Page 11 of Livewire Witch

I remain stone-faced and silent, mentally crushing Felix’s head with my bare hands as a rumble of thunder cracks through the sky.

“Great, that’s great. We’ll liaise the shit out of the vamps. Surveil. Spy on. Sneak around. All the things. We’ll do a bunch of digging and find all the dirt you need,” Roscoe blurts out like a guy with zero filter who has just regained the powers of speech after a year-long hiatus.

Felix’s smile is so fake, his face looks like it might crack right in two.

“Indeed.” The witch eyes Ro with cold eyes. “I’ll need you to deliver as much pertinent information as possible by the Solstice Ball, and then we can reevaluate things. We have our council meeting the Monday after, and of course, the vampires in contention will all be attending the Ball, so we’ll be able to make any final decisions while they’re all together in one room.”

Mentioning the Solstice Ball was just the right thing to say to push Felix’s buttons, apparently. He actually claps his hands together like he’s a toddler that’s just been given his favorite snack.

“Oh ho, of course, the Solstice Ball. We’ll have a few of our men attend to ensure that the information is passed along, of course.”

Is he...? Trying to wrangle an invitation to the snooty Solstice Ball that’s held for Archarcan society every year?

Fucking hell, the man has no shame.

I don’t dare to meet Ro’s eye to see his reaction to his uncle acting like this. The man has barely any self-respect at the best of times. But right now, his desperation is thick enough to gag on.

The witch takes in his flushed cheeks with a disdainful expression. “I’m sure that can be arranged, provided your information is worthwhile. I cannot express how important it is that we have enough information to make a decision.”

With that, she gives us each a curt nod and turns on her heel without another word.

As soon as she’s out of earshot, Felix turns to the two of us, his smarmy smile dropping from his face.

“Better get to work, gentlemen. This is a job for the two of you and I won’t hear of you passing it along to anyone else. All the information you need is in that file. A month should be plenty of time to dig up dirt on whatever vamps are in that file.” He takes a step closer to me until I can smell his foul breath. “I don’t need to remind you both how important this kind of work is for the good of the district. And Vincent and I will be naming our successors soon enough. We’ll need to know we’re leaving the business in capable hands.”

What. The. Fuck? I practically strain my eyeballs with the effort not to roll them.

The man is delusional.

He’s spent so much time and energy wanting to climb higher into a part of society that will never want him. He’s ignored the fact that our entire district is crumbling around him. We have traitors around us, and he seems to have zero interest in weeding them out.

He flicks out his long coat and struts off down the street, leaving me and Roscoe staring after him with our mouths hanging open.

“What happened to him not wanting us to leave The Spire for our safety? He sure has changed his tune quickly enough.” Roscoe pulls a face. “That entire display was embarrassing. I can’t say I’ve ever respected him less. And did you hear the part where he glossed over her question about where Fabian is? Or when he basically told us we’re going to be his and Vincent’s successors?”

“Like we’d want to inherit that shitshow.”

The three of us have always reaped the rewards of being big fish in the Nexus pond, but I’m pretty sure that neither of us is interested in taking over as the leaders of the district.

“You don’t want it either?” I grunt, leaning against the wall and ignoring the way rain is dripping down the back of my collar.

“Feels like a massive target painted on our backs right now. I know we’ve always just gone along with things because of Fab, because his dad and Felix always wanted him to be the next leader, but—”

“You think Fabian even wants it?”

Roscoe shrugs, tucking the file into his coat and returning to playing with his deck of cards, spinning them from finger to finger. “His dad pushed him into it and he just went along with it, because he enjoys taking charge and didn’t want to let him down. But now things are getting messier, more complicated—”

“No one knows if he’s dead or alive, you mean?” I ask.

“Exactly. Maybe it’s a chance for him to get out of the obligation. A way out for us all.”

“Maybe.”

“We can still use this.” He pats his coat where the file is now safely stowed away. “Dig up a bunch of dirt on the vamps. Maybe even find the vamp that fucked over Fab while we’re at it.” Hegrins and my stomach clenches at the thought of that disgusting vamp running around the city and selling cursed blood.

“We need Fabian back, though. And considering that half the vamps in this city hate our guts, I think we’re going to need Silver’s help again.”

I let out a grumble, my chest feeling weirdly tight at the thought of seeing the little witch again. The one that had my friends’ heads spinning. Who admittedly had my head spinning too.

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