“Just catching up,” I replied ambiguously.
“If you’re done, let’s go find out who tried to murder Etoile again,” he said, bringing me back to ground with a thump. “And succeeded with the other witch. On the positive side, you’re still alive, so I’ll get to stay alive too.”
I was glad one of us was still optimistic.
FOURTEEN
It didn’t escape my notice that of the five candidates, the only two who hadn’t been hurt yet were Mary and Georgia. And for that thought to have occurred to me as Micah and I made our way back to our group, it definitely must have occurred to others. I doubted that Georgia being spared the sniper attacks was just a coincidence. The whispers were full of it and no one seemed to think Mary was the issue. Somehow, Georgia managed to appear completely unconcerned and unruffled by any accusations as she paused with her party. If she worried that the circulating rumours might damage her candidacy, she gave no sign of it.
Etoile didn’t give her a backwards glance as she marched down the corridor towards the exit, clearly opting for the stairwell, instead of waiting for the elevator. I hurried after her, and Micah had to lengthen his stride to keep up with me.
Georgia flashed in front of me, blocking my path. She thrust her chin forward until her face was only a few inches from mine. “You! You’re setting me up!” she snarled, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You think I don’t see what’s going on here? You think I can’t see what’s happening?”
“And what would that be?” I returned her stare and tried really hard not to blink. “That no one has tried to kill you? Isn’t that convenient? You can’t assassinate yourself.”
“Do you really think I would be stupid enough to injure three other candidates only to leave myself as the prime suspect?”
“I think you’d do anything to win.”
“And Etoile wouldn’t? Come on. We both know her game plan is to put a Winterstorm back at the helm of the Council. That’s why she’s sucking up to the vampires and the wolves. And the demons too, not that I see your pet daemon around. What happened? Did he finally ditch you?” Georgia’s eyes moved to Micah, whom she gave a long, slow look that ran from head to toe and back again. “Or maybe you just found yourself a new one?”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I gave her the kind of withering look I usually reserved for anyone who cut me off in the supermarket queue.
“If I have to go to the Council, I will. I won’t be set up by Etoile or anyone else. You think the prophecy will protect you and your star sisters? I don’t think so.” Georgia cast one last sneer in my direction before stalking away. She caught one of her entourage by the elbow and steered her towards the opening elevator doors, while snapping something that made the other woman look back at us and blanch.
“I hate to say it, but Georgia could be telling the truth,” I told our group when we were safely ensconced in the meeting room reserved for our use. Laura and Byron had begged off and headed back to their room, leaving us with Astra. But the bigger problem was Georgia, not to mention the corpse somewhere in the hotel. “Maybe she is being framed.”
“I disagree. She always tries to get rid of her competition,” David commented as he gave me a cynical look forbidding me from arguing in Georgia’s defence. “So what if it isn’t subtle? Subtlety was never her strong suit. All she cares about is the end game, and if there’s no one to challenge her, she’ll get what she wants by default.”
Etoile stopped her pacing. “The Council wouldn’t stand for it.”
“Oh? Wouldn’t they?” David’s look was sceptical. “They’ve already given her free rein to bully as she pleases. To practise necromancy for God’s sake! Can you even imagine what she promised the shifters? The vampires? The demons if she wins the race? All she wants is to win and at any cost. I’ll bet Mary Richardson is pretty happy about Georgia being in the middle of these rumours too. She’s been chasing the helm for years.”
“What about opportunity?” I asked. “Did anyone see her when Etoile was shot, or Matthew Donovan?”
“She left court before you,” said Daniel. “I saw her leave.”
“But did she leave the building?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“What about after Georgia left? Did anyone see her then? And last night? She had to have left the ball before us. The sniper was in the gallery somewhere. Georgia had lots of opportunity.” Etoile rushed her questions.
“Much as I hate to say it, I stood behind her for the coat check,” said Seren, her disappointment seeping into her voice. “And you don’t know how much I hate being her alibi.”
“So that counts her out for at least one occasion,” I countered. “What about the food poisoning? The poison was found in Etoile‘s soup as well as Esme’s. Could Georgia have tampered with those?”
“Maybe, but so could a dozen other people. The restaurant was full to bursting thanks to the lockdown,” pointed out Astra. She dropped into the seat I’d occupied earlier.
I sat down and put my chin in my hands. Much as I wanted to see Georgia take the fall for this, I couldn’t see how she was able to orchestrate it. “She could have hired someone,” I suggested. “Maybe one of her entourage?”
“There’s another possibility.” Astra’s voice was strong. “It could have been one of the other candidates. We’re looking at Georgia as if she wasn’t being sabotaged. But what if her being left alone is the sabotage? It’s certainly derailing her now.”
“Astra has a good point.” Etoile nodded as we absorbed that. “If someone else were to win, despite being attacked, they would start off with great PR. Georgia would be tried and no doubt excommunicated. Not only would it make a lot of people happy, but there’re probably some who stand to benefit by it.”
I didn’t doubt that. “So, if we discount you and Georgia, that leaves Matthew Donovan and Mary Richardson,” I said, voicing aloud what everyone was thinking.
