Chapter Seven #4
“I’ve summoned spirits while the realms were in balance, but our connection to the afterlife is broken now,” Marcus insisted.
“If I bring her back, I risk trapping her here like I did to Thaddeus, and I’m not making that mistake again.
The best I can do is use the dagger that killed her to try and look into the past, to see what happened here. ”
“Then what are you waiting for? Do it!” Ava screeched.
Marcus came to my side and knelt next to Hemlock’s corpse. Her flesh gave a sickening squishing sound as Marcus drew the dagger out of her abdomen. He held it, attempting to create visions from the blade.
“I see Hemlock reaching for the dagger in her robes,” Marcus started. “The weapon is hers. She has a terrified look on her face. Don’t do this, she’s begging. They trusted you. She’s driving the dagger down and… and…”
Marcus scrambled backward, and the blade clattered to the floor.
“And what!?” Ava bellowed. “Who was she talking to?”
“I couldn’t see,” Marcus admitted. “Even as a demigod, my visions aren’t clear. I only saw it from one angle. All I know is someone forced her to stab herself.”
“No shit,” Danny sneered as he shoved Marcus aside. “She told us so herself. Let me try.”
“What are you doing?” Kallie asked.
“Blood magic,” Danny stated. “Blood holds memories, so I should be able to see the last few moments of her life before she died.”
Danny reached over me to smear a finger through the puddle of blood. I heard a slick sound as he spread the blood across his tongue. Marcus nearly gagged, but no one else reacted.
Danny sucked the blood off his fingers. “Oh… not him.”
“Who?” Ava demanded. “Whoever it is, I want them executed right away!”
“No you don’t, Ava,” Danny said sadly. “You heard Marcus. It was someone we trusted, and there’s only one person we know who can puppeteer people.”
Hatred flared through every part of me. Of fucking course. It’d been so obvious. His need for power, his desperation for revenge. We should’ve seen this coming, but he was our friend, so we’d looked the other way.
Everyone turned to Eddie, like we expected him to have answers.
“This… this can’t be right. You don’t think Alistair did this, do you?” Eddie demanded.
“We haven’t seen Alistair all day,” Kallie replied. “He must’ve overheard Hemlock tell Danny she found the spy, and killed her before she could reveal the truth.”
“He underestimated us, though, because he didn’t think he’d get caught,” Danny added.
“That doesn’t mean he’s guilty,” Eddie insisted. “Do you really think he’s capable of this?”
“Yes,” we all answered in unison.
I’d trusted Alistair to always have my back, but when it came down to it, I knew he was capable of this crime and so much more.
Alistair had used his warlock powers to control the minds of others in sick ways.
It wasn’t at all a stretch to consider he’d kill Hemlock, too.
I never thought he’d take the Warden’s side, but if Alistair believed funneling information back to the enemy would save his own ass— and Eddie’s life as well— he’d make a deal with the Warden in a heartbeat.
Ophio Taurus had plenty of time to get Alistair alone back at the Institute to strike a deal with him before we’d ever escaped.
He’d been playing us for so long… and it took no effort at all, because Alistair was an excellent liar.
I recalled what Alistair had said back in the throne room after I’d locked Ava up. “Why not use our powers to take over the world? I’m tired of getting kicked around all my life. It’s time to rub everyone’s face in the dirt like they did me. They showed me no mercy, so I won’t give them any.”
I figured I could trust him because he was an outcast like the rest of us. But Alistair had only been on one side this whole time, and that was his own. He was always going to ally himself with whoever was the most powerful, and that was clearly the Warden. I regretted ever extending him grace.
“Alistair isn’t sneaking around the castle looking to kill someone,” Eddie pressed. “You haven’t seen him around because he said some unforgivable things to me at Cassiel’s funeral. We sort of… broke up.”
“What he said that day was inexcusable, and further proof of who he really is,” I snapped.
“You… heard that?” Eddie asked, stunned.
“Yes, so don’t give me bullshit excuses and continue to defend him,” I growled. “Alistair was here, and he needs to be questioned. Danny’s blood magic proved that, so where’d he go?”
Eddie swallowed audibly. “Last I saw him, he was headed to his quarters.”
I shoved my way past Eddie and started down the hall, fists shaking at my sides. The others followed.
I burst through the door to Alistair’s room, sending the door flying off its hinges. Alistair yelped and threw a piece of fabric at me, which barely grazed my leg.
