“You said it yourself,” Priya said. “Jews had to register their belongings. That meant there were records and those records were used by various governments, initially the French and German ones, to reunite objects with their owners.”
Rafael’s eyes gleamed with approval and interest. “Yes, exactly. Not many people know that. How did you?”
No, no. Go back to the cool professionalism. Didn’t these people know the saying “Don’t shit where you live”?
I glanced at Levi, who winked. Hypocrite, thy name is Ash.
“Records are databases,” Priya said, with a hair flip. “And I excel at getting data that people like keeping hidden.”
“That would be an incredibly useful skill,” Rafael murmured.
Priya smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary and daintily popped a piece of carrot muffin into her mouth.
Rafael blinked as if to compose himself.
Arkady avidly watched all of us, his coffee mug cradled in his hands. I was tempted to give him a bowl of popcorn.
“Yo, Attendant,” I said. “I’m guessing your people also searched these records.”
“Of course.” Rafael said. Priya got approval, I got frostiness. “My predecessors failed to find anything that matched the description. For all intents and purposes, the scroll was lost.”
“Too bad you didn’t have more bodies on this before,” I said. “Why didn’t Asherah create an army of us if this was such a threat?”
“She never expected the fight would be dragged on this long,” Rafael said. “Not only did the pieces prove more challenging to find, other factors came into play that she could never have anticipated, such as war, politics, and other interested parties.”
“I don’t buy it. She’s a goddess and this was pretty damn important.” I’d heard enough half-truths to recognize one now. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Rafael glanced down at his sleeve that concealed the gash he’d gotten from our encounter and his lip curled for a fleeting second. “I’ve told you the salient facts. A smart strategist understands when to illuminate a truth to aid a cause and when revealing it merely weakens the foundation.”
I picked up one of my many non-working pens and tapped it against my thigh. “If that’s the normal M.O. of Attendants, no wonder we’re still searching for pieces.”
“Ash,” Priya admonished.
“How fortunate that your brief time as a Jezebel has given you such a grasp of what’s best for the cause,” Rafael said.
Priya and Arkady exchanged glances and even Levi looked over at us.
I snapped the pen in half, a drop of ink splashing onto my thumb. Our dynamic around my cravings wasn’t ideal, but Rafael was the one who’d chosen to serve up himself up on a magical healing platter, so how about he took some damn responsibility for his actions, instead of nursing his wounds and his pride?
“Being a Jezebel has given me perspective you don’t have,” I said. “This is our first team meeting, and while I appreciate you wanting to present our side in the best possible light, if we’re to succeed, we need all the facts, no matter how unpleasant. I’m sorry if I pushed you out of your comfort zone, but maybe I was the shock this system needed.”
“Beg to differ,” he said coldly.
A loaded silence choked the room.
I jumped up, grabbed a handful of darts and began firing them into the dartboard.
“Was Asherah not strong enough to make more Jezebels?” Priya said to Rafael. “You mentioned that she only had a few faithful left and a lot of myths involving gods speak of how their power is tied to people’s belief in them.”
Rafael bestowed a smile upon her, like a teacher with a clever student.
Imagining the dartboard was his stupid mug, I shot those suckers into where his eyes would be.
“You’re quite correct,” Rafael said. “Asherah wasn’t strong enough. The goddess only possessed a fraction of her power by this point, since so few believed in her. As you can imagine, this isn’t a fact we like bandied about publicly, should Chariot find a way to use it against us.”
Arkady leaned back in his chair until it was tilted up on two legs. “How much damage could they do with the info? It’s not like she’s made an appearance since and could be captured.”
“Chariot are masters at manipulation and exploitation,” Rafael said. “All information can be weaponized. You mustn’t show weakness on any front.”
I sank the last dart into the dartboard and Levi patted my chair. When I sat down next to him once more, he squeezed my thigh before continuing to work on the lock while I leaned in toward him, like a flower gaining warmth from the sun.
“What else can you tell us about them?” Arkady said. “Other than they’re steeped in a Kabbalistic ideology and operate in the shadows.”
“The group is always ruled by ten people,” Rafael said. “Originally it was the ten men who represented each of the Lost Tribes of Israel, but in modern times, both women and non-Jews have been among the leaders. Though the last time one was unmasked was in the mid-twentieth century and we have no idea who is in command now. Think of them as a global consortium with money and manpower we simply cannot match. They are powerful people with their fingers in a lot of pies.”
Priya nodded somberly, discreetly texting under her desk.
Adler: He could stick his finger in my pie.
Me: Please get laid tonight and not by him.
Adler: Don’t be greedy. You’ve got one of your own.
Me: You’ve got the wrong idea.
She rolled her eyes.
“I should let the Queen know this about Chariot.” Levi tossed the unopened lock and tools on my desk with an exasperated sigh.
“I beg your pardon,” Rafael said. “The Queen?”
“Of Hedon,” Levi said. “I’ve formed an alliance with her to root out information about Chariot.”
