Ryo nodded and took a long swallow. "Yeah, it is. Sit down, Pookah; we need to chat."

"That's why I came here."

Judging by the look on Ryo's face she already knew that. Knew Ian had sought her out for answers and had been expecting him.

"This is goooood," she sighed, looking at the amber liquid.

"Aye." Ian poured himself a glass. Of course she had brought two. "This whiskey should be better than good. It's five times your age, witchling."

She finished her drink in one gulp.

"Look, you need to understand that just because I'm an all-knowing, super-amazing witch doesn't mean I can just babble on and on about things." Her blue eyes bore into his. "Sometimes 'knowing' causes more harm than good."

"I doubt that." Ian sat back in his chair, stealing a drink of whiskey. When he'd first hired the witch, he had been certain she was half mad. Every day it became clearer that this was the case. Being able to prevent a negative outcome was not only useful but allowed Ian to make better decisions for all involved.

"And what if the decisions you make unravel not only the past, but the future as we know it?"

He glared at Ryo. "You never told me you could read minds."

"I can't... didn't I say I was all-knowing?" She smiled, then sighed when his expression didn't match her own. "Not everything is within one's power, Ian. Even my hands get tied and I must simply allow fate to play out as it should."

Again, he doubted that. She was being difficult and Ian didn't have time for games.

Ryo held up her palms. "Calm down."

I didn't say anything!

"Are you ready to listen to me now, or do you want to continue throwing a tantrum in that stubborn skull of yours?"

Ian took a deep breath and grappled for control. Taking another slow swallow of whiskey, he let the liquor soothe his throat all the way to his gut before he motioned for Ryo to continue.

"Many vows over the last hundred centuries have been made. Problem is, when a magical being makes a vow, sometimes they pack a little more punch than your typical threat."

Ian nodded. Witches, warlocks, even Mystic Fionns could weave their magic and wreak havoc on others. "Euan Campbell," he stated as if the answer had just physically hit him in the face. Although currently missing, Euan was easily the most powerful Mystic in the realm.

"What did he do?" Ian growled.

Ryo flipped her hair over one shoulder. "It's not what he did, it's what he set in motion." She shook her head. "Males and their vengeance."

Ian knew more than enough about vengeance. His hatred for the Campbell Fionns alone fueled the majority of his.

"When one gets so consumed by hate, one may accidentally, oh, I don't know, curse their own flesh and blood."

Ian frowned. "Euan cursed his kin?"

"Sort of... when Kelvin killed James Campbell, Euan vowed that he would one day lose-" She snapped her fingers. "Ironically this curse is what will save Kelvin's life."

"One day lose what?"

"Umm... that part's a little fuzzy."

"Great. You mean to tell me that sod Euan placed a death curse on my brother, one you don't have all the details on, and I'm ta no' worry about this?"

"Exactly! You see, Euan's magic is some heady shizz-nit. This little hex of his held up over the last quarter century, meaning nothing and no one can stop it, so why worry?"

"I can't believe you expect me to sit by and-"

"This is one of those moments where you need to just trust what I'm saying, and let the next several days play out as they should."

Ian rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't be so focused on Euan's curse, but instead worry about whom he sired."

"You mean his son James?"

"Yes. James Campbell was born a powerful male Fionn just like his father, Euan, and the father before him."

"Aye. I know only males are bred to Campbells. Which is why the McCall turning up female makes no sense."

"God, you men!" Ryo rolled her eyes. "The McCall is a term to describe what?"

"Son of the Battle Chief."

"No!"

Ian frowned. "Aye!" Obviously this witch needed to brush up on her Scottish history, because this was how it always had been for Pookahs and Fionns alike. One of the only things they had in common with those sods. Ian would produce a male heir, future chief to the Kerr clan, and Kelvin would produce the Kerr McCall, son of the Battle Chief. And so on and so forth. Unless unexpected death of several key hierarchies died at once, this was how it was.

"The McCall title was given to describe one with a unique heart and great power. It was you all who thought the only powerful creature must be male."

"So this mortal female is said to have a unique heart and great power?"

"Yep! Just like all the other McCalls."

"James was the McCall, and he was no' powerful, else he'd still be living."

Ryo tsked. Ian was getting seriously annoyed. "Look at you. Measuring success by brute strength."

Was there some other measurement tool Ian was not aware of? If so, it must calculate only pussies, because what else is valuable beyond power and vitality?

Ryo smiled at him. Not a happy, friendly sort of look, but rather an eerie, sinister gleam that screamed, I know something you don't know...

"James fought and died for something beyond himself." Ryo told him.

"His heir." Yes, Ian knew. When word spread that the Fionn McCall had been born, and with her a prophecy that worried even the devil himself, hell rained down on the Campbell clan. Ian was not without a heart. Could understand fighting and sacrificing yourself for your young, but now James wasn't here to see to the safety of his family or clan. In the end, he had made the wrong choice. A choice Ian would never have made. His clan came first. Always. And they needed him to thrive.

"After James's death, Euan fled with the girl and cloaked her with his magic. And now?"

"Now the spell has run its course. Euan is on a plane where he cannot see to Izel and protect her as he has all these years."

