by Eva Chase
“I’m seeing a lot of things,” I said with a grimace. “I don’t know if any of them are going to help us in our current situation. It seems like the Frankfords always figured that if the portal was compromised, they’d be around with their witch-slaves to fix it before anything got far. I’ve been taking notes of things that might be worth looking into further, though.”
“Well, that’s something.” She came up beside me and flicked one of the crumpled chip bags on the desk into the garbage can near the opposite chair.
“The mess is Damon’s,” I felt the need to say. “He managed to spend about half an hour looking through the records, which I think is about as long as he’s capable of sitting in one place. He just went to grab us some takeout for dinner.”
Rose frowned. “I’m sure if I ask one of the officials, they’ll arrange a meal.”
“I don’t think any of us want to rely on your Assembly all that much,” I said. “Someone here was authorizing the murders of witches who got too friendly with unsparked guys—someone had to be in the know about the real reason they were sending those enforcers after us before.” They needed Rose right now, but I wasn’t sure how much they thought they needed the rest of us.
“You don’t think that person was swept up in the arrests they made?” Rose said.
I motioned to the computer screen. “There are some references to assistance, but no names given. I haven’t seen anyone named who’d have that much authority in the Justice division of the Assembly, as far as I can tell.”
Rose sighed and draped her arm across my shoulder. I leaned into her embrace, closing my eyes against the glow of the computer screen for a moment. Her lips brushed my forehead.
“I guess that’s something for us to worry about when we don’t have a demon on the loose. Have you gotten any sleep? It’s been a long couple days.”
“I got those few hours in the limo last night,” I said. “What about you? You’ve been running around all day—you went out and faced that thing.”
“It’s not really ‘facing’ it when you stay a quarter mile away,” Rose muttered. “But hopefully we can really take it on soon and this will all be over.”
I tugged her into my lap and took a deep breath of her sweet scent. She relaxed into me for a moment, resting her head on my shoulder.
“That’ll be nice,” I said. “When it’s over, I mean. Everything’s out in the open now, right? We can just… be consorts, without having to worry about keeping secrets.”
“Yeah,” Rose said. “I mean, we’ll still have to be careful about how much we say to your families and everyone, not getting into the magical side of things… but yeah.” She pressed her face to the side of my neck. “I’m sorry you’ve all gotten dragged into yet another witching mess.”
“Hey.” I squeezed her tighter, reveling in the softness of this body that I knew held so much power. “I wouldn’t for a second take ‘regular’ life over getting to experience this. Sure, it’s kind of scary, but what other unsparked guy ever got to delve into the real supernatural like this? It’s fascinating to learn about when I’m not having to worry about my imminent death.”
If the Assembly would let me have access to all their records after this was done… Man, I couldn’t imagine all the crazy facts about magic and witching life I might be able to uncover.
“And it’s not like I’d stand back and leave the saving the world just to you when I can pitch in,” I added. “I live here too.”
Rose let out a faint snort, but I thought she relaxed a little more at the same time. Then, with a reluctant expression, she eased herself upright on my lap.
“I actually came over for more than just a check-in,” she said. “I managed to call together some of the main officials tonight so we can discuss our next steps. I think we need to talk to the members of the Frankfords’ faction that have been arrested, to see if any of them are still holding onto some of that demonic power. Our magic doesn’t seem to work so well against those things, but their own kind of power might.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “I’ve seen a couple of references in the files that make it sound like the guys who got the power put a little of it into keeping the portal sealed.”
“That’s exactly why I was hoping you’d come with me.” Rose gave me a quick kiss. “You’ve read more of the records than anyone else. If I need back-up to convince them, it’d be great to have you there.”
“Of course,” I said, my heart lifting. To actually do something with the pieces I’d been putting together would be a welcome change. And if it proved to the Assembly that Rose hadn’t been wrong to bring us into their community, all the better.
I grabbed the phone I’d been taking my notes on and went with Rose down the hall to the same meeting room where we’d spoken with the officials very early this morning.
A smaller group had gathered this time. Only Lady Northcott, not her husband as well, sat at the head of the table. Gwen Remington, Justin Brimsey, and the woman who’d spoken out against me and the other guys being there at all this morning had taken spots around the table too. The last woman, Lady Townsend, I’d gathered was someone pretty high up in the Justice division, so I guessed we weren’t going forward with any plans without her approval any time soon. The investigator who’d helped Rose take down the Frankfords—Ruiz, I thought I’d heard—stood propped against the far wall.
It made me feel a little more sure on my feet just knowing the names of everyone in the room this time around.
“I didn’t think you’d gleaned much from your trip this afternoon,” Townsend said, looking as severe as ever as she glowered at Rose. “Have you made some kind of urgent discovery that we have to know about immediately? Or maybe you think one of your consorts has?” Her gaze slid to me, her tone as she said the word consorts turning acidic.
