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Chapter Seventeen
Irresistible Forces
As I walked through the halls, I overheard several small arguments and agitated conversations regarding what was to be done about Morgan and the Council. Apparently the meeting had broken up, and Brendan hadn’t been able to satisfy his followers with whatever mode of action, or inaction, he’d decided on. I hoped none of them were brave enough to attempt it on their own, and then internally flinched at the idea of my own intentions. Two days, and I still didn’t have a plan.
I knew I could get close to Morgan, there was no question of that. He would put on a show for what was left of Council, place his arrogant younger brother on display while he spouted quotes like “see how the mighty have fallen.” But Morgan had never truly underestimated me. In all the years he treated me as his subordinate, he’d never trusted that I was. He simply wanted to keep me in check, keep up the pretense and watch my every move. I tried not to think of what he might have done to the others. If he could bring a man to stab himself in the heart over a disagreement, he would surely have acted against those who’d openly supported me, those who had wanted me to take his place.
I turned the corner to the hall our rooms were on and froze.
Emily stood in the center of the corridor, staring up at Eric. The moment lasted an eternity, my chest tight as I took in the scene. Eric, of the Division, never a member of Council and never trusted, was inches from Emily, his hand resting on her arm—the hand that he needed to work his sway, the hand he’d used to manipulate human women, the hand that could tear her mind apart.
My muscles unfroze and I was running for him before my mind could process anything further. He was touching her. He was touching Emily.
He only had time to turn his head before I slammed into him. The two of us landed several feet from where he’d stood, and I had his head in a lock hold before he realized he’d been attacked. But Eric was big and solid, and one of the best fighters among the Division. He pressed a foot against the corridor wall and pushed, using his mass to roll us both. I tightened my grip, cutting off his air supply, and he threw an elbow into my ribs and then rolled backward in an attempt to flip out of the hold.
It didn’t work and he flailed, halfway over, and then came down hard before spinning sideways and using the wall to roll us again. When he got his feet, he raised us both, and slammed me into the wall where I clung behind him. I dropped the hold and drew back to strike him when Brendan burst out the door beside me and grabbed my arm. Suddenly he and Seth and Kara were struggling to separate us and yelling profanities.
The lot of us fell silent when Brianna stepped into the hall.
“I’m sorry,” Brendan said after a moment. He glared at me. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“He’s only protecting us,” Brianna replied, but her words were for me, not Brendan.
And then I realized they’d all come out of Brianna’s room.
“You aren’t in danger here,” Brendan said, looking at first to Emily and then Brianna. “Neither of you.”
His glare met Eric then, and it was clear he wasn’t included in the promise of safety.
Eric wiped his mouth. “I was apologizing, that’s all.” He looked at me, started to say more, and then pushed past all of us to leave.
Kara scowled at me again, crossed her arms and followed Eric’s lead.
“We’ll talk more later,” Brendan told Brianna, and then shook his head one final time before he and Seth went as well.
I shrugged to straighten my shirt, and then crossed to Emily, who stood silent, as if watching the scene replay before her. I grabbed her, a hand on each side of her head, and her eyes went wide as I stared into them, searching. I didn’t know what I expected to find, some telltale sign, some revealing feature that said she’d been hurt, but I couldn’t stop looking.
“Aern,” Brianna said from beside us. “She’s fine.” She placed a gentle hand on my arm. “I’m sorry I left her alone.”
My shoulders sagged at her words, and I loosened the grip I had on Emily.
“Come,” Brianna said, “we’ll have some tea.”
In the end, I had begged off the invitation. In a day and a half, I would be meeting Logan and the others to go after Morgan. I had to be prepared.
Though I hadn’t mentioned my plans to anyone aside from Logan, Brianna had said she understood. She had told me to rest and the answers would come. I didn’t suppose it was any real secret that Morgan had to be stopped, or that I was a likely candidate to take action, but that didn’t keep Brendan’s words from returning.She knows too much.
I shook my head and went back to the reports in front of me. None of it mattered if I didn’t find a way to stop Morgan. He’d managed to split us off from everyone who remained associated with Council. He’d recruited youth, he’d threatened elders, he’d made them take sides. And now there was nothing left to salvage.
Even if it wasn’t true, even if Morgan didn’t have the ability to sway our own kind, he’d succeeded in tearing apart the brotherhood among Council. He’d destroyed all trust. He’d forced us to war with our own kind. Men had died, and this was only the beginning.
I read through page after page of reports from the Division’s men. Warehouse purchases, missing person reports, human profiles, burned buildings, money transfers. Morgan was so thick into so many varied affairs, it was hard to see any pattern to his dealings. But one factor was prominent across the board: acquisition. He was gathering. Weapons. Buildings. Businesses.
People.
He had amassed untold numbers, our kind and commonblood. He was building an army. He would be unstoppable.
The Division could not handle a war of so many without resorting to Morgan’s methods. And even if they stooped to his level, the battle couldn’t be won by humans. It wouldn’t be over until our kind was wiped out on one side or the other. And there would be none of us left, the prophecy had made that clear. The prophecy had given only two outcomes. Both involved destruction, but there was only one choice that didn’t end in Armageddon. There was only one option to save us all.
