Chapter Twenty-Three Jordan
Twenty-Three
Jordan
Mynick is waiting at my desk, his glossed green mask on his face, when I enter Headquarters. He uncrosses his legs and straightens when he spots me.
“Sir, I thought you knew—”
I hold up a hand to shut him up and indicate one of the private meeting rooms.
“Signatures on all these, sir.” Maei follows us inside, handing me a clipboard and pen.
“How upset is he?” I ask her.
“He’s pretty mad. The mayor called him in the middle of the night. He’s been here ever since, waiting on you to come in.”
I sigh. “I’ll see him in a moment.”
Inside the conference room, Mynick opens his mouth before I shut the door, and the frustration of the last several days boils over. I grab him by the throat.
“From now on, you need my permission to take a piss. Am I understood?”
I release him. He rubs his throat and sits. I slide him the report detailing the fallout from his raid: the costs to repair damages, the Retentors pulled off their jobs to remove traces of toushana in that ballroom, the scathing remarks by the mayor, and a dozen irate members questioning the Dragunhead’s methods. My name is mentioned more than a few times. But the worst of it: the three people injured trying to escape and Quell wasn’t even apprehended! He starts signing, slouched in shame. What was the Dragunhead thinking, commissioning this guy?
I scrub a palm down my face. “You’re too new to be running raids. Who authorized you to assemble a team without my sign-off?”
“The Dragunhead. He assigned me to find Quell.” The Dragunhead had told me plainly that he would put someone on finding her.
I stiffen.
“How did you know it was her?
“I’m sixth of my blood. A Retentor, Shifter, and Anatomer , sir, from the House of Ambrose.”
“You helped her?”
“Quell and Abby met up. I came with her. There wasn’t much time to put something together, but when I saw the opportunity I seized it.”
“What else do you know about Quell’s whereabouts?”
“They met up before in some rural spot in Virginia a couple of times. Then she moved from there. Abby didn’t know where.”
I rear back in my seat. Hopping from safe house to safe house.
“Is it true? All that stuff she supposedly did at House of Marionne while you were there?”
“Stop talking.” I stand, the walls closing in on me. “Leave. Just get out.”
After surviving an hour’s lecture from the Dragunhead, my boots clack on the hard floor of the Shadow Cells. This captive I apprehended with Audubon’s briefcase also lived in Virginia, according to her driver’s license. She and Quell were both at the ball. Not a coincidence.
The prisoner is kept on the isolation row as a precaution. When I arrive, she’s in her chair. A thin sleeping mat is on the dirt floor, same as the other cells. My jaw clenches. I told them to ensure she was given a raised bed at the precise height of her chair.
I clear my throat.
She doesn’t even turn her head in my direction.
I open her cell, slicing through the veil to step through. The scent of dirt hits me and my heart skips a beat. I wait for my pulse to simmer down. “Someone is going to fix your bed. This is not how things are done. I apologize for that.”
She rotates to face me, her blue eyes combing me from head to toe. But she still says nothing.
I dig the thin silver case out of my pocket. “Gold bars, a ton of unmarked bills, and this. Sun Dust. What did you need so much money for?” I prefer a confession, even though I know exactly who she is now that I’ve checked her prints. Knox Molaudi, of the West Coast Molaudis. Her family is ancient. Before the Great Sorting, before the Houses, her ancestors were known toushana-users in Misa.
She rolls away, turning her back to me again. I step into her path.
“Are you affiliated with any House?”
I need something to show the Dragunhead. I’m running out of excuses. There’s no record of a Molaudi ever enrolling in a House. Living in secret for generations hardens a person. This won’t be easy. I walk the length of her cell and let a few moments roll by. Her cold eyes are fixed on me, unblinking.
“How did you come by such a fancy chair?” It’s decked out in tiny details only noticeable up close. There are spikes on the wheels, engraved vines along the armrests, and the tiniest gems embedded in the handles. The wheels appear to be coated in a thick layer of ruklemint, the same magical ingredient used on dagger blades to help enhancer stones melt in more easily. “Very skilled Shifting magic made this. The attention to detail is exquisite.”
