Chapter 14

Fourteen

Inever thought I would find myself sitting in a room across from Mason Diaboli and his wife, about to receive clandestine instructions. A moment ago, I had shown him I could phase through solid doors and walls, and even avoid physical attacks, by turning my body into ephemera—the stuff of spirits and invisible things.

There was only one thing a man like Mason would want me to use that power for… breaking and entering.

I took a sip of water, allowing my mind a moment to center itself, then I set the glass down on the small, round table by the side of the sofa I was sitting on. Mason watched me, carefully, his red eyes fixed on me like he was looking for an excuse to end me. He probably was.

"What do you know of the Recondites?" he asked, breaking the silence that had been filling the room.

My eyes narrowed. "Recondites?"

"Don't pretend to not know them."

"I'm not. I just want to know what they have to do with anything."

"Our families have had… conflicts in the past."

"Conflicts? I was told your families fought each other like they wanted to die; vicious, and brutal. The Recondites, receiving orders from the divine to purge you from the face of this earth, and the Diaboli received opposite orders from somewhere deep below the soil."

"Poetic fantasies for the most part, but accurate in some respects. The Recondites are zealots, convinced they are the hands, eyes, and mouths of some cosmic being looking to bring balance to a chaotic world. Only their idea of balance is them on top, and everyone else underneath them."

"What do you want with the Recondites, then?" I asked.

"They have something of mine."

"Ah… them too? What did you give them?"

"I didn't give them anything—the item in question was stolen from us, before the treaty was signed. Once hostilities ceased, there was no way for us to retrieve the stolen object. Not without breaking the Codex Magica."

"Right… because that treaty means so much to you guys."

Mason shot upright and jabbed a finger at me. "That treaty was your grandfather's idea," he hissed. "My father had no choice but to accept. If he hadn't, your family and the other two would have destroyed ours in a heartbeat. You call us monsters, but you have no idea of the sins your ancestors have committed. They have blood on their hands, too."

I hadn't realized until he stopped talking, but I had been shying away from him to the point where I was pressed all the way against the back of the sofa. Once Mason had calmed down, he sat down again. I felt my entire body relax. I had to think of what to say to him, how to keep him from lashing out at me with another weapon.

"You're right," I said. "I don't know what happened back then. I wasn't even born."

And he was right, because I didn't really know what had gone on during the Shadow War. All I had were the stories my parents had told me, stories they could easily have embellished to make themselves appear… saintly, like they hadn't thrown a single rock in that fight.

Blind devotion to the narrative my family had fed me over the years was probably going to get me killed; I had to tone it down.

"What did they take?" I ventured.

"A crown," Mason said. "A relic of our family."

"A crown?"

"Why is that surprising?" Carla asked.

"I don't know… I guess I pictured something more like an old book, or some ornate handcuffs, or something."

Lucien coughed against the lip of the glass he had against his mouth. He set the glass down and composed himself. An instant later, I realized what I had done. The rush of memory came back to me all at once, like an uninvited guest.

"I have something for you," I had whispered against Lucien's ear one night, after having fucked him to within an inch of our lives.

"What?" he had asked, breathless, as he delicately kissed my neck.

"This."

He had been too busy wrapped up in his own euphoria to notice the handcuffs I had pulled out of my jacket pocket. It wasn't until I had wrapped one against his wrist that he realized what I had done. By that point, I had successfully clasped the other one to the tube running up and along the wall behind us.

"What's this about?" he had asked, his eyes flashing wide with alarm.

I had kissed him deeply, then, taking his face in my hands and plunging my tongue into his mouth. When I had pulled myself away from him, I lightly licked the tip of his nose and said, "You had better still be here when I come back in a few nights."

There had been no panic on his face, no moment of how am I going to get out of this? I should've realized, then, that only a mage could have been so sure in his ability to free himself. Well, a mage, or someone really skilled with his hands.

As my own excitement asserted itself as the dominant emotion running through me, I found myself coming to terms with the fact that he was both.

"The crown the Recondites stole has been lost to us for some time," Mason said, his words cannon-balling through my daydream, "Several decades, in fact."

"And you've found it again?" I asked.

