Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (4 page)

A stickler for regulations and rules, he insisted Julian and I consult him about our investigation in the city.

I refused.

He didn't take that so well.

I settled into a chair. Virtue unfiltered, softly brushing against them.

Catrin was tired, worried. Troubled reluctance in Fujio. And from Urian...amusement?

I glanced at the selkie. His face remained blank.

Fujio crossed his legs. "Rude and obvious."

I scowled. "I've been working on it."

In addition to our studies, Catrin helped me fine-tune the use of my Virtue. Politically, it was a valuable asset.

She sighed. "You must control your expression, Kendra."

"It felt like a truck running over my insides," Urian added helpfully.

"I know I have to work on it more," I muttered.

Fujio turned to her, mouth set in a discontent line. "She's a child. A teenager. What is the Governor thinking?"

Catrin leaned back, expression calm, and waited for me to react.

Was this part of our lesson?

Since my arrival, she'd grilled me daily on etiquette, policies, culture, and political history. The more I learned, the more I'd developed a new respect for what my grandmother did.

I crossed my legs and gave Fujio a cool look. "I'm sitting right here. Why don't you ask me?"

"All right." Black brows came together. "You believe you can be Governor?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think so."

"You display a blatant disregard for security."

"Chevalier LeVeq and I are running a classified operation that may end this war." I leaned forward. "I don't know you, Chevalier Viel. Therefore, I don't trust you."

Irritation flashed through his eyes. "And do you also decide what rules to follow?"

"What do you mean?"

He spread his arms. "You're the grandchild of the current Governor and niece of the Head Chevalier. You arrive in New York without any protection and insist no one ask questions while you do what you want. You behave as if you're above the rules."

I kept a tight leash on my anger. "As
sondaleur
, I need —"

"You're not an inducted chevalier." He shot me a highly skeptical look. "You've yet to prove in any substantial way you're the
sondaleur
. You've spent the majority of your life Rogue, outside the elemental world. Now we're expected to believe you're fit to lead us. How do we know you can do this?"

I opened my mouth.

"Enough," Catrin said. "It is what it is."

Not exactly a vote of confidence, either.

Fujio made a lot of valid points. If he gave me this much flack before my succession was announced, how would the rest of the elemental world react?

Catrin studied her top chevalier. "Why don't you tell her why you're here?"

Fujio stared at me a moment longer as if weighing his words carefully. Hesitance shone in his eyes.

"I'm here because I want to talk about the recent ondine deaths," he finally said. "The first bodies were found under my jurisdiction so I'm heading the investigation."

Two Redavi ondines and their gardinels were discovered in a shipping warehouse eight days ago. Another report came in from Merbais, the community in Maine, about the death of a Redavi ondine and her gardinel four days later.

All had been killed with brutal efficiency.

I frowned. "Did something else happen?"

Urian spoke up. "Two more deaths in California at the Sèchau community. Another Redavi ondine and her gardinel. She was from the Rossay family."

"So far, the Desmarais, Rosamunds, Genevieves, and Rossays have been targeted." Fujio steepled his fingers together. "The Redavi are beginning to panic."

There was no pattern to the deaths. All died in different ways, in separate communities and varied circumstances.

"Anything special about the latest victim?" I asked.

"Nothing, except she had a binding ceremony a month ago. Her mate was human."

Sacrificing your human life to become an elemental for the woman you loved only to lose her...the pain must be unimaginable.

The memory of Gabe, eyes wild with grief, staying day and night by Marcella's side in Lyondale Hospital's elemental wing flashed before me.

My throat tightened. "Anything else?"

"Victim and gardinel were on a shopping trip at a location four hours from Sèchau," Urian added. "She wanted to get a surprise gift for her mate. Details of their excursion were on a server only accessible by someone with security clearance."

"Why now?" Catrin murmured.

"They're Aquidae." I remembered the blazing hatred and uncontrollable rage in Edmundo's eyes last night. "We're at war. It's what they do."

