Succubus Ascendant: An Urban Fantasy (The Telepathic Clans Saga Book 4) by BR Kingsolver

Suspiciously, though, as soon as people found out that you had survived, Hugh and several hundred Protectors pulled out.”
    “Huh? Pulled out?” Brenna shook her head. “What the hell is going on?”
    “They took a convoy of lorries and other vehicles and left.”
    “Where did they go?”
    “Took the road to Derry. Not all of them arrived, but Hugh commandeered several aircraft there and flew out. To where, we’re not sure.”
    In all their planning, they had always considered Finnian to be the dangerous one. His father, Hugh, was dismissed as weak and uninterested in the succession.
    “If they didn’t all arrive in Derry, I guess we have some insurgents to worry about,” Brenna said.
    “So we assume.”
    “Hugh has the O’Neill Gift,” Brenna said. “He’s been hiding behind his shields, and possibly a construct, for years.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, too,” Rebecca said. “He wasn’t strong enough to take out Corwin, so he bided his time. I wonder if he was the brains behind Finnian’s rebellion.”
    “I want to screen everyone,” Brenna said. “I want to meet everyone in the Clan. Until I approve people, no one should be considered safe.”
    Rebecca nodded. “That’s going to take a long time. There are over thirty thousand people in the O’Neill Clan.”
    “Better that than leaving a snake in our midst.”
    “Can you read the aura of someone who’s wearing a construct?” Morrighan asked from her chair across the room.
    “Yes. A construct masks the mind. What I see is the soul. No one can mask what’s in their soul.” Brenna took a deep breath. “What’s the word from O’Byrne? Has there been any trouble there?”
    “A couple of minor incidents,” Morrighan said. “Jared and Devlin think Andrew left the country. No one has seen him since Corwin’s death was announced.” Andrew O’Byrne was the oldest of Lord O’Byrne’s surviving children. Unstable and a sadistic bully, he was generally disliked by those who knew him, and hated by his siblings. His was the only voice raised in opposition when Brenna was named the O’Byrne heir.
    “So, at this point, our intelligence is that Andrew, Finnian and Hugh are all out of the country, but we don’t know for sure. Sounds more like guesswork than intelligence.”
    “That’s basically it,” Rebecca said. She downed her whiskey. “I’m going to bed, unless my lady has further need of my services.”
    “No, and thanks. Morrighan, have they found a bed for you?”
    “Yes, although it’s a bit tight. They’ve cleared the entire wing where your old room was. Fire damage to several rooms, especially on the floor above, and smoke damage throughout. But I usually don’t have any difficulty finding a place to sleep.” Morrighan winked at Brenna and made her way out.
    ~~~
    Chapter 5
     
    Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. - George Bernard Shaw
     
    During the next week, Brenna spent ten hours a day screening a constant stream of people. First the Protectors, then the rest of the adults living on or around the O’Neill estate. Those people whose auras didn’t look right were told to drop their shields and submit to a scan. If they didn’t, Brenna smashed through their shields.
    Seventy-three of the Protectors had their Gifts burned out and then they were exiled. Twenty-three were spies for Finnian, the rest for Hugh. Another two hundred sixty people were exiled for treason, and forty people were remanded to the Protectors for previously undetected crimes.
    When she was finished with those people who lived close, she toured the Clan’s facilities throughout the rest of Northern Ireland. For the time being, it would have to be enough. Finnian was rumored to be in Scotland, and her security team didn’t want her traveling there.
    Hugh had also surfaced in Scotland. Three days after he left the O’Neill estate in Tyrone, Hugh walked into the Clan’s