“The question is who?” said Etoile. “Who will fight the dirtiest to win? And who could be dirtier than Georgia?”
“That’s if it’s a witch at all,” I said, muddying the waters even further. “What if the shifters, or the demons, or any of the others want someone in particular to win?”
Etoile pulled a face as she checked her watch. “We have thirty minutes until the wolves arrive and I’m starved. Anyone want to risk room service while we talk this over?”
“Pick your poison,” piped up Micah as he opened the menu.
During the meeting with the wolves, Gage stood beside Drew Freeman, clearly playing the part of enforcer for Noah Woods and Caroline Newton, and largely ignoring me. If I didn’t know him, I might have found him intimidating given the way he glowered at me. With their poker faces, I wasn’t at all sure what the werewolves gleaned from our discussion, or even if they liked Etoile at all, despite what Gage told me privately.
I zoned their conversation out, and focused some more on the events. It rattled me that once again, Etoile had come close to being attacked, and the warning cut so close, it was almost to the point of not getting it at all. Plus, I didn’t think anyone was convinced that Georgia didn’t have some role in the poisoning, especially given her infamous hatred of… well, just about everything that wasn’t about her. I considered Mary Richardson. Her roots ran deep within the Council, and she was currently serving on the pro tem committee. She was considerably older than Etoile, perhaps in her late forties or fifties. If she ever expected to become a lifelong director of the Council, this might be her last chance to grab the spot. It was a tenuous motive, but it was there. I was fairly certain she would have access to all kinds of things, including poison. Not that I could prove it.
As the wolves left, the mood softened and the meeting passed on uneventfully. Etoile and Noah shook hands in a friendly way and said pleasant things to each other.
“I think the offer of our assistance pleased them,” said Etoile. “Wolves haven’t always been our allies.”
I thought about the ta
lisman and its history and guessed I understood why. Perhaps collaboration between wolves and witches would be more important to them than a legendary magical artefact.
“Would you excuse me? I’m going to freshen up,” I told them. “Oh, Micah, you really don’t have to follow me this time.”
“Good.” He returned to his seat.
“We’ll take a break when you come back, Stella. Like I said earlier, I have some meetings with the witches and when the vampires get here at nightfall, I’ll see them alone.”
“Meet me here in five minutes or I’ll come looking,” said Micah as I left.
I’d barely made it to the corner of the corridor before I heard them.
“I want that talisman,” Noah hissed. “And if they don’t bring it to me, you’re going to go and get it.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not stealing it from a witch in a freakin’ hotel full of witches.” Gage’s voice was loud and clear. I stopped, knowing this was something I wasn’t supposed to hear. “You have a deal. Stick with it.”
“Yeah. They want a lot of money for this thing.”
“So don’t pay it if you don’t want it.”
“Gage, it’s not a case of that,” came Caroline’s voice. “We need that talisman. We can’t leave the city without it.”
“It’s just an old piece of wood. A nicely carved one, sure, but it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a much bigger deal than you think. We need it. Its protection is priceless.”
“Are you saying it’s not just a myth? You really think this thing can protect the packs from witches’ magic?”
“Not just witches’. Anything. The talisman is powerful.”
“I thought you were okay with backing Etoile?”
“Sure. She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders, and I’ve no doubt things will be better under her, but let’s face it. She’s a witch.” Noah spat the word, and all the friendliness from a few minutes ago vanished.
Gage stepped back, running a hand through his hair, and his jaw locked drawing his mouth into a thin, frustrated line. He looked up and had the presence of mind not to flinch when he saw me standing in the hallway. The look he gave me could have lasted forever and I returned it with a “bunny-caught-in-the-headlights” stare. Clearly, no one was meant to overhear this conversation. I had quite possibly put myself in danger.
“Keep kissing up to that little witch of yours, Gage. Or Etoile Winterstorm. I don’t care. Just find out if one of them knows exactly who has the talisman. This cloak and dagger shit is pissing me off. I must know who has that talisman. I want it.”
Gage looked away from me. “If they had it, they would have mentioned it. We’re on good terms.”
“Then use that leverage to find out if they know who has it. These witches all talk. One of them must have heard something. And if you can’t get it out of them…”
“What?”
“We’ll deal with it when we come to it. I’m not leaving without the talisman and I don’t care whom I have to trample over to get it. And if they think we’re paying a fortune for it, they’ve got another thing coming. That talisman was stolen from us, and we’re going to get our property back. Then we’ll see who wants to mess with the wolves.”
“You’re going to use it against them?” Gage asked. I couldn’t tell if he was horrified, annoyed, or just plain sceptical.
“Hell, yes. I’m not interested in any High Council. Etoile‘s chance of winning is slim against Georgia and Mary. They’ll just push us around, like they always have because their magic is more powerful than our teeth. I’m not going to be one of their puppets and I won’t let them push a single wolf under my command around.”
Caroline said something, but I didn’t catch it. Evidently, it didn’t please Noah because she stepped backwards, the back of her head now visible in my line of sight. Gage stepped around her, leaning against the wall and blocking me from view. Pulling his hand from his pocket, he put it behind his back and gave me a little wave. I didn’t need to be told twice to get out of there. It didn’t take a genius to work out how mad Noah would be if he knew I’d overheard this conversation.
