Page 25 of Ravenous Prophecy
“You mean these helmets?”
I hated how she almost seemed to be one step ahead, just so she could rub it in our faces. Nicoletta whipped something out of one of her drawers, slamming it onto her desk with a metallic clunk. It was one of the helmets, all right, except this particular specimen had been cloven in two.
“See those runes?” I said, waving at the fragments. “They’re extracted from ancient texts on the Hive. That’s why Williams has been after the manuscript. These things have been inscribed with their power.”
Unmoved, her expression unchanged, she waved one hand over the broken helmet. “What power, exactly? I’m not sensing anything magical about this pile of junk. Couldn’t sense anything about the others, either.”
I thought I could make out specks of blood on one of the halves. Oh. Right. I’d punched some of those guys in the face. Oh, fuck. Did I just destroy all the evidence we had?
“No, wait!” I pointed at the helmet. “At least one of them survived intact. Have an enchantment expert examine it. They’ll tell you it’s like nothing they’ve ever seen before. Ask Bradley. He’ll tell you.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “You got me, Gallows. Yes. We secured a few of these helmets. My people are still looking them over as we speak. Somehow I suspect they’ll be arriving at the same conclusion.”
“Let Bradley take a look at it. This could be the key to stopping the Hive from infesting our reality. With MEA’s resources and his own research, surely you’ll find some way to—I don’t know. Reverse engineer it, use the inscriptions to stop the Hive from coming.”
Nicoletta waved her hand. “Incorrect. These runes were inscribed for another purpose. To induce mass hallucination, perhaps, sending helmeted mercenaries to inflict the oracles with the berserk fury you described. It’s not the first time we’ve seen people attempt to corrupt the oracles for their own purposes. They’re the most susceptible to this sort of thing, after all, being so psychically sensitive.”
She was so close to the truth of it, and yet so far. I slammed my hand against my chair’s armrest, then sank into it, one hand covering my face. Was this how Bradley felt all those years in his career, how he felt each time his area of expertise was called into question? I would’ve gotten into so much trouble for socking everybody in the mouth.
“Bradley this, Bradley that. What’s gotten into you,anyway? Your bookworm client gives you the googly eyes, and suddenly you fall for all this Hive bullcrap?”
“I know what I saw,” I growled, clenching my fist. “This is real, Nicoletta. The Hive, they’re actually here.”
She scoffed. “And yet not a single one of my people has come back with evidence. No antennae or mandibles or whatever the hell else these cockroaches are supposed to have. It’s a myth, Griffin. You’re losing your touch.”
My fists tightened until I could feel the nails digging into my palms. This conversation was going nowhere. Could I blame her? She had a point. We used to be on the same side of this Hive thing, believing it was just as nonsensical as the Loch Ness Monster. She had to have been there. Seeing was believing. And I had to believe we could solve this, even without MEA’s help.
Her chair slid back as she rose from the desk. She placed both hands on its surface, leaning closer for good measure.
“I’m turning you boys loose, against my better judgment. The next time this happens, it won’t end well for either of you. Fix this. Get out there and find out the real reason JA Williams has been stinking up the city with dark magic.”
The anger sat in my blood, quiet and still. I stood at last, keeping my hands firmly at my sides. I pointed out her office door.
“And those people with the helmets that you detained. Have you figured out who they work for yet? How much do you want to bet that they’re working for Williams? Come on, Nicoletta. You’re better than this.”
She swept the photos and the folder off her desk, then dropped the helmet fragments back into the drawer.Nonchalant, poker-faced, like she was just tossing out a coffee cup.
“Meeting’s over, Gallows. You know the way out.”
Wordless, too frustrated to fight, I left Nicoletta’s office. Her agents smirked as I was escorted back to our box. I breathed slowly, counting to five, to twenty, to a hundred.
They were never going to believe us. Nicoletta was beyond convincing. Magical Enforcement Agency, my ass. We would have to handle this ourselves.
Bradley and I were going to need some help. And I knew exactly where to look.
CHAPTER 10
BRADLEY
When Griffin got backfrom his meeting with the MEA, my brain was still picking at a loose thread. I couldn’t stop remembering the fight. That had been the Hive, and it was impossible, it wasimpossible, butIhad stopped them. I had done… something… and stopped them.
My mind froze at the implications, too many thoughts vying for my attention so that I could barely hold on to the one, true thing I knew. This was only the beginning. Whatever Williams was planning, whatever evil I’d unlocked for him, he was barely getting started.
By the time I heard heavy footsteps, I was already on my feet, waiting anxiously for Griffin at the door of… well, was it forward to think of it asourbox?
His expression was grim, his face a mask of unhappiness. “Let’s go.”
I looked at the expressionless MEA suit behind him. “Has something happened? Do they not want to question me? Did you…”
