She shook her head. “Well, you forgot one thing. Your three ‘keys to success’ included magic, and in case you forgot, I don’t have any.”
Walter’s teeth flashed in a smile. “Actually, you have more magic than anyone in this room.”
She gave him an icy look. “I have magic that’s sealed. That equals zero magic, not extra magic.”
“You don’t have accessible magic at the moment, but we have a solution.”
Her breath caught before she scowled. “My mother’s idea of unlocking half my magic and hoping it doesn’t kill me isn’t a solution.”
“Actually,” the woman beside Mona said, “we want to unlock all your magic.”
“So you definitely want to kill me.”
“Not at all,” the woman replied coolly, clearly unimpressed by Piper’s attitude.
“We have devoted an entire team to researching your unique situation,” Mona said earnestly. “We discovered three other female survivors of haemon parents: Calanthe Nikas, Natania Roth, and Raina Golovkin. They lived at least a hundred years ago but we were able to dig up some records on all of them. Calanthe in particular was the subject of an entire research paper by a Consul.”
Mona leaned toward Piper. “Calanthe had all her magic. She was more powerful than any haemon and rivaled daemons with her abilities. You could be that strong too.”
Piper froze in her seat, not daring to let hope take hold. To be as powerful as a daemon ...
“But how did she survive?” she asked.
The other woman replied before Mona could. “Calanthe did not have magic as a child. Hers may have been sealed off like yours, or perhaps she developed it later than usual. Either way, our theory is that the dual magic is dangerous only to children because they do not have the control needed to manage it.”
Piper looked between them. “But you’re just guessing.”
“Raina, Natania, and Calanthe all survived,” Mona pointed out. “You’re past the danger point. You’re old enough—”
“Hold on,” Piper cut in, desperation making her voice go high. “You’re just leaping to conclusions based on some sketchy old documents. You have no idea what—”
“Don’t you think it’s worth finding out?” Mona asked, her stare intense. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life powerless, or do you want to take a chance and find out if you can be the most powerful one of us all?”
“A chance that could kill me.”
“You risk your life on a daily basis. You take chances all the time that could get you killed. How is this any different?”
“I take calculated risks to defend myself when my life is already in danger. I’m not deliberately taking life-threatening risks for nothing more than—than ambition.”
Mona made a sharp gesture with one hand. “Your life is in danger every day as an Apprentice Consul. Claiming your magic would be proactive self-defense, giving you the power to go head to head with daemons instead of being at a constant disadvantage.”
“We understand it’s a risk,” Walter said. “But consider your options. Your goal is to become a Consul, but I think you already doubt the effectiveness of the system. The title of Consul would not always protect you and you’re defenseless against all but the weakest daemons. That’s assuming you can become a Consul without magic.”
“If you don’t become a Consul,” Mona said, “what will you do? What future do you have? Will you move out of the city and join a rural community? Marry a farmer and raise his children?”
“With us,” Walter said, “you have a future where you can shape change. With your magic, you can help us create an effective system to control daemons. This is your chance to make a difference, to change the world for the better.”
Piper’s head swiveled between Mona and Walter. She shrunk in her chair. Having a larger purpose in life was one of the big attractors of the Consul job, but she’d already lost her apprenticeship. Was this her chance to start over? Instead of being the weakest member of a flawed system, she could spearhead something new, something effective. Something with real power.
But removing the seal on her magic? Yes, she’d daydreamed about it since the day she found out she had magic locked inside her. How could she not? Being a magic-less haemon had made her a second-class citizen in the Consul world. But the chances were high, very high, that removing the seal would kill her. She hadn’t forgotten the debilitating headaches from her childhood, the pain so terrible she would vomit or have a seizure. Maybe those other women had found a way to live with their magic, but Piper had no idea what trick they’d used or if she had the ability to duplicate it.
Walter folded his hands on the table. “With your magic unsealed, you would have the respect of daemons, not grudging tolerance for the baseless authority they allow Consuls.”
She pressed a hand to her face. “I need to think about this.”
“Yes, of course,” Walter said. “There is a meeting the day after tomorrow. We would like your answer before then.”
Her mouth went dry. She swallowed. “I need to think about it,” she repeated.
Mona rose to her feet. “Come, Piper. Let’s go back to your room. I’m sure you need some time alone with your thoughts.”
Piper rose to her feet, her mind numb. So much to think about, so many long-held convictions cracking under the weight of new information. She had two days to decide the course of her future, assuming she could trust a word Walter had said.
CHAPTER 5
SPRAWLED on a sofa in the communal living area, Piper tried hard to tune out the chatter of a dozen voices. Haemons ranging in age from twelve to thirty sat nearby, talking about this and that. A lot of speculation about the big meeting the following day. They all seemed determined to make her feel welcome and kept asking her questions. She didn’t want to be rude, but she really wasn’t interested in conversation. She had too much on her mind.
Kylee sat beside her, reading a battered paperback. The girl had been a little awkward with Piper after her fight with Travis, but Piper had managed to brush it off as nothing more than bad history between them. Her worries appeased, Kylee was quietly delighted to just sit beside the cool new girl.
