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The pieces came together in my head with an almost audible click. Eight years ago, the daughter of the president, one of the most politically influential people in this country, had been in proximity to a summoning. A girl with lesser status was ‘possessed’ and died- there was no reason to seal it to hide the presence of the Wendigo unless they were covering up that a much more important person had been taken. The complete personality change was something that happened with possessions, also, though it more often involved homicide than good grades. Though if it were true, the seal on it would make it obvious there was a cover up…
She'd felt completely normal to me. How had she been able to cover it up? Politics in the Guild were sneaky, underhanded, and generally corrupt. Was Flint trying to set me up? Did I think Walker would let him?
No. Walker wouldn't set me up. Therefore this must be real.
“The President sealed it?” I asked. “Why? Doesn’t that make it obvious he’s involved?”
“When I checked, I found that it was sealed by accident.” Flint’s tone left few doubts about his opinion on that. “The woman in question is being sought; I’d like to talk with her about what she saw.”
He returned to his weapons check. “With further research, I found that Melissa Cohen-Rossi has been in the area for each manifestation you’ve reported. She’ll be at the Ball. So will her brother, Stephen, who’s largely been sidelined politically. He’s also been in many of the places of interest; most recently he was in Durgion when you first encountered the Wendigo. There’s a dozen other persons of interest in that category; they’re in the briefing.”
“So… tonight?” I asked, although I already suspected his answer.
Cool and bland, his voice, with heat beneath it. Like lava under a crust of granite. “The plan tonight is to see how deep the rot goes.”
“Before I go Wendigo hunting at the Ball, you will swear by your name you’ll protect Dmitri from anyone who comes for him.” He didn’t have to, but I was afraid. Flint could order me to go to the Ball and seek out the spirit, but I’d do my level best to twist it like I did Silver’s orders.
“Alys Stormdust-Quinn, I swear by my name, Gavril Haddad, that Dmitri and Kara Dumont, when she comes here, will come to no harm by my action or inaction.”
I waited for a qualifier, but he regarded me, silent. A lump gathered in my throat as Flint offered his hand. This time I took it. The magic jolted through me. It was his name, and he’d given it freely. Dmitri would be safe, and Kara too, if she was here.
I sucked in a breath, searching for a smart-ass comment to break the moment of gratitude.
“What are you thinking?” Flint asked.
I opened my mouth to reply.
“Well, then,” Walker spoke before me, rising. “Time for the briefing.” He turned on the holo and a slide came up, with a picture of Melissa Cohen-Rossi on it. As when I’d met her earlier, she was well dressed with a quizzical expression.
“Did Silver agree to this?”
“Yes. Pay attention, Alys. There will be a test.” A head and shoulder holo of Silver stared at me from the table. Pity, I thought I’d manage to get the briefing without slides, but now there was no hope.
“Your cover tonight is Allison Smith, an escort working for a company Walker has used in the past.” A flicker of jealousy speared me. I slapped it down to concentrate on Silver’s words. “Your appearance and clothing for the evening have been selected for maximum appeal to your target, Stephen Cohen-Rossi.”
Another picture popped up, of a young man. He shared his sister’s blond hair and coloring, but he wore a good-natured smile. He looked likable.
Then the rest of it hit me. An escort? I’d never done that kind of work before and had no idea what I was supposed to do. In public, anyway. Why was I supposed to appeal to Stephen Cohen-Rossi anyway? The thought of Walker with an established account with a service like that pissed me off for some weird reason- if he’d done it before he met me, why should I care?
It hurt, actually, which made me want to hit something. Nothing here to hit, so I folded my arms instead and glared at Silver’s image, always a good target.
“Reunification Ball takes place in the Capitol building; architectural plans are attached. Attendance will consist of the Southern Delegation; representatives from the Dominion; and representatives from the European Community. Typically, they self-segregate.
“The structure is reinforced with wardings, especially against mind mages. You’ll need proximity to accomplish your tasks this evening.
Damn it. I guess I’ll be touching a bunch of dangerous people to figure out…
“Walker will leave you after a suitable amount of display time, to facilitate you being approached. When this happens, take advantage of the opportunity to use your empathy to examine Stephen and any other persons of interest for possession or emotional interference. Once done, disengage as inconspicuously as you can and return to rendezvous with Walker. Dossiers of your targets to follow. Do you understand this?”
If I said no, it would auto-repeat until I said yes. “Yes.”
Then I turned my glare to Walker. “Why Stephen Cohen-Rossi? Is he qualified as a battlemage? Even if he is, to be clear, I am not going to fuck him, even if I’m supposed to be an escort. And what am I supposed to be finding out? That briefing was useless! Was it because he couldn’t use slides?”
Flint coughed, obviously covering a laugh.
Walker moved around the table and put his hands on my shoulders. Sincerity rolled off him. “I wouldn’t ask that of you, Alys. Just holding hands or short contact with Steven should be enough, given the ability you’ve shown in the past. You know he’s the president’s son. The Wardens need to know if the heir to the presidency has been compromised by the Wendigo. If he isn’t compromised, we want to find out who is.
“Your ability is rare enough that nobody bothers wearing a ward against it. If you can touch people, you can get some answers. And Silver’s harebrained idea about posing as an escort was to get you in physical proximity with a chance to touch people. I’m not happy about it either.”
