Chapter Thirty-Four #2
Kharis Phiwenys said, “Our safe house was attacked in the middle of the night. I have no idea how they found us, only that they did. Maybe they caught wind while we were doing recon and followed us back? I don’t know, but two of our guys went out to gather more intel that night, and the rest of us were asleep.
I… I managed to get away, but not until I saw…
” His eyes watered, and he wiped angrily at them.
“It was Hooks and Laurings—they were the two out that night. The… the men that attacked us, they… they had their… bodies with them, and they were using their blood to cast spells. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Franlee s-s-saved my life. She… she broke the window and pushed me out first, but they…
they got her before she could… I shot them, but they had shields and they…
she told me to run right before they slit her throat…
” He trailed off and buried his face in his hands.
The mention of blood magic, of what I was sure everyone assumed were blood witches, had Oakley going very, very still. It was a stillness that only certain supernaturals could achieve.
With our legs pressed together, I could feel the tension building in them, so I gently placed my hand on their thigh under the table, giving it a squeeze. It was meant to remind them that I was here, that they weren’t alone.
They didn’t move away, which I took as a good sign, but they didn’t relax either.
Tan reached over and patted Kharis’s back in comfort, and Garrick stared at him, clearly doing his best to keep his emotions in check.
After a few seconds, Garrick said, “We’re all very sorry for your loss, Kharis.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Would you like to stay for the meeting or go home? It’s entirely up to you, and no one will judge you if you want to leave.”
Kharis took a breath and met his king’s eyes. “I’ll stay. I want to get the bastards that did this.”
Garrick sent him a small smile and a nod before turning his attention to the rest of us. His eyes barely flicked over to Oakley, but I saw the grimace he sent their way. He was about to drop a bomb on us, wasn’t he?
Garrick said, “The team followed the trafficking ring back to what we think is the top-tier unsub.”
Oakley sat up. “Are you serious? We found the leader?”
Garrick gave them a nod. “We think so, but we’re not a hundred percent yet.
That’s why we were still in the recon phase when…
” He trailed off with a grimace, then shook his head.
“As I’m sure you’ve figured out already, there were blood witches involved in the attack, and we think they came from… the Emissaries of Gepisha’s Iron cult.”
Oakley sucked in a breath and looked at their dad. “Gepisha’s Iron is behind this? Are they still in Olkport Territory?” That was the territory where Oak had grown up in that damn cult.
Garrick sucked in a deep breath. “Yes. They’re still there.”
Oak sat up even straighter in their seat. “We need to go. We need to find them and—”
Garrick held up his hand to stop Oak, and to my surprise, my viramore actually listened to him. Gar said, “We will, Oak, but we need to make a plan, and we need to go over all the recon Kharis’s team did before I send a new team in.”
I felt Oakley stiffen again. “You mean us, right? We’re the new team?”
Garrick grimaced, but before he could speak and put his foot in his mouth right after the two of them finally made up, Tan grabbed his forearm and said, “I’ve called in some reinforcements.
We’ll need witches to help combat the blood magic.
But we’re still figuring out details, okay? We haven’t decided who’s going.”
And now, I was pissed too. Oakley opened their mouth, but I jumped in first, saying, “Oak and I are the only reason we’ve gotten this far in the first place. We should be leading a team there. We—”
“Roman, I don’t know if you two should—”
Oakley cut their father off. “Are you kidding me? I grew up in Olkport. I know the area, and I know Gepisha’s Iron. I know them, Dad. I can help. I’m probably the most qualified person here.”
“They’re right, Gar,” I said. “They’re the most qualified.
Not only that, but the two of us have been on this from the beginning.
This is our case. We never wanted to be benched in the first place.
You can’t take this away from us again. Please, Garrick.
It’s everything we’ve been working toward for months. ”
Garrick stared at a folder on the table in front of him with his grumpiest expression on his face. After a long moment, he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, clearly frustrated, before he looked between Oak and me. “I don’t want to send you into danger. This is obviously very—”
To my surprise, it was Phaeron who cut Garrick off this time.
“Garrick?” Gar turned toward him. “Oakley and Roman have both been put in dangerous situations before. I’m afraid it’s a part of the job.
But they both know how to handle themselves, and they’re right.
Oakley’s knowledge could be very useful and could be the difference between a successful mission and a devastating one.
And I, for one, would be honored to follow them into this battle. ”
My eyebrows were raised in surprise, but a rush of gratefulness came over me. Out of all the vampires here, I never would’ve thought it’d be Phaeron who’d stick up for us.
Beshiro added, “The three of us”—he motioned to himself and his brothers—“would love to be on the team with Oakley and Roman. I believe the five of us together would be an unstoppable force.”
Garrick was grinding his teeth so hard I could hear it from here. “I’ll think about it.”
Oakley opened their mouth with anger in their eyes, but I gently squeezed their leg and tried to communicate, “Give him time. He’ll come around.”
I wasn’t sure if they heard me or if they simply understood my gesture, but they gave me a small nod, and the two of us refocused on the meeting.