Resonance

by T. G. Ayer

  Mykia's eyebrows curved, "The one which involved Warriors Ling and Ash?"

  Nodding, Evie gave a frown. "I'm assuming they told you some of what happened." then she sucked in a deep breath. "But I'll go over it again. My last mission was to terminate a demon but when I completed my task, I felt ill. Literally. As though I'd done something terribly wrong. I tried to figure out why. I thought perhaps it had to do with how confused this demon was. How perplexed that I would be there to kill him. He was so caught off guard that he didn't even defend himself. And it didn't sit well with me at all."

  "May I ask who this particular demon was?" Mykia asked slowly. "Ash and Ling appeared to not know his identity."

  Evei's shoulds bowed. "His name was Baltazar." She ignored Mylia's gasp of horror and continued pacing, needing to get the story out before she too became too drained She was oddly tired and suspected it had to do with having been so depleted of her energy after eliminating the Shade. "When I returned to hand over Baltazar's metal possessions--sans the Seal as its presence rang all my bells of suspicion--Marcellus was furious. He seemed far more angry, as though he'd suspected I'd return with something important but I came back empty-handed. At the time I knew nothing of the Seals themselves but I was happy that I'd kept the Seal. I'd picked up one before that as well, from another demon though he had fought back so that mission didn't set off any alarm bells for me. Par for the course I guess, other than the Seal he had on him. Anyway, while I was in his office I spotted what appeared to be a list of names, The parchment was ancient and the lettering seemed rather old-world. Marcellus seemed satisfied that Baltazar's name wasn't on the list and I was confused. Later I found out what that list was."

  Mykia nodded, her complexion now ashen. "Marcellus had of the Demon Ledgers. Why he had it, is what I’d like to know. He had no business with that information in his possession. The Ledgers is a record of every living demonic soul, including all the Overlords’ names and designations. There is an appendix that goes with the Ledgers which allows you to locate any of the demons on record. Only if you knew how."

  Evie shrugged. "Well, Marcellus certainly knew how. He eliminated almost all of those overlords who were responsible for protecting the Seals. They'd apparently had those Seals in their possession for more than a millennium." Evie rolled her shoulders as she sighed. Her cuffed wrists were pulling

  The cuffs were pulling her arms down and causing a strain on her shoulders. Added to that strain was the leather cage that bound her wings to prevent her from simply flying to freedom. They felt cramped and shuddered from time to time as though they wanted out of their confines. Evie understood how they felt.

  She took a slow breath and forced herself to relax. "So after seeing the list, I began to suspect something was up. So I broke the rules."

  "You mean you broke more rules," Mykia corrected, though her eyes glittered with amusement.

  Evie smiled. "My next mission was to eliminate a minor demon but he told me a few things, including the fact that Baltazar was a pretty nice guy. He also sent me to meet with Baa'ruk, one of the high-level overlords who was based in New Orleans. I let the demon live even though I knew Marcellus would punish me for it. But I figured I had his Seal in my possessed and thought it would come in handy. Then I met with Barry and let's just say, all became clear. He clued me in on the Seals, what they were and the power they held for whoever owned them. Of course, he didn't tell me about the final piece needed to complete the rite but I suppose he was still trying to protect the Seals."

  Mykia shifted forward to rest her elbows on her desk. "Without that final piece, even Marcellus would be stumped. So this Barry guy, he knew Marcellus had no hope of using the Seals?"

  Evie nodded. "No hope of using them, but it was possible that he'd find a way at some point. I did figure out how he knew all of this, but that information came a little later." Mykia's eyebrows rose in question and Evie replied, "Marcellus wasn't working alone. And I don't mean that he definitely had other masters working with him."

  Evie must have paused for a little too long as she thought about how to put her revelation into words because Mykia cleared her throat. "You're keeping me in suspense, Evie."

  Evie let out a soft chuckle. "Sorry. Just not sure how to say it but here goes. You remember Daniel Feinstein?"

