Rising Fury (Hexing House Book 1) (18 page)

“Let’s just get right to the point. Did you help develop what you’ve so charmingly termed the superhex?”

That brought enough reaction from the onlookers to cause Graves to ask them to quiet down. Thea took advantage of the pause and collected herself.

Pretend you’re back on a red carpet. Nobody needs to know what’s going on inside. Just smile and wave and give them someone to adore.

Somehow she didn’t think the smiling thing would work this time. But the reminder that she could, when she chose, construct a pretty good mask served her well. She was fairly sure her face was neutral when Graves turned back to her.

“I beg your pardon?” she asked.

“Come now, that’s the simplest question we’re going to ask all afternoon. If you need that one repeated, we’re in for a long one.” Several of the other department heads laughed.

Thea sat up straighter and glared at them, then at Graves. “It’s just that it was such a ridiculous question. Of course I didn’t. I’m the one who told you guys about it. Even someone your age should be able to remember two hours back.” She knew the insult was a mistake, but she couldn’t stop it from slipping out. At the board table, Megaira cleared her throat, and Alecto scowled at Thea.

Graves ignored the jab. “You’ve said you went into the woods more than once, to the cabin where blood and hexes were being exchanged between Hexing House and the offsite lab, correct?”

“Yes, to look for clues and try to figure out what was going on.”

“And you were at the lab itself for three weeks, participating in experiments?”

“Being
forcibly experimented on
.”

“And the cabin that you went to is the same cabin that was burnt to the ground yesterday?”

“You know it was.”

Graves nodded. “So any evidence of your activities there has been destroyed.”

Thea had no words for that. She could feel that web, winding around, tighter and tighter, but she had no idea how to stop it.

“We found the lab, Thea,” Graves said. “It was exactly where your cousin said it would be. The whole board was invited out there to see it, that’s why we were late in coming back.”

“Well, that’s good,” Thea said. “Then you should know I’m telling the truth.”

“About some things,” Graves agreed. “I understand that the obvious injuries Flannery came in here with today were inflicted by you.”

“Because you sent her after me when I got away, and she threatened me.”

Graves ignored this. “So is it possible that you had a falling out with your cousin, knew she was going to expose this scandal, and decided to preempt her to divert suspicion away from yourself?”

“I… no,” Thea said. “It’s not.”

“It’s not possible?”

“It’s not true.”

“Okay. We’re going to give you a break, Thea, while we talk to some others. But I must warn you, you can stay in this meeting only under the condition that you not disrupt it.”

Meaning, Thea supposed, that whatever he was about to pull out of his sleeve might make her lose control. She nodded stiffly and stepped off the stage. 

Great
, she thought as she took a seat in the audience.
I get a front row seat to my own execution
.

Graves turned and spoke to someone waiting off stage. “We’re ready for you.”

It was Cora.

She didn’t look Thea in the eye as she sat down, but she did give Graves a pleasant smile.

No. No, she’s just playing along. She was there last night, telling Alecto the truth. Because she’s my friend. She wouldn’t—

“Cora, I know this is awkward for you, but I also know we can trust in that legendary frankness of yours,” Graves said, drawing smiles from both Cora and several members of the board. “Tell us, has Thea, at any point in your acquaintance, struck you as unstable?”

“Yes,” Cora said without hesitation. “The first time I ever had a meal with her, she fainted in the dining hall.”

“And did she tell you why she fainted?”

“She was introduced to someone who she said gave her a vision. After that she was kind of obsessed about it. She kept talking about all these conspiracy theories, and blood being stolen.”

“And who was this person?”

“Hester.”

Graves waited for this to sink in among the murmuring board members and audience, then repeated Hester’s name. “And we tragically lost Hester a short while ago, after she was attacked by an unknown assailant.”

“Yes,” Cora agreed.

So. Hester had died, then. Thea had been so caught up since she got back, first with the fire, then this meeting-turned-trial, that she hadn’t thought to ask about her. There was no time to mourn for her now.

“Did any of these conspiracy theories of Thea’s involve weapons?” Graves asked.

“Well, she talked a lot about the apocalypse, and smiting demons. The Book of Revelation, I think, but I don’t know the Bible well.”

Thea listened with increasing disbelief, willing herself not to cry. First Flannery, now Cora. Who else was going to come out and betray her? She almost expected Aunt Bridget next, or Pete. Thea wondered when Graves had flipped Cora over to his side. Or maybe she’d always been there.

After a few more questions meant to paint Thea as a paranoid lunatic who may or may not have come to Hexing House in the first place with the intention of destroying it, Cora was dismissed. Thea knew she wasn’t supposed to interrupt, but she also didn’t see how much worse it could get.

