Chapter 12
“So, what are our next steps? We need to help the families bury their dead in whichever tradition their faction dictates,” I said to distract myself. I could think about Vada later.
“Perhaps we need to check the facts,” Hecate said thoughtfully.
“The Fates cannot see what is happening, and every faction was targeted, so this was a declaration outside of the Pax. We have no known suspects currently. Perhaps there is a traitor somewhere in our midst, but we don’t know who that would be. ”
“I will contact a necromancer to resurrect a few of our fallen to see if we can gather more firsthand accounts,” Bram stated.
Athena bent over in laughter, breaking some of the tension gathering in the room.
My lips twitched, but I tried to hold it together.
A Vampire contacting a necromancer was unheard of.
They were natural enemies. The Human lore behind magical beings, before they knew we really existed, always portrayed Vampires and Shifters as natural enemies, but that wasn’t true.
A Vampire’s enemy would always be the necromancer.
“We could, I suppose. But those who have died violent deaths are usually unable to recount their deaths, and it would take at least three days before we’d be able to try that route.
We need solutions now,” Athena replied. “I suggest we start with the guards who were on shift today. We need to understand why we had vulnerabilities in each faction.”
“You have to get this out of here before anyone figures out what set the alarm off,”
“—you fucking idiot. You’re going to ruin the entire plan before it even begins.”
“Fuck man, I’m just following orders. I’m leaving now. This isn’t going to go over well. He’s—”
Setting my elbows on the table, my hands rubbing at the stiffness in the back of my neck, I recounted what I’d heard when I got back to the Unseelie Faction. What I would do right now for a massage was probably illegal across the globe.
“I know this is an obvious question, but has anyone checked security footage?” Mia, the human liaison asked.
“We have people on that,” I replied, “but magic and hackers often make cameras inoperable, especially if a portal was opened.”
“So we’re searching for someone who has strong enough magic to open a portal, or multiple portals at once. There aren’t many who can do that,” Vada stated, tapping her short nails against the tabletop.
There might’ve been five or six creatures in all the realms combined who had strong enough powers to open multiple portals at once, and more than half of them were members of the Pax.
“Has anyone been able to determine the time of death for those who have fallen?” I asked.
Everyone at the table either grabbed their phones to text someone and ask, or their eyes went distant as they telepathically asked their advisers.
“I think this should be the first step we take. We need to determine the times of death and compare notes. We know at minimum, two people were involved, though it’s difficult to say if one of them had portal magic or if they were working with someone else who did.
” Ma’at’s direct nature cut through the bullshit.
“Yes. I think it would also be wise to have enough truth serum on hand to interrogate all guards on shift and anyone else who was in the building during the time of the murders,” Mia replied as she texted someone—probably the President of the US.
“There is no way we have enough serum to give to thousands of people,” Hecate retorted with frustration. “There are other means and methods for interrogation. Some that likely go against the constitution we constructed, but—”
“Are you seriously considering torture right now?” Mia cut in, her phone forgotten in her hand.
“I could help,” Vada offered. “Well, I don’t mean torture unless absolutely necessary.
I am the strongest succubus in existence.
People talk when they’re turned on. I can seduce an entire room at once to get them to talk.
Or I could invade their dreams. I’m sure there are a couple incubi in the faction, right? ”
“So, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to give truth serum to those who cannot either smell the truth or get the truth out of people by nonviolent means.
We’re going to confirm the times of death for every individual who lost their life today.
Then, we’ll meet back here tomorrow, and y’all can decide from there what the next steps are,” I said, getting up from the table.
“We are dismissed for now,” she said, rising from her seat. “I think this is the best plan we have at the moment.”
I headed back to the thirteenth floor in a huff.
I was so fucking over today already. That distinctive Unseelie rage was running through me, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hold it back.
My veins were on fire, and my chest squeezed tightly.
If I didn’t get this rage under control, I would begin crying—not just because I was upset, but because the only way I knew how to release this rage was to either fight, fuck, or cry it out.
With my death magic stirring at the base of my skull, and no option for fucking or fighting right now, crying was probably my best bet.
Who the fuck had caused so much chaos in a matter of minutes?
I was thinking about who I needed to talk to and gathering a list in my head of who to interrogate first, when I was met by two minotaurs at the elevator doors.
In day-to-day life, they were known to glamour themselves to appear bipedal, but today they were standing in all their glory as sentinels to the entrance of the floor.
I nodded to them both as I walked toward my office.
Unseelie of all types stopped and whispered as I passed.
Most had wide-eyed expressions of concern about what had happened here today.
My heart started beating a little faster.
I tried to slow my breathing. My panic wasn’t going to change anything that had happened today.
I was defeated and overwhelmed, but it was my responsibility to protect the most vulnerable of us, and I was letting them down.
The intrusive thoughts were hauling ass to the front of my mind, and I gritted my teeth in anticipation.
Once the rage began working its way through my system, something my therapist and I worked hard to help me recognize, there was no stopping the thoughts about how useless I was, how my only worth was to be the strongest among us, and how no one really wanted to be around me for who I was.
I was inundated with the knowledge that I never had anyone in my corner, even though I would go out of my way to be there for everyone else.
I recognized that those feelings of inadequacy were patently false, of course.
I appreciated that I had a circle who would go to bat for me any time I needed them, but I still didn’t know how to ask for help when I was drowning.
Years of abuse at the hands of my father and his shitty court made it hard for me to believe that I wasn’t being an imposition, and that I deserved to ask for help and receive it when I needed it.
Whether that was by magical means or by the means of modern human medicine, I didn’t care.
Some of those medications were shown to work on magical creatures, though our bodies metabolized them at extensively faster rates than theirs did.
It was a breakthrough that helped us to stave off panic attacks.
I gathered my courage, because I really didn’t want to address the elephant in the room.
However, whatever was taking place in my mind didn’t change the fact that I had responsibilities.
I could break down later once I hit my office, but I owed it to this faction to be transparent with them.
Taking a deep breath, I turned around before entering my office.
“I know what happened here today is a tragedy,” I started, willing my heart to calm down, and I gave myself some time to gather my thoughts. “To the red caps, I am so sorry one of yours was lost today. Please let me know what services I can provide you in the coming days.
“We have gone sixty years without violence. In the last decade or so, many of us have relaxed. We’ve begun to live our day-to-day lives becoming comfortable with the world around us.
We’ve started to embrace human technologies that make our lives easier.
Many of us have stopped living in fear of retaliation for creating the Pax, me included.
Because of this, I take full responsibility for the tragedy that has struck the Pax today.
Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.” I paused, scanning the gathered crowd around me.
Their despair mirrored my own, some with anger on their faces, others with terror, and others with determination.
My feelings of inadequacy lessened just a little as my fellow Unseelie members reacted to today’s events as I had.
I wasn’t alone. I quietly let my shadows circle around the room, collecting intel where they could, but also comforting the littles where possible by turning into animals to make them laugh and feel a little less scared about the things they didn’t yet understand.
I’d hoped with the creation of the Pax, that they never would.
Pausing as I gathered my thoughts, I dug the tips of my shoes into the dirt beneath my feet.
“We are working to get to the bottom of this tragedy. I recommend that if you were a warrior in a past life, and you value the solace the Pax has provided, that you start training as soon as you’re able.
I don’t know what’s coming of this right now, but I do know that the Fates are seeing that we’re on the brink of war.
Whether it’s possible for us to circumvent that is yet to be foretold.