by Rain Oxford
She frowned. “I’m not actually sure. My bloodline is a secret even from me.”
That left me with a lot more questions I couldn’t afford to ask. “Why doesn’t my intuition work when you’re around?”
She waved her index finger at me. “Uh-uh. That’s not how this game is played,” she teased. “Yes or no questions only.”
“Are you using magic on me?”
She smirked. “Yes.”
I considered it for a few minutes. There had to be a reason she hated Remy and me. “Before you cursed the school, had I met you?”
“Yes.”
Now we were getting somewhere. I suspected I had because of her mind in the wolf shifter’s memory, but I hadn’t been entirely certain. It also told me that she was definitely the one to curse the school. I decided it was time to start working out her weaknesses. “Do you react to any metal in the way that vampires do to silver?”
“No.”
Not vampire or shifter then. Even throwbacks had some reaction to silver. “Has Remington met you before?”
“Not that she remembers.”
That was more information than I asked for. Although it didn’t tell me much about her reason for hating Remy, it did tell me that I could remember meeting her. Maybe Remy was too young.
Or, maybe Veronica is trying to throw me off. If she was, though, why bother with this game at all? In case she was serious about this game, I had to act accordingly. “Do I possess everything I need to defeat you?”
Her eyes seemed to glow with approval. “Now you’re getting it. Yes, you do. However, you lack the knowledge and experience to use what you have.”
I immediately thought of my staff, and how powerful Remy kept telling me it was. I always knew Hunt was serious when he had his staff with him, even though I had only seen him use it to threaten Langril.
So many questions raced through my mind unanswered, but none of them could be phrased correctly for the game. I couldn’t come up with the answers I needed by asking these questions. I had to outsmart her and narrow down as many options as possible.
“Does Asgard know how to defeat you?”
At that, she frowned. “Actually, I don’t know. I wanted to use him, but I had no leverage. I also thought he could be a fun enemy, but he wasn’t interested in fighting me. Even when I made his mother’s life hell, he didn’t seem to care.”
Ahz did care about his mother, but he didn’t show it. In fact, I doubted he would realize his mother needed help unless she made him aware by touching him. He was constantly in touch with the world around him, but not people. Why this was, I didn’t know.
Or, maybe he’s more aware than he looks and pretended not to care so that Veronica would leave his mother alone.
The fact was, I couldn’t predict Ahz’s actions or figure out how he thought. I couldn’t stake my investigation on what he could tell me. Fortunately, Veronica wasn’t on that level. She had flaws and weaknesses like everyone else. I just had to find them.
I considered who would know her. Remy, but she might have been too young… I didn’t actually know how old Veronica was. It could have been Hunt she had a problem with and she was simply taking it out on Remy.
However, she kept going after John’s children. I could have asked her if she knew John, but there was a better way to get my question answered if I was right. When I asked her what her motives were, she hadn’t answered. However, I had seen a lot of hate in my life. Considering her chaotic and savage attacks, her interest in my siblings, and John’s personality, I had a hunch.
“Are you after revenge on John Cross?” I asked. If I was wrong, I had wasted a question. I really wanted my intuition, as it could tell me when I was on the right track or not.
She pursed her lips, considering me. I wished I could read her mind. It was strange not being able to. “Yes, I suppose I am.”
That answered both questions, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to use the information yet. “John is dead.”
“I know. You killed him, and that pisses me off.”
“If you hated him, you should be thanking me for killing him.”
She sneered. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
It occurred to me that even if she did hate him, she could also have loved him. I didn’t know her age and John did use a lot of women to get children.
Veronica was getting angry, though, and I didn’t want her to leave without giving me more answers.
She was getting information somehow. She knew the darkest secrets of the staff members at Remington’s school. She knew how to find us. While her presence on the council explained a lot of it, no one should have known the staff members’ personal secrets.
Her ability to possess people was a given. How she kept appearing and disappearing and disguising herself as others, however, was a mystery. “Did you naturally develop the ability to appear and disappear?”
She laughed. “No.”
“Then you must have stolen the ability.”
She scoffed. “Like I said; you’re so far behind that it’s not even funny.”
I wasn’t as far behind as she thought, though. She can’t help herself. If I’m wrong, she has to call me out. She’s proud. How did she appear in my hotel room if she didn’t develop the ability or steal it?
“Are you able to possess someone without their eyes turning white?”
“No.”
“Can you see the future?”
“No.”
“Did you send hunters after Nadia because she did something to you?”
“No.”
“Did Nadia or Stephen have something you needed or wanted for your plans, or did they stand in the way of your plans?”
“That’s actually three questions, but I’ll take pity on you. I did it because I could. For the same reason I set up the Canadian wolves for the kidnapping of Mason’s pups. For the same reason I spread the rumor that the council was banning interspecies mating.”
“To cause a distraction?”
“That’s just a tiny portion of it, Devon. I’m going to tear the paranormal community apart.”
“Why?”
“Because I can. When I’m done, I will be worshipped and feared. Two questions left.”
