The Regent

“How are things going?” I asked Dean who had come down to the headquarters lobby to meet me. Recruitment posters filled the entrance hall, and I was pleased to see a couple of people wearing purple taking down notes.

“It’s actually going pretty well. We’ve had nearly fifty applications for this branch alone, but over the whole of Silverwood, we are looking at hundreds. When you first mentioned it, I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it seems the Magi want some control in their own safety.”

“That’s great,” I yawned.

“Busy day yesterday, huh? Daniel told me he was so surprised. Between you and me, he expected you to end up with Cynder.”

“Yeah, well...” I trailed off. What else was there to say on the subject? “How are the current staff taking the influx of Magi?”

“There have been a number of people quitting and some low-level grumbles, but nothing we aren’t handling. Leo is doing a great job.”

“That’s good to hear. I heard he had a lead on The Regent.”

“I’ll let you speak to him about it.”

He led me to a small room with just a table and three chairs. One of which was occupied by Leo. Dean took the other one next to him, and I sat opposite.

“I feel like I’m being interrogated,” I quipped.

“This is an interrogation room, but it’s the only place I could think of that is private. I share an office upstairs, and Dean works in an office with the rest of the task force.”

“Ok,” I replied. “What is it you’ve found? Do you know who it is yet?”

“Not exactly, but we do know that it is someone high up—higher up than we thought. I think we underestimated the reach of the MDS. The Regent is someone at the very top.”

“Top of what?” I asked, confused.

“Someone in a really powerful position.”

“Could it be Pittser? He is a very well known celebrity since telling all those lies on TV.”

“No. It’s not him. He’s a member of the MDS, but he’s not the boss. We have intel that he was the one that shot at you in Thalia. But unfortunately, he’s gone underground, and we can’t find him. We don’t even know if he’s in Silverwood or Thalia, although we have men and women in the field looking for him.”

“So what else do you know about The Regent?”

“We know it’s a man and we know he has a lot of political clout. He needs it to keep his identity secret. His followers are exceptionally loyal, although many don’t know who he actually is. He’s clever because only a few select members of the MDS know who he really is. The rest only know him as The Regent. We also know he has a lot of money and isn’t afraid to spend it.”

“That doesn’t really narrow it down that much. There are many people in powerful positions here in Silverwood; surgeons, lawyers, judges, even the police.”

“That’s why I’ve chosen to speak with you down here rather than in my office upstairs.”

“You don’t think it’s Mr. Copper, surely?” He’d come across as such a nice guy, but I knew that he was the one who currently shared an office with Leo.

“Not as such, but I can’t rule him out. He’s in the perfect position. He has power and money and what better place to hide than in full view. Few people would suspect him.”

“But you do?”

“No, but I’m not prepared to make mistakes, based on a gut feeling. He comes across as genuine, but The Regent didn’t get to where he is by being anything but brilliant.”

An idea suddenly occurred to me. “What about Grenfall. He was vehemently anti-Magi and an asshole to boot.”

“I had the same thought,” replied Leo. “but he was a bit too perfect as a suspect. We think our man is keeping his anti-Magi beliefs to himself to avoid suspicion. Grenfall couldn’t keep his mouth shut about how much he despised the Magi.”

“We have been tracking him, though,” cut in Dean. “We’ve had a couple of our task force on him for days.”

“And?” I asked. I could quite imagine Grenfall heading some secret group to bring down the Magi despite what Leo said. He seemed like the type and fit the profile perfectly. Plus, I didn’t like the guy!

“Nothing. He’s spent the last week drinking alone in a pub.”

“That’s sad.”

“Yeah, but not suspicious. He’s talked to no one except the barman, and then, only to order drinks.”

“Any other leads?” I asked, feeling hopeless.

“A couple,” answered Leo, “but nothing concrete. The task force members are working well together, and we are gathering information, but it’s going to be a while before we know for sure.”

“So why call me in here? You could have told me this at the party yesterday.”

Leo sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Your love life is really none of my business, but I do feel pretty bad about finding that photo of Cynder. I think this whole marriage to Drusilla Bloom thing has spiraled out of control.”

“It’s ok. You were looking out for me. I understand that.”

“It’s not ok. If I’d not stirred the pot, none of this would have happened. I’ve kept some of the task force to one side to look into Cynder’s past for you.”

“And?”

“Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Yes, of course, I’m sure. What is it?”

“His parents were killed in a fire when he was a child. Apparently, there had been a lot of threats towards them as they were Magi. The official line is that it was an accident, but...”

“There was a strong smell of petrol, and the doors to the restaurant had been blocked off,” I interrupted him.

“How do you know?” asked Leo.

