by Candy Crum
Arryn wasn't the killer, not in the sense that whoever took Amos had been. Arryn had never killed anyone, as far she knew, outside of the fight in which they’d taken Doyle down. And that had been self-defense, and in the defense of others.
"Are you sure about this?" Talia asked. "This is quite a statement."
"Mmmhmm," Amelia groaned. "Convenient, even, given our current conversation."
Talia looked at her in what appeared to be honest confusion, her eyes wide and her lips tight as she shook her head. "I had nothing to do with this. I know that you're confused and conflicted about who to trust right now, but that right there is evidence of everything I've been telling you."
The girl took another step forward, her hand rising slightly as she dared to speak again. "I don't have any idea what you guys have been talking about, but I know what I came in here to say. And I know it might seem difficult to believe, but if you've sat in her classes, you know she's obsessed with the defense of the city. She has been overly curious about all its weaknesses. She's constantly telling us that we need to push back and take what we want. That we should learn to fight for ourselves, because the city is weak."
Amelia knew that one was true, though the girl may have misunderstood the context. Arryn had come to her complaining that the city was weak, but why would she point out its weaknesses and even train men to get stronger if she wanted to take down the city? Why would she encourage the students to learn how to take care of themselves if she wanted to rise against it?
Something was definitely not right.
Amelia knew that Talia must have had no idea the girl would show up, much less say the things that she did. It was evident by the genuine shock on her face. But she also knew Talia was using it to her advantage.
Knowing that she needed to say something, Amelia decided to play along and sort it out later. "Thank you both. It seems that I have a lot to take care of. None of this conversation is to leave this room, is that understood?"
Both women nodded.
"Good. I'll put the Hunters on this. If there's something to find, they'll find it, trust me. Treason is the one thing I will not stand for in our great city," Amelia told them, her voice firm and final.
She thought she caught the faintest of smiles on Talia's face before it was replaced by something solemn, more appropriate to the conversation.
Amelia didn't believe any of this, but she couldn't let Talia know that. Until Amelia had all of the pieces, she couldn’t trust anyone, though her gut was telling her Talia was rotten, and her gut didn't usually lead her astray.
***
Talia had only made it a few blocks away from the Capitol building when, in true Scarlett form, the woman leapt out and walked beside her. Talia almost jumped, but at this point, she was beginning to get used to it.
"It went really well in there," Scarlett chirped.
Talia's face was confused as she looked at Scarlett. "Were you spying?"
Scarlett gave an exaggerated smile. "Who do you think let the girl in? Let me tell you, the setup on that was absolutely brilliant. I would pat myself on the back if I didn't deserve to get it from you instead. Dammit, I'm a genius."
Talia stopped, unsure if she should be excited or apprehensive. "Why was it genius? Tell me everything."
Scarlett seemed all too happy to relate her tale of scheming. "First of all, Mikhaila wasn’t the only one in Arryn's class today. Well… Obviously, there were others there, too.” She waved her hands in the air as she shook her head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Anyway, it was only Arryn and Jackson, and Mikhaila was walking in, so I just used my magic to make myself invisible. Even Arryn bought it." She tapped the side of her temple and winked.
There was hope blossoming in Talia's chest as she listened. "You created an illusion?"
The mystic nodded. "Indeed, I did. But here's the thing: it went so beautifully that I couldn't have planned it all myself. I snuck in on Jackson talking to Arryn, hoping to hear or spy on something good. The door was open, so they didn't even hear me come in. I just stood there, listening. Jackson was doing a great job, laying it on thick, though I will say she did seem a little suspicious. But it worked out great. They did mention Amos, but not in the context that I led Mikhaila to believe. And Arryn did mention that someone would die again, but…"
Talia smiled and nodded. "But not in the context that Mikhaila was led to believe by you. Let me guess, Arryn was discussing something more along the lines of worrying that someone else was going to die."
