The words echoed through the library. A bit flat and unextraordinary. And to be expected, Tabby did exactly nothing.
“Hmmm.” Tabby grabbed her notebook again, writing in it. “So you can’t just say it. There has to be more to it.”
“Did you feel anything at all?”
“No,” she replied, a bit dejected. “Though it wouldn’t be any fun if it was easy, would it?” The witch offered me an encouraging smile.
I snorted. “I don’t know about that. I don’t exactly want it to be fun. I just want it to go away.”
The witch bobbed her head. “I can understand that, but better to be prepared than surprised, I always say.” She put her book and notebook back into her bag and stood. “Well, I promised to lead the circle tonight, so I’m going to head out. Next time, we’ll see if making you emotional will bring out the power in you.”
“Alright,” I said, swallowing a thick ball of anxiety in my throat as I walked her to the front door.
Before she stepped out, Tabby looked at me pointedly. “And don’t forget to talk to your dad. His input could be vital.”
“Right, yeah.” I coughed, glancing off to the side. “I will.”
“Promise?”
I blew out a breath and met her gaze again. “I swear you and Xinyi are sisters in another life. Okay, I promise.”
Tabby giggled. “I don’t know about that, but I know enough about wanting to avoid one’s parents to know that it’s not an easy thing to agree to. Anyway, you’ve got this. I know it. See ya.”
I waved Tabby off, shutting the door behind her and leaning on it.
The witch had been right about one thing. I did not want to talk to my dad. Not about my powers. Not about the weather. Nothing. Seeing him would just bring up feelings of betrayal again, I just knew it.
“Jack.”
My eyes lifted from the floor of the foyer to meet the dark gaze of Marcus, hovering under the stairs. “Hey.”
“I know you do not wish for advice from such an old man.” He began, moving out of the shadows to stand before me, a good head or so taller than me, his cargo pants were a deep green that he had tucked a tan t-shirt into. Work boots covered his feet shined to perfection.
Marcus might not be a knight any longer, but he wouldn’t stand out in a military base. He had a quiet strength about him that made him a good leader and a good dad. Even if we didn’t always agree.
I gave him a weak smile. “Had about all the advice I can take for one day, but go ahead, lay it on me.”
He placed a large hand on my shoulder, peering into my gaze as he spoke. “A wise man knows when to disregard his pride and ask for help.”
I let my head hang. “I had a feeling you were going to say something like that.” Not letting myself wallow in my self-pity, I drew in a breath and puffed up my cheeks.
“Fine. Where is he?”
Chapter sixteen
Julian
“Ifyoulookhereat this graph,” Weaver pointed at the screen of his laptop, “you’ll see the trajectory for discontent amongst the supernaturals in regard to the new council. This line here shows those who approve of the direction the council is taking them, which is much higher than the disapproval rating, but these recent events have made it dip a bit. But I think once we nip this rebel business in the bud, we should be well on our way back to our normal numbers.”
“Uh-huh,” I responded, not really caring about his graphs or approval ratings. My job was to hunt down supernaturals breaking the law, not to get involved in all this political drama. Leave that to the council and guild presidents.
“What do you think, Fawley?” President Fleming asked over the speaker phone. Weaver had screenshared with the president while he went over his new system that had absolutely nothing to do with our current mission.
Pulling the glasses from my face, I worked on cleaning them off. I hoped it would buy me time to think of a professional answer that wasn’t “Who gave a rat’s ass?”
“It… uh… sounds great, sir. I’m just having a hard time thinking about statistics when we have a lead on who attacked Durand.” I tried my best to sound professional and not annoyed as all get out.
Tate had texted a bit ago, telling me he had the note. We were going to reconvene in my apartment, but then the president surprised me with a conference call to go over Weaver’s data.