Piper rubbed two fingers across her forehead. She’d tossed and turned all night, reliving her conversation with the Council over and over until the words kept spinning in her head. She definitely wasn’t onboard with the Gaians’ methods, but she wasn’t entirely opposed to their goals.
She wanted to be part of something bigger and the Council offered that. She couldn’t believe she was giving their proposition serious thought, but their plans weren’t totally crazy. In fact, they had some serious logic on their side. If Piper was willing to admit the Consulate system was seriously flawed, then she couldn’t deny that a new system had the potential to do so much better. And to have the opportunity to help build it ...
Her eyes travelled across the smiling and laughing faces around her. When had there ever been this much carefree laughter in a Consulate? The reason her mother had left was starting to make sense to Piper.
The Consulate wasn’t a carefree place to live in. It wasn’t a happy place. It was challenging, demanding constant vigilance and frequent exposure to danger. Piper had thrived in its atmosphere but it was the only way of life she’d ever known. It had probably been very different for Mona. With her husband absorbed in his work and her home filled with dangerous strangers, maybe she had just burnt out. When she’d found the Gaians and they’d welcomed her into a group that stood against everything she hated—the constant presence of daemons and the threat they represented—she hadn’t been able to say no.
The Gaians didn’t have the same strict, disciplinarian atmosphere of the Consulates. Aside from a contained number of individuals possessing a cruel disregard for others’ lives, Piper’s overall impression was one of almost laughable incompetence. They had bungled everything they’d attempted. The ones who’d attacked the Consulate had failed to get the Sahar Stone, and th
en they had kidnapped the wrong man in a desperate attempt not to leave empty-handed. The group that had tried to capture Piper when she’d gone back to the Consulate a few days later had barely slowed her down. And when Miysis’s guards, prefects, and then a choronzon had attacked their hideout at the abandoned Consulate, they’d been woefully outclassed.
Either way, the average Gaian wasn’t a soldier in a war against daemon-kind. They were simple outcasts looking for a place to belong, and that was something she could support wholeheartedly.
She was no closer to making a decision now than in the meeting yesterday. There was no way she could decide by tomorrow. She needed more information. She needed to know more about their plans, how she would be involved, and what other plots they had up their sleeves. Would she be expected to participate in the destruction of the remaining Consulates? Could she really help them bring down the organization she’d dedicated her life to? That was assuming it was possible to shift their methods away from the careless violence they’d so far exhibited. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to do that. A large part of her just wanted to get the hell out and never see another Gaian again.
She closed her eyes, a headache building in her forehead. Whether she was even remotely interested in joining them was very much a secondary question to the one that had taken root in her brain and grown into a voracious monster overnight.
Magic.
Her magic.
Dared she risk her life to regain her magic? Not just any magic, but magic more powerful than any other haemon’s. Magic to rival daemons. It could kill her, or it could make all her dreams possible. If only she had more information. If she knew for certain that controlling her magic was a matter of willpower, she would go for it. But what if there was no way to control the outcome? What if it was predetermined? That her magic would kill her, no matter what. No way to fight. No way to survive.
She hated being helpless. Could she make herself helpless to her own magic?
She’d experienced powerful magic before; the Sahar had given her more magic than she could control. She’d seen what it could do. Mainly, it killed. Easily. And in large numbers. It terrified her.
Unlike the Sahar, her magic wouldn’t be tainted with hatred, and she would be using it to defend, not attack. Assuming it didn’t kill her. The questions and options spun, pulling all her thoughts into a whirlwind that made her head ache. She pressed a hand to her forehead as the feeling of being trapped closed in around her.
She needed air. She needed to breathe.
She needed to escape.
Eyes opening, she casually scanned the room. It was time to find out how tight the security around here was. She could make decisions later. Right now, she wanted her freedom above all else.
She stretched and yawned. “Hey Kylee, where’s your room? I don’t think I’ve seen that level yet.”
Kylee looked up, smiling. “It’s on the eighth floor. Want a tour?”
“Sure.”
They rose off the sofa and climbed over the legs of the other lounging haemons. She and Kylee strolled across the room and into the hallway. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched two older haemons nonchalantly follow—her ever-present shadows. One was that creepy, pale-haired guy again.
At the end of the hall, Kylee prodded the call button for the elevator. The two guards drifted closer, supposedly in deep conversation. Piper didn’t know why they bothered pretending. The doors dinged and rattled open. She and Kylee got on. The two guards started forward quickly.
As they reached the doors, Piper said, “Oh, I forgot something,” and stepped into the elevator’s threshold as though she were getting off. The guards backed up so she could exit. She stepped out.
The doors rattled into motion. At the last second, Piper hopped backward into the elevator and waved as the doors shut. One merely looked startled, but chagrin flashed across the face of the creepy one.
Kylee blinked at her. “What was that all about?”
“Oh, just ... you know, admirers, I guess. They’ve been following me around.”
With a smile, Kylee poked at the already lit Floor 8 button. “People seem to like you a lot.”
Piper shrugged, her mind racing through Step 2 of her plan. Or to be more precise, racing to figure out what Step 2 was supposed to be.
