Empower

Chapter 10

‘We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.’

Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Sometimes we knowingly fool ourselves. Sometimes there is no way to control what’s going on, so we just lie to avoid facing facts. The calm before the storm. Because there is no other way.

I strode purposefully towards the meeting room. My emotions were in check, my hood was back in place, and I ignored the inquisitive eyes as I walked through the halls. But as soon as I entered the meeting room and felt the intensity flowing from the presence at the head of the main table, I knew there was little time left to hide.

Steph stayed with me at the back of the room. I peeked through my hood, noting that Lincoln had angled his body away from us. Another clear message. But it was a new day and I wasn’t going to let myself get caught up in his behaviour. I was completely shut off, surrounded by nothing but my ever-present coldness.

Tick. Tick.

‘Our sources have told us there’s a group of humans organising an exile tournament this week in Manhattan.’

‘Is there a chance they’re connected with the group Spence and Chloe were investigating?’ Josephine asked from beside Lincoln, before taking a sip from a china cup.

‘There’s a good chance,’ Lincoln confirmed.

The door opened again and Gray moved into the room and took up position on my other side. He’d discarded his robe. When I looked up at his bloodshot eyes, he gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged. With an unveiled Gray beside me, the amount of unwanted attention on us multiplied.

Tick. Tick.

‘Hakon,’ Lincoln went on, holding up a sheet of paper, ‘are you confident this is the right address?’

I heard Hakon, one of the highest-ranking Grigori and a member of the Assembly, speak up from somewhere on the other side of the room. ‘It’s a good source but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to verify,’ he said.

‘I think we might be able to do that in a few minutes,’ Steph said. She’d moved a few feet away from me. Not that it mattered. Lincoln didn’t look in her direction.

‘How?’ he asked, feigning sudden interest in the file he was holding.

‘Chloe is awake,’ Steph answered, sounding meek for the first time. Before Lincoln could speak, she continued. ‘She said the group they were trying to infiltrate had an office here. Zoe and Salvatore are getting the details from her now.’

The tension was palpable in the silence before Lincoln seemed to snap out of it. ‘Fine. As soon as we get that, we’ll assemble a team and raid the building. We’ll run surveillance today and take them first thing tomorrow. It’s not ideal but we need to ensure all the right people will be there. Office hours will be best.’

I took a deep breath.

Tock.

‘A full-on attack is unnecessary.’ My voice was so surprisingly steady I almost turned to Gray for a quick high-five.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Lincoln responded, tilting his head but still angling away from me.

I closed my eyes briefly then took a step forward, and lowered my hood. I ignored the sudden murmurs that filled the room and set my eyes on Lincoln, who had finally turned in my direction.

So perfectly green. God, no memory could ever do your eyes justice.

I cleared my throat. ‘An attack will only alert the exile controlling all of this that we are coming in force.’

Lincoln held my gaze with little outward effort. I tried to affect the same response even as I felt the connection between us course through my entire being.

‘That’s hardly a problem as far as I can see; it might draw them out of the woodwork. And may I remind you that you are here as a guest. I’ll tolerate that, but mind your place. This is not your mission and you will not be required to offer an opinion.’

If my emotions had not been shut down so tightly, his behaviour would have caused a flare of pain, and then anger. Lincoln knew how much I cared for Spence. He also knew that it wasn’t smart to cut out opinion if it could lead to a good solution.

I took another step forward, my eyes narrowing on him slightly. I wasn’t about to stand by and watch Spence get hurt.

‘While I appreciate your tolerance I think you’re missing the point.’

He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘And what would that be?’

I glanced briefly in Josephine’s direction, hoping in vain that she might speak on my behalf. But she appeared content playing the spectator, her eyes darting back and forth between Lincoln and me.

‘If Spence had wanted you and your team to lead this rescue then he would have sent Chloe back with a message for you. Not to mention she’s been hiding the fact that she’s been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past couple of days waiting until I arrived.’ I crossed my arms now, mirroring him.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Lincoln’s face remained impressively impassive, given that I’d just challenged him in front of the entire room. ‘Message?’

‘He’s alive.’ I didn’t miss his instant relief and I was comforted to see a glimpse of his familiar sincerity.

He’s still in there somewhere.

I heard a gasp from the opposite side of the room and followed it to Mia. Morgan had her arm around Mia’s shoulders as Mia hurriedly wiped her eyes. My brow furrowed but I turned back to the more pressing matters.

‘We have a name to go on. Sammael,’ I said. I swallowed before adding, ‘You’ve seen him before.’

Lincoln raised his eyebrows.

I fought back the memories. ‘Bald. Short, for an exile. Suit. Glasses. Br—’

‘Briefcase,’ he cut me off.

I nodded.

Lincoln glanced at Max and Morgan. ‘Take his name up to the libraries and see what they can dig up on him.’

As soon as Max and Morgan were out the door Lincoln turned back to me, his mouth set in a straight line. ‘What else?’

‘Spence was tracking him when the tables turned on them. When he was separated from Chloe they were headed south and it looks like he’s still somewhere in that direction. Still in the country. He told Chloe to tell me it was a trap.’

Lincoln threw a hand in the air. ‘Well, there you go. Doesn’t sound like he wants you after all.’

‘And then he said he’d see me soon,’ I fired back. ‘I guess he knows me well.’

Lincoln’s eyes narrowed at that statement. ‘What are you suggesting, Violet?’ His voice broke slightly on my name as if he struggled to say it.

I shrugged. ‘Run your surveillance today. I’ll take a few of your people tonight, if they’re willing, to cover the perimeter of the building. Gray and I will go in and find out what they know about Spence and this exile. Once I know where Spence is I’ll take a team with me to go and get him. Then I’ll bring him back here.’

