I stood, pacing the room, the agitation growing in my body. "He was just trying to protect me."
My grandfather stood and rested a hand on my arm. "I'm sorry, Scarlett. I truly am. But it took all of my pull just to exempt you from the same fate."
They would have killed me, too? For what? Being present? What kind of sway did Ragathon have that he could order the death of someone like Jax without challenge?
"If Jax had allowed the Officers to bring you in, then they would have resolved the matter and you would be free, along with Jax. Instead, eight men under orders to do their jobs died."
I'd been trying not to think of the men Jax killed, but now I was forced to face the truth of that day. "If Jax didn't want me going with them, if he was willing to kill to keep that from happening, then he was protecting me from something even worse. You know that and I know that. The Inquisition can't be trusted. This wouldn't have ended well no matter what we'd done that day."
"You may be right," he said, his shoulders caving forward as he sat back down. "You may very well be right, Scarlett. But nonetheless, there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry."
"Then I'll stop this myself," I said, leaving his office with rage building in me.
I headed straight to Ragathon's office, figuring it was the best place to start looking for him. I would control him with my power and make him change the sentencing.
I found him in the hall leaving his office. The sight of him made my skin crawl, but without a word I grabbed his arm and pushed my mind into him.
And I fell backwards, unable to connect with him at all. My power couldn't penetrate him.
"What is this? Now you're attacking a Grandmaster? Is the impending death of your little boyfriend not enough of a warning, Miss Night? Are you ready to join him on the chopping block this week?"
I didn't respond. Didn't give him the benefit of seeing my rage. He waited half a second longer, then sneered—a default look for him, I was learning—and turned on his heel to walk away. I was left sitting on the stone hallway floor, the color drained from my face, my blood boiling under my skin. I should have torn out his throat that day. Should have pulled the trigger. Should have ended him when I had the chance. I wouldn't make that mistake again.
Unsure of why my powers weren't working, I ran to my Initiate room, which already had my luggage thanks to one of the soldiers who escorted me back to the Castle from the landing strip, and I collapsed onto my desk chair.
First, I double checked the encryptions I'd encoded in my new e-Glass, making sure the Order couldn't get through and track me. Then, I dug through my bags and found the rebel chip I'd taken from the dead rebel's e-Glass. I slipped it into my e-Glass and accessed the line, but wasn't surprised they'd given their signal a new encryption. It didn't take long for Evie to hack it. She was becoming almost as good as me.
When it was live, I pressed the button and spoke. "It's N," I said, heart racing. "I need your help."
As I waited for their reply, I used a knife to cut my finger and on the glass of my window I drew the stylized wings and sword. The symbol of the Nephilim. The symbol of trust. It shimmered with a glowing light and then faded into nothing.
Messages sent, I waited.
Chapter 16
The Cathedral
New York marched on. An immutable fact of history and present day alike, New Yorkers were a tough breed and no amount of Inquisition harassment, public executions and murder could keep them down. There still existed signs of the tragedy that had just occurred: impromptu memorials of flowers, pictures, gifts, left where loved ones died. You could tell the socio-economic class of the deceased by the foliage. The rich left exotic, genetically modified flowers with petals that shimmered with silver and turned colors throughout the day. The poor gave what they could, from wherever they could find it.
All of it broke me, but I pushed myself on, averting my eyes to the sorrow, protecting my heart from the memories as I scouted the location Zorin had given me to meet him. He'd sent an encrypted message to my e-Glass, by means I couldn't quite decipher. I had to admit I was impressed.
When I arrived I found a coffee shop, which surprised me. He was sitting at an outside table with a steaming cup of something in front of him. I joined him and eyed the cup. "Does our kind drink coffee?" I asked. I loved the stuff before all this, but so far not much appealed to my no-longer-human taste buds.
He pushed the drink toward me. "Try it."
I shrugged and took a sip, and nearly spit it out. "That is vile. What is it?" It was like drinking acid.
He laughed. "Coffee. You'll find some things still taste good, but most human food won't. However, it doesn't hurt to try to blend in and look human whenever possible."
I studied his chiseled face, his grey-blue eyes and perfect body, and choked back a sarcastic retort about how well he did not fit in as human.