Blood Debts (The Temple Chronicles Book 2) (8 page)

“Since it involved Nate Temple. The rumored author of the coalition of supernaturals here in St. Louis. Imagine our shock upon hearing that. One of our own was not only outing magic, but was forming a fan club with a renegade were-dragon. At a national convention.” I scratched my several day growth of beard.

“Well, that wasn’t really my idea. I got bamboozled into it. I never said a word about it. To anyone. Check the records. I was declared an author of it, but nowhere will you find me talking about it to anyone. It was the Dragon Father’s idea of putting me in a corner. And nobody puts baby in a corner.” I glanced around the room waiting for a laugh. The mindless thugs stared back with their stupid silver masks. “Seriously? Nothing? Have you guys even heard of movies? Philistines! Regardless, it didn’t work out too well for Alaric Slate.”

“Yes. I’m glad you brought that up. We seem to have a new Dragon Father. A Black Dragon to be precise. A messiah of some kind to them. The Obsidian Son. And again, you were directly involved.”

I shrugged. “St. Louis is a happening place.”

“Enough. We have been requesting your debriefing about that whole ordeal for quite some time. Unsuccessfully. We demand an explanation of a great many things from you, young man.” He paused, wrinkling his nose, suddenly distracted. Then his gaze locked onto me like a bird of prey. “What. Is. That. Smell?” I froze, not knowing what he was talking about, but all too aware that he literally had the authority to end me, right here, right now.

“Brimstone, Sir.” Another wizard hissed in surprise.

“What have you been up to, Master Temple?” The leader asked, seeming cautious for the first time.

“Damn it! You’re the second person to say that. Do they make Demon Febreeze?” No one moved. “I was told that the whole city reeks of it, but that I smell the strongest of it. Test the veracity of my words. I don’t know why I smell like Brimstone. I swear it on my power.”

The man studied me, finally nodding. I had sworn it on my power, so I literally couldn’t lie about it. That was good… but it didn’t mean I was safe. The smell wasn’t why I had been kidnapped.

“Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I don’t even know your name. Or the alleged list of other crimes against me. My city went to hell a few months ago, and it was either stand and fight by myself or let a group of were-dragons run amok, murdering civilians. I never once saw the Academy show up to help.” The thug who had kind of bonded with me shifted from one foot to another.

“Did you have something to add, Gavin?” The leader asked with menace.

The thug turned to his boss. “He’s got a point. How can he be guilty if he was the only one here to fight the threat? Condemning a man for being a vigilante when it was the only course available to him isn’t justice.”

The leader watched his man for a few tense moments. “It seems Gavin’s resolve is weak. Sympathy is not becoming in a Justice.”

“Maybe it should be.” He answered defiantly. I hid my smile. A partner in crime! I held out my hand for a fist bump. He ignored me, still staring at his boss. I scowled at the side of his head, lowering my hand.

The leader blinked. “We will discuss this later.” He shot Gavin a scowl that brooked no further discussion. “My name is Jafar, the Captain of the Academy Justices. Let’s move our discussion to a topic of much interest to the Academy. The Armory your parents supposedly stashed away. The cache of supernatural weapons. This was the reason the dragons were here in the first place, correct?” I felt my faint glimmer of hope sizzle out and die like a bug colliding with a bug zapper. He seemed to enjoy the look of shock on my face, enjoying my mental backpedaling. “No need to deny it. We have all heard the stories of how they stole artifacts from other families over the years, robbing graves, or outright buying items that should have been handed over to us for safekeeping. Until now, we had presumed them to be rumors, but your actions, and those of the thieving dragons, prove otherwise. Now, you are going to hand it over to us, as should have happened in the first place. Where is it?”

