“That is true, the drugs are being laced with deadly ingredients and they’re being made more widely available. But half of these deaths aren't because of overdoses. The people did have some drugs in their system when they died, but they died because of demonic possession.”
No one talks for several seconds.
“Demons?” the crying woman echoes.
“Yes,” I tell her. “A human body can’t handle demonic possession for long before it starts to break down. The demon is quite literally burning up their body from the inside out. Death from demonic possession doesn’t make medical sense. The victims can appear to have aged rapidly while they’ve rotted from the inside out. I think demons are doing something—I don’t know what—and are using drugs as a coverup for burning through bodies. Most of the victims have been homeless, people others usually don’t even give a second thought to. They don’t have the family to demand their deaths be looked into further, so blaming it on drugs is an easy way out.”
The room goes quiet again and this time, hearing my own words spoken out loud sends a chill through me. It’s an almost perfect coverup, really. Demons are coming here from hell, using people as vessels to do god knows what. It would be obvious to hunters if reports of mysterious deaths started piling up. Having the deaths marked as overdoses doesn’t raise as many eyebrows.
Still…if the Order is somehow involved, then why did Antonio hear someone say something? Was it just so they could shift the blame to the Malus family? I inhale and push my shoulders back, needing to keep my cool. This could very well be a much bigger—and scarier—situation than I realized. I can’t tell them that the Order could be deeply involved. I don’t know for sure yet, and if they are, keeping the info close to the chest to blindside them with later might be necessary.
“Demons are dealing drugs,” another wolf states, but I hear the question in her voice.
“If that’s true, how the hell is some witch going to help with that?” the snarky wolf asks.
“Thissome witchis full of surprises,” Larkin says. “She just happens to have the highest kill count in the Order.”
Silence falls over the table.
“The Order?” one of the older wolves questions. He has a thick southern accent and shakes his head when he looks at me. “There’s no way the Order allowed a witch to join.”
“I didn’t join by choice,” I say, my heart still beating too fast for my liking. The balance between peace and chaos is hanging precariously right now. “I was kidnapped, for lack of a better term, by demon hunters when I was a baby and raised in the Order. Once they realized I was a witch, they exploited my powers and tried to make me their little super soldier. They ran experiments on me too, trying to see if they could replicate my powers so they could have their own army of magical hunters. It didn’t work.”
An older man who’s been quiet this whole time raises his hand to let everyone know he’s going to speak. “My son is a Charlotte police officer,” he starts. Delphi did mention they have people in the CPD. “He’s mentioned how there’s been chatter at the station around these weird deaths. We as werewolves know there are things out there that cannot be explained?—”
“—and shouldn’t be messed with,” someone adds.
“But where you’ve lost me,” the older man continues, “is why? What sense does it make for demons to deal drugs? How does that benefit them?”
“I think you are all going about this too…uh…politically,” I say carefully. “Demons aren’t going to benefit in terms of profit or territory the same way humans would. The drugs are a cover.” I stop there for a second. Someoneisbehind the increase of drugs in the city, and it probably is a human or supernatural creature like vampires or werewolves. My money is on humans, as the drug cartel has been a human issue for centuries. “Whatever these demons are up to…that’s the issue. That’s the threat.”
“So you’re saying the demons were hoping to possess anyone who was high?” Delphi asks. She’s leaning against the island counter, brows furrowed.
“Yes,” I say with a nod. “There’s no way every single person out on the street doing drugs is going to end up possessed, but demons have found a vulnerable group of people to take over. Unless the demon has a bit of power, possession can be resisted. You have a hard time resisting something when your body is, well, weak.”
“So being on drugs is, uh, knocking out two birds with one stone,” Delphi says and I nod. Larkin has been rather quiet since I’ve gotten here, but it’s not from lack of authority. No, it’s because she’s letting her people talk and showing that she’s listening.
“Yeah. That’s exactly it.”
“Why should we believe you?” the older man asks, slowly shaking his head. “Of course you’d be here defending your husband.” He makes a face when he says the wordhusband. Yeah, I get it. Being married to the most powerful vampire around is still a mindfuck for me some days.
“For one, I’m telling the truth,” I press. “And two, if you go after Xavier, it won’t change anything. That’s what you want, right? You want vengeance on whoever is responsible for this. You won’t get it if you go after the wrong person. And I have proof. Not with me, but, um, I can show you the files from the medical examiner. You can read the reports yourself and then come to your own conclusions, but you’ll see exactly what I do. Unnatural deaths caused by demonic forces.”
“How quickly can you get me this evidence?” Larkin asks.
“I have the physical files in my possession at home,” I tell her. “So soonish.” I shrug.
Larkin just nods, studying me. “What do you have to say about the allegation that a vampire sold drugs to our teenagers?”
“I suppose it could be true. And if it is, Xavier will find the responsible party and punish them as he sees fit. Selling drugs to children is something I am not okay with.”
Another wolf scoffs. “Like Xavier fucking Malus gives a shit about what anyone thinks.”
“I am his wife,” I say with authority. “He wouldn’t have married me if he didn’t value my opinion and trust that I am a competent and equal partner.” Forcing a smile, I hope I didn’t overdo it with the “equal” part.
The room falls silent for a few seconds and then everyone starts talking at once. Delphi puts her hand on my arm and motions with her head for me to come with her into the little library sitting area next to her foyer.
“That went better than I thought,” she says.
