Page 103 of Dead Wrong

The questions buzzed through my brain till they were silenced all at once by the reality of the situation.

I had to try.

I’d never be able to face Azrael again if I was the reason his right-hand man died. I’d taken enough from him already.

So, I did what felt natural. I extended my aura to Kaine, wrapping him up in it. His pain flared in my chest, but it was dull. Fading. He was fading. I’d have to be quick. I focused in on that spot, the wound that seeped blood under my palm. The gem burned hot against my flesh, but I couldn’t tell if it was working, not when the wound was covered up. Still, I didn’t relent. I poured every bit of intention I could into the spot I focused on, willing it to close. Willing the skin to knit itself together. For the arteries to regenerate. For Kaine to keep drawing breath. I wished, and I hoped, and I prayed to the gods who had always been silent that this would work.

“It’s time to go, Tobias.”

Lorelei’s voice was close like she was standing right behind me. I didn’t care. I would stay with Kaine until the magic worked. Or until he left this place. Either way, I wasn’t moving.

“Mourn on your own time. We’re running late.”

“Fuck you,” a sputtering voice sounded. “We’re having a moment.”

I gasped, my hand retracting in surprise. Kaine’s skin was smooth once more, a clean spot amidst the blood smeared across his chest.

I had done it. But… how?

Lorelei clicked her tongue, then moved to point the gun at Kaine once more. I quickly moved between them, pushing my chest into the barrel. “I’ll go with you,” I said quickly. “I’ll go if you just leave him be.”

She pondered that for a moment, a manicured finger on the trigger that could end me. “Alright, I guess you’ve learned your lesson.”

Lorelei lowered the gun, lifting her other hand to her mouth. She stuck two fingers between her lips, letting out a sharp whistle. The door to my apartment opened, and a hulking man hurried to her side.

“We’re taking this one to go, Grigori. Wrap him up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the hulking man answered, his voice thick.

A weak grip on my hand made me turn, Kaine holding me by the wrist.

“No…”

“I’ll be fine,” I lied.

The man pulled a shroud over my head, the room going dark. My arm was yanked out of Kaine’s grip and forced behind my back, tied to the other. With little effort, he hefted me over his shoulder and whisked me away to whatever venue would see my second life end.

“Grigori, has anyone ever told you that you have very soft hands?”

The car remained silent, as it had since I was shoved into what I can only assume was the back seat. Light peeked through the fabric of the shroud over my head, so I was able to at least make out a couple of shadows ahead of me in the car—my captors.

My hands were bound tight behind my back, my shoulder throbbing something fierce. There was little chance of me being able to wiggle my way out of the restraints at this angle, and Lorelei seemed impervious to any of my magic, so it would have been a waste to try again.

So, instead of plotting a daring escape, I spent my downtime pondering the implications of what just happened with Kaine. I had healed him. Or at least, I was pretty sure that’s what happened. I’d never heard of an Adored being able to wield healing magic before, so I could only assume it was because of the Anima stone that Bastien had provided me. But did that mean I would be able to wieldanyReviled magic?

The possibilities were enough to occupy my mind till the vehicle came to a stop. Grigori grabbed me from the back seat, once again hefting me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing. Lorelei spoke softly in a language that I didn’t understand, taking pauses long enough that I parsed together she was on a call. We were outside for only a brief moment before conditioned air and bright light told me we’d entered a building. Elevator music drifted over me as we stepped inside, the door opening and closing with a softding. I could swear I heard Grigori humming along tunelessly with the song, but then we were moving again.

When we finally stopped moving, Grigori placed me in a cushy chair, unfastening my hands long enough to refasten them to the armrests. Once I was secured, he yanked the bag off my head and I had to blink a few times before my location sunk in. I was sitting in the corner of the enormous board room in which the Council of Magi met. It was located on the sixtieth floor of the building and offered stunning views of the Magi City. I’d been here more than a few times as Mother’s delegate, so I was slightly annoyed with myself that I hadn’t recognized the path here.

Lorelei hung up her call, sitting herself on the edge of the long table that ran through the center of the room.

“Not long now,” she said, stowing the device into her pocket. She wasn’t brandishing her gun any longer, but I’d have been foolish to assume it wasn’t on her person.

“Why exactly did you bring me here?” I asked, craning my head to see if anyone else was present in the room. Grigori lurked in the corner behind me, and Lorelei watched me with a bored expression.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lorelei asked, reaching into her blazer and retrieving her little leather notebook. “You’re here to sit there and look pretty while the grown-ups talk about important things.”

I rolled my eyes. Obviously, I wasn’t going to get any useful info out of her. “Great, well, why don’t you wake me when my mother finally decides to show up, and we can just cut out all this middle-man banter.”

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