Page 20

Chapter 20

Nathan

After some asking around near the dormitory, a smoker lingering near the entrance directed them up to the third floor. The hallways were wide and long, with pale tile floor and bare brick walls. Nathan waved Alex and Zachary ahead, as they could pass for students who lived on a different floor.

“Fake names, yeah?” Alex murmured to Zachary, who nodded. Then he glanced back at Nathan. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Nathan and Zachary said in unison.

Alex knocked on the door. Nathan worried, for a moment, that Jace wouldn’t be in right now. It was the middle of the week, after all. He could very well be in class or at lunch. Maybe they should’ve waited and come in the evening.

But then the door opened, and a lanky young man with curly blond hair and brown eyes blinked at them in surprise.

“Uh. Hi. Can I help you?”

“You’re Jace, right?” Alex said. “I’m Chris, and this is my roommate…”

“Pedro,” Zachary said, sticking out a hand for Jace to shake, which he did in consternation.

“We heard about David, man, and we just wanted to come and give our condolences,” Alex continued, affecting a sympathetic wince.

“Oh.” Jace deflated. “Yeah. Thanks, dude. Do you guys live in the building?” His gaze lingered on Nathan, the obvious outlier.

“Yeah, we’re upstairs,” Alex said. “Oh, sorry. This is my big brother, Will. He came up to visit this week after I told him what happened.”

Jace relaxed. “Oh, yeah, I feel you. I went home over the weekend. Just had to get away, y’know? You guys want to come in for a sec? How’d you know David?” He turned away, as trusting as a kitten, and invited three strange men into his small dorm with him.

It was a basic space. A double-sided desk with a privacy divider separated the two sides of the room. Only one bed had blankets on it. The other had been stripped bare, and the wardrobe built into the wall was open, displaying empty drawers and one lone coat hanger. The odds of them finding evidence of David’s drug usage diminished greatly without any of his things left behind.

A strange, herbal smell lingered in the air, despite the window being open. Had Jace been burning incense?

Zachary glanced at Nathan, his gaze calculating. He didn’t understand why until Zachary spoke.

“David, he was a great guy. He introduced me to my supplier.”

Nathan’s gut lurched. What if that was too forward? What if it gave them away?

But Jace brightened. “No shit? You know Perry? He’s a good dude. He keeps some addys on hand for me when exams are coming up.”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s great,” Zachary agreed, smiling broadly. Then he sobered, leaning in conspiratorially. “Listen, though. David told me he got something new he wanted me to try sometime. Did he say anything to you about it? I’ve been real paranoid it might’ve had something to do with what happened to him, y’know?”

Jace’s eyes widened, and Nathan realized they were red. Everything clicked, quite suddenly. Jace was a stoner . Zachary recognized it right away. Nathan, on the other hand, had never tried any kind of drug. Never even been around them, sheltered at the guild as he was. So that’s what that smell was.

“Yeah, you’re talking about those black pills, right? I think he got those from Andy.” He glanced around, as though someone might be able to hear them through the walls. “I’d stay away from that shit, man. Sounds like it’ll really fuck you up if you take too much.”

“Yeah, yeah, man, we’ll be careful,” Zachary said. “Any chance you could hook me up with Andy? I just want to try it once.”

Jace hesitated. It was as good as waving a giant red flag that the black pills were dangerous, in Nathan’s opinion.

“We may not even buy any,” Alex said. “We just want to see what they cost, see if the risk is worth it.”

“They’re not cheap, that’s for sure,” Jace said, relaxing somewhat. “Okay, fine, but you didn’t hear it from me. His name’s Andrew Weston. I meet him sometimes outside the science lab, about—” he glanced at the clock, “twenty minutes from now, actually. He comes out of lab three-thirteen. Shaggy blond hair, wire-frame glasses. He carries a green backpack.”

Nathan had to consciously keep himself from outwardly reacting, and he was proud of Alex and especially Zachary for doing the same. Alex had more training, but Zachary was still very new to this business. He was a natural.