With a finger pointing at the Dean, Scarlett exclaimed, "Yes! You are correct. They were discussing the disappearances, and Arryn was worried that someone else might die. Boy, was she right. But here's the best part… While you were chatting it up with the Chancellor, I was hanging out around the Capitol building, listening in. Amelia is doubtful of you both. That might sound bad, but it's actually a good thing. She has no idea who to believe, though she is having a hard time believing it’s Arryn. Still, once Mikhaila came in there, Amelia seemed to shut down. It was hard to get anything out of her after that, but she seemed very convinced that something needed to be done."
Talia almost sighed in relief, though she didn’t get that Amelia distrusted Arryn from her behavior. She might have doubts, but she seemed more annoyed than distrustful. Talia wondered how accurate the mystic’s words were.
Instead of dwelling on it, she took the small victory. "That is great news. I don't need Amelia to completely trust me; I just need her to trust Arryn less. As long as I look better than her, things will be okay."
Scarlett giggled. "Oh, things are about to go a hell of a lot better than just okay. While I was in there, I killed two birds with one stone. I nosed around in Elon’s head, and I found our victim. His name is James, and he is a mutual friend of Arryn and Elon's son, Gregory. James’ father was the one who delivered the orders to the Hunters to take out her parents.
“Unfortunately for poor James, he's actually a good kid. Seems to do well in school, people like him, supports the Boulevard students, that kind of thing. Turns out he didn't much care for Daddy or his politics. But… That's not going to do much for him when Arryn gets a hold of him."
"This is fucking fantastic," Talia said, a little more excitement growing. "We're going to kill him in the same way as the others. Drain him dry and leave the knife. Not only do we want to make use of the blood, but we want to make sure that Arryn looks undeniably guilty for this one, putting doubt in their heads about the others. After all, she was the one who told them Amos was killed somewhere else when no one else had figured that out."
Scarlett nodded. "Exactly. So, here's the plan: we take James, kill him and drain the blood, and then we need to dump the body somewhere. Kind of like usual; hidden, but not too much. I'll use my magic to convince the group that his death was necessary because Arryn is planning to use her magic to do something crazy. It won’t take much. They are already wrapped around your fingers. We just want to make sure they don’t have a moment of doubt."
Talia continued walking down the street, looking around every so often make sure no one noticed them. "Good. I'll hide the knife in the lockbox that's in her desk. She doesn't use it, but it was there from the last teacher."
"We can even use the vines that are outside your office to bind him with. If we do that, it will be an obvious sign of nature magic. Once they find the body and start pointing fingers, I'll work my magic on a few of the students. All I have to do is convince them that they saw Arryn put something in her desk before class. Convince a couple others that Arryn's up to no good. Those nobles are pathetic. News like that will spread like wildfire. Soon, Amelia will have no other choice but to arrest her on suspicion. Even if she doesn't believe it, she’ll still do it."
Talia nodded. "Yes, she will, because she's losing control. With the remnant attacks and bodies piling up, people are losing their faith in her. She will arrest Arryn for no other reason than to make people happy, to make them feel more comfortable and
safe. Then, all we have to do is seal her fate. Do something huge that will prove Arryn is the evil the city has been fighting all along."
Scarlett laughed. "I assume you are referring to Doyle. I heard that bit, and I sensed your shock. I know that he was the one who had brought you the news of your father, so it would be quite disturbing to hear he had been found and had warned Amelia that someone was in town. We just need to make damn sure that person is Arryn."
There was silence as Talia looked at the sky for a few moments. Finally, she said, "Only a few hours, then we get to work. Oh, and by the way, I think I know the perfect place to hide the body."
***
Scarlett had waited all day for this. It was finally time for her to really put her talents to use, and she couldn't be happier. Not only were her mystical powers strong, but manipulation and planning were also powerful talents of hers, even without using magic.
As she walked around the living room of Arryn's childhood home, looking at the entire life that had been abandoned in a single night, she smiled to herself as she thought how perfect the plan had been.
