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Joss had an uneasy feeling. “You think he’s here?”
“I sense his presence.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before I embarked on this mission?”
“I only got the intel yesterday.”
Cain had informants and spies everywhere. Joss didn’t envy them their positions. He’d rather face a fight head-on and tackle evil with his bare hands than play psychological games and live a lie.
“If you feel his presence, then it’s most probable that this Lupien, or whoever he works for, is responsible for this morning’s attack.”
“It’s a possibility we have to face.”
“Clelia’s clean. She’s not a firestarter.” He said it with all the certainty he could muster, if not to convince Cain, then to at least win some time. “If Lupien wants her alive, it can only be for the same reason we want her, to use her as bait to bring Erwan into the open. That can only mean Erwan is the one who’ll lead us to the truth, to our firestarter.”
“Any chance of finding Erwan without using the girl?”
“The team is on it. We’re using all the technology at our disposal, but Erwan has a lot playing in his favor. He grew up here. He knows the islands and the sea like the back of his hand. There are a million places to hide. The fishermen said he left on a trawler for a few months. Mayor confirmed the story. Only, we’ve had the trawler intercepted. There’s no one by the name of Erwan d’Ambois on board, and no one fitting his description. I’m willing to bet my life the captain is lying through his teeth, saying he took the old man aboard but left him in Port Navalo. Erwan made it up. He couldn’t have gone far. He’s too old, too weak. He’s here. He’s watching, waiting. Sooner or later he’s going to know we’ve got his granddaughter. Then we’ll learn the truth.” Joss regarded Cain. “What do you know about this Lupien?”
“All I know is that he’s a European male.”
“We don’t even know the cause of these fires yet. There may still be a logical explanation.”
Cain chuckled. “My intuition is never wrong. This is a pyromancist’s work. We may have a new firestarter in Larmor or an old one looking for a new one. Do you get what I’m saying?”
“No.”
“If there is a dormant pyromancist in your village, the only way for Lupien to awaken that person’s art would be by practicing it fiercely.”
“You’re saying it’s possible that Lupien is starting fires to draw out whoever the firestarter is whose power he wants to steal?”
“Something like that.”
“Then my mission has changed. You’re no longer asking me to find out who is destroying the village. You’re asking me to catch a firestarter. Are you’re asking me to go on a witch hunt for Lupien or for his victim?”
Cain smiled. “Both.”
“If Clelia leads us to Erwan, will you let her go?”
“The girl is a pawn,” Cain said, his voice carrying a warning.
“I get that you want Lupien destroyed. Once you get your dormant pyromancist, are you planning on saving or eliminating him?”
“Our enemy is growing stronger by the day. He’s recruiting. I can’t allow him to take more power.”
“You’re asking me to kill a possibly innocent dormant firestarter.”
“We have to eliminate him before Lupien gets his hands on him. It seems the only one who holds the answers is Erwan. We need to get the old man no matter how you have to use the girl. She’s the strongest weapon we’ve got.”
Joss lifted his barriers, trying to shield his emotions. He’d been right to hide Clelia. He wasn’t wrong about Cain’s intentions. The commander would be unscrupulous in using her as bait. A duty to protect the shy girl from his childhood, a girl he’d unwittingly made his, made him say, “She’s innocent.”
“Life is not always fair, Joss. Remember your training when emotions cloud your heart.”
Joss clenched his jaw. He wouldn’t put her at risk. The strange thought came to his mind from nowhere, the words a whisper in his heart, too late to filter it from Cain. Comprehension widened his commander’s eyes.
Joss was in a hell of a predicament, torn between an unethical protectiveness for the witch and loyalty toward the organization to which he’d pledged his life. He could only hate both Clelia and himself for the conflict tearing him apart, but that didn’t change what he’d done. He may have showered her blood away, but it didn’t mean his hands were clean. He stared at Cain as his confusion grew.
“She’s an innocent,” Joss repeated, the statement more of a plea.
“Bring her in, Joss.”
“Let me bring in Erwan d’Ambois my way,” Joss said. “I’ve never asked for anything. I’ve given you my soul and my life to use for your cause without asking questions. Just let me do this.”
Cain wrapped his fist around the head of his cane, which was a diamond the size of a golf ball. “You’re like a brother to me. Don’t screw this up.”
