Chapter 40

TOBIAS

I eatat a café close by before wandering home, preparing myself for a situation I"d normally avoid. I glance up at Maeve"s window, as I did when I walked away last night. Then, she focused on the battle, not my lies and emotional hits. Please let that continue.

My key slides in the door and I step over the runes beneath the woven doormat and into the house. Ash and Andrei are clearing up in the kitchen—if you count dumping everything into the sink rather than the dishwasher as clearing up. Every time I enter Andrei"s space, his aura unsettles me, but I never say anything. He"s aware I watch him more closely, but we"ve a mutual understanding to stay out of each other"s minds.

Ash"s expression remains neutral, but he knows my secret. No way will Maeve hold back information from Jamie, and if Ash hasn"t told Andrei, I"ll need to.

Great.

"Found your way home at last, huh?" Andrei says and nothing in his demeanour suggests he knows about Anastasia. "Busy night?"

I pull off my jacket and dump it over a chair. "Are Maeve and Jamie around?"

"They"re scrying," replies Ash and stands. "Should I find them?"

"Uh. I"ll wait." Sitting, I rest my forearms on the table and regard them with weary eyes. "I"ve discovered a lot of information, and we"ll need to act soon."

Andrei sits straighter in his chair. "Where did you go with Dorian?"

"I told you: to find Dominion." Ash opens his mouth to protest. "Come on, that was part of the plan, if we found any leads last night."

"Yeah, you and Maeve together and calling us in for backup if needed." Andrei pauses. "But you left the house on your own instead."

I shake my head. "Guys, we can"t waste time, and after what I discovered later last night, that time"s short for a lot of other people, too."

"Yeah. Dominion arseholes and my mother," mutters Andrei.

I slump back in my chair, exhausted magically and physically, and glance upwards to where Jamie and Maeve are. "How"s Maeve today?" I ask, not looking at Ash.

"She told us about your friend," says Andrei. "Jamie reckons Maeve"s hiding something, and Ash definitely is."

"What the hell?" Ash snaps. "Are you in my head?"

"Because you keep ignoring my questions. Why are you thinking about Anastasia?" Andrei demands. "Please tell me that she isn"t alive."

"Um. No. I tore her apart under the academy and, as Tobias knows, witches" deaths are final," he retorts.

"Then why?—"

"You"re back, Tobias," says Maeve. "I half-expected you to leave."

I flick a look to Maeve, and my heart squeezes tight as our eyes meet. She"s brighter than I expected, colour to her cheeks and face set with determination as she takes in my story.

I wish with everything I have that we could still communicate mentally, and I could speak to her now, to hear what"s hidden behind her impassive expression. That I could whisper into Maeve"s mind that I won"t leave because a life without her doesn't exist.

Jamie"s beside Maeve, his expression filled with poison. Okay, he definitely knows.

"Did the scrying work?" asks Andrei.

The pair exchange a glance. "Something non-specific but weirdly specific," says Maeve.

"Well, that makes less sense than usual," grumbles Andrei.

"We"ll explain, but I want to hear Tobias"s story first."

I repeat what I"ve told Ash and Andrei so far before continuing. "Gabriella amassed followers who she"s hiding under London. A lot of them already have the blood—Gabriella"s mixed with the First"s."

"Did the kids from the club lead you to them?" asks Andrei.

I tap my fingers on the table. "In a way, yes. But there"s more."

"Explain," Jamie says, with a sigh.

"The four kids from the club weren"t all Dominion, or prospective Dominion," I say. "Confederacy are involved now. I walked into tunnels and discovered two of the kids were spies."

"You went into a Dominion den on your own?" retorts Jamie.

"No." I frown. "Yes. Sort of. Dorian came with me. Briefly."

"Just tell the story, Tobias," says Andrei, then he looks at Ash. "And you can tell me about Anastasia afterwards."

Ash scoffs and glances at me, but all I sense is Jamie"s darkened energy. Before Andrei can catch on, I launch into an explanation from the moment I followed the kids to the point Dorian left me alone with a dead hemia and his girlfriend.

Maeve laughs derisively. "Typical Dorian. Could"ve helped you instead of dragging off his victim, but of course he didn"t."

"We all know what he"s like. I"m lucky Dorian joined me at all."

"Why did he?" asks Jamie.

"I told him Gabriella might be inside the catacombs."

"And is she?" shoots back Andrei.

"Not according to Natalie—the recruiter I caught. But the catacombs contain her powerhouse. Natalie showed and told me a lot." I touch my forehead. "The pockets of Dominion found by Alaric"s group, and Dorian are decoys. The majority of who Gabriella recruited live in the catacombs."

