Richelle Mead - Gameboard of the Gods

Mae rolled in a way that let her break free of the grasping woman while simultaneously pulling the amber dagger from its boot sheath. Emil was so fixated on his attack that he never saw Mae’s dagger—not even when he threw himself onto her. The weight of his body knocked her down, but it was too late. Her dagger pierced his thigh, causing him to scream and recoil in pain. He dropped his own blade and actually tried to move off of her. She was more than accommodating, rolling him over onto his back so that she could hover over him and drive the amber dagger down for a second strike—into his heart. Justin saw the man’s eyes widen in shock, no scream coming out of his mouth this time. Mae waited a few moments and then jerked her dagger out and got to her feet, standing and watching without expression as her victim twitched and bled. After several horrific seconds passed, Emil stilled. A crackle of power rippled through the air, and then the tingling Justin had felt against his skin vanished.

“No one ever expects the knife,” Mae said flatly. She studied Emil’s body a few moments more and then suddenly looked up in surprise. “The Morrigan’s gone.” She caught Justin’s arm in excitement. “Can’t you feel it? The air…it’s lighter. She was here earlier, pressing down, trying to get into me. But she couldn’t. That was because of you, wasn’t it? What you did to me earlier?”

“I…don’t know,” he admitted, somewhat enchanted with the joy and light in her eyes. “It’s just something I learned.”

“Keep learning it,” she said. “Maybe we can continue to keep her out.”

No need, said Horatio. Mae is free. The Morrigan has been undone. She may gather strength again and return someday, but all her old ties have been broken. You felt her being cut loose from the world. The destruction of the temple and her followers struck her hard, and that guy in particular was probably one of her highest servants.

Using that dagger was extra devastating, added Magnus.

What makes you say that? asked Justin. The part where it pierced his heart and killed him?

The amber dagger is empowered by a deity, just like the silver ones were, explained Magnus. Probably by the god—or goddess—of the person who gave it to her.

Callista’s god?

No.

Justin told Mae what the ravens said about the Morrigan’s leaving and decided to edit out the part about how that pretty dagger was sacred to some deity.

The police arrived soon thereafter, astonished at the grisly scene before them. Leo had waited outside until they arrived, and only then did Justin notice that Dominic was gone. “Where is he?”

Leo’s face was bland. “He was never here.”

“The hell he wasn’t! Half of those bodies are his. I saw it.”

“So did I,” said Mae, a small frown appearing on her face. “Part of it, at least. He was…good.”

“We didn’t think he’d get involved in anything like that when he came along,” said Leo. He cast an anxious glance over at the officers organizing the scene and dropped his voice. “If you have any respect for our friendship, you won’t say a word to anyone about him being here. All the casualties are Mae’s. I’ll swear to whatever story you want—that there really were smoke people or that we didn’t see them. Just do not mention Dominic.”

The earnestness in his voice caught Justin off guard. Out of habit, he exchanged glances with Mae, who looked just as surprised. Justin didn’t like Dominic, but he’d saved their lives tonight, and many years of friendship with Leo carried a lot of weight.

“Okay,” Justin said slowly. “Dominic was never here.”

Mae opened her mouth to protest, but Justin shot her a warning look that kept her silent. Leo grasped his hand, nearly sagging in relief. “Thank you. I owe you.”

Justin shook his head. “I don’t know. I think I owe you for getting us here.”

When Leo left to get some air, Mae immediately approached Justin. “Was that a good idea? You’re going to lie about Dominic.”

“I’m going to lie about you too,” he said in a low voice. “When I say you had no choice but to stab that guy in the heart—after giving him a debilitating thigh wound.”

Mae’s face darkened. “I had to. He would’ve kept coming after me and others. She wouldn’t have been banished. I’d never be free—”

Justin put an arm around her and led her to the stairs. “You don’t have to convince me. I’m just saying, we’ve all got our reasons tonight. Once Internal Security matches those daggers and gets witnesses to verify Emil was stalking victims, no one’s going to care how this case was closed.”

The night was warm and breezy, the air thick and humid. The earlier clouds had passed, revealing a night brilliant with moon and stars. Being outside felt good and eased a little of Justin’s throbbing headache and other pains, though he was still counting the moments until he could hunt down a real painkiller. He’d had good intentions to lay off some of his vices, but then, he’d never expected to be part of a supernatural battle.

Mae, for her part, appeared to be in peak condition. In fact, he thought she looked exceptionally beautiful as she gazed upward. Radiant, even.

It’s the freedom, said Magnus. No god weighs her down. She may embrace any other—and others will come after her.

If you had any sense, added Horatio, you could even win her over to our side.

I’m not even on your side, Justin snapped.

“And what are you going to say for yourself in the official report?” Mae asked, her eyes as dark as the night. “As far as gods and supernatural warriors go?” Her words were a reminder of that monumental report from four years ago.

“I’m going to say whatever it takes to keep me here,” he replied.

“Which is?”

“That’s the thing. I’m not really sure yet.”

It took the wheels of SCI’s bureaucracy a while to wrap up the case. The military was much more efficient, and within two days, Mae had a summons to General Gan’s office.

This is it, she thought, approaching the base’s entrance. What I’ve been waiting for.

Even though matters weren’t officially closed, she’d been in touch with Justin and heard that all the damning evidence they’d hoped for was coming to light. No one could deny that it was an overwhelming success. She could hold her head up high with Gan and the prætorians again and return to where she belonged.

“A death temple and a genetic scandal.” Gan chuckled at the absurdity of what had gone down on the Pan-Celt land grant. “When I was asked to put you with March, I had no idea what madness was coming.”

His word choice caught her attention. She’d been spending too much time with Justin. “Asked? I thought you assigned me to him as a punishment. Sir.”

“Did you?” He shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. It was a bizarre set of circumstances, actually. SCI had asked us for a prætorian to retrieve Dr. March, and we had one assigned. I don’t recall who. A Celadon, I believe. Anyway, Francis Kyle was on base for a meeting with the research department. He apparently got lost and received directions from some man who claimed to work here but didn’t meet any description I knew.”

“What did he look like, sir?” Mae had no reason to ask, and Gan had no reason to tell her. It wasn’t relevant to the story, but some part of her needed to know what twist of fate had led her to this point.

Gan thought back. “I don’t recall the exact details. Older man. No uniform. He had a glass eye, so maybe that was why his directions were so bad.” He seemed very amused at the joke. “Anyway, he somehow sent Kyle over to our department, which was all abuzz over what to do with the prætorian who’d started a fight at a funeral.”