  Mykia glanced at the door, probably wondering where the elusive master Braxus had gotten to. Then she replied, "Didn't care much for him to be honest. The feeling was mutual from what I heard. Had he been around I wouldn't have been elected, that much I know for certain."

  Though she was a little surprised at Mykia's transparency, Evie didn't comment. She just said, "Your instinct was correct. Daniel didn't...I mean he wasn't...."

  Evie swallowed hard, well aware that she wasn't about to confess that Daniel was her father. Not right at that moment when she wasn't dead certain Mykia was on her side. All she had to convey was the truth without saying who he was to Evie herself. Feeling better about her internal battle, Evie said, "Good thing you're sitting down for this. So, Daniel Feinstein wasn't a Brother. He would have passed the Trials, yes, but he wasn't at all a mage or a mortal for that matter."

  Mykia shifted in her seat. "Evie? Don't tell me he was a god hiding in our midst?"

  Evie smirked. "Close enough. Daniel Feinstein is Daniel, the Archangel."

  The room stilled, the silence twisting around and around the two women, almost suffocating as reality slapped Mykia in the face while Evie relived the other reality of who her real father was and what he'd done to her. Not to mention what he felt for her and her mother.

  Mykia rubbed her forehead. "I'm beginning to regret this discussion." Then she sighed. "How did you discover this information, Evie? I don't believe he would have knocked on your door, invited you for a coffee and then spilled the beans."

  Evie shook her head. "Hardly. That man--angel I mean--appeared to hate my guts. I only found out when I went to the Underworld to return the Seals to Hades himself."

  "Daniel followed you to Hades? But how would he have entered-- Oh, right, Angel. Got it." Mykia waved a hand for Evie to continue.

  "So, Daniel came to Hades but ended up having a great old battle with his old buddy Gavriel which is when Daniel showed his true colors, and by that I mean his wings. I can confirm I was shocked beyond belief at who he was," Evie said aware that what she meant was far more than she was ready to reveal to Mykia."

  "Is he alive?"

  "As far as I know, he is. Hades sent him to Tartarus for attempting to kill his brother, but he was set free and now he's pretty much in the wind."

  Mykia's scowl was almost comical. "He's gone? How did he get set free? a little irresponsible of Hades if you ask me."

  Evie grinned. "Yeah, we can put a word in when his next salary review comes up, but to be fair subterfuge was involved. Persephone had other ideas and she let Daniel go. The woman is mental if you ask me, but you didn't hear that from me."

  Mykia's face went hard for a moment, but then she shook her head. "This is a lot to take in." She sighed and sat back, pinching her lower lip as she thought things through. "So the Seals were returned safely to Hades but Daniel followed you there, presumably to take them back, and he ended up in jail and then freed. What about Marcellus? How did he end up dead?"

  Evie swallowed hard. "So Marcellus came first to retrieve the Seals. He had a bit of a breakdown, yelling and freaking out, then threatened me and my friends. Then he admitted his involvement in my father's death."

  Mykia frowned. "Marcellus killed your angelic father?"

  "No, no. Father Patrick I mean. I found him dead just before I left for Hades. I'd heard Marcellus speak to Daniel asking him if something was done. So Daniel killed Patrick but I wasn't sure why. I'm still trying to figure that out." Which was a lie. Evie had realized that Danie may have had a good reason to get to Patrick. He could somehow have tracked the final seal to Gavriel, who then gave it to Patrick for safekeeping. Daniel had wanted to find out if Pa
trick knew where the final seal was. Had Patrick died without revealing the truth? That would have made sense considering Daniel had been surprised when Evie had revealed her identity. Because of course, Daniel had no idea that Gavriel had given Patrick something else in addition to the Seal.

  Evie.

  Chapter 11

  Any further discussion was curtailed when a knock sounded at the door and Mykia called out, "Enter."

  The door opened to reveal one of the kitchen staff, a middle-aged woman whose chubby cheeks made Evie smile. The woman wheeled a trolley into the room then gave Evie a tender smile in greeting though she didn't say a word. She looked over at Mykia and nodded. "If there is anything else?"

