The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 3: The Pendant of Death

Chapter 14: Trust and Focus

Chapter 14

     “So tell me what I need to know about what happened down here,” Graves asked of Echo.
     They sat in a room in the New Orleans Ministry Offices. They looked more like a jazz club than the location of the Ministry of Magic’s offices. It was ornate, with very Creole and Spanish influences on the architecture. The building served as an old textile factory on the outside, but on the inside it was fabulously decorated in the post-Purchase style popular of the buildings around it. It was located on St. Ann, and during Mardi Gras one could hear the din of the tourists and revelers along Bourbon and Canal Streets.
     “We kept Dare and the Red Jackets from finding out where to find Ashwinder fangs,” Echo told the Director.
     “Ashwinder fangs,” Graves said partly to herself. “All this raucous mayhem for something as simple as Ashwinder fangs. How interesting.”
     “Tell me about it,” Echo mumbled to herself. “But they left here empty-handed, Ms. Graves. As long as the Bokur stays hidden, everything should be okay.”
     “Very good,” Ms. Graves commented. “So she stays hidden and we can keep Hyrcanian’s paws off of her. So where do you have her hidden?”
     “I don’t know,” Echo replied.
     “Excuse me?” Graves asked. “What do you mean you don’t know? You don’t know what?”
     “I don’t know where the Bokur is,” Echo said. “None of us know where she is.”
     Graves seemed to breathe intensely. “Well, you should get on that.”
     “Get on what?” Echo asked, confused. “What am I missing?”
     “You should find the Bokur and bring her in so we can keep her safe from Hyrcanian and Easter.”
     Echo gulped. “I don’t think that is wise, Ms. Graves.”
     Director Graves glared at Echo. “You don’t think it wise? Explain what makes you come to that conclusion.”
     Echo tried to find all the right words to say without offending her boss. “I really didn’t want to bring her in. For one thing, we don’t know if she’ll come in at all. Second, I honestly don’t want to inconvenience the lady because of something she’s got the bad luck of being the only expert of. Third and biggest: I don’t trust everyone in the Ministry right now.”
     Graves chuckled for a second. “Don’t trust us, huh?”
     “I never said I didn’t trust you, Ms. Graves,” Echo assured her, “But after last year, I don’t know who to trust in the Ministry. I mean, who’s to say that Easter doesn’t have spies?”
     “And where is this coming from?” Graves asked.
     “From the fact that only a handful of people knew that Shade was traveling across the ocean in that exact boat. They knew which boat Antipater was on. They knew where it was and who was on it. That’s a little too convenient, if you ask me. It could have been any number of people. We still haven’t really taken into account that all those guards and officials that turned on us in Boston, who knows if there might be more of them.”
     Graves looked at Echo with a look of study. She then smiled. “You’re thinking like an Auror, Echo,” she smirked. “Good job. I’m glad you’re being protective. We need more of that in this department. I need vigilant people on our force. You’re right. Aside from the obvious and arrested ones, we really don’t know if Easter had others in the Ministry. How do you suggest we flush them out?”
     Echo had nothing. She thought for a minute and scratched her head. “I didn’t think about how, really. We can’t really use Legilimency, especially if they’re under the Imperius curse. Easter wouldn’t put vampires in here because we’d be able to flush them out with the Homenum Revelio charm. He’d put in either some of his followers or some new hired hands in the dark, waiting for us to look the other way and then they’ll pop up and out at us. I don’t know, Ms. Graves. The only thing that might have a chance of working is if we use Veritaserum on people, but that would take a lot of it and I doubt we have the kind of resources for all that.”
     “We won’t need to,” Graves said, “I’m pretty sure that we can find some creative ways to out the spies. In the meantime, I want you to bring the Voodoo witch in.” Graves put a hand up to stop Echo’s objection. “I want you to bring her in and take her with you. Don’t tell me where you’re going, don’t check in, don’t tell anyone else outside of your crew where you plan on hiding out. Do what you like, but bring her in. Do you understand?”
     “I’m still against it, Ms. Graves.”
     “You don’t trust the Ministry, I get that. But just as much as you don’t trust the Ministry, I don’t trust everyone in your crew. You have two known criminals and a gambling, corrupt former Auror with you, not to mention the rich boy who did the end-around on the Ministry with the Six Nations. I don’t trust your crew, Echo. But I want to trust you. I have to trust you. And I have to trust that you can follow orders and do what is asked of you. I need to know you can be a team player. I need you on my team, Echo. We can fix what was broken here.” She leaned closer to Echo with a grin. “Together we can repair the damage that was done. We can mend the fences, Echo. We can take back what Easter stole from us.”
     Graves put a hand on Echo’s shoulder. The Pendant of Darkness seemed to bristle under her shirt, next to her heart. She smiled up at Temperance Graves and nodded.
