“I can get that from our analysts.”
“You sure about that?”
“No,” Ash admitted. Despite his persistent requests, the security footage hadn’t been released to him yet.
“I’ve a hunch whateverfootagethey give you eventually will be scrubbed or manipulated,” Kodie said, “so I tapped into the city surveillance systems and the telcos, and I did some tinkering to get extra footage from afive-block radius—traffic cameras, building security, cell phones—I got everything for you so you can go through it yourself.”
“That’s illegal.”
“But impressive.”
“The Guild doesn’t have the authority. You can’t—”
“Did the Council tell you Yiran killed your grandfather?”
Ash’s mouth went dry. “Yes.”
“Here’s my theory,” Kodie said. “The Council wants to make your brother the fall guy to sully your reputation so you can’t lead the Guild down the road.”
Was that really what the Council was doing? Part of him felt betrayed, but another part knew better—trusting the Council had never been an option. He heard a long, shaky sigh from Kodie.
“Listen to me, Ash. Surin had a tracking device on her when she was taken. It’s something we decided to do when things went wild a few months back. I would follow her movements when she was out on missions, so I’d know she was safe. We didn’t tell anyone about it because the missions are top secret and we were breaking the rules by doing it, but I... I trust you.”
Ash had never heard her sound so vulnerable before. “You don’t have to explain.”
“Thanks. The tracker’s embedded in Surin’s forearm. It’s undetectable to the eye, so the Hybrids wouldn’t know about it. I tried to connect to it once I knew she was kidnapped. I had a brief signal, but it stopped working. I’m not sure why. It would still work even if she’s, if she...” Kodie couldn’t finish her sentence.
The thought that one of his best friends was dead had crossed Ash’s mind, but he hadn’t allowed himself to linger on it. “Surin’s tough.”
“I know, but the Hybrids have that talisman Rui told us about. They’re going to test it on the Exorcists they kidnapped, aren’t they? The way they used it on those poor innocent normies.”
Ash didn’t reply. He’d suspected the same thing, but it had been too frightening to say it out loud. What kind of sick individual would do such a thing? He couldn’t wait to finally confront the leader of the Hybrids and take them down.
Kodie said, “The tracker’s signal gave me just enough information to extrapolate possible routes they could have taken. All signs indicate that they were bringing Surin and Jonathan backtowardthe city.”
Ash straightened in his seat. The ongoing theory of the Hybrids’ hideouts had shifted to placesoutsidethe city. But if what Kodie said was true, maybe the Exorcists hadn’t exhausted their search here yet. The Hybrids might be holding their prisoners closer than they’d thought.
“I know that’s not the most helpful piece of information—”
“Don’t say that; every effort counts,” Ash said quickly.
“Just get the love of my life back to me, will you?”
“I’ll bring Surin back safe,” he promised. “And since when are you a genius hacker tech wiz, doctor?”
“A girl can have her hobbies,” Kodie said, sounding more like herself. “Speaking of Rui, I heard she’s back on campus.”
At least one thing was going according to plan. Any sliver of hope was better than nothing. “I’ll talk to her,” he said. “Maybe she found a way to destroy the talisman. In the meantime, try to connect to Surin’s tracker again. If we have a location and the means to destroy the spell, then we have a plan in the making.”
“Okay. Keep the phone with you. I’ll call when I have more.”
The line disconnected.
Slinging his coat over his shoulder, Ash made his way to the bedroom. The mansion felt eerily quiet, as if it, too, were mourning the death of its master. His head ached, and he was bone-tired, but he wanted to look at the footage Kodie had gotten.
The first few clips didn’t hold any surprises. They captured his grandfather’s arrival at the teahouse from various angles and also his entrance into his usual private room. There was no camera inside the room, andneither of the two waiters who entered at various points seemed to be acting suspiciously.
Rubbing his eyes, Ash opened another batch of files. The clips showed Yiran exiting a cab a few blocks from The Green Needle and sprinting down the sidewalk, obviously in a hurry. He had a brief conversation with the concierge, and then for some reason he loitered outside the Waterlily room, looking as though he was summoning the courage to go in. Seconds later, something seemed to catch Yiran’s attention, and he pulled the door open.