Much as I wanted to stay and eavesdrop some more, I backed up softly, glad I’d worn flats. I re-traced my steps along the corridor, turning the corner and heading towards the elevators, when I ran straight into Micah.
“There you are.”
“Here I am.”
“I need to make a few phone calls. I have things to take care of,” he told me. “Etoile said we should meet later and I don’t want you out of my sight.”
“No problem. I’m going to be in my room for a while.”
We split when we got back to the rooms. Micah instructed me once again not to go anywhere without him. As soon as I shut the door, I pulled off the suit, replacing it with jeans and a long-sleeved, jersey t-shirt. Almost immediately, the phone rang. I picked it up as I freed my head.
“Hello?”
“Stella? It’s Gage. You in your room?”
“Yeah, dumbass. How could I answer the phone otherwise?”
“Dumbass?”
“Um… sorry. I didn’t mean that,” I backtracked, closing my eyes as embarrassment flooded me. Between my eavesdropping news and Evan, I wasn’t feeling myself. “Stressful day. What can I do for you?”
“Just checking you were there. I’ll be by in ten minutes. We need to talk.”
“Sure. Okay.”
Gage was still wearing his suit when he came by. “Like it?” he asked, popping his lapels.
“Yeah. Looking good. But I’m guessing you’re not here for compliments.”
“Nope, but keep them comin’ anyway.” He shut the door and handed me two take-out coffees from the coffee shop on the corner. It had the unfortunate effect of reminding me of danger. “I hate the coffee here. Thought you would want one.”
“Thanks. I’m guessing the poison risk is low.” I warmed my hands around the cup, then offered him the club chair while I perched on the end of the bed.
“We’ll know in five minutes. Listen, about that. Where’s Micah?”
“Next door. He’s making phone calls.”
“To Evan?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t even asked. It occurred to me I hadn’t checked my phone either, but I didn’t want to jump to my feet and get it. If there were a message, which I doubted, it would be there after we finished talking. “So… you want to hang out?” I asked, waiting for him to spit out whatever I’d just interrupted in the hallway.
“I wish I had the time. These guys have got me running around. I don’t know how much you heard, but I wanted to ask some more about the talisman.”
“You’re not the first person to want to talk about it today.”
Gage looked up sharply. “No?”
“No. An acquaintance was approached about it.”
“Someone close to you?” he asked casually as he brought the paper cup to his lips.
“Is this the bit where you kiss up to me?” I asked, echoing Noah’s words at him. He gave me an apologetic look and shook his head. “No. No one you know,” I told him.
“Noah’s gotten pretty excited about it.”
“I heard. I hear he’s got a photo too.”
Gage raised his eyebrows. “You heard right,” he said, apparently impressed at my knowledge.
“I also heard a deal is going to take place very soon.”
“Now that I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. Listen, about what you heard earlier. Is there any chance this talisman could be the real deal and not just a…?”
“Lump of wood?” I finished. “My contact seems to think it’s authentic, but she won’t know for certain until she gets her hands on it.”
“She?”
“Not telling.”
“Good. I don’t want to know.”
“Sure you do! Ask Drew. He approached my acquaintance and showed her the photo,” I told him, deciding not to mess with him anymore. Besides, it was likel
y Drew would tell him anyway. “Look, she doesn’t know who has it, and neither do I. She’s waiting on your friends to call her when the deal goes ahead. If it’s a fake, she’ll say so.”
“I’m more worried about what happens if it’s not a fake and actually has got powers to do what Noah thinks it can. He’s adamant about it.”
“He didn’t seem all hearts, flowers, and world peace about it.”
“No, he’s not. Stella, I sat through three meetings with Noah, acting all keen on the Council and pretending to be genuinely interested in backing the right candidate. But the backstabbing jackass just wants a weapon to use.”
“Jackass, huh?”
He lifted a shoulder and grinned. “That time, it was appropriate.”
“Here. Read this.” I placed the coffee on the dresser and knelt in front of my suitcase. Opening it up, I pulled out the stolen library book and passed it to Gage. “The page is bookmarked.”
“What is this?”
“It has some information on the talisman.”
“Where did you get it?”
“Funny story. Let’s not talk about it.” As I said that, the conversation I overheard that night at the library came back to me. I still didn’t know who the speakers were, and I hadn’t discussed it again since reporting it to Etoile but now it occurred to me, the voices seemed familiar somehow.
Gage gave me a puzzled look before thumbing the pages, until he found the pages I marked. He slung one leg across the other and rested the heavy book against his calf as he read. “You believe this too?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”
Gage shut the book and tossed it onto the bed. “If he gets the talisman, and everything this book says is true, I’m worried about what’s going to happen. You should have seen Noah after you left. Well, I guess you did. This isn’t just about protection. This is about having a weapon to use against all of you. He thinks Etoile would do good things and collaborate well with us, but that she probably won’t win. Even if she did, what if he decides he wants something else? If I didn’t know you and Etoile well, I’d probably think he had a point but I can’t get excited about something that could hurt you guys,” he said, making his problem plain.
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