Page 35 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

“I'm glad to see you're okay.” He scans his gaze over me quickly, as if making sure his words were accurate before continuing, “I know I called you, but I just received some news, and I can't do this right now. There's a situation that requires my immediate attention.”

“What's going on?” I ask again, a sense of unease flooding me as my fear over the escaped criminals begins to create all manner of horrific scenarios in my head.

“I don't really think this is your business, Kayla. I'm glad to see you're okay, but I have work to do, if you’ll excuse me,” he asserts, his hand already moving towards the door as if he plans to shut it on me.

“What happened?” I continue to press him, ignoring his dismissal and side-stepping him to enter his office, regardless of his wishes. I need to know if it's about the vampires that escaped from The Tomb.Maybe he's annoyed because he's tasked with helping catch them?

He sighs, running a hand through his already messy hair. “I shouldn't tell you this, but I suppose it's not just a professional matter, but a personal one as well for me. Someone reported seeing my father.”

There's a thick tension in the air for a moment as what he said registers in my brain. His dad was seen. His dad was in The Tomb. Because of me two people escaped The Tomb.

He couldn't... this cannot be happening...

“What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost,” Kier questions me softly, as if scared anything above that gentle tone will startle me.

“What's…what’s your father's name?” I choke out.Please don’t say Elias or Markus, please don’t say Elias or Markus…

He gives me a peculiar look, and I can almost see gears turning in his head. He stares at me, intent on my reaction as he answers. “His name is Elias Matthew Huxley.”

I try and keep my face blank, but I'm worried Kier will see straight through me and read the deceit on my face, particularly considering his occupation.Shit. How am I supposed to tell him what happened now?

“I need to get back to work,” he mutters, moving towards a large desk. “I need to find him first, so I can offer a morepermanentsolutionthis time.”

“You don't mean...” I trail off, unable to finish the sentence. My mouth feels dry and it becomes difficult to swallow.

He turns, settling his intense gaze back on me as he responds, sombre and mechanical in his delivery, “I was younger last time, more idealistic. I thought sending him to The Tomb was enough, but all it did was allow him to torment people somewhere else. I've spent the last few years convincing myself that it's enough, that at least he's not hurtinginnocentpeople, but now I can stop him from hurting anyone ever again.”

“How do you know what The Tomb is like? Do you all know about it, working here?” I question, trying not to dwell on his impending plans for patricide. At least he'd be acting within the law, Ithink.Considering that other vampire that attacked me had a kill order, I'm sure his dad will have one too if what Kier told me about his crimes is true.

“After a while I got curious. Was his hell bad enough? Was he rotting? I pulled in a few favours and got the information I wanted. It's a terrible place, sure. But he's fucking thriving in it, with minions and victims aplenty. Well, he was... Not anymore, now he’s walking around free, causing trouble towards the innocent.”

“How are you going to find him? Do you have any leads?” I interrogate. I want to help him somehow. Ineedto help. The guilt gnaws at me, and I must be able to do something. Make this shit better somehow.

He visibly deflates. “That's the one flaw in my plan. The only reason I captured him last time was because he wasn't expecting it. He didn't know what I knew, and he didn't know about the warrant until he after was arrested. Now that he knows he's a fugitive? He'll be next to impossible to find. The sighting seems more of a taunt than a mistake... I know he wouldn't have been seen if he didn't want to be. He's strong. Strong enough to block any form of tracing we have and to send us down a million false trails. I even tried using my blood, considering our familial link. It's one of the damned strongest ways to track someone and still nothing!” he growls. He lifts a map off from the desk and holds it up for me to see. I notice the blood drops marring it, though they haven’t spread to show a link between two points as it should have. Just useless drops.

“I'm sorry.” The quiet words escape me of their own accord.

“Why are you sorry?” he asks, and I shake my head, biting my lip to prevent anymore stupid things slipping out. “Kayla, tell me what you're thinking.”

“I... I have an idea,” I reply, inspiration striking me. I could find his dad and make this right. I could fix this, I could make this up to him. If Rhydian told the truth to Lizzy about this fae artefact, I could use it to find Kier's dad.

“An idea?” he repeats, his voice bordering between curious and incredulous.

“I may have a way to find him,” I mumble, scared to oversell it in case Rhydian won't help.He's not exactly Kier's biggest fan, but this is serious, damn it!

“How do you think you could find him when I can't?” he demands, dropping the map, leaving it discarded on the floor, and stepping closer to me.

“I can't tell you.”Rhydian definitely won’t help me if I spill the beans on the secret artefact.

An unreadable look crosses Kier’s face, before it turns to fury.“You did get arrested, didn't you? And you ended up in The Tomb... but how did you escape? It's impossible,” he accuses, backing me right into the door, stopping only an inch or so away as he towers over me.Fuck, I hate being so short.

“It was actually kind of easy, but that's their fault for arresting me thinking I was some murdering shifter,” I begin, but pause, drawing in a sharp breath when his fangs descend. My heart starts an erratic thumping, blood rushes to my head, and my breathing becomes frenzied. “Too close. Fangs,” I stutter, unable to move my eyes from the pointy teeth in question. He lets out a breath and steps back, giving me some space. “Thank you.”

“Did you help him escape?” he demands, not giving me a chance to recover.

“Not on purpose. I came here to tell you everything about what happened. I just wanted to get out, I didn’t belong in that awful place. Nobody would believe me when I said they made a mistake and insisted on who I was, Kier! I asked them to call you. I asked them to check their information, but all they cared about is what that stupid fucking Magitech device said. I didn't know when orifthey’d realise their mistake. What else could I do but try to rescue myself? But I am so sorry that someone else managed to get out because of me.” I stop the word vomit, sucking in shaky breaths for a few seconds before adding, “Also, you may want to suggest they ward the place from demons.”

“Demons?” His eyes go wide. “This is bad, Kayla, really bad. Please don't tell me a demon knows the location of The Tomb. They've never cared enough to seek it out but knowing where it is... they may see profit in snagging people from there. Freedom from that prison in exchange for their souls, there's people in there who would agree to that without question.”

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