The room exploded into noise. Juggernaut tossed the deck he’d been shuffling, so cards fluttered in the air.
Grove dropped a bottle that was filled with a rancid green mist. “Don’t worry!” he shouted. “This is a healing mist. But if you feel at all dizzy or experience any numbness in your extremities, come see me immediately.” He was barely audibleover the buzz of conversation that had sprung up as my teammates leaned together, whispering to one another.
Considine reacted the least. He just raised an eyebrow at me. “If you were angry with me, you could have just said something.”
“I’m not angry,” I whispered back. “This really is for the sake of the case.”
“Orrin?” Brody yelped as he snapped out of his chair as if someone had pulled his tail. “Orrin, Lady Gisila’s assistant, Orrin? The one who set all the fae creatures loose?ThatOrrin?”
“Correct,” Sarge said.
April raised her hand, speaking only when Sarge nodded at her. “I thought he got shipped out to Ghast prison since the werewolves were sick of holding him here at the Cloisters?”
“That was the plan,” Sarge said. “The move was canceled after Blood followed his tip and stopped the attack on Tutu’s. As such, he’s still here.”
The team was quiet, chewing on this new information.
Sarge finally let go of my elbow. “Blood, would you like to explain why you want Orrin released?”
No, I wouldn’t.
I tried to swallow, but my spit got caught halfway down, and I almost choked.
“Because Orrin’s actions dealt damage, but weren’t all that dangerous to, to humans…the Curia Cloisters haven’t been able to decide on a suitable punishment,” I said, my nerves palpable. “The humans suggested a large fine and community service…but…we didn’t have anyone strong enough to take custody of him in the department. Until Considine became my partner.”
I sneaked a peek at Considine. I was buttering him up by referring to him as my partner, but I was telling the truth. I only had the courage to ask Sarge because I knew Considine could handle Orrin.
To Considine, Orrin wouldn’t even be a footnote.
“Why do you want the fae in my custody?” Considine asked.
“Because he’s our best lead with Gisila,” I said, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, but I turned my body to point at Considine. It was easier to talk to him than face the team. “He has a geas, but he still managed to give me a clue about when she’d attack. He’s willing. We just have to figure out a way to let him communicate with us.”
Considine folded his arms across his chest, thinking.
Sarge ducked past Considine and me so he could take up his usual spot behind the podium. “I already have approval from the Commissioner—and he floated the idea past a few members of the Regional Committee of Magic, who agreed to it, given the humans have been kicking up a fuss over the idea of sending him to Ghast prison. However, we won’t implement this if we don’t decide on it as a team. Since Considine is Blood’s partner, that means Orrin would work on the squad as part of his community service.”
Silence filled the meeting room, and it was hard to breathe.
No one was reacting. No one would even look at me.
“I mind it.” Grove stood up and scowled. His coppery hair gleamed under the fluorescent lighting. “There is room for only one gorgeous fae on this team, and I’m filling the slot.”
Grove’s dramatic antics broke the tension, and Brody and Juggernaut both chuckled, while Tetiana and April visibly relaxed.
“I can see why it would be good.” Binx—the last member I thought would speak up on the issue—leaned back, balancing her chair on the back two legs. “He seems willing and he could give us an edge, and there’s no doubt a vampire as venerated as Considine could handle one piddly fae.”
“Excuse me? Orrin is not piddly,” Grove complained.
Medium-Sized Robert shifted in his chair. “You say that because he’s taller than you.”
Binx held her chair perfectly balanced. “I am concerned, though, that we’re letting a known criminal into our department. He could still be Gisila’s stooge—however unlikely.”
“A fair point. We don’t want any information leaks,” Clarence said.
“Why don’t you make him do some other community service when we’re in important meetings and stuff?” Brody suggested.
“He could help at the department front desk,” April pointed out. “That’s important, but not high clearance work.”
