‘Gen?’

I looked back at Finn; his grin was gone.

And maybe it wasn’t. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘The Forum Miribilis. It’s not good.’

Chapter Forty-Seven

‘It’s an auction site,’ Finn said to me and Hugh. ‘The online auction runs all the time, but once every ten years they hold a real-time “Special Auction” in conjunction with the Carnival Fantastique on the Summer Solstice, which is tomorrow night. That auction has a listing of rare items for people to bid on. Plus there’s another section, a bit like “Want it Now” on eBay. People list hard-to-find items that they want to buy, either for cash or by offering something in exchange, then the Forum’s procurers step in to source the lots. If they do, the site’s updated ready for the real-time auction.’ He flicked his fingers and calledan electronic tablet. ‘Tavish downloaded screenshots from the website.’

I peered over Hugh’s shoulder as he read.

Forum Mirabilis

Where anything can be ordered, bought or bartered: contraband spells, banned substances, exotic slaves, rare epicurean delicacies, magical beings or even your heart’s desire, if you are prepared to pay the price.

Finn brought up another screen and, with a grim look at Hugh, said, ‘We think this might be related to the kidnap victims at the zoo.’

The screen showed an entry from ‘RiverCat1’: Wanted: Female ailuranthrope. Panthera tigris– any subspecies preferred, though would accept any female ailuranthrope of any big cat species. Must be pure bred, not bitten, and of breeding age.

There was a tick in the column headed: Sourced.

‘Weretigers are obviously not as extinct as everyone thinks,’ I muttered.

There was a note added to the ‘Sourced’ column: ‘Subspecies Panthera tigris tigris(Bengal tiger). Female comes with one pure-bred cub, also Panthera tigris tigris(Bengal tiger) – male; aged six. Lots can be offered separately or together.’

They were going to auction off the ambassador’s wife and her kid. I hugged myself, chilled despite the summer heat. ‘That’s sick.’

Hugh rumbled agreement. ‘However, it does explain the Bangladeshi ambassador’s insistence on his diplomatic immunity.’

‘Damn. He’s worried about people finding out, isn’t he?’ I said. ‘Though really you’d think that would be the last thing on his mind.’

‘The longer a secret is locked in fear, the more impossible it becomes to release it, even when a more immediate danger threatens.’ A puff of worried dust escaped Hugh’s headridge. ‘But now we know the motive behind the kidnap, it should be easier for us to help the ambassador.’

‘It doesn’t explain why they took the zoo employee too.’

‘No doubt we’ll find out,’ Hugh said, ‘when we find him. Which is more important right now.’

‘This should help.’ Finn handed the tablet to Hugh. ‘There’s a lot more info about the Forum in it. It’s been around since Roman times in various guises, but now all the pre-organisation, leading up to the actual auction date, is done online. It also talks about the gold coins the Emperor’s werewolves throw around.’

‘They’re a recompense of sorts,’ Hugh rumbled angrily.

Finn nodded. ‘They’re given as payment to the person who has had something taken from them by the Forum procurers. The person can either choose to keep the coin and realise its monetary value, or use it to attend the auction and buy back that which has been taken.’

‘You mean those who’ve been kidnapped?’

Finn shook his head. ‘Some of the Forum’s listings are of things, not living beings.’

Right. ‘So you’re saying whoever’s got the coin can turn up at the Forum, hand over the coin and get their relatives or item back?’ It was too easy. ‘What’s the catch?’

‘It’s not a straight exchange. The coin’s only an invitation to attend the Forum and barter. The coin-holder is asked for additional payment of some sort.’

‘Like what?’

‘Apparently it’s different for everyone. It’s to discourage coin-holders from turning up or, if they do, to make sure the Forum doesn’t lose out.’

‘Crap,’ I muttered. ‘It’s probably some Faustian or first-born child thing. But at least the coins are a way into the Forum.’ I looked at Hugh. ‘We’ve got two: the ambassador’s, and the one the werewolves threw at Max. So we could use them to infiltrate the auction, couldn’t we?’

Hugh nodded. ‘An option to consider, Genny. Though I hope it won’t come to that. It would be better all round to stop the auction before it even begins.’

I shot him a wry grin. ‘Is this where you tell me to stop trying to teach you to suck eggs?’

‘Your input is always welcome.’ Hugh’s pink teeth sparkled in a gentle smile. ‘If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t ask for your help. ‘Now we have this’ – he waved the tablet – ‘to give to the IT bods at New Scotland Yard, there’s a good chance we can find the exact auction location. I’ll get it off to them right away.’ He called Constable Lamber over, showed him the tablet and started issuing instructions.

A sudden thought hit me. ‘Am I on the auction wanted list?’

Finn shook his head. ‘Tavish did a thorough search.’

Relief washed over me. ‘Good to know I’m not going to end up on the auction block.’

‘Yeah,’ Finn agreed, clasping my shoulder. ‘I hate to say it, but the Autarch did a good thing giving Tavish this info.’

I snorted. ‘Only because he’s got a showdown scheduled with the Emperor. He’s probably worked out that if the police get in on the act, it’ll weigh the odds in his favour.’

‘Ahh.’ Finn gave me a ‘should’ve known’ look. ‘Still, at least it gives the victims a better chance.’

‘Yeah,’ I agreed, hoping it would save them, and determined to help any way I could. Only, unease pricked at me. The Empress card had said ‘save my children’ – Bastien and Dilek, presumably – and helping the police nab the Emperor would do that. But if the Emperor was nabbed before I got a chance to ask him my question about the fae’s trapped fertility, where did that leave me and the fae? Okay, so it might be that the Emperor’s price for telling me the answer was to get him out of clink. Only while Hugh might be pro-fae, I doubted the human law would see that as a good reason to let the Emperor go, so realistically, it wasn’t a price I could pay.

Crap, maybe I’d made a mistake giving Hugh the info about the Forum. Maybe this was what Tavish meant when he said he’d had a prediction that I could screw things up, and leave the fae’s fertility permanently trapped? Only he was the one who’d sent the info over. Damn. I needed to speak to him.

Heart thudding, I called. And got his voicemail.

Keeping my voice low, I started leaving him a worried message—

Finn’s hand closed over mine and ended the call. I looked at him in surprise. He slung an arm round my shoulders and subtly turned us so we faced away from Hugh. ‘Tavish and I already talked about this, Gen,’ he said quietly. ‘If the Emperor ends up in goal, then it could work in our favour. We can get him out, free and clear, the same way Tavish planned for you last Hallowe’en, if you were ever arrested for that human’s death. We’ll make the Emperor an ùmaidh.’

An ùmaidh. A temporary changeling. The sidhe don’t only leave them in cradles when stealing human babies, they and the lesser fae use them, if needed, to escape human law. An ùmaidhmight not ‘live’ long, a month at most, but then human justice for fae and vamps is swift and fatal. Severing part of your soul and sacrificing some flesh, then forging it to a fresh cut log or an animal, isn’t a huge price to pay if you’ve got a one-way ticket to the guillotine.

I frowned, murmured. ‘Can one be made for a vampire?’

‘Tavish says yes.’

Right. ‘Good to know,’ I muttered. ‘Though would’ve been helpful if he’d bothered to return my calls and tell me.’