“He told me.” I felt relieved that at least this was the truth.

“The trail goes a bit murky after this point, but he lived with a number of people. Some Magi, some not Magi. At one point in his mid-teens, he lived with the Blooms. I think the Countess Bloom thought she was doing him a huge favor, but by all accounts, he was nothing more than a slave for the two years he lived there. She made him refer to her as step-mother and her daughters as sisters throughout the time he was with them. She liked to show him off to her well-to-do friends, but when he wasn’t out with her and her daughters, he lived in rags, sleeping among the fireplace ashes in the basement. When it stopped being cool or when she got bored with him, she threw him out in the streets. He lived on park benches for the next six months before a Magi family took him in.”

My heart went out to him. He’d told me much of this already, but he’d not told me he’d been forced to wear rags and sleep in ashes. How cold he must have been living on the streets.”

“So he wasn’t married to Drusilla Bloom?”

“No. All the proof the media found is fabricated. We’ve managed to get a lot of it and have our experts go over it. It’s all fake, but it’s good. Whoever made the wedding photos and the fake certificates knew what they were doing. It wouldn’t have come cheap.”

“So the countess or her daughters paid for someone to do this?”

Leo shook his head. “We don’t think so. She might have the title and the nice house, but since her husband died twenty years ago, she and her daughters have managed to squander every penny they had. There is no way that any of them would have been able to afford good forgery.”

“So who then? And why?”

“We think The Regent did it. He must have offered to do it for her. She accepted for the fame. Dragging her one-time foster son’s name through the mud didn’t matter to her if it meant one of her daughters became famous. That family would give anything for fame.”

“Why would The Regent care?”

“He hates the Magi, remember? Having a mage in such a high position would be an abomination to him. Killing Cynder wasn’t an option with all the security at the palace. After all, he’d already tried to have you murdered unsuccessfully. There was no way he’d be able to get past your guards. Instead, he did the next best thing. He painted him as a liar and a cheat. With Cynder leaving, he got exactly what he wanted.”

I closed my eyes. Cynder leaving had so many repercussions on Silverwood as a whole, not to mention the effect it was having on me. I’d barely slept all night the night before. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him out there with no place to go and no money. He’d been in that position before, and I knew he’d survive, but I wanted more for him. He deserved so much more than the hand he’d been dealt. When he first came to the palace, he’d been promised a handsome amount of money if he were to lose, but he’d left so abruptly that I’d not have the chance to give it to him. Now the MDS would be gloating at their win.

“Will this affect our plans for the Magi?”

Dean and Leo looked at each other. Neither spoke.

“What is it?”

“There’s something else. Something you should know.”

“What?” Why did I get the feeling that it wasn’t going to be good news. Nothing ever was these days.

“The MDS are hatching another assassination plot. We don’t know what it is, but we know it’s going to be big.”

“When?” I asked in alarm. Another assassination plot meant more security, more guards, and a more visible police force. I wasn’t sure if I could handle another disaster like the one last year.

“We don’t know the date, but we suspect it might be your wedding. It worked before, if only by accident. What better way to get their cause on the news than by doing something that will have all the media out in force, plus the sheer numbers of people.”

“My wedding?” I gulped. I’d already had one ruined wedding. I couldn’t bear another.

“We will get a lot more guards on duty on the week leading up to it, but your current guards should be aware. We’ll do our best to keep everyone safe.”

I could barely wrap my head around it all. Yesterday, I still had two men to choose from and a wedding to look forward to. Just twenty-four hours later, one of the men was gone, and someone wanted to kill me.

“I want you to leave,” I said to Leo.

“I’m sorry? I know this must be distressing, but I can assure you, I’m doing everything I can.”

“No, it’s not you,” I said, realizing how he could have misunderstood my intentions. “You are brilliant. It’s just that Elise is pregnant. I don’t want anything to happen to her. Can you take my mother too?”

“As much as I want Elise to be safe, I don’t think taking her away from the palace is a good idea right now. She was fine for the party yesterday, but the pregnancy is hitting her hard. She can’t travel. I’ll make sure she is safe, as I will your mother and everyone else in the palace. If we all evacuate now, The Regent and the rest of the MDS will know. We are safer at the palace than anywhere right now. I’ve instructed quite a high number of the police to guard the palace leading up to the wedding.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I nodded my head. I had to trust him even though the thought of my sister’s life being in danger terrified me much more than my own safety.

“What about the Freedom of Magic? Can they help us? They’ve been gathering information on the MDS for years.”

“I’m sure they could be very useful; however, we have one problem with that. We don’t know who they are and without Cynder to tell us, we have no way to contact them.”