“Thanks, man,” Zachary said as they all herded toward the door. “Listen, we’ve got to run. You’re right, you should probably avoid those pills. Sounds like they’re pretty dangerous. Stick to the pot, if you need it. And just do me a favor, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water when you take those adderall around exam time, okay? We’ve got to run, thanks, bye!”

Beneath the sun-dappled shade of the trees outside the dormitory, Alex clapped Zachary on the back and said, “Wow, that was great! You knew exactly how to get him to open up.”

Zachary didn’t quite smile, one corner of his mouth lifting with a rueful shrug. “It was nothing.”

“Not to us,” Nathan said kindly. “You were a big help in there.”

A frown settled over Zachary’s rich brown eyes, and Alex and Nathan exchanged a glance of concern. There was something more to this than Zachary was saying, but neither of them knew whether to push for details. Nathan wasn’t sure it was even his place to ask, since he barely knew Zachary and wasn’t part of the Rink group. He gave Alex a little nudge and nodded toward the boy.

Alex sidled closer. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” he said. “But we’re also happy to listen, if you want to talk about it.”

Zachary’s mouth twisted like he was warring internally. “Okay. The truth is, I used to deal.”

That was a surprise. Nathan might’ve guessed he at least used, given how much Zachary knew about the drug scene, but Zachary seemed very young to have been a dealer.

“My mom was an addict,” Zachary went on, looking into the distance rather than at either of them. “She couldn’t hold down a job, and my parents argued all the time about money stuff. She used to ask me to find her drugs a lot, so I knew who all the local dealers were. When things got desperate enough, I started selling to make enough money to pay for her habit. And that was… that was what killed her.”

Nathan’s stomach rolled with sympathy. He’d tried to do the right thing, albeit with less than honorable means, and it backfired in the worst way.

“Aw, hell, kid,” Alex said, which was ironic given that he wasn’t that much older than Zachary. “That’s why things are so tough at home, huh?”

Zachary shook his head bitterly and shrugged one shoulder. “Dad hasn’t been the same since it happened. He hasn’t outright said it, but I know he blames me. I can feel it in the way he looks at me. He holds me at a distance, too. And Angie, she’s so great. She’s in my corner, every damn time. But she made me promise I’d never touch another drug again in my life, and I swore I wouldn’t. I’ll keep it if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

Warmth filled Nathan for this boy he barely knew, who was stronger than plenty of grown men he’d met over the years.

“I think that sounds like a fine promise.” His voice was gruff to his own ears.

Zachary fidgeted. “Thanks. I just want to do right by her. She deserves better than what I’ve done to our family.”

There was a whole host of things to unpack in that statement, and Nathan took a breath to lay them all out right there beside the dormitory. But Zachary shook himself, packing away the guilt he carried and giving them a resolute look.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to get us off-track. We should head over to the science lab before Weston gets out. We don’t have much time.”

Nathan looked to Alex. He wanted to say more, and he could tell Alex did, too. But Zachary was right. They didn’t have much time to book it across the campus if they wanted to find Andrew Weston. With reluctance, they both nodded and fell into step together on the sidewalk.

“What do we do when we find him?” Alex asked. “Like, what’s our play? We’re buyers?”

“That’s what Gellar believed,” Nathan replied. “I see no reason to deviate, if that’s a believable lie.”

By the time they arrived at the science lab, a three-story brick building halfway across the campus, people were already filing out of the building, fanning out in different directions as soon as they hit the sidewalk.

“Oh shit, are we late? Is this his class?” Alex asked.

Nathan scanned the crowd, hoping they weren’t too late.

“There,” Zachary said. “Coming through the door. Shaggy blond, glasses, green backpack.”

Nathan grunted. If they weren’t taking Zachary out on patrols yet, they needed to rectify that fast. The kid was a natural in the field. Sharp eyes and smart as a whip.

Andrew turned right when he reached the sidewalk’s intersection in front of the building, and the trio lurched into movement.