"I have intelligence suggesting the crown is in the city, yes, and where exactly in the city it might be."

"Might be? You don't know for sure?"

"The Recondites have many temples scattered throughout Boston. They are all protected by magic, and their people are fanatics to the extent that getting one of them to talk is challenging at best. I am confident, however, that the crown has been found."

"Where?"

"There is a temple on Beacon Hill, a highly fortified bastion of Recondites and their servants, assistants, staff members. The crown was recently brought to the temple, though I do not know why."

"Maybe they heard about what you did to my family and they're getting ready for an attack."

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes, and if they plan on using the crown…let's just say it's safer in our hands than theirs."

There wasn't a single thing in the world that I could imagine would be safer in Diaboli hands, but from what I'd heard of the Recondites; they were zealous enough to sacrifice themselves—as well as any innocents nearby—If it meant taking out even one of their enemies. As much as I didn't want to agree with Mason, he was probably right about this one.

"So, you want me to infiltrate a Recondite temple, steal your crown back, and make it out without getting killed?"

"I would care less about your safety and wellbeing if it wasn't absolutely vital to the success of this mission… so, yes."

I shook my head. "I don't know the first thing about the Recondites, only stories. I've certainly never come up against one in battle."

"If you are clever, you should not have to battle any of them."

"Look, I can move through solid walls and doors, sure, but there's going to be more than solid obstacles between me and that crown. Magical defenses, guards… I'm not a spy. I don't know anything about infiltration."

"That's why Lucien is going with you."

My eyes widened. "He is?"

"I am?" Lucien asked.

Mason turned his attention toward his son. "I have taught you everything you know," he said, "Now is the time for you to put these skills to good use."

"You mean, you want him to babysit me," I put in.

"No. I'm sending some of my men with you for exactly that reason. Lucien will provide you with support while you complete your mission. This is as much a test for him as it is for you."

I looked over at Lucien, only to find him glaring at his father. "Whatever you say," Lucien said, and even though I could tell he wasn't at all pleased with this, he would never have let it be heard on his voice.

Mason turned back to me. "Well?" he asked.

I shook my head. "It doesn't look like I have much of a choice, does it?"

"If you do this well, you will have earned some respect among our family. That should be something you want, considering your situation."

Don't be an idiot, Bee. Accepting this mission means you get to leave the mansion.

"Alright," I said, "I'll do it."

"Of course you will," said Mason, grinning like one of those cartoon sharks.

"What does this crown look like? What does it do?"

"You don't have to concern yourselves with what it does, and you'll know what it is when you see it. Trust me."

I paused. "That's… not going to help me accomplish this mission."

I also don't trust you.

Not one bit.

He also didn't trust me, and that was why he wasn't about to tell me directly what the crown did. He didn't want to risk me running off with it or using it against him and his family. I doubted if I had the ability to use a Diaboli relic to begin with, but Mason wasn't the kind of man to take chances or leave things up in the air.

He did what he did to my family because he knew that he could, and that it would work.

"Lucien knows what he's looking for," Mason finally said. "You have three days to do this… starting now."

"Right now?"

"A car is waiting outside to take you both to the surveillance point. You'll set up camp there, watch the temple from the outside, understand their movements, their watch patterns, and determine what kind of magical defenses they have. Once you have all the information you need, you'll go in, get the crown, and get out without so much as a peep. Are we clear?"

I swallowed hard. "We're clear," I said.

Lucien nodded, adding, "Understood."

Without another word, Lucien stood up. Mason gestured toward the door to the study. I got up too and followed Lucien as he made his way to the door. Just as I was about to leave the room, however, Mason called out to me.

"Ethera," he said.

I stopped and turned around. "Yes?" I asked.

"Don't fail," he warned.

I didn't have a reply for that. Instead, I walked out of the room and followed Lucien outside. A sleek, black sedan was waiting for both of us when we stepped out onto the driveway. The driver had the backseat door open for us, so one after the other, we slid into the car's plush, leather interior.

When the door shut, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"All in all," I said, "I think that could've gone worse."

Lucien looked across at me, his expression grave. "You have no idea the danger he's just put us both in."

"Oh…"