     “I understand,” Echo replied. “I’ll pick her up, and we’ll keep her safe. You okay with us keeping out of the light for a little while, hiding the Voodoo witch? I mean, I’m going to hide her, and no one is going to find us.”
     “I understand,” Graves responded. “You and your crew stay off the grid. The longer we hide her, the longer it will take for Easter to fulfill his little mission.”
     Echo nodded. “Understood, ma’am,” she replied. She stepped out of the little office and said nothing to anyone else as she exited the Ministry offices. She had a flurry of thoughts and feelings running through her as she walked back to the Royal Sinistra Hotel.
     Two criminals, Echo thought to herself. Graves was referring to Rouge and Hardstone. She knew that Rider was a gambler, but corrupt? What had made him quit the Aurors? Rider had told her it was because he liked the pay better as a professor, wandmaker, and gambler. He was definitely a person who didn’t live fully in the confines of the law, but he didn’t seem corrupt. She never got bad vibes around him. As for Rouge, he was beginning to grow on her. He saved her life in the Zombie Shop, yet he shut down after his brother had rejected him near the Old Mint. She wanted to talk to him about that. As for Hardstone, she didn’t know him very well, but she trusted him more than everyone except for Dev. Besides, Shade and Hardstone were close. She trusted Shade with her life, and Shade trusted Hardstone with his. She trusted Shade’s judgment. As for the Aurors, Mared had been mad at her lately, but she didn’t show the signs of being a traitor. Talon would die before betraying anyone. Griffin’s father had died fighting against the vampires the year before in Boston. He loathed them, was always hungry to battle them. Oh no, she thought to herself. No wonder Griffin had been angry about putting more people on their squad that weren’t Aurors. He was still carrying the torch of his father; he wasn’t over his father’s murder at the hands of the vampires and the schemes of Antipater, Dare, and Easter. She felt a knot in her stomach; felt like she needed to talk to him and apologize to him. He had been taken to Salem in the middle of the night; to St. Michaels in Danver. She made it a point to visit him sometime soon. He deserved a good apology.
     When she got to the hotel and made her way to the room, she found the whole group was there. Rouge was leaning near the window, looking out upon the streets of the Big Easy. Hardstone sat at a little round table, Talon across from him. Mared was talking to Rider, sitting on a couch while Rider showed Mared a card trick he liked to perform on Muggles sometimes. Dev was still in the hospital. Nathan Knight was at the Ministry offices. Those in the hotel room looked at her when she walked in and waited in a curious hush for her to speak.
     “What’s the news, boss?” Talon asked.
     “What did Graves have to say?” Mared asked.
     Echo walked over to the little fridge in the hotel room and pulled out a bottle of Green Dragon’s brand butterbeer. She took a quick drink and turned to face the crew.
     “She wants us to go get the Voodoo lady, hide her, and take her out of here.”
     The group all looked at one another with questionable faces.
     “Where does she want us to take her?” Hardstone asked.
     “She didn’t say,” Echo replied. “That’s going to be my call.”
     Mared shook her head. Rouge didn’t turn. He kept looking outside at the street.
     “We’re going to pick her up and keep her out of sight. Off the grid is what Graves said. This is going to be difficult, but we are going to basically disappear. We’re not going to have contact with anyone, and we’re going to hide the witch. No contact. If you’re not okay with that, then let me know. Nobody has to come along if they don’t feel like it.”
     “What about hunting Dare and my brother?” Rouge asked from the window.
     “They won’t leave here without finding the Ashwinder fangs,” Echo told him. “We’re going to do a couple of things that are going to give us a little head start. We’re going to let leak a couple of details. We’re going to draw Dare out. Set up a trap for him. It’s going to take a little bit, but we can manage.”
     “That’s Graves’ plan?” Mared asked.
     “No, it’s my plan,” Echo said. “Look, I know you don’t like me in charge, but here’s the skinny: I don’t care about your issues. Honestly, all this tension is stupid. We’re a team. We have been there for each other. It was not my idea to be in charge, but what does it matter? Griff almost died and Ceddy’s in the hospital. This is far from the crew I thought was going to go with us, but what does it matter? We’re all here, now, and dang it, I’m not going to just let Griff and Ceddy get hurt in vain. Screw that. To be honest, I don’t trust anyone outside of this room right now except for the guys in England. But they’re over there, and we’re over here. We got a job to do, and we’re gonna make thing happen. I trust you. All of you. Yes, you too, Ravenus. You saved my life in the Zombie. You earned it, guy. Rider, I don’t know you, but I can tell you’re not the bad guy everyone else thinks you are. Mared, you’re mad at me, but honestly, get over it. I need your help. You’re better at this than I am. I need you to show me the ropes on some of this. Talon- Talon, I got nothing for you, you and me are cool. Johnny Hardstone, you are a straight-up gangsta, and I’m glad you’re here. I trust you guys. We’re a team.”
     The group looked at each other. Each gave a curt nod, and each smiled, even Rouge.
