Page 90 of Resurrection

“My investigators?” Seiran wondered.

“Those you think you can trust and who are willing to leave the Dominion. Unfortunately, we will have to monitor everyone to ensure they are not providing information to the Dominion. Transition like this is rarely easy or straightforward.”

“Including me?” Seiran asked. He had no intention of ever being involved with them again if possible.

“Yes, and I apologize for that. We are honored to have the Pillar of Earth on our side. But we have long been in opposition to sitting power, and find ourselves a bit more cautious than most.”

Seiran sighed. “I’m not sure I trust any of you anymore than I trust the Dominion.” Emmaline nodded her agreement.

“That’s justified,” Detrick said. “I hope time will help with that. We have a lot of information coming in right now, so there is a ton of ground to cover. We will need more investigators, but we work with what we have.”

“You have more than we ever did,” Emmaline grumbled.

“By at least ten times,” Seiran agreed. He had a dozen investigators he thought he trusted. Those like Emmaline, who really took their work with a global full colored view, rather than rules set in black and white. Many more were very rule bound as the Dominion preferred. He hoped at least a few were willing to make the change.

The following flow of information was so intense that Seiran’s head spun with all of it. He admitted the exhaustion was getting to him and he floundered in the wake of the intensity of it all. The list of names, witches burned to death, flickering through a screen of information, was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Four Directors, including Han, were dead. Many members of their families, now identified as one of the largest covens in the USA, were also dead or injured.

He felt a little sick. He hadn’t meant to kill anyone. But that was the way of things, wasn’t it? Their spell, he reminded himself. Not his. If it had hit him, bounced from Gabe to him, would it have hit the kids? That was the only thing keeping him from dissolving with guilt. That, and memories of Gabe’s burned body as they laid him on the ground.

It happened to him often enough, this sort of backfire of power. And he had never really stopped having nightmares about his first kill, a man named Brock, who had raped him and tried to murder him to steal his power. Seiran had instead performed the ritual to accept the power of the pillar. Unsanctioned by the Dominion, of course. But the earth had accepted him in a blaze of power. The Dominion had been trying to get rid of Seiran ever since.

He walked in a daze, trying to follow the endless data, but swaying a little on his feet. Seiran felt a hand on his arm and flinched, turning, ready to yell at someone for touching him, but it was Sam.

“Looking like shit, Ronnie,” Sam said.

“Fuck you,” Seiran grumbled.

He grinned, not at all offended, then folded his arms across his chest. “Sounds like until the big guy is back and trained, I’m on your six.”

“What?” Seiran snapped.

“I am your enforcer,” Sam said slowly.

“You’re going to what, scare people into talking to me? I don’t need a guard.” Seiran put up his hands and wiggled his fingers, plants growing around them in delicate flowers. “Pillar.”

“It’s the rules. Every investigator gets an enforcer.”

“Can’t I have Mike?” Seiran wondered.

“You trust Mike more than me to watch your back?” Sam sounded offended.

“I’d trust him to start less shit.”

“Point,” Sam shrugged. “But nah, he’s only part time enforcement. He’s got businesses to run, at least until Gabe is back at capacity.”

That was another fist to the gut. Would Gabe be back any time soon? Seiran didn’t want to think about it. Between the exhaustion and grief, he was barely holding it together.

“You need some rest?” Sam asked.

“Probably. But it’s not going to happen right now.” Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Gabe’s burned face. Better than the original betrayal at least. Eventually Seiran would collapse and sleep.

“What if you went home and hugged your kids?” Sam said quietly as he stepped in close. No one else was nearby. It was sad how well Sam knew him. But going home meant falling apart. Was he ready for that?

“Not yet,” Seiran breathed out an unsteady breath. “I just…”

“Okay. How about we go look at that cabin then? I’ll drive. There’s some interesting shit coming up in the evidence our peeps are documenting.”

“Don’t think I’m not mad at you for not telling me about this stuff.”