Rose didn’t bother sitting down. She stopped at the edge of the table and crossed her arms over her chest. “Not an urgent discovery but an urgent request. Seeing the demon up close out there only reinforced my understanding of how powerful it is. We’re going to need every edge we can get against it. And I think the best edge we have access to is to turn its own kind of power against it. The Assembly has taken all of the members of the Frankfords’ faction that you could locate into custody, haven’t you?”
“We have,” Lady Northcott said cautiously.
“I’d like permission to interview them,” Rose said. “And permission to use a truth compulsion spell to confirm whether they’re telling the truth about what powers they might still hold. Or else send an enforcer with me to do that part. We just need to know as soon as possible.”
“Now, hold on,” Townsend spoke up before anyone else could. She leaned her knobby elbows onto the tabletop. “This group of witching folk clearly broke laws, and they were playing with something they didn’t fully understand and should have known they couldn’t control. But I’m not convinced they were manipulating anyone so much as being manipulated themselves by those creatures. I’m definitely not convinced they got any real power from them—the kind of magic they could keep lit over all this time like a spark.”
“I witnessed it with my own eyes when Charles Frankford used some sort of magic-like power against Lady Hallowell,” Remington said. “He’d kept that energy inside him at least as long as it’d been since he’d last interacted with the fiends. He admitted that he and his allies drew power from the creatures.”
“Or maybe the power came from the demons nearby immediately in that moment,” Townsend said. “You were on his property, close to this cave where they called them forth. The rest could easily have been a delusion constructed by the creatures to further their own ends.”
I couldn’t help breaking in. “Why do you think it’s more likely that they were deluded than that they really were collecting power?” I asked. Why was she so intent on downplaying their responsibility?
“It doesn’t even matter,” Rose said, her jaw set. “We can find out what’s real
easily enough if we talk to them. If they’re compelled to tell the truth, there’ll be ways to fully confirm their stories.”
“Truth compulsion is only meant to be used under select circumstances where the proof of necessity is immense,” Townsend protested. “Even a carefully crafted spell of that sort can have lingering effects on the mind. These people may be criminals, but they still have some rights.”
Okay, now she was just being ridiculous. “How much proof do you need?” I asked. This was exactly why Rose had wanted me here. I waved my phone, which could have connected me to those files in an instant. “There are a whole bunch of records that mention ways these people were able to affect things, nowhere near the demons, that they shouldn’t have been able to do without some special power.”
“The power of a delusion—”
I talked right over her. “There’s the guy who managed to persuade a politician to pick his company for a contract from the other side of the restaurant they were both in—a contract other documents suggest the politician had been set to give to someone else. And the guy who shoved one of his business competitors through a window without even being in the same room as him, just watching via security camera footage. Do I need to bring up more examples? I can draw you some flow charts if it’ll help. There’s a lot more than some delusion going on there.”
Townsend’s mouth opened and closed and opened again, but she couldn’t seem to work any words out. Before she managed to, Lady Northcott spoke up.
“Both Lady Hallowell and her consort have made a convincing case. I believe we should move forward with this line of inquiry.”
Townsend’s mouth clamped tight. She shot a glare at Rose that made no sense to me at all. The back of my neck prickled. She seemed awfully invested in this discussion for someone who should have been most concerned about stopping that demon thing from hurting anyone else. Wasn’t she supposed to stand for justice?
“Perhaps Investigator Ruiz can oversee the questioning,” Lady Northcott went on, with a glance toward the enforcer. “Lady Townsend, we’ll want at least two other enforcers present, to witness the correct conduct of any truth compulsion used and, well, because we can’t be entirely sure how these accused will react.”
Townsend’s lips pursed. “I’ll need to confirm the allocation with the head of Justice.”
Northcott gave her a puzzled look. “I give you the authority to make that call right now. We don’t have time to waste. I want them ready first thing in the morning.” She rubbed her jaw, a momentary weariness showing in her eyes.
Townsend’s comment stuck in my head. Confirm the allocation. Why did that sound so familiar?
My memories of the last several hours of research raced through my head. I’d seen that wording somewhere in the files, hadn’t I?
Yes. In a record mentioning some event where one of the faction members had planned to work some kind of scheme, where they’d wanted a few enforcers in attendance. There’d been a note about how an Assembly contact would need to “confirm the allocation.” It’d seemed like weird phrasing to me, and I hadn’t seen them use it anywhere else in their comments. Which suggested it hadn’t been their wording but the contact’s.
Between her weird behavior and that specific phrase, a sudden certainty gripped me. My back tensed, but I made myself look straight at Lady Townsend. “You were the one in the Justice division who helped the Frankfords out when they needed Assembly support, weren’t you?” We wouldn’t even get into the murders she might have helped orchestrate.
She clearly hadn’t been expecting that accusation. Her pinched features flinched before she schooled her expression back into her usual disapproving look. “What is your unsparked partner ranting about now, Lady Hallowell?” she said, cold and crisp.
I wasn’t going to let her dismiss me like that. “You’re doing everything you can to take the blame away from these witching people, to make it sound as if every crime they committed was the demons’ fault,” I said. “And you don’t want us to question them—because you’re worried someone who knows about you will end up mentioning your name? What you just said about ‘confirming the allocation,’ that’s something you said to the Frankfords before. They recorded it just the way you said it in their files, you know.”
