.”
Natalie rested her hand on Jonah’s shoulder. “I know you’re upset at what happened to Jeanette,” she murmured.
“We all are.”
“I’m more than upset ,” Jonah hissed. “ Upset is what happens when you lose your cell phone. You’re upset when you break a string on your favorite guitar.”
Gabriel stood over Jonah, glowering down at him. “You agreed to the mission when you came here, remember?”
“That was ten years ago!” Jonah retorted. “I was seven years old. Maybe we should think about changing the mission.”
“You always have the option to leave,” Gabriel said. “I never said I wanted to leave.” Jonah tried to get his anger under control. “Anyway, I wouldn’t want to leave Kenzie behind.”
“Then you need to follow the rules that protect us all,”
Gabriel said flatly, returning to his seat. Pulling a bottle out of his desk drawer, he popped two pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry.
“Gabriel,” Mike began hesitatingly, “why Jeanette? If they want to find out how the poisoning was done, shouldn’t they be talking to wizards?”
“Wizards aren’t that good with material magic,” Gabriel said. He flipped the shiv, catching it by the hilt again. “But . . .” Alison looked lost. “You always said—”
“Though wizards would have planned the operation, it would have been sorcerers who developed and compounded the poison,” Gabriel said.
They all stared at him.
“Why haven’t you told us that before?” Jonah said finally.
“I thought it was obvious.” Gabriel shrugged. “That’s the role of sorcerers—compounding medicinals and the like.”
“Why would sorcerers collaborate with wizards?” Alison said, grimacing like she had a bad taste in her mouth.
“They may have been forced to do it. Perhaps they didn’t know what the intended use was.” Gabriel ran the edge of the dagger along his thumb, and blood welled up. He watched it drip onto the desk, as dispassionate as if it were someone else’s. Given the drug regimen he was on, he probably didn’t even feel the wound.
“Shouldn’t we find the survivors ourselves, then?” Jonah said. “Before they do? Or confront the Black Rose, head-on?”
“We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves. Not right now.”
“If not now, when?” Jonah exploded, his frustration and exhaustion getting the better of him again. “What the hell
kind of evidence do you need? Wizards kidnapped Jeanette, they tortured her, and then they murdered her. Now they’re trying to track down survivors from the Thorn Hill Massacre so they can figure out how to do it again!”
“Was the word ‘massacre’ mentioned?” Gabriel said quietly. “I think you’re jumping to conclusions.”
“What do you need, a signed confession ?”
“Jonah,” Gabriel said. “If mainliners are dying, if the clues left with the bodies point directly at us, that means that someone knows enough about us to frame us. How long do you think it will take others to make that connection? Or for the framer to lead them to it?”
“They’re not blaming it on us! They seem to be blaming it on this Madison Moss.”
“They’re not blaming it on us yet ,” Gabriel said. “If we Sconfront them, they will. You don’t remember what it was like, but I do. When I established the Anchorage, mainliners viewed the survivors of Thorn Hill like . . . like mad dogs. Like dangerous mutants who should be slaughtered before they hurt someone.”
Gabriel’s words eerily echoed what Longbranch had said about the “labrats,” as she called them. It would have been cleaner to have dealt with them at the time.
“So we don’t go after the Black Rose directly,” Jonah persisted. “If there are sorcerers out there who created those poisons, we find them. They could help us figure out how to treat the effects. Maybe they’d be eager to help.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Gabriel said. “Do you really think that the Black Rose would
Natalie rested her hand on Jonah’s shoulder. “I know you’re upset at what happened to Jeanette,” she murmured.
“We all are.”
“I’m more than upset ,” Jonah hissed. “ Upset is what happens when you lose your cell phone. You’re upset when you break a string on your favorite guitar.”
Gabriel stood over Jonah, glowering down at him. “You agreed to the mission when you came here, remember?”
“That was ten years ago!” Jonah retorted. “I was seven years old. Maybe we should think about changing the mission.”
“You always have the option to leave,” Gabriel said. “I never said I wanted to leave.” Jonah tried to get his anger under control. “Anyway, I wouldn’t want to leave Kenzie behind.”
“Then you need to follow the rules that protect us all,”
Gabriel said flatly, returning to his seat. Pulling a bottle out of his desk drawer, he popped two pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry.
“Gabriel,” Mike began hesitatingly, “why Jeanette? If they want to find out how the poisoning was done, shouldn’t they be talking to wizards?”
“Wizards aren’t that good with material magic,” Gabriel said. He flipped the shiv, catching it by the hilt again. “But . . .” Alison looked lost. “You always said—”
“Though wizards would have planned the operation, it would have been sorcerers who developed and compounded the poison,” Gabriel said.
They all stared at him.
“Why haven’t you told us that before?” Jonah said finally.
“I thought it was obvious.” Gabriel shrugged. “That’s the role of sorcerers—compounding medicinals and the like.”
“Why would sorcerers collaborate with wizards?” Alison said, grimacing like she had a bad taste in her mouth.
“They may have been forced to do it. Perhaps they didn’t know what the intended use was.” Gabriel ran the edge of the dagger along his thumb, and blood welled up. He watched it drip onto the desk, as dispassionate as if it were someone else’s. Given the drug regimen he was on, he probably didn’t even feel the wound.
“Shouldn’t we find the survivors ourselves, then?” Jonah said. “Before they do? Or confront the Black Rose, head-on?”
“We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves. Not right now.”
“If not now, when?” Jonah exploded, his frustration and exhaustion getting the better of him again. “What the hell
kind of evidence do you need? Wizards kidnapped Jeanette, they tortured her, and then they murdered her. Now they’re trying to track down survivors from the Thorn Hill Massacre so they can figure out how to do it again!”
“Was the word ‘massacre’ mentioned?” Gabriel said quietly. “I think you’re jumping to conclusions.”
“What do you need, a signed confession ?”
“Jonah,” Gabriel said. “If mainliners are dying, if the clues left with the bodies point directly at us, that means that someone knows enough about us to frame us. How long do you think it will take others to make that connection? Or for the framer to lead them to it?”
“They’re not blaming it on us! They seem to be blaming it on this Madison Moss.”
“They’re not blaming it on us yet ,” Gabriel said. “If we Sconfront them, they will. You don’t remember what it was like, but I do. When I established the Anchorage, mainliners viewed the survivors of Thorn Hill like . . . like mad dogs. Like dangerous mutants who should be slaughtered before they hurt someone.”
Gabriel’s words eerily echoed what Longbranch had said about the “labrats,” as she called them. It would have been cleaner to have dealt with them at the time.
“So we don’t go after the Black Rose directly,” Jonah persisted. “If there are sorcerers out there who created those poisons, we find them. They could help us figure out how to treat the effects. Maybe they’d be eager to help.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Gabriel said. “Do you really think that the Black Rose would
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