At first, Talia had wanted to hide the body in Arryn's old house, but Scarlett was quick to intervene.
Had they placed the body there, it would have been too obvious. It would've looked like a setup. So instead, they decided to kill James there, bleeding him out while only spilling a bit that looked accidental before taking his body somewhere else and dumping it.
The best part had been that anyone who looked out the window that night would have seen Arryn walking toward that side of town.
Scarlett had used her powers of illusion along with her mental magic to make herself look like Arryn as she'd walked beside James. They had been in the same Academy, but they hadn't actually run into each other recently, so James had been very happy to accompany her.
Scarlett couldn’t help but think how warm and fuzzy Arryn would have been made to feel by how much James had missed her and thought of her in her absence. Now, as she looked at his body, his head hanging over the edge of the couch as he bled out into the last jar he would be able to fill, she felt even more pride in her plan.
Once the jar was full, she placed it in a bag along with the rest and slung it over her shoulder. Then, she reached out with her mind to Talia, letting her know that it had been done, and it was safe to teleport in and take the body elsewhere.
Within moments a loud crack sounded in the room as Talia's magic exploded, bringing her with it.
"I would recommend hiding him in the corner of the park by the wall. We used the park the last time. Let’s stick with the theme here," Scarlett suggested.
Talia nodded. "Things are really moving forward now. I can’t believe it. Finally, I'm on my way to getting the revenge I’ve needed for so long."
"Don't get too excited yet," Scarlett warned. "Arryn has been waiting for revenge for a decade. She has a lot to lose, too. She won’t go down easily; we certainly have the upper hand. Just don't get too cocky. That's when people fail."
Talia's movements were calm and fluid as she slowly and threateningly moved across the living room, her eyes never leaving Scarlett's. "I don't need you to remind me of that. Remember, I'm the one who usually keeps you in control."
Scarlett decided not to respond, knowing it would do no good. Besides, Talia had no idea what she was in for, and Scarlett didn't care to elaborate. Pride goeth before the fall.
Talia reached down and grasped James' lifeless hand before her eyes turned black and a cloud of magic exploded around her again, both of them disappearing from the room.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The next morning, Arryn had only barely finished breakfast when Celine came bursting through the door, screaming for Arryn. She quickly dropped her plate in the sink and ran into the living room.
"What's wrong?" Arryn asked, her eyes wide with concern.
Celine was nearly doubled over, her chest heaving as she quickly took breath after breath. After a few moments, she swallowed hard and finally found her voice.
"You know that I check the house every day. Well… I used to. After you came back, I haven’t had much need to go back as often. It’s been a while since I’ve checked in to make sure that no one is messing with it," Celine started.
Arryn nodded. "Okay, calm down a bit. Did something happen?"
Celine took another deep breath before continuing. "About a week and a half ago, maybe longer, maybe shorter, I don't really remember, I went to check on the house and the furniture looked like it had been sat on. The sheet had been rumpled up a bit, though it was still in place, and the dust had been wiped off a couple of things. Not like someone had cleaned them, but more like their hand had touched the surface briefly and wiped it away."
Arryn shrugged. "Well, I'm not exactly surprised. It is an abandoned house, and there are still some homeless people around the city who refuse to live in the noble houses. Maybe someone put their pride aside and squatted in my old house. There might be people in some of those other houses, too."
Celine shook her head. "I thought of that, too, but then I checked the other houses. None of them have been tampered with, only yours. But that's not why I came running in here. Like I said, that happened a week or two ago, and I just dismissed it. I figured if that was all the damage they did—and nothing important was missing—then it wasn’t that big of a deal."
Arryn's brows furrowed with worry. "This doesn't sound good." Her voice sounded almost hopeless. She knew that look of fear and worry on Celine's face. It was the look people gave her when they had very bad news for her.
"I went to check today, and the living room was covered in blood. Well, maybe not covered, but the far end of the couch is soaked, and there are a few puddles on the floor. Arryn, it's still wet." Celine's expression was both concerned terrified, and Arryn couldn't blame her.
