“We trust you wholeheartedly, your highness,” Eddie said.
“Charlie may be a prince here at the palace, but in Chicago, he’s our boss,” Ava added. “Everyone here needs to listen to him without hesitation.”
I smiled. I liked the sound of that.
“You’ve got it,boss,” Kallie said.
I clapped my hands. “All right, team. We’ve all got our jobs. Let’s put our final preparations in order and get some rest. We move tomorrow night.”
People started to get up and leave the room. “I’m going to stay with Max for a bit,” Ava told me. “I want to learn about her tech before I use it. I’ll meet you back in the suite.”
I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips to kiss it. “Make sure someone escorts you back.”
“I will,” she promised.
As we were leaving the room, Marcus approached me. He fidgeted with his hands so much that it was audible. He kept his voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “Charlie… can we talk?”
His tone sounded serious, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with the vampire key.
“Yeah, sure,” I told him, keeping my voice steady. “Let’s find somewhere private.”
I took Marcus aside. Oberi and Rishi followed us down the hall, until we found a secluded alcove nearby. Eddie remained close, though he stood guard and gave us space. “What’s up?”
Marcus scuffed his foot on the ground. “The thing is… I don’t know if I’m ready for this job. I thought I was, but I’m worried I might do something stupid that could screw up the whole operation.”
“Like what?” I questioned. He needed to get to the point.
Marcus drew a deep breath. “I need to be honest with you. I was really uncomfortable watching you torture that guy. I know I shouldn’t be, because of what we’re up against, but I can’t lie to myself. Even though you were the one torturing him, I was still watching, which meant I was participating. I don’t know if I can stomach that again. I need to figure out what I’m willing to do to win. I need to know where my line is, because I didn’t the other day.”
“Marcus, we need you to pull off this heist,” I started.
“I know, and I want to be a part of it,” Marcus insisted. “But I need to figure out what I’m willing to do, and what I’m not, because I don’t want to be put in a position where I’m going to freeze and screw all this up. I could potentially be in a situation where I need to kill someone, and I can’t hesitate to pull the trigger. I’m not asking you to take me off the job, Charlie. I’m asking you to help me figure out where Ibelongon the job, and I can’t do that without knowing how far I’ll go.”
Marcus’ voice started to waver. “I realized some really important stuff in the last couple of months, and there are some big decisions I have to make. I need to do thisbeforeThe Devil’s City, because you need me at the top of my game. I can’t be thinking about this stuff when we’re doing this heist, because I don’t want this to get in the way and make a mistake. You guys have been telling me to get my shit together for years, and I need to do it now.”
“How can I help?” I asked. Iwantedto help him, but I didn’t understand why he was coming tomeabout this and not speaking to someone like Ava. She’d be able to work with him through this emotional stuff better than I could.
“I just need to talk it through, I think,” Marcus admitted. “And you have experience with this kind of thing. I don’t blame you for what you did to the vampire; I know we have to do whatever it takes, but I think you know how far you’re willing to go. I don’t. I’m just wondering… how did you know what you’re willing to do? At what point did you figure out where you draw the line?”
If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t think I’dfoundmy line. I was almost certain I’d doanythingto take down the Warden. There weren’t any boundaries for me.
I didn’t think I could tell Marcus that, though. He was looking up to me now, asking for my advice like a big brother. Maybe I didn’t knowmyline, but perhaps I could help him findhis. We needed to figure out how far he could go if we wanted to obtain the vampire key, because one single moment of hesitation meant the difference between pulling off this heist and being eaten alive by vampires.
Marcus helped me find myself in the Institute’s chapel when I underwent my spiritual awakening. I could still hear the melody of his harp playing in my mind. It was time I returned the favor. I didn’t know any spiritual ceremonies that would help him, but if we were going to do this, we needed to dig deep into his psyche.
There was really only one way to do that with Marcus, andtalking it outwasn’t going to do the trick. Perhaps that’s why he’d come to me and not Ava. I had an idea, and I prayed to the Great Spirit it worked.
“This is going to take a while,” I warned Marcus. “We shouldn’t talk about this in the middle of the palace halls. Go back to your quarters and change into something casual. I’ll meet you at the main doors in fifteen minutes.”
“All right,” Marcus said, without bothering to ask what I had in mind. He scampered off, and Rishi followed.
Eddie approached me. “Is there anything I can do to be of service, your highness?”
“Actually, there is, Eddie,” I told him. “I’m going to need a few things.”
I rattled off a list of items I needed. Eddie didn’t want to leave my side, because he insisted onguardingme, but I told him that Marcus and I needed to do this alone.
Fifteen minutes later, I had changed into a black t-shirt and slacks, standing in front of the palace doors. Oberi was in her unicorn form and hooked up to a carriage, while Eddie had quickly retrieved the supplies I’d asked for and stored them in a trunk behind the seat. The chill of night crept over my skin, and the city was quiet.