“Wait.” Thea stood. “Ask her about the fire and Mr. Fanatic. Ask her about the salt we saw last night.”

“Thea, if you are unable to control yourself, I will have you removed. But in this case, I should actually thank you.” Graves reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a sandwich bag filled with something white. “I’d nearly forgotten the salt. We found it in your residence during the lunch break.”

Thea felt like she’d swallowed a boulder of ice. She couldn’t just sit here and watch as they did this to her. She had to be stronger, smarter. She had to find a way to defend herself without playing into Graves’s hands.

But for the life of her, she couldn’t think how.

And she wasn’t sure it mattered. Probably they’d made up their minds what to do with her before this meeting even started.

“Cora, have you seen Thea with this salt before?”

“Yes,” Cora said. “She said it was blessed by a priest, and that it would come in handy.”

Just when Thea thought she was beyond being shocked by this farce, Graves turned to the board table and said, “Alecto, we have some questions for you.”

Alecto looked just as surprised as Thea. “Oh?”

“Please.” Graves gestured to the chair Cora had just vacated. “I know you’re busy. We all are. It won’t take long.”

“All right.” Alecto seated herself and asked, “What’s this all about?”

“Is it true that Hexing House is experiencing some financial difficulties?”

Alecto frowned. “How is this relevant?”

Graves smiled at his niece. “Just something Stefan brought up before we came back from lunch, and I’m sure we can clear it up quickly. Any trouble in that area?”

“Rumors,” Alecto said. “Mainly from a couple of disgruntled Inflictors who wanted to claim to be laid off instead of fired.” She glared at Stefan and added, “As you know.”

“Do I?” Stefan raised his eyebrow in that smug way he had, and even though Thea didn’t understand what this had to do with their intent to frame her, she still wanted to claw at his face.

“Of course. You’ve all seen the balance sheets.” Alecto gestured at the head of Finance and Accounting. “Ask Iren.”

Iren coughed and stood up. She was a stout, solemn fury who Thea had shaken hands with once, at her transformation celebration, when Langdon introduced her as his wife.

“It’s true that our income has gone up this year,” Iren said in a barely audible voice. “Business has been quite good.”

“But?” Graves prompted.

“But there have also been a number of, erm, unaccounted for expenses. Large withdrawals under project numbers that don’t exist.”

“Made by whom?”

“By Alecto, in every case.”

Alecto gasped and stood. “I beg your pardon? Are you actually accusing me of
embezzling
?”

Graves, looking every inch his name, said nothing. It was Stefan who stood and spoke.

“We’ve heard the evidence, and we’ve seen the lab for ourselves. We know somebody was working on a superhex. As our colony has no political enemies to go to war with, logically the only reason to develop a weapon of mass destruction is to sell it to the highest human bidder. I’m afraid the obvious conclusion is that Alecto was looking for a way to make money to cover her indiscretions, and this is what she settled on. And that Thea was in collusion with her.”

“This is ridiculous,” Alecto said. “You all know better than that. Megaira?”

But her sister wouldn’t meet her eye.

When Graves spoke again it was in a booming voice, grandstanding, enjoying his moment. “As difficult as this is, we have a clear duty here. The members of the board will have to weigh their next steps very carefully. I recommend in the meanwhile that both Alecto and Thea be suspended and placed under guard.”

They weren’t confined to their residences—yet—but Thea stayed in hers anyway. Going to the dining hall with a security escort, subjecting herself to all those stares, the mocking of Philip and his friends, was unimaginable. If Cora had betrayed her, that no doubt meant Nero and Elon had as well. There was nobody she wanted to see.

So when someone pounded on her door, she ignored it. Then she ignored it a second time, and a third.

Finally, Alecto’s voice sounded from the hall. “If you’re hiding in there, that’s the human Thea. I need the fury.”

Thea opened the door.

Without greeting, Alecto walked in and flopped down on the couch. It was unsettling. Alecto was not a person Thea associated with flopping. It had a defeated quality to it that brought home just how much trouble they were in.

Alecto leaned over to check that the door was closed, then asked, “Do you believe them? That this was all my doing?”

“How can I, after I just watched them do the same thing to me?” Thea sighed. “If you’d asked me yesterday, I wouldn’t have put it past you. But the way I see it, they wouldn’t have framed you if they thought they could keep getting away with it under your watch.”

“You’re right about that. Uncle Graves knew I would come down hard on this. So what better way to get rid of me than to make me the one responsible?” Alecto shook her head. “Ruthlessness at its finest.”

“So maybe it’s not such a virtue, after all.”

