Asher accepts the praise and waggles his brows at me. “It turned out all right, I guess.”
I laugh. “Nice. Thanks.”
Garrison watches us, a smile softening his stern expression. “Now, to the reason for my visit. I was greeted by a great many panicked inquiries this morning regarding demonic energy tainting the ley lines. I tracked the source here and would like a full report.”
I swallow. “Am I in trouble?”
“Not necessarily. How about you tell me what happened, and we’ll go from there? We're colleagues now, after all. We need to be able to discuss the challenges of our duties.”
Colleagues with him?
Yikes, I’ve never felt so out of my league.
And so, I give Garrison a full report of what happened yesterday: removing the sigil from Mrs. Peterson, trying a masscleanse, Tharuzel’s minions attacking, and how I’d managed to heal the standing stones, ending the incursion.
When I finish, his bushy black brows are pinched. “And where does that leave you now?”
“Sebastian, our eldest and most experienced witch, is speaking to a fae friend who knows more about ley lines than we do. He’s hoping to figure out another way to execute the mass cleanse without a repeat of the demon attack.”
Garrison scratches at the fur on his chin and nods. “And did you suffer any fatalities?”
“Thankfully, no.”
His gaze turns to Asher. “Standing as the champion of the innocent is one thing, but entering a demon portal when you had no idea what awaited on the other end was reckless. Heroic, but reckless. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing, but as the man in charge, I would be remiss if I didn’t advise you to be more careful.”
Asher dips his chin. “I appreciate the concern. Still, it worked out, and we got Poppy’s familiar back.”
Garrison follows Asher’s gesture to the heap of demon gremlin roasting on low in the fireplace. “On the mend, though, is he?”
“He is. Apparently, that’s his idea of a healing spa.”
Garrison doesn’t give it much more thought. Instead, he turns back to me. “The other reason I came was to ask you about your rebellious brigade. How are you settling into your new role?”
“I’m still figuring it out. We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire. I feel like I’m juggling rabid badgers, and if I look away, blood will be shed.”
He grunts and lets out a low chuckle. “That’s how I feel every day. So, in the spirit of you keeping your limbs from being gnawed off, I came to give you access to the database ofregistered members from all empowered organizations. Do you have a laptop?”
“I’ll grab it.” Asher jogs off toward the dining room where we have all our Cinderheart Crucible research spilling out over the table.
“Type your email under your contact.” Garrison hands me his phone with my name called up, and I get my thumbs moving. By the time I return it to him, Asher is back. “All right, check your email—you should have a secured portal link waiting."
I set my laptop on the island counter and open my inbox. Sure enough, there's a new message with an official seal I don't recognize. “Is this it?”
“It is. Now, click the invitation and I’ll approve it.”
I follow his instructions, and he pulls out a stylus and taps in an exhaustingly long numeric code. When that’s done, he slides his phone and stylus into the back pocket of his pants, and my screen opens with the same seal staring out at us.
"Excellent. Use this access wisely, Miss Hallowind. And congratulations again on the Life and Death Brigade's recognition. I'll be watching your progress with great interest."
He’s gone before I can respond.
I stare at the empty space between me and Asher. “Okay then, bye.”
Asher chuckles. “Apparently he is a busy man and doesn’t feel the need to make chit-chat or say goodbye.”
“Apparently.” I return my attention to the website, my pulse quickening. “Access to every registered member of every empowered organization? That's huge. That's?—”
I click to get started, and when a login box appears, my excitement deflates. “Disappointing. It’s asking for a passcode.”
