Cortin sighed, but only to herself. "Of course. I'll need holy water; is there any aboard?"
"At your service." The Prince handed her a small vial.
Cortin took it, blessed the cartridges, and returned them. "With my personal hope you're never in a position to need the special blessing," she added.
"Which would be a form of protection, wouldn't it?" The Prince smiled. "Thank you, Colonel."
13. Chuck
Nobody had thought to brief them on the welcoming ceremonies at the airport, but Bradford had mentioned her team acting as bodyguards, so when it was their turn to leave the plane, Odeon took point and the other four formed a square around Cortin. That might or might not have been the right thing to do, but it was effective; as a member of the King's Household, she got some press attention—as the High King's Inquisitor, surrounded by Special Operations officers, that attention was both brief and extremely respectful.
Once they got through that, Cortin and her team boarded a passenger van with "Harmony Lodge" emblazoned on the side for the brief trip to their new home. The Lodge was more impressive than Cortin had expected, though she'd gathered from Bradford that it was adequate for a larger team than hers. It was close to the Palace Compound, not a kilometer from the Palace itself, but the way it had been landscaped, it could have been far from anything: thick hedges and a formal garden made it a private place. The building itself was huge, and looked more like a medieval castle than the simple, probably rustic building she'd expected from something called a lodge. She wondered with some amusement if it had a dungeon; that was, after all, the classical place for interrogations in a castle.
The van dropped them off at the main door, then headed toward the rear of the building. As they approached, the door swung open to reveal an elderly man in black-and-scarlet livery, who bowed to them. "Welcome home, Colonel—gentles. I am Michael Brady, Your Excellency's butler and head of Harmony Lodge's staff." He gestured them inside. "May I show you around, or would you prefer to rest until supper?"
"Thank you, Mr. Brady," Cortin said. "I'd like to see the place, especially my work areas. My men may make their own choices."