"Yes. And she must remain protected."

"I trust Kelvin and I know he will see to her survival. He's capable and travels smartly. Unlikely he'll take the girl anywhere she can be harmed. They're probably weaving through the countryside as we speak."

Ryo's eyes went vacant for a moment. "Yes. I'm sure he is." She grinned. "And yes, he will see to her survival... for now."

Ian could think of no stronger immortal than his brother.

"Not because of his strength," Ryo said, as if reading Ian's thoughts again.

Christ, if she was about to say that Kelvin, the Razorback who had killed thousands of immortals and kept a woman no longer than a single eve, had a "unique heart," Ian wouldn't be able to keep himself from laughing. Not that his brother was a bad man; he just wasn't tender, so to speak.

"No, no, no, I'm not talking about Kelvin. Do you really think Euan would have left the welfare of his only heir, his precious little granddaughter, to some random immortal?" Ryo asked sarcastically.

"You're talking of a betrothal?"

"Very good, Pookah!"

"To who?"

"Why, none other than the meanest, strongest, fiercest Fionn of all the realm!" She gave an exaggerated laugh as if a villain in a cartoon.

Mad as a hatter, this one. Still, Ian could guess who she was referring to.

"Andrew Thompson," he stated in a bored tone.

Her eyes gleamed. "The one and only. Battle Chief of the Campbell clan, Andrew is said to be as ruthless as he is gorgeous."

"I get it, Ryo." Clearly the witch enjoyed toying with him and bloating his enemy's appeal just to goad him.

"You sure? Because I can go on. I'm president of the Andrew Thompson Is a Hottie Fan Club, you know."

Ian scowled. Surely she was kidding.

"So the human is set to wed Thompson," Ian said aloud. This made sense. Although the female was the Campbell clan heir by right, binding her to a male of stature and power was a smart move on Euan's part. However, this also meant Thompson was most likely privy to the girl's change and surely on her trail.

Kelvin could handle him. If Thompson did catch Kel and the mortal, Ian had full faith in his brother's warring skills. This little betrothal detail was nothing more than a nuisance.

"Ryo." Ian leaned forward, setting the glass on the table. "Tell me of this prophecy. What these powers are."

"As you know, the Court of Contention takes place every four hundred years. It is the four days when all four realms open up. Beings from Hell, Heaven, Earth, and the Cypher pass freely. It is a brutal, warring four days to endure. We still have several months before the Contention begins. But many have been preparing for centuries."

Ian knew this all too well. He had lived and fought through three Contentions. To say they were brutal was an understatement. The Hell realm was the worst to fight. They tried at every opportunity to take over not just the Earth realm, but the Heavenly one as well.

Tell me something I don't know, witchling.

She sighed. "What you don't know is that the underworld is upping their game this time. They're picking off souls to take to Hell and harvest their powers. And if Izel's powers get into the wrong hands..."

"What are these powers, though? She's mortal."

"Izel is human, but she carries the three breeds of Fionn in her."

Ian shuddered at the thought. If he carried the instincts of all three breeds of Pookah within him, he'd go insane. But Fionns had traits, not instincts-traits like persuasion, magic, and strength. To harbor all three?

"If this were true, it still doesn't make a difference. She's a frail human."

"Ah." Ryo held up her finger. "That's where mommy dearest comes in."

Ian scowled.

"Izel's mother is none other than Cualli de Quetzal."

Ian's eyes went wide. The Aztec queen and last-known full-blooded human to have lived.

Ryo continued. "Though the queen wasn't immortal, she carried the blood of strong magical ancestors that make my whole coven look like a nuclear waste plant. Unfortunately for the queen, her power didn't rise in enough time to help her, but she did pass it on to her daughter."

"You don't mean...?"

Ryo nodded. "Think of Izel not as a powerless mortal, but as dormant. She has to figure out a way to spark the Aztec in her-the catalyst to charge all that sleeping power she harbors."

"When will this happen? How?"

Ryo shrugged. "That part is unclear. I only know that the Dryads predict her to come into this power, but the specifics?" She sighed. "They never dish the details."

Ian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shite."

"Aye," she mocked. "Shite indeed."

He glared at Ryo. "You're calm about this? We're talking about the enemy, my clan's enemy, having enough power to wipe us out!"

"Good thing she's not evil then, huh? I would even venture to say it's lucky she has a unique heart."

Ryo beamed with satisfaction.

Ian glowered.

He shot from his chair and stood. He had to get word to Kelvin.

"Kelvin will call in a few days," Ryo said, reaching for the bottle of whiskey and pouring herself another glass. "Besides, I wouldn't worry about that right now."

"Why the hell no'?"

She took a sip of her drink. "Because your cousin is coming, and he has a demon with him."

"Alistair?" Ian had dispatched two of his cousins the same time as Kelvin in attempts to locate the McCall. While he was happy that after twenty-five years of searching, Kelvin had finally found the girl, Ian hadn't heard from either of his cousins.

Ryo shook her head. "No. Keith. Alistair is locked up in a Fionn dungeon at the moment. Silly little Wolverine got caught playing with a Poet and accidentally got himself captured."