Page 91 of Junk Magic

Sebastian sighed. “Panicking the clan would serve no purpose, and some attempts are normal, even expected. But the constant barrage that I’ve received lately—”

“Then you need help! You need—”

“Who?” the blue eyes were impatient. “My brother?”

“Yes!”

“You know that’s impossible—”

“If he thought your life was threatened, he’d find a way—”

“Which is exactly the point!” Sebastian said, proving that blue eyes could burn. “If anything could make Cyrus risk returning to Arnou, this would be it. And getting himself killed by his own clan won’t help me!”

“Then maybe it’s time to admit what happened—”

“And risk a challenge from a dozen leaders, instead of just one? May I remind you why we had to do this in the first place? And that assumes the Conclave wouldn’t view that farce we pulled as reason enough to remove me, all on its own! I need Cyrus, but right now—”

“You can’t have him, and that is well known,” Ulmer said thoughtfully. “So, let’s break this down. Somebody starts turning monsters loose on the Were community, right before the big meeting, then slaughters a bunch of us at our most sacred spot. Yeah, we know it’s because Windward, the stupid fucks, botched things and drew the attention of a war mage who they then foolishly left alive. But to everyone else—”

“I look like a weakling, and unfit to lead,” Sebastian said grimly.

Ulmer inclined his head.

“And if you’re assassinated before you deal with this, it will utterly destroy Arnou’s reputation. And with your brother now a vargulf and ineligible to replace you, that leaves the field clear for Whirlwind to step in and save the day. Rescue us all from the terrible monsters and claim the throne that he thinks should always have been his—”

“Wait,” I cut in. “Are you implying that Whirlwind is behind the drugs? That he’d actually turn his own people into—”

I broke off, ashamed at how shocked I felt.

Ulmer gave me a pitying look. “If it put his fat ass on the big seat, I don’t think there’s too many things that old schemer wouldn’t do. And he’s drugging up vargulfs and killing off clans that have always been a problem anyway. Probably looks on it as a public service—”

“This is speculation,” Sebastian said. “You have no proof.”

“It’s a working theory, and I’m not making a case before the council. But you tell me someone else with the resources and the chutzpah to even think—”

He broke off, because something sliced through my silence spell. Not a sound, which would have been preferable, but a feeling. Panic, a full-on flood of it, as if every wolf here was suddenly screaming for help.

And was just as suddenly silenced.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The groundskeeper’s office was just down a corridor from the arena, so it shouldn’t have taken long to get back there. But I put on the brakes before we’d gone five yards, because something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

The people Sebastian had sent to guard the gates were standing around in the hallway, looking lost, with vague expressions on their faces. One was staring at the wall with a bemused look, as if he’d never seen it before, and they all had the vibe of having just walked into a room and forgotten why they were there. Or having just been spelled.

I flung a spell of my own to drag Sebastian back from the gate, which he’d nearly reached. Because, even in human form, he was faster than me. But I was determined and the net spell held, despite him transforming almost immediately.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, with his now huge body fighting it every inch of the way. “Let me go!”

I did not let him go. I grabbed Ulmer’s arm instead. “Is there another way out?”

He scowled at one of the bemused Weres. “You know damned well there’s not. That’s the whole point of this place—”

“Then make one, and get Sebastian out of here. Scale the walls if you have to. I’ll slow them down.”

“Them? Who the devil is—”

“What’s going on?” Sebastian raged. “What do you think you’re—”

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