Page 21 of Fool Me Twice

“Lies and slander,” Ez protests. “Cass wouldn’t have even called you for a second opinion. He would’ve just waltzed straight into Micah’s office and started interrogating him.”

“You’re not wrong. So you’re going to see if Micah knows anything?”

“It only makes sense. Most of the Redwater Chain’s paperwork crosses his desk at some point. If there were anyanomalies in the neophytes’ documentation‍—or if there was alackof documentation‍—then Micah would’ve noticed.”

“True.” Obie sighs. “Just be careful, okay? And try not to mention Roma’s name. We still don’t know what Micah and Gregorio are up to, and if they have connections in the Sanctum, then we don’t want them to know she was the leak.”

Grudgingly, Ez concedes the point. Much as she doesn’twantto care if Roma gets into trouble, the fact remains that she didn’t have to tell Ez about her suspicions in the first place. That counts for something.

A small something, but a something nonetheless. “Sounds good. I’ll keep you posted, okay?”

“Don’t do anything too stupid,” Obie says, and he disconnects the call.

Smiling to herself, Ez pops the lid back onto her hot cocoa, pushes herself to her feet, and strolls out of the café, making an immediate left to the next building over. She raps twice on the Outpost’s door before poking her head inside. “Hello?”

Micah Devereux instantly looks up from his work, eyes brightening. “Ezzie Laguerre!” he says cheerfully, standing up to greet her. “What a pleasant surprise! To what do I owe the privilege of your esteemed company on this fine day?”

Ez blinks slowly back at him. “Do you talk to everyone like that?”

“Mostly,” Micah says. “I’m really trying to set people at ease, you see. Make them feel comfortable coming back to chat on a regular basis. You have no idea how boring it can get in this Outpost, Ez. No.Idea.”

“Why don’t you just quit, then? It’s not like you and Gregorio need the money.”

Micah looks scandalized at the very thought. “I can’t justquit!I’m the Keeper of the Forms! It’s averyimportant job!” He sweeps his arm meaningfully towards the wall, which is indeedcovered in mounted containers holding a wide variety of forms. “See?”

“I do see,” Ez says obligingly, and she glances over her shoulder. No one in sight. “I actually, ah, need your help with something.”

“With a form?” Micah pulls open one of his desk drawers, digging around. “I heard that the Chain is contracting with some spellcasters‍—did they reach out to you, too? It makes sense, since you’re indisputably Redwater’s best, but‍?—‍”

“No,” Ez says. “I mean, yeah, they hired me, but no, I don’t need help with a form. It’s more of a… personal request.”

Micah goes still. After a moment, he snaps his fingers; the soft breeze of a soundproofing spell settles over the Outpost, closely followed by the clatter of the blinds falling over the windows and theclickof the lock sliding into place. “Okay,” he says, planting his hands on his desk and leaning forward. “Is it about Cass?”

Ez doesn’t know whether to be grateful or concerned that Micah immediately went to such lengths to disguise their conversation. “Of course not. As you know, Cass is a fugitive from the Chain, and I have no idea where he is.”

“Of course.” Micah’s eyebrows furrow. “What’s up, then?”

“Did you hear about the rift that opened at Lakeside earlier this month?” Ez watches him carefully. “The first one, with the summoner and the three demons?”

Micah blinks at her. “Well, yeah. Mina from Bibimbap House told us all about it‍—or told us about the parts she wasn’t cowering for, at least. Why?”

“Any chance you looked over the paperwork for those neophyte demons?”

Micah frowns. “Of course. Maggie Khan is one of the only demons from Public Safety who actually fills out her forms correctly.”

“And the paperwork was…” Ez hesitates. “Normal? Nothing suspicious?”

And now Micah just looks bewildered. “The demons were brought to the Chain’s Education Department for orientation, just like always. After that, Gregorio signed off on the forms to get them transferred to other states‍—Illinois, Washington, and Texas, I think. Why?”

“Because‍—‍” Ez lets out her breath in a hiss. “Because I’ve been associating with a hunter a lot lately‍—unfortunate side effect of the mega-rift situation‍—and she claims that she saw all three of them in the Sanctum’s prison.”

Micah stops dead. “What?”

“Yeah.” Ez grimaces. “I don’t know if she was just trying to get in my head, but‍—but if she was, then it worked. So I just wanted to check in and make sure that, you know, everything was in order.”

There’s an unnatural stillness to Micah that sets Ez’s instincts firing. Normally, he’s a whirlwind of barely restrained energy, always chatting and gesturing with reckless abandon, but right now‍?—

Right now, Ez can see every second of his two centuries reflected in his eyes. “You think the Chain gave those demons to the Sanctum,” he says, something like dawning horror on his face. “That the Chain gave them to the Sanctum to torture and‍—andexperimenton.”

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