"We have to go to Amelia," Arryn urged.
"Like hell you do," Cathillian snarled, stepping into the room. She wasn't even aware that he was awake yet. "Whatever happened, happened in your old house. Don't you find that a little suspicious?"
Arryn laughed. "Are you serious? Of course, I find it suspicious! I would like to think that someone cleaned an animal while using my couch as a table and cooked it in the fireplace directly across from it, but I think we all know that's not what happened. Too many people have gone missing. If we sit around, it's only going to make me look guiltier. I have to confront this head-on. Amelia has to know."
Cathillian sighed, running his fingers through his long hair but stopping to clutch the sides of his head. "You’ve given me a headache. But fine, let's go see Amelia."
As the group made their way across the city toward Amelia's house, they passed several men who were heading to their house to meet before traveling outside the city for early-morning training.
Cathillian stopped long enough to tell them to begin practice, but he would be late. He instructed them to tell Samuel that he needed to speak with Amelia right away, but Samuel was to continue training as usual.
Other than that, no one said anything. Only the sounds of Echo calling out every so often as she played in the sky accompanied them on their journey across town.
When Amelia opened the door just before six, she wiped her eyes and brushed her hair back with her fingers. It was obvious that she'd just climbed out of bed. Arryn felt badly for waking her so early, but she needed to talk to her now.
After having invited everyone inside, Amelia took a seat on the couch, and Arryn, Celine, and Cathillian explained what had happened.
Arryn had no idea what to expect from the Chancellor, because her eyes and her expression revealed nothing. She looked completely disconnected and exhausted. With everything she'd had to deal with since coming into her position, Arryn couldn't begin to fathom what hearing something like this would mean to her.
After several awkward, silent moments, Amelia finally took a deep breath and let it out. "There is blood in Arryn's childhood home, it looks con
sistent with murder, and you are coming to me because you think this screams setup.
With only slight hesitation, Arryn nodded. "I'm coming to you with this because if Celine is right, someone else has been taken. Worse than that, they've been killed. I'm coming to you because I need you to know that I didn’t do this. I did not do this, and I will do whatever it takes to help you find who did, though I have a damn good place to start."
Amelia laughed as she leaned back into the couch and covered her face with her hands, but it sounded exasperated and almost maniacal. She pulled her hands away and looked Arryn in the eyes.
"I don't know what's going on in this damned city, and it's pissing me off."
Arryn sighed as she took a step forward. "What does your gut tell you? I'm not going to stress you out more by trying to convince you of anything. Just ask yourself… What is your gut telling you?"
Amelia stood, pacing back and forth for a moment as she chewed on her lower lip. She stopped and turned to face Arryn once again. "For days now, Talia has been off. Something is going on with her, and I have the worst feeling. But then I think about how much she's done for the city, and I can't help but wonder if I'm wrong. Then I think, Adrien had a lot of people fooled, too. Even me. So, maybe she had me fooled, too."
"At the risk of sounding pushy," Arryn told her. "I'm going to take the stress off you. I have never doubted my own instincts. You may have had bad judgment in the past, but you've been through hell and back since. You've learned a lot. If your gut is telling you that Talia isn't who she says she is, then go with it. Your instincts are telling you Talia's bad. Get off your ass and prove it."
A brief smile crossed Amelia's face and she looked at Arryn. "Is that what you've been doing? Getting off your ass and proving it?"
Arryn's brows rose as she nodded. "Uh, yeah. Why do you think that I'm pretty sure that it was Talia who did this? I pissed her off the other day. I tried telling you about it before, but you were too busy with the remnant attack. Sorry… attacks. She actually said the words, 'let the games begin,' so I'm pretty sure she's trying to set me up. She needs me to be the villain before she can get rid of me. Otherwise I'm the poor, pathetic orphan who fled the city for her life only to come back post-Adrienocalypse and start over."
