Chapter 22

Roya Lane, London, England, United Kingdom

Gen had no idea how to eat the thing that Liv had ordered for her from the food cart. It smelled delicious with hints of savory herbs and spicy flavors. The long, thick, cylinder-shaped object, wrapped in foil, was warm to the touch and begging to be ingested, but Gen had no idea where to start.

"How do I eat this?" Gen asked, holding up the food and giving Liv a look of confusion as they backed toward a building on Roya Lane, out of the way of the busy thoroughfare.

"Without concern for appearance," Liv advised. "No one looks pretty eating a falafel wrap, so just know that it's going to cover your face and probably drip down your front."

"Oh, is it like nachos, then?" Gen asked, pulling the foil down, copying what Liv was doing with her own falafel wrap.

"Nothing is like nachos," Liv answered. "But this is pretty good and will definitely give you some fuel which I sense you'll need."

"Because the council is going to try to kill me," Gen offered, watching as Liv opened her mouth and took a huge bite off the front of the wrap, making sauce spill down her chin.

Liv, unconcerned about the mess, wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and grinned. "That was the best thing I've ever seen in the Chamber of the Tree, actually. That was very honorable."

"Really?" Gen asked, taking a little nibble off the front of her wrap, instantly enjoying the pickled taste mixed with creamy dressing. "You didn't think I was hoarding information like Freek and Armando later said?"

"I think you made the unpopular decision which was also the right one," Liv stated. "You're my hero and who I aspire to be like."

"Why?" Gen asked, taking a bigger bite this time, starting to get braver about eating this strange yet delicious food.

"You did the right thing," Liv answered. "At first, I was like, yes, give up all the secrets. But then when you spoke your reasoning, I was floored by how short-sighted the council was being."

"Really?" Gen said, feeling high suddenly, either from the food or the vindication.

"Really," Liv affirmed. "We, as the House of Fourteen, have faced so much treachery and attempts at destruction. Of course, the only reason that we've survived is that no one knows what protects the House of Fourteen. The moment you spill that information, then it's only a matter of time before power-hungry people like Armando will sell it to the elfin council or the giants, trying to capitalize on the technology. Then it will spread and before long, we'll be destroyed."

"Wow," Gen said, taking another bite. "I'm so relieved to know you support me on this. Of course I felt conflicted."

"But you trusted your instinct," Liv stated. "And you are absolutely correct to protect those secrets. Don't tell anyone, not even me. Guard them because I truly believe our lives depend upon it."

"Okay, then I won't," Gen stated, finishing her falafel wrap before she sensed it was about to explode all over her hands. The end of it was messy but delicious and definitely something she'd have to get again. "So why did you bring me to Roya Lane? You said that you had some ideas about my current problems, but it sounds like you support my decision on the council at the House of Fourteen."

Liv nodded, mopping up her messy hands with the paper napkins they had. "That I do and no, the council isn't your problem. You handled them quite well."

"Well, what do you mean?" Gen asked. "Is it my identity issues with Bellumferrum and how I don't know what my role is with the Rogue Riders?"

"Sort of," Liv answered, having heard about Gen's problem with not getting the Weapon of War to respond accurately to her intentions since she was unsettled with her job. "I think that we both know that there's a problem with Los Angeles and it stems from the Commissioner, which you've mentioned more than a few times."

"Well, it's just my gut," Gen related. "And Dwayne is hiding something and Los Angeles is the stronghold for the Rogue Riders and getting control of crime. I have to take notice if it's running rampant in our backyard."

Liv smiled proudly at Gen as she disposed of her trash into a bin. "You're definitely acclimated to this time period based on how you're picking up the language. But better than that, you're picking up on how things work, like organizations and law enforcement. I agree, that something isn't right, but we have no idea of telling what."

"What do we do?" Gen asked. "I know that bad cops are out of control, patrols are absent and now that where they are patrolling is not necessary. But none of that information does me any good."

Liv held up a finger, a mischievous look on her face. "Not in isolation it doesn't."

"Even when I put it together, it only asks questions that I don't have answers to," Gen argued.

Liv nodded. "That's why we take what we know and we employ experts."

Gen blinked at her friend in confusion. "Experts? Like who would know why the Los Angeles police department is acting so differently? The Commissioner's office? A government one? A high-ranking magical organization?"

Liv shook her head. "No, I've found that the most knowledgeable are the ones no one sees. The ones that live in the shadows and see everything. The little guys who see everything and are the most underestimated."

Gen gave Liv a pure look of confusion. "Who could that possibly be?"

Liv waved her toward a solid brick wall. "I'm going to introduce you to the greatest resource you'll ever meet and no one knows exists."