Page 54 of Counting Quarters

As a result, I was forced to put an officer beside him in case anyone attempted to get physical. I chose Stewart, the perfect little rat for the job. Rhyse looked like he wanted to knock me out when he heard me make the command over the radio, but they weren’t the only ones playing this dangerous game. I had to keep up a facade, too.

“Thank you for giving us your time on such short notice.” Lux was the first to address his coven. “We know this has been a long time coming, and we apologize for the delay as we’ve gotten things organized. We didn’t want to come forward until we could do so as a unified front.”

“As we’re all painfully aware, my father committed the most dreadful act of betrayal against this coven. He herded us up and fed us to the wolves for his own personal gain,” Rhyse said, knowingly locking eyes with Mayor Douglas, who had been consorting with Silas as those events were unfolding, yet somehow managed to come out unscathed. He was also explaining exactly what Douglas was potentially doing to our town.

There were a few murmurs from the masses as they were forced to recall the events from last year.

Rhyse went on. “We’re here to tell you that won’t happen again. We’ve come up with a plan for the future of Watchtower, which we’ll get to in just a moment. We hope these changes will better us for the next generations to come and provide a more diverse leadership than what we’ve had in the past.”

Remy stood to say his piece. I knew this was it. He wanted to be the one to expose Mayor Douglas for working with the enemy that had attempted to kill his Counter just months before. To deliver the fatal blow to Douglas' career.

There was no way of knowing how they would react to finding out they've been lied to all over again. That another man in power was keeping secrets, especially where the Movement was involved. And to Douglas' credit, it would have been a noble effort to keep them shielded from an attack so soon after the last. It could have been—if he hadn't been only doing it to cover his own ass and working with Rayner.

“The fight against Rayner and his Movement isn’t over. They've been leaving messages for Beacon Grove. Dead animals strung up with ribbons and dressed in Rayner’s victim’s clothing—in your family’s clothing.” He paused, allowing them to absorb the severity of his words. “They’re sending the message that they aren’t finished with us, and the leadership in this town has conveniently kept it from you.”

As expected, the quiet murmuring turned into angry arguing, mostly directed at Mayor Douglas and the council members standing before them. The Quarters made sure they would be easy to spot for this part.

The uneasiness of the crowd had me instinctually reaching for my weapon, my eyes scanning for any threats. They were teetering on the line between peace and chaos, but the Quarters knew what they were doing.

“Before we allow this to unravel our meeting, let’s all take a beat and talk this through, as a group,” Lux said, taking a theatrical, deep breath.

Something happened to the antsy crowd then. Like a wave of calm had suddenly washed over them, their mumbling died down and silence fell across the room. Instinctually, my eyes found Blaire, standing off to the side with Tabitha, and I knew it had been her doing.

She could feel and control emotions.

“The Movement has affected each and every one of us. Our daily lives were interrupted, our families threatened—hell, even our social lives were put on hold. After the bonfire…” Remy paused to take a deep breath and Storie squeezed his hand for encouragement.

“Beacon Grove has been changed forever. Now, there’s no true way to know which side anyone stands on in this fight. I’d like to believe that all of you are on ours, but I know that our fathers have made that hard for you. There’s no way to know how Rayner plans to make his return, either. But I’m telling you right now, if you side with the Movement, you’re going to suffer immensely.”

“How are we supposed to trust anything you boys say when we just found out our own mayor has been hiding things from us?” Ben Davis, a pudgy, middle-aged man, asked.

He owned the party store off of fifth street that had been robbed by Movement Members the night of the bonfire.

“I suppose you aren’t, but the alternative is to trust Rayner,” Lux simply said.

“Or we could stop trusting any of the people who want to lead us and think for ourselves,” Ben replied.

Enzo smiled at that, then cracked his knuckles as if he would welcome the challenge.

“The last thing we need is a third side,” Lou Roberts commented from the back.

“There aren’t any sides,” Mayor Douglas dared to interject, earning a room full of glares.

“Easy for you to say. You appear to be on the wrong one,” Ben sneered.

“Yeah, Mayor, care to explain why we weren’t aware that Rayner is back?” Lou added.

Douglas held his hands up in front of him. “Let’s be clear, Rayner is not back. We’ve been working closely with law enforcement to ensure that’s the case. This is just a misunderstanding. It’s the result of a silly prank.”

He was floundering. The council members who stood beside him nodded their agreement, and I knew they’d do anything to save face, including throwing me under the bus.

“A prank? You can’t be serious. These are innocent people’s lives that have been stolen from them, and instead of allowing their spirits to cross over and rest, they’re taking it a step further and using their remains to send a message.” As Rhyse spoke the words, temporarily shedding the calm, collected demeanor he’d been successfully holding on to, my shoulders stiffened.

I hadn't told them about the spirits.

The only way they could have known about them was if Blaire told them. And if Blaire revealed that to them, what else had she shared?

I found her once again, the question burning in my stare. Had she betrayed me? Did she tell them about my gifts?

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