Page 40 of Fool Me Twice

Ez’s stomach churns. “You think they’re trying to use them as weapons?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Obie says, smoothing a hand over the map. “Especially since none of the mega-rifts have opened outside of Redwater. Obviously, they’re not being used for adirectattack, but‍—but they’re definitely trying to distract us. Exhaust us. Make us expend all our resources countering them instead of noticing a larger threat.”

Maggie’s eyes narrow. “And do we have any idea what that larger threat could be?”

Her tone is more suspicious‍—and more knowing‍—than Ez likes. She glances at Obie, and Obie grimaces back at her.

Maggie notices. Impatiently, she snaps her fingers, draping a soundproofing spell over the office. “All right,” she says, planting her hands on her desk and leaning forward. “Level with me here. Does this have anything to do with Chin and Jackson?”

The words take Ez off guard. “With Cass and JJ? No, of course not,” she says, and she frowns at Obie. “Right?”

He hesitates briefly before shaking his head. “It’s highly doubtful. There’ssomethinggoing on with them, I’ll grant you that, but it’s strictly local to them.” He meets Maggie’s eyes. “I swear on the name of Nostringvadha.”

Maggie’s jaw works. “Then what are you two hiding? You know more than you’re saying. If it’s relevant to this case, then Ineedto know about it. I’ll keep your names off the record, but this‍—this isn’t sustainable. We’ve contracted every local demon to help us close these mega-rifts, and we can still barely keep up‍—not to mention that most of the Sanctum’s spellcasters aren’t as harmless as your pet, Ez.”

“Gutierrez isn’t my pet,” Ez says wearily. “She’s my situationship. My significant bother. The bane of my existence.”

“Those sound like pet names to me,” Maggie says, and she continues before Ez can argue. “Come on, guys. Give me something to work with here.”

For a long moment, Ez wavers.

On the one hand, she and Roma have all but confirmed that there’s corruption at fairly high levels of both the Chain and the Sanctum, and neither of them has any idea how deep that corruption runs. On top of that, Micah and Gregorio tacitly admitted that there’s even more going on than Ez suspects‍—and that they’re somehow caught up in the middle of it. In light ofall that, it only makes sense to assume the Sanctum might be fabricating this epidemic to distract them from something.

Something huge, by the looks of it.

On the other hand, though, Ez just doesn’t know who she can trust in the Chain anymore. She’s reluctantly willing to trust Micah and Gregorio, but only because they’ve been helping Cass, JJ, and Desi‍—and because they looked honestly surprised when Ez confronted them about the “G. Ricci” signature last week.

Magdalena Khan, though? Even though Ez jokes that Maggie intimidates her, she truly does like her as a person. But Maggie is also one of the oldest, most powerful demons on Earth besides Obie himself, and if anyone has been alive for enough millennia to truly understand the long game, it’s her. She could very well be involved in whatever conspiracy Micah and Gregorio are investigating.

But before Ez can finish grappling with the implications of trusting Maggie, Obie steamrolls ahead. “Someone in the Chain is delivering neophyte demons directly to the Sanctum’s prison.”

Ez gapes at him, appalled. “Well, that wasveryabrupt.”

Maggie goes still. “What are you talking about, Obie?”

“At the very least,” Obie says, “the last four demons who’ve been summoned in Redwater‍—the one in midtown two weeks ago and the three at Lakeside last month‍—all ended up in the Sanctum’s prison within twenty-four hours.” He nods at Ez. “Her pet told her all about it.”

Maggie’s eyes snap to Ez. “Is that true?”

Ez crosses her arms over her chest, fighting back a scowl. “Yes. And the Education Department lied to my face when I asked about the neophyte from midtown‍—they claimed she was transferred to Oregon.”

“What else has Gutierrez said since then?” Maggie’s expression hardens. “What else has she said since three days ago?”

“Nothing,Mags,” Ez snaps, and she takes a deep breath, forcing down her temper. “We were there when the epidemic first started, and Roma looked genuinely shocked that the mega-rifts kept opening. If the Sanctum is behind this, then they’re not telling her anything.”

“Hm.” Maggie slowly sinks down into her seat, folding her hands together in front of her. “And‍—and did Roma say how long this has been happening? Or how many neophyte demons have been funneled to the Sanctum?”

There’s the slightest hint of a tremor in her voice. With a sharp pang, Ez remembers that Maggie has escorted dozens‍—if not hundreds‍—of neophytes to the Education Department over the years, wholeheartedly convinced that she was bringing them to a better life. She probably feels the weight of that in her very bones now. “Roma didn’t say,” Ez admits softly. “She just recognized the three from Lakeside and started watching for a repeat performance afterward. She‍—she actually let me take the neophyte from midtown to test her theory. The Sanctum wasn’t happy about it, apparently.”

Maggie’s eyes narrow. “Why?”

“Why wasn’t the Sanctum happy about it?” Ez asks blankly. “Well, I presume because‍?—‍”

Maggie shakes her head. “No, why was Roma willing to risk their wrath in the first place? She had nothing to gain and everything to lose‍—if there’s a corrupt Chain demon sending neophytes to the Sanctum, then that aligns with the hunters’ goals. So why would she take such drastic measures to confirm her theory? Hell, why would she even tell you about it?”

Ez’s heart does something funny. “Well, I…”

She doesn’t know. She really, truly doesn’t know what Roma’s deal is. Back when Roma first told Ez about her suspicions, Ez was convinced that she had a sinister ulterior motive, but now‍?—

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