Fateful Signs (Ballad of the Seer, Book Three)

Chapter 41 - A Call to Arms

There was a knock on Tally's office door. The person on the other side didn't wait for a reply before entering. It was a young guy. Handsome, with dark hair and big brown eyes. She had a thing for brown eyes. Probably because of Gabriel, she thought, but that was neither here nor there. "You'd better have an excellent excuse for barging in here, agent." Tally leaned back in her chair, holding the end of her pen between her teeth.

        Tally could sense his reluctance. "I was told to fetch you, ma'am." he informed her.

        Tally groaned, rolling her eyes. She hated being called ma'am. Especially by someone so close to her own age. It was weird. "Is this about that stupid alarm. I swear I'm going to dismantle that damn thing. It's always stupid kids trying to break in on dares."

        "No, ma'am," the guy said. "It's one of the Council members."

        Tally sat forward, dropping her pen on the desk. "Which one?"

        "Lucy Alexander."

        Tally jumped out of her seat and slammed her hands on the desk. "Why the hell didn't you say so in the first place?"

        Tally grabbed the blazer off the back off her chair - another thing that she hated about this job. She pulled it on over her black dress. She never intended on working in the Hub. The dress code alone was a huge inconvenience. She didn't own a single thing that was suitable to wear here - the dress she was wearing belonged to her sister. If it hadn't been Lucy asking she would have turned down the position as head of investigations. However, when a person you respect and admire that much asks you to do them a favor, you do it. Lucy had trusted Tally in a time when she didn't know who her friends were, it was an honor that Tally felt undeserving of. But here she was. There was no turning back now. It was a bonus that she was now Laura Howard's superior. Laura needed to be taken down a couple of pegs. She was far too haughty for her own good. Her power had gone to her head in the worst way.

        Of course, she missed her days as an infiltration agent. It was exhilarating to go into a situation with little or no knowledge and have to assimilate with the culture. Usually a coven of dark witches. Like that business last year in Eastern Europe. That was a really tricky one. She had almost been found out twice.

        The bullpen was chaotic when she arrived. Everyone was rushing about, or making a call. From what she gathered, from snippets of overheard conversations, three of the Council members were here. The other four were unaccounted for as of yet. Someone came up with the bright idea to use a locator spell. Before Tally could say anything, someone corrected their mistake: "The Council are always cloaked. Locator spells don't work. You'll end up having everyone searching Bangalore when they're in Boston."

        Tally followed her adorable escort to the other side of the bullpen. Through the frosted glass walls she saw a large group of people moving about inside. She pushed through the door, surprised at what she found. She expected the three Council members: Lucy, Mei Yamishiro, and Ian Warner - replacing his crazy grandmother. However, she did not expect so many of them to be acquaintances of Lily's: three norm teenagers, Lily's norm father, her boyfriend's norm mother, and her little brother. This could quite possibly the largest amount of norms ever in this facility.

        "Ahem," Tally stood at the end of the table, tugging on the hem of her blazer. She was uncomfortable in the formal getup. "You called for me."

        "Yes," Lucy said. "We have a problem."

        Hearing what Lucy had to say, Tally needed to take a seat. She tapped on the shoulder of a scrawny boy with thick black framed glasses. He jumped up and sank to the back of the crowd to stand in a corner. The other norm boy - the tall, handsome one, holding onto the tiny norm girl with the incredible shoes - put a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder.