Page 125 of Cry of the Firebird

"You'll have to forgive the suspicious nature of my men," Aramis said as he sat down. He indicated they should make themselves comfortable on the two-seater lounges and other available chairs. Isabelle and Katya remained standing, but Aramis didn't seem offended by it.

"Suspicion helps keep you alive," one of the strangers said.

Aramis quickly introduced them as Petyr and Ruben, commanders of the two different Illumination teams on board. Ruben looked like he was in his fifties, with steel grey hair and a frown like thunder clouds. Petyr at least tried to smile at them.

Anya followed Aramis's lead and introduced her companions. When she reached Isabelle, Ruben grunted rudely, and Aramis glared at him.

"What do you want?" Isabelle said promptly.

"We are here to help Anya. She has made me aware of the predicament with the gate, so we travel to Russia to stop anything from entering our world that shouldn't. Also, to stopthe Darkness from taking control of the gates and destroying Russia if they have a presence in the area," Aramis replied.

"I've never seen one of the Illuminators get their hands dirty out of the goodness of their hearts," Isabelle hissed. "What do you really want?"

"We can't all be baby killers, can we, Blackwood?" Ruben interrupted.

Isabelle looked furious, but something else flashed by on her face. If Anya didn't know her any better, she would have thought it was fear.

"The fuck you just say to me?" Isabelle asked.

Ruben continued despite Aramis's warning glare. "I was there that night, thirty years ago. When we were cleaning up the little limbs of children you had ripped apart."

"That is enough," Aramis warned, but the man didn't stop.

"We were the ones who had to bury them. All those poor innocents, dying so terrified." The man had gotten to his feet and started moving toward Isabelle as he spoke. "Yet for all our efforts, the culprit remained unpunished. You fled only to reappear years later, hailed as the greatest hunter in the world. How fucking ironic."

"Hold your tongue, you fucking spark plug, or I'll rip it out." Isabelle's tone was so cold, Anya's skin broke out in goosebumps. She didn't think being called a 'spark plug' was so bad, but they bristled with the offense.

Ruben pointed a finger at Isabelle accusingly. "I've no doubt that in time you will show your true self, and we'll have to take you out. It's a dark day for the Illumination that we make an alliance with such a filthy monster!"

Ruben only had a second to gloat before there was a blur of movement, and he was on the floor, blood pouring from his mouth where his jaw was shattered. The attack didn't come fromwhere he expected it. Hamish stood over him with his fists still balled tightly.

"Don't you ever speak to her like that again. If you do, all your specialist training isn't going to amount to shit," he growled.

Isabelle moved to stand over the bleeding man, one hand resting on the butt of her pistol. With the other, she reached up and pulled her shirt back so they could see the mangled scar over her throat and shoulder. Ruben looked up at her with round eyes.

"I didn't kill those children. They weren't the only things that got attacked that night either. This is all such a waste of my fucking time," she spat. Isabelle turned and headed for the door, yanking it open violently.

"Stop her!" Ruben shouted as he struggled to get up. The two guards tried to grab Isabelle but caught air as she ducked. One made to grab her again, swinging low. Isabelle caught his arm one-handed and twisted it back, splintering the bones, and drove her other fist into his face. She kept walking.

"Hamish, can you go after her before she hurts someone?" Katya asked, but he was already heading for the door.

Ruben was cursing as he held tissues to his face as blood seeped from his broken nose.

"You are relieved of your command," Aramis said firmly. "At the next stop, you will remove yourself from the train and make your way back to London where the Council can make up their minds what to do with you. It's no wonder these people don't trust us when they have you for an example."

He turned his sharp blue eyes onto Petyr. "If you have a problem with our alliance with Anya and her people, I suggest you leave as well. If you stay, keep your mouth shut, or I'll seal it permanently."

The damaged and disgraced man removed himself from the carriage.

The uneasiness began to alleviate after an hour of talking, but Katya's guarded expression didn't change. Cerise chained-smoked to the point that Aramis found her an ashtray but didn't make her stop. She had dressed up for the occasion, claiming while some people wore weapons as armor, she wore fur and heels. It seemed to be working on Petyr, who was struggling not to look at her.

"We are going to get some people in place to check out the farm before we get there," Aramis said, pacing back and forth. "If the Darkness is already there, we'll know about it. The last time we picked up a hit on Vasilli was a week ago in Moscow."

"And what if they are there already?" Anya asked.

"Then we wait, and if they attack, we can defend you. We can't act until they do. I won't break the treaty, and us being there might be a deterrent to leaving you alone," Aramis replied.

Anya's magic was thrumming incessantly under her skin just by being near Aramis. It was almost as if her magic had a crush on him, and she fought the urge not to start scratching at her arms like a junkie. She thought about the previous night, how soon as his magic touched her, she felt like telling him what he wanted to know. Realization dawned on her.Oh, Anya, you are so stupid.

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