Page 13 of Fool Me Twice (Redwater Demons #2)

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E z has been impatiently waiting all week to see Roma Gutierrez.

Honestly, she’s not sure what irritates her more?—the fact that Roma continues to evade her, or the fact that Ez is waiting for her like a high school human on the lookout for their crush. A few more mega-rifts have been opened since that fateful night on the corner of East and Mayfair, and Ez has been responding to them without fail, but thus far, she’s been forced to work with other hunters?—other hunters who, she thinks sourly, are nowhere near as powerful or professional as Roma.

Sighing, Ez picks at her sushi, trying to muster up a modicum of enthusiasm for her spicy tuna rolls. Right now, she’s sitting at one of the picnic tables dotting the path that leads from Redwater up to the Sanctum, cloaked in an invisibility spell while she watches for her wayward hunter. She doesn’t have Roma’s routine memorized, of course, but it’s hard to ignore that Ez usually can’t finish a meal without her showing up?—with a mega-rift usually close behind.

And six days with no contact is strangely foreboding. At this point, she has the sinking feeling that the Council probably punished Roma for letting Ez take custody of the neophyte demon, and Ez is irrationally concerned about that prospect.

Not that she’s concerned about Roma, of course. Not at all. It’s just that, since Roma is currently unavailable, Ez’s rift-closing exploits are much more burdensome.

And, above all, she wants to know whether Kathleen ended up in the Sanctum’s prison.

That’s the human name the neophyte chose for herself, apparently. Kathleen. Ez triple-checked all the transfer-of-custody paperwork when she dropped her off at the Chain, claiming that she just wanted to do her job correctly, and she’s casually touched base with the Education Department twice since then, innocently asking for updates on their dimension’s newest demon.

According to the Education representative, Kathleen was transferred to Oregon with the full support of the Portland Chain. Ez doesn’t know if it’s suspicious or not that they refused to give Ez any way to contact her.

So that’s the big question, isn’t it? Is Kathleen in Portland or Redwater? If Roma’s hunch was wrong, then Ez can assume Kathleen is happily adjusting to her earthly life in Oregon, but if Roma was right?—if that poor, terrified demon is locked in a cell where she’s going to be experimented on and eventually killed??—

Well. Ez doesn’t even want to entertain that possibility.

And she could avoid entertaining the possibility entirely if Roma would just show her stupid face in town again. Ez shoves another piece of sushi into her mouth, glowering up at the cult on the hill. She’s spent breakfast, lunch, and dinner posted up here for the past week; would it kill Roma to leave her fortress every once in a while?

And then, like the hunter was summoned by Ez’s thoughts, she catches sight of a familiar figure coming down the path. She straightens in her seat for a better view, her sushi forgotten.

Namely because Roma looks exhausted. Shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, arms hugged across her chest??—

Honestly, she looks like a puppy that someone decided to kick. A pang twists through Ez at the thought.

But there’s nothing she can do about that right now?—and, in any case, they have bigger issues to deal with. Taking a deep breath, Ez drops the invisibility spell and lets out a quiet whistle.

Roma glances over. Immediately, she trips over her own feet and stumbles with surprise, eyes widening.

Ez doesn’t know whether to laugh or be worried. She settles for slapping an imperious expression onto her face and waving Roma over.

Roma only hesitates for a second before obeying, a scowl creeping across her face. “I’m not a dog, you know,” she snaps, slowing to a stop on the other side of the table.

“Really? Because you Sanctum lackeys already have the ‘purebred’ and ‘mixed breed’ titles built into your vocabulary.”

“That’s?—?” Roma’s jaw twitches. “That’s just a bloodlines thing, okay? You wouldn’t understand. Those are just the phrases we’ve always used.”

So they’ve always treated you like property? Ez bites back the words. “Uh-huh,” she says instead, and she raises her eyebrows expectantly. “So?”

Roma glares at her for a long moment before looking away. “She’s in the prison,” she says quietly.

Ez’s blood runs cold. “For real?”

“Yeah.” Roma briefly wavers before easing herself onto the bench seat across from Ez, her shoulders tense. “Same MO, too. Arrived within twenty-four hours of being summoned, delivered by the same out-of-town hunter.”

“Did you ever figure out the hunter’s name? Or which Sanctum they’re from?”

Roma grimaces. “As far as I can tell, this hunter doesn’t even exist. I can’t find a record of them anywhere. They could be from abroad, but…” She trails off. “I don’t know why they’re here. Or how they have a connection in the Redwater Chain.”

Ez’s stomach churns. “It might be more than one connection,” she admits. “I’ve followed up on the neophyte’s case a few times with different Education representatives. They all claim that she’s living her best life in Oregon.”

Roma’s eyes widen. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Ez lets out a slow breath. “Looks like we have our confirmation. We have rogue elements?—on both sides. I really didn’t want to consider it before, but…”

Roma presses her lips tightly together. “Maybe,” she says, her voice hitching the slightest bit. “I don’t?—I don’t really want to think about that, either.”

