Page 14 of Expose Me

“Oh my!” I gasped and held my hands to my chest, using the most mocking voice I could muster, knowing full well that it would completely go over his head. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“That is ... unfortunate.”

“Yeah, so’s that T-shirt.” Never mind that the T-shirt was mine. It looked ridiculous on him, and it was making me feel mildly better to throw insults he could hardly comprehend. It was soothing the rage in my belly.

“What?”

“Nothing. Who are these buddies of yours? These liney-whatever?” I demanded.

“They call themselves the Lineg Legion. They are a small group of dissenters from Vuulectus. They are trying to steal a great power for their own selfish gain—a power that belongs to all Vuulectians.” His fists were clenched at his sides, and he’d gone super tense. Whatever they’d done had really pissed him off.

“You want me to find something. What is it?” What could he possibly be looking for on Earth when he’d only just stepped foot onto the planet last night?

“When the portal opened, certain things came through it before I did. Things that are crucial to the survival—”

Shouts and bangs came from the other side of the door, making us both whip our heads towards it.

“Your buddies?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I moved silently to look through the peephole.

“No. I would be able to feel their presence.”

Hopefully the commotion was unrelated to us. I couldn’t see anything but the door on the opposite side of the hallway, but the shouts and bangs kept coming.

When the ruckus reached us, and I saw the familiar blue armbands that members of Spirit and Sapphire sometimes wore on official business, I breathed a sigh of relief and removed the chair from under the handle.

I didn’t have a chance to open the door for them though. They just blew through it, making me stumble back.

“Ease up!” I coughed. “I was just about to—hey!”

The Spirit and Sapphire guards ignored me, grabbing me by the arms. I recognized the witch that stepped through the door last. Marina was based in Melbourne and specialized in protection spells. She was average—in appearance and personality—and she was ambitious. We’d met only a few times prior to this project, but I’d been working with her closely these past few weeks. She was local, and her specialty and expertise were useful in setting up the new territory borders.

“What the hell, Marina? Tell them to release me.”

There were four guards trying to contain Zey, and they were struggling.

Marina muttered a spell, and magic bands wrapped around Zey, pinning his arms to his sides. Then she turned a flat look to me.

“I’ll do no such thing. You failed to report a new portal, assisted an unknown creature in evading House representatives, and injured several innocent people along the way.” She turned on her heel and marched back out the door. Zey and I were dragged along behind her.

I cursed internally the entire ride to the House of Spirit and Sapphire offices in Melbourne. Could this morning get any fucking worse?

Chapter5

My shoulder was sore from how roughly I’d been dragged out of the van and into this “meeting room” in the basement. Someone was going to pay for that once all this shit was sorted out. I needed to speak to Reginald. I may not have been a powerful witch or a centuries-old vamp or any kind of supernatural at all, but I’d busted my ass to get to where I was. Reg trusted me and I had influence in the House of Spirit and Sapphire. Not bad for a human with a single ability.

They’d cuffed me to a metal bar that was bolted to the wall next to a table. At least they’d been gracious enough to give me a chair. The cuffs dug into my wrists, and I sighed, resisting the urge to take them off. I had a key in my storage that would open these. I could get out of here whenever I wanted, but I figured that running would just make me look more guilty. I had to be patient and play the good little captive until I could get this mess straightened out.

Patience had never been something that came easily to me. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since I was dumped in this windowless room and left alone, but it felt like hours. I needed to know what was going on. My position within the House of Spirit and Sapphire usually allowed me that knowledge whenever I wanted it. This was practically torture for me.

Thankfully, it was only a couple more minutes before the door opened and Marina walked in with two others. I didn’t recognize either and couldn’t tell what kind of supe they were. There were a lot of witches in the House of Spirit and Sapphire, but there were plenty of other types too.

“Reginald has portaled in from Sydney. We’ll wait for him to arrive,” Marina said, taking a seat across from me and scrolling through something on a tablet.

“Good.” I nodded, holding back the sigh of relief. “This can be sorted out more efficiently now.”

I lived in Sydney at the Spirit and Sapphire headquarters. I knew only a handful of the House members here, so it was no wonder they took Marina’s lead. But Reginald Reyes was a powerful warlock and reported directly to Odin and Lady Gabriella. His authority was unquestionable.

I didn’t get so much as a glance from any of them, but then Reginald walked into the room.

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