Lincoln laughed. ‘You’re delusional if you think that’s going to happen.’

I shook my head and spoke before he could. ‘Academy tactics are too obvious. They’ll be waiting for you and they’ll be ready. People will get hurt and Spence will be put in unnecessary danger. I won’t allow that. I’m sorry.’

‘For which part!’ he roared, causing me to flinch before he quickly pulled his mask back in place. It was the first real emotion I’d seen from him and I had to force myself not to take a step towards him. Lincoln took a deep breath and then asked, ‘How exactly do you think you’re going to lead anyone from here? Why should they follow you?’ He took a step towards me, showing the assembled Grigori he had no problem being in my space. ‘I’m not saying you have no right to help find Spence. He obviously sent Chloe to speak with you for a reason. If you agree to do as instructed and stay out of our way …’

Out of your way, you mean.

‘I’ll consider letting you come along.’

It was my turn to laugh. But I sobered quickly and took my own confident step into the centre of the room. I didn’t miss the small step back that he took.

‘Clearly you’ve misunderstood me at some fundamental level, so let me be crystal clear. Spence asked for me and I’ll be leading this rescue, Lincoln, whether you like it or not.’

‘If you’re challenging his leadership there is only one way to do it,’ Josephine said coolly from her place at the head of the table, drawing the attention of the entire room. ‘You must challenge in physical combat.’

I glared at her. She smiled in understanding. ‘There is a main-hall gathering scheduled this afternoon. If you wish to challenge you can do so there in front of the Academy and Assembly members. If you want our resources and power behind you and insist on taking point, this is the only way.’

This was not part of our deal, but I wasn’t surprised she was already throwing curve balls.

Lincoln leaned back against the edge of the table and smirked. Judging by the number of similar expressions, he wasn’t the only person in the room who didn’t rate my chances against him in a one-on-one. My jaw clenched to see how sure he was of his abilities against mine, but I’d seen that small step back he’d taken. He was at least slightly wary. And I was highly aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I knew that what I carried within me was far more painful than anything else I could be made to endure, but I’d learned to control that pain. I’d had to.

Plus, Lincoln hadn’t seen me in action since before Phoenix gave me his angelic essence. He was severely underrating me.

I felt the corners of my mouth lift, just as his dropped slightly.

‘Fine,’ I said mustering my willpower. ‘Let’s do it.’

Walking into the main hall was like stepping back in time. The memories of my Grigori testing and the mayhem that followed enveloped me momentarily before I shoved them aside.

Gray was beside me and already the hall was full on both the ground level and the overhanging balconies above. I’d never been in here prior to proceedings; I’d always been brought in as the entertainment.

Actually, today isn’t much different.

‘God, I’d forgotten how much fanfare this lot enjoyed,’ Gray mumbled.

‘You were once part of the Academy?’ I asked. Gray made a point of not divulging his age or his history.

He shrugged. ‘For a spell. Figured out very fast that it wasn’t for me.’

I wondered, not for the first time, what had become of his Grigori partner, but I knew better than to ask. It was bad Rogue etiquette.

‘When was the last time you were here?’ I hedged.

He glanced at me, knowing my game. ‘Well before you were born.’ And I knew he would say no more.

‘Did you manage to get a team together?’

Gray nodded. ‘Carter, Taxi and Milo will be here in a couple of days. I’ve got some locals on standby if we need, too.’

‘Is Carter going to be a problem?’ I asked, well aware of how he felt about – and reacted to – any form of authority.

Not to mention I’m not his favourite person at the moment.

‘He’ll be fine. He gave me his word.’

‘And you trust it?’ I pushed. ‘With your life?’

Gray set a level look on me. ‘Even with yours, princess.’

I grinned, knowing full well that to Gray, my life rated well below his own.

At that moment Lincoln brushed past, knocking Gray’s shoulder in the process. Gray watched as Lincoln continued without pause towards the front of the room.

‘Not much of a welcome, mate,’ Gray called out. I was surprised considering Lincoln and Gray had seemed to get along well when they’d first met in Santorini.

Lincoln halted and spun on his heel, looking Gray up and down once with hard eyes. ‘I’m not your mate. And I didn’t invite you here.’

Gray glanced to me and then his eyes narrowed in on Lincoln’s, drawing some kind of conclusion. All I managed to draw up was a bad feeling.

Gray snorted. ‘You Academy people are all the same. You think you know everything.’

Lincoln stalked back towards us, moving right into Gray’s personal space, using his slightly taller frame for maximum looming effect. ‘I know enough about you to have made up my mind,’ he growled.

‘I can see that, mate. At least, I can see that you think you have. So, tell me, have you been to London lately?’

The way he said it made me bristle. Lincoln stiffened at the same time. His eyes shot to me briefly as his jaw clenched.

‘London is a city I go out of my way to avoid.’ With that he turned and walked away.

My heart pounded.

He’s known where I’ve been. All this time. And he’s stayed away.

Gray moved close to me as I stood in a daze, putting the painful pieces together. I knew I shouldn’t let it hurt. I tried to remind myself that it was what I’d wanted and that I should be glad that Lincoln had moved on. But right at that moment, my heart wasn’t being practical.

‘Hey.’ Gray snapped his fingers in my face, causing me to blink. ‘You want to win this thing?’

‘Of course I do,’ I shot back.

‘At any cost?’ he added, eyebrows raised in challenge.

‘I have nothing to lose, so, yes. Why?’

He nodded but was silenced as the main doors swung open and the Assembly began to file in.