Ez swallows down her instinctive reply. While she’s beyond horrified that a demon, someone from her own home dimension, is apparently working with demon hunters and betraying their own people, she feels like Roma’s disgust has more to do with a hunter deigning to associate with demons than anything else. Valiantly, she forces her bitterness away. “If that’s the case, though, then I might know your alleged hunter,” she says reluctantly. “Any chance you snapped a picture of their signature?”

“No picture, but, um.” Roma winces. “They go by ‘G. Ricci,’ apparently.”

Shock jolts through Ez. “Ricci? Like, R-I-C-C-I, Ricci?”

“Yeah. And their first name starts with the letter ‘G.’ Wait, do you?—??” She looks stunned. “Do you actually know them?”

Ez tastes bile. “I might,” she hedges, her thoughts racing at a thousand miles per hour. “I know a G. Ricci, at least. Might not be the same one.”

G. Ricci? Gregorio Ricci, one of the Chain’s Personnel employees?—and Micah Devereux’s husband? That can’t be. Gregorio has been on Earth for over two thousand years, has been working for the Chain for nearly two centuries, has mostly kept to himself during all that time??—

How would he even divert neophyte demons from the Education Department to the Sanctum? Is the entire department corrupt? Or are they just covering their own asses after losing those neophytes? And if the Education Department is innocent, then how have demons gone missing multiple times without triggering an investigation?

None of it makes any sense. And above all??—

“I don’t think it’s the G. Ricci I know,” Ez says eventually, resting her chin on her fist. “He’s helped us before. Helped Cass and JJ stay under the radar.”

Roma’s expression shifts. “Oh,” she says slowly, leaning the slightest bit away. “Then?—then I don’t think it could be him, no. The Sanctum has been pretty clear that getting JJ back is a high priority.”

It looks like Roma regrets the words the instant they’re out of her mouth. Ez’s temper spikes. “Well, you’re not getting him back,” she snaps. “He’s built a wonderful life for himself with his doting boyfriend and their kidnap-adopted daughter. We’re not letting anyone take that from him, least of all you and your ilk.”

Roma scowls. “Can we just?—can we just not talk about him right now? We were discussing the neophyte in the prison. What are we going to do about the neophyte in the prison?”

Well, Ez is planning on rallying the troops and organizing a jailbreak as soon as feasibly possible, but there’s no way she’s going to tell Roma that. “Don’t worry about it,” she says briskly, crumpling up her takeout container and tossing it in the nearest trash can. “You just keep your head down and be a good little lackey.”

Roma scoffs. “Yeah, it’s a bit too little, too late for that, Laguerre.”

Ez’s anger wavers. “How’d the Council take it?” she asks cautiously. “That you let the neophyte get away, I mean.”

Roma shrugs uncomfortably. “Could’ve been worse. I framed it as an error in judgment. They seemed to accept that.” She looks away. “But they want more oversight in, um, how I’m closing these mega-rifts. Mandatory reports and such. And I wasn’t allowed to go back down to Redwater without their approval.”

Ez’s chest twinges. “Sounds like the prison isn’t the only place keeping people locked up.”

Roma’s jaw works. “I get by. Regardless, how?—how have the mega-rifts been?”

“About the same. A little less frequent over the past few days, though. Which is good,” Ez adds waspishly, “because you’re basically the only useful hunter in that entire building. Your spellcasting instructors are doing an absolutely abysmal job of training the next generation.”

Roma’s lips twitch. “We’re only required to learn the basics. I just took it upon myself to become an expert.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Gutierrez.”

“Well, like you said,” Roma says smugly, “I’m the best the Redwater Sanctum has. By definition, that makes me their expert.”

Ez rolls her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, lackey.”

Roma smirks back, clearly pleased. Ez is surprised to find that their banter feels almost comfortable. The words are roughly the same as usual, the tone is roughly the same as usual??—

But Roma’s shoulders are relaxed and her eyes are almost teasing, not overtly hostile. And, for once, Ez doesn’t feel the need to be antagonistic straight back at her.

Maybe it’s because Roma really is the only useful hunter out of the bunch. Maybe it’s because having an ally in the middle of this mystery is oddly comforting.

Or maybe it’s because Ez actually sort of missed her this past week. Deliberately, she shoves that last thought down. “All right,” she says briskly, pushing herself to her feet. “I’m out of here. I’ll touch base with my G. Ricci when he’s back in his office on Monday. In the meantime, try to show up for your rift-closing job for once, will you?”

Roma arches an eyebrow. “Aw, did you miss me?”

“You’re a nightmare,” Ez says breezily, and she gives Roma a halfhearted wave as she snaps open a rift and turns away, trying to breathe past the sudden, unfamiliar tension in her bones.

Maybe a jailbreak will be enough to distract her. Fighting back a strange pang of guilt, she waves the rift closed behind her, flops onto her couch, and pulls out her phone to text Obie.

ESMERALDA: Hey, remember when you were ready to help me break into the Sanctum last week?