Rafael slammed his hand down on Priya’s desk. “Are you out of your bloody mind?!”
Levi’s mask of pure haughtiness slid into place. “I’m doing what’s necessary to protect my House.”
“By giving classified information to a criminal?”
“Levi is only sharing what’s relevant to learning more about Chariot. The Queen is also investigating from her end,” I said. “She won’t break her word, once given, and she won’t sell us out.”
“You knew about this?” Rafael’s jaw got tight.
“I thought we were only exchanging salient facts.” I fiddled with the wooden ring on the chain. Rafael had been raised to treat all of this with the utmost secrecy and I’d pushed that need-to-know circle wider and wider. This was Rafael’s life and Levi and I hadn’t even done him the courtesy of including him in the conversation. “Yeah. I did.”
I bit into my second donut to help me get the fortitude to solve this problem.
“Slow down there, sugar rush,” Levi said.
I bit back a stupid grin because that’s what I’d called Levi when we were in our Lillian and Santino personas. I nodded at the lock. “Quitters don’t get to throw shade.”
He made a snarky face and picked up the tools again.
“We don’t know for sure that Adam actually had the scroll or if he was bluffing Gavriella,” Arkady said.
I nodded. “Legitimate databases may not have yielded results, but the dark web might. Pri?”
Priya rubbed her hands together. “I’m on it.”
“If you can find whomever ended up with that piece after the war,” Arkady said, “I’ll pay them a visit and try to establish a trail from that point to Adam. Verify whether or not he actually had it.”
“I’ll provide you both with a detailed description of the scrolls,” Rafael said.
“Why can’t we see them ourselves?” Levi said.
“That wouldn’t be wise,” he said.
Levi’s eyes narrowed. “Why not? You don’t trust me?”
Rafael hesitated a beat too long. “The only people who can use ma
gic to appear in the library are Ashira and myself and I refuse to remove the scrolls from where they are safest.”
Levi pressed his lips into a thin line, but he didn’t argue the point.
I pushed away my donut, feeling slightly queasy. “Priya will search the dark web. Arkady will follow up with her findings. Rafael, help me build a timeline. We’ll start with the night Dad left and go through to when this meeting with Gavriella was supposed to occur. Since you Attendants document everything so thoroughly.”
“Is there anyone else you can reach out to about your father?” Rafael said. “Family perhaps, who might have seen him after he left you and your mother?”
“They’re in Montreal,” I said. “He was estranged from his parents and didn’t have any siblings.”
“It still might be worth following up,” Priya said. “Arkady, since you’re waiting on me, why not check out the Maison de Champlain database and follow up discreetly? If that’s okay with Ash.”
“I wouldn’t,” Arkady said, with a dismissive shake of his head.
“Why not?” she said.
Arkady spread his hands wide. “Ash said they were estranged. Adam wouldn’t have reached out to them and if they haven’t bothered to contact their own granddaughter in all this time, why open old wounds?”
“He’s right,” I said. “Dad wouldn’t have contacted them. I don’t know what happened, but there was no love lost there. His parents made their choice not to have me in their life. They’re not family and I don’t want to go down that road.”
“That’s wise,” Arkady said.
Why did he sound so definitive on the matter? The man was an enigma. Just when I thought he was trustworthy, some tiny detail aroused my suspicions anew. My gut told me he wasn’t Chariot—but he was hiding something.
There was a click and Levi’s eyes grew wide as the lock tumbled open, a boyish grin splitting his face. “I did it.”
“Told you,” I said.
“Miles is not going to be happy with you,” Arkady said in a discouraging tone.
“What else is new?” Levi said.
“I meant Ash,” Arkady said.
“So did I,” Levi said.
I elbowed him. “Show some gratitude for your new criminal skill set.”
“If you two are finished dragging Levi down the path of villainy,” Priya said, “could we maybe figure out if there’s anyone else to investigate in terms of getting a lead on your dad?”
I nodded. “There might be someone I could try.”
The one lead out of all of them that I’d never followed up with. It was time to go see the person my father had dubbed “the Midnight Madman.”
Chapter 13
“Rafael. Could I speak to you please?” I said.
Rafael was chatting with Arkady about our next move, Levi was proudly putting his lock-picking equipment back in his briefcase, and Priya had taken the leftover pastry to share with Eleanor and Bryan.
Mrs. Hudson pawed at me, so I tossed her cow toy for her to fetch or dry hump. She was a healthy modern female with needs. No judgment.
“Now,” I said, when Rafael didn’t answer fast enough, and dragged him into the empty reception area for privacy.
“Was securing House Pacifica resources for our cause merely a ploy for you to develop an intimate relationship with Levi?” Rafael said, his eyes flashing.
“Huh? Busted. Having nothing else to recommend me, I appealed to his big strong protector self, because there’s nothing I love more than playing helpless to get a guy interested.”
“Ah. You were already sleeping with him, weren’t you?”
“We’ll make a Seeker of you yet.” I wiped some dust off the rubber tree plant next to the sofa. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“If it compromises our mission in any way, your arrangement with him ends. Personally and professionally.”