  Mykia shook her head. "Not right now. But I do want you to look after Evie's meals for the rest of her...stay downstairs."

  The woman grinned as though she'd been given a prize, and then her jaw tightened. "I will. Wish I'd been given the responsibility instead of Glen. Irresponsible wretch." With that she gave Evie a wave and bustled outside before closing the door.

  Mykia got to her feet and came to the sofa where Evie sat, studying the food. Her stomach growled loudly and she giggled, though her bound wrists quickly killed the sounds. The Master sat beside her and cleared her throat. "Evie? I can unbind you while you eat but I'd need your word of honor that you will allow me to put the bonds back before you return to your cell. I'm willing to help you as much as I can because whenever I smell something fishy, there is always a good reason. Too many things have happened here from even before you left for Hades. All of which are screaming that there is something else going on here that I haven't yet seen."

  Evie nodded. If only Mykia knew how right she was. Was it time to tell her about the Shade's attack? But Evie still wasn't sure. She needed to get all her ducks in a row before she truly trusted Mykia.

  The Master continued speaking, "So can I trust you? I will offer you peace while you are within my presence. I will remove the Angel Bonds while you eat and while we talk. thereafter I will put them back. Is that something you can agree to?"

  Evie sighed and gave a smiled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to appear ungrateful. I'm a little scatterbrained at the moment." Evie gave a shrug. "As to your question, the answer is yes. I will accept your offer, and I will honor it. I won't try to leave either. Not until things are resolved. I'm worried about what’s been happening, and why, and I'm afraid of what it means that I am being targeted. I believe we all need answers and I can only get them by towing the line."

  Mykia let out a breath of relief and reached for Evie's hands. Evie raised them higher and extended them, allowing Mykia to wrap her hands around the leather cuffs. The Master shut her eyes and her lips moved as she silently spoke the words to end the spell. Evie found herself nervous as for the briefest second she contemplated escape, if only temporarily in order to get in touch with Barry or Julian. But she didn't entertain the thought for more than a brief second. Then she closed her eyes and reveled in the cool air hitting her bare skin.

  And then Evie stiffened with shock and pulled her hands away so fast that Mykia flinched. Evie tugged her sleeves down and waved a hand. "Sorry, reflex I guess. I didn't mean to startle you."

  Mykia accepted the excuse and Evie sighed with relief though she did it in silence. The Marks of Hades were still on her skin and Mykia may have seen them. Had she spotted them Evie had no idea what the Master would have done. It was an unprecedented thing, Evie being Hades. What would Mykia had had to do then? Evie couldn't even guess at the new Grand Masters responsibilities or the intricacies of her oath to the Irin.

  But Evie refocused on the food, WIth her hands free she was able to fill her plate with roasted lamb and gravy, garlic potatoes and honeyed peas as well as fresh bread. The food was standard fare for the warriors, nothing much different to what Evie and her warrior friends would enjoy at any meal. But Evie had been in Hades for a while and she'd not tasted food in the way she tasted here in the EarthWorld. In Hades everything had to be super flavored in order to taste it and truly enjoy it. A flaw in the makeup of the land of the dead, the dulling of taste.

  But here Evie was able to enjoy her meal, though when she'd finally sat back, sated at last, she found she felt a little ill.

  Mykia lifted a hand. "Don't think about it. Here drink this," she said, quickly pouring a goblet of what looked like cider and passing it to Evie. It turned out to be ginger beer, the most perfectly suited drink for her turbulent stomach. After a few sips Evie smiled sheepishly at Mykia. "I'm sorry. Not sure why I felt so ill."

  "I hear traveling through Hades messes with a person's body. Something like jet lag."

  Evie chuckled. "Nice comparison. And I have to agree. I'm not at all tired. A little disoriented with the time difference but that's not too unsettling."

  Mykia quirked an eyebrow. "So how did you survive in Hades? I was always led to believe that an angel or an angelic being cannot survive in Hades."

  Evie shrugged. "Maybe it was because I already had the coins for Charon?"

  "Part of the Seals of Hades set, I presume?"

  "Yep. And Charon...well, he was a strange fellow. Said something that made me wonder."

