Seeing the answer on my face, Liam continued, “As I said, we need you to either find the witch who placed the hex or locate Thomas’s descendants.”
I really wish I had my food right now. A slurp of the sugary goodness that was a milkshake would go a long way to taking the sting from having to play ball with these two.
“What’s to say the witch you’re looking for is even in this city?” I shot Thomas a skeptical look. “I doubt Thomas has spent his entire life in Columbus. He could have picked up the hex any number of places.”
“We’ve managed to trace the timing to when he was visiting the city,” Liam said.
“Seems a little thin,” I observed, noting the tightening around Thomas’s eyes. Neither one answered. I was already hating this job. I asked my next question, “I get why you want the witch, but why locate his descendants?”
Thomas gave me an arrogant look. “That’s not information you need to know.”
I opened my mouth to argue and then shut it again. Their faces were closed and guarded. They wouldn’t tell me and pushing might make them do something I might regret. There were other ways to get the information.
“Let’s just say that his descendants, because of their direct blood link to him, may provide a way to work around the hex,” Liam said.
“Do you have a place to start?” I asked.
Thomas reached inside his coat and withdrew a stack of folded paper, setting it on the table. “This is what I have managed to locate. I know two of my descendants relocated to this city in the 1800s, but I lost track of them after the turn of the century. The last page contains a list of witches who had a grudge against me and the talent to perform the hex.”
I pulled the papers to me and flipped through them quickly. I paused when I saw Miriam’s name on the list of witches.
“Do you see something?” Liam asked.
I folded the papers up and stuck them in my messenger bag. “Just checking the information.”
“The selection takes place in five days. We’ll expect results before then,” Thomas directed.
Five days? I wasn’t a miracle worker. If his descendants came to this area in the 1800s, there would be an avalanche of data to sift through, not to mention I had almost zero experience in an investigation like this.
That was assuming there was anyone alive to find. There was every possibility that his descendants had died out.
Thomas stood. “I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Liam and I watched him walk away.
Watching the door shut behind him, I said, “I understand his investment in this. What’s yours? You’re an enforcer. Shouldn’t you be making sure the selection goes off without interference?”
Not that I really understood what an enforcer did. Just that they seemed pretty important in the hierarchy of the vampire world.
Liam watched me with a thoughtful expression, like he was deciding how much to reveal.
“The other applicants would not be a good choice for the position.”
“And he is?” By their own rules, Thomas had broken the most basic covenant, providing support to the children he turned. He might appear not to recognize me, but that could be a deception perpetrated for his own hidden reasons. It would be easier if I could tell Liam, but I was afraid it would give them more of a claim on me. They already had enough of one as it was.
Liam didn’t answer as he got up, somehow making sliding out of the booth seem graceful. I always looked like a wounded elephant trying to lumber my way out of these.
He hesitated once standing. “I look forward to working with you on this.”
Working together? I really didn’t think so.
I gave him a polite smile. “Hermes couriers work alone.”
The smile he gave me was full of teeth. It was the type that said the lion thought its dinner was adorable.
“Jerry has made an exception this time. We’ll be working very closely on this. I’ll be in touch later tonight so we can map out our next steps.”
He gave me a flick of the fingers in goodbye before following his friend.
