"Won't it hurt your case if they find their witness?"
"They won't. He's dead. Improper handling of a fire-swarm."
"Firearm?"
"No, fire-swarm."
I shook my head and sat down at the table. Lucas placed two scones on a plate and brought it over. I waited until he took his first mouthful.
"Okay, I'll bite. What's a fire-swarm and what did it do to your witness?"
"Not my witness-"
I tossed my napkin at him. His quarter-smile broadened to a grin and he launched into the story. That's one thing about being a lawyer to the supernatural. The pay is crap and the clientele can be lethal, but any time you take supernatural events and try to present them in a human courtroom, you're bound to get some great stories. This time, though, no story, no matter how amusing, could distract me from what Benicio had said. After the first few sentences, Lucas stopped.
"Tell me what happened last night," he said.
"Last-?" My mind slowly shifted gears. "Oh, the Coven thing. Well, I gave them my spiel, but it was pretty obvious they were more interested in not missing their dinner reservation."
His gaze searched mine. "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"
I hesitated. "Your father came by earlier this morning."
Lucas stopped, fingers tightening around his napkin. Again he searched my eyes, this time looking for some sign that I was making a very poor joke.
"He sent his guards in first," I said. "Supposedly looking for you, but when I said you weren't here, he wanted to talk to me. I… I decided it was best to let him. I wasn't sure-we'd never discussed what I should do if-"
"Because it shouldn't have happened. When he found I wasn't here, he shouldn't have insisted on speaking to you. I'm surprised he didn't already know-" He stopped, eyes meeting mine. "He knew I wasn't here, didn't he?"
"Er, uh… I'm not sure really."
Lucas's mouth tightened. He shoved back his chair, strode into the front hall, and pulled his cell phone from his jacket. Before he could dial out, I leaned into the hall and lifted a hand to stop him.
"If you're going to call him, I'd better tell you what he wanted or he's going to think I refused to pass along the message."
"Yes, of course." Lucas tucked the cell phone into his pocket, then pinched the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses with the motion. "I'm sorry, Paige. This wasn't supposed to happen. Had I thought he might come here, I would have forewarned you, but no one from my father's organization was supposed to contact you or Savannah. He gave me his word-"
"It was fine," I said, managing a smile. "Short and sweet. He just wanted me to tell you he's got another of those cases that might interest us-well, you."
Lucas frowned and I knew he'd caught my slip.
"He said it would interest both of us," I said. "But he meant you. He was just throwing in the 'us' part to pique my curiosity. You know, get the new girlfriend intrigued and maybe she'll pester you to give in."
"What did he say?"
I told him Benicio's story. When I finished, Lucas closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I can't believe he'd-no, I can believe he'd do that. I should have warned you."
Lucas paused, then steered me back into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry," he said. "These last few months haven't been easy for you, and I don't want you affected by this part of my life any more than necessary. I know I'm the reason you can't find any witches to join your Coven."
"That's got nothing to do with it. I'm young and I haven't proven myself-well, not beyond proving that I can get kicked out of the Coven. But whatever their hang-ups, it's got nothing to do with you."
A small, wan smile. "Your lying hasn't improved."
"Well, it doesn't matter. If they don't want-" I shook my head. "Why are we talking about me anyway? You have a call to make. Your father is already convinced I'm not going to relay his message, so I'm going to hound you until you do."
Lucas took out his phone, but only stared at the keypad. After a moment, he looked over at me.
"Do you have any critical projects to complete this week?" he asked.
"Anything due this week would have been done last week. With Savannah around, I can't let deadlines creep up on me, or an emergency could put me out of business."
"Yes, of course. Well…" He cleared his throat. "I'm not due in court until tomorrow. If Savannah was able to stay at a friend's tonight, would you be able-or should I say willing-to join me on an overnight trip to Miami?"
Before I could open my mouth, he hurried on, "I've postponed this long enough. For your own protection, it's time to formally introduce you to the Cabal. I should have done this months ago, but… well, I hoped it wouldn't be necessary, that I could take my father at his word. Apparently not."
I looked at him. It was a good excuse, but I knew the truth. He wanted to take me to Miami so I could hear the rest of Dana MacArthur's story. If I didn't, worry and curiosity would gnaw at me until I found some way to get the answers I needed. This was the reaction Benicio wanted, and I desperately didn't want to give it to him. And yet, was there really any harm in hearing what had happened, maybe seeing this witch and making sure she was all right? Benicio said she was a Cabal employee's daughter. The Cabals looked after their own. That much I knew. All we had to do was say "No, thanks," and the Cabal would launch an investigation, and Dana MacArthur would get her justice. That was good enough for me. It had to be.
So I agreed, and we made plans to leave immediately.
Mastermind of Manipulation
We booked seats on a flight for Miami. Then we arranged for Savannah to stay at a friend's house overnight, called her at school, and gave her the news. An hour later, we were at the airport.
We hadn't had a problem booking last-minute tickets, and we hadn't expected to. Just over a month ago, terrorists had driven planes into the World Trade Center, and many travelers opted not to fly the not-so-friendly skies if they could avoid it. We'd arrived early, knowing that passing through security wouldn't be the speedy process it had once been.
The guard opened Lucas's bag and rifled through it, then pulled out a cardboard tube. He passed his metal detector over it, then gingerly removed the end cap and peered inside.
"Paper," he said to his partner.
"It's a scroll," Lucas said.
Both men glowered at him as if this might be a new street name for an automatic rifle.
"A sheet of paper bearing ancient text," Lucas said.
One guard pulled it out and unrolled the scroll. The paper was brand-new, gleaming white, and covered in precise, graceful strokes of calligraphy. The guard screwed up his face.
"What does it say?" he asked.
"I have no idea. It's Hebrew. I'm transporting it for a client."
They handed it back, unfurled and creased. As they checked out my laptop and overnight bag, Lucas straightened the scroll and rolled it. When they finished, Lucas hoisted both bags and we headed toward the boarding area.
"What is that?" I whispered. "My spell?"
"I thought you might need a distraction after today."
I smiled up at him. "Thanks. What does it do?"
"I'm choosing option two."
I remembered the option game and laughed. "Too late, Cortez. The deal was that you had to tell me last night. You're home now, so the scroll is mine, option-free."
"I would have selected an option, had you not distracted me from my purpose."
"What, my listing the options prevented you from choosing one?"
"Most effectively. Option two."