"How many?" asks Ash sharply.

"Are you asking how many alive or how many dead?" I reply casually. "Not all who take the blood survive, and those in charge lie. They tell the other kids that the dead ones are out recruiting."

"The majority of deaths are witches, I"m guessing?" says Jamie flatly.

"Gabriella"s learned through trial and error that hemia make the best subjects. Obviously. Not only do they tolerate the blood better, but they can"t leave in daylight. If any wanted to try, they"d only have a small window of time to escape."

"How many?" repeats Ash. "A dozen? Fifty? More?"

"Natalie thinks there"s around a fifty spread through the catacombs."

"How the fuck does Gabriella have enough blood for that many kids?" asks Andrei.

"Only a few drops affected you the night at the academy," I tell him. "As long as the blood she mixes keeps a level of the First"s potency, Gabriella can keep going."

"Why the hell is the First allowing this?" Ash stands, violently pushing his chair back.

"Part of the game?" I suggest. "Remember the original threat against Andrei—because he contained the blood mix from Gabriella, he"d die if his mother died? The First won"t worry about the recruits because they"ll die when we kill Gabriella."

"But we have to get through them all to kill her." Ash drags a hand through his hair. "How can we?"

"Hopefully most are trapped in the catacombs awaiting instructions," I say. "Nobody told the recruits when and where, only that they"ve an important role to play in a ritual. The kids all think they"ll survive and find power in the Dominion ranks."

"But they don"t know anything," protests Andrei. "This girl only knew my name; nobody else"s. The idiots don"t know what they"re fighting for, or who they"re facing."

I sigh. "Natalie told the same story as always, Andrei. A new world where the Dominion rule and the Confederacy no longer exists. Oskar replaced by Gabriella. The recruits don"t understand the danger because nobody showed them the full picture."

"They"re dumb bastards if they happily accept that blood," says Jamie.

"Happily?" I ask. "I don"t think all volunteer."

Maeve finally sits at the table. "And these kids don"t know us as the enemies?"

"Dominion are training troops to attack Confederacy targets."

"Confederacy targets where?" asks Andrei.

"Again, "need to know" basis. They know Oskar Petrescu"s name, and Natalie mentioned other names I don"t recognise." I shake my head. "That part could be true, or Gabriella could just be surrounding herself with extra defence while she prepares to leave."

"And the ritual?" asks Jamie.

"I"ve a date. One that matches the shipping manifest. Friday."

"But what is the ritual?" presses Jamie. I arch a brow at him. "Another "need to know" basis, huh? Are these kids completely brainwashed?"

"The Dominion achieved this once before," I say quietly. "The shifters. Academy." Ash looks away. "Natalie genuinely doesn"t know what the ritual is, but whatever this involves happens in two days," I continue. "We move deeper into those catacombs and find whatever else might be hidden there."

"Like Gabriella might be holed up inside? That girl might not know everything," says Ash, as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Final boss at the end of the dungeon." I look at Andrei in confusion, who shrugs. "Like in the games. And before you say anything, yes, I know this isn"t a game."

"I presume you killed your informant, Tobias," puts in Andrei. "Did you finish the guy, too?"

"No," I say softly, avoiding Maeve"s eyes. "They left."

"What the fuck?" This time, Andrei jerks his chair back and stands. "Are you insane?"

"I wiped their minds of all memories from the last year," I say tersely. "They didn"t deserve to die."

He chokes. "The two kids were Dominion who"d kill you if they had a chance."

"Isn"t that the point, Andrei? They don"t stand a chance." I drag a hand down my face, aware Maeve"s eyes rest on me, but I keep mine on Andrei. "Natalie and the other kid didn"t need to die. As I spoke to Natalie, the situation reminded me too much of the academy and the innocents caught in that."

"Uh. No," says Ash gruffly. "These kids are different—they chose to side with terrorists. The shifters did not."

"The Dominion deceived them." I stand to face Andrei. "I couldn"t do it, okay?"

Andrei"s mouth tightens. "And what if you "can"t do it" next time?"

"Direct threats or attacks on any of you, and I won"t hesitate to kill. You know that."

I glare at Andrei, unable to admit I almost did kill the pair. But one thing"s certain—those kids will never remember anything. If the kids are caught, their minds will turn to mush before they reveal my name or face.

I"m glad Maeve wasn"t with me last night at the catacombs, although partly she was. As I tore into the two kids" minds rather than through their chests, I pictured Maeve standing beside me, watching. Did I choose to keep them alive to prove to Maeve that I"m not the monster she saw in Silas"s mind?

