Val followed us, much to David's chagrin. "I didn't invite you to be a part of whatever the fuck is about to come out of their mouths."
She shrugged. "I'm inviting myself." She flopped down into one of the metal folding chairs as David closed the door behind us.
Ren eyed her with a measure of distrust. "Whatever is said in this room goes no further."
An elegant eyebrow rose as she met his gaze. "You're hot and obvious. A winning combination."
David looked half done with the conversation already. "Make this quick. I have to meet with a couple of potential new members that are being transferred here."
I glanced at Ren, but he'd taken up a silent stance in the corner of the room, arms folded over his chest, as still as a sentry. "There are ancients in the city, David."
"Oh, for fuck's sake—"
"Listen to me." I cut him off abruptly and in a way that would probably end with my butt getting written up. "There are. I've seen at least three of them, and they are planning to open the gate on Wednesday."
David's face darkened as he took a step toward me, and that's when I saw Ren move. Lightning fast, he leaped out of the corner and gripped David on the shoulder. I sensed no real threat from the sect leader, but Ren wasn't having it.
"She's not bullshitting you, man. I've seen them myself," Ren said. "They are here. They've been in a club downtown—Flux. And that place is most definitely catering to the fae. Not only that, but we've seen them talking to the police there."
Shrugging off the younger man's hand, David scanned the whole room with an annoyed gaze before landing on Ren. "First off, that's not a huge surprise. We've had situations before where the fae fed off humans who were police. And mostly importantly, I'm surprised you've actually seen a fae since you've been here, because boy, I'm pretty sure the only thing you've been concentrating on since you got here is how to get in that girl's pants."
"Oh my word," mumbled Val.
My jaw dropped, but it was the eerily calm smile that graced Ren's lips that concerned me greatly. "Now that's an unjust observation, David. I can multitask."
That statement wasn't helping things. "David, you need to listen to us. Those police officers didn't look like humans who were being fed on."
"They could've been compelled."
"Does that matter?" I shot back. "The ancients are planning to open the gate, and we know there are two in the city. But the one in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church isn't a functioning gate anymore. They can't get through that one."
Everyone stopped and stared at me.
"What?" Ren said softly.
David's response was a bit harsher. "How the hell do you know the location of that gate?"
"There is another gate in the city, right?" I persisted.
He looked down his nose at me. "There are two, but what I want to know is how the fuck you learned where one of them is and why you think it isn't functioning."
"Does that matter?" I snapped. "I also know about the halflings and what will happen if the prince or the princess comes through the gate and gets their hands on one of them."
"Halfling," repeated David. "What the hell are you talking about?"
I glanced at Ren, and the hardness in his expression said he was a second away from putting David through a wall. "You don't know about the halflings? I'm talking about a half human, half fae."
He stared at me like I sprouted an arm out of the side of my head and was waving at him. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"
"And do you know how to speak to a lady?" Ren fired back.
"A half fae?" David said, throwing up his hands. "Need I really say more?"
Ren cursed under his breath. "This is pointless, Ivy. I told you there was no reason to bring this up to him."
"A half fae does sound kind of crazy," Val said from her chair. "I mean, I'm not taking sides, but seriously?"
Frustrated, I curled my hands into fists. "If you don't listen to me and put every single member you have on the other gate in this city, they are going to get through, and whether you believe in halflings or not, we're going to have one huge fucking mess on our hands."
"I'm with the Elite," Ren announced the moment David opened his mouth to respond, and those four words silenced everyone; even Val quieted. All I could do was stare at him. I couldn't believe he'd just thrown that out there. Granted, Val already knew, but he didn't know that. Once he had David's attention he continued. "Do you know what that is?"
A tense moment passed, and then David said, "Yes. I know what the Elite is."
Well, la-di-da.
"Then if you know what I am, you know damn well that there are ancients still walking this realm. You might think since the Elite have been hunting them they are not a concern. Maybe you just don't want to send your sect into a panic by openly admitting that there are fae they cannot kill with iron. And maybe you don't know about halflings. I honestly don't give a flying fuck why you don't want your group to know, but I am telling you that I was sent here because you have a huge population of fae and ancients that have been heading in this direction."
Ren stepped up, and since he was a good head taller than David, he towered over the sect leader. "But if she's saying that there are two gates and that one of them is not working, you need to tell me where the other gate is, pull your fucking resources, and get that other gate guarded. Now."