“A couple of the boys were talking about you earlier. I think they want to ask you out after seeing your ... fight.”
Piper twitched. Oh joy. That would be fun. She needed out of here.
The doors creaked open. Piper let Kylee get off then stopped in the doorway. “Actually, I did forget something.”
“Oh.” Brow furrowed, Kylee turned to get back on.
“No, no,” Piper said as the doors began to close. “Just wait there.” She smiled, guilt squeezing her as Kylee’s confused frown disappeared.
Since a better plan hadn’t occurred to her, she hit the M button. Hopefully her guards would waste time checking the eighth floor before coming after her. As the elevator trundled downward, she pulled her hood up and tucked her hair inside it. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she affected a slouch and waited for the doors to open.
As soon as a large enough gap appeared, she slipped through and into a lobby with chipped marble floors and a dry fountain with a broken sculpture in the middle. The entryway opened up to the second floor, with balconies on either side looking over the fountain. It was a straight stretch to the triple set of glass doors—most of the glass missing—and the fading afternoon sun beyond.
She strode straight for the doors, eyes scanning alertly while she kept her body language relaxed. Nothing to see here. Just a haemon teen out for some fresh air.
“Hey there.”
It wasn’t an aggressive call. Glancing over, she didn’t break stride. Two people came into view on the other side of a wide pillar. They were sitting behind a desk, looking bored and sleepy.
“Don’t forget to sign out,” the woman called out in a friendly tone. “Don’t want to get barred on your way back in.”
Piper didn’t slow, just extracted one hand and gave a casual wave.
“Hey, you need to sign out.”
She sped up. Footsteps sounded behind her—the two Gaians circling the desk to follow her. She broke into a run, shooting for the doors. Dodging crumbled marble, she jumped a smashed statue and aimed for one of the broken doors—
An unseen blow caught her in the chest, knocking her backward. She stumbled and tripped, falling to one knee. Where had that come from? Damn hood had cut off her peripheral vision.
A man stood in front of her, dressed in dark, military-like clothing. Shoving her hood off to prevent a repeat blindsiding, she spun and kicked hard. Her boot hit his ankle. He staggered. She sprang up and struck his diaphragm. He backpedalled, faint surprised registering on his face.
Two more guys came running as the first two caught up with her. Damn it. She’d been expecting more goons like Travis guarding the entrance, but these guys were older and probably a lot more skilled.
Dropping to the floor again, she swept out her leg, taking out the legs of one man. The other jumped over her kick but stumbled on the landing. She jumped to her feet and spun around to see a hand flashing toward her. She threw herself backward, going into a backflip as she kicked out with one foot, forcing her attacker back. On landing, she dropped into a crouch to avoid the fist of the woman.
Spinning around, she ran at the two between her and the doors. At the last second, she turned on one and jumped, slamming both feet into his chest. Her weight and momentum knocked him over backward. She landed on his chest and bolted for freedom. The Gaians scrambled after her as she shot out of the broken doors and onto the sidewalk. A sharp wind gusted across her face, wonderfully fresh. She skidded around the corner and tore down the sidewalk.
The air a few feet in front of her rippled. A flash of black.
Something hit her in the face, snapping her head back and throwing her off her feet. She hit the ground, h
er head slamming against the sidewalk. Sparks flashed across her vision, almost obscuring the black swirl as it shimmered and solidified into a man—the creepy, pale-haired guard she’d left in front of the elevator on the fourteenth floor barely five minutes ago.
With dark eyes colder than ice, he leaned down and grabbed her chin with rough fingers. Tingles rushed across her skin—magic. As the other Gaians ran over, his spell swept through her, sucking her mind into darkness.
. . .
Piper sat cross-legged on her cot, glaring out the window at the dark buildings silhouetted against the fading sunlight. Locked up again. What a delightful pattern this was becoming.
Her muscles ached and her head throbbed, but that was the least of her concerns. She closed her eyes and gently massaged her temples as she went over her failed escape. That flash of darkness. That blow out of nowhere. The sudden appearance of the creepy guard.
She knew what that flash of darkness had been; she’d seen it before. Teleportation was a skill possessed only by reapers.
Even knowing that, she could hardly believe it, though it explained how the guy had gotten outside the building so fast. But how could she have failed to recognize him as a daemon? He’d been following her since yesterday. She’d been trained to recognize daemons in glamour. Could he be a haemon with reaper blood who’d somehow unlocked a caste ability? Or was he a daemon very skilled in hiding his true nature? She didn’t know whether either alternative was possible, but her gut said he was a reaper.
If he was, what the hell was he doing masquerading as a Gaian?
Her hands clenched into fists. Did Samael know Piper’s mother was a Gaian? Had he planted a spy on the off chance she would renew contact with Mona? And what would this supposed spy do now that she’d been trapped here? He definitely didn’t want her to escape, nor did he seem to want her dead—yet. Had the guard already told Samael she was here?
Whatever his plan might be, she couldn’t stay where she was and wait for the Hades assassins to close in. She needed to escape now more than ever.