“Whoa, hey! Andrew, right?” Alex said, falling into step with him. Zachary took Andrew’s other side, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Andrew glanced between them. “Uh, yeah, that’s me. Do I know you?”

“No, but we have a mutual friend. Jace Gellar.”

Andrew nodded, keeping his expression cool. “Right, yeah. I know Jace.”

“He told us we could find you here,” Zachary said. “See, we’re looking for something fun. A particular kind of fun, y’know?”

Andrew glanced over his shoulder at Nathan, following behind them. “The three of you?”

“Yep,” Alex said. “That’s my big brother. He’s visiting from Oregon, and he likes to have fun, too.”

“Uh-huh.” Andrew’s gaze swept up and down Nathan’s form.

He’d done his best to dress down, in old jeans and a plain T-shirt, but he couldn’t do anything about his military-style haircut. If this kid suspected he was a narc, their mission would be blown before they could find out what they needed. He ducked his head, scratching absently at his jaw. Would it be better to back off, or would that only make him seem more suspicious?

Before he could decide, Andrew stopped, turning fully to face him. His eyes were wide.

“Paladin,” he said, and Nathan realized his eyes were glued to his guild ring. He hadn’t expected anyone on a college campus to recognize it.

He took a breath to speak—but Alex moved first, grabbing Andrew by the arm. “Don’t move,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t run. We just have a few questions.”

Andrew jerked his arm, but Alex held fast. “Let me go,” he hissed under his breath. He didn’t want to draw attention to them, either, it seemed.

Nathan eased closer. “You can answer our questions about the black pills, or I can take you back with me to the guild and let you answer our questions there. What’ll it be?”

Andrew’s upper lip curled. “I’m not telling you shit.”

Alex and Zachary looked at Nathan, waiting.

“Let’s take him back to my car, then. I’m sure Sloan would like a word. I, for one, am very curious how you know about the paladins.” Knowing about the guild meant he knew exactly what he was selling. The only question that remained was how and why .

Andrew’s shifty brown eyes darted around them, but he seemed to recognize there was nowhere he could run that they couldn’t follow. With gritted teeth, he let them lead him across campus. Alex kept a hand fisted in his shirt the whole time.

When they reached Nathan’s car, he glanced around to make sure the area was deserted, and then popped the trunk and forced Andrew inside it.

“Hey, you can’t do this! Let me out!” he hollered, his voice muffled through the metal.

Alex grimaced. “Please don’t get pulled over.”

Nathan nodded seriously. “The slowest and safest I’ll ever drive, I swear. Can you call Talon to come and get you guys? I’d rather not have to make any detours on my way to HQ.”

“Absolutely.” Alex brought his phone to his ear and turned away to talk to Talon.

Nathan set Andrew’s green backpack on the trunk’s lid and unzipped it. “Might as well see what he’s got in here.” In the front pocket, he found his cell phone. He turned it off and handed it to Zachary. “See if you can get into that.” A lot of it was actual class stuff. Books, notebooks, a binder filled with chemistry notes. Beneath all of that, there was a hidden pocket in the lining of the backpack, which he only noticed because there was something hard in the uneven padding. When he pried it open, he found multiple baggies of black pills.

“Well, well, well,” he said, tugging a handful of baggies out. “Look at this.”

Talon appeared beside them, squinting in the sunlight. His gaze found Alex first, and he laid a hand on his shoulder. Then he noticed the bag of pills in Nathan’s hand.

“Holy shit,” he declared.

Zachary said, “Depending on what he sells those for, this could be hundreds of dollars worth of pills, you guys.”

“Where’s the guy?” Talon asked.

Nathan thumped the trunk, and Andrew hollered again.

Talon barked out a laugh. “Nice. We could bring him back to the Rink, question him there.”

Nathan shook his head. “I’d rather take him to HQ, honestly. We have a jail that can hold him, and I need him to prove to Sloan that the pills are the real culprit behind the possessions.”

Talon inclined his head. “Fair enough, I guess. I’m fine with washing our hands of this mess and letting the guild handle it.”