I think we had a different number of questions in mind. However, the fact that she wanted to wrap this up told me that either I was getting too close to the answer, or I was pissing her off.
She didn’t look pissed.
I had assumed that she was pretending to be Becky this entire time because it would make sense that she wanted to be at the top of the food chain, so to speak. However, after these questions, she struck me more like someone who would want to control everything in the background until her big moment. Yes, she was on the council, but she wasn’t disguised as Becky. At least, not permanently. If she kept changing her disguise, she was more likely to get caught.
“You’re disguised as Becky now, but you don’t stay in that disguise,” I said. She didn’t interrupt, so I figured I was right. “You are normally somebody in the background of the council, influencing them to make them act irrationally, like arresting Remington. That was you who told me that you were on the council.”
“No, that was Becky,” she corrected. “I did make her say that, though. I’ve grown tired of waiting for you to catch on and dropped some hints that went completely over your head.”
“What hints?”
She scoffed. “I’m not going to tell you that. I was looking forward to you using those detective skills I’ve heard so much about. Frankly, I’m disappointed.”
I didn’t let that bother me. I’d always had my intuition to guide me, but I wasn’t an idiot. “You were disguised as Juliet and poisoned me with the tea.”
She made a sound with her tongue against her teeth that was eerily familiar. Someone had made that sound before, but I couldn’t place it. It was a sound that meant I was wrong, though, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from correcting me. �
��Again, you’re half right. I never disguised myself as Juliet. I did make her poison you, though.”
But Juliet’s eyes hadn’t been white, so how did Veronica make her do it? And why not attack me when I was down? “If you’re so powerful, why haven’t you killed me yet?”
“You already asked me that and I told you the truth; killing you would mean I can’t play with you anymore. Plus, as long as you’re alive, I can use you.”
“But you tried to poison me.”
“I succeeded in poisoning you. You recovered.”
“You sent those fae after me.”
“Not at first. They attacked you on their own. Then they wanted revenge on you for getting them kicked out of their tribe, so I pointed them in your direction.”
“Why?”
“You have one question left. Do you really want to waste it?”
She’d dropped the yes or no answer demand. She was frustrating as hell. If she was so strong, why was she giving me this chance to beat her? I didn’t know what she looked like, I couldn’t break her mental walls, my intuition didn’t work around her, and I had nothing to track her with. At this point, she was damn near undefeatable.
Attention-seeking. She wanted her intelligence and power to be known. That could be said about many people I faced, but the biggest threats, like Krechea, never put themselves out there like this. She even sent fucking birds after us.
She had gotten Darwin captured to force me to go after her, but she didn’t kill him because then she couldn’t use him anymore. Or she got him captured to keep him from helping me. Why was she after Remy? Maybe for the same reason. I needed more information to work with. She wasn’t acting like other people I fought.
“Do you want to get caught?”
“I would love to get caught because then I can get even more powerful. Now you’re out of questions. Do you want to make a guess?”
“What makes you think I don’t know for sure?”
She smirked. “The fact that you ask me that tells me you don’t know.”
She wasn’t from another world, she wasn’t a magical creature, and she was devastatingly powerful. Magic didn’t spring from nothing. She also said I knew her. Who did I know who had strong psychic powers? She could possess people, appear and disappear, and change her appearance, as well as do regular magic.
Gale stole the power to change his appearance, but Krechea used illusion magic. Remy is the best illusionist I know, so maybe she can tell me if that’s what Veronica is doing. Better yet…
“Don’t strain yourself, Devon,” Veronica said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m willing to let you join me.” With that, she stepped through the bars. I backed up and she followed smoothly, like she was stalking prey. “With you by my side, I can focus on my goals while you keep the troops in line. In exchange, your pets will be off the menu, so to speak. I can also teach you magic that you’ve never seen before.”
I backed into the wall, and she advanced until she nearly touched me. “So you can go through metal, too.”
“Like I said, I can do things that would blow your mind. Think of the safety of your friends. If you’re true to me, they’ll never be hurt.”
“You still haven’t told me what your goal is.”
“If you’re not smart enough to figure that out on your own, I don’t want you by my side.”
“You said you wanted to get caught.”
“I want to be challenged. I’m not just going to let some weak brat defeat me. If you do figure out who I am, come and find me. I might even let---” And then she vanished.
I heard a soft click at the same time. My intuition still didn’t respond, proving that she was still close, yet that click felt ominous. “Were you talking to someone?” Remy asked, standing.
“Veronica was just here,” I said.
“Did you learn anything?” Darwin asked, waking as well.
“Yes, but I’m not sure what yet.”
I explained everything that had happened while I searched my cell for anything that could have caused the click. Once I was finished, Remy searched hers as well. Darwin started to rise, but settled when Henry growled.
“We have to get out before he wakes up.”
“I’m really sorry for---” I started, but he interrupted.
“Don’t be. Amelia and my parents have the pack to protect them. Scott is defenseless. Plus, we’re closer to pack lands than the school. Focus on getting us out of here.”
“Remy, do you have anything to damage the crystal with?” I asked.
