Page 86 of Resurrection
“But you answer to me,” Tanaka stated.
“Not anymore,” the same witch replied. “Those witches are wanted for the murder of more than a dozen witches, and you let them, so you are being removed as Senior Director. If you’re not up on the stake as well, I’d be surprised.”
Emmaline stepped forward. “I think you’re mistaken on who murdered who.” She waved a hand at the room around them. “We have dozens, if not hundreds of bodies, human and vampire we’ve been tracking. All leading back to a similar magical signature. A group of witches working together to create death magics. Which means a coven killed all of these people. I have substantial evidence and signature markers of the magic.”
“And two dozen witches are dead by a fire magic spell,” the witch said. “Cast by Mueller and Rou.”
“I reflected a spell that had been directed at me,” Seiran said. “My lover was badly burned.”
“And several of our vampires,” Sam said.
“I did not cast that spell.” Seiran said. But he knew that didn’t matter. They’d been looking for years for a way to kill him. Now Sam too? And removing his mother from her role as Senior Director? This all sounded planned. Though he doubted they bargained on having two dozen witches dead to do it.
The witches were headed his way again and Max scowled, but the room was suddenly full of vampires and human police.
“We are done,” Max stated as the kill squad was surrounded by vampires, the police looking ready for shit too. “No more kowtowing to the Dominion. I have vampires dead and tortured by witches to create golems.” He pointed at Forest who was the only golem left in the room. He still sat in the chair, though he looked more like sticks and clay than a person, but occasionally flash-shifted to one of the visages of the vampires whose souls were trapped inside.
“You don’t have power here,” the witch said again.
“I think you’re mistaken,” Max said. More vampires appeared, pouring through the doorways even though it was daytime. “I think it is you who do not have power here.”
The vampires reached the first group of kill squad witches and grabbed them, despite protests, and clapped them in nullifying cuffs. Seiran blinked at the insanity of it. Dozens of vampires, accompanied by the human police, arresting witches?
“By whose power do you dare?” The witch demanded. “These monsters murdered Director Han and leading members of three other families.”
“By Executive Order of the President,” Max said.
And that’s when the military entered. The soldiers raining down on the place like it was a war zone. Guns at ready, and all of them wearing nullifying amulets. They had come for witches.
Seiran gaped at it all. Never in a million years would he have thought the government would rise against the Dominion. And certainly not in his defense.
“The Dominion is being declared a terrorist organization,” Max continued. “Charged with multiple abuses of power, including murder by magic, embezzling, and extortion. The President and all of Congress has reviewed the overwhelming evidence that contains decades worth of misdeeds.”
How was that possible? The Dominion worked really hard to control the information released to the public. Even editing Seiran’s reports and reclassifying a lot of what he’d cataloged over the years. He looked at his mother, who stood silent, and unsurprised by any of this. Not the kill squad orders, or even Max’s rebuttal of them. Had she done this? Been feeding information to the government?
She glanced his way and gave him a tiny reassuring smile.
Holy fuck, she had!
“I have a list of witches who are declared as belonging to us,” Max continued. “Including the Rous, and Mueller.”
“And Jamie, Kelly, Con, and Page,” Seiran whispered.
Max nodded. “The list that belong to us, is large and growing. Witches have been defecting for years, tired of the manipulation and murder of their kind for power.” The kill squad witches were bound and gagged with charms to keep them silent. “We actually have ways to jail witches without murdering them.” Max’s gaze found Sam. “Please have all of their IDs checked. I suspect a lot of these are on our Crimes Against Humanity list.”
Sam cursed, but nodded. “Fucking bullshit witch shit.” He took a tablet from one of the other vampires and logged into something.
“What is even happening?” Seiran asked. His mother stepped in close to squeeze his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you arrest me too?”
He had helped. His investigations over the years often ended with these terrible kill squad witches set upon someone. No matter what he did, or how much evidence he produced, they always took over. He’d actually become very picky over the past few years about what cases his department actually took. Only finding time and resources for things that involved a lot of destruction and death. Not that it often justified the ends the Dominion required.
“Mike will take you to the new office. Familiarize you with the basics,” Max said. “If you’ll bring your Dominion laptop, our people will begin retrieving data from it and give you a new one.”
“Did you just take over the world?” Sei wondered.
Max gave him a small smile.
“Let me give you a ride. We can get your laptop later. But maybe call your fae buddy to you?” Mike said.