“As long as the killing stops, I don’t care who questions the guy,” Alex agreed.

Nathan feared that was too optimistic, but he couldn’t deny he hoped for the same. There was a very good chance that Andrew Weston was just one of many dealers on campus, and they may not be done rooting out the problem. He just wanted to put this danger behind them once and for all. Then, and only then, would he feel they were all safe enough to focus on his personal wants. It wouldn’t feel right to leave the guild while it was still in danger.

* * *

To say that Sloan was displeased would’ve been an understatement—one Nathan admitted he hadn’t foreseen.

“You kidnapped a man from the university, drove him here in the trunk of your car and locked him up in the dungeon before you saw fit to inform me about any of it?”

The clock on the wall behind Sloan’s head ticked in the silence. He didn’t really want Nathan to answer. The last two times he’d tried, Sloan had ordered him to shut up. It was probably best to just let him run out of steam at this point. Nathan would calmly make his case when Sloan was finished with his tirade.

“What if you were seen? What if you were pulled over? You could’ve gotten arrested—you still could be, if someone saw you and reported it!”

Nathan calmly picked up Weston’s backpack. He’d planned to wait until Sloan was finished yelling, but it appeared that might be a while.

“What—what are you doing?” Sloan asked.

Nathan opened up the backpack and tugged the secret compartment open, laying it on Sloan’s desk and shaking dozens of baggies of black pills out onto his desk. Sloan raised his hands as though to avoid touching them, his anger giving way to shock.

“He’s distributing these on campus. People are dying because of him,” Nathan said. “He recognized my ring right away, called me a paladin. He knows who we are, he knows what these pills do, and he’s selling them anyway. He’s helping to kill people in the most horrific way I’ve ever seen, Commander. As far as I’m concerned, he’s no better than the monsters themselves. All we need to do is find out why he’s helping the demons with this and find out where he’s getting them.” He carded his hands through his hair. It’d been a long day already, and it was only going to be longer. “He knew better than to struggle, because he didn’t want to draw attention to himself while he was carrying these. He walked with us off the campus and to my car. Yeah, I gave him a little push into the trunk, but I parked far away and there was no one around. Hawk took Weston’s cell phone with him to see if he could crack the passcode. He’ll let me know if he’s successful.”

Sloan’s gaze sharpened at Alex’s name. “You don’t think we could’ve done that?” he asked.

“Yes, but I figured if anyone were tracking the phone, you’d rather they find Hawk’s people and not the guild.” His lies to Sloan were piling up these days. He’d actually delegated that role to Zachary because the kid seemed the most tech-savvy. He didn’t think mentioning Zachary or his sister would do anyone any favors. The last thing they needed was Sloan thinking the Rink team was actively recruiting. He might start to see them as a more immediate threat if he thought their numbers were growing.

Sloan nodded, leaning back in his chair. He leveled a pensive look at the pills strewn across his desk, then met Nathan’s eyes. “Your methods aside, you’ve rooted out a serious problem and made great strides in this case. We’ve never held a civilian here in our dungeon, and frankly we don’t have a protocol to follow for this. I’ll send word to the council. I’d like their input on how we proceed. The good news is that we reinforced our wards after the incident with Hawk and Morgan’s demons showing up outside our gate. We’re effectively hidden from all supernatural creatures. As long as Weston is behind our walls, he’ll be hidden from whoever he’s working with, if they’re a demon themselves.”

“I have reason to believe that is the case, sir, yes. The outcasts’ demons said they’ve been asking around in their circles and heard rumors of a demon rallying the possessors. We have to assume that’s the one making and distributing these pills.” Another white lie, but telling Sloan he’d gone to In Extremis without express permission would only get him in more trouble.

Sloan nodded. “Yes, agreed.” He picked up his desk phone. “I’ll assemble the council. In the meantime, I want you down at the dungeon. Keep an eye on him. I don’t want him finding a way out like the prophet did.”