“So you don’t think going to the Queen compromised us?” I said slowly.
He scratched his jaw. “How certain are you that she won’t use this information against us?”
“Chariot tried to make her a scapegoat when they were stealing magic from those kids. She won’t forgive that and she certainly won’t get into bed with them.”
“Your methods are unorthodox, but I concede that there is merit to them. Chariot expects us to act like lone wolves. They won’t anticipate these tactics.”
“Thank you for being understanding, and I’m sorry. We should have discussed going to her with you first. I promise to be better at looping you in.”
“I appreciate that.” He turned to leave, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“I’m not done. This whole ‘first rule of Magic Snacking: there is no Magic Snacking’ business isn’t going to work. It happened and it likely will again. If we don’t find a way to deal with it, it could destroy our working relationship. I can’t fulfill my Jezebel duties without you.” I paused, looking for a delicate way to frame this next part. “Is it possible that your response in regards to assisting me with my problem went farther than merely the effects of that connection?”
He stared at me blankly, then shuddered. “I assure you I’m not sexually attracted to you.”
“It’s not a fate worse than death,” I snapped.
“Says you. That type of relationship does not bode well for Attendants and Jezebels.”
“Then what are you so uptight about? Admittedly, our situation isn’t great for either of us—”
“How, precisely, is it a problem for you?”
I glanced around to make sure we were alone, and still lowered my voice. “How about the part where the only thing that quiets my cravings and brings me back from the brink is sucking you off?”
Rafael grimaced.
“Ingesting your magic.” I slapped my hand against my thigh. “You know what I mean.”
“Your actions were taken out of necessity.”
“As were yours. I craved that connection, too.”
Rafael crossed his arms, his flush deepening. “Not as much as I did,” he muttered.
I threw up my hands. “You win the suffering Olympics. Mazel tov. Big deal. You had an involuntary physical reaction. Wait. Do you feel taken advantage of? Because I’m really sorry about—”
“Upon further, more clear-headed reflection,” he said, “what transpired was not the best approach to your dilemma regarding your cravings.”
Say “your” one more time and I’m going to punch you. “How should we deal with it?”
“If there is a scenario where the scroll’s presence is at all a possibility,” he said, “I’ll accompany you and be the one to physically handle it. However, I will not be thrust back into that position.”
The finality in his voice was absolute. The siren’s song lurked at the back of my skull, waiting for the chance to once more take center stage, and if there was no other cure? I’d be on my own. However, it was a workable enough solution for now. Reasonable even.
So why did I feel like a door had closed between us?
There was still one situation I couldn’t handle on my own. “When the time comes to destroy all the pieces of the Sefer?” I said. “I’ll need you then.”
“That one time, I’ll assist you.” He dropped his gaze to his feet, tension in every line of his body. “The entire episode was a… challenge to overcome.” The last part was spoken softly.
I seized on the opening. “Rafael—”
“Meantime,” he said briskly, “I’ll endeavor to find a viable alternate fix to your magic difficulties.” He couldn’t have retreated further into his stiff upper lip self if he’d tattooed the British flag on his face. Before I could reach out to him, he pivoted sharply and returned to the office.
I exhaled, leaning my head back against the wall.
“What the hell is going on with the two of you?” Levi drew closer, sipping on a steaming mug of coffee.
“We’re still working out the kinks in our relationship.” Shit. No. Not kinks
. Annnnd new topic. I smiled benignly.
Levi stilled, his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “That smile is frankly worrying.”
“It’s a perfectly normal smile.” I patted my lips. Not too many teeth. Not too wide. “You’re imagining things. Now, how do I get a plane ticket to Antigua authorized? Or the House jet?”
“What’s in Antigua?” he said in a voice laced with deep suspicion.
“My dad’s best friend. Uncle Paulie.”
“Wouldn’t your mother have checked in with him when Adam first disappeared?”
“She did, but Uncle Paulie denied knowing anything.”
Priya exited Eleanor’s office with a now-empty tray, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Levi glanced at it, then grasped me by the elbow.
“Need help?” she said, shoving the tray at me. “Here. Wash this.”
“We’re good,” Levi said, hauling me down a short hallway.
“Okay,” Priya said, sunnily.
“You’re useless,” I called out, hoisting the tray in one hand.
Levi stuffed me into the small kitchen. “What if your Uncle Paulie is a member of Chariot?”
“He’s not,” I said with a scoffed laugh.
“You seem awfully sure of that.”
“Oh, I am. That’s not Paulie’s thing.”
“What’s Paulie’s full name? Is he registered with the House?”
“Paulie Peterson.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“He’s Mundane, so you wouldn’t have come across his name in your database.” I disengaged from his hold. “Honestly, Levi. You said you’d fund my Jezebel activities. This is a very promising lead.”
“A lead which you never checked out before now.”
I turned on the tap and squirted dish soap on the tray. “You’re really stuck on that point.”
Shadows & Surrender: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 3) Page 13