“Correct me if I’m wrong—” Malcolm interrupts, like the rude asshole he is. “—but we have already discussed this at length and found no evidence to suggest that vampires were responsible for the events of the Solstice. Isn’t that right, Councillor Clements?”
I flick my attention to Silver’s mom and she nods, but it’s a stiff, jerky movement. Like she’s fighting with herself in her response.
“Is anyone even looking into the creepy statue people?” I ask, flopping back in my chair and staring around the room.
The atmosphere here is so stagnant, it’s going to drive me crazy. It’s like these people died inside a long time ago and they’re possessed by paperwork demons. Or maybe I’m in hell and this is my punishment. I must have been a really bad boy if this is what I’m subjected to for eternity.
Fuck, I might just throw myself out of the window for shits and giggles.
“The judiciary are doing their job, Lord Maverick. They’re investigating as we speak.”
I want to beat my head against the tabletop in frustration.
We should have asked Ember to share some of these fuckers’ secrets. Then maybe I could hint at them andforcethe idiots to listen to me.
It’s another half hour before they finally talk themselves into a stupor and decide that’s enough useless blabbing for the day. I don’t bother to get up at the end of the meeting, waiting instead for everyone else to leave. I seriously thought this might be a way I could be useful. But either I suck at it, or the Archarcans are so damn ignorant of everything going on around them, they’re gonna bury their heads in the sand until they’re all Simpson’s blood slaves.
It takes a minute for me to notice I’m not the only person left. The techno mage is sitting in the corner, still quietly sniffling.
“You all right?” I ask her. It probably isn’t the kind of shit that Cosmo Maverick would say, but she’scrying,and I can’t deal with tears.
“I, uh, had an awful week,” she tells me.
Right. I wait to see if she’s going to add any details, shifting awkwardly in my seat.
“You talked about the... frozen people during the meeting. My, um, my sister was one of them. She didn’t come home when I expected her to, so I tracked her phone.” Her voice breaks slightly. “I found her yesterday in the middle of downtown on a bench. She’s... not dead, but she wasn’t responding.”
I keep my tone as soft as I can as I reply, “Where is she now?”
“In the hospital. They... they didn’t know what was wrong with her or how to help her.” She hesitates, staring at her laptop screen, before glancing over at me.
“Do you really think it’s the same people that released those things on the Solstice?” she asks. “The... vampires?”
“I’m almost certain,” I tell her.
“And...” She lowers her voice, keeping her eyes trained on the door. “The Archarcans are still keeping everything from the Solstice wiped off people’s phones and deleting any videos.”
“Are they doing the same thing with... what happened to your sister?” I ask. My instinct to refer to it as ‘the creepy statue situation’ doesn’t seem appropriate when it’s someone she cares about that I’m talking about.
She hesitates, staring at her screen again and looking so damn lost and sad, my heart hurts for her. Her response is barely above a whisper. “Yeah, they are.”
I can’t say I’m surprised. But it seems there’s something hinky going on here. The Archarcans are in Simpson’s pockets, whether or not they realize that.
“People need to know,” I tell her. “By hiding what’s really happening, it’s keeping everyone in the city powerless. You get that, right?”
I’m no good at rousing speeches, but I figure now’s as good a time as any to try to get her on our side.
She doesn’t exactly look convinced, but she’s not outright dismissing me like all the other fuckers that were sitting in this meeting.
“I don’t know,” she says. “This is my job, and I’d be going against a direct order from Councillor Clements.”
I just shrug and get to my feet. I won’t push. I’m not dumb enough to keep going when she’s clearly going through some shit.
“Look, I’ll give you my number.” Mine, not Cosmo Whatshisface’s, but I’ll deal with that later. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