That was unlikely, given that someone had let Ira out, but he wasn’t dumb enough to say as much out loud. He gave Sloan a crisp nod and turned away.

It was edging toward evening already, and he doubted the council would come to a decision about Weston any time soon. His odds of getting home at a decent hour were looking slim. With a sigh, he took his phone out as he made his way down the long hall toward the stairs at the back of the building.

Looks like I’m going to be here a while. We’ve got a prisoner.

Storm

I heard. The group chat has been blowing up.

Group chat?

Storm

Hang on, I’ll add you.

Nathan looked away as he went down the stairs and out into the warm afternoon sun. He waved at a couple of students jogging past in workout clothes, and when he made it to the isolated dungeon—a lonely brick building set well away from the rest of the compound—his phone was repeatedly chiming with incoming messages.

“Geez,” he murmured, raising it and opening the new texts. It was impossible to read over the old texts and keep up with the new ones, so he just picked up with the newest ones as they came in.

Unknown

Would you just tell us if you found something?

Zachary

Gee, Shadrach, if you want to know so bad, why don’t you just come to the Rink?

Talon

That would mean admitting he was wrong about something.

Alex

Ignore Shadrach.

Did Zach get into the phone?

Alex

Hi Nate.

Luke

Welcome to the chaos

Ira

Yes, he did, but he’s been distracted from telling us anything.

Zachary

It’s not my fault I was baited by a demon.

Unknown

It’s your fault for falling for it, though.

Nathan added Shadrach’s number to his phone. Might as well have everyone’s.

So?

Wolf

what he said

Zachary

His password was 666666.

Talon

Oh, so he’s a genius.

Ira

Clearly.

Zachary

He’s got some texts from an unknown number. It’s all nonsense though. Random numbers. Maybe a code of some kind.

Alex

He’s right. We can start trying out different things, see if anything makes sense.

Wait, you’re together and also texting each other?

Alex

It’s just Talon, Zach, Angie and me at the Rink right now. We’re filling in the rest of you. We’ll keep the phone here and let you take a look the next time you’re here.

Good deal. Sloan’s meeting with the council about Weston. No idea how long that’ll take.

Luke

They don’t make decisions fast.

No they don’t. I’ll probably be here into the night. Or longer. They’ve been known to adjourn when it gets too late and reassemble in the morning. This could take days.

Talon

Then why don’t you get started?

Nathan blinked at the phone. He could practically hear the demon’s voice in his head, feel that dark, penetrating gaze on his face.

Get started how?

Talon

Are they preventing you from speaking to the captive?

He glanced back at the door over his shoulder.

No

Talon

Then go get some answers.

There was a heavy pause while Nathan considered those words. It would be against the rules, certainly, but he’d done plenty of rule-breaking lately, hadn’t he? What if he could get answers while the council deliberated? Weston had been compliant enough in getting there. Maybe he’d be willing to talk. As long as Nathan didn’t get too close to his cell or, God forbid, open it, no one would probably care if he went inside. And the sooner they solved this case, the sooner he could take off his ring for good.

His phone chimed again.

Talon

Alex tells me that’s against protocol. But you want answers too, don’t you?

Storm

Don’t let him tempt you into doing anything that would turn them against you, Nate. Can’t believe you’re making me into the damn voice of reason here, Talon.

Talon

I just want to find out what’s going on. If they’d brought that guy here I’d take matters into my own hands. They’ve got him behind that goddamn wall now, and I can’t ask those questions myself.

It’s fine. Talon’s right. I’ll go see if he’s feeling chatty. I can’t open his cell or force him to talk without council approval. But I’ll do what I can.

Storm

I’m headed to the Rink. Might as well drink while we wait.

Wolf

We’ll meet you there.

Luke

Halfway there now. Mal’s driving.

Alex

If you get a drink, you put a twenty in the liquor jar. We’re running low, and we’re not funding your collective drinking habit.

Nathan set his phone to silent so he wouldn’t hear a ding every time one of them responded and slipped inside the cool, dark dungeon. The stone staircase descended down and opened up in the main hall. A shuffling sound on the far left alerted him to Weston before he actually saw him. The boy approached the bars and peered through them.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said dismissively.

