’s vile deeds for herself, it still hurt her to hear of more.

      “No. They have always existed. For as long as mortals have spoken of heaven and hell or of Otherworld and Underworld. Moncoya was not even the first to exploit their unique properties.” Lorcan looked tired. Tanzi wanted to go to him and brush back the errant lock of hair that flopped onto his forehead. When did these odd, protective feelings toward him start developing? And, more important, how was she going to get rid of them? “What Moncoya brought to the equation,” Lorcan continued, “was his organizational skills and his manpower. The dark houses are now used systematically and efficiently as a means of transporting—well, anything really—between Otherworld and the mortal realm. La Casa Oscura has been Moncoya’s greatest and darkest accomplishment.”

      “How so?”

      “It has served him well in many ways. Firstly, Moncoya is one of the few Otherworld leaders to develop a fully fledged mortal persona. He has been forced to abandon that guise since his defeat, of course, a fact that has led to intense press speculation here in the mortal realm. Just what has happened to celebrated electronics billionaire Ezra Moncoya? His disappearance is the news story of the decade. La Casa Oscura was his mortal base. Its next purpose was as a genuine portal to Otherworld. Enter La Casa Oscura and you may also, if you so choose and if you believe it to be true, enter Moncoya’s royal Otherworld palace. Finally, it is the ultimate dark house. The treasury of Otherworld’s grim secrets.” Lorcan’s beautiful mouth turned down slightly at the corners. “Moncoya may not be at home anymore, but his legacy lingers on in the very bricks and mortar.”

      “So why don’t we destroy La Casa Oscura?” Aydan spoke up suddenly, his voice excited and eager. “Just blow the place sky-high?”

      Without thinking, Tanzi jumped to her feet. The cat’s howl of rage drew everyone’s attention in her direction. “No...” She thought of her beautiful childhood home. Of her sister. Of the servants who had served her so loyally and who played no role in Moncoya’s dark deeds. Words bubbled up to her lips, but Lorcan was at her side in an instant, sensing her distress and calming her before she could give herself away. His arm around her shoulders steadied her, and she leaned gratefully against his side. Tanzi held out her hand, showing him blood welling in the lacerations where the cat had scratched her when she disturbed its slumber. It was a feeble excuse, but it was for the benefit of the others. She knew Lorcan already understood the real reason for her distress.

      “It’s okay.” How was it, that as soon as he said the words, she was soothed by them? “If that was an option, sure, wouldn’t we have done it long ago? For the reasons I’ve already outlined, it can’t be done. La Casa Oscura is the cover for Moncoya’s mortal enterprise. Blow it up and we destroy the home of the world’s leading electronics firm, we kill Moncoya’s mortal employees. We draw the wrong kind of publicity to ourselves. It is also the portal to the royal palace, now the headquarters of the new Otherworld Alliance. Innocent staff work in the palace itself but, most important of all, it is now the meeting place of the peacekeeping council. Are you willing to risk the lives of the dynasty leaders? To risk Cal and Stella on the chance that we might succeed in destroying the dark house?”

      Shamefaced, Aydan begged pardon for his foolishness. “But we can close down this latest vile brothel?”

      “Of course we can. In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t done it before now.” Lorcan scanned Tanzi’s face as if assuring himself that she was really okay. In response, she nodded slightly. He seemed satisfied at what he saw and released her. She felt oddly bereft as he returned to table. How foolish! Is it your goal to keep him at your side for all time?

      “We were waiting for you, Lorcan. We need your necromancer prowess.”

      Lorcan sighed. “Why do all the worst jobs always start off with that sentence?”

       Chapter 5

      “I don’t see why Lorcan has to bring her along.” Lisbet made no attempt to lower her voice, and Tanzi stiffened slightly as the words reached her through the open kitchen door. “Her only use seems to be decorative.”

      “Hush.” Aydan’s quieter tones carried into the hall, where Tanzi was sitting on the bottom stair, waiting for Lorcan to lead them all to the brothel. “She will hear you. We may not know who she is, but we know she has been through a great trauma.”

      “For that reason alone she shouldn’t come. What possible good will she be to us if there is any fighting?”

      “We must trust Lorcan. If he wants her with us, then she comes.”

      There was a definite huffing noise from Lisbet, but no further argument. Pedro was hovering near the front door and, when there was a knock, he hurried to see who it was. Once the sidhe caretaker had satisfied himself that there was no threat, he opened

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