Page 21 of Just Dare Me
But there’s something else. Something more to him. An underworld current that repels my own, like when you try to put the like ends of magnets together. I feel compelled to take two large steps away from him, my heart stuttering with fear.
Seeing the crowd’s astonishment, Madison quickly steps in front of him with a forced smile. “Yes, well, I had asked him to wait until after the briefing, but as you can see, he does what he wants. Allow me to introduce Adrian York. He’ll be my security detail until all this is over. Washington insisted.”
Hillerman sounds suspicious. “He’s your bodyguard? I never heard anything about that.”
Adrian York places his fists on his hips. “I’m Special Forces. Black ops. Strictly need-to-know basis, even for the UTF.”
He’s responding to Hillerman, but he’s looking at me. Why’s he looking at me? What did I do? Can he feel the anxiety he’s stirring up inside me? He’s got to be a shifter, and whatever kind he is, it’s something extremely dominant, the most powerful I’ve ever felt. He cocks a brow at me, and even that makes me flinch. “Well?”
“Well, what?” I squeak.
“My question. Who’s the other necromancer? Marco Deus was dead, and now he’s not. Can somebody bring himself back from the dead?”
“I don’t know.”
“Care to guess?”
“No?”
“No, you don’t care to guess, or no, it’s impossible for somebody to bring themselves back from the dead?”
“Um…both?” I feel my scalp breaking into a sweat.
“The correct answer isno, with a period. Somebody else brought Marco Deus back from the dead. Can you tell me who?”
“No, with a period.”
“That is correct.” He gestures to the TV screen. “Do you have a slide with a big question mark on it?”
I’m more than happy to deflect his attention to Madison West. “Director West, do we have a slide—”
“No,” she states, and she slides an annoyed look at Adrian York—the kind of look she usually reserves only for me and Nick Gorgeous.
York sets his mouth into a firm line. I’m pretty sure that even if he shaved his beard, his jaw would still be just as big and square. “That is correct. You don’t have such a slide, because none of you are asking that question, theonlyquestion that matters. Whoever brought Marco Deus back from the dead is a powerful necromancer, and he or she has been living among you all this time. Discovering this identity will take us straight to the top of the chain, the head of the snake.” He pins me with a stare that drills into my eyes. “But no, you throw everything at findinglover boyhere. You talked about being a straight shooter, so let me do the same. With regards to this Detective Brenner, my directive is to kill on sight.”
My heart and mind feel a painful squeeze. I want to lash out, but I physically can’t, even with my dominance roiling in the pit of my stomach. It’s agonizing.
Danny Russo, however, feels free as a bird to speak his mind. “I don’t know about your periods and question marks, pal, but I got an exclamation point for you. Mess with Brenner, mess with me, got it? You can’t kill on sight if I take your eyes out first.”
G.I. Joe hooks his thumbs into his tactical belt. “Protest is not only useless but counterproductive. I have orders, and I will carry them out, even if I have to stand alone against all of you. Underestimate me at your own peril. I may be bald, but I’m still young for a mythic.”
A mythic! No wonder my dominance feels like bowing down and wailingWe’re not worthy!Nick is the only other mythic I’ve ever known. He’s so disciplined and nonaggressive with his power that it’s easy to forget how terrifying a mythic’s presence can be.
Elle raises her hand. “Wait, did I miss something here? How do we know Marco Deus is a revenant? I thought his eyes were normal-looking. No cataract thingies.”
“That’s because his reanimated body is home to his own soul. The white eyes—the cataracts, as you call them—only happen when a demon spirit takes possession of a body that wasn’t theirs.”
“But how could you possibly know that? Necromancy is secret, and it’s outlawed.”
Adrian York offers her a thin smile. “That’s classified.”
Frowning, Special Agent Hillerman says, “I think we can all agree that finding Necro X should be priority one. In fact, we can start the inquisition immediately, since Madison West is standing right next to you. She’s the most obvious suspect.”
Whiplash is starting to set in with all these threats, accusations, and truth bombs flying in from all directions. Heads are spinning.
“I agree,” Madison says calmly. “I am the obvious choice, because my motive is strong. Love can make fools of us all, and I’m no exception. I admit, I would do almost anything to have Marco back. Which is why I will not be excluded from investigation. My name will be on the list with every other sorcerer in Detroit. Until we do uncover the sorcerer’s identity, you all can rest easy knowing that Adrian York actually serves a dual purpose. Not only is he my bodyguard, but also a constant monitor. If I were Necro X, how could I possibly take action with a mythic attached to my hip?”
Heads nod in agreement. Hillerman’s is not one of them.
