“She said she just returned from an errand and found this.She’s all broken up, but she’s cooperating.We’re questioning her now, but she claims to have no idea what her husband was doing when he blew himself up.”
“I’d detain her for as long as you can.Dig deep into her story.”
Cyn signed off.Ruby should be safe for a little while at least.As exhausted as he was, an uneasiness twisted his stomach.Once Magda was taken care of, he would have no reason to contact Ruby again.The thought burrowed into his chest.
He called Glesenda.“Hey.Everything normal?”
“We don’t have any uninvited guests hanging around, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good.I’m not coming in today.See if Dave can teach my cane class this afternoon.”
“Is it because of that chick?And the demons?”
“No, that’s over.We took care of the guy behind the demons, and thechickis not in my life anymore.”He felt a stabbing pain at those words.
“Too bad about the chick.She fired you up.”She chuckled.“Have to admit, it was good to see you like that.”
He grunted in response.
“But,” she continued, “there’s no need for a substitute teacher.Six of the students have canceled, along with a bunch for the other classes.There’s some bug going around.I even feel run-down, and I never get sick.”
“Have any Mundanes called in to cancel?”
“Hm.Now that you ask, no, only Crescents.Pretty strange, actually.”
He couldn’t tell her that everyone would be feeling better soon without explaining, so he said, “Go ahead and close early, get some rest.”
Which is what he should do.The uneasiness was getting stronger, though, and his Dragon was downright agitated.Something didn’t feel right.
In Brom’s prophecy, and thus Moncrief’s stories, Garnet and the Dragon Prince defeated a huge monster.And he and Ruby had—the tulpa.In Moncrief’s version, the Dragon Prince died, but that was obviously his spiteful addition.Garnet had returned to her kingdom to find it still under siege by the Shadows.From Ruby’s description, they sounded like demons.Garnet and her army went on to defeat them and all was well.
All did not feel well here.If something was truly wrong, Brom should be sensing it.Demons were supposed to return to the Dark Side if their summoner died.Any demons here to do Darren’s bidding should be gone.Including the parasitic demon.Cyn headed to Brom’s and took the back way in again, getting no answer when he called Brom’s name.As he entered the house, he saw no sign that the man had been back.But he did see that the ribbons were still fracturing.
A beep caught his attention, and he followed it to a large-screen TV on the wall.On the screen, it read ONE MESSAGE.PLAY?YES – NO.
Cyn located the remote and maneuvered the cursor to YES.The loud deep voice sounded familiar.“Hey, Brom, it’s Jay.I’ve got some elements to try based on the new information you gave me.I’m going out to the edge of the Sanctum’s Field where theDeus Visis similar to Miami’s to run some experiments.Since that’s in the wilderness, I’ll be out of pocket until tomorrow tonight.Hopefully I’ll have an answer, because if you’re right, we’ve only got until sometime tomorrow to figure this out.”
Jay.Sanctum.Cyn knew exactly who he was, and it made sense that Brom had consulted him again.According to the date and time on the message, Jay had called this morning.Cyn programmed the number into his phone and headed back to his car, his mind spinning.He needed to find out what Brom had told Jay.And he needed to find Magda and get his hands on whatever was fracturing theDeus Vis.It obviously wasn’t destroyed.
No demons.
Those words flashed in his mind as his feet sank into the sand on the way back to the car.He tried to figure out why it bothered him.No demons should be a good thing.In fact, it had been great that Darren hadn’t summoned any to help during their final altercation.Andthat’swhat bothered Cyn.Someone who could summon demons possessed stronger magick than bubble orbs.
Had they killed Mr.Smith?Cyn needed to find out for sure.His former boss and mentor would be heading to work about now.Maybe Cyn could catch him.
Fernandez was, indeed, walking to his car, wearing his dark blue suit, a travel mug in hand.He was already watching as Cyn’s car pulled down the long drive.No doubt he recognized the car.
Fernandez set his mug on the roof and waited for Cyn to get out and walk over.“Everything all right?No, I’m assuming not, since you’re here.Not to mention that you look like hell.”
They shook hands, and Cyn smiled.“I earned it.I have a question, off the record.What did Mr.Smith look like?A general description will suffice.”
Before Fernandez could say anything, the front door opened, and Celia stepped out.“Cyn!I thought that was your car.”She was still wearing a robe, her complexion pale.“It’s been so long.”
“I’m sorry about that.I wish I had time to visit.”
Her wistful expression tightened his chest.Ward orphans, back before they created institutions for them, were taken in by a Guard officer and their family.Similar to foster care, only there was a solid commitment to raise the child, train him in the Crescent ways, and then push him to join the Guard.When Cyn had quit, he’d had to quit them, too.He couldn’t take the chance of inadvertently revealing the truth about why he left.But he did stop by from time to time and always sent cards and gifts.
She waved away his words.“I can’t anyway.I’ve got the flu.”