Maeve remains quiet and I finally meet her eyes, but she doesn"t voice her opinion. I picture her as the girl who freaked out the day she discovered Andrei attacked a human, in the early days where her confusion led to misunderstanding and prejudice. Maeve, horrified by the mental magic I used to wipe the girl"s memories. How much violence and death does this Maeve accept?

"I can"t do anything about my actions now," I say. "Let"s move on."

The words are out before I catch the double-meaning and my eyes go wide as Maeve"s face turns to derision.

"I didn"t mean—" I begin.

"What"s the plan?" she interrupts stiffly. "I"m sure you"ve spent the night thinking this through, unless there"s another reason you didn"t come back earlier?"

"We get to the epicentre of whatever"s happening—literally, inside the catacombs. If Gabriella is actually there and well-protected, we"ll need to push through," I say and look to the others too.

"Just an easy job, then?" asks Ash sarcastically.

"No. And we need everything we"ve got. Not only what we"re capable of, but cohesion."

"Does that mean I can finally come out and play?" Andrei grins. "I vote we go back to the catacombs. Now."

I pull on my lip. "Not without a plan, Andrei."

"If you"ve tracked down Gabriella"s hive of blood-fuelled followers, someone will find us soon," he says tersely. "How are you sure that nobody followed you from the catacombs?"

"Because the only Dominion I saw last night were the kids from the club. I sensed no other magic or energy presence in the tunnels, apart from the occasional person walking by who didn"t sense me and Natalie." I look to Ash and the quiet Jamie. "The Dominion buried themselves much further into the catacombs than I walked."

"At least you were sensible not to go further," says Ash. "But what about dragons? Do they go into the place? Otherwise, people might question who I am."

"They do. Occasionally. Natalie saw one once. There"re steel doors inside the catacombs that the dragons installed. Nobody goes near. The dragons are in this deeper than helping the Dominion leader escape," replies Tobias.

"I can guess what"s behind the doors." Jamie inclines his head. "They"re storing illegal goods. You say Callum"s company deals in arms and has a shipment leaving soon? The catacombs make a great hiding place, and now have added protection from supes."

Ash snorts. "Dragons aren"t stupid enough to leave guns lying around. Sure, supes don"t need them, but someone might touch the weapons."

"Doesn"t need to be guns, Ash," says Jamie. "Biological weapons."

"The dragons would be insane to deal in that shit," he says, mouth dropping open.

"Whatever they"re storing, we"re getting ahead of ourselves," says Tobias. "There might not be anything like we"re imagining in the catacombs."

"One way to find out," I say and point at Ash. "Get him access to storage."

"That might be difficult if the Dominion don"t go near what"s stored. Nobody would have a key," says Tobias.

"What happened to Dorian?" interrupts Maeve. "Why did he suddenly involve himself and where is he now?"

"Back at his estate with the Confederacy kid, I presume. He won"t answer my calls today."

"There"s no point in Dorian hiding from the First," she replies. "He"ll need to help us at some point."

"Yeah, when his actions help him too," mutters Jamie.

"Is this connected to the future you saw, Maeve?" Andrei asks. "Did the scrying work?"

She exchanges a glance with Jamie. "Yes."

"Was anybody in danger?" asks Ash cautiously.

"I saw coffins." Maeve takes a shuddery breath. "A lot of coffins. Maybe twenty?"

"Where?" I frown. Maeve's visions often make little sense, but coffins? "Did you see your surroundings?"

"A room like a cellar—brick walls and no window. Not the kind of place I'd imagine coffins in a funeral home."

"They could've been in storage?" suggests Ash.

Maeve shakes her head. "Something wasn't right. You were all nearby. On the steps leading out I think."

"You didn't see or speak to anybody?" I press. "Gabriella?"

"No Gabriella but the symbol… the one I saw in the other vision was stamped in black on the side of the coffins."

"Shit," I mutter. "And us?"

"I think I saw Jamie climbing the stairs but didn't sense any danger around." Maeve chews on her lip. "The coffins contained something. I don't know what, but my stomach churned to the point I almost vomited, even when I came out of the vision."

"And the First?" I ask hoarsely.

"No."

"Do you think Gabriella's keeping recruits in coffins?" asks Andrei.

I remain quiet because that's not where my mind went.

Ash's eyes go wide. "Did Gabriella move the kids from the catacombs?"

"Or these are others. Gabriella"s expanding. That"s what she"s doing," Jamie says. "There's no question anymore—we need to stop her."

I don't voice the thought that jumped into my mind. Why keep recruited hemia in coffins? If Maeve's vision suggests the coffins weren't empty, did they contain turned—or turning—humans?

Gabriella's plans for a Dominion-ruled world could've taken the next step.