“I have a dagger they missed. They removed all my other weapons, but I planned to use it to defend myself. I doubt it will do anything to the crystal. What about your gun?”
“They took it.”
She pulled a thin dagger from her thigh and aimed it at the crystal. “Are you sure you can make it?” Darwin asked.
She scowled. “I never miss.” She didn’t miss; she flung the blade and it struck the crystal perfectly. Unfortunately, it had no effect whatsoever and clanged loudly on the floor. “Damn it.”
“We’ll come up with another---” I was cut off as the door opened and Serena entered with more food.
In a blur, Henry leapt to his feet and threw himself against the door of his cell. This time, however, it burst open easily. That’s what the click had been; his cell was opened. Serena barely had enough time to scream, but at the last second before he was on her, he turned his body and slammed into the crystal. It hit the floor and cracked.
That wasn’t enough for Henry, who then lifted the stone altar and bashed it into the crystal. The crystal flashed with a bright white light and my magic reacted with a wave of relief. Henry dropped the altar and shifted in seconds. Of course, he was still out of his mind with fury and quickly turned his rage on Serena. Darwin had predicted his reaction, though, and shifted along with Henry.
When Henry was focused on Serena, Darwin jumped on his back and attacked his neck in a move that I thought was very cat-like. Henry instantly rolled, causing Darwin to cry out in pain under Henry’s weight. This sound might have triggered the kill instinct in a regular jaguar, but Henry recognized it as his friend’s and froze. After a few seconds of Darwin whimpering, he stood and took a few steps away.
Serena ran out and slammed the door behind her. Henry snarled at the door, but otherwise remained still. Darwin tentatively got to his feet, approached Henry, and licked his nose. Henry huffed, but not aggressively. “Is it safe to come out now?” I asked.
Darwin nodded, so I magically unlocked my door. Remy did the same with hers. “We’ve got to save the kids,” Remy said.
“Agreed,” I said. “We know that Veronica is here, but not who she is, so we need to be careful.”
“I can use illusion magic to hide us,” Remy said.
“Can you make us invisible?”
“I can make us unseen. It’s not quite invisibility. People will see us, but not notice us. Remember how you said no one was looking directly at Veronica at the wolf shifter’s meeting?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s basically the same as that.”
“Henry, I’m not going to tell you to shift back, but avoid killing anyone if you can help it.” Henry growled, mildly annoyed rather than aggressive. “Can you go invisible?” In answer, he vanished. “Good. Try to pick up the scent of the kids and lead us to them.” I opened the door and we ascended the steps to the main floor.
Remy touched my arm and I felt her energy crackle lightly across my skin. She also touched Darwin’s sleeve-covered arm. “He didn’t disappear,” I said.
“Don’t worry; it’s working.”
Henry growled and brushed against my front, nearly knocking me down. I grabbed onto his fur before he was gone and he immediately started pulling me down the hallway. Darwin and Remy followed without a word. Several times, he would stop and hug the wall when someone was coming. No one looked at us. In fact, they seemed to look away from us for no apparent reason.
Th
e exception was when we encountered Becky, who was trying to comfort Serena’s baby. The toddler was crying for his mother. “She’ll be back soon,” Becky promised. I knew it was really Becky because she was careful with Eric. I worried for a moment if Serena had been punished for helping us.
Then Eric looked right at me, stopped crying, and giggled. Becky took him away.
“It doesn’t work on babies?”
Remy shrugged apologetically. “I’ve never used it in the presence of one before. I guess it makes sense, though.”
“Don’t you think we should be searching people’s auras for Veronica?” Darwin asked. “You can skim all the minds we’ve passed for whoever’s blocked.”
“Most of the wizards here keep their minds blocked. I don’t want to get caught again before we can find the kids and get them to safety. After that, I’ll worry about who she is. Knowing that she’s on the council is a big step. We need---” My intuition struck me hard enough to make me stop. Henry snarled as I accidentally pulled some of his fur out. “Sorry. I think we need to go in here,” I said, gesturing to a door.
“The children are in there?” Remy asked.
“I don’t know. My intuition is working again, and it’s demanding.” Not to my surprise, it was locked. “Well, shit.” I knew better than to use magic on a locked door in the council; I didn’t want my face blown off.
Henry shrugged me off and walked away. I couldn’t ask him where he was going, but it was obvious that he didn’t want me to follow.
“Can Henry open it?” Remy asked.
Even though he didn’t have his kit with him, he could probably rig up a pick from something else pretty easily. “Not in his jaguar form.”
Henry returned a moment later and a ring of keys suddenly appeared out of thin air as they dropped to the floor. I picked them up and was glad Henry wasn’t a dog shifter, because they weren’t covered in slime. I found one that fit the lock and we went inside. It really paid to have a trained thief on our side.
We entered a cross between a magic room and a storage room. It was only ten-by-ten with shelves against the far wall covered in magic artifacts, boxes, and potions. Wooden crates and chests took up the majority of the room, leaving only a narrow aisle to the shelves. Crates were stacked neatly towards the back, while those in the front were on their side or stacked haphazardly on others. It reminded me of an attic.