Page 75 of Morning's Light

“The man?”

An image came to her then. A flash of red and a face she’d seen only in dreams. Her forgotten night when Darkness held the reins and the man she knew was there but couldn’t place.

“The man in the club,” she said suddenly. As though their presence cleared her mind, Aisanna saw the stranger clearly. Light brown hair curled slightly around dark eyes and a sweet, forgettable face. Average height and slightly pudgy build. Little distinguishing markings.

“Yes, the very same one. The fire elemental under my jurisdiction,” Zelda informed her.

He was a fire elemental? Double ouch.

“The same man who, after cavorting with you in a public place, took it upon himself to find a shotgun and shoot up a FedEx office three blocks over. After security cameras caught you whispering in his ear, sending him on his way. Ring a bell?” Orestes’ glee at telling her took it to a whole new level. He practically smiled at the mention of the tragedy.

“He what?” Aisanna exclaimed.

“He killed two people before someone was dispatched to stop him. This was not a simple case of influence. This was direct involvement by one of our own.”

Aisanna immediately held her hands up in front of her. She knew where they were going with it and wanted to clear the air before they buried her. “I had nothing to do with it! It wasn’t me.”

“Funny you should say that,” Zelda moved closer and her small step was enough to have Aisanna shifting back. “We have witnesses willing to corroborate. After a sordid evening of dance and drink, a single whisper from you had the man running to grab his firearm. Do not try to pass this off as a reaction to the rogue magic leaking from beyond the veil. This is you, Miss Cavaldi. You.”

Aisanna shook her head until she felt her teeth click together. No, it wasn’t possible. She would never do something like that. Never encourage another person to kill.

Get it together, she warned herself. Play it cool. You have nothing to hide.

Or do you?

“What kind of witnesses?” she forced herself to ask.

Orestes answered first. “The kind we can trust.”

“When you do something like this, it affects everyone. Especially when the magic user in question is under my protection.” Zelda spoke to her like a belligerent child with a spanking looming on the horizon. “I cannot allow you to go unpunished.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Aisanna insisted hotly. “I don’t know what happened. I blacked out.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She mentally slapped herself. Definitely the wrong thing to say.

“You don’t know what happened? You blacked out?” Orestes repeated, finding her statement quite interesting. “That means you cannot discount your potential involvement. And believe me, Miss Cavaldi, you will need all the help you can get to worm your way out of this. It would be best for you to come with us, spend some time in the Vault with your brother, and think about your actions while we attempt to locate the Harbinger.”

Despite his similarity in appearance to his son, the two were not similar in temperament. Orestes would enjoy tormenting her emotionally and physically to serve his end goals. The same could never be said of Leo.

“I wasn’t there, I swear.” Maniacal laughter echoed in the confines of her head. Circling beneath the surface. Aisanna raised her hands to her ears although it did nothing to block out the white noise.

Tell them lies or tell them the truth. Neither will believe you.

“Having a personal problem, Miss Cavaldi?”

“I’m fine,” she answered through clenched teeth, drawing up a mental block against the voice. “But if you’re going to continue this interrogation, can you make it snappy? I have things to do tonight.”

“Cancel them.” Zelda turned her nose in the air. “We’re not done.”

“Unless you’d like to cut to the chase and allow us to escort you out,” Orestes told her pleasantly, studying his nails.

“It sure as shit sounds like you think I’m guilty.” Aisanna glanced toward the door and wondered if she could bolt before either one reacted. If they combined their powers she would have no hope against them. Perhaps if she utilized the element of surprise…

Orestes reprimanded her quickly. “Crassness must run in your family. I’ve had quite enough.”

“Let’s head to my office to discuss this further.” Zelda gestured toward the front. “There we can have a conversation without being interrupted.”

Aisanna heard the words she didn’t say, and those were the scariest of all. In her mind, it only meant one thing: Once there, she would never leave. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“It would be best.” The steel in Zelda’s eyes brooked no argument. She was not used to people fighting her orders.

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