Fool For The Devil (The Involition Curses, Book One) by Nicola Claire

Author:Nicola Claire [Claire, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Cat

Icouldn't get close to the building itself; the road was blocked off. That was probably a good thing if Ilya was waiting up the street for us. But from where we managed to park, the smoke from the fire blotted out the sky above my apartment. There was no way in hell the firies were saving anybody's home.

I watched in stunned silence, not sure what exactly I was feeling. Dread at the death count? Shock at the brutality of it? An empty feeling that kept getting bigger and bigger, realising everything I owned was going up in literal smoke and there was nothing I could do about it? All of the above.

"Did Ilya do this?" I asked Rafe, not taking my eyes off the flames licking out of several of the windows.

"It is just a guess, but yes; either Ilya or someone else from The Involition."

"This can't just be a coincidence?" I pressed.

"I doubt it, Catalin. This is how they work."

"Destroy someone's home when they merely think she might wield magic?"

"Isolate a target, so she has nowhere to go."

"That's…" That was devious. That was an intelligent approach. I didn't like the sound of that.

"That is merely a fraction of what they are capable of," Rafe concluded.

"What were your instructions regarding me?" I asked.

His jaw ticked, but he answered. "Approach you, gain your trust, determine if you did in fact wield magic and if so to what degree you had control over it."

"And then?"

"Have I not proven I am not doing their bidding for them, Catalin?"

"You killed a man, inserted yourself into the FBI as if you belonged, and have lied to me more than once, Rafe. Quit avoiding the question. Once you assessed my magic abilities, what were your orders then?"

He sighed. "Report my findings to The Involition, either bring you in for indoctrination or…"

"Or?"

"Eliminate you if you proved a threat."

Sounded about right for an organisation that burnt people's houses down and didn't care about collateral damage.

"Okay," I said. "How's the rebellion going for you, Rafe?"

He stared down at me. I didn't turn to face him; my eyes were on the ambulance crew caring for the lucky survivors. I knew the people being treated were not the entirety of those who would have been in the building. Post the COVID lockdowns, many people just continued to do their jobs from home.

"She knows."

"The All-Mother?" I queried. "Ama, you called her."

He nodded, staring out at the chaotic scene in front of us. "I can feel her calling to me." His fingers worried the bracelet — lotu — on one of his wrists. The vines in his tattoo writhed as the snake stared out from between the leaves, looking frightening.

"Why doesn't Gio have lotu?" I asked, giving him time to fight whatever the All-Mother was doing. A change of topic was often as good as a break. "You said they allowed you to walk in the sun. Does Gio only go out at night?"

"Not everyone wears their lotu on their wrists. His may be elsewhere on his body.

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