Part of the reason Aquidae maintained a strict hierarchical structure was their hunger for violence. Without rigid regulation, the demons would cause destructive havoc in human society.

Lieutenants of individual cells managed discipline over members, especially newly turned Aquidae. The highly organized trafficking ring we shut down last month was an example of the iron control the Shadow used to direct his demons.

Fujio shook his head. "These aren't the usual random acts. These are carefully targeted prominent Redavi ondines under high security protection. Everything points to planned kills, not murders of opportunity. Someone on the inside is leaking information."

"There's no evidence of anyone turning Aquidae." Urian crossed his arms, face hard as granite. "Not like Miriam Moreaux."

After what happened with Chloe's mother, every gardinel throughout the world was on alert. Security checks were too tight for an elemental to turn and remain unnoticed.

The real gravity of the situation sank in.

"It's someone who hasn't turned." My stomach twisted. "An elemental."
 

Someone high up enough to have security clearance was providing Aquidae with information leading to the murders of our own people.

Satisfaction settled on Fujio's face. He'd been waiting for me to arrive at the same conclusion.

"That's why you need me to work Empath better."

As a magical lie detector, my Virtue was the perfect method for uncovering the traitor.

"You'll return to Haveleau soon and attend the Elemental conference," Fujio said. "You'll have access to high ranking Redavi."

All of whom were now possible suspects.

Whoever this was had balls of steel. With recently heightened security measures, it was almost impossible to pull off a betrayal like this.

A highly intelligent elemental adept at concealment, lies, and manipulation who felt no remorse for their actions.

I was looking for a sociopath.

Catrin twisted her hands. "Rhian believes it might even be someone on the Governing Council."

This was just getting better and better.

Fujio leaned forward, eyes intent. "We want you to find the traitor."

Unsaid implications hung in the air. Investigating the Council and other prominent individuals was not the greatest start for my path to Governor.

But if I found the person targeting Redavi families, it could go a long way toward earning the elemental acceptance I needed.

Manhattan Lieutenant. Traitor. Shadow.

I now had to hunt down three of the most difficult bastards I'd ever come across.

I smiled. "Piece of cake."

"Thank you, Chevalier Viel, Gardinel Karinser." Catrin dismissed them politely.

Fujio unfolded his slender body and left without another word. Urian followed.

I leaned back, the beginnings of a headache grinding against my temple. All I wanted to do in New York was prepare for the Governorship and work with Julian to find the Shadow.

Things rarely stayed that simple.

Catrin stood and walked to the windows overlooking the Hudson.

"Renee informed me of last night's events. Did..." She paused. "Did she do all right?"

I didn't have the heart to bitch about her daughter. "She did fine."

Relief gently touched her face. The tilt of her head suddenly made her seem vulnerable.

"She used her Virtue," I said carefully.

After finding out about Julian's unusual magic and his real parentage, I didn't want to assume anything. But Virtues like Renee's Kinetic only manifested in Redavi first-borns and the Bessettes were definitely not a Redavi family.

Catrin's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I was born a Desmarais."

"You're a relative of Nanette?"

Nanette Desmarais was a strong Irisavie supporter on the Governing Council. Her grandchild was one of the kidnapped children rescued from the Aquidae trafficking ring and her daughter, Patrice, helped manage a covert ondine training program.

"A very distant relative. My immediate family was nowhere near her status."

She walked over to a bookshelf and picked up a frame, studying a photo of her daughters.

"Poor business decisions over several generations resulted in deep debt and desperate parents. The Bessettes were unable to have a child. They adopted me and in exchange, took care of my biological parents' finances."

She caught my expression. "It's no different than the practice of arranged bindings."

That was true.

"So you and Renee are still Redavi, even if your name isn't one." I shook my head. "All those arranged bindings preserving wealth and status are useless."

"I agree." She replaced the photo, voice tightening with anger. "Things have evolved so much over the years. Look at Julian's Virtue. We are far past these customs and yet we continue to desperately hold on because they remain familiar."

