CHAPTER 16

 

 

 

Orestes stared down his secretary with a look designed to make her feel inferior. He’d tenaciously perfected the expression in front of a mirror and performed the beta testing on his wife for the last thirty-five years. It worked every time.

“What do you mean, they were attacked?”

“Just what I said, sir.” Kelsi tugged at her sleeves and refused to meet his eyes. “The four people you dispatched to the Cavaldi residence were assaulted. They’re down with HR in the infirmary. Seems an earth elemental did a number on them.”

“Which. One. Attacked?”

“I’m…I’m not sure, sir. None of them are fit enough to ask, at the moment.”

His instincts, which he considered to be some of the best in his line of work, had warned him that something of the sort may happen. The one time he decided against sending a squadron, and someone in the household decided to fight back. He had a feeling it was Thorvald himself. Interesting.

And infuriating.

Orestes rose from behind his desk. “And they let the girls escape?” He paced the length of his office and fought the urge to tug at his hair. “Let them waltz off into the sunset while their elderly father nearly brought down the house?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“How is it that the boy was easiest to capture, yet the girls… Oh, the girls. They seem to be a step ahead of us every time. Every. Single. Time! Can you explain this to me?”

“Well, he is a null, sir—”

“I don’t give a good goddamn what he is!”

Kelsi felt personally responsible, clear from the downcast set of her shoulders to the way her fingers picked at loose threads on her clothing. She could, Orestes knew, feel so much worse with just a little prompting.

Those damn Cavaldis were becoming more trouble than they were worth. Orestes had awoken nearly frozen to the ground, with no recollection of his dreams and a sour taste in his mouth. The youngest chit was gone, along with the odd man in brown tweed. An unlikely accomplice with an unusual gift.

Orestes intended to figure out who the stranger was and what he could do.

There had been no whispers on the street, no hushed words passed from ear to ear about this newcomer. Which meant a good bit of digging was in order once he dealt with the problem at hand. If the man could not be brought to heel and used for his power, his potential, then he would need to be eliminated.

End of story.

“How can I possibly go on doing my job when I’m surrounded by such incompetence?” Orestes’s voice held a warning. The tips of his ears reddened. “I thought I could trust those under me to do a simple task. Bring in three adult women with piddling magic compared to ours. And here I am with nothing to show for it but four injured idiots!”

“From what I understand, sir, the father is very powerful. He—”

“I know what he can do,” Orestes interrupted, fuming. “I know what happened. There’s no need for you to blather on. Get out of my office. Now.”

The girl shrank back and held up a hand to fend off a second verbal attack. “Sir, I’ve taken the liberty of assigning other Claddium agents. They’ll search for the girls. And the elder Cavaldi is in custody.”

What?

“We brought the old man in?” He straightened the lapel of his tailored suit jacket and sent her an appraising look.

“Yes, sir.”

He returned to his desk. Sank down with a chuckle. “Oh, that is rich. That is rich! They took him down to the Vault, yes?”

She moved from foot to foot and answered slowly. “Yes.”

He permitted himself a full-fledged laugh. It was perfect. Almost as good as having the daughters in custody. Poor old Thorvald. It would be a slap in the face.

Orestes found a perverse sense of pleasure in the other man’s pain.

Some called him ruthless, ice-cold and cruel. He’d never found any of that to be true until that moment. “How utterly perfect,” he murmured.

“What would you like us to do?”

“Keep him in holding,” Orestes said. “I want our best people watching him around the clock. And interrogation.” Of course, interrogation. Where was the fun in life without it? “Make sure he’s uncomfortable and kept away from his son.”

Yes, he could picture it in his head. The man would talk, tell them everything they needed to know to gain the upper hand. Thorvald’s daughters would come for to him because they had no choice. Left alone with only a single parent. A single parent in a coma held above in the Claddium infirmary as further collateral.

A shiver of pleasure warmed his cheeks. Yes, things were progressing better than he had planned.

“Might I ask what this is about, sir?” Kelsi ventured.

“No, you may not. Do as you’re told or I’ll terminate your position. How many times have I threatened to fire you this week?”

“Seven times, sir,” she reminded him.

“Then I would think you’d learn to pay attention.”

She ducked her head and bent the upper half of her body in a curt bow. As she rounded the door to alert the proper people of his orders, Leo turned the corner.

“We need to talk,” he cut in roughly.

“Good morning, son. How are you? Did you enjoy your time in hiding with your tramp? I haven’t seen you in, what? Two, three weeks? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were ignoring me.” Orestes narrowed his eyes and tried not to feel annoyed at the lack of propriety. Their family had never been one for pleasantries, although he’d enjoyed beating the manners into them.

His pride and joy. At least, Leo would have been if he were anything close to his father in temperament.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Leo asked, his voice a deep baritone. The edges of his tan overcoat flapped around his large frame, signature red scarf wrapped around his neck. With shoulders wide enough to crack the door frame, the look should have been odd. Leo pulled it off with the grace of a magazine cover model.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.” Orestes leaned back with his arms crossed. “How about you fill me in on what you’re thinking?”

