Mae’s face darkened. “I had to. He would’ve kept coming after me and others. She wouldn’t have been banished. I’d never be free—”
Justin put an arm around her and led her to the stairs. “You don’t have to convince me. I’m just saying, we’ve all got our reasons tonight. Once Internal Security matches those daggers and gets witnesses to verify Emil was stalking victims, no one’s going to care how this case was closed.”
The night was warm and breezy, the air thick and humid. The earlier clouds had passed, revealing a night brilliant with moon and stars. Being outside felt good and eased a little of Justin’s throbbing headache and other pains, though he was still counting the moments until he could hunt down a real painkiller. He’d had good intentions to lay off some of his vices, but then, he’d never expected to be part of a supernatural battle.
Mae, for her part, appeared to be in peak condition. In fact, he thought she looked exceptionally beautiful as she gazed upward. Radiant, even.
It’s the freedom, said Magnus. No god weighs her down. She may embrace any other—and others will come after her.
If you had any sense, added Horatio, you could even win her over to our side.
I’m not even on your side, Justin snapped.
“And what are you going to say for yourself in the official report?” Mae asked, her eyes as dark as the night. “As far as gods and supernatural warriors go?” Her words were a reminder of that monumental report from four years ago.
“I’m going to say whatever it takes to keep me here,” he replied.
“Which is?”
“That’s the thing. I’m not really sure yet.”
CHAPTER 35
A RECLUSE AND A TECHNICAL GENIUS
It took the wheels of SCI’s bureaucracy a while to wrap up the case. The military was much more efficient, and within two days, Mae had a summons to General Gan’s office.
This is it, she thought, approaching the base’s entrance. What I’ve been waiting for.
Even though matters weren’t officially closed, she’d been in touch with Justin and heard that all the damning evidence they’d hoped for was coming to light. No one could deny that it was an overwhelming success. She could hold her head up high with Gan and the pr?torians again and return to where she belonged.
“A death temple and a genetic scandal.” Gan chuckled at the absurdity of what had gone down on the Pan-Celt land grant. “When I was asked to put you with March, I had no idea what madness was coming.”
His word choice caught her attention. She’d been spending too much time with Justin. “Asked? I thought you assigned me to him as a punishment. Sir.”
“Did you?” He shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. It was a bizarre set of circumstances, actually. SCI had asked us for a pr?torian to retrieve Dr. March, and we had one assigned. I don’t recall who. A Celadon, I believe. Anyway, Francis Kyle was on base for a meeting with the research department. He apparently got lost and received directions from some man who claimed to work here but didn’t meet any description I knew.”
“What did he look like, sir?” Mae had no reason to ask, and Gan had no reason to tell her. It wasn’t relevant to the story, but some part of her needed to know what twist of fate had led her to this point.
Gan thought back. “I don’t recall the exact details. Older man. No uniform. He had a glass eye, so maybe that was why his directions were so bad.” He seemed very amused at the joke. “Anyway, he somehow sent Kyle over to our department, which was all abuzz over what to do with the pr?torian who’d started a fight at a funeral.”
She nearly pointed out that she hadn’t started the fight but then thought better of it.
“Kyle heard you were Nordic and got worked up about it. He’s a very excitable man, if you haven’t noticed.” “Excitable” was one way to put it, Mae thought, recalling how the director had salivated over Justin. “He requested you for SCI because he thought your background would help with all the patrician visits. And so, off you went.”
“What would’ve happened to me otherwise, sir?”
“Slap on the wrist. Two weeks’ suspension. And still banned from the uniform—which ended up being your only punishment, really. But we would’ve had you back in the field before long.”
Mae was dumbfounded. Two weeks was nothing. Double that time had passed already. Two weeks, and she could’ve worn the black uniform again and been off fighting as she was intended to do. Instead, a set of bad directions and even worse timing had landed her an assignment that had ripped her world out from underneath her.
“We’re all very pleased with how you handled things with those fanatics,” Gan continued, oblivious to her churning thoughts. “You’ll have a nice commendation to outweigh your reprimand.” He looked at her expectantly, awaiting an appropriate response.
“Thank you, sir.”