The sound of laughing voices carried into the room a moment before the door opened.

Helene Bessette's gangly thirteen-year-old body moved with an awkward self-consciousness. One bright eye fastened on me. A silver, handheld video camera obscured the other half of her face.

In the month I'd been here, I'd never seen her without it.

Camera now focused on me.

I eyed her warily. "I thought you were making a zombie film."

"I'm doing something new," she said. "A hard-hitting documentary about the life of the Chosen One, the long-prophesied ondine destined to end the war."

"What?"

She knelt on the sofa and I caught the faint buzz of the lens zooming in. "Are you the
sondaleur
?"

I slowly inched away. "Yeah, but —"

"Tell me." Her voice deepened, articulate and smooth as a news anchor. "Do you have a hard time accepting the pressures of your destiny? Does it ever all feel too much?"

I scooted away. She followed.

"Go, girl." Renee ruffled her sister's fine, light brown hair. "Never give up on your story."

Strangling her in front of her mother and sister was probably not a good idea. Plus, it'd be caught on tape.

Renee perched on the sofa arm, striped wool scarf hanging loosely around her.

"So Amir called."

Red and turquoise phoenix tattoo emerged from her shirt collar, sleek form elegantly stretching up her neck.

Catrin returned to the sofa. "Does he know who bought that paint?"

Excitement gleamed in Renee's eyes. "You're not going to believe who it is."

Silence fell. Seconds passed.

"Well, who is it?" I said, impatient.

Helene shushed me. "It's called dramatic effect."

"Peter Schlusser," Renee announced.

Catrin's eyes widened. "What?"

I frowned. "Who's Peter Schlusser?"

"A human who runs a used bookstore in the Lower East Side called The Alder Branch." Helene wiped the camera lens with a soft cloth. "Mom and I went to see him last week."

"We sold a few of our older books," Catrin said slowly. "Peter's store specializes in esoterica. Legends, myths, books on magic. I ordered the textbooks we used from him."

Another human aware of our world and actively involved in it.

"Why would a bookseller purchase high-grade oil paint?"

"Good question." Renee's expression turned serious. "Peter's never shown any interest in art."

"He's worked with elementals in this city for years." Catrin shook her head. "I can't imagine how he'd be involved. His store has been the place for magic books since I was a child."

Renee's eyes met mine. "Julian wants to pay him a visit."

No matter how strange it seemed, a paint this harmless bookseller purchased was found on Edmundo.

If The Alder Branch was at the heart of the city's elemental community, there was a possibility it'd come into contact with Aquidae.

I stood. "Let's go."

DREARY LOW-RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS loomed over the small playground. Loneliness shrouded rusted equipment, an empty sandbox, and bare trees. A few forgotten toys littered the ground.

Other than the occasional rumble of a car and scratch of wind against the sidewalk, the streets were quiet.

Shivering, I pulled my coat tighter around me.

Julian was twenty minutes late and I desperately wanted to see him.

Not because I missed him.

But because waiting with the Bessette sisters was an exercise in torture and I'd hit my limit nineteen minutes ago.

"I still don't understand why you're here."

Helene sat on a swing, keeping her camera steady on me. "Because I'm in the middle of filming."

Renee straightened her arms on the jungle gym, dipped her body back, and rocked. "I told you. When they show up, Oriel will take Helene."

"Do I really have to go?"

"Yes," I said loudly.

In the past fifteen minutes, she'd asked over two dozen questions ranging from my favorite color to current celebrity crushes. Ignoring her only fueled her persistence.

"We don't need to wait for Julian," I repeated for the third time. "I can go in and find out what Peter knows."

Renee pulled herself up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Or I could go in. A better bet since I actually know the guy."

Which would leave me stuck out here with the Video Monster.

"We don't know how dangerous he is or who else is in there. You have no means of protecting yourself."

She flicked her fingers and energy whipped through the air. Metal groaned. A bar from a climbing ladder peeled off its rails and flew across the playground.