I hesitated. Dare I hand it over to them? Especially since it was… mine? But was it really? Had my parents stolen the rumored items that filled this elusive Armory? I hadn’t yet been able to prove that it was even real, despite everyone else seeming to know so much about it. But, assuming it was everything that everyone feared, did I have any right to
hoard
it? Did the Academy have any right to
take
it? Thinking of their wrinkly, power-hungry hands caressing those items hidden away by my parents made me cringe deep down inside… like a dragon hoarding his gold. These men hadn’t been in St. Louis to help me with the dragons, but as soon as they heard about the booty to be gained, all of a sudden I was a liability, and they wasted no time in visiting my city to take the prize. But they hadn’t given a damn about the lives that could have been taken if I hadn’t stood up to fight back. And now they dared call the actions of my noble friends and myself a crime. Did the world need men like that with such potential weapons at their disposal? I decided right then that they didn’t.

Jafar continued. “I can see your dilemma. Do you die a martyr in a vain effort to thwart me out of some ill-conceived notion of honor for your parents’ murder? Get the last word in, so to speak? Or do you play it smart, and bow to your betters. The men who play the longer game. The Academy. The ones who make sure you can tuck your loved ones in at night?” His eyes twinkled as he watched me.

I looked from face to face, gathering strength, judging the Justices. Their silver faces were supposed to embody human emotion in an effort to prove their empathy for the greater good. But they weren’t good. They were just another breed of political animals. “Do you sleep well at night?” I asked softly into the still silence of the room.

“Pardon?” Jafar asked.

“Do you sleep well at night? You know, when you climb into your jammies, drink a glass of warm milk in your impregnable castle that’s guarded by hundreds of other wizards, before you close your eyes because you are tired from a long day of paperwork. Do you think about the people who were murdered here in my city a few months back before sleep takes you? The ones who had no idea what was happening, what they were dying for, the ones who were brutally murdered by creatures out of a nightmare, creatures that even I didn’t know existed. The innocents who lost their lives while you were safe in your ivory tower. The ones who died while you delayed coming to my aid. While you were playing the
long game
, as you put it, people were dying. You seemed to have no problem coming to St. Louis as soon as you heard about the Armory. So, where were you when my people needed someone to ‘tuck them in safely,’ someone to keep them safe from the monsters of the night?”

The other Justices fidgeted uncomfortably. Jafar sensed it. “That was your own doing. Without the Armory, your city would have been safe. If your parents had handed it over, as was their responsibility, none need have died. Which is why we are here now. To prevent further bloodshed.”

“Tell that to the slain.
I
didn’t know about the Armory. How could the Regulars have known? Regardless, people
died
, and it had nothing to do with the Armory. The dragons were after a book, not the Armory. And you can sit there with a straight face and tell me that my parents
caused
the mayhem? No one even knew why they were being attacked. Two of our own, my parents, were murdered and yet you did nothing. Who was there left to prove a point to when they were already dead? After that, you should have been here to help. That is your fucking
job
. To protect the innocent. Yet you failed. And now you kidnap me, accuse me of being a criminal for saving innocent lives, and dare have the audacity to critique how I saved those lives? Go sip your warm milk and get bent, Jafar. My city has no need for cowardly thugs.”

Jafar’s face purpled. “You dare speak to-”

“You’re still talking.” I said smoothly, tapping into the innate confidence of the Master Temple as my father had taught me. “What part of
get bent
did you not understand? I’ve never seen this Armory. I don’t know a thing about it, despite spending months trying to find the truth of it, but even if I did, I wouldn’t hand it over to the schoolyard bully.”

The Justices loomed around me. Some looked confused, not knowing whether to attack me, arrest me, or cheer in agreement. Jafar snarled back. “Your parents were criminals to deprive the Academy of these stolen items. We don’t tolerate vigilantes, especially ones who hoard stolen power. These things belong in the care of wiser, older wizards, who were appointed to be a collective think tank to keep all of us safe. Your parents had no right to take this into their own hands through thievery. The Hubris! And especially to pass on these stolen goods to an irresponsible wizard like you. Does this have anything to do with the Brimstone smell permeating your business? Have you perhaps already made a deal with a Demon to bring your sweet parents back in exchange for the Armory?”

