Tangled

251 Ava: Florice's Fate

My legs tremble as Marcus guides me down the stairs. Each step feels like a monumental effort, and I'm acutely aware of the sweat beading on my upper lip and hairline. The living room comes into view, and I'm taken aback by the sight of Magister Orion pacing in silence, his usual booming presence subdued.

Vanessa's concerned gaze meets mine as we enter and she comes over to help Marcus lead me into a nearby chair.

I sink into it gratefully, my body feeling like it's made of lead.

"Thanks," I manage, offering Vanessa a weak smile. The room seems to spin slightly, and I have to focus to keep my vision steady. "What's going on?"

Magister Orion halts his pacing, his eyes locking onto mine. The gravity in his expression sends a chill down my spine before he even speaks.

"Florice has been murdered.

The words hang in the air, and for a moment, I can't process them. Then reality crashes in, and I feel the blood drain from my face.

"What?" I exclaim, my voice cracking. "How? When?"

More suspicious timing. More odd events. And we're still in the dark, with no any of this.

It's not a coincidence.

idea who is behind.

Florice was coming to us with information; whatever she found meant something. But the knowledge is now lost to us.

Magister Orion's complexion is ashen, worry etched into every line of his face. He opens his mouth to respond, but Vanessa cuts in.

"It's not safe here," she says, her voice tight with strain. "We need to consider our options. Whoever didn't want Florice spilling their secrets might know she was coming to you, Magister."

Marcus clears his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "There's more, he says grimly. "Ava received a phone call earlier. Someone pretending to be from Westwood, begging her to come back before everyone's slaughtered."

Magister Orion's frown deepens. Suddenly, he bellows, "Tinker!"

I jump at the sudden volume, my nerves already frayed. To my surprise, Tinker appears almost instantly, her mechanical wings whirring softly. I realize I haven't seen her since we first arrived, and her presence is oddly comforting.

"Yes, Magister?" Tinker asks, her lilac eyes darting between all of us.

Magister Orion gestures to Marcus. "Explain it, the telephonic connection Ava received."

Any other time, I might have found amusement in Magister Orion's formal way of describing a

251 Ava: Floricu's Fate

Marcus recounts the details of the call, and Tinker listens intently, her expression growing more perplexed with each word.

"Did it sound like when Magister Orion speaks?" Tinker asks, turning to me.

I shake my head. "No, not at all. When he called, it was robotic and ominous. This person was a woman, whispering. It sounded like she was afraid."

Tinker's eyes widen. "That's surprising. No one in the Fae Ward uses a normal telephone like you do. The magical wards interfere with the signals, causing them to break down over time."

I stare at her blankly, my exhausted brain struggling to process this new information. "Wait, what? When were you going to mention that could happen?"

Tinker has the grace to look sheepish. "I apologize. We assumed you knew. It's common. knowledge here in the Fae Ward."

I lean back in my chair, feeling overwhelmed. "Is it possible for them to call us without sounding like Magister Orion did?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I created the technology, but it isn't impossible for someone to doctor it."

"Or for someone to get a cell phone and bring it into the city for this purpose," Vanessa says.

Both are viable scenarios. "It could be a vampire living among humans, Marcus points out.

Exasperated, I say what we're all thinking. "There's no way to know who it is, then. It could be almost anyone."

"But it's unlikely to be someone from our pack." Vanessa squeezes my shoulder. "At least we've

ruled that out.

Okay, so anyone in the world except a Westwood wolf.

Magister Orion strokes his beard, his eyes distant. "We're dealing with forces beyond our usual understanding. Florice is murdered, and someone tries to get you away from me and the safety you have here. There's a clear connection, but we don't know their motive."

I want to ask what we do next, but a glance at Marcus and Vanessa tell me how stressed they are. They're on edge, Marcus standing on the balls of his feet as though ready to jump into action. Vanessa's so tense her fingers dig into my shoulder despite her attempt at soothing myNôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

anxiety.

This isn't the time for me to be dependent on them. I need to think things through, be a leader.

"We know that I'm in danger, and that Florice learned something important. They didn't want that information getting to Magister Orion. I meet my teacher's eyes. "That means you're an obstacle to whoever's orchestrating this madness. Somehow, you would get in their way. Why? How? Who are your enemies?"

He frowns. "A loaded question. I have been a thorn in the side of many, as I've always advocated on behalf of humans. I'm sure you've noticed that there are few of them in the city."

"I haven't seen the city, only some of the Fae Ward. Sister Miriam took us directly here from one of her... buildings. A vague idea stirs in the back of my brain, but it's little more than a feeling.

251 Ava: Floricu's Fate

"Ah. Yes, well, the Dakota Sanctuary is not kind to humans or any wolf with a pack. Rogue wolves are welcome, to an extent. Most of them are in the Third Ward, which is little more than a slum. Most humans in the city are here on business, and are found in the Second Ward, where most businesses are located. Many people dislike allowing humans entry at all." He grimaces. "The few with access rights are usually wiped on exit."

"Wiped?" My eyes widen. "Murdered?"

"What?" Magister Orion shakes his head. "No, of course not. Memory wipes. Most people believe that if humans know too much about our city, they'll press us to assimilate under your laws, forcing us all to register and be governed by your leaders."

"Oh." My shoulders relax. Wiping memories sounds drastic, but a lot less terrible than murdering any human who enters the city. "Is that why nobody knows anything about you guys?"

"Most assuredly. We keep to ourselves, asking only to be left alone by your government and people. It wasn't always that way, of course, but once supernatural existence became regulated, things changed. Not all of us reacted well to the overreach of human government."

"I heard about vampires growing up, but I thought they were little more than stories," I admit. "A bogeyman the others would use to scare kids."

"Yes, that happens when you segregate your society as we have." Magister Orion smiles. "While some vampires and other-shifters have come to embrace life among your lot in their Supernatural Communities, accepting the overreach of your overlord, most do not."

"We call him our president, Vanessa corrects, leaning forward as she listens. "We were taught that the Unregistered cities came about because vampires refused to accept the Human Survival Rights, not wanting to give up their victims."