Page 52 of The Queen’s Shadow

“House.” He said, his greeting clipped and awkward. I shook my head, smiling. He was such a cop.

Everyone was waiting for us in the kitchen. Meredith was handing out cups of tea and Dossidian was trying to look unassuming in one of the mismatched kitchen chairs. He was much too large for it and his movements were slow and deliberate, as if he were afraid the chair would turn to kindling under his hulking form.

“Raven, welcome back,” Mr. Abbey said smiling, as he came forward to give me a hug.

“Thanks,” I said, hugging him back. “How are you doing? I was sorry to hear about Patricia.” I said. I hadn’t seen him since Conrad’s grandmother, Patricia had passed. Mr. Abbey and Ms. Brown had been very close. He gave me a sad smile and patted me on the shoulder tenderly.

“I am doing as well as I can. Thank you. You are kind for asking.”

If Jeremy looked shocked before, I now felt like his eyes might literally pop out of his head.

“Mr…Abbey? Your principal?” He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut.

Mr. Abbey and I exchanged a look.

“Yeah Dad, I thought you knew when I said Walter Abbey.” I said awkwardly, feeling bad that he had been blindsided yet again. He was usually really quick to put things together. He was a detective after all. I had figured he would have come to the realization on his own. However, this was a great deal to take in. I was sure he still hoped on some level that all of this was just a horrible dream of some kind.

He shook his head, as if trying to get his wits about him, before swallowing and clearing his throat.

“You’re right, I should have put that together. I just… it’s been a long couple of days.” He straightened up and nodded at Mr. Abbey.

“Walter.”

“Hello Detective, I must say it is nice to see you again, despite the dire circumstances.” Mr. Abbey said with his usual knowing smile. There was a small, amused twinkle in his eye, and he nodded his head back to Jeremy warmly.

Jeremy cleared his throat again, getting stiffer and stiffer as the seconds ticked by.

“So, uh… are you… are you a daemon? Or a… what are you again?” He threw the question at Rycon who had sprawled out in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, watching the show with an amused expression on his face.

“Shifter,” he said with a smirk, gesturing to himself. He waved his hand at Meredith, Conrad and Mr. Abbey. “They’re magick folk. The Principal and the Green Witch use western terms like witch and wizard. Conrad’s an Obeah Man. There are also shamans, mages, and spell casters, among other things. They have all types of names they use for themselves, depending on where they come from.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at how helpful he was being. He shrugged.

“Trust the magick folk to make shit more complicated than it needs to be.” He scoffed, and I sighed. And… there it was.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, wanting very much to get the attention off Jeremy, who looked like he needed to lie down.

Dossidan spoke up, sipping from a teacup that looked toy-sized in his large hand.

“Sofia Rossi is on edge. We had another call with her before you came, and she is very worried about Trenton Blackwood’s request for a Board meeting. He has aligned himself with Kieran and claims that he has something of a ‘proposition’ he would like to bring forward.”

I could take a solid guess of what a proposition from someone who had aligned themselves with Kieran would entail. That bitch was trying to recruit the magick folk to her side for the upcoming war.

“There’s no way The Board will go for that, will they? Their whole MO is to keep the balance… right?” I asked, looking at Conrad and Meredith, and not finding the reassurance I had been hoping for in their expressions.

“Mi nuh know. It is written in our laws dat we cannot make choices dat will disrupt di balance.”

“I feel a big but coming,” I grumbled, and Conrad shrugged.

“Trenton Blackwood is di official representative for America. Dey are a powerful congregation of magick folk in di grand scheme of di world. Dem have a great deal of power. If Trenton and Kieran are able to convince the American and di English magick folk to ally wid dem, dey may be able to vote out ancient rules and laws.” Conrad said. Of course they could. Fuck!

“On top of this, Sofia has informed us that Trenton will be bringing a daemon with him, to ‘use as part of his demonstration,’ were the exact words he used.” Meredith said quietly.

Cerenah stiffened next to me, and I whirled to face Dossidian. Whoever this daemon was, it would certainly be a slave.

Dossidian pursed his lips and nodded. “Aye. He will be bringing a slave.” Dossidian confirmed, and I felt like the floor disappeared beneath my feet.

Raven