Page 54 of Fool Me Twice

It was all building up to this one conversation.

“And we kept an eye on them,” Naomi adds softly. “They were already sixteen years old when Micah and Gregorio found them, and on the very day Strike Team Kappa passed their final exam, the VX-861s were filed to bring those unregistered demons back to London.” She arches an eyebrow. “Guess who was assigned to kill them about a month later?”

“That doesn’t‍—‍” JJ’s breathing looks faster than normal. “They couldn’t‍?—‍”

“JJ,” Sawyer says gently, “you and Chester were the prototypes. The Sanctum put out the hits on your families, the Chain hired those demons to do the job, and the Sanctum and the Chain worked together to keep them off the radar until your final exam. It’s a pattern they’ve replicated at least two dozen times worldwide since then. After all, what better way to guarantee your loyalty than to give you the chance for revenge?”

“All in the name of bringing fresh blood into a system already overtaxed by the restrictions of the bloodlines hierarchy,” Naomi finishes, and her eyes slide to Roma. “So that’s the conspiracy you and Ez found: the Sanctum and the Chain have been on the same side from the start. Any questions?”

24

It’s the most outlandish argument Roma has ever heard.

She stares incredulously at Naomi and Sawyer, struggling to understand how they could’ve gotten their facts so badly twisted. They think the Sanctum is working with theChain?Working with demons, the very creatures they hunt? It’s more than outlandish, actually‍—it’s ludicrous.

Roma can believe their claims about widespread corruption in the Chain. Given the paper trail showing that the Chain hid those criminal demons‍—and given that Roma saw those four neophytes in the Sanctum’s prison with her own eyes‍—it makes a certain amount of sense.

But Naomi and Sawyer are completely forgetting that the Sanctum has operatives who specifically monitor their local Chains. When Redwater’s spy saw those TXs or VXs or whatever they were, they must’ve simply informed the Council that the town’s most notorious unregistered demons were back. And as far as the timing‍?—

Sure, the timing was convenient for Strike Team Kappa’s final exam. Roma can admit that. But that doesn’t mean it’s anything besides a happy coincidence.

Coincidences do happen, after all.

It’s a pattern they’ve replicated at least two dozen times worldwide since then.

Roma shoves the words away. Two dozen times wouldn’t be a coincidence, obviously, but Naomi and Sawyer must’ve just gotten their information wrong. They must’ve been following the wrong neophyte hunters, or the wrong criminal demons, or… or something. It’s strange that Roma has never heard of neophyte hunters other than JJ and Chester before today‍—she thought they were the only ones‍—but that doesn’t mean anything, either.

Not necessarily.

Not in the grand scheme of things.

But what if you’re wrong?

Doubts creep around Roma’s ribcage like vines, threatening to strangle her. What is she evendoinghere? She should’ve left the moment Naomi and Sawyer showed their traitorous faces. She shouldn’t even belisteningto their smear campaign against the Sanctum, much less considering it. She shouldn’t‍?—

“Hunters outnumber demons.”

The words manage to jolt Roma out of her spiraling thoughts. She turns towards Obie, who’s still standing next to JJ and Cass with narrowed eyes, crossed arms, and a calculating expression. “What?” she manages hoarsely.

“Hunters outnumber demons,” Obie repeats, and he leans forward. “By almost a factor of forty to one, actually‍—roughly 2.7 million versus seventy thousand. The Sanctum doesn’tneedfresh blood.”

“Huh,” Micah says. “I’m impressed that you knew that off the top of your head. Sawyer and Naomi had no idea before six years ago.”

Obie doesn’t smile back. “You mentioned the bloodlines hierarchy,” he says. “I may not work in genetics, but Idohave a Ph.D. in it. Keeping the purebred bloodlines pure indefinitelywould be impossible, but there are more than enough mixed-breed hunters to keep the Sanctum genetically diverse. There’s literally no reason to recruit civilians.”

Ez’s eyebrows shoot up. “You have a Ph.D. in genetics?”

“I have Ph.D.s in a lot of subjects,” Obie says, and his sharp eyes find Naomi and Sawyer again. “Well?”

A grimace tugs at Naomi’s lips. “We’re… still not sure about that,” she admits, trading a glance with Sawyer. “Like you said, the Sanctum doesn’tneedmore hunters, but‍—but it’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“It’s accepted practice for the Sanctum to occasionally arrange marriages between mixed-breed hunters and carefully selected civilians,” Sawyer adds. “But those civilians aren’t considered hunters‍—only their children are. Creating neophyte hunters means that the Sanctum only has to wait a few years for new soldiers, not sixteen.”

“Again: why?” Obie’s face is stony. “From what I understand, the Redwater Sanctum had to devote an entire purebred‍—namely, you‍—to training JJ and Chester. That’s not a smart use of their resources. And what does theChainhave to gain from any of this? Why would they want the Sanctum to have more hunters? Why would they go to the trouble of setting up those criminal demons to be killed by a strike team instead of just killing them outright? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Sawyer’s jaw twitches. She doesn’t answer.

Relief floods through Roma. “You don’t know,” she says. “This is‍—this is all guesswork. Guesswork andcoincidences.You defected from the Sanctum overcoincidences,and‍?—‍”

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