I reached him in three strides. My bloody hands clamped around his throat as I pinned him to the floor. Pig clawed at me, but I shoved the cat aside. She and Rishi faced off, hissing at one another.
“She’s dead, you asshole!” I screamed. I couldn’t describe how furious I was. That he’d done this not only to Hemlock, but to Ava, gave me the desire to blast his soul to oblivion and back.
“Don’t touch him!” Eddie tried to yank me off Alistair, but I shoved my guard back. Eddie went floundering away, smacking his head against the wall.
“Who’s… dead?” Alistair rasped.
“Hemlock!” I sneered. “We know it was you. You’ve been the mole this whole time, funneling information back to the Warden. You killed Hemlock to keep her from talking, but we know what you did! Now it’s just a matter of deciding where you belong— in the dungeon, or on the execution block!”
“You can’t… touch me,” Alistair gasped.
My arms yanked backward against my will, and Alistair heaved a greedy breath. He ducked out from under me, and I realized he was puppeteering me, just like he’d down our professor.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
“So you can kill me?” Alistair spat. “Not a chance.”
I didn’t have free reign of my limbs, but Alistair couldn’t overpower my magic. I sent a gust of Air blasting in his direction. Alistair flew off his feet and slammed against the wall.
“You’re a fool if you think I’d betray you!” Alistair growled. “I’m one of the few people who took your side when you fought Ava!”
“Because you wanted to ruin the city!” I demanded. “I see it all so clearly now.”
“You see nothing,” Alistair spat.
I scoffed. “Guess we have that in common, don’t we?”
“Ha ha,” Alistair said dryly. “Are you really that far beyond reason?”
Before I had a chance to respond, Eddie took a timid step forward. “Alistair? You… you’re packing. You were planning to flee?”
Shit. The piece of fabric Alistair threw at me must’ve been an article of clothing. He’d rushed to put his things in a bag and scram after he’d killed Hemlock, hoping he’d escape before we found him.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever stuck up for him. He was selfish and only cared about saving his own skin.
“Not you too, Eddie.” Alistair was pretending to sound heartbroken, but his acting was so poor the truth became obvious.
“I didn’t plan this. After our fight, I figured you didn’t want me around anymore, so I was going to leave the palace and find a place to stay in the city.
If I were guilty of anything, I wouldn’t be running.
I’d be burning this city to the ground.”
“Alistair, you can drop the act,” Marcus said flatly. “We have the evidence.”
“Damn right we do. Blood magic doesn’t lie, and my powers were strong enough to detect that you were there when Hemlock died,” Danny snarled.
“All of us were together when she was stabbed, except you. I just talked to her moments before I found Charlie, then I come back and she’s bleeding to death. What does that tell us?”
“Bullshit. You can’t prove a thing,” Alistair snapped.
Eddie’s voice was tearful. “I know we took different sides when Ava and Charlie fought, but I didn’t think it’d go this far. If you didn’t kill Hemlock—”
“Then what?” Alistair sneered cruelly. “Then I’m guilty until proven innocent?
You’ve already decided that I’m the one to blame, so what’s there to prove?
You all like to tell the story the way you think it should go.
Charlie’s right. I did want to ruin the city, and I would’ve taken Hemlock out if I had to, because she would’ve gotten in the way.
I honestly wish I would’ve thought of it first.”
“Is that a confession?” Kallie demanded. “You want revenge on your enemies so badly you’re willing to side with whoever’s in power. Since Charlie’s plan didn’t work, now you’re running to the Warden.”
“Perfect logic,” Alistair huffed sarcastically. “You’re accusing me of working with the Warden forever, but somehow I only just took his side. Make it make sense.”
“Alistair, you go along with whoever’s going to win that day, and you’re impulsive. It’s how you’ve always been,” Marcus pointed out. “That’s how we caught you.”
“All the evidence adds up, so don’t even try to deny it!
” I raged. “Someone fucked up our warding potion when we went to the Devil's City, which left us exposed to Salvatore’s mob.
You aren't an Alchemist, but you've got a hell of a lot of knowledge about potions.
You were trying to keep us from getting that vampire key so the Warden could get there first, which is so obvious now.
You were reckless over the coms and exposed us.
You wanted us to get caught. I don't know if you're working for the vamps or the Warden, and I frankly don't care, because your days of passing along information are over!”