“Cut the bullshit, Dad.” Leo moved across the room in two strides and slapped his palms down on the desk. “I’m going to give you the courtesy of repeating myself once. Once. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“In regards to…?”

“In regards to attacking the Cavaldis and keeping Thorvald locked in the Vault like some sort of animal. You didn’t even have the decency to talk to me. You nearly took down the house, with people inside, and I had to hear it from an air elemental in the fucking break room! What did you do to him? Where is Varvara?”

“He confronted our own, Leonidas. There are people down there even now getting medical attention,” Orestes answered, those thin lips turning up slightly in a snake-like smile. Cold and untrustworthy. “And the mother—”

“Varvara.”

“Though I doubt she will ever be more than a vegetable, she is being taken care of. Trust me. She’s lucky I am able to forgive her husband in this case. Otherwise she might have been denied precious medical attention.”

Amber-colored eyes glared at him. “You sent men to his house to arrest his children without cause. What did you expect would happen? And where do you get off authorizing such an intrusion? There are no grounds. We have a checks and balances system in place for this kind of thing.”

“The youngest of their fold attacked this very building hours earlier, you know,” Orestes responded. “I am well within my rights to send people after her. She is a menace to society.”

Leo hung back, well aware of the reason for Karsia’s behavior and unwilling to divulge the information. “It wasn’t her fault.”

“I fail to see how that’s possible.”

“Sometimes people need help. Not a gun in their face and an order to stand down,” Leo said. He linked his hands behind his neck and walked to the bookshelf. Walked back. “You of all people should understand. But of course, I forgot. Diplomacy isn’t really your forte. Did you ever stop to think this might be a result of leaking magic due to the eclipse? Did you ever stop to think these people deserve your help instead of being attacked?”

Orestes shook his head and shot his only child a look down his nose. “They are a danger to themselves and others, and the little display today only served to prove my point. I’ve been saying this for years, and now I have the justification necessary to…” He trailed off.

“To what, Dad?” Leo asked. “To bring down an entire line of magic users? To try and wipe them off the face of the earth after you’ve already had their son in custody?”

“If that is what needs to be done, then yes. Sometimes it’s simple.”

“It’s never simple. You’re talking about murder.”

Orestes hesitated before moving to a small silver coffee service near the window. He lifted the carafe and poured himself a steaming serving. He didn’t bother offering his son any. “Say what you want. I now have provocation. Thorvald Cavaldi will remain in the Vault until I say otherwise.”

“Tell me one thing, and be honest. For the first time in your wretched life, be honest with me.” Leo leaned on the desk with the look of a man with too much weight on his shoulders.

“That depends on the question.”

“Did you have anything to do with Mrs. Cavaldi’s accident?”

Orestes answered immediately. “Of course not.”

“Are you lying to me?”

Orestes answered that question with another one and waved his son away. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be? Go spend time with your mother. I’m sure she’s lonely at the house, unless she’s already passed out from too much wine. She hasn’t seen you in weeks.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Leo shook his head and straightened. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this mess if it’s the last thing I do.”

“I see.” Orestes set his cup down with a light clink and rounded on his son. “You are throwing your lot in with them.”

“I don’t understand why it has to be us versus them.”

“I see it in your face. I knew it from the instant I let you get involved with that bitch.”

“Let me get involved?” Leo pointed his finger like an arrow. “You have a lot of fucking nerve.”

“No, you have the nerve, Leonidas. An affair is one thing, but proposing marriage to that freak of nature? I should have killed her when I had the chance. I knew banishment was too kind for her.”

Leo stopped. His entire body seemed to turn to stone. His heart missed a beat, and when it started again, it did so hard enough to bruise a rib. “What did you say?” There was a long pause. He stared at Orestes and didn’t recognize him. “It was you? You’re the one who separated Astix from her family?”

“You’ve drawn a line in the sand, son, and instead of standing with your family you’ve cast me aside for them. The Cavaldis.” Orestes sneered, raising his tone slightly. “What a crock!”

Leo spoke slowly, enunciating every word, feeling numb. “You hurt her.”

“She should never have been born.”

“She’s a person, Dad. She’s a person and a damn strong witch. How dare you take it upon yourself to arrange—”

“Leonidas, I’ve had enough. Kindly stop before you dig yourself a hole. There are things about your father you don’t know, and for good reason. I do what other people can only imagine.”

“I’m going to stop you from doing whatever it is you’re doing. Mark my words.”

Orestes once more gripped his coffee cup and sipped. “Duly noted, and so marked. Now, if we are through here…”

“You’ve abused your station for the last time. I’ll see to it if it kills me. You’ll pay for what you did to her.” Leo pointed at his father’s face. A definite threat. “We’re done. And this is far from over.”

Orestes watched his son leave the room, waiting until the echo of footsteps disappeared down the long tile hallway.

“No, I’m afraid not. It’s only just begun.”

He waited a few more minutes to make sure Leo was entirely out of earshot. As soon as he was sure, he called for his secretary.

The girl rushed back into the room in enough time to save her from the worst of his temper. “Sir?”

He took time to stare out the window. Tap his fingers on the sill. Grind his teeth until he tasted friction. “Follow him.”