Suffocate In Spirit - Shadows of the Night 4

Chapter 6

Hi!

Okay, things are going to go ballistic in this book pretty soon. I'm being vague on this, but I want you to brace yourself for the next couple of chapters. Any ideas or comments about what Anna and Andy are doing in this one? Any theories on the mole(s) yet? Let me know! :-)

Lara

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Chapter 6

He gave me a hard look before directing his gaze back to the windshield. I said nothing, watching Andy warily. Splashed against the surrounding shadows, dipped into light from the oncoming flicker of streetlamps, I could see a quick change of strong angles and hard, determined brown eyes. It was in moments like these that I thought I caught a glimpse of who Andy really was. We'd be out in the streets, walking into one hornets' nest of a danger zone.

And he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I shook my head. "So, is this friend of yours gonna be able to get us all the information or is he an all-talk-no-show?" I finally threw in the question that had been bothering me the most.

Andy smiled. "Trust me, he is. He owes me one. Was a programmer up until a few years ago before they transferred him for disciplinary reasons. It will just take him some time."

I frowned. Hacking into the Circle's system didn't sound like shooting fish in a barrel to me. I couldn't help wonder if Andy's friend had been 'transferred' for exactly that.

"Even though there were only eight witches who joined the Circle this year, it will be tough to work through them all. We can't even be sure one of them really is the mole. And then there's something else. We have no idea when the Raven started infiltrating to begin with," Andy said. "Maybe it's a little far-fetched, but there could be two or a dozen witches working alongside with us for years being loyal to the Raven all the while. What if it's a long-term member? And if it is, how could no one have noticed? That's the thing that bothers me."

"Someone would have noticed, Andy." I shook my head. "No, we're sticking to the plan. We're focusing on the newbies first."

He looked at me for a second. "I asked around, but we hardly can come up with twenty questions when both of us are officially under suspense."

"Which is exactly why this plan will work," I said, crossing my arms underneath my chest. "Travis said that there were eight witches joining the work force in the Circle this year. From what he said only someone very high up on the totem pole, or someone from the security staff would be able to monitor all that's going on in the headquarters. I'm betting on the security staff."

"Which leaves us with nothing but wild speculations," Andy said.

"Maybe. But we have something else to go with. We know of only one non-rogue witch that has collaborated with the Raven: Chris Hayes. She's our starting point – actually the only one we got at this point in time."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Neither do I, Andy," I said. "Neither do I."

We fell silent as we came close to the Riverside and Andy parked the car at the curb in one of the side streets. We moved through the shadows wordlessly. It was a short walk of numbing darkness before the street opened up to the flashier main street. Noise and bright light attacked us, as if the street vomited and leaked a sense of life.

It was here that the Crimson District bled out into the smaller Riverside, where the clubs and bars lost their vying need for glamour and shrillness. Where the rollercoaster ride of sound and noise fell and ebbed into a stiller, less brash version of its bigger brother. The Riverside shone like an old beacon in the Milky Way of city lights. It promised different things than the Crimson District, but it made the night its own all the same. I guess some things are simply universal.