Page 6 of Truthfinder’s Promise

Valkyrie’s lips drew back in what could more properly be called a baring of teeth than a smile. “Intimidation.”

“On that note, let’s go greet the troops,” Siren said cheerfully, hopping out of the Jeep. Meredith and Valkyrie followed.

“She has entirely too much pep,” Meredith muttered.

“Yep,” Val agreed.

Men and women poured from the SUVs. Each vehicle could carry eight and they were both fully loaded, which meant sixteen people clad in black combat gear gathered around them in a semi-circle off the side of the road. Instead of guns, they carried bladed weapons. Guns had an alarming tendency to blow up in an Aspecter’s hand, taking the hand with it. Gunpowder and magic didn’t mix.

The unit leader, a tall woman in her early thirties, nodded at Siren. “Councilor Savage.”

“It’s just Siren, Nova,” the redhead said wearily. Siren had been failing for a while now to get her underlings to call her by her first name. Meredith knew she was made intensely uncomfortable by the fact she even had underlings.

“Of course, Mrs. Savage.”

Siren let out a world-weary sigh. She’d been thrust into leadership six months ago when Valkyrie had exposed that the council that had always led Aspect Society had gained and maintained that power through illegal means. Siren had been shocked at being elected, in Aspect Society’s first ever democratic venture, as the interim leader.

Since she was the magical powerhouse that had contained the previous council so they could be brought to trial, Meredith thought Siren shouldn’t have been surprised. But she had been, and now she found herself responsible for the first major revision of Aspect Society’s political structure since its founding.

The five-person council that had always ruled was currently suspended. Siren had still been given the title of Head Councilor, because otherwise no one knew what to call her, but until a permanent decision was made about whether to keep the Council or go with something else, she had an eleven-person advisory committee. She made the decisions, the committee advised, and if they thought she was about to make a gargantuan mistake, they could overrule her if they could get a unanimous vote against her course of action.

Nova turned to Valkyrie. “Orders?”

Given the extent of corruption within the old council, Siren had needed people she trusted in key positions. To that end, she’d restructured the Council’s security forces and placed Valkyrie at their head. Gaining the respect of those teams had been an uphill battle for Val. Her father had spent years painting his daughter as a ticking time bomb one wrong word shy of going off, and he’d done a thorough job of it.

Long-held opinions were hard to change, and Valkyrie hadn’t bothered to pander to anyone to help change them. Nova and her team had come around to Valkyrie sooner than others, and they were Val’s go-to backup when she needed people she could absolutely trust. They were the team she’d brought to the last five of Elijah’s holdings.

“You all know the drill by now. No lethal force on the kids under any circumstances. Subdue if you are attacked, but do not initiate confrontation. Any adults in the building may be handled with all necessary force. Clear?”

“Clear,” they affirmed.

She nodded to Nova. “Alright everyone, shields up. We have no visible threat or active defense on the property so we’re going Code Blue. Ms. Townsend, Mrs. Savage, you’re behind Mrs. Tremayne. Everyone else, positions.”

Meredith dutifully brought her shield up along with everyone else and fell in next to Siren as they approached the massive gates. She didn’t precisely feel like a fish out of water—she had an intellectual grasp on what they were doing and why—but she always felt useless after she’d found the location they were looking for and brought everyone to it.

Her dual affinities—Truthfinding and Tracking—weren’t martially inclined and neither was she. Even Siren’s presence didn’t help her feel less out of place. The redhead might not have combat training either, but she had enough raw power rattling around inside her to survive a nuclear detonation. Meredith’s only value was in finding the place and dragging the truth out of anyone inside, if necessary.

Valkyrie mashed the call button on the gate’s speaker box. It rang, and rang, and rang. Eventually a soft crackle hissed across the speaker, indicating that someone listened, though no one spoke.

“This is Valkyrie Tremayne. These grounds and the people within them are now under the jurisdiction of the New Aspect Society Council. Surrender immediately, and you will be given a fair trial. You have thirty seconds to decide.”

Meredith counted the seconds in her head. Keeping time was something she was good at, and she ticked her way second by second, almost like a meditation. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty-five. No one answered Valkyrie’s ultimatum, but on the twenty-ninth second the iron gates swung inward.

Sure, that wasn’t strange at all. Black, wrought-iron gates opening at some unseen commander’s hand, inviting them all to enter the seemingly-empty, definitely creepy grounds surrounding the insane asylum-esque establishment? Who wouldn’t fall for that?

Nova took a step forward, motioning to the others to follow. Unease hit Meredith’s spine and she knew, by the tenseness rippling through the group around her, that they felt it too. Typically, Elijah’s holdings still had some line of visible defense. The emptiness felt more frightening than a greeting party of kill-happy mercenaries would have.

Nova issued a series of hand signals Meredith knew well enough by now to interpret. Proceed with caution. Forward, then split into teams. Surround the building.

Bad feeling firmly in place, Meredith followed Val and Siren through the front gates.