“Minting coins was my father’s favorite hobby, so he learned a bit of Shifting that way. But I’m sure you already know that.”
“It’s a shame he wasn’t more suited for a House.”
She flinches, and I can feel her roiling anger. Maybe she’ll talk now. But she meets my eyes for the first time, and my heart tightens. Then she stares right at my chest. A probing coldness scrapes across my ribs, and I grab my blade.
“What are you doing?”
“Just looking.” Her head cocks. “And what I’m seeing is very interesting.”
I hold the dagger at her throat. “You’re connected with a network of illegal safe houses that harbor crimin—”
“Refugees.”
“ Most of whom have toushana—”
“Which they’re forbidden to use. And as you know, Mr. Wexton—yes, I know who you are. I know a bit about your family, too.” She doesn’t balk, despite the blade at her neck. “Magic strengthens with use. So their not using whatever they could be capable of is a moot point. Because after a time, they have no magic at all.”
“It is not that simple, and you know that is unproven. Toushana in the body is a deadly risk. They are still a threat to the Order!”
“Am I the threat in this cell? Was I the threat in that hotel?”
I yank my blade from her neck and pace.
“It frustrates you because what I’m saying makes sense. What the brotherhood does is inhumane. Senseless violence on harmless people.”
I storm up to her. “Draguns protect people from those who would harm them! Have you seen the history books? Darkbearers would peel the skin off bones for fun . Toushana insidiously infects people, giving them an appetite for power at any cost.” I blink and see my father’s face when Beaulah knocked his loyalty pin off his chest. The only thing she’s ever done that I still agree with.
He’d become incensed for a stronger grasp of toushana. He relished the power toushana gave him over people. I don’t know where his ambition began and the toxic magic warping his brain ended. He was practically dead to me before then.
“Do you know the name Quell Marionne?”
Hearing her name from my own lips brings those moments in the ballroom back to mind. Knox grabs my chest, her hands lightning fast. I try to get away, but icy tendrils dig into my skin around my ribs, hooking onto my heart. I can’t move. The blue in her eyes darkens as she stares right at my center. My heart squeezes, my whole body growing colder.
“Mmm. Yes.” She shoves me away with such force I stumble back. “I’ve seen a lot of books. But I’ve lived a lot of life, too. And I spent most of it protecting the people I care about. That says more about me than anything else. It seems you and I are the same that way.”
“I am nothing like you.”
“Your kor tells a different story. It’s been split twice . Playful curiosity could make a person split it once, perhaps. But only desperate love would make a person do it a second time. Who do you love enough to give your kor to, Jordan?”
The world drains of color. I put more distance between us. Being reminded of my feelings for Quell, feelings I should not have, is like being stabbed over and over.
“I can guess.”
I feel for my fire dagger, but she grabs my wrist. I try to snatch away from her, but her hold on me is a manacle. “You put on a good mask.” She whispers, “ But I see you. ”
My heart lodges in my throat. I try to argue back, but no words come.
“And because I see you, I will tell you that I knew her briefly. Finding her would be a good thing.” She releases me and I scramble to the door, ripping my fire dagger through the shadowy barrier. In the corridor, I try to slow my raging heart.
“Does my cooperation buy my people any mercy?” She rolls to the gate, peering through the translucent door, her stare still piercing. “It should. That’s fair.”
“Fair?” I manage, still breathless. “What is fairness?” I leave her there, my mind spiraling. I’ve tethered myself to a girl I used to love, who I now have to kill because duty demands it. Fairness isn’t a thing in this world. At every step, I’m haunted by regret that I allowed myself to love her. I jab the elevator button. I take a ride up to the main floor, and I’m at my desk before I can no longer feel Knox’s unnatural touch on my skin.
Quell has to be dead to me, or our history will always be a weapon. I’ve got to double down on our efforts to find safe houses. Gathering my notes on suspected locations, I split the pile into thirds and fire off a message to Charlie and Yani. I need them both back in, stat. We will lead three separate teams and raid these spots at the same time.
I will find you, Quell.
And when I do, you’re dead.