Power exploded out of me. An explosion of pure force buffeted the Justices off their feet. One managed to cross his arms in some kind of warding spell and was merely knocked into a table rather than over it, but the rest were blown back into the wall none too peacefully. My outburst had been purely instinctual. “Say that again and I’ll have your head spiked to my front gate. Consequences be damned.” I hissed as Jafar struggled back to his feet. Several other Justices were also scrambling to their feet, gathering power to subdue me. “Enough!” I commanded, slashing all power from the room and tying it in a neat knot within a foot of my person. I didn’t exactly know how I did that, but no one was able to touch their power without getting into my bubble. They stared at me in what appeared to be blank shock, several masks having fallen askew. “That was in no way an intentional attack. Think how you would have responded to be accused of Demon-craft when your parents are not even six months in the grave.” I spoke softly, genuinely, letting them know I was not a loose cannon. “Your boss has a big fucking mouth to dare speak to me so callously, and he deserved much worse than getting his clothes a bit dusty from a fall. I mean no harm to anyone here.” With that, I released my hold on the loose energy of the room. I wasn’t sure I should have been able to do that, but it had apparently been effective.

“You will pay for that, Temple.” Jafar began.

“Shut it, old man. I’ve had enough of your wobbling dentures. It’s giving me a headache.”

Everyone stiffened at that. I had just mocked their boss. Probably not too smart. But after surviving an Angel, his title didn’t impress me much. One of the Justices spoke up, a female. “If what you say is true, how did you just manage to stall eight wizards while so obviously drunk? That is not usual. Despite your rumored strength, we are all battle trained and you just swatted us down like insects. How do you think that looks to us?” She asked politely.

“Probably like I’m a big fat liar.” I shrugged guiltily. She nodded, holding out a hand to show her point. “But I’m not. I noticed my power surge after my parents’ deaths. Are you implying that it’s not normal for parents to gift their strength to their offspring upon death?”

“That isn’t even
possible
.” The woman spluttered, turning to face Jafar with a curious brow. He nodded in agreement with her.

“Then I truly do not know.” I answered honestly. “Now, if you are demanding I turn over the Armory, go ahead and arrest me. I don’t know how to give you something I don’t have. Next, you are the second person to mention Brimstone. I was led to believe that the whole city reeks of it, but that I specifically smell of it. What would cause this? I have had absolutely no contact with Demons. To be honest, it never even crossed my mind. I never thought to seek out a Demon for an answer when no Demon was involved with my parents or the dragons. If you have any answers, please give them now. Otherwise, I cannot help you.” No one spoke for a long moment.

“Well, of course you would lie about consorting with Demons. It’s against the law.”

My gaze froze his scowl. “You told me I already broke a gazillion laws. If that’s true, what’s one more crime when you make it sound like I torture kittens in my spare time? And I already swore on my power that I didn’t consort with Demons.” He merely glared back angrily. I could sense that in no way had I turned the tables. I was still the enemy, and they were eight. I had merely shuffled the deck a bit on a few points. It was a start. “Now, all I’ve been doing is investigating the same rumors you’ve apparently heard. I’ve never seen this Armory. I’ve just been following any leads I could dig up. As you well know, my parents were murdered the same night that a thief broke into Temple Industries. The thief was not the murderer. There was a third party. I saw the video of the attack. That is all I know. I’m simply investigating the why, how, and who. Like any responsible CEO and son would do.”

“Let’s assume you are telling the truth,” Jafar began. “It is now time for you to hand over any information you have amassed on this Armory, and come with us to the Academy to answer for your crimes. You are in our crosshairs, Temple. You have repeatedly risked our secret to the Regulars. You never requested our assistance with the were-dragons, you allegedly used black magic — even if in self-defense, and a long list of others
crimes
.” So they
did
know it was me using black magic, I cringed inwardly. “Your parents’ actions were also unsanctioned, and therefore must be reviewed by us. Pass on this information and it will go a long way into removing you from closer… scrutiny. Hand over your knowledge of the Armory.”

“I can’t do that. I don’t have anything to hand over, but even if I did, I’m not sure I disagree with my parents. You haven’t exactly shown much discretion or restraint in this encounter. Imagine if you had nuclear launch codes and I accidentally bumped into you. You threatened me after I told the truth a few seconds ago. How can you say this alleged Armory is safe in your hands?”