No wonder the Black Circle had wanted a fresh bunch of recruits.They had new shit to test out, didn’t they?We’d thought they’d managed to get their hands on some type of potion, but what if it was worse?
What if it was THE potion?The one we’d thought was contained, while some rando was running around with who knew how much of it?If the Black Circle got their hands on it, if they figured out how to synthesize more—
“They don’t have it yet,” Caleb told me, seeing my expression.
“How the hell do you know?They were rounding up truckloads of guinea pigs, Caleb!Maybe this was why!”
“In that case, our perp wouldn’t have been hanging out in a filthy grocery store, reaping some street person.He’d be dead, and they’d have his stuff—unless they can’t track him, either.We got nothing on him—remember?Not a single spell we used showed up shit.And if he can hide from us—”
“But...they know something.They must!Their tactics suddenly changed to be far more aggressive than they’ve ever dared—”
“Yeah.‘Cause they came across some of the Relic stuff he’s been peddling.They know he’s out there and what he has, and they’re looking for him.And making preparations for when they find him.But so are we.The Corps has everyone we can spare out hunting—”
“A phantom!We don’t even know what he looks like!”
“Which is another check in the weird magic category,” he pointed out.“There were other victims going back a while, judging by all the fingerprints we found.But the only people who were there recently enough to for sure show up in a reveal spell were the victim and our guy.Only he didn’t show up.And while that collapsed ceiling might have eradicated some evidence, someone using the place for as long as he did should have left at least a trace—”
“Fine!You’ve convinced me!Now convince me we’re going to find him before the dark does!”
“We’re going to find him,” Caleb said staunchly.“We know what he’s selling, and where the usual vendors are, ‘cause I doubt he’s peddling it himself out of a stall in Tartarus.He has fences, and we’re after them—”
“And you think the Black Circle isn’t?Not to mention—” I stopped.“Wait.Maybe that’s what he meant—”
“Who?”
“The Black Circle council member, the one who tried to take Sebastian and then Jace.He wanted something—” I’d been staring at the table, trying to think, but at that, I looked up.“He wants the potion.That’s what he intended to get me to steal from HQ, in order to get Sebastian back!”
“Which means they don’t already have it, and they’re getting desperate, if they’re resorting to that kind of shit.”
I abruptly stood up.“We have to find this Reaper—”
“We’re trying,” Caleb repeated, exchanging a look with Cyrus.
“Tell her the rest,” Cyrus rasped.
Caleb suddenly looked even less happy than before, and I hadn’t thought that was possible.“The way we put it together is this,” he said, as I sat back down.“The shit-tier ward that asshole was using drew the attention of a group of scavengers, and he got spooked.Maybe he knows he’s being hunted; the Black Circle isn’t usually subtle.Or maybe he’s just twitchy, which would make sense in his line of work.And since he was almost done stripping that poor sod anyway, he took off into the wild with his bag of trophies.
“But in the fight with his victim, a vial was broken—one ofthosevials.And some of it ended up aerosolized.Just in time for you to come along—”
“Me, too!It also hit me,” Sophie said from outside the door, where the guys had been standing guard to allow Cyrus and me to have an uninterrupted dinner for once.Until she threw off Jace’s hold, ducked under Andy’s arm, and came into the dining room like a force of nature.“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” she said.“Shit is happening, Lia!”
“I noticed.”
“I don’t think so!”Kimmie must have gotten hold of her, because the usually wild red locks had been tamed into cornrows tonight.The beads of which clacked together when she shook her head.
“I almost killed Caleb,” I reminded her.“Sorry, by the way,” I told him, which he shrugged off.
It came with the job description.
“But youdidn’t,” Sophie said.“You stopped short, which was more than I could do.I wasn’t in controlat all,and my leopard was freaking out, because neither was she—”
“What do you mean?She started it.”
But Sophie was already shaking her head again.“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all day—no, she didn’t.And neither did your wolf.I know you think they did, just like I thought the same thing about my Cat, but they were innocent in this.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“That’s why we need to talk,” Sophie said.“How much do you remember?”
