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“Yes,” Ingrid said quickly, and her eyes had that weird intensity to them again. “That is an excellent idea. And much appreciated. I bet the wards would be thrilled to have more variety of power.”
A shudder ran through me. The way she spoke about the wards was like they were power-sucking leeches like Fafnir.And what the fuck do I know. Maybe they are.
“Ingrid, would you mind asking a few people to help you power them while we finish this meeting?” Marianne asked.
“Of course.” I think she would have curtsied if her trousers had enough give in them. She skipped back out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Marianne smiled as she turned back to us. “I think that’s all we need for the moment. You’re free to enjoy the rest of your day.”
My eyebrows shot up at the dismissal.They certainly aren’t pretending anymore.
“I see you were unable to succeed in your challenge, Charlie.” Joseph smiled plastically as he sat at the table again. “But rest assured that our trained teams will soon have locations for all involved in this problem.”
I copied the same fake smile the council had pasted on their stupid faces and inclined my head. “June Olsson is currently staying at the Motel L Älvsjö in Stockholm. There seem to be a few warehouses in the area, so they might be worth checking out since we know he likes to hide in warehouses.” I pushed out of my chair so I could stand over them. “I actually finished before you began interrogating my familiar about her soul mate, but I thought it would be rude to interrupt.”
“Only one? And you had time to spare?” Samuel asked mockingly.
I laughed. “You only need the one name and location because they are all together.” I shook my head and crossed my arms, avoiding the sharp gaze of my birth mother. “I get that you guys have teams and people you trust. But you don’t know me. Don’t know what I’m capable of. Don’t know whatweare capable of. So don’t make the mistake of underestimating us, because it doesn’t end well. You want our help? Happy to. But give us details so we can better support the people putting their lives on the line to get information for us.”
“You’ve made your point, Charlie,” Joseph said drolly.
“Good.” I looked at the other council members, who stared back at me blankly, and pinned the fake smile back on. “Have a great rest of your day.”
I pulled out Clawdia’s chair, took her hand, and pulled her toward the door. The others quickly followed suit, and just as I moved to close the door behind us, Elizabeth called, “Charlie, we’ll talk later.”
“Sure.” I waved a hand and slammed the door closed.
I glanced at my misfit friends, and all our shoulders dropped in one collective sigh. I nodded to the door, and we filed out of the house and headed down the hill.
“The council seems … stressed,” Savida remarked as he stroked the leaves of bushes we passed.
“That’s putting it kindly, Savida.” Clawdia offered him a small smile.
“I’m glad that is over. Now we can all go and play the game we found in our cabin.”
“A game?” I asked.
“Yes.” His wings flapped with excitement. “It is a board with black and white squares and black and white pieces. Although it seems some are missing.”
Clawdia nodded. “It’s probably chess or draughts. I can come round and teach you later.”
“Why not now? Where are we going?” I asked.
“We’re going to check on Baelen,” Clawdia said.
“You checked on him this morning.”
“I’m going to check him again. He isn’t a plant, Charlie. I’m not going to just water him once a day.” She scowled at me, and Zaide coughed to cover a laugh.
We waved goodbye to Savida and Daithi as they broke away to their cabin, and we turned down toward the medical center.
“They’ve worried you by asking questions about him,” Zaide remarked. He took her hand and pulled it to his lips for a kiss.Suck up.
“I don’t want anyone to think he is too dangerous or too big a risk to have around and try to hurt him while we are busy. I’d never forgive myself.”
“The council probably won’t hurt him. I think they do trust us a bit,” I agreed grimly. “But there’s no accounting for the witches. They were easily misled before. They’ll be in sheep mode again if someone pipes up about Baelen overpowering the wards.”
And as if to prove my point, a scream broke the quiet of the surrounding area, scattering birds from the treetops with the shrill sound. Without thinking, we all ran toward it. Toward the medical center.
