Chapter 25

I exhaled a small sigh and massaged my wrists, feeling weightless for the first time since I’d been shackled with the Shaqua band.

The cool air stung my raw skin, but I didn’t mind. I was free.

Almost free.

When I envisioned what I intended to do with that freedom, I felt a pinch of guilt. You made Zanthiel a promise. I swore not to do any harm and to return after two human weeks. My time was already up.

Tell this man no, that you’re not going to be his puppet, my subconscious shouted.

I shook my head, spread my feet apart, and clasped my hands behind my back. “I’m a very busy girl—” I smiled sweetly, “—so tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

I listened intently to him prattle on about the people he needed to be delivered to the MBD and the various consequences that would occur if I failed my mission or deviated from it even an inch. Things like ending the lives of Abby, Vivienne, and pretty much anyone I or Lorelei cared for.

Peterson and Callum rejoined us, gathered around Greenbalm’s desk, but Luc was nowhere in sight.

“Remember, we see everything, Venus,” Greenbalm said.

Can’t count the number of times he’d thrown that line in.

When he was done, I blew out a sigh. “So, this anti-magic association is like a club you’re forced to join?”

Callum smiled. “It’s so much more than a club.”

I scoffed. “Clearly.” I raised my hands. “The MBD. Magical Being Disarmament…an organization whose sole purpose is to strip away magic. And you want me to use magic to force others to join your supernatural fight club?” I leaned back, crossing my arms. “Hypocritical much?”

Callum’s smile twisted in a sneer, but Peterson’s patience never wavered.

“I can see how our methodology might seem a little backward to you, given your position in all of it.” Peterson spoke calmly. “But I assure you it would not be necessary were there any other way. We foolishly counted on your grandmother’s support and the support of her sister Camilla.”

Callum’s brows tightened. “They crossed us and paid a dear price. Hope you have enough sense not to repeat their mistakes.”

“My only mistake was not snapping your neck earlier.” I blew him a kiss.

But in truth, I had enough sense to know they’d backed me into a corner. That was the problem with caring about people. Eventually someone used it against you, like a weapon. Octăhvia was a horrible mother, but she was right about one thing…love was a liability and it weakened you to your core. I had to do this, and trust that somewhere along the way, with my powers restored, I’d find a loophole and a way out. One that kept Abby and Vivienne safe from any backlash.

Corporate fools mixing business with magic. It was a pairing destined to end in disaster. Leaning back, I surveyed the men gathered around the mahogany desk and smiled. “Looks like we have a deal, boys. When do I start?”

****

Greenbalm was true to his word. He restored my powers—assured me Zanthiel would have no way of knowing they’d been restored—and was very quick to give me an overview of what would happened to me if I tried to escape or use my powers against him. He was able to track my every move, and there was some vague and terrifying remark about peeling my skin from my bones to use as writing paper for their message?

None of their threats bothered me as much as the part about Vivienne and what they would do to her. She’d been away when her house was shredded by the blast. I’d done all the damage I was going to do to my own kin. I wouldn’t let these fanatics harm her.

All I had to do was use my powers of persuasion to convince a few faction-less council members that the MBD council’s plan, whatever it entailed, was the only plan that would work. I didn't have to support their club to convince a few others to join.

Also true to Greenbalm’s word, I was watched every step of the way. Countless times I calculated the odds of getting word to Abby and Vivienne while simultaneously taking out the guy trailing me, but they were always two steps ahead. I had no way to communicate with them, and any attempts would only put them in greater danger.

They were already about to become members of the MBD’s concentration camp for magical beings, so I had to be smart about this. Wait until the time was right.

****

How I loathe politics. Convincing others to follow a group I violently disagreed with quickly soured my stomach, turning it from a means-to-an-end into a repugnant act. One assignment per day, and each day I escorted one of them back to the warm and fuzzy embrace of the MBD, then dutifully returned to my cell until the next morning. No antics. No attempts to escape. I wanted Greenbalm to trust me, at least a little. Trust led to lessened security, and I needed them to let their guard down.

Doing the MBD’s bidding was also taking more out of me than just my karmic debt. For whatever reason, the Shaqua band’s suppression of my magic had also weakened it, too. Each time I’d used it to force one of their defectors to reconsider, I’d been left breathless and fatigued.

Mercifully, the chore was easier than expected. Most people, when faced with the threat of mortal harm to themselves and those they care about, were more than happy to comply. While a part of me felt sick persecuting people who were all innocent nobodies to me, something inside me enjoyed the surge of power coursing through me. I liked being in control again. Having others cower before me. That girl wasn’t gone entirely. She never could be because she was a part of me. I was Oberon’s offspring, and he was as soulless as they came. They all thought the darkness had come from the resurrection, that the evil forces of the necromancer’s magic had pushed me to the dark side, but maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Oberon had stripped away that darkness, and yet traces of it remained. Small and quiet, hiding in the sunken corners of my soul, waiting for an opportunity to be made useful. Like now.

