And one that won’t lead anyone straight to your family, Emily thought. She remembered the forged chits they’d purchased and scowled. It also means we can’t actually prove that you’re who you say you are.
She studied Flower as she sat down, her face surprisingly composed. Was that an act? Or was she really as calm as she looked? Imaiqah had been taught to keep her emotions under control at all times, even when she wanted to scream. Her father had even insisted that it was better to pretend to lose one’s temper long before one actually did. Flower might have had the same training, once upon a time. Or…she might have been trained in an entirely different school.
“I suppose you’re wondering why we called you here,” Emily said. She carefully–very carefully–cast the first truth spell. It wasn’t strong and the target didn’t need magic to resist it, but it did encourage people to talk. “Why do you think we called you here?”
Flower frowned. “Tam didn’t say. He just ordered me to come here.”
Emily felt a faint trickle of ice running down her spine. Something was…off. It wasn’t proof of anything, not when the truth spell was so light, but it was enough to focus her mind on Flower. She didn’t look particularly dangerous, not when compared to Cat, Jade or even Tam. But Emily herself didn’t look very dangerous either.
She strengthened the spell, carefully. “Do you know what happened at the brothel?”
“Men pay women for sex,” Flower said. “It’s a nice little earner if you get in on the ground floor.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed. It was an accurate answer, she supposed, but it wasn’t the one she would have expected. Flower should have talked about the raid, about Tam’s near-arrest, about the burned-out building…she glanced at Cat and saw her alarm reflected in his eyes. It still wasn’t proof, but…
“Tam was almost caught,” Emily said, tightening the spell still further. “How did they know he was there?”
Flower emitted a strangled sound, then plucked a knife from her sleeve and launched it at Emily. Emily threw herself to the side, landing hard as the knife glanced off the wall and fell to the ground; Cat cast a spell, freezing Flower in place. Emily rolled over and stood, glancing at the knife. Someone had carved a set of very nasty runes into the blade. It might have been able to get through her wards.
“Well,” Cat said. “It looks like we caught the traitor.”
Emily nodded, slowly. A traitor…a willing traitor. She studied Flower’s frozen form for a long moment, wondering just what had driven her to spy on her brethren. Loyalty to the king? Threats to her family? Or personal revenge? Someone might have treated her badly, once upon a time, and she’d set out to get revenge. Emily had heard that story more times than she cared to count.
She pressed her fingertips against Flower’s head and reached out with her senses. Flower had a talent for magic, she noted in muted surprise, but not really strong enough to be worth training. Emily doubted Flower could turn anyone into a frog, let alone anything else a First-Year student could do. And yet, if she’d been given a little training, she might have been a very effective spy indeed. Subtle magic and a handful of low-level compulsion spells would keep people from suspecting her, as long as they had no reason to focus on her.
Nanette would have done a far better job, Emily thought, wryly. And she wouldn’t have been caught so easily too.
“So,” Cat said. “What do we do? Turn her into a snail and step on her?”
Emily shuddered. “We ask her questions,” she said, recasting the truth spell. There was no need to hide it now. “And then we decide what to do.”
Flower jerked as Emily modified the freeze spell, allowing her to talk while keeping everything below the neckline utterly immobile. Emily could sense the girl’s weak magic trying to free her, but she didn’t have either the power or the skill to make it work. A good teacher might have been able to show her how to overcome her limitations…whoever had taught her, clearly, hadn’t had her best interests in mind. Emily rather suspected it had been sheer luck that Flower hadn’t tried to kill herself. Her tutor might have placed a few commands in her brain.
“Well,” Emily said. “You are spying on the Levellers, correct?”
“Yes,” Flower said. Her voice was utterly hopeless. It would have wrenched at Emily’s heart if she hadn’t known just how close they’d come to utter disaster. “I am.”
Emily sucked in a breath. “Tell me everything.”
Flower jerked again, then started to talk. Emily listened carefully, occasionally asking a few questions. Flower had grown up in a merchant family, apparently, but she’d been recruited by the Black Daggers two years ago. Her handlers had taught her a little magic, then given her a few tools and ordered her to infiltrate the Levellers. One of the things they’d given her was a chat parchment, one designed to look like a harmless scrap of paper. Flower had heard that Tam was going to meet with someone–she hadn’t known who–and she’d tipped off her superiors. And then Tam had escaped…
“So she’s basically spying on us for money,” Cat said, disgustedly.
Emily shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had betrayed their people for money and it wouldn’t be the last. She wouldn’t have to feel sorry for Flower, at least. The girl was an outright traitor, not someone who had been forced or blackmailed into betrayal. It would make it easier to deal with her when the time came.
And what, she asked herself, are we going to do with her?
She eyed Flower’s neck for a long moment. Tam would want Flower dead–and it would be hard to blame him. Jade would feel the same way too. Emily…wasn’t so sure. She didn’t want to be responsible for slitting Flower’s throat. And yet…she suspected she didn’t have a choice. Flower could not be allowed to report back to her superiors.
Cat took over the interrogation, asking for more and more details. Emily wasn’t surprised to know that Flower knew very little, beyond what her superiors wanted her to know. She hadn’t been encouraged to ask questions. Emily knew she would have asked questions, but maybe it was different for a traitor. Flower merely wanted to be rich. It didn’t matter how she got the money.
“She left the chat parchment in her apartment,” Cat said, finally. He froze Flower again. “It will be easy to destroy.”
“We might be able to use her,” Emily said. She picked up the knife and examined it for a moment, turning the blade over and over in her hand. Flower–or whoever had carved the runes–had done a very good job. “And besides, Tam will need to know what happened.”
“I’ll put her on ice,” Cat said. He levitated Flower into the air, then directed her out of the room. “We can decide her fate later.”
Emily sat back down, thinking hard. There were two more people to interrogate, both young men. She had a feeling that neither of them would be traitors–men were generally taken more seriously than women–but it was well to be sure. Flower wouldn’t be the only spy. The Black Daggers would try to get as many spies as they could into the Levellers. She’d heard stories about hate groups that were almost completely populated by government and police agents. The Purge had made it easy for someone to claim they’d been a Leveller all along and get away with it.
Cat returned. “She won’t be getting free in a hurry, if at all. And if she does, I made it clear to her that she won’t survive the experience.”
“Understood,” Emily said. She felt…she wasn’t sure how she felt. “When are we supposed to see the other two?”
“Tomorrow,” Cat said. “I thought we could both do with a break.”
Emily snorted. They’d spent the last two days in the apartment, rather than going back to the inn. Their stuff was safe, she thought, but…she shook her head. The innkeeper wouldn’t ask questions as long as he was paid. And besides, anyone who tried to enter the room without permission would get a very nasty surprise.
“There’s nowhere to go,” she said. Jade had warned them to stay indoors. Apparently, the streets were even less safe than usual. “And nothing to do.”