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Marsden looked at me in exasperation. “The rules are there for your protection—”
“They didn’t protect Agnes.”
For the first time, Marsden looked genuinely angry. I guess he wasn’t used to people talking back to him. “She was poisoned because of the Circle’s negligence! Of all the reasons I have to despise Saunders, that is by far the greatest! As long as I remained in office, she was properly guarded. As you will be once I return.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. His muscles were knotted with strain, with grief. He misses her, I realized. He wanted to honor her memory by helping to fulfill her last wish—that I succeed her. But he wanted to do it on his terms.
I exchanged glances with Pritkin. “About that . . . ,” I said.
“It’s perfect!” Marsden announced when I’d finished explaining the plan. “Better than I dared to hope for!”
“Don’t get too excited,” I told him. “We don’t have a deal yet. I can get you in, but I want a little more than confirmation in return.”
“Namely?” The old man’s expression didn’t change, but his usually bleary blue eyes suddenly looked a lot sharper.
“There are some schools the Circle has been running. I want them closed. Permanently.”
His forehead creased. “What schools?”
“The ones for kids with malfunctioning magic. The Circle has been locking people away for years who haven’t done anything wrong, and that’s including when you were in office. It has to stop.”
Marsden was shaking his head before I even finished. “The schools you mention are an unfortunate necessity. I don’t like them, either, but there simply is no other choice. We don’t lock away the harmless sort, but some of those children have very dangerous gifts!”
“There has to be a better solution.”
“If so, we’ve never found it. Unsupervised, they are a danger to themselves and everyone around them.” It sounded final.
“How many have you met?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s a simple question. How many of them have you met? Because I’ve had nine hanging out at Dante’s for a week now and the place has yet to burn down or blow up or suffer anything worse than elevators with doors that won’t shut!”
“Then you’ve been very fortunate.” His tone was dismissive, as if I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about.
“I also lived with a group of them for almost two years when I was a teenager. I’m not saying we never had a problem, but no one killed anyone or burned down any buildings. And the neighbors never noticed enough unusual stuff to bother calling the cops.”
“Forgive me, Cassie, but I find that very difficult to believe.” He sounded patient, and it pissed me off. I wasn’t the one being stubborn here.
“Like I said, how many of them have you ever known?”
“None. However—”
“Don’t you think it’s time you met some?”
He looked at me for a long moment. “Perhaps. But you understand that I cannot promise you anything? To take such a step, the Council would have to approve, and while I once had a good deal of sway over that group, that is no longer true.”
Oddly enough, I actually felt better that he hadn’t automatically agreed to my demand. If he had, I’d have worried that it was only to get what he wanted, and that the kids would be forgotten if and when he came to power. But even so, I wanted something a little less vague.
“I understand. But I want the issue discussed—seriously discussed—in front of the Council. And I want a good faith gesture from you before then. On the day you return to power, you release to my custody the children the Circle kidnapped yesterday.”
“I thought you had already retrieved them.”
“Only some. I want the rest. There aren’t many,” I added, because his face was still stuck on no.
“I will release the children taken in this latest raid,” he finally agreed. “And I will bring up the broader issue of the educational centers with the Council. But I cannot force their hand. The final decision will rest with them.”
I didn’t like it, but I respected him for refusing to promise more than he knew he could deliver. “Then it seems we have a deal.”
