He paused, eyes twinkling as he gauged my reaction.
“I should probably add that he asked first, Ms. Shadow, whereyouwould be over the winter break. When I informed him that you had opted to stay on campus, he stated very clearly that he wished to do the same.”
I felt my face warm slightly. “Oh.”
“Mr. Greythorne will be joining the two of you, as well,” Forsooth added, before I’d quite wrapped my mind around that.
I looked up, not hiding my surprise. “Alaric?”
“Yes.” Forsooth nodded, and now his smile grew warmer. “As you know, his father, like Mr. Bones’s, is currently in the official custody of British Magical Enforcement. Alaric Greythorne, upon his father’s incarceration,alsorequested to stay on campus from now until the beginning of the new term, and we were happy to accommodate him. Perhaps his friends could influence him in positive ways to spend at least a little of that time studying? He will already need to re-take all of his classes from last term.”
I snorted a little, unable to help it.
My thoughts sobered though, as I thought.
“He’s all right, too?” I asked. “Alaric?”
Forsooth nodded somberly. “He seems to be. Although I imagine he is not as well as he might appear on the outside.”
I bit my lip, but didn’t try to answer that.
“Is there anything you can tell me…” I hesitated, then finished the thought with a slightly more subdued voice. “You know, about the case. About everything I heard from the closet that morning. I have a lot of questions still, and no one, not even my cousin, seemed all that eager to answer any of them.”
Forsooth once more steepled his hands. “I will endeavor to do my best,” he said. “What questions, specifically, are bothering you, Ms. Shadow?”
I thought about that, my own hands still clasped in my lap.
“They wanted my brother,” I began slowly. “…and me. Do you know why?”
Forsooth slowly shook his head.
“Sadly, no,” he said grimly. “Unfortunately, it seems that someone in the Bones household was notified prior to any magical law enforcement’s arrival at the Tower. They eitherhid or destroyed any evidence that might have illuminated this issue. Agents were unable to find much of anything of import, and nothing at all in relation to Malefic’s motives for the kidnappings. It’s possible he sent word when the attempt to breach the Sanctum Occulus failed. He might also have had contingencies in place with his wife, or his household staff, were he to be arrested. In any case, we found nothing that would indicate his need to sacrifice either hybrids or humans.”
He hesitated, then added, “We are still looking into it, of course. Not only law enforcement, but here, as well.”
I nodded numbly, feeling a sick twist in my gut.
I wanted to feel like it was over.
Likesomepart of this was over, at least.
Instead, I felt like we’d already been outmaneuvered somehow, even with Bones’s father and Lord Greythorne likely on their way to prison. It still felt like we’d still lost. Me, Caelum, my brother, the Praecuri, G.O.R.E., British Magical Authority, The Golden Sun… everyone. We’d all been outmaneuvered somehow, in a way I couldn’t even fathom yet.
“Wewereable to match the images you sent us,” Forsooth added, his voice reassuring. “The visions you had during your tracking of the Priest. They matched exactly with one of the rooms in the Bones Estate. It seems fairly certain now that Malefic Bones, in addition to his other crimes, was also the person behind the Priest. We have handed that information over to the Council, as it involves incitement to sedition, a crime that has more serious implications, and not only in Britain. It is likely this will be escalated to the King, and the Ethnarch.”
I nodded slowly, thinking about that.
I scarcely noticed as I did that I toyed with the gold ring around my index finger. My eyes looked down at the cat face that hugged my skin, with its emerald eyes and detailed lines. The design reminded me of the art deco style on Earth.
Whatever it was called here, it was beautiful.
I hadn’t taken it off since Bones had given it to me.
“Will that be enough to tie Malefic to Dark Cathedral?” I asked.
Forsooth cleared his throat.
He didn’t answer for a second, then sighed.
