Walking Shadow (The Darkworld Series Book 2) by Emma L. Adams Page B

face, stealing the occasional glance at the rest of the room. Apart from the glass case and metal walls, it was furnished like a regular office. A desk sat in the corner, topped with piles of paper and two computers. How on earth did they still work, this deep underground?
    Finally he gestured, and the glass door sprang open.
    “Please come and sit here.” His voice was emotionless. I couldn’t tell if it was good news or bad.
    The chair looked uncomfortably reminiscent of pictures I’d seen of electric chairs, but I was so relieved to be out of that box, I collapsed into it. The man peered at me. His eyes were a dull shade of dark grey, but with an odd intensity to them.
    “You’re a magic-user.” It wasn’t a question.
    “Yes,” I whispered.
    “But unregistered.”
    “Yes,” I said. “My parents aren’t magic-users. I didn’t know about it before.”
    “How long have you known?”
    “About…” I swallowed. “Four months, I think.”
    “There is something unusual there, but your reluctance to approach us is understandable.” I blinked in surprise. “It’s very rare for the connection to develop independently. Do you know of any history of magic-users in your family?”
    He doesn’t know,
I thought.
    “No,” I said. “I don’t have a copy of my family tree, and I’d never heard about anything until it happened.”
    He nodded.
He believes me,
I thought, the tiniest spark of relief beginning to glow within me.
    “But there is something that concerns me. How have you used magic? In what capacity?”
    “I―” I stumbled. He had a surprisingly intense stare for someone with such a plain face. “I don’t remember―I’ve made lights appear, you know, to see in the dark…” It was my Oxford interview all over again. My mind blanked itself completely.
    “You have never harmed anyone?”
    Did turning someone to ice constitute harm? I didn’t want to mention that, in case it made him suspect what I really was. The Venantium had to be aware of human-demons, right? Either way, I couldn’t risk it.
    “No,” I said. “Honestly. I’ve never hurt a single person.”
    Unless I counted Terrence, but as he was possessed by a demon at the time, I wasn’t sure he qualified as a person. I did my best to meet that level stare. I wasn’t lying, was I?
    He nodded, and I breathed again. “All the same, we feel it is prudent to set a watch on you. If you see any harpies―you know what harpies are?”
    “Um, yeah,” I said.
    “They will report back to us. If we suspect any illicit activity, we will send for you again.”
    Great. As if one stalker wasn’t bad enough. Now the evil crone-birds would be on my tail.
    “But there is another important matter which needs to be addressed. Do you know who murdered Mr Melmoth?” The directness of the question disarmed me.
    “No,” I said.
    “You saw him last night?”
    “I―yeah. He attacked me and my friends when we were walking back to our flat.”
    “You defended yourselves?”
    “Yes.” There was no point lying. “I didn’t hurt him. He―Leo―” My thoughts were all jumbled together. “None of us harmed him,” I said. “Honestly.”
    “I have spoken to Mr Blake. He was the last person to see Mr Melmoth alive. I merely wanted to know if you saw anything. I know from the scan that you have not performed any harmful magic of late, nor have you physically harmed anyone in any way. You’re clear.”
    A rush of relief made my legs turn to jelly again. “And Claudia?”
    “I’m sure your friend is clear, too. As you may be aware, Mr Melmoth’s is only the latest in a series of murders we are currently investigating, and we have to question all witnesses. Had you lied, I would have known.”
    I nodded, suppressing a shiver at his last words. They implied a hidden threat, not quite masked by his blank, robot-like face.
    “However, there is one thing that concerns me about this particular case. Were you acquainted with the man