Bad Luck, Baby

29 - Bad Situation

I'd like to say that I was fearless in the face of death, and stared Lucian down with dauntless courage, but the truth is I was terrified, and I'm sure it showed. I didn't know if he was about to blow my head off or not, but if he was, I figured I had nothing to lose (aside from my head), so I might as well do my best to convince him not to.

"Please—we didn't do this," I said, my voice trembling with fear. "We—"

"Quiet."

He didn't shout; rather, he spoke in a level, even tone, which was far more chilling. I think I'd have preferred it if he'd yelled.

Nodding to his two cohorts, he said, "Blakely, Hadid, clean this up. No traces. I'll take Harris and the daemon back to the manor. Meet me there when you're finished."

The two vestigers obeyed, and my terror level dropped a degree. Lucian might still kill me, but it seemed he wouldn't do so right away.

Taking the gun from my brow, he gestured with it, but kept it trained on me. "Get up," he said, and to Ro, "Try anything, and you'll be in the market for a new witch."

Ro glared, but kept his mouth shut.

Shakily, I got to my feet and Lucian herded us towards his car. He made Ro get in first, then forced me in after him. It was difficult, and sitting with my hands behind my back was far from comfortable. I winced against the pain in my shoulders and Ro hissed angrily.

Lucian got in the front seat, gun still in hand, and twisted to look back at us.

"Those cuffs are enchanted," he said mildly, "Try to use magic, or demonic power, and they'll sense it and release a stored charge. The result is not pleasant. You may choose to believe me, or test them and find out for yourselves."

Demonstrating his own confidence in the cuffs' effectiveness, he laid the gun aside on the seat next to him.

"So, it's been you all along, has it?" Ro asked, his voice cold with rage. "You know my name, which means you're the one behind the angelic cult. I suppose that makes sense: who would have imagined the chief vestiger himself would be part of the very thing he claimed to be investigating. And when Oscar got too close, you—"

Lucian snapped his fingers and Ro's words cut off abruptly. The gold collar at his throat glowed as if heated by fire, and sweat broke out on his brow.

"Oscar made a great study of obedience charms, as I'm sure you are aware. I helped him with that research more than once. Convenient, that you happen to be wearing one now."

Ro's lips parted in a gasp, and desperate words tumbled from mine.

"Please—please stop! Don't hurt him, I'm begging you! Ro has done nothing wrong, and I swear we—"

Ro hissed in pain and a thin wisp of smoke rose from beneath the collar.

"I think I told you to be quiet," Lucian said evenly.

I held still, lips pressed together and eyes wide, as Ro's face twisted with pain.

After several long seconds, Lucian lowered his hand, and the collar returned to its usual dull gold.

"Hopefully, that was enough of a demonstration," he said. "Fire is my element, and I have mastered it. I trust you have both taken note of that."

Neither Ro nor I spoke. Lucian nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Good. Now, we will discover the truth, and—guilty or innocent—you will each get what you deserve."

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