I hit the broken man on the ground with another blast of fire, carefully singing the tips of his fingers this time. My vision wavered a little, but I didn’t let it show.

“I haven’t got all day,” I snapped impatiently. “Actually, you’re my last client, so yeah, I sort of do.” I planted a hand on my hip and waited.

He was more obstinate than the rest. All six before him had come around after two or three strikes and some carefully placed threats. There’d been no need to take a life so far. But this guy, he was tenacious. I’d used all of my best stuff on him, and still he refused me. Ballsy. I sort of liked him. Humans weren’t normally this iron-willed.

He gasped for breath as he beat the flames from his sleeve with his blistered hand. “I don’t care what they sent you to do to me. I’ll never join them. What they’re doing is wrong. They are just as evil as the beings they claim to fight.”

I squatted down in front of him and cocked my head. “Why don’t you tell me what it is they’re planning?”

He coughed and laughed at once. “You’re doing their bidding and you don’t even know what for. Figures. That alone should tell you a lot.” His voice trembled. “Only a group as wicked as them would use you, someone they abhor, to force others into joining them.”

I stared at him for a long second. “You’re right,” I said, standing. “I thought that was pretty hypocritical, too. But you see, I have a family I need to protect, a life I need to get back to, and some other rather important things on my to-do list. Things that our mutual friend is going to help me get done if I help him. And helping him means getting you on their side,” I said, leaning over him, “or getting rid of you. The choice is yours.”

He rolled onto his side and tried to crawl onto his knees but cried out in pain and fell back to the ground.

“You’re a fool,” he spat. “You think you’ll walk away when they’re done with you? You think the reason they killed the other witches, your relatives, was because they betrayed them? Because their experiments went awry? They wanted them dead. They want all of you dead. And right now, you’re helping them get exactly what they want.”

I’d never known myself to have a guilty conscious, but lately it had been rearing its ugly head at the most inconvenient times.

I gave a shrug of feigned indifference. “Maybe magical beings don’t belong in the human world. Maybe he’s doing all of you little mortals a favor.” Not sure which of us I was trying to convince.

He sputtered out laughter. “And what then? You think the MBD is going to stop with my world? Sooner or later, they’ll come for yours. No one, no matter which side of the veil they’re on, will be safe once they’ve unleashed their plan. I won’t be party to it.”

I hit him with another blast of fire that swept just over him, close enough that he could feel the heat. Mostly because I was annoyed that everything he said made too much sense. I glanced over my shoulder, gauging how closely I was being watched. Greenbalm’s trust had earned me a small measure of freedom, as my babysitter no longer felt the need to ride my coattails.

“Listen to me.” I lowered my voice. “You either do as I say, or you give me something I can use. Telling me pieces of a story does nothing,” I said. “I need to get free, since obviously I’m not doing this for pure pleasure. I mean, I used to, but not anymore—” I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter, the point is I need an out. Tell me what you know. How can I get away from them and hold onto my magic and my life, doing it?”

“If you try to escape now or use your magic against them, they’ll end you. And they’ll kill everyone you care about before your body goes cold.” He lifted a trembling, blistered hand. “There, in the drawer. There’s a map. It’s an underground passage. They use it to transport everything to the place they’re holding you, away from human eyes. You’ll find a way out of the compound where they can’t detect your absence or trace your location. It’s impervious to magic. They can’t see in, so they can’t track you. But you won’t be able to use your magic when you’re in it either.”

My eyes narrowed. “Where does this little path lead?”

“Back into the forest. They’ll figure it out eventually though, and they will come after you. Assuming you know your way home from there, you’ll be safe. If you don’t then heaven help you.”

“I’ve never had heaven’s help, and I doubt I’ll need it now. How do I get out of my lockbox?”

“You’ll need a key. All of his guards carry them. Can you get one?”

I gave it some thought. Maybe those guards would be more useful alive than disemboweled after all.

“Answer me this,” I asked, “why does the MBD need you so badly?”

Another garbled laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised you never bothered to find out. We’re descendants of an ancient order. Our ancestry was thick with magic, although none of us have practiced in centuries. We were once powerful supporters of this cause. Because—” His gaze met mine, “—it was my ancestors who founded the MBD.”

I rolled my eyes, so many double-crossers it was making my head spin. “And now?”

“Now the MBD wants to make sure our bloodline ends with us. He will force us to rejoin, to strip away our residual magic, or he will kill us. Simple as that.”

I frowned at him, thinking of the other six people I’d sent back to Greenbalm’s greedy hands.

This isn’t my problem. I have enough of my own. I don’t need theirs.

I stared at the open desk drawer. Then, without another thought, I rushed to it, rummaging inside until I found the map he spoke of. The compound was a labyrinth, but the trail was very carefully marked. “How do you have this?”

“It was given to me by an old friend. A former friend. One who used to believe in freedom for immortals but doesn’t anymore.”

I nodded. “This friend have a name?”

“Yes,” he sputtered, attempting once more to sit up. “His name is Greenbalm.”