Nathan strolled to a stop in front of the bars. “Yeah. It’s me.”

“What are you doing here?” Weston leaned against the stone wall beside the bars, folding his arms and cocking his hip out like he hadn’t a care in the world.

He was shockingly calm for someone who’d been kidnapped from the campus and held in a literal dungeon. Most people would at least be crying, maybe begging to be let go. But not him.

“You knew I was a paladin,” Nathan said. “You know who we are. You know why you’re here.”

Weston shrugged. “So what if I do?”

“‘So what?’” he repeated. “What do you mean, ‘so what?’ You know those pills you’re selling are killing people. You know what they do.”

Weston looked away, shrugging again.

“Why? Why are you doing this? It can’t just be for the money. You could sell regular pills and make money.”

“Why do you do what you do?” Weston asked. “Why did you become a paladin?”

Nathan blinked. “I was raised here. I was taught that we needed to take up arms against the forces of evil and protect mankind.”

Weston snorted out a laugh. “Do you hear yourself? You sound ridiculous.”

“Do I? Those little pills of yours have been eviscerating people. Seems pretty evil to me.”

Weston sighed through his teeth. “They weren’t supposed to try breaking through so soon. He told them to wait. They’re impatient, you see. If they’d listened, you never would’ve found me. By the time you knew what was going on, it would’ve already been over.”

“But what’s the point?” He couldn’t tame the frustration in his voice. “Why are you doing this at all?”

Weston smiled, eerie and calm. “Who decides what’s evil?”

Nathan frowned. “What?”

“Who gets to decide who lives and dies? You paladins, you say you’re fighting evil. Who decides that?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but the words stuck in his throat. Not all demons were evil. He knew that now. Saying that every creature from Hell deserved to die, as he’d been taught, left a sour feeling in his gut. Storm didn’t deserve to die. Neither did any of the other demons from the Rink that he’d met.

Weston’s expression cleared with understanding. “You see it, too.”

He gulped hard. “See what?”

“The hypocrisy.”

“Why do you care what the paladins do?” Nathan countered. “Why is this the battle you’re choosing to fight?”

“I fight for the same reason you do, paladin. Faith in a higher power. I just serve your sworn enemy.”

Nathan’s stomach knotted. “You serve… Hell? You worship Satan?”

“Actually, I serve Amon.” He laughed, throwing his head back. “He’s incredible. Everything has gone exactly as he planned. I can’t believe it was so easy.”

“What?” He was missing something. Something important.

Weston leaned closer, a wicked grin stretching his mouth wide. “He knew you’d find me. He knew you’d bring me here.”

Nathan opened his mouth to speak when a deafening boom pierced the air. The ground shook, and Nathan threw a hand out to steady himself on the gritty bars of Weston’s cage. Almost in the same moment, the lights flickered out.

“What the hell?” Nathan whispered. He fumbled his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight, glimpsing Weston’s smug grin as he wheeled around.

“They’re here,” Weston said. “Just like he promised.”

“Amon? Amon is here?” He turned to look at Weston, his face cut by the shadows of the bars. “They can’t find the compound. It’s warded.”

Weston reached up, unbuttoning the top half of his shirt. His chest was scarred with some kind of pattern, and against his better judgment Nathan stepped closer to look at it, horror crawling up his spine. Sigils were branded into his skin in a circular pattern.

“It’s a tracking spell,” Weston explained. “You led them right to this place. And now you’re all gonna burn.”

Nathan’s mind raced. “The wall is still warded. They can’t cross it.”

Weston leaned toward the bars. “They can if something breaks the wall.”

The wall. The explosion. If the wall was compromised, they were all in danger. The staff, the prophets, the children .

“Oh, God.” He raced for the door.

Weston’s ringing laughter followed him down the hall. “It’s too late, paladin! Amon is coming! And he’s bringing the fruit of our labors!”