“Catalina,” Linus said, “I have your best interests at heart.”
I met his gaze. “And if I don’t do this, will I walk out of this house?”
“Of course. But if you don’t do this, I cannot protect you from what follows.”
“Protect me from what?”
“The combined might of the National Assembly.”
Cold shot through me. Nobody could take on the entire National Assembly, not Rogan, not Linus, no one.
What do I do?
“Your safety is very important to me,” Linus said. “I’ll do everything in my power to shield you; however, my power has limits.”
“He really does have your best interests at heart,” Alessandro said. “He’s invested in your survival.”
“Be quiet,” Linus told him.
“I’m trying to help.”
Things were moving way too fast and there was no time to acclimate. There was no opportunity to make an informed decision. I just had to do the best I could and hope I didn’t screw it up.
“If it wasn’t for you, she wouldn’t be in this mess,” Linus said.
Alessandro raised his eyebrows. “I’m curious, have you ever attempted to prevent her from doing what she wanted to do? I’d be delighted to hear how it went.”
“If you had kept Sigourney from dying, none of this would be necessary,” Linus growled.
“She died while I was in the air over the ocean. Perhaps, if you had been a better friend, she wouldn’t feel the need to hire—”
“Enough.” I put my hand on the seal. I didn’t really have a choice.
“By the power vested in me by the National Assembly of the United States, I, Linus Duncan of House Duncan, Warden of the State of Texas, hereby appoint you, Catalina Baylor, to the office and responsibilities of Deputy Warden of the State of Texas. Do you swear to give your loyalty to and obey the orders of the National Assembly and its appointed representatives?”
He paused.
“Yes.” That seemed like the only reasonable answer.
“Do you swear to faithfully and honestly fulfill your duties to the best of your ability?”
“Yes. I swear.” To fulfill the “I don’t know what duties” by “I have no idea which means.”
“Do you swear to never directly or indirectly reveal matters pertaining to the Office of the Warden and any investigation or inquiry undertaken by it unless questioned by a Warden or testifying before the National Assembly?”
“What if I’m subpoenaed by a court of law?”
“You’ll have to plead the Fifth.”
“I could lose my license.”
“You could lose your life.”
“Would the National Assembly provide me with legal representation?”
Linus smiled. “In the two hundred years the Office of the Warden has existed, no Warden or Deputy has ever been called to testify about matters of the office in a civil court. But, should such a thing occur, yes, the Assembly will provide you with defense and you can be assured it will be vigorous.”
“I swear.”
Linus took the dagger out and held it to me. “Cut the thumb of your right hand. Not a deep cut. We just need a drop of blood.”
I took the dagger and pricked my thumb. A drop of blood swelled.
“Place it on the gem.”
I put my bloody thumb onto the jewel crowning the staff. Magic swirled from the seal. The wood cracked and a glowing gold tendril slipped out of the gap, curling and growing like a grapevine. It hovered over my forearm, spiraling. So beautiful.
The vine dived at my forearm and pierced the skin. I yelped and dropped the dagger. Agony gripped my arm, scorching me. The world went dark, and against that midnight blackness the glowing vine burned in a fiery ring . . .
My eyes snapped open. I blinked away the tears.
I tried to stand. The floor wasn’t there. Also, there was a metal robot arm clutching me. Was I still passed out and hallucinating?
“There, she’s awake,” Linus said. “I told you.”
I twisted to look over my right shoulder. Alessandro wore a reinforced exosuit. The power armor towered above me, bristling with weapons. He was holding me with one armored arm and pointing the other at Linus. Four laser sights lit up Linus’ chest with a raspberry glow.
“Are you all right?” Alessandro asked, his voice deepened by the armor.
“Yes. How?”
“He won’t tell me how, but this is one of my suits,” Linus said. “They’re stored fifty feet under us in an armored vault and taken out only for special occasions. Quite remarkable, really.”
Alessandro gently set me down. The power armor whirred, split along the seams, and hydraulics lowered Alessandro to the floor. He stepped out and brushed imaginary dust off his suit sleeve.
He’d tried to save me from Linus. I was unconscious for barely a minute, maybe two, and the two of them had nearly murdered each other.
“It’s not polite to play with other people’s toys,” Linus told him. I couldn’t tell if he was upset or amused. Either way, it wasn’t good.
Alessandro shrugged. “Sometimes it’s necessary.”
“This wasn’t one of those times.”
“I’ll make that determination for myself.”
My arm hurt like hell. I rubbed it, expecting a brand or a burn, but no blemishes marked my skin.
“Normally you would undergo weeks of training, but there’s no time.” Linus stood next to me and raised his arm. “Think of your magic as a bubbling fountain and use it to push the vine to the surface.”
A double circle appeared on his forearm, formed by a vine with tiny leaves. In the middle of the ring a five-point star glowed, outlined with vine shoots.
I raised my arm and concentrated. Slowly, hesitantly, the vine shifted within my arm, a dense elastic ring. It was an odd feeling, not pain exactly, but discomfort and a sense of wrongness. I wanted to claw at my arm until I got that thing out of me.
“Push harder. You are a Deputy Warden. You now outrank every law enforcement officer in Texas, except for me. You can take over any investigation at will. You can compel testimony from all members of the Texas Assembly. This is your badge. This is authority. Believe in your right to wield it.”
I focused on the vine within my arm, sending a current of magic underneath it. It shone through my skin, a single ring containing a star within. I held it for a long second and let it fade.
Linus turned to Alessandro and held out a tablet. Alessandro took it and scanned the contents. He glanced at Linus and pressed his thumb to the screen. The tablet chimed.
“I just hired him as your bodyguard until this investigation is complete. He doesn’t have the same power as you do, but it should shield him from most of the ramifications.”
Linus poured himself a couple of fingers’ worth of whiskey from a decanter, drank it, and stared at the exosuit. “Well, that’s settled. The real question now is how am I going to get it back into the vault without damaging the floors.”
Chapter 13
“Leave it,” Alessandro said. “It will disappear once I’m out of range.”
“By disappear do you mean it will teleport back?” Linus asked.