     “I know I can be a jerk,” Mared said, “But I got your back, Echo. You know that.”
     “I am flattered,” Rider replied, “And I return the compliment. It is a pleasure to have met you, darling.”
     “I’m glad to be here, too, Stripes,” Hardstone said to Echo. “I got yo’ back!”
     Rouge nodded. So did Talon.
     “I have some training to do with Master Wolf,” Echo said to the group. “We’re going to need a plan on where we’re going to be. Think of some places we can go and lie low. Plus, I really don’t know how to explain this, but I want to keep Knight in the dark about all our stuff; I don’t want him knowing the details. I want to see where his loyalties lie. Anyone got a problem with that?”
     The group shook their heads.
     “Cool beans,” she replied. “Dang it, Shade,” she whispered to herself. “Hardstone, Rouge, walk me to the elevator, boys.”
     The two men walked out of the room behind Echo.
     “What’s going on, Stripes?” Hardstone asked.
     “I have something I need you two to handle,” Echo told them. “You have to promise me that you won’t say a word.”
     “What is going on?” Rouge asked.
     “Have Rider tell you where the Voodoo witch is,” Echo told them.
     “You want us to pick her up?” Hardstone asked.
     “No,” she replied. “I want you to buy all the Ashwinder fangs she has.”
     “What?” Rouge asked.
     “Use Dev’s deep pockets,” Echo told Hardstone, “Buy all the stock that she has. Don’t say anything about taking her anywhere, just buy the stuff and get the heck out of there.”
     “Why?” Rouge asked.
     “Because I think, out of everyone in that room, I trust you two more than the others, and that scares me a little bit. Honestly? I don’t know if we’re being followed or not. Ever since we left on our mission, I keep getting this feeling that Mared, Talon, Griffin, and myself are being followed. But you two aren’t being followed. Go get those things and get rid of them. Hide the fangs, toss them in the river, whatever you want. Just get rid of them.”
     “Why are you really doing this?” Rouge asked her.
     “Because something tells me that there’s more about these leaked info issues than meets the eye. So go buy her whole supply of Ashwinder fangs. I’m still going to go pick her up, but I want her supply as far away from us as possible.”
     “What do you want us to do with it?” Rouge asked.
     “I don’t care, and I don’t want to know,” Echo replied. “The less I know the better.”
     “Your boss asked you to do this?” Rouge inquired, curious as to Echo’s move.
     “No. This is my move. The way I see it, she wants us to bring in the Voodoo witch, but I want to get ahead of this. We’re smarter than Easter. This way, they’ll be hunting the witch but she won’t have the stuff. We’ll keep them separate and far away from each other.”
     “That’s actually a dang good idea,” Rouge commented.
     “Why us?” Hardstone asked.
     “Because you two would be better at this than the others,” Echo answered, “And because you guys know more hiding spots than me.”
     “Well, that’s cool and all,” Hardstone began, “But I ain’t leavin’ you behind, girl.”
     “What do you mean?” Echo asked.
     “Devereaux is in the hospital, so I can tell you this,” Hardstone continued, “My job ain’t to look after him at all. My job was to look after you. He’s here for all this Six Nations biz, but mines was to watch over you. That’s why I’m here. I don’t care about all that other jazz, but I’m here to keep you safe. So Rouge can go, but not me. I ain’t leavin’ your side. Don’t look at me like dat, foo! You know I can’t leave her behind. I gave my word, homey. I ain’t gonna leave her without a good watchdawg.”
     Echo smiled. “Of course he would have you do that,” she said, shaking her head at the chivalry of her love.
     “So now what?” Rouge asked.
     “I’ll send Rider with you,” Echo said. “Then have Rider send us an owl letting us know where the witch is. You and Rider take the fangs and hide them somewhere. Meet us in two weeks in Boston at the Hexenhammer. We’ll meet there and regroup. Okay?”
     Rouge looked at Echo. “You really trust me with this?”
     “I hope so,” Echo replied.
     “What makes you think I’m not going to leave Rider and go find my brother?”
     “I don’t,” Echo said again.
     “You don’t what?” Rouge asked.
     “I don’t think about it. Do what you want after you get the fangs. I don’t care what you do afterwards, as long as you get those fangs and get rid of them. You leave Rider? Fine. Just don’t let those fangs get in the wrong hands.”
     Rouge grinned. “Send Rider down in ten minutes. I will talk to him and get to the Voodoo lady. Sound like a plan?”
     “Okay,” Echo answered. “If anything goes wrong, send an owl to Master Wolf at Salem. He’ll know how to get a hold of me.”
     “You got it, Kitten,” Rouge said with a grin. “Tell Rider to meet me at the Shindig.”
     “Stop calling me that,” Echo objected. “Next time you call me that, I’m going to freeze your nose off.”
     “Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Rouge smirked.
     “Good Godric,” Echo mumbled under her breath.