I wasn’t sure I believed him. I had killed Bones, but I’d deal with that later. This fight wasn’t over yet. I had one more thing to do to save Marcus.
“I need to go,” I stated firmly. Then I just… took off.
I wasn’t thinking. I just had to get out of there. I had to put an end to all of this. Oberi barked and raced after me.
I burst into Captain’s office several minutes later. My chest heaved in heavy breaths. “I found him,” I blurted.
I was met with nothing but silence. Oberi stepped into the room after me, and the door swung shut behind us. Then came the sound of Captain rising from his chair. He wasn’t angry. If anything, his silence meant he wasamused.
“I found the guy rigging your fights,” I repeated.
Captain sounded both pleased and skeptical. “Is that so?”
He waited for an explanation. It spewed out of me. “It was Eugene Perry— or Bones, as you probably know him. He’s been rigging fights for months, making deals with people.”
Captain paced around the room. His footsteps were slow and ominous. “Bones is one of my best warlocks. You better be sure about this.”
“I am,” I stated confidently. “If you don’t believe me, then check his stash. Your guardsdoknow a spell to uncover everything a warlock has subconjured, don’t they?”
“What is it you think I might find in Bones’ stash?” Captain asked.
“Plans,” I replied. “He’s already got predictions for next week’s fights.”
“Well, I think I’ll have to have a chat with Bones myself to confirm your theory,” Captain said.
I scoffed. “Good luck. He’s at the bottom of the siren lake. You’ll be able to conjure whatever was in his stash, but he ain’t talking, that’s for sure.”
Captain stopped in his tracks. “You’re telling me that you found out who was rigging the fights, and youdisposedof him for me?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Wasn’t that the deal?”
Captain burst into laughter. “I tell ya, boy. I didn’t give you enough credit. Those sirens are ruthless. We’ll be lucky if we find any remains at all!”
“Then you better start fishing now,” I said coolly.
“I gotta say, I’m impressed. Assuming I can confirm your allegations, and the fights return to normal, you can consider yourself a free man, Bandit. You’ve done so well, you can take Chancey and Ghost with you, too.”
“With all due respect, sir, I’m not the Blind Bandit anymore,” I said.
Captain chuckled. “No, I suppose you’re not. You’re free to go, Charlie.”
That was the most respect I’d seen from Captain in months. Apparently, the way to earn his respect was through murder. Oberi and I rushed out of his office as quickly as we could. As we walked down the hall, I felt Oberi’s discomfort through our bond.
“What is it?” I asked aloud.
I wish you’d told me when you joined fight club.
“Please,” I scoffed. “You knew the second I did. Ava and I talked about it all the time.”
You still could’ve come to me directly, Oberi argued.
“You wouldn’t have let me join,” I reminded him. “You took Ava’s side.”
Maybe because I knew as well as Ava that it was no good for you,he retorted.You figured it out eventually.
“Yeah, I did, so why do you still have a stick up your ass about it?” I demanded. “Relax, Oberi. I’m out. I never have to go back to that sucky old gym again.”
What about what you did to Bones?he asked.