  "What did he say?"

  "He said, 'It is you,' as though he recognised me or something. Strangest thing."

  Mykia's brow twisted again though this time her spine stiffened. "Odd thing to say, but who knows what that could mean. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Now do you want to go over a few of the documents before our time is up? I have about an hour left before the Masters gather for another meeting."

  Evei nodded. "Of course." She reached for the file, aware now that Mykia's face was taut with some emotion. Evie read it as worry or even fear? Dismissing it as part of her own paranoia, Evie opened the filed and rand through the charges against her regarding Marcellus.

  "So there are statements by his guards that claim Marcellus was more or less assassinated?"

  "Yes, But I've put it on record that those would not be considered as impartial statements. There is a possibility of coercion, depending on who is now taking over Marcellus's role of pulling his strings, in the shadows, of course."

  Evie flinched at the mention of the shadows, but she calmed herself and said, "Other than the guards, we have Castor who has refused to speak."

  "There is one more statement."

  Evie nodded, She'd spotted the affidavit by her two best friends when she'd first opened it and she was terribly afraid of what they'd said. Now, as she scanned the recorded statement, she felt the deepest urge to cry.

  “May I take these with me to my cell? To go over them in my own time?"

  Mykia shook her head.

  The affidavit before Evie struck her to the core. The two warriors who had been her closest friends, had told a strange tale to the Masters. One which though hadn't been entirely true to what had really happened, had also managed to incriminate Evie in a way that a charge had been laid.

  But could they really have betrayed her?

  Chapter 12

  "The stories do match," Mykia said, her voice cutting through Evie's thoughts.

  Evie blinked and looked up at her. "Yes. I see that they do. I'm glad they told you what happened." Evie took a slow breath hoping to slow her rapid heartbeat. "I can see how what they have said would have incriminated me."

  Mykia tipped her head to the side. "I can see that two warriors have filled in various blanks in terms of the whereabouts and the activities of their friend. I can also see that they haven't made any overt attempt to incriminate you. All they did was make their statement, of course one which implied your guilt if one were to be looking for that implication. I didn't miss the fact that they took care to leave a certain amount of ambiguity in their recount."

  Evie glanced up from scanning the affidavit and met the Master's eyes. She was saying quite clearly that Ash and Ling hadn't thrown Evie under the bus. But from what the affidavit contained, the two warriors had told the Masters al
most everything though they'd left out Daniel's true identity as Evie's father, and that Evie had received the Marks. And they had also left out Castors involvement. Evie's blood stilled.

  "Why is Castor's statement still in the file if he didnt know anything?"

  Mykia's smile was sad. "Unfortunately, Castor did say he went to Hades to find you after Patrick's death. The fact that he followed you there is enough for him to be held on suspicion of collusion. Even if he is of a simpler intellect, he may have either covertly or overtly been included whatever happened that resulted in Marcellus' death. The Brotherhood as well as the SHC are determined to uncover the identity of the person who murdered Grand master Marcellus. That much is irrefutable."

  Evie felt a sudden wave of ice crash into her. "And what about the murderer of the Grand Master Patrick?"

  Mykia frowned and squinted at Evie. "I'm afraid I'm not aware of what you mean?"

  "When I was in Marcells's office, he asked Daniel if the deed was done. The only deed done that night was Patrick's death. His passing was too convenient, and of course, Marcellus didn't deny the accusation when I questioned him in Hades."

  Mykia sat forward. "Are you laying a posthumous charged against Grand Master Marcellus?" Mykia asked slowly, her eyes wider now, wary, a little suspicion flickering in their honey depths.

  Evie swallowed. "I'm not sure if it would do much good. All I have is the word of a dead man."

  Mykia pursed her lips. "There are of course ways to speak to Marcellus even after he has passed."

  Sitting forward, Evie stared at Mykia. "Is that something you will do?"

  Giving a short shake of her head, Mykia sat back. "Sadly, as part of the prosecution, the Brotherhood would not consider a questioning of the spirit of the murder victim as beneficial."