Lady Northcott had turned toward Townsend, her mouth pressing into a flat line. “You have been raising a rather unusual number of concerns given the dire situation we’ve found ourselves in. Can you offer any other explanation for why you’ve been protecting these known criminals over the innocents the demon might harm?”
Lady Townsend started to sputter. “I simply— Our people’s rights must be considered—”
Rose’s eyes narrowed. “We know for sure there’s someone in the Assembly the Frankfords had help from. It had to be someone who could make decisions in the Justice Division.”
“This is absurd,” Townsend spat out. She turned to Lady Northcott. “I can’t believe you’d accept an accusation like this from a—”
Northcott made a gesture with her hand, so brief and small I almost missed it. Investigator Ruiz moved at once. Her fingers twitched as she swiveled her wrist, calling a spell into being.
“Lady Veronica Townsend, by the order of the authority of the Assembly and in this state of near-emergency, you will answer the next question truthfully.”
Her voice crackled with the same sort of power I’d heard in Rose’s on occasion. Townsend stiffened. Brimsey stepped forward behind her as if to cut her off if she meant to make a run for it.
“Did you assist Charles Frankford in any of his illicit dealings?” Lady Northcott said tersely.
Townsend’s mouth twisted. “Yes,” she said, as if the admission had been wrenched out of her. “I did.” She gasped as the spell must have loosed its hold. “You have to understand. I wasn’t fully aware—”
Northcott’s face had hardened. “We can discuss that in preparation for your hearing. Investigator, please take her to a holding room.”
When the traitor had left the room, I let out my breath, my chest tight. Lady Northcott’s shoulders bowed as she leaned her hands on the table.
“All right,” she said, sounding even wearier than before. “I think that’s enough for one night.” She looked to me. “Thank you for your quick observations.” And then to Rose. “You’ll have the support you need early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I think we’d all better get some rest. That creature is moving slowly now. If that changes, we won’t be any match for it at all if we’re already exhausted.”
Chapter Six
Rose
Lady Northcott had pretty much ordered us to sleep. Unfortunately my mind didn’t take those kind of orders easily. The sleep I did get was strung through with dreams of that unearthly demon form turning its massive head toward me and the world around me crumbling into dry rot. I woke up more than once with sweat sticky on my skin.
The third or fourth time, there was just enough near-dawn light seeping through the room’s one small window that I could make out the other cots the Assembly had arranged for us in this makeshift dorm room. I hadn’t wanted to be separated from any of my consorts overnight, and we’d wanted to be close at hand where the Assembly could reach out to us in case the demon changed tactics all at once, so we hadn’t gotten a whole lot of choice in our bedroom situation.
The guys were all sprawled on their respective cots, the rising and falling rasp of sleeping breaths filling the room. Except for the cot at my right—Gabriel’s. It was empty other than a tangle of sheet and blanket.
My pulse hiccupped. I sat up, the sweat on my arms turning cold.
He wouldn’t have left. He’d sworn he’d never really wanted to leave us in the first place. I couldn’t imagine any reason why he’d do that now.
But my heart still thumped a little too quickly as I eased out of the room. The sound of fingers pattering over a keyboard reached me from the office the Assembly had set up for us on the opposite side of the hall.
/> My nerves settled as I pushed open that door and found Gabriel frowning at the screen of the laptop Damon had been using earlier. He edged back his chair at the squeak of the hinges and gave me a smile that didn’t quite erase the worry from his gaze.
“Hey, Sprout,” he said, opening his arms to me. “Up already?”
“I should be saying that to you,” I said as I let myself sink into his lap. I looped my arm loosely around his neck. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” he said before I had to explain any more than that. He hugged me close. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I’d just been tossing and turning for an hour, figured if I was going to be awake anyway, I might as well try to do something useful with that time.”
I peered at the computer screen, the glow harsh on my still-tired eyes. “Did you find anything you think will help?”
He shook his head. “I’ve got to admit I’m not even totally sure what I should be looking for. My searching has been kind of aimless. Not much better than nothing. I wish I could figure out a way to help more than this.”
He sounded so overwhelmed in that moment that my heart squeezed. I touched the side of his face, drawing it closer to mine.
“You’re helping plenty,” I said. “You help just by being here. We’re stronger together, and I’m so much stronger because I have you. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Gabriel cupped my cheek and kissed me in answer. As his mouth moved against mine, a pang of longing shot through me, for this closeness I hadn’t gotten to really enjoy with any of my consorts in the last stressful few days. Even the last time Gabriel and I had come together, it’d been more about healing some of the wounds our relationship had be dealt, not simple enjoyment and passion.
When had anything between the six of us ever gotten to be simple? Would it ever be?
As if he’d read my thoughts, Gabriel pulled back from me, just far enough to speak. “I don’t care what any of those officials think, Rose. I don’t care what any of them say. This is right. This is where I’m meant to be—where we’re all meant to be. They can take their prejudices and shove them where the sun don’t shine.”