“Even a virtue shouldn’t be taken to the extreme.” Alecto waved a hand in dismissal. “But I didn’t come to talk philosophy. I only asked if you thought I was guilty so I could decide whether to trust you.”

“Trust me with what?”

“You know somebody named Pete?”

Thea frowned. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because I got an email from him. It took a couple of hours for these geniuses to think to take my laptop. Remind me to do a careful examination of the Security department when this is over.”

“From
Pete
? What did it say?”

“That he was writing to me because you don’t have a computer or email address. You’re to meet him at the intersection of Spencer Road and Route 47 at ten tonight. I’m welcome to come too, if I’d like. I thought that was courteous of him.”

Thea paced back and forth, wishing she had a bell in her hand. “But it can’t really be from Pete. He wouldn’t know what happened at the hearing. Flannery sure as hell wouldn’t have asked him to help me. Could they have been giving you a virus that planted false evidence on your computer or something?”

“Anything’s possible at this point. Who is this Pete?”

“A friend from ho— from before.”

“Does he call you Gumdrop?”

Thea froze. “How would they know that? Unless they’ve got him They’ve taken him and—”

“Or it was really from him and it’s a genuine offer,” Alecto interrupted. “Could just be that we have a friend on the inside who got in touch with him, if they knew he would be inclined to help you. Does anyone else know about him?”

“Cora and Nero,” Thea said. “And Cora has his email address. They’ve talked before. But you saw her today. She wouldn’t help me now.”

Alecto shrugged. “She might. Just because she thinks you’ve lost your mind doesn’t mean she wants you hurt. I’ve had some of that myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Megaira came to see me not half an hour before I got that message. I figured it was because she knew I’d been set up, and I lit into her for just sitting there and letting it happen without saying a damn word in her own sister’s defense. You know what she said to that?”

“What?”

“That she wasn’t ready to take sides yet. Not between me and Uncle Graves.”

“They do seem close.”

Alecto glared at her. “How much closer than twins do you suppose it gets?” She sighed. “Anyway, Megaira didn’t see how Graves could have manufactured all that evidence. Or how he could be developing a superhex without materials, data, resources from RDM that she would know were taken. So she’s torn. That was her word. Torn. I’ll give her a tear.”

Once again, Thea was unnerved at seeing Alecto so shaken—so much so that she was showing it in front of Thea. “So why did she come to see you?”

“Because they’ve already decided against me.” Alecto looked at Thea. “And you. The entire board isn’t convinced, but Graves is owed a lot of favors, and I suspect a few of them are even afraid of him. They’ll go through the motions of a vote in the morning, but it’s decided. They’re going to take our wings.”

Thea swallowed, tried to say something, couldn’t think of what. They couldn’t take her wings. She wouldn’t allow it. She’d only just gotten used to having them, and she damn well liked it.

“And she said that whatever the truth was, I was still her sister,” Alecto went on. “And she didn’t want to see that happen to me. She suggested I run.”

“And then half an hour later you conveniently got a message claiming to be from Pete, suggesting an escape plan? That’s got to be a setup,” Thea said.

“I thought of that, but why would they bother?” Alecto asked. “What could they hope to catch us doing at this point? They’ve already decided on the worst possible punishment for the crimes they’ve already convicted us of.”

“So maybe Megaira and Cora set this up because they feel sorry for us, that’s what you’re saying?”

Alecto shrugged. “Pity is a very rare trait among furies, and not something I’ve seen in my sister. But I don’t know why else they’d be doing it.”

Thea stopped pacing and sat down beside Alecto. They leaned their heads against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling, not speaking for a minute or two. Finally Thea said, “Well, we’ve got to find out, right? Even if it is some kind of setup. It beats just sitting here like flies under a glass, waiting for Graves to come and pluck our wings off.”

“I agree.”

“Oh, and speaking of Graves—”

“Is this where you give me the first of what I’m sure will be many I-told-you-so’s?”

“Are you going to offer me the first of what should be many I’m-sorry-I-doubted-you’s? Impartial facilitator my ass.”

“He’s family. I would never have believed it of him. Part of me still thinks it’s some kind of misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, well it’s not. Your sister is right. We’ve got to run. So I guess we might as well run together.” Thea might not like her, but she had to admit, Alecto was strong. She was the kind of person you wanted on your side in a situation like this. “But how will we get to the gate with them watching us?” There had been two guards outside her door, and she supposed two more had come with Alecto.

“You’re still thinking like a human,” Alecto said. “We don’t need a gate to fly out of here.”

“No, but I can’t fly very fast with this wing injury. And if we’re seen just flying off into the night, that’s going to raise some eyebrows, don’t you think?”

Unless they were going someplace else, someplace authorized. Someplace they could more easily leave later, without being seen.

Someplace on the campus, but out of the way.

“Do you know Nana?” Thea asked. “Old woman who lives in the woods, kind of crazy?”

Alecto crossed her arms. “Yes, I know her. And you want to watch how you speak about my Nana.”

“Nana is
your
Nana? But she was so kind…” Thea trailed off as Alecto cocked an eyebrow at her.

“What’s your point?” Alecto asked.

“Well, it’s an even better idea if she’s your grandma,” Thea said. “Going to see her during this time of trouble would be the most natural thing in the world for you, right? So we say we’re going to ask her advice. We stay until well after dark, and then find a way to lose our guards out there, under the cover of the forest. Fly over the fence at the closest point to Nana’s cottage, and off we go.”

Alecto regarded her for a minute before saying, “That’s actually a pretty good idea.”

“Yeah, well, lightning can always strike.” Thea stood and looked around her residence, surprised to find a lump in her throat at the thought of leaving it. “How long do you think we’ll be gone?”

“I don’t know,” Alecto said. “But you can bet it won’t be forever.”

Thea was worried that the security guards would resist letting them go visit Nana, but they mostly seemed pleased that Alecto and Thea wanted to go somewhere together, meaning they would only need two guards instead of four. After arguing a bit about which two got to go home, the unlucky ones who remained kept a respectful distance behind Thea and Alecto as they flew out to the forest.

Nana, it seemed, was the exception to a lot of rules, and one of those was that she was allowed to have a kitchen. She made them an unexpectedly pleasant dinner of steak and baked potatoes while they filled her in on everything that had happened. She listened without interruption, her face getting darker and darker as the story went on.

When they finished she looked at Thea and said, “Graves is my youngest, you know. Four kids and the only one left living. It seems to be my burden to live longer than any reasonable person could want to. Probably outlive my grandchildren, too.”

“Let’s hope not,” Alecto muttered.

“But I’m not blind to my children’s sins the way human mothers are,” Nana went on. “Hard to be, when you’re a fury.”

“It was plenty hard for my human mother, too,” said Thea, matching Alecto’s tone.

Nana sat back in her chair and raised her eyebrows at both of them. “You two are awfully sassy. But I suppose that’s to be expected, with everything happening the way it is.  As I was saying…” She paused, presumably to be sure there would be no more commentary, then went on, “Graves has a lot of good points, but he has always been consumed by greed and pride. Always wanted better than he had.”

“Still does,” Alecto said. She smiled at Thea. “You know he has those damn suits of his custom made by an ex-client? Pays a fortune for them, but he can’t be satisfied with what everyone else gets.”

Nana shrugged. “Probably should have beaten some sense into him when I had the chance, but my late husband, rest him, was opposed to lashing. Anyway my point is, I can’t say I’m surprised to find him involved in a money-making scheme like this. I imagine that superhex would sell to someone or other for more money than he could ever count, let alone spend.” She looked at Alecto. “I’m surprised at your sister, though.”

“Nana, I’m disappointed in Maggie too, but the fact that she’s confused doesn’t make her involved,” Alecto said. “You know how things are with her and Graves. She’s trusted him since she was tiny, and he’s mentored her her whole life.”

Nana didn’t look convinced, and privately neither was Thea. But since Nana didn’t press the point, neither did she.

While Alecto and Thea washed up, Nana went to stand by the window. She didn’t open the curtains, only put her hand gently on one of them. She closed her eyes, but didn’t bother with the humming this time.

“They’re in a tree, passing a bottle of something back and forth,” she said at last. “I don’t imagine they’ll be very difficult to dispense with.”

“Nana, I don’t want them hurt,” said Alecto.

“How do you intend to do this without hurting them?” Nana asked.

Thea didn’t like where this seemed to be going. “Do what?”

Alecto glanced at Thea, then turned away. “Nana and I are going to subdue the guards.”

“What do you mean subdue?”

Nana smiled and nodded at something over Thea’s shoulder. Thea turned around to find Nana’s fluffy pink armchair turned upside down and floating three feet above the floor.

“We have a few less common skills in my family,” Alecto said.

“Telekinesis,” said Thea. “Elon and I talked about this once. Levels of manipulating energy, or something like that.”

“Something like that,” Nana agreed as the chair righted itself and landed gently in its place. “I expect you could learn it too, powerful as you are.”

“So you’re going to do what, throw them out of the tree?” Thea asked. “You don’t think we can just sneak away?”

“It’s too risky,” Alecto said. “I want to know they’re out cold and can’t follow us.” She turned to Nana. “But I won’t have them seriously injured. I’m not going to feed this by having rumors flying through the colony that I’m hurting furies.”