Chapter 83

LUKAS

"It was reckless to be in the open like that."

" ... I got the book."

I inched closer to the door, ducking under the window, straining to hear the conversation that was going on inside the room.

"Foolish of the alpha to auction it away like that. It might have gotten into the wrong hands."

So far, I could hear three distinct voices coming from the room. My hands tightened around the gun hidden in my suit. If things went awry, I had to be prepared to take them all down. And the guards were probably situated somewhere nearby.

There might be a couple more men, I couldn't know for sure.

I rose slowly to my feet, my back pressed to the wall, and risked a glance into the room.

Three men sat in the room, dressed in complete black, a characteristic color that has long been associated with the order.

I felt hatred seething in my veins. Gerald stood in the middle, placing the book in front of a glass table.

Four against one, I thought grimly. I was outnumbered.

I heard a movement coming from the narrow corridor. I ducked. Footsteps came closer. The sun had faded by now, but the shadows were not enough to hide me; I might as well have stood in plain view.

Make that five against one, I thought.

I scanned the area, wondering how much time I had to quickly cross the loft and hide behind one of the trees that surrounded the estate, but I could already see the shadow of a man. The steady boots of a guard on patrol sounded closer than I initially thought.

Without thinking, I picked up a stone and traded my gun for the knife in my pocket, inching closer to the sound.

"We must work fast. I think I might have been followed. I have to get back; I'll fill you in on Alpha Kael's plans...." I could hear Gerald's voice, but even that sounded faint as I backed farther from the room the men were talking in.

Once the guard was in sight, I threw the stone, one of the oldest tricks in history. He turned, instinctively. And once his back was to me, I lunged for him, my left hand clapping over his mouth as my right drove the knife deep into the base of his skull. A clean strike, one of the cold tricks I picked up from Darian and his men when I was still in the order. Jokes on them, I thought.

There was no sound, no struggle. I watched as the weight of the body went limp against me.

I eased him down, feeling for a pulse out of habit, though I knew there wouldn't be one. The knife had severed his brain stem—instant death, the cleanest way. His eyes were widened as blood dripped from the back of his head.

I covered his eyes, catching sight of my own bloody fingers. Even the tips of my shirt weren't spared, but the blood wasn't much—another advantage of that particular strike. I dragged him behind the ornamental shrubs that lined the manor's exterior, arranging his body to look like he'd simply dozed off during his patrol. It wouldn't fool anyone looking closely, but it would buy me time.

I wiped my blade on his uniform and stood up, deciding that I had heard enough of the meeting to know that Gerald was willingly working with the order, and there were most likely others like him.

I needed back up. I walked as far away from the main building as I could and searched in my pocket for the light pen that Councilor Merrick handed to me at the last moment.

He warned me of the dangers of portaling. They could easily be tracked. Portaling tools were the hardest to come across. I was a bit surprised when Councilor Merrick said the Obsidian Pack had one. Most of the packs were warded off against it, and the strongholds were protected against any form of magic.

I drew a slash in the air with the pen, opening up the space. I pictured the hotel, the last place I had been in, and the pen grew warm in my palms, a door opening, blazing with holy fire. I stepped through without thinking.

I stumbled, picking myself up. The rain was pouring. The hotel loomed in front of me. I glanced back just in time to see the door disappearing.

I took a deep breath, steadying my breathing before walking down the alley to the nearest bus stop.

——

"Get in and get out. That was the plan!"

I was back in the stronghold.

I sat on the single chair in the councilor's office. The endless maps were still scattered on the table, along with documents and files that hadn't been there before. Merrick walked back and forth, his voice angry and annoyed.

"No, the plan was to stalk Gerald Freeman for as long as I could and capture, kill, or torture him for more information," I said, taking off my wet suit, thankful that my hair was held back in a knot and not dripping over my eyes.

Merrick glared at the puddle of water on the floor. "For the love of the moon goddesses, Lukas, can you not drip all over my favorite tiles?" he snapped, his voice sharp and irritated.

I smirked despite myself. "Sorry, Councillor, sneaking back into the stronghold in a thunderstorm doesn't exactly come with a dry-cleaning option." I draped the suit over the chair and ran a hand through my hair, loosening the knot, inadvertently sending more droplets of water flying in the air.

Merrick looked like he might actually consider murdering me. "You killed one of their men. You might as well set up a post advertising the pack because they know that they're being watched now."

"It was... necessary," I said finally.

"Surely you got the book, right?" He shook his head, looking exasperated.

I shook my head with a bitter smile. "I should have waltzed right into the group of three order men and a traitor, picked up the dang book, and portaled out. Maybe even pick up some cookies while I'm at it."

The councillor snapped. He was at me within seconds, too fast for me to react, grabbing me by the collar. Everything only registered when I hit the cold wall.

"Do you realize that you have failed?" he asked, his eyes blazing.

The force of his attack was enough to knock the air out of me. I pushed him too far, I realized.

"You were supposed to watch and report, not play bloody assassin. I don't care how carefully you did it because now Gerald knows, the order knows, and from now on, they are going to be watching our every movement."

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding as the cold wall pressed into my back. I looked at Merrick straight in the eyes, my voice steady. "I did what had to be done. I was outnumbered. Killing that guard bought me precious seconds to escape. You're just pissed because it's not the way you wanted it."

A minute passed between us, and Merrick released me, the fire dying out of his eyes. He walked back towards the table of maps.

I followed him, stopping a few steps behind him. "Alpha Kael doesn't know what you're doing, does he?" I asked.

Councillor Merrick stiffened but said nothing for a while. "He doesn't have to know. I can't risk word going out. I've decided to trust you, Lukas. Don't make me regret it."

A crash sounded behind the doors. I spun around, faster than Merrick. I was at the door within seconds, banging it open.

A shadow ran down the hallway. I followed in hot pursuit, taking out my dagger and flinging it into the air after it.

Someone screamed, the dagger impaling him between the shoulder blades as the shadow crumpled to the floor.

I skidded to a halt. A voice I recognized.

"Jonah?" I reached him, turning the boy over. He was bleeding, his face pale.

Councillor Merrick stopped beside me, kneeling down and tearing off a piece of his cloth, pressing it against the wound. "Have I told you that you're reckless and too quick with your weapons, Lukas Walters? Well, I'm telling you that now!"

But I wasn't listening to him. I stared at Jonah, my eyes stone cold.

"What the hell were you doing outside the door, kid?"

"I'm... I'm sorry," Jonah's face grew paler. He winced as Merrick pressed the cloth against the wound.

"I'm sorry is not an answer," I began coldly.

"Lukas," Merrick warned, glaring at me.

I pushed him away, grabbing Jonah by the collar and yanking him to his feet. The boy let out a cry of pain.

"For goodness sake, Lukas!"

"You know, for someone who has been pouring over endless maps and putting evidence together, you really don't know an order dog when you see one."

I turned my eyes back to Jonah. "It did seem